Peter Edelman Oral History Interview

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

An oral history consisting of a single digital video recording (2018.78.8.1). It was collected as part of the Poor People’s Campaign Interviews. In this interview, Peter Edelman, a law professor and lifelong anti-poverty advocate, discusses his experience working with Senator Robert Kennedy (RFK) in the 1960s and reflects on how that experience affected his life’s work. Edelman begins the interview by talking about his upbringing and the influence of his parents, but he soon turns to a discussion of how he came to be working for RFK in 1965. Edelman then discusses his experiences with RFK from 1965-1968, particularly their work on issues of race and poverty in America. Edelman also reflects on the evolution of RFK’s political thinking in the years before his assassination and discusses how he was changed by his experiences during those years.

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