"SOME PEOPLE WHO USED TO BE WITH SENATOR ROBERT KENNEDY WERE TAQLKING ABOUT HELPING THE POOR NEGRO WORKERS OF THE SOUTH…": TYPED LETTER SIGNED BY JACQUELINE KENNEDY THE MONTH AFTER RFK'S ASSASSINATION
KENNEDY, Jacqueline. Typed letter signed. No place: July 25, 1968. Single sheet of cream letterhead stationary (measures 6 by 9-inches). $7000.
A fascinating typed letter on Kennedy coat of arms letterhead, signed by Jacqueline Kennedy to one of her favorite artists and designers, Leslie Tillet, where she speaks of Robert McNamara, Robert Kennedy, and civil rights efforts to aid African Americans. The letter is especially momentous in that it is dated by her the month after the assassination of Robert Kennedy, and three months after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
This rare July 25, 1968 typed letter signed by Jacqueline Kennedy is on Kennedy coat of arms letterhead, and is addressed by her in her elegant cursive: "Dear M. Tillett." The recipient was highly regarded artist Leslie Tillett. One of Mrs. Kennedy's favorite designers, "her bedroom when she was first lady featured a Tillett print on the curtains and elsewhere" (New York Times). In the letter, she writes of potential philanthropic efforts to assist African Americans, particularly those that might involve Robert McNamara, who became president of the World Bank that April after serving as both President Kennedy and President Johnson's Secretary of Defense. Mrs. Kennedy also speaks of Robert Kennedy, who was assassinated the month before the date of this letter. He had been strongly involved in passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which early prompted Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who was assassinated that April, to commend Robert Kennedy for his "able, courageous and effective work in guiding the Civil Rights Act of 1964 through both Houses of Congress" (Stanford University).
The text of the letter reads: "I finally had the occasion to give your papers to Mr. McNamara. He was most interested but I would not expect an immediate follow-through as I know all the World Bank problems in these places are so huge. They don't seem to have gotten down to details yet, but I know he will and that some good will come of it eventually. Some people who used to be with Senator Robert Kennedy were talking about helping the poor Negro workers in the South—using their skills (for making quilts, etc.) so that they could market their wares and make some money. Perhaps some time this fall we could talk about this, with you, as I am certain you would be a greater help than anyone. Sincerely," signed by Jacqueline Kennedy.
A distinctive signed letter in fine condition.