President Obama honors 1st African-American elected to US Senate
November 2, 2009 by AlumniUnit ©2010
President Barack Obama paid tribute on Wednesday to fellow political trailblazer Edward Brooke, who in 1966 became the first African-American elected to the Senate by popular vote.
In the US Capitol rotunda, Obama presented Brooke, 90, with the Congressional gold medal, the highest civilian award given by the government’s legislative branch.
“Today’s honor bears a unique significance: bestowed by this body of which he was an esteemed member; presented in this place where he moved the arc of history; surrounded by so many — myself included — who have followed the trail that he blazed,” said Obama as he stood next to the former senator from Massachusetts.
Brooke, who served as a Republican from 1967 to 1979, was the first of just three blacks popularly elected to the Senate in the modern era, including Carol Mosely Braun (1993 to 1999) and Obama himself (2005-2008).
Other African-Americans had previously served in the Senate before Brooke, but they were chosen by state legislatures.
Obama, a Democrat, hailed Brooke as someone who managed to navigate a fiercely segregated America and “spent his life breaking barriers and bridging divides.”
The only black senator currently serving in the upper chamber is Roland Burris, who was appointed senator from Illinois to replace Obama after he won the White House in 2008.
Brooke, who grew up in an era of segregation in Washington, was elected to the Senate in 1966 by Massachusetts voters and remained in the chamber until 1975. A Republican, Brooke earlier served as Massachusetts’ first African American attorney general.
Former president George W Bush in 2004 awarded Brooke the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country’s highest civilian honor.
Brooke spent much of his Senate career seeking more equality for minorities in the United States, but he was also respected for taking a moderate approach that sometimes put him at odds with other African-American politicians.
Brooke declined to join the Congressional Black Caucus when it was founded in 1971. But he was instrumental in convincing his Senate colleagues to designate Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday a national holiday, after the civil rights leader’s assassination in 1968.
I enjoyed your article. However, a great opportunity was missed.
You wrote “Other African-Americans had previously served in the Senate before Brooke, but they were chosen by state legislatures.” Why not give us the names, and dates, of these Black U.S. Senators from the 1800s? For example, the first Black U.S. Senator was Hiram Revels from Mississippi in 1870.
Our political history in this country began long before the 1960’s or 1970’s. Whether elected by popular vote or the state legislature, Black people in the 1800s held the title “U.S. Senator” (as well as U.S. Representative.) More needs to be said about our early civil rights history.
For example, did you know Prince Hall, known for the Masons, was also a renowned civil rights activist, in the 1700s? A free Black, Prince Hall lobbied for education rights of Black children, sought protections against bounty hunters, and fought against slavery.
In my book “Race, Law, and American Society: 1607 to Present” (Routledge), I discuss the centuries-long road Black people have had to take in order to gain rights under law.
You’re doing a great job getting out the latest information. However, infuse into that information more details about early American history, when possible. Let’s use every opportunity, especially this great HBCU resource, to reflect a centuries-long history of Black accomplishment despite great obstacles.