A phone interview with human rights activist Kerry Kennedy will take place during Advisory tomorrow, April 9, in room 308 addressing social justice and violence with a focus on gun control.
Kennedy, daughter of the late New York senator, attorney general and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, was invited by social studies teacher David Rapaport to speak to students in an interview over the phone.
Kennedy established the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights in 1988 and serves as its president. According to Rapaport, her experience and dedication to the field of human rights make Kennedy an appropriate speaker to address the recent debate on gun control.
“Kerry Kennedy has focused on causes of social justice that are important for students to confront,” Rapaport said. “Lately, a great deal of attention had been paid to gun violence. I’d like to make this the focus of the event with comments on her father’s legacy important for students to hear.”
Rapaport hopes that the speaker will impress a lasting lesson upon the students regarding violence and firearms.
“I hope that students will come to learn that violence is not a problem solving method,” Rapaport said. “The adherence to a strict view that the large amounts of unregulated and unneeded weaponry easily available to Americans could be a starting point for a change in policy about accessibility to guns without suitable protection for the general population. No one needs a machine gun to protect their home in the spirit of the 2nd Amendment.”