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U.S. NEWS & WI..cLD REPORT • RNpPEW PiVEn-RCf~.WE6PWP j~ asked to work on [he fateful _ ~ _ ~ ~ - article through the summer. --R ~ "Eunice ran rt like acam- ~I ~ paign." he says. "There was a brain trust of experts at the i ready, and she kept piling - , boxes near me of material to / ytp ~ cram into the piece. Every- - body was really nervous about the piece. But she was deter- mined to knock down all [he competitor afflictions when it ••"'r- •`.--4; - came to getting government ~ '-t ~ ~ funding." In August, Gelman ~ ~rp~'1`. ~ watched as President Kenne- dy speed-read through his ' yt _ ° - . ~ • copy, offered a few sugges- - - _ ~ ` ~ [ions and gave hIS blessing. ~y A goal realized. As Eunice Iwr~Jl~, 4 ~ . _ Shriver predicted, the change . in public and scientific atti- - , . tudes prompted by the article _ --M1~`!"'• and the work of the presiden- _ : '~,l^~ • • - . the next generation, the Kenr - _ ~ ~ nedys' goal-to bring [he re- _ _ tarded into the mainstream _ of American life-has been largely realized. Research breakthroughs on the causes of retardation and beneficial educational programs have Crusader. Shriver helped create the Special Olympics to bring the retarded into the mainstream. proliferated, thanks to the funding tautiched in the Ken- deputy special counsel Myer Feldman [o thought retardation was best addressed nedy administration. American life and work with Eunice and the panel. as a genetic and prenatal problem, and [he lives of [he retarded have been incal- Eunice Shriver was clearly the com- their "sofr" colleagues, who favored an culably enriched by the drive to bring mander of [he administration effort. emphasis on education [o help improve [he retarded into full participation in When her friend and panel member the lives of retarded people. She also communities, schools and workplaces. Robert E. Cooke suggested the creation helped arrange the necessary support The spinoffs from these first efforts of new university-affiliated research can- from congressional leaders, although are equally impressive. The family cam- ters,she stuck it in [he final plan. She and that [ask was no[ very difficult: Most paign [o bring the retarded out of [he Feldman helped broker disputes on the knew that the president cared deeply closet, including the Shrivers' creation panel between the "hard" scientists, who about the issue. JFK even broke away of the widely hailed Special Olympics. ~P~aE~N~ from one of the emergency meet- was a precursor of the larger disability ings on the Cuban missile crisis on rights movement. And Sargent Shriver 'F• Oct. 15, 1962, to receive [he panel's says his inspiration to create [he much report. (More than 70 percent of admired Head Start program for disad- ' its 112 recommendations were vantaged children came from his famil- eventually implemented.) iarity with research [ha[ early-interven- As political leaders began [o tion educational efforts could raise the ~ ~ change their thinking, Eunice felt IQs of [he retarded. the public still lagged behind. She When the full judgment of the Ken- and her husband, Sargent Shriver, nedy legacy is made-including JFK's persuaded the Advertising Coun- Peace Corps and Alliance for Progress, cil to devise newspaper anti maga- Robert Kennedy's passion for civil zine ads in early 1962. Bu[ she rights and Ted Kennedy's efforts on thought the single most powerful health care, workplace reform and refu- act tocapture public attention was gees-the changes wrought by Eunice [he revelation about Rosemary. Shriver may well he seen as the most Journalist David Gelman was conseyuential. With a lot of help from her very powerful brother Jack and in- A~1lLL1fi{FasleeeedMri+aiar spiration from her powerless sister fiiad ~ YwLde per, l~l M Rosemary, Eunice Shriver helped move ~p~, g¦ n was the nation for good and for all. ¦ Rorei.ery b kwp W ~Itli ike otliaES. BY HnRRISON RA[NIk: WITH KATIA HE7-FER US.NEws & WORLD REPORT. NOVEMBER 15.1993 47