Educational Media Reviews Online

South Africans still treat the name of Robert F. Kennedy with a tremendous amount of reverence, owed to the then-Senator’s 1966 tour of South Africa. In 1965, National Union of South African Students (NUSAS) president Ian Robertson decided to reach outside the country for support in the movement against apartheid. By inviting Kennedy, a youthful, vital proponent of civil rights, he thereby hoped to capture national and international appeal. This film not only chronicles the events of the tour, but looks into the backdrop of apartheid. It also explores the analogous race-driven strife in the United States in the mid-1960s, just as Kennedy did in numerous speeches in South Africa. The film is replete with film clips of Kennedy’s speeches, as well as personal accounts of segregation, relocation, and censorship in South Africa. The film expands upon the planning of speeches, the often brazen choices of venues, and the political pressures that shaped Kennedy’s impact on this nation. It also includes a selection of brief biographies of South African activists.

The distinctive feature of this outstanding work is the exposition of the powerful substance and craftsmanship of Kennedy’s discussions and speeches. Not only were these speeches politically potent, but they were delivered with rhetorical skill and passion. The film concludes with a silent view of RFK’s grave in Arlington National Cemetery. The grave displays an engraved portion of Kennedy’s “ripples of hope” speech, from which the film takes its title.

Not only is the content of this film enlightening and stirring, it is also masterfully delivered. The audience gains perspective on the practice of apartheid, gains a true understanding of Kennedy’s brilliant skill as an orator, and learns his beliefs on race relations. It is the pervasive intertwining of these major themes that makes this film remarkable.