Eunice Kennedy Shriver, 88, died this morning, and if you know nothing else about the Shriver family, know that she and her husband Sargent were two people who moved the world to action in ways that were, and are still, powerfully monumental. Their achievements and accomplishments go largely under the radar.
As a society, we tend to lose track of our progressive giants until they pass. Quite a commentary on our collective memory.
Were it not for Eunice and Special Olympics, the "hide-them-away", "put them in an institution" demeanor of the mentally and developmentally disabled might not have changed in the eyes of the general public.
Were it not for Eunice, my Down Syndrome affected nephew, now 37, would not have had the joy of participating in a race on a track as an athlete in full flight towards the tape, or learned that jumping can be joyfully performed in a sandpit, where they measure how far you can fly. I can't put into words the picture memory I have of the widest grin I have ever seen on person's face - the actual Polaroid taken at the time is long lost, sadly. But he would never have experienced such joy at all had it not been for the Special Olympics.
A longtime advocate for children's health and disability issues, Shriver was a key founder of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), a part of the National Institutes of Health, in 1962, and has also helped to establish numerous other health-care facilities and support networks throughout the country.
In 1968, Shriver founded the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Center for Community of Caring at The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah.
She was awarded the nation's highest civilian award, the (U.S.) Presidential Medal of Freedom, in 1984 by U.S. President Ronald Reagan, because of her work on behalf of those with mental retardation.
Charity work and awards, wikipedia Eunice Kennedy Shriver
I should pack this diary with links to Eunice's accomplishments. And perhaps paint a broader picture of Sargent's stature as leader of so many progressive organizations that he germinated and nurtured through both the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. With Eunice at his side.
Shriver founded numerous social programs and organizations, including Head Start, VISTA, Job Corps, Community Action, Upward Bound, Foster Grandparents, Special Olympics, Legal Services, the National Clearinghouse for Legal Services (now the Shriver Center), Indian and Migrant Opportunities and Neighborhood Health Services, and directed the Peace Corps. Shriver also ran the War on Poverty during Johnson's tenure as president. He was such an effective leader, that Job Corps and Adams and Associates dedicated a Center to his name in 1999. The Job Corps Center (Shriver Job Corps) is located in Devens, Massachusetts.
Political activism, wikipedia Sargent Shriver
However, this is a diary of thanks to fine person and not a research diary. Thanks to someone who rather quietly (in comparison to her other, more visibly famous siblings) changed the face of millions of disabled citizens. Men and women, girls and boys, who needed a chance to compete, to belong, to thrive, to achieve, to succeed, to win. To be special in an important way.
Thank you Eunice. Good night and godspeed.
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