The LBJ Library remembers Sargent Shriver, who passed away at the age of 95 on January 18, 2011. Shriver served as a Special Assistant to President Johnson and made invaluable contributions during the course of his tenure. Known as the force behind the “War on Poverty,” he was also the Director of the Peace Corps and created the Office of Economic Opportunity.
“Sargent Shriver could talk Eskimos into buying freezers,” said Lynda Johnson Robb after Shriver’s death. “It was that kind of energy that brought people to his side and helped further the causes dear to him and to my daddy. He was a great American.”
Meetingcredit: Yoichi Okamoto
Meetingcredit: Yoichi Okamoto
Ceremony for National Head Start Daycredit: Unknown
Johnson on Shriver
Listen to an audio clip of President Johnson describing the enormous contributions Sargent Shriver made to this country.
Shriver on Head Start
Listen to an audio clip of Sargent Shriver describing the need for the federal program, Head Start, on the day it was launched.