May 29th would be my father's 100th birthday.

I've thought about him and missed him every day of my life.

But growing up without him was made easier

thanks to all the people who kept him in their hearts,

who told me that he inspired them to work

and fight and believe in a better world.

To give something back to this country

that has given so much to so many.

I remember hiding underneath my father's Oval Office desk

when I was little, and sitting on his lap on the Honey Fitz.

He would point out the white shark and the purple shark

who always followed the boat, although I could never

quite see them.

He said they especially liked to eat socks,

and would have his friends throw their socks overboard,

which I loved.

President Kennedy inspireda generation

that transformed America.

They marched for justice, they served in the Peace Corps,

in the inner cities, in outer space.

His brothers carried on that work, fighting against poverty,

violence and war, championing human rights,

health care and immigration.

As my father said in his inaugural address,

this work will not be finished in our lifetime.

It's up to us to continue to pass these values on

to our children and grandchildren.

- One of the defining relationships

in my life is with someone I have never met.

My grandfather, President John F. Kennedy.

It's a little odd to be connected to someone you don't know,

especially when everyone else has access to much

of the same information about him that you do.

Throughout my life, I have been able to connect

with my grandfather through the study of history,

which I know he loved, both studying his life

and studying the eras and patterns that fascinated him.

To me, that is where he lives,

as a historical figure rooted in the past

but also as a person connected to so much

of what came after him, through his writings

and from the stories my relatives have told me.

But while my grandfather had reverence for the past

and the lessons it could impart, he also knew

that America was a country where change was possible,

where we aren't bound solely by tradition

if we understand the past with which we are breaking.

- I'm inspired by my grandfather's sense of equality,

his courage in naming the injustices in American society,

and his call for action.

His words and his ideals mean so much to me

and to the world we live in today.

But we are still faced with tremendous inequality

and injustice, from voting rights to our

criminal justice system and mass incarceration.

My grandfather would be proud of how far we've come

as a nation since 1963, but he'd have been the first

to tell us that we have a long way to go.

I hope everyone, regardless of age or party,

will remember what President Kennedy

told America decades ago.

This nation was founded by men

of many nations and backgrounds.

It was founded on the principle that all men

are created equal, and that the rights of every man

are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.

- President Kennedy was elected on a platform

of challenges and not promises.

Not for what he would offer the American people

as president, but what he would ask of them.

My favorite speech is the one that President Kennedy

gave at Rice University, where he makes the case

for sending a man to the moon.

He said that that challenge was worthwhile not because

it would be easy but because it would be so hard.

My generation will inherit a complicated world,

with countless unsolved problems.

Climate change is just one of them,

but it's the type of change I think my grandfather

would have been energized about and eager to solve.

He cared deeply about the environment,

about science and technology,

and he recognized that only if America leads the world

in solving global problems can we make sure

that it's done right.

From that speech at Rice, and from the space program

he helped launch, we can learn a simple

but important lesson, great challenges are opportunities,

and it is each generation's responsibility

to meet those challenges with the same combination

of energy, faith and devotion that President Kennedy

and his contemporaries displayed decades ago.

I know that we're up to the task,

but we have to demand action from our leaders,

and we have to vote.

- As his family, we're so proud of what my father

stood for during his life,

and how powerful those values remain today.

I hope that these reflections on President Kennedy's life

and his influence on those of us who share his legacy

will encourage people across the United States

to look at challenges in their own corner of the world

and seek solutions that heal,

lift up the forgotten and make a difference

in the lives of others.

Thanks for watching.