Politics

Edward Brooke, 1st Black Elected U.S. Senator, Dies

Published

12 years ago

January 5, 2015

File-This Oct. 28, 2009, file photo shows President Barack Obama greeting former Massachusetts Sen. Edward Brooke in the Rotunda on Capitol Hill in Washington, during a ceremony where Brooke received the Congressional Gold Medal. Brooke, the first black to win popular election to the Senate, has died. He was 95. Ralph Neas, a former aide, said Brooke died Saturday, Jan. 3, 2015, of natural causes at his Coral Gables, Fla, home. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

This Oct. 28, 2009, file photo shows President Barack Obama greeting former Massachusetts Sen. Edward Brooke in the Rotunda on Capitol Hill in Washington, during a ceremony where Brooke received the Congressional Gold Medal. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

Sylvia Wingfield and Mark Pratt, ASSOCIATED PRESS

BOSTON (AP) — Former U.S. Sen. Edward W. Brooke, a liberal Republican who became the first black in U.S. history to win popular election to the Senate, died Saturday. He was 95.

Brooke died of natural causes at his Coral Gables, Florida, home, said Ralph Neas, Brooke’s former chief counsel. Brooke was surrounded by his family.

Brooke was elected to the Senate in 1966, becoming the first black to sit in that branch from any state since Reconstruction and one of nine blacks who have ever served there — including Barack Obama.

Brooke told The Associated Press he was “thankful to God” that he lived to see Obama’s election. And the president was on hand in October 2009 when Brooke was presented with the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest award Congress has to honor civilians. Obama hailed Brooke as “a man who’s spent his life breaking barriers and bridging divides across this country.”

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell recalled his first impression of the newly elected senator when McConnell was a Senate staffer and described Brooke as “a model of courage and honesty in office.”

“… even from across the Senate chamber, you could sense that this was a Senator of historic importance,” McConnell said in a statement Saturday. “Indeed, he was.”

A Republican in a largely Democratic state, Brooke was one of Massachusetts’ most popular political figures during most of his 12 years in the Senate.

Massachusetts Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick, the state’s first black governor, remembered Brooke for his unselfish public service.

“He carried the added honor and burden of being ‘the first’ and did so with distinction and grace,” Patrick said. “I have lost a friend and mentor. America has lost a superb example of selfless service.”

Brooke earned his reputation as a Senate liberal in part by becoming the first Republican senator to publicly urge President Richard Nixon to resign. He helped lead the forces in favor of the Equal Rights Amendment and was a defender of school busing to achieve racial integration, a bitterly divisive issue in Boston.

He also lent his name to the Brooke amendment to the federal housing act, passed in 1969, which limited to 25 percent the amount of income a family must pay for rent in public housing.

However, late in his second term, Brooke divorced his wife of 31 years, Remigia, in a stormy proceeding that attracted national attention.

Repercussions from the case spurred an investigation into his personal finances by the Senate Ethics Committee and a probe by the state welfare department and ultimately cost him the 1978 election. He was defeated by Democrat Rep. Paul E. Tsongas.

Tsongas’ widow, U.S. Rep. Nikki Tsongas, said Saturday that Brooke’s career was “as courageous as it was historic.”

In a Boston Globe interview in 2000, Brooke recalled the pain of losing his bid for a third term.

“It was just a divorce case. It was never about my work in the Senate. There was never a charge that I committed a crime, or even nearly committed a crime,” Brooke said.

In 2008, pioneering newswoman Barbara Walters said she had an affair with the then-married Brooke in the 1970s, but it ended before he lost the 1978 election. She called him “exciting” and “brilliant.”

Brooke received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in a White House ceremony in 2004. Five years later, when Brooke received the congressional honor in Washington, he cited the issues facing Congress — health care, the economy and the wars overseas — and called on lawmakers to put their partisan differences aside.

“We’ve got to get together,” Brooke said, turning his eyes to Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. “We have no alternative. There’s nothing left. It’s time for politics to be put aside on the back burner.”

