It’s been a year since James “Radio” Kennedy died after inspiring thousands of people in Anderson and millions more who saw the Hollywood movie based on his life.

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In Anderson is where Kennedy’s heart, and his big beaming smile, will remain.

His message of acceptance has reached around the world, said Harold Jones, who was the football coach at T.L. Hanna High School, where Kennedy spent most of his life as an informal 11th-grader and a role model for generations of students.

Kennedy was a role model for students by his example, said Jan Burdette, a longtime nurse at Hanna.

“I’m not a morning person,” Burdette said. “But when he would come in, he’d say ‘Why are you tired? You don’t have to be.’”

And she’d smile and not be tired.

Burdette said keeping Kennedy’s legacy will be important but challenging. Today’s juniors and seniors are the last class who went a full year with Kennedy.

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Kennedy was consistently himself. He made no attempts to change himself or others, simply accepting everyone including himself for who they are, Burdette said.

Kennedy died on Dec. 15, 2019, of complications related to diabetes and kidney issues, Jones said.

The two spent much of their time together for half a century.

Jones reflected recently with the Independent Mail on what kind of legacy Kennedy has left.

Kennedy had developmental disabilities, which led to years of being bullied and harassed, including people pulling down his pants and pouring kerosene on his books, Jones said. That set up the rest of Kennedy’s life, and it shows just how effective Kennedy was in changing hearts and minds, Jones said.

Over time, and with his nickname-inspiring transistor radio, Kennedy became a crucial part of the football team, the school and the most recognized member of the community.

Kennedy began carrying a transistor radio to listen to sports and it became his nickname.

Kennedy was a sports fan with few peers. He could rattle off nearly any high school mascot in the state, and he was a fixture at school events, especially at Hanna but also throughout the Upstate and well beyond sports.

”When you thought of Radio, you thought of Hanna, and when you thought of Hanna, you thought of Radio,” Burdette said.

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The movie “Radio,” starring Cuba Gooding Jr. in the title role, told the story of how Kennedy was eventually accepted and ultimately celebrated. The 2003 movie was based on a story that originated in the Independent Mail in 1993, and it was expanded for a Sports Illustrated story three years later.

Jones said the film changed his life and Kennedy’s for the better.

“It showed that people with special needs are just like you and I. They should be respected. They should be loved,” Jones said. “That helped at a lot of schools. I believe it really helped.”

As for Kennedy, he was so proud of the movie, he would often greet people by saying, “Have you seen my movie?”

“And if they hadn’t,” Jones said, “he’d say, ‘You should go to Walmart and get it.'”

“As far as I’m concerned, he’s probably the most-known person in South Carolina,” Jones said.

The entryway at T.L. Hanna High School, which already included tributes to Kennedy, will be reworked to add further honors to Kennedy.

And Kennedy’s charity work is continuing. He and Jones used to ring Salvation Army bells for Christmas, and Kennedy raised money regularly outside of Sam’s Club. Now Jones is continuing their charitable work with the Outdoor Dream Foundation, an Anderson group that provides outdoor wishes to kids facing challenges.

And he hopes that Kennedy’s legacy will live on in the students he inspired for generations.

Source: https://t-tees.com
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