Washington, D.C. -The Robert F. Kennedy Memorial is pleased to announce the selection of Philip Drayís At the Hands of Persons Unknown: The Lynching of Black America and Samantha Powerís A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide as the winners of the 2003 Robert F. Kennedy Book Award. Selected from a field of over 80 nominees, these books represent both the domestic and international issues that were of paramount concern to Robert Kennedy.

Arthur Schlesinger, Co-chair of the RFK Book Award, noted, ìAt the Hands of Persons Unknown is an incisive and well-documented history of a profoundly disgusting chapter in the American past ñ the lynching of black Americans. Philip Dray places the terrible story in a larger cultural context and tells how reformers finally awakened the national conscience. A Problem from Hell is the curse of genocide that shadows and shames the contemporary world. Samantha Power challenges the international conscience by her compelling account of the horrors taking place while so many of us pass by on the other side of the road.î

Each year, the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial presents the Book Award to the author whose work reflects Robert Kennedyís concern for the oppressed; his commitment to justice, democracy and human rights; and his belief in the power of individuals to affect social change. Book Award Chairs Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. and John Seigenthaler, Sr. convened an independent and distinguished panel of judges including noted author and scholar, Annette Gordon-Reed; American Prospect editor, Robert Kuttner; award-winning author Jeff Norrell; and poet and activist Rose Styron.

Past winners of the RFK Book Award include Vice President Al Gore, Congressman John Lewis, Toni Morrison, Randall Kennedy, Neil Sheehan, Robert Coles, Anthony Lukas, Stephen B. Oates and Jonathon Kozol. The Robert F. Kennedy Book and Journalism Awards Ceremony is hosted annually by Freedom Forum, a non-partisan international organization dedicated to free press, free speech and free spirit for all people. Its headquarters are in Arlington, Virginia at Freedom Forum World Center. Mrs. Robert Kennedy will present awards to Philip Dray and Samantha Power at the May 6th ceremony.

Robert Kennedy's belief that individual action could overcome injustice and oppression continues to inspire generations to change the world. For more than three decades, the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial has been dedicated to furthering his legacy by working for social justice and human rights through its domestic and international programs.