Teddy and the Good Fight

Published August 26, 2009 @ 04:28PM PT

The growing collection of memorial posts across Change.org's diverse causes is but one testament to the extraordinary life and legacy of Ted Kennedy.

Throughout his career, Kennedy consistently fought for the rights and protection of those most abused by conflict and oppression, often pulling international human rights issues out of obscurity and into the international spotlight.

In the 1980s, as violence in South Africa's apartheid government reached its peak, Kennedy was at the forefront of the movement that forced the Reagan Administration to change tracks and adopt a less conciliatory stance towards the brutal regime. He became a local hero when he traveled to South Africa in 1985 and staged an illegal protest outside of the gates of the prison that held Nelson Mandela.

The following year, he helped lead the charge in Congress for the passage of the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act, as well as a successful battle to override President Reagan's veto of the bill.

The moral of Kennedy's story is, in sum, a repudiation of the oft-repeated belief that one individual is powerless in the face of the world's many crises: Defeatism is a choice, and no problem is insurmountable.

For other perspectives on Kennedy's life and works, please visit my fellow Changesters at Humanitarian Relief, Gay Rights, Women's Rights, Homelessness, Health Care (including a very timely action), Global Health, Global Warming, Animal Rights, Social Entrepreneurship, and Poverty in America.

[Photo: On January 9, 1985 Senator Edward Kennedy made an emotional visit to banned Winnie Mandela, the wife of Africa National Congress (ANC) leader, Nelson Mandela in Brandfort. At that time, Nelson Mandela had been in prison for more than twenty-years. Kennedy praised Winnie Mandela as courageous and concerned for her country. (Greg English/Reuters)]

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Another country to note is what is now Bangladesh: See this Global Voices roundup post (http://globalvoicesonline.org/2009/08/27/bangladesh-mourning-senator-edward-kennedy/), this CNN story (http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/08/27/bangladesh.kennedy.impact/), and this DPA story (http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/southasia/news/article_1497561.php/Top-Bangladeshi-leaders-mourn-death-of-a-true-friend-in-Kennedy).

Posted by Eric Jon Magnuson on 08/27/2009 @ 09:20AM PT
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Michelle became involved in the anti-genocide cause at a young age, and has been involved in various activist endeavors, including the Teach Against Genocide pilot campaigns, ever since.