Caroline Kennedy speaks about the JFK legacy

WELCOME BACK. WITH OUR NEXT NATIONAL TODAY, NEXT MONDAY MAY 29. IT'S MEMORIAL DAY BUT IT'S ALSO SOMETHING MORE. THIS IS WHAT PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY'S 100TH BIRTHDAY WOULD HAVE BEEN. A GREAT MOMENT FOR THOSE WHO COME ADMIRE THE YOUNGEST MAN ELECTED TO THE POSITION OF PRESIDENT, AND A MAN WHO ONLY SERVED 1,037 DAYS DUE TO THAT TRAUMATIC AFTERNOON IN DALLAS IN 1963. JFK'S LEGACY IS STILL ALIVE AND ANOTHER TALK ABOUT THAT LEGACY IS CAROLINE KENNEDY, FORMER DAUGHTER OF JOHN F. KENNEDY AND FORMER AMBASSADOR TO JAPAN. WELCOME. THANK YOU. THERE IS A VIDEO MESSAGE TO COMMEMORATE THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY WITH HIS CHILDREN, JFK'S ONLY GRANDCHILDREN.

YOU'RE THANKING US FOR THIS FIRST LOOK, SO WHY DON'T WE SHOW THIS VIDEO AND THEN WE CAN TALK ABOUT IT LATER. GOOD. IT WOULD BE MY FATHER'S 100TH BIRTHDAY. I HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT HIM AND MISS HIM EVERY DAY OF MY LIFE. GROWING UP WITHOUT HIM WAS EASIER THANKS TO ALL THE PEOPLE WHO KEPT HIM IN THEIR HEARTS, WHO TOLD ME THAT HE INSPIRED THEM TO WORK AND FIGHT AND BELIEVE IN A BETTER WORLD, TO GIVE SOMETHING BACK TO THIS COUNTRY THAT HAS GAVE SO MUCH. I REMEMBER HIDING UNDER THE OVAL DESK IN MY FATHER'S OFFICE WHEN I WAS LITTLE AND SITTING IN HIS LAB AT THE HONEY FITZ.

HE WAS POINTING TO ME THE WHITE SHARK AND THE PURPLE SHARK EVEN THOUGH I COULD NEVER SEE THEM. HE MADE HIS FRIENDS THROW THEIR SOCKS OVERBOARD, WHICH I LOVED. PRESIDENT KENNEDY INSPIRED A GENERATION THAT TRANSFORMED AMERICA. THEY MARCHED FOR JUSTICE. THEY SERVED IN THE PEACE CORPS, IN THE INTERIOR CITIES AND IN THE OUTER SPACE. HIS BROTHERS DID THAT WORK FIGHTING AGAINST POVERTY, VIOLENCE AND WAR, DEFENDING HUMAN RIGHTS, HEALTH CARE AND IMMIGRATION. AS MY FATHER SAID IN HIS INAUGURAL SPEECH, THIS WORK WILL NOT BE FINISHED IN OUR LIFETIME. TO US TO CONTINUE TRANSMITTING THESE VALUES TO OUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN.

ONE OF THE DEFINING RELATIONSHIPS IN MY LIFE IS WITH SOMEONE I NEVER KNEW, MY GRANDFATHER, PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY. IT'S A LITTLE STRANGE TO BE CONNECTED WITH SOMEONE YOU DON'T KNOW, ESPECIALLY WHEN EVERYONE ELSE HAS ACCESS TO MUCH OF THE SAME INFORMATION ABOUT THEM AS YOU DO. THROUGHOUT MY LIFE I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO CONNECT WITH MY GRANDFATHER THROUGH THE STUDY OF HISTORY WHICH I KNOW HE LOVED. BOTH STUDYING HIS LIFE AND THE ERAS AND PATTERNS THAT FASCINATED HIM. FOR ME IT IS WHERE HE LIVES, AS A HISTORICAL CHARACTER ROOTED IN THE PAST BUT ALSO AS A PERSON CONNECTED TO MUCH OF WHAT COMES AFTER HIM, HIS WRITINGS AND THE STORIES MY RELATIVES HAVE TOLD ME.

BUT ALTHOUGH MY GRANDFATHER HAD REVERANCE FOR THE PAST AND THE LESSONS IT COULD TELL, HE ALSO KNEW THAT THE UNITED STATES WAS A COUNTRY WHERE CHANGE WAS POSSIBLE. WE ARE NOT BOUND ONLY TO TRADITION IF WE UNDERSTAND THE PAST WITH WHICH WE ARE BREAKING. I AM INSPIRED BY MY GRANDFATHER'S SENSE OF EQUALITY, HIS COURAGE IN DECLARING INJUSTICES IN AMERICAN SOCIETY, AND HIS CALL TO ACTION. YOUR WORDS AND YOUR IDEALS MEAN A LOT TO ME AND THE WORLD WE LIVE IN TODAY, BUT WE STILL FACE TREMENDOUS INEQUALITY AND INJUSTICE FROM THE RIGHT TO VOTE TO OUR CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM AND MASS INCARCERATION.

