Publishers Weekly
03/29/2021
University of South Carolina history professor Sullivan (Lift Every Voice) delivers a nuanced and deeply researched portrait of Robert Kennedy’s engagement with the civil rights movement as attorney general, U.S. senator, and presidential candidate. She notes that Kennedy organized the first segregated meeting at the University of Virginia in 1951, and describes how his “moralistic streak” and instinct “to do what was right, regardless of what others thought” shaped his views on race. Sullivan delves deeply in Kennedy’s efforts as attorney general to enforce school desegregation and African American voting rights in the South, his shaping of legislation that became the 1964 Civil Rights Act and 1965 Voting Rights Act, and his support for an innovative, community-led redevelopment project in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. She also documents Kennedy’s 1966 visit to apartheid-era South Africa, and his push for the Johnson administration to expand its anti-poverty efforts. Skillfully drawing from primary sources to recreate the era’s protests, political struggles, and urban uprisings, Sullivan makes a persuasive case that Kennedy played a crucial role in persuading white Americans to recognize the ill effects of racial discrimination. The result is an immersive and eye-opening history. (June)
Waldo Martin
Justice Rising is a brilliant exploration of Robert Kennedy’s deep immersion in the civil rights–Black Power movement. The interactions between RFK’s public life and the wide-ranging racial reckoning of the 1960s come alive in new and compelling ways in this engrossing narrative. Equally impressive, this insightful work deepens our understanding of the intertwined political and racial worlds of the 1960s. It is a stunning achievement.
Florida Courier - Glenn C. Altschuler
Provides a sobering analysis of the forces arrayed against advocates of racial justice. Desegregation suits took years to move through the courts. Ballot access was controlled by local officials…Most important, perhaps, Justice Rising reminds us that although he was assassinated over 50 years ago, Kennedy remains relevant in 2021.
Richard Thompson Ford
In most accounts of the tumultuous 1960s, Robert Kennedy plays a supporting role…Sullivan corrects this and puts [him] near the center of the nation’s struggle for racial justice. She offers a moving and enlightening account of a life of public service marked by ambition and marred by serious errors in judgment, but more than redeemed by a sincere, powerful and enduring commitment to social justice…Kennedy’s personal growth and his political triumphs are reminders of the transformative potential of American democracy.
Daniel Geary
Sullivan’s brilliant and beautifully written biography of Robert Kennedy could hardly be more timely. Focusing on Kennedy's engagement with the African-American freedom struggle, it arrives in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests that demanded renewed public attention to institutional racism in the US and elsewhere. A privileged white man who came to embrace the cause of racial justice as his own, Kennedy offers a model of how to be an anti-racist ally.
The Print - Dinyar Patel
If liberals are serious about exploiting emerging cracks in 21st century autocracy—in Putin’s Russia, Narendra Modi’s India, a United States still reeling from Donald Trump’s presidency, and elsewhere—then we would do well to study the all-too-brief career of this American leader. Kennedy’s life was dedicated to egalitarian empowerment, the very opposite of what keeps today’s autocrats in power.
Philip A. Godutin Historical Review
Justice Rising contributes to the historiography the civil rights movement through its examination of speeches, oral histories, and memoranda. Sullivan’s brilliant analysis and exploration of the connections among the different personalities in this movement presents a beautifully written narrative that will serve students and scholars as they reconsider the role that Robert Kennedy played in this crucial period.
Robert C. Smithn Political Thought
[A] compelling story compellingly told…There are several biographies of Robert Kennedy by journalists, scholars, and former aides. Sullivan’s work is different because, as the subtitle indicates, its focus is on Kennedy’s concern for the freedom and equality of Black Americans.
Journal of American History - Michael K. Honey
Marvelous…Sullivan’s book reveals in rich detail the empathy and the majesty of a changing man’s life in pursuit of human rights and a better world for all…Anyone interested in American history would do well to read this book.
Douglas Brinkley
Justice Rising is a profound and uplifting account of Robert F. Kennedy’s brave crusade for racial equality. This is narrative history at its absolute finest, with RFK squarely at the center of the 1960s civil rights movement along with Martin Luther King Jr., James Baldwin, César Chávez, and other fearless activists. Bare-knuckled, with a golden heart, RFK was a visionary force to reckon with. This towering biographical portrait will stand the test of time. Highly recommended!
S-USIH: Society for U.S. Intellectual History - Tom McCarthy
A fine-grained, compelling study of Kennedy evolving as a leader through his engagement with the deeply intertwined issues of civil rights, the urban crisis, and poverty.
Jeffrey Sachs
Patricia Sullivan’s magnificent book brings Robert Kennedy’s grace, moral leadership, and wisdom to a new generation of Americans who seek solutions to the same challenges that he so boldly confronted. Few American politicians have displayed such profound moral vision or such a stunning capacity to inspire others to take on the deep challenges facing the nation. His assassination cut short his quest for national healing, and our vast inequalities and racial divisions persist to this day. Justice Rising is an important book at an important moment in America.
