Standing for Peace
"I've been terribly concerned about the graphic display of violence... and I plead for your protection and support of your young children."
- Fred Rogers 1968 (Robert F. Kennedy Assassination Special)
- Fred Rogers 1968 (Robert F. Kennedy Assassination Special)
Mister Rogers' Neighborhood launched soon after the January 1968 Tet Offensive shocked Americans. Today it seems prophetic that Rogers devoted the inaugural week to war and peace. |
Antiwar sentiment was clear as Daniel Striped Tiger released peace balloons across King Friday's militarized castle grounds in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe. After assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy, Rogers appealed to adults to protect children from the barrage of violent news. |
"His legacy will be that he made millions of children feel safe and comforted in a time when so much of the bombardment of the media is overwhelming... For everything that we all agree is bad about television... he was the good of it. Nothing is as bad as he was good."
- Linda Ellerbee, creator of Nick News 2003 (qtd. in Mister Rogers & Me)
- Linda Ellerbee, creator of Nick News 2003 (qtd. in Mister Rogers & Me)
Banner Image: Assassination of MLK, Lorraine Motel, Memphis Apr. 4, 1968 (Getty Images/Joseph Louw)