MY GRANDFATHER WOULD BE PROUD OF HOW FAR WE HAVE COME AS A NATION SINCE 1963, BUT HE WOULD HAVE BEEN THE FIRST TO TELL US THAT WE HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO. I HOPE EVERYONE, REGARDLESS OF AGE OR PARTY, REMEMBER WHEN PRESIDENT KENNEDY TOLD AMERICA DECADES AGO THIS. THE NATION WAS FOUNDED BY MANY NATIONS AND ORDERS, IT WAS FOUNDED ON THE PRINCIPLE THAT ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL AND THE RIGHTS OF EACH MAN ARE DIMINISHED WHEN A MAN'S RIGHTS ARE THREATENED. PRESIDENT KENNEDY WAS ELECTED ON A PLATFORM OF CHALLENGES AND NOT PROMISES, NOT BECAUSE OF WHAT HE WOULD OFFER TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AS PRESIDENT BUT WHAT HE WOULD ASK OF THEM.

MY FAVORITE PEACH IS THE ONE PRESIDENT KENNEDY GIVES AT RICE UNIVERSITY, WHERE HE DEFENDS SENDING A MAN TO THE MOON. HE SAID THAT CHALLENGE WAS WORTH IT NOT BECAUSE IT WOULD BE EASY BUT BECAUSE IT WOULD BE VERY DIFFICULT. MY GENERATION Will inherit a complicated world with countless unsolved problems. CLIMATE CHANGE IS ONE OF THEM, BUT IT'S THE KIND OF CHALLENGE I THINK MY GRANDFATHER WOULD HAVE BEEN ENERGIZED AND Eager TO SOLVE. HE CARE DEEPLY ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, AND RECOGNIZES THAT ONLY IF THE UNITED STATES LEADS THE WORLD IN SOLVING GLOBAL PROBLEMS CAN WE MAKE SURE IT IS DONE RIGHT.

FROM THAT SPEECH AT RICE AND THE SPACE PROGRAM IT HELPED LAUNCH, WE CAN LEARN A SIMPLE BUT IMPORTANT LESSON. THE GREAT CHALLENGES ARE OPPORTUNITIES, AND IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF EACH GENERATION TO FACE THOSE CHALLENGES WITH THE SAME COMBINATION OF ENERGY, FAITH AND DEVOTION THAT PRESIDENT KENNEDY AND HIS CONTEMPORARY GUYS DEMONSTRATED DECADES AGO. WE KNOW THE TASK BUT WE HAVE TO DEMAND ACTION FROM OUR LEADERS AND WE HAVE TO VOTE. AS HIS FAMILY, WE ARE VERY PROUD OF WHAT MY FATHER STAND FOR DURING HIS LIFE AND HOW POWERFUL THOSE VALUES REMAIN TODAY. I HOPE THAT THESE REFLECTIONS ON THE LIFE OF PRESIDENT KENNEDY AND HIS INFLUENCE ON THOSE OF US WHO SHARE HIS LEGACY ENCOURAGE PEOPLE ALL OVER THE UNITED STATES TO CONSIDER THE CHALLENGES IN THEIR OWN CORNER OF THE WORLD AND TO SEEK SOLUTIONS THAT HEAL, UPLIFT THE FORGOTTEN AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF OTHERS.

THANKS FOR WATCHING. POWERFUL VIDEO. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR SHARING WITH US. WE REALLY APPRECIATE IT IN HIM. THANK YOU. I THINK IT WAS A LABOR OF LOVE FOR ME AND MY CHILDREN, AND I THINK EACH ONE SPEAKS VERY ELOQUENTLY ABOUT WHAT THIS LEGACY MEAN TO THEM. WHY A VIDEO FORMAT AS A WAY TO COMMEMORATE? I mean, obviously, your dad's 100th birthday is coming up on Monday. I'M SURE THERE WERE MANY PEOPLE WHO WANTED YOU TO GO TALK, THEY WANTED YOUR CHILDREN TO TALK. WELL, AS HE BECOME A PART OF THE STORY, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO SHOW WHAT HE STILL MEAN TO US AS A PERSON, AND I THINK...

I THINK EACH OF MY CHILDREN HAD A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT TAKE, BUT THERE'S ONE THERE'S A LOT OF EMOTION THERE, AND I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY SOMETHING WE COULD SHARE BETTER ON CAMERA. I LOVE THAT STORY OF YOUR DAD TELLING YOU ABOUT THE WHITE SHARK AND THE PURPLE SHARK FOLLOWING YOU AND MAKING HIS FRIENDS THROW SOCKS. IT'S A BIG CUCKED DAD JOKE. BUT I'M WONDERING TO HEAR IT THAT IT'S HARD THAT YOUR DAD IS THIS ICON THAT THE REST OF US FEEL LIKE WE HAVE A MEANING AND WE HAVE A MEANING, AND HE'S PART OF OUR LIVES IN A WAY, AND YOU REALLY KNEW HIM?