As Brooke sought the Senate seat in 1966, profiles in the national media reminded readers that he had won office handily in a state where blacks made up just 2 percent of the population — the state that had also given the nation its only Roman Catholic president, John F. Kennedy.

He beat Democrat Endicott Peabody, a former governor who also supported civil rights, by a 3-to-2 margin despite predictions of a “white backlash” against him.

Commenting on Brooke’s election and other developments that day, Martin Luther King Jr. commented that “despite appeals to bigotry of an intensity and vulgarity never before witnessed in the North, millions of white voters remained unshaken in their commitment to decency.”

Brooke had parlayed his probes of local corruption into a successful run for state attorney general in 1962 when he became the highest ranking black elected official in the nation. He won re-election as attorney general in 1964 even though Democrats dominated other races.

Somewhat aloof from the civil rights movement of the 1960s, especially the militant wing, he said blacks had to win allies, not fight adversaries. But he also said of civil rights leaders: “Thank God we have them. But everyone has to do it in the best way he can.”

He had refused to endorse Sen. Barry Goldwater for president in 1964, commenting later, “You can’t say the Negro left the Republican Party; the Negro feels he was evicted from the Republican Party.”

The son of a Veterans Administration lawyer, Brooke was raised in a middle-class black section of Washington, attending segregated schools through his graduation from Howard University in 1941. He served in an all-black combat unit in World War II, and later settled in Boston after graduating from Boston University Law School.

Brooke was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002 and went public the following year, saying he wanted to encourage men to perform self-examinations and advocating that insurance companies cover male mammograms.

Brooke is survived by his second wife, Anne Fleming Brooke; their son Edward Brooke IV; his daughters from his first marriage, Remi Goldstone and Edwina Petit; stepdaughter Melanie Laflamme, and four grandchildren.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Economy

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A new Public Policy Institute of California poll shows Democrat Xavier Becerra leads Republican Steve Hilton by 22 points in California’s governor’s race, with 60% of likely voters supporting Becerra compared to 38% for Hilton. The September survey also reveals Californians are closely divided on a proposed one-time tax on billionaires, with 52% of likely voters in favor of Proposition 40. Affordability issues are a major factor for voters. Read more to learn about the poll’s additional findings on voter sentiment.

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Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton.

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

Democrat Xavier Becerra holds a 22-point lead over Republican Steve Hilton in California’s governor’s race, while voters remain closely divided over a proposed one-time tax on billionaires, according to a new Public Policy Institute of California poll.

The September PPIC survey found that 60% of likely voters support Becerra, compared with 38% for Hilton. His lead is actually narrower than it was in July, when he led Hilton 61% to 36%.

Becerra leads among independent voters, with 57% supporting him compared with 38% for Hilton. Party loyalty remains strong, with 93% of Democratic likely voters backing Becerra and 92% of Republicans supporting Hilton.

Hilton leads in the Central Valley, where 52% of likely voters support him compared with 46% for Becerra.

Affordability remains a major factor: 65% of likely voters say candidates’ plans to address cost-of-living issues are “very important” to their vote.

“Affordability continues to be top of mind for Californians when considering their choice for governor,” said Mark Baldassare, PPIC Statewide Survey director and Miller Chair in Public Policy.

The poll also found a narrow split over Proposition 40, a proposed one-time tax of up to 5% on taxpayers with assets exceeding $1 billion. Fifty-two percent of likely voters said they would vote yes, while 46% said they would vote no.

Support for the wealth tax varies sharply by party. Seventy-two percent of Democrats favor Proposition 40, compared with 46% of independents and 21% of Republicans.

Two competing measures also drew majority support. Fifty-one percent back Proposition 41, while 54% support Proposition 42, both of which could affect the wealth-tax proposal.

The findings come as Californians express broader frustration with the state’s political direction. Seventy-one percent of likely voters expect bad economic times in California over the next year.

