Ever since a childhood diagnosis that resulted in the amputation of a limb, Ted Kennedy, Jr., has been an advocate for the civil rights of people with disabilities.
Kennedy’s involvement in the disability rights movement began when he was appointed to the President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities under President Ronald Reagan, and he has spent his career fighting to expand job opportunities for people with disabilities both as a lawyer and a state senator.
However, Kennedy’s story is just one branch of a family tree that has supported many arms of the disability community over the years. The Kennedy family’s connection to the cause traces back to Rosemary Kennedy, who was born with an intellectual disability.
Since then, the Kennedy Foundation was established to improve the means by which society deals with disabilities, and Eunice Kennedy Shriver founded the world-renowned organization known as Special Olympics.
To this day, Anthony and Timothy Shriver uphold the legacy of both the Special Olympics and Best Buddies, and Kennedy’s role as the co-chair of the Disability:IN‘s Disability Equality Index is allowing him to address the systemic issues that are impeding the economic independence of disabled persons, particularly income inequality.
