One Thousand Pictures: Rfk's Last Journey

2010 • NR • Series • Catalog pick

The assassination of Robert F. Kennedy in 1968 had a devastating effect on the people of the United States and left a deep psychic wound that is still felt by those who were inspired by his vibrancy and passion for positive change. Two days after Kennedy's funeral mass in New York City, his casket was placed on a special train headed for Washington D.C. Thousands of mourners lined the 225-mile train route in an outpouring of grief and respect. Photographer Paul Fusco took over a thousand pictures that day of the mourners who lined the route, documenting the tremendous outpouring of affection and support for the idealistic and beloved Kennedy. Through interviews conducted with dozens of the people photographed by Fusco along the NYC-to-DC route, as well as archival footage and the actual words of Robert Kennedy and his brother Teddy (who delivered a memorable eulogy to his brother), the film paints a vivid, deeply moving portrait of America during the tumultuous 1960s and speaks to the sense of hope and renewal that Robert Kennedy inspired and which abides to this day.