Press Releases

The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum today announced that it will reopen to the public on weekends with reduced hours beginning Saturday, July 3. In appreciation of the significant sacrifices that were made by everyone over the past year to keep people safe, admission to the Museum will be free in July and August.

The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation today announced that Anna Dougherty, a sophomore at Paul VI High School in Haddonfield, New Jersey, has won the national John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Essay Contest for High School Students. The winning essay describes the political courage of Dana Redd, the first black woman to serve as mayor of Camden, New Jersey. Mayor Redd faced fierce opposition when she made the difficult decision to disband her city’s police force to form a county-run police department. Dougherty writes that by standing firm in her unpopular choice, Mayor Redd took personal and professional risks to make Camden safer for its residents. Dougherty concludes that Redd’s act of political courage benefitted the city of Camden, as crime rates decreased after the new country-run department was established.

The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation today announced that seven people who have risked their own health and safety to protect others during the COVID-19 pandemic will receive a special Profile in Courage Award this year.

Harris County, Texas Judge Lina Hidalgo will receive the John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award for her early and swift response to the COVID-19 pandemic to protect the nearly 5 million residents in Harris County, Texas. Hidalgo also expanded protections for the LGBTQ+ community, reformed the cash bail system, and organized new flood control policies in the wake of climate change increasing flood risks. Data for Black Lives (D4BL) founder Yeshimabeit Milner will also be honored with the New Frontier Award for her tireless efforts using data analysis to expose systematic racism faced by Black Americans in their daily lives.

Debut authors Kawai Strong Washburn and Ruchika Tomar won the 2021 and 2020 PEN/Hemingway Awards, honoring a distinguished first book of fiction, for their novels  Sharks in the Time of Saviors: A Novel (Macmillan) and A Prayer for Travelers (Riverhead).  Seán Hemingway, the grandson of Ernest Hemingway, will honor Kawai Strong Washburn and Ruchika Tomar on Sunday, April 11, in a virtual celebration hosted by the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, the world’s major repository of Ernest Hemingway’s personal papers. The winners will receive a cash prize underwritten by the Ernest Hemingway family and the Ernest Hemingway Foundation.  

The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation announced today that U.S Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) will receive the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for his historic vote to convict President Donald J. Trump in 2020 in the Presidential Impeachment Trial. Ambassador Caroline Kennedy and her son, Jack Schlossberg, will present the award as part of a virtual ceremony in May 2021.

While the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum remains closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Library offers several virtual family-oriented activities and programs throughout Presidents’ Day week.

Statement from JFK Presidential Library and Museum Executive Director Alan Price on the passing for Dan Fenn, former Staff Assistant to President Kennedy and first director of the JFK Library.

Statement from Caroline Kennedy and the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation on the Passing of Congressman John Lewis

The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum today announced a new advertising campaign that uses John F. Kennedy’s “New Frontier” speech, delivered sixty years ago today at the 1960 Democratic National Convention, to speak to the historic challenges facing our country and to inspire people to take an active role in shaping a better future for all.

Boston, MA – Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith was an inspiration and a role model for our family. She played a central role in the Irish Peace Process, was a longtime Trustee at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and carried forward our family’s work on behalf of people with intellectual disabilities as the founder of Very Special Arts.

The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation today announced a special Profile in Courage Award honoring those working on the frontline of the COVID-19 crisis. In a video message, Ambassador Caroline Kennedy and her son, Jack Schlossberg, invited members of the public to submit stories of people in their communities who are risking their own health to help heal the sick, protect our most vulnerable, and provide critical support services to citizens across the country. The Profile in Courage Award Committee will choose several of the nominations to represent the courage of all those on the frontline of the COVID-19 crisis at the Profile in Courage Award ceremony, which will be held when it is safe to gather in person.

Critically-acclaimed debut novelist Ruchika Tomar is the winner of the 2020 PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel, for A Prayer for Travelers (Riverhead), PEN America announced today. Honoring a distinguished first novel, the PEN/Hemingway Award includes a $25,000 prize intended to allow significant time and resources with which to pursue a subsequent work of fiction. The prize is underwritten by the Hemingway family and the Ernest Hemingway Foundation. Tomar will also receive a month-long Residency Fellowship at the Ucross Foundation in Wyoming, a retreat for artists and writers, valued at $10,000.  

Boston MA – As an update to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum’s March 14 announcement that two Library employees were potentially exposed to coronavirus, Library officials are pleased to report that neither employee has developed symptoms of the illness following a 14-day self-quarantine period ending today. The Library has been working with public health officials to ensure all proper health measures are taken and as an extra precaution, will complete a deep cleaning of its facilities already underway.