RIP Senator Edward M Kennedy

We went to pay our respects to Senator Kennedy on Friday. I have to admit, I wasn't sure why, but it felt like the right thing to do. Neither of us had ever had any direct contact with him. I've made many calls to my Congressional representatives, but honestly never felt the need to call Senator Kennedy's office. I always assumed he would make the kinds of decisions that I would have asked him to make.

I am a policy researcher and social justice advocate. Kennedy's personal belief in civil rights, social justice, and expanded opportunities for poor people and immigrants matters less to me than what he did while he was a senator. So, I reviewed the history of legislation that Senator Kennedy either sponsored, negotiated, or voted for that directly impacted my life or that of my family. Here's the highlights of that list:

• 1964 Medicaid and Medicare Act - provided health care to me and my sisters throughout much of our childhood.

• 1964 Civil Rights Act - provided protections from discrimination in hiring, housing, and education so that me, my sisters, their children, and my parents had the opportunity to work, get an education, buy a house, and otherwise pursue our dreams.

• 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act - allowed for my mother to stay in this country and raise her 6 children and eventually obtain American citizenship; allowed my mother-in-law to stay in this country, eventually obtain citizenship, and raise the Good Mr. Dr.

• 1965 Voting Rights Act - provided protections that allowed people like us (poor and working class Latinos) the ability to participate in elections.

• 26th Amendment (1971) - allowed me and my sisters, and all of their children, and my husband the ability to vote on our 18th birthdays. One of my niece's first vote was for President Obama.

• 1972 Title IX (part of 1972 Education Amendments) - provided equal access to educational opportunities for girls, which allowed my husband's niece to play high school sports, my youngest sister and eldest niece to play in the high school band, and me to take AP courses.
  

• 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act - allowed my sister-in-law to have access to all the things that the rest of take for granted, like being able to safely enter and exit any public building.

• 1993 Family Medical Leave Act - allowed my sisters and nieces to take a few weeks to recover after giving birth without fear of losing their jobs.
  

• SCHIP (in the 1997 Balanced Budget Act) - provided health care to my niece and nephew during a time in which my sister could not afford to pay for private health care insurance.

Senator Kennedy fought repeated battles to increase the minimum wage, which we have all benefited from at some point in our lives.

Senator Kennedy was also a consistent supporter of increasing access to college. He wrote and supported bills that would increase federal grants (lessening the need for loans), increase access to federal student loans (lessening the reliance on the more expensive private loans), and provide loan forgiveness to those of us who entered public service. Were it not for these efforts, it would have taken much longer for me and the Good Mr. Dr to finish college and eventually earn our doctorates, if it would have even been possible. Senator Kennedy also fought to ensure that the most recent GI Bill included increased educational benefits for our soldiers and their spouses, much to benefit of two of my sisters and one of my nieces who are veterans, active duty soldiers, and/or spouses of active duty soldiers.

Senator Kennedy truly believed in social justice. But, more importantly, he made it his cause and acted on those beliefs. We could cry in our wine that there is no one available to continue to fight for the cause. Or each of us could look at the example that Kennedy provided, and continue the work he started.