Quotes from Kerry Kennedy

Having a sense of humor is a part of being courageous. It's a source of strength.

Daddy was never ruthless but he was tough.

I think that on the Democratic side, Bernie Sanders talks about income inequality and poverty alleviation, and those issues are so important.

Look, my mother's not a welfare woman. She certainly had plenty of help. But there's no substitute for a husband and partner.

The time of day when there was quiet and serenity was every night when we gathered in my parents' bedroom and knelt down together and prayed.

I love presidential campaigns. It is a time when people are feeling what is going on in the heart of our country.

U.S. lawmakers should take a firm and principled stand consistent with their rhetoric about the importance of human rights and democracy in Egypt.

So I think that having Donald Trump as president of our country, and also his impact around the world, would have left my father in dismay.

We need autocracies and failing democracies alike to understand that they cannot scapegoat LGBT citizens to distract from their own shortcomings.

As mothers, women are often the first to know when the food they feed their children is tainted with pollutants or impurities, because they can see it in the tears of their children and hear it in their babies' cries.

When roads are built, children can read, then jobs and prosperity will follow.

I went to the Convent of the Sacred Heart for four years. It was interesting to me because, in a family where men were clearly favored over women, this was an atmosphere, a world, run by strong, determined, smart women in leadership, who had high expectations of the girls, and this tremendous sense of love and commitment to the wider world.

The iconic life of Nelson Mandela is testament to the fact that the road to freedom is quite often long and fraught with great personal sacrifice.

LGBT people are at the heart of President Vladimir Putin's crackdown on democracy.

Forgiveness is a gift, and central to faith.

I grew up outside of Washington D.C., a town in which the largest industry is government and in which almost everyone I knew was involved in creating policies which impact people across our country and around the globe.

Hate is a learned reaction, and it can be unlearned.

I first went to Haiti in 1979. I've gone back every few years since.

The fact is, human rights victories are rarely won by powerful governments or well-armed militaries. More often than not, these battles are led by individuals and small groups of people determined to overcome wrong. Think King, Gandhi, Mandela.

I've learned powerful lessons about the nature of forgiveness from human rights defenders. For example, for the greater good of his country, Kofi Woods emerged from a torture chamber in Liberia to later defend the very men who had brutalized him.

A mentor is someone with a willingness to help others, who has a capacity to inspire, a determination to work hard, a clear sense of vision, an inspiring purpose, a deep sense of integrity and an appreciation for joy.

Dr. King gave his life to peace and justice and reconciliation between people, black and white, rich and poor, and he was a great hero for not only people who were oppressed in our country but for people who believed in justice both here and around the world.

I appreciate that Marco Rubio has called for immigration reform but he goes back and forth on it a little bit.

My father loved democracy. He loved the ancient Greeks because they invented democracy, and he shared their contempt for those who refused to participate in the political process.