An environmental journalist, Schlossberg had also joined her mother in supporting the work of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.
“We remember Tatiana who served on the board of this library and represented everything my parents stood for in her beautiful, amazing, and too short life,” Kennedy, her voice seeming to falter, told the gathering at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Dorchester.
Kennedy, a former US Ambassador to Japan and Austrailia, is the last surviving child of President John F. Kennedy and the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Her brother, John F. Kennedy Jr., died in a plane crash in 1999 off Martha’s Vineyard.
Tatiana Schlossberg had two young children, Edwin and Josephine, with her husband, George Moran. She was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia shortly after giving birth to her daughter in May 2024.
Kennedy also recognized her son, Jack Schlossberg, a Democratic candidate for New York’s 12th Congressional District. She thanked him for his commitment to the foundation and praised him for spending more than a decade helping introduce his grandfather’s legacy to new generations.
“I’m so proud of him for allowing thousands of people to live in politics again and I know my father would be too,” she said.
Schlossberg, who is seeking the New York congressional seat set to be vacated by longtime Democratic Representative Jerry Nadler, also serves on the Profile in Courage Award Committee. Introducing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, he praised the award recipient’s steadfast leadership and commitment to protecting democratic institutions.
But he didn’t forget to thank his mother, Caroline.
“She has taught me how to handle life’s challenges with grace and determination and she has done so much for this library,” he said.
The John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award is presented annual by the JFK Library Foundation to public servants for individuals who make bold decisions, despite personal or professional consequences.
This year’s recipients were Powell, who has defended the independence of the nation’s banking system, and the people of the Twin Cities of Minnesota, for their defense of human rights and immigrant communities during sweeping, violent raids by federal immigration authorities.
Jerome Powell, the 16th Chair for the U.S. Federal Reserve with Caroline Kennedy after receiving the 2026 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award Sunday. Scott Eisen/Getty
Minnesota residents Renee Good and Alex Pretti were fatally shot by ICE agents while taking part in protests.
Kennedy introduced Good’s family members who attended the ceremony. And then introduced a surprise guest, who congratulated them via video.
“Hi, this is Bruce Springsteen,” the American rock icon said, looking into a camera. “And I want to congratulate the people of the Twin Cities on this award.”
“Because, when things were darkest, you gave us hope,” said Springsteen, who recorded a song “Streets of Minneapolis,” in honor of Good and Pretti. “And when things were hardest, you gave us courage.”
Springsteen kicked off his recent US tour in defense of democracy in Minneapolis. The tour came to Boston last week.
“You stood shoulder to shoulder, for your neighbor, ” Springsteen said. “You assured us that and Alex Pretti and Renee Good’s deaths were not in vain.”
Lila Hempel-Edgers can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on X @hempeledgers and on Instagram @lila_hempel_edgers.