WELL, I REALLY THINK HE, GROWING UP, WAS PART OF EVERYONE'S LIVES, AND THAT WAS SOMETHING VERY SPECIAL AND UNIQUE TO ME, BUT I THINK HE REALLY MEAN A LOT, AND I THINK HE DID. IT'S A LOT EASIER, AND I HAD A LOT OF RELATIVES OBVIOUSLY TOO, SO THE FACT THAT PEOPLE WOULD COME UP TO ME EVERY DAY AND SAY, YOU KNOW, I GOT INVOLVED IN MY COMMUNITY BECAUSE OF YOUR FATHER'S INAUGURATIONAL SPEECH, AND Even when I was in Japan, people still told me that they had memorized that speech, that they were so inspired by President Kennedy's vision of service and American leadership that I think that really kept it alive.

NOT MUCH WILL HAVE INAUGURATIVE SPEECHES THAT PEOPLE STILL QUOTE. CORRECT, THAT IS, WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT YOURSELF. WHY WAS IT IMPORTANT TO HAVE CHILDREN? WE DON'T SEE ROSE, TATTIANA AND JACK, YOU KNOW, THEY ARE... THEY ARE PRIVATE FIGURES. WELL, I THINK THE POINT HERE IS THAT: THAT HE IS A HISTORICAL FIGURE. 100 YEARS IS REALLY A LONG LONG TIME, BUT I BELIEVE THAT HIS LEGACY AND HIS VALUES ARE ETERNAL AND LIVE, AND WE WANT TO ENCOURAGE YOUNG PEOPLE TODAY WHO ARE STILL VERY CURIOUS ABOUT PRESIDENT KENNEDY TO CONNECT WITH THOSE VALUES, TO CONNECT WITH HIS MESSAGE OF JUSTICE AND SERVICE AND VALUE, AND THEREFORE, INNOVATION AND EXPERIMENTATION AND BELIEF IN AMERICA, SO I THINK THEY ARE THE BEST PEOPLE TO CARRY THAT MESSAGE INTO THE 21ST CENTURY.

YOUR DAUGHTER, I THINK IT WAS ROSE, SAID -- OR MAYBE IT WAS TATIANA, ACTUALLY, WHO GROWING UP NEVER KNEW HIM, SO I LEARNED ABOUT HIM THE SAME WAY I LEARNED ABOUT HIM IN SCHOOL. WHAT DID YOUR CHILDREN ASK YOU ABOUT HIM WHEN THEY WERE GROWING UP? I CAN'T -- WELL, THEY'RE OLDER NOW SO I THINK THEY WERE BOTH INTERESTED IN SOMETHING THAT I REMEMBER WERE MOSTLY CHILDHOOD MEMORIES, SO WHEN I WAS LITTLE WE COULD TALK ABOUT THOSE THINGS AND HIDING UNDER THE DESK AND MY PONY OR MY PETS AND I KNOW WHEN MY UNCLE TEDDY CAME TO SPEAK TO THEIR CLASSES HE ALWAYS TALKED ABOUT ALL THE PETS THAT HAD LIVED IN THE WHITE HOUSE, THINGS LIKE THAT, BUT AS THEY GREW UP I THINK THEY GOT REALLY INTERESTED IN THE ISSUES AND THE RELEVANCE TODAY.

MANY OF THE ISSUES THAT ARE NOW MAKING THE HEADLINES HAD THEIR ROOTS IN THE 1960S, WHETHER WORKING THROUGH MULTI-LUT RALL INSTITUTIONS LIKE THE UN OR THE ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT AND... AND CIVIL RIGHTS OBVIOUSLY INSPIRING THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT CIVIL RIGHTS AROUND THE WORLD, SO I THINK IT REALLY IS: STUDYING HISTORY IS REALLY NOT ABOUT THE PAST, IT'S ABOUT WHAT KIND OF WORLD WE WANT TO CREATE FOR THE FUTURE. YOUR DAD WAS SO KNOWLEDGEABLE AND PROUD OF HIS WITNESS, DO YOU THINK HE WOULD BE IN POLITICS TODAY? IT MAY BE DIFFICULT. WELL, I THINK, AGAIN, AND I WENT BACK AND LOOKED AT HIS SPEECH THAT HE GAVE JUST BEFORE HE WAS PRESIDENT AND HE SAID HISTORY WILL JUDGE US BY FOUR QUALITIES, COURAGE, DEDICATION, QUALITY AND JUDGMENT, SO I THINK THAT'S HOW HE WOULD JUDGE THE POLITICS TODAY, AND I THINK EVERYONE CAN MAKE THEIR OWN OPINION.

YOU DON'T DO MANY INTERVIEWS LIKE THIS ABOUT YOUR FATHER. IS IT DIFFICULT TO DO? WELL, IT'S... IT'S MUCH EASIER TO DO WITH MY CHILDREN, AND I THINK I'M VERY PROUD THAT THEY'RE PROUD OF THEIR LEGACY, AND I THINK HAVING THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE IT WITH THEM AND WITH ANOTHER GENERATION MAKES IT -- IT MAKES IT MUCH MORE FUN OR ENJOYABLE. WELL, IT'S AN INSPIRING LEGACY AND AN HONOR THAT YOU HAD HERE TO TALK TO US ABOUT THAT. THANK YOU. THAT'S ALL FOR "THE