The Kennedys and the Promise of a Better Future for Those Living With Disabilities

heading outdoors and exploring all the possibilities of the season.

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Cornstarch.

Simply rub some cornstarch where the sand is sticking and it'll fall off with ease.

This works especially well between your fingers and toes.

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At the close of the 2019 visitor season, the JFK National Historic Site closed its doors.

The collections were safely secured, and the site prepared for an extensive facelift.

The plan involved the installation of an accessible visitor center, along with other much-needed

maintenance.

Originally set to begin in early 2020, unforeseen hurdles like the COVID-19 pandemic delayed

the work to 2022.

Now, in 2023, the work is finally reaching completion.

Since its opening in 1969, the site has undergone very few major renovations.

There was a significant structural project in 1986 involving repair of basement floors,

improving the exterior staircase, and the addition of a small visitor center and retail

shop in the basement of JFK's birthplace.

However, as years passed, this 1986 visitor center grew outdated and remained inaccessible

A change was due.

I'm Jason Epperson, and today on America's National Parks, we take you to the birthplace

of our 35th president, the John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site, preparing

for a grand reopening after several years of important renovations.

83 Beals Street, in the Coolidge Corner neighborhood of Brookline, Massachusetts, was purchased

by Joseph Patrick Kennedy Sr. in preparation for his marriage to Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald

on October 7, 1914.

The Kennedy family was the third owner of the house on Beals Street.

It was built in 1909, a period of rapid growth in Brookline, a suburb on the edge of Boston.

A few months after they were married, Joe Kennedy purchased a new Model T that he used

to commute to downtown, where he worked as the president of the Columbia Trust Bank.

Rose Kennedy would often walk from the Beals Street house down to the shopping district

in Coolidge Corner.

John and his sisters, Rosemary and Kathleen, were born in the upstairs master bedroom.

The family lived there until 1920, until they moved into a larger home just a few blocks

away.

The Kennedys sold the Beals Street house to Joe Kennedy's advisor, Edward Moore, and

his family.

The Kennedys lived in the neighborhood until 1927, when Joe's business interests prompted

the family's move to New York City.

Three years after the death of President Kennedy, the family repurchased the home.

From 1966 to 1969, Rose Kennedy restored it to her recollection of its 1917 appearance.

She wanted to restore the home to the hour of John's birth, but the home really paints

a picture of a typical American home, circa 1914 to 1920.

About a fifth of the artifacts are original to the Kennedy family, either used in the

Beals Street residence or in later homes and returned to Beals Street during the restoration.

In the course of her work on the restoration, the 1968 Architectural Barriers Act was passed,

or the ABA.

These laws required all buildings and facilities built or renovated with federal funds to be

accessible to and usable by people with disabilities.

Since the work on this site was completed through the generous donation of the Kennedy

family, the ABA laws did not apply, and even when the Visitor Center was installed in 1986,

accessibility concerns were not addressed.

And that's a shame because the Kennedy family is known to be a major advocate for people

with disabilities, with several members living with and experiencing physical and intellectual

disabilities firsthand.

President Kennedy himself dealt with lifelong chronic pain and poor physical health, even

if that wasn't his public image.

At the age of two, when he was still living in his birthplace home, he almost died of

scarlet fever.

Later it was discovered he had Addison's disease, which affected his adrenal glands, weakened

his immune system, and made him more prone to illness.

He also had a congenital back problem, and coupled with injuries sustained from athletics

during World War II, he underwent multiple back surgeries with extensive recovery periods.

Rosemary Kennedy, John's sister, was born with intellectual disabilities at a time when

people with disabilities were often sent to institutions or hidden from public view.

But the Kennedy family kept Rosemary at home and included her in family activities.

She was expected to be competitive and well-rounded like her siblings.

As a young girl, she was sent to the same public school as her older brother.

When it was clear that she was falling behind, her family hired tutors, coaches, and sent

her to private schools.

A privilege of being an affluent family, of course, most people can't afford such care.

As she entered her early 20s, her condition worsened, and her behavior became aggressive

and erratic.

To help their daughter, the Kennedys searched for solutions.

They learned of an experimental procedure called a lobotomy.

Assured by surgeons of the promise of a lobotomy's success to reduce depression and aggressiveness,

in November of 1941, Joe Kennedy arranged for the procedure.

It was immediately evident that it had failed, leaving Rosemary without most of her ability

to talk or walk.

She was then institutionalized for the rest of her life, receiving specialized attention,

but isolated from much of her family in the public eye.

Despite some narratives out there about the Kennedys and Rosemary, it's fairly clear

that she was deeply loved and was a direct influence on many of them to devote their

lives to the betterment of those born with disabilities.

Her sister Eunice was particularly close with Rosemary growing up and dedicated her life

and opportunities available to those living with disabilities.

In 1962, on behalf of the family, she publicly acknowledged Rosemary's disability for the

first time through a series of essays in the Saturday Evening Post.

She called for funding of medical research, job training, and group homes.

Believe it or not, this slate in American history is one of the first significant examples

of public advocacy for the rights of those with disabilities.

In 1961, Eunice Kennedy, now Eunice Shriver, opened Camp Shriver, a summer camp for children

living with intellectual disabilities.

With the support and funding of the Joseph Kennedy Jr. Foundation, she championed the

development of the Special Olympics, hosting the first games in 1968 in Chicago.

Eunice received various honors for her work, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom

in 1984 and a Papal Knighthood in 2006.

Although she was internationally recognized for her work with the disability community,

she was not the only Kennedy to fight for those issues.

In 1946, Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy founded the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation in memory

of their eldest son who had died in World War II.

The foundation supports academic research on intellectual and developmental disabilities

and is a lobbying agency on behalf of those living with them, and annually hosts international

awards, conferences, and events to promote the development of research.

President Kennedy himself made the rights of those with disabilities a priority for

his presidential administration.

In 1962, he established the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to research

all aspects of maternal and child health, including intellectual disabilities.

He appointed a 27-member panel of doctors, scientists, and others to create a plan to

address the possible cause of intellectual disabilities.

On February 5, 1963, Kennedy gave a special message to the Congress on Mental Illness,

which outlined the panel's more than 100 recommendations.

This included maternity and parental care, shifting care away from mental institutions

to community-centered agencies, and plans for the construction of research centers that

would include diagnostic, clinical, and treatment services.

He also emphasized the importance of special education, training, and rehabilitation.

President Kennedy enacted many of the panel's recommendations and provided funding for states'

intellectual disabilities programs, as well as maternity and infant care.

A second bill he signed funded construction of facilities to care for the disabled, research

and culture training.

President Johnson continued the Kennedy legacy through establishing the President's Committee

for People with Intellectual Disabilities in 1966, which still acts as an advisory board

to the Secretary of Health and Human Services today.

As the staff prepares to open the renovated John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic

Site, newly accessible restrooms await visitors, along with a staff bathroom, which will reduce

the wait time that visitors often experienced when only one single-stall restroom existed.

Visitors can also stay better hydrated with the installation of a water bottle fill.

Other improvements include upgraded storm drainage, carpet replacement, a freshly painted

interior and exterior, restoration of 40 historic windows and window sashes, replacement of

the wooden gutter system, repair of the roof overhang, cedar sidewall shingles, a skylight,

the porch roofing, flooring, and structural supports.

As the JFK National Historic Site reopens, the promise is clear, the commitment to increased

accessibility and inclusivity remains at the forefront.

This episode of America's National Parks was hosted by me, Jason Epperson.

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