(Taken from Black Voices 8/26/09)
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, the last surviving brother in an enduring political dynasty and one of the most influential senators in history, died Tuesday night at his home on Cape Cod after a yearlong struggle with brain cancer. He was 77.
In nearly 50 years in the Senate, Kennedy, a liberal Democrat, served alongside 10 presidents - his brother John Fitzgerald Kennedy among them - compiling an impressive list of legislative achievements on health care, civil rights, education, immigration and more.
Kennedy was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor in May 2008 and underwent surgery and a grueling regimen of radiation and chemotherap y.
He made a surprise return to the Capitol last summer to cast the decisive vote for the Democrats on Medicare. He made sure he was there again last January to see his former Senate colleague Barack Obama sworn in as the nation's first black president, but suffered a seizure at a celebratory luncheon afterward.
He also made a surprise and forceful appearance at last summer's Democratic National Convention, where he spoke of his own illness and said health care was the cause of his life. His death occurred precisely one year later, almost to the hour.
He was away from the Senate for much of this year, leaving Republicans and Democrats to speculate about the impact what his absence meant for the fate of Obama's health care proposals.
""Every American should have the opporunity to receive a quality educaion, a job that respects their dignity, and proects their safety, healhcare that does not condemn those whose health is impaired to a lifetime of poverty and lost opporunity."'
Senator Kennedy
Senator Kennedy's website is allowing supporters like you and me to submit our memories of Senator Kennedy, and to express our sympathies with the Kennedy family. Selected memories will be displayed on TedKennedy.org.
I've already sent in my message. Will you send in your message too?
http://tedkennedy.org/pages/share_memories
Posted By: agnes levine
Wednesday, August 26th 2009 at 6:13PM
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