RFK Funeral Train

In tribute to Robert F. Kennedy’s raw empathy, his determination to make our lives better, and his insistence that the government is answerable to all – black and white, rich and poor – hundreds of thousands of people stood patiently in the searing heat on June 8th, 1968 to watch his funeral train travel slowly from New York to Washington, D.C., just as Abraham Lincoln’s had, 103 years before. Paul Fusco photographed the silent, mourning crowds from the passing train. The result, brought to light over thirty-years later, is a moving snapshot of America at a crucial moment of trauma and transition.

An essay by Norman Mailer, as well as a retelling of the events surrounding the funeral of RFK by prizewinning Newsweek editor Evan Thomas, join the tribute given by Senator Edward M. Kennedy, capturing how this man and his vision of America touched us with steadfast idealism and humanity.