Jackson Center to Offer Program and Exhibit on Senator Charles Goodell
Robert H. Jackson Center
JAMESTOWN, N.Y. --- The Robert H. Jackson Center, a non-profit dedicated to promoting liberty under law through the examination of the life and work of Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson and its relevance to current events and issues, is making preparations for a program and exhibit honoring the life of the late Jamestown native Charles E. Goodell, a former U.S Senator from New York and Congressman representing New York’s 38th and 43rd congressional districts. Jackson Center President and CEO Susan Moran Murphy made the announcement.
An inaugural event will take place at the Jackson Center, located at 305 E. 4th Street, on Sunday, August 12. It will begin with a tribute program at 4:00pm, followed by a public reception and viewing of the exhibit, entitled “A Model for Courage: The Life of Charles E. Goodell.” “The Jackson Center is excited about this opportunity to debut the first extensive exhibit honoring the life of Charles Goodell,” said Murphy. “We are extremely grateful to the Goodell family for their assistance in this project and look forward to sharing it with our Jamestown community. The exhibit will, undoubtedly, continue to inspire all who visit the Jackson Center from across the region and around the world.”
September 10th marks the 50th anniversary of Goodell’s appointment to the U.S. Senate to the fill the unexpired term of Robert F. Kennedy who was assassinated in June 1968. Prior to his appointment, Goodell had served as a U.S. Congressman representing the Jamestown area since 1959. Goodell made headlines as the first U.S. Senator to propose legislation calling for the withdrawal of troops from the Vietnam War, ostracizing him from many of his fellow Republican Party members. President Richard Nixon refused to endorse him, instead subtly supporting Conservative Party candidate James L. Buckley, who defeated Goodell and Democratic challenger, Richard Ottinger in a three-way race in 1970. He returned to public life in 1974 as chairman of President Gerald R. Ford’s Clemency Board. Upon his passing in 1987, then Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan remarked, “I have not known a finer member of Congress.”
Goodell’s legacy lives on today through his five sons, including Jackson Center board member Timothy Goodell and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. "On behalf of our family, we are so thankful to the Jackson Center for honoring our father, Charles Goodell,” said Timothy Goodell, who serves as senior vice president, general counsel and secretary of Hess Corporation. “Our father had great respect for Justice Jackson and it has been our pleasure to assist in connecting their shared hometown legacies.”
"Our dad dedicated his life to public service and to the people he represented,” said Roger Goodell, who has served as Commissioner of the NFL since 2006. “At a very young age, my four brothers and I learned the importance of integrity, character, and standing up for what is right, no matter the cost. His legacy continues to inspire us all to this day and we are looking forward to the event on August 12.”
Admission is free for the program and reception. See www.roberthjackson.org /events for details about the exhibit and the August 12 tribute program.
The Robert H. Jackson Center is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization that envisions a global society where the universal principles of equality, fairness and justice prevail. The Center invites and engages students of all ages, scholars, educators, national officials and international dignitaries to analyze contemporary issues of peace and justice through the lens of Justice Jackson’s body of work.