Home
Search transcripts:    Advanced Search
Notable New     Yorkers
Select     Notable New Yorker

Mary LaskerMary Lasker
Photo Gallery
Transcript

Part:         Session:         Page of 1143

and even that was trouble.

Well, we had the assurance then of federal money in February of '64, but it was still a most irksome and difficult thing to get money from businessmen, from foundations, from anybody. I had hoped for the support of both Robert Kennedy and Mrs. John F. Kennedy and from the Johnsons. But, strangely enough, this wasn't forthcoming. Mrs. Kennedy was in despair and sort of state of mind that made her unable to do anything about anything, and Bob Kennedy immediately wanted to get started with his brother's library and pretend that his brother had not been interested at all in the cultural center. Now, I had talked with his brother several times about the cultural center, and I knew that his brother was very interested in the cultural center and wanted to see it done. But something about, I suppose, the human equation--the ego sense of one's family--made it seem more important to him and to the rest of the family to raise money for the Library. So we had a meeting with the Kennedy family and they said that if we'd step aside and not do anything about raising money until the fall of '64 and let them raise money for the Library, they'd try to help us in the raising of the money later. As a matter of fact, in the very beginning Robert Kennedy was so hostile to the idea of the cultural center memorial in his brother's name that I was worried that he would do something to hurt the bill before it was passed, and I went to him





© 2006 Columbia University Libraries | Oral History Research Office | Rights and Permissions | Help