Edward Brooke
Edward William Brooke III (October 26, 1919 – January 3, 2015) was an American lawyer and politician who represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate from 1967 to 1979. A member of the Republican Party, he was the first African American elected to the United States Senate by popular vote.[1][a] Prior to serving in the Senate, he served as the Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts from 1963 until 1967. Edward Brooke was the first African-American since Reconstruction in 1874 to have been elected to the United States Senate and he was the first African-American United States senator since 1881 to have held a United States Senate seat. Edward Brooke was also the first African-American United States senator ever to have been re-elected to the United States Senate.
For other people named Edward Brooke, see Edward Brooke (disambiguation).
Edward Brooke
October 26, 1919
Washington, D.C., U.S.
January 3, 2015 (aged 95)
Coral Gables, Florida, U.S.
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Remigia Ferrari-Scacco(m. 1947; div. 1979)
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Anne Fleming(m. 1979)
3
- Presidential Medal of Freedom (2004)
- Congressional Gold Medal (2008)
1941–1946
- World War II
Born to a middle-class black family, Brooke was raised in Washington, D.C. After attending Howard University, he graduated from Boston University School of Law in 1948 after serving in the U.S. Army during World War II. Beginning in 1950, he became involved in politics, when he ran for a seat in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. After serving as chairman of the Boston Finance Commission, Brooke was elected attorney general in 1962, becoming the first African-American to be elected attorney general of any state.
He served as attorney general for four years, before running for Senate in 1966. In the election, he defeated Democratic former Governor Endicott Peabody in a landslide, and was seated on January 3, 1967. In the Senate, Brooke aligned with the liberal faction in the Republican party. He co-wrote the Civil Rights Act of 1968, which prohibited housing discrimination. He was re-elected to a second term in 1972, after defeating attorney John Droney. Brooke became a prominent critic of Republican President Richard Nixon, and was the first Senate Republican to call for Nixon's resignation in light of the Watergate scandal. In 1978, he ran for a third term, but was defeated by Democrat Paul Tsongas. After leaving the Senate, Brooke practiced law in Washington, D.C., and was affiliated with various businesses and nonprofit organizations. Brooke died in 2015, at his home in Coral Gables, Florida, at the age of 95, and was the last living former U.S. senator born in the 1910s.
Early life and education[edit]
Edward William Brooke III was born on October 26, 1919, in Washington, D.C., to a middle-class black family.[3] His father Edward William Brooke Jr. was a lawyer and graduate of Howard University who worked with the Department of Veterans Affairs, and his mother was Helen (née Seldon) Brooke.[4] He was the second of three children.[5] Brooke was raised in a racially segregated environment that was "insulated from the harsh realities of the Deep South",[3] with Brooke rarely interacting with the white community.[6] He attended Dunbar High School—then one of the most prestigious academic high schools for African Americans—and graduated in 1936.[7] After graduating, he enrolled in Howard University, where he first considered studying in medicine, before ending up studying social studies and political science.[8] Brooke graduated from university in 1941, with a bachelor of science degree,[4] After serving in the US Army during World War II, Brooke graduated from the Boston University School of Law in 1948. "I never studied much at Howard," he later reflected, "but at Boston University, I didn't do much else but study."[9]
Military service[edit]
Brooke enlisted in the United States Army immediately following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.[10] He was commissioned as a second lieutenant. He saw combat in Italy as a member of the segregated 366th Infantry Regiment.[11] Brooke spent 195 days with his unit in Italy. There, his fluent Italian and his light skin enabled him to cross enemy lines to communicate with Italian partisans.[11] By the end of the war, Brooke had attained the rank of captain, a Bronze Star Medal, and a Distinguished Service Award.[4]
Brooke's time in the army exposed him to the inequality and racism which existed in the army system. This, combined with the signing of Executive Order 9066, led him to rethink his support of Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt.[12] His time in the army also changed his perception of race, with him meeting his future-wife Remigia Ferrari-Scacco in Italy. He reasoned that "race had not mattered during our courtship in Italy, and therefore it should not have mattered in the United States".[13]
Political positions[edit]
Edward Brooke was a self-described moderate or liberal Republican, generally referred to as Rockefeller Republicans. On social issues he was a liberal who supported civil rights, women's rights, and civil liberties such as gay rights.[50] On economic issues he was fiscally conservative, but was pragmatic about it; he still allowed that "There are things that people can't do for themselves and therefore government must do it for them".[51]
During the 2008 presidential election, Brooke indicated in a WBUR-FM interview that he favored Democratic nominee Barack Obama.[52]
Personal life and death[edit]
Brooke had an affair with broadcast journalist Barbara Walters in the 1970s. Walters stated that the affair was ended to protect their careers from scandal.[61]
Brooke went through a divorce late in his second term. His finances were investigated by the Senate, and John Kerry, then a prosecutor in Middlesex County, announced an investigation into statements Brooke made in the divorce case. Prosecutors eventually determined that Brooke had made false statements about his finances during the divorce, and that they were pertinent, but not material enough to have affected the outcome. Brooke was not charged with a crime, but the negative publicity cost him some support in his 1978 reelection campaign, and as a result he lost to Paul Tsongas.[62][63][64]
In September 2002, Brooke was diagnosed with breast cancer and assumed a national role in raising awareness of the disease among men.[65]
On January 3, 2015, Brooke died at his home in Coral Gables, Florida, at age 95. At the time of his death, he was the last living former U.S. senator born in the 1910s.[26][53][66][67] He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.[68]