Edward Brooke

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Edward William Brooke III (born October 26, 1919) is an American politician and was the first African American to be elected by popular vote to the United States Senate when he was elected as a Republican from Massachusetts in 1966, defeating his Democratic opponent, Endicott Peabody, 58%–42%. He was also the first African American elected since Reconstruction, and would be the only person of African descent in the Senate until 1993 when Democrat Carol Moseley Braun would be elected.

[edit] Early years

Born in Washington, D.C., Brooke was the son of a Veterans Administration attorney. Brooke was duly initiated into Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, through its Beta Chapter located on the campus of Howard University on Saturday, December 4, 1937. Upon his graduation from Howard University in 1941, he spent five years as an officer in the segregated 366th Infantry Regiment and saw combat in Italy. Following his discharge, he graduated from Boston University Law School in 1948.

The following year, he ran for a seat in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, but lost. He then made two more tries for office, including one for secretary of state, but again fell short in both races.

He was the chairman of Finance Commission of Boston from 1961 to 1962. Brooke was elected Attorney General of Massachusetts in 1962 and re-elected in 1964. In this position, he gained a reputation as a vigorous prosecutor of organized crime, and coordinated with local police departments on the Boston strangler case.^[1]

[edit] U.S. Senator

Brooke served as a U.S. senator for two terms, from January 3, 1967, to January 3, 1979. In 1967, he served on the President's Commission on Civil Disorders. He was a member of the liberal wing of the Republican Party and often had conflicts with President Richard Nixon, particularly in 1970, when Brooke helped lead the movement to stop the Senate confirmation of the President's nominee to the Supreme Court, Harrold Carswell. Brooke was re-elected in 1972, defeating Democrat John Droney 62%-34%. However, he lost much of his popularity during his second term after a contentious and widely-publicized divorce. He lost a bid for a third term in the Senate elections of 1978 to Democratic Representative Paul Tsongas 55%-41%. After leaving the Senate, he was the head of the Low Income Housing Coalition.

In 1996, he became the first chairman of Alpha Phi Alpha's World Policy Council, a think tank whose purpose is to expand the fraternity's involvement in politics, and social and current policy to encompass international concerns. Brooke currently serves as the council's chairman emeritus and was honorary chairman at the Centennial Convention of Alpha Phi Alpha held in Washington, D.C in 2006.

In September 2002, he was diagnosed with breast cancer and, since then, has assumed a national role in raising awareness of the disease among men.

In 2004, Brooke was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom — designed to recognize individuals who have made "an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors."

On April 29, 2006 the Massachusetts Republican Party awarded the first annual Edward Brooke Award to former White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card at their 2006 State Nominating Convention.

The father of two daughters and a son, Brooke currently lives in Miami with his wife, Anne.

As of 2007, he was one of three African Americans to serve in the United States Senate and is the most recent of three Republican African American Senators. He is also the longest-serving black senator and the only one to be re-elected.

[edit] See also

• List of United States political appointments that crossed party lines

[edit] Bibliography

• Edward Brooke (2006). Bridging The Divide: My Life. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 0-8135-3905-6. 

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Edward Brooke at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Edward Brooke biography and video interview excerpts by The National Visionary Leadership Project

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