Kenneth Mack
This is a groundbreaking book that reorients our understanding of a surprisingly underexplored aspect of Robert Kennedy’s life and career—race and civil rights—and sheds new light on race relations during a pivotal era of American history. Some readers, especially in our current racial moment, may be skeptical of Kennedy’s importance, but Patricia Sullivan delivers a nuanced and informative portrait of Kennedy as one of the central players in the evolving drama of ’60s-era race relations. He remains an iconic figure, with his assassination shortly after that of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. forever freezing his public image as a symbol of the unrealized potential of late-1960s politics.
Journal of Southern History - Peter Levy
[An] exhaustively researched and systematically written biography…Sullivan arrives at a fresh analysis of the era and of the possibilities for substantive change, then and now.
The Progressive - David Masciotra
Stirring and important.
History News Network - Robin Lindley
Groundbreaking…Revelatory…Sullivan proves a gifted storyteller who creates a sense of suspense as she unfolds this tumultuous history that continues to inform our present.
Blanche Wiesen Cook
Profoundly researched, vividly written, Justice Rising is a monumental reconsideration of RFK's bold vision and creative strategies in the bitter climate of white supremacy. As the struggle continues, this is the book we ALL need now!
Cornel West
This magisterial history of how the social movements of the 1960s turned Robert Kennedy into a crusader for racial justice and great progressive president-in-the-making is timely. Patricia Sullivan has written the definitive book on the courageous and visionary leadership of the complex and ever-growing Robert Kennedy.
American Political Thought - Robert C. Smith
[A] compelling story compellingly told…There are several biographies of Robert Kennedy by journalists, scholars, and former aides. Sullivan’s work is different because, as the subtitle indicates, its focus is on Kennedy’s concern for the freedom and equality of Black Americans.
Library Journal
★ 06/01/2021
Robert F. Kennedy (1925–68) made civil rights his top priority during his years in politics, as attorney general in the administration of his brother, President John F. Kennedy; as a New York senator; and as a presidential contender in 1968, writes Sullivan (history, Univ. of South Carolina; Lift Every Voice). She proposes that although Kennedy's time in the political arena was short, his legacy as an advocate for the underserved continues to resonate. Sullivan's deeply researched account has a "you-are-there" feel because of her skillful use of contemporary magazine and newspaper articles and an abundance of oral histories housed at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library. She reveals that the relationship between Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King was respectful but distant, and that Kennedy ran for president because he wanted to challenge Lyndon B. Johnson over civil rights as much as for the stalemate in Vietnam. Notably, the author shows how Kennedy successfully drew in people who were otherwise overlooked in mainstream politics, including young Black students. Related books that illuminate Kennedy's political skill are Matthew Algeo's All This Marvelous Potential and Larry Tye's Bobby Kennedy. VERDICT This is the best work to date on Kennedy's civil rights record; it is a must for all historians of the 1960s, and for activists working for a more just society.—Karl Helicher, formerly with Upper Merion Twp. Lib., King of Prussia, PA
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2021-03-26
A distillation of the motivations and importance of Robert F. Kennedy’s life and legacy.
In this enterprising biography, University of South Carolina history professor Sullivan seeks to encapsulate the essence of Kennedy’s journey as an advocate for the oppressed and disadvantaged in America. In equal measure, she humanizes Kennedy and those around him by using precise, occasionally exhausting detail. Though some sections are dry, the accretion of historical moments lends enough of a novelistic air to the book to keep the pages turning. The impeccably researched text encompasses the entirety of Kennedy’s political career, with weight given to the transformation he underwent in terms of how he conceptualized racial oppression and poverty in the U.S. and abroad. Sullivan also carefully considers the specific methods Kennedy sought to implement to change the state of race relations and combat poverty in the U.S. In doing so, she effectively shows why Kennedy, who cared deeply about the plights of his fellow citizens, was beloved by millions. The author nicely balances cogent analyses of Kennedy’s large-scale policies—focused on, among other significant issues, poverty, desegregation, integration, and the Vietnam War—and the more personal nuances involved in his interactions with not just Americans, but also people in other nations around the world. Though the author relies heavily on quotations, it’s not burdensome. Rather than paraphrasing political arguments, Sullivan effectively conveys the message directly from the primary sources to readers. This approach also allows the author to portray the power of Kennedy’s speeches. In 1966, writes Sullivan, “Kennedy warned that ‘it would be a national disaster to permit resentment and fear to drive increasing numbers of white and black Americans into opposing camps of distrust and enmity.’ There was but one choice, he said: ‘to face our difficulties and strive to overcome them, or turn away, bringing repression, increasing human pain, and civil strife.’ ”
A sharp portrayal of the potential of the 1960s through the lens of RFK.
