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Family Legacies

The children and grandchildren of public figures must deal with the actions or issues that made their relations famous. Some know this from an early age; others realize it only later. These pieces show how a few of those descendants are grappling with their sometimes complicated inheritances.
created by Kathryn Ostrofsky on March 28, 2024
Robert S. McNamara at a news conference in April 1966

Robert McNamara’s Son Reckons With a Legacy of Destruction

Craig McNamara’s family did not talk about the Vietnam War. He spent his life asking questions about it.
by Noah Kulwin via The New Republic on July 6, 2022
 
When a son knows at a young age that something is wrong with his parent's behavior.

The Broken Road of Peggy Wallace Kennedy

All white Southerners live with the sins of their fathers. But what if your dad was one of the most famous segregationists in history?
by Frye Gaillard via The Bitter Southerner on January 6, 2020
 
When a parent has become the symbol of past malevolence.
Patti Davis sits for a portrait with her pug, Lily, at her home.

For Years, the Reagans' Daughter Regretted Some Things She Wrote. Now She's at Peace.

Patti Davis has spent a lifetime chronicling her life with parents Ronald and Nancy Reagan. In a new book, 'Dear Mom and Dad,' she reckons with them as people.
by Mary McNamara via Los Angeles Times on February 6, 2024
 
When a daughter knows the gulf between a parent's public actions and private beliefs.
Ethel and Julius Rosenberg after their arrest in New York for espionage in 1950.

The Rosenbergs Were Executed For Spying in 1953. Can Their Sons Reveal The Truth?

The Rosenbergs were executed for being Soviet spies, but their sons have spent decades trying to clear their mother’s name. Are they close to a breakthrough?
by Hadley Freeman via The Guardian on June 19, 2021
 
When mystery still surrounds a parent's actions and reputation.
A black and white photograph of a person playing the guitar.

My Father, Cultural Appropriator

The daughter of Buddy Holly's bandmate reflects on the defensiveness some white people have about the roots of rock 'n' roll.
by Sarah Curtis via Los Angeles Review of Books on June 5, 2021
 
When studying a parent's legacy requires confronting difficult issues.
Green light in a dark sky.

On My Grandfather’s Novel: F. Scott Fitzgerald’s "The Great Gatsby" at 100

Reflections on the literary legacy of a timeless American novel.
by Eleanor Lanahan via Literary Hub on April 7, 2025
 
When a grandparent's work is required reading.
Children at the Oakland Community School, 1973.

What Happens When the U.S. Declares War on Your Parents?

The Black Panthers shook America before the party was gutted by the government. Their children paid a steep price, but also emerged with unassailable pride.
by Ed Pilkington via The Guardian on March 25, 2025
 
When parents are revolutionaries first and parents second — putting a target on their backs.
Black and white image of two women, one Black and one white, greeting each other with children in the background.

As One of the First White Kids in a Black School, I Learned Not to Fear History

Today, some Virginians would ‘protect’ children from the kind of valuable education that I had when my dad was governor.
by Woody Holton via Washington Post on November 12, 2021
 
When a child is among the first to be affected by legislation enacted by a parent.
Riesman giving fundraising speech

My Grandfather the Zionist

He helped build Jewish American support for Israel. What’s his legacy now?
by Abraham Josephine Riesman via Intelligencer on June 23, 2021
 
When a grandchild struggles to understand the flaws of a grandparent who is gone.
Margie Burkhart

The Enduring Family Trauma Behind ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’

The murders of her Osage relatives for their oil wealth still reverberate in the life of Margie Burkhart, granddaughter of a central character in the new movie.
by Sydney Trent via Retropolis on October 20, 2023
 
When Hollywood makes a blockbuster film about a grandparent's murder.
New York state legislator George Michaels thinks hard at his desk

Revisiting New York’s Historic Abortion Law in “Deciding Vote”

Jeremy Workman and Robert Lyons’s film reconstructs the passage of a 1970 law that made the state a sanctuary for people seeking abortions.
by Robert Lyons, Jeremy Workman, Linnea Feldman Emison via The New Yorker on November 29, 2023
 
When a parent isn't famous at all, because he chose his conscience over his career.
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