Ronni Moffitt

Ronni Moffitt
Born Ronni Karpen
January 10, 1951(1951-01-10)
Died September 21, 1976(1976-09-21) (aged 25)
Sheridan Circle, Washington, DC
Cause of death Car bomb
Nationality American
Education University of Maryland
Known for Letelier case
Religion Judaism
Spouse Michael Moffitt
Parents Hilda and Murray Karpen
Relatives Harry Karpen, brother
Michael Karpen, brother

Ronni Moffitt (January 10, 1951 – September 21, 1976), was a American political activist.

Contents

Early Life

She was born in Passaic, New Jersey as Ronni Susan Karpen on January 10, 1951 to Murray and Hilda Karpen. She was the oldest of three children including Harry Karpen and Michael Karpen.[1] Her family owned a restaurant called "Karpen's" and was well known in New Jersey. She started playing the flute at a young age while her brothers played the french horn. She attended Passaic High School.

Biography

She attended the University of Maryland, where she became involved in political activism, participating in protests. After her time in university, she became a counselor for underprivileged children and then a teacher in a public school in Maryland. Following this, she began working at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington as a fundraiser. She helped create the "Music Carry-Out", teaching music and making musical instruments that were made available to the underprivileged.[2]

On September 21, 1976 she was traveling with her husband, Michael Moffitt and Orlando Letelier to the Institute of Policy Studies, when a bomb was ignited under Letelier's car. Letelier had served under Chilean leader Salvador Allende and was the target of an assassination plot by U.S.-backed Chilean Dictator Augusto Pinochet. Letelier and Moffitt were both killed.[3][4] Her husband Michael Moffitt survived. Michael Townley, a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agent and operative of the Chilean secret police (DINA) confessed to planting the bomb and served 62 months in prison.[5]

Legacy

Her death is commemorated with a small plaque in Sheridan Circle in Washington D.C., and by the Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Award administered by the Institute For Policy Studies in her honor.

References

  1. ^ Pear, Robert (May 13, 1990). "Chile Agrees to Pay Reparations to U.S. In Slaying of Envoy". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1990/05/13/world/chile-agrees-to-pay-reparations-to-us-in-slaying-of-envoy.html?scp=1&sq=Ronni%20Moffitt%20Murray%20Karpen&st=cse. Retrieved 2010-04-11. "The survivors include Mr. Letelier's widow, Isabel, and their four sons; and Ms. Moffitt's husband, Michael and her parents, Murray and Hilda Karpen." 
  2. ^ Michael Karpen. "At the 25th anniversary ceremony on October 17, 2001 Michael Karpen reread his tribute to his sister Ronni Moffitt from the 10th anniversary Sheridan Circle ceremony, then gave a brief update.". Institute for Policy Studies. Archived from the original on 2004-09-18. http://web.archive.org/web/20040918060447/http://www.ips-dc.org/lm-awards/2001/michaelKarpen.htm. Retrieved 2010-04-11. "Ronni was more than a child of the 60's for whom political activity was merely something to do between classes. She began college at the University of Maryland, being the subject of panty raids. She ended it participating in political protests, some of which were the subject of police raids. As her mind expanded and she was made aware of certain inequalities and injustices that existed in our society, she was moved to try to change society. She was moved not out of a sort of intellectual curiosity that change could come about by merely reading political theory or by shouting slogans, or even through violent means. She was not a violent person. It was said of my sister that when the revolution came, she would most certainly be a part of it; maybe not on the front lines, but she would be there giving support and guidance to those who needed it, and probably serving chicken soup to the injured and the ill. ..." 
  3. ^ "Cable Ties Kissinger to Chile Scandal". Associated Press in the New York Times. April 10, 2010. http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/04/10/us/AP-US-Kissinger-Chile.html?_r=1&hp. Retrieved 2010-04-10. "The next day, on Sept. 21, 1976 agents of Chilean Gen. Augusto Pinochet planted a car bomb and exploded it on a Washington, D.C., street, killing both former Ambassador Orlando Letelier and an American colleague, Ronni Moffitt. Letelier was one of the most outspoken critics of the Pinochet government." 
  4. ^ "Thirty Years After the Assassination of Chilean Diplomat Orlando Letelier, His Son Francisco is Still Seeking Justice". Democracy Now. http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/09/21/1538247. Retrieved 2010-04-11. "On September 21st, 1976 Letelier was killed, along with his American colleague Ronni Moffitt, when a bomb planted under his car exploded as they rode into work. The assassination was eventually traced back to Pinochet’s regime which was in the midst of a US-backed campaign against Chilean activists." 
  5. ^ Freudenheim, Milt and Roberts, Katherine "Chilean Admits Role in '76 Murder" The New York Times, February 8, 1987. Retrieved 2011-09-20.

Further reading