“Californians are clearly grumpy and aren’t enamored with any particular political party or movement,” Baldassare said.

The survey interviewed 1,745 California adults, including 1,103 likely voters, from Sept. 4-10. The margin of error for likely voters is plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.

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LIVE FREE Sunday Dinner Brings Faith, Fellowship and Civic Conversation to Oakland

Approximately 50 members and guests gathered at Imani Community Church for a LIVE FREE Sunday Dinner, sharing a meal with Pastor Michael McBride. The event, hosted by Imani Community Church Pastor Jeremy McCants, focused on faith, community preparedness, and civic participation. Participants discussed “sacred resistance” and how communities can collectively respond to challenges, including practical suggestions for emergencies. The conversation also touched upon the importance of civic engagement and voting in the upcoming election. Read more to learn about the specific actions discussed.

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Imani Social Justice Team (left to right): Angela Noel, Zakiya Jendayi and Diane Doss. Patty Hallm, Susan Burns, Diane Lewis, Pastor Michael McBride, Theresa ???, Jean Moses and Diana Bell. Front: Sloane Johnson and (man whose name I'm getting to complete the identification). Photo by Octavian Kelly.

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Pastor Michael McBride joins Imani Community Church Members for Food, Faith and Conversation about Community Action

Approximately 50 members and guests of Imani Community Church gathered Sunday afternoon for a LIVE FREE Sunday Dinner, sharing a meal with Pastor Michael McBride while discussing faith, community preparedness and civic participation.

Hosted by Imani Community Church Pastor Jeremy McCants, the Sept. 20 gathering was part of LIVE FREE’s Sunday Dinner initiative, which draws upon the tradition of families, neighbors and faith communities gathering around the Sunday dinner table to break bread and discuss issues affecting their lives.

McBride is founder of LIVE FREE and lead pastor of The Way Christian Center on University Avenue in Berkeley. His Bay Area ministry has deep roots. The congregation traces its history to a church planted by McBride’s grandmother in 1969. McBride returned to the Bay Area in 2005 and became its fourth pastor.

His ministry later expanded into community organizing and national advocacy. McBride founded LIVE FREE in 2011 following organizing work in Oakland and has been involved in efforts addressing gun violence, mass incarceration and civic engagement.

At Imani, the Sunday dinner concept was simple: sit down together, eat together and talk.

McBride recalled a time when Sunday dinner provided families and neighbors an opportunity to discuss what was happening in their communities. LIVE FREE has adapted that tradition into gatherings where faith communities and neighbors can meet, communicate, and consider how to respond collectively to current challenges.

Much of Sunday’s conversation centered on what McBride described as “sacred resistance,” bringing faith into discussions about how communities respond during difficult and uncertain times.

Participants considered a fundamental question: How do we make sense of what is happening around us, and how do we move forward?

The conversation was grounded in faith and prayer, but participants also discussed action and preparation. Attendees talked about not assuming that institutions and everyday systems will always function as expected.

Practical suggestions included keeping basic food staples such as rice and beans available during emergencies. Participants cited the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, as an example as they discussed communities that have experienced disruptions to essential services.

The broader message was one of preparedness and connection: neighbors should know and support one another before a crisis occurs.

The conversation also turned to civic participation and the upcoming election.

McBride’s message was brief: “Vote. We must vote.”

Participants were encouraged to register to vote, verify that their registration is current, and learn what will appear on their ballots. The discussion included researching candidates and ballot measures, voting early, and making a voting plan.

An Oct. 3 workshop was announced as another opportunity for community members to learn more about candidates, volunteer phone banking, ballot measures, and issues before voters.

For Imani’s Social Justice Team, the gathering provided another opportunity to share information with the congregation and surrounding community regarding Imani member Zakiya Jendayi, fighting for her home, and how the community can support her by attending a vigil at her Oakland home every Tuesday from 6-7 p.m. at 3614 Randolph Ave. 94610.

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Black History

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Bussa Emancipation Statue in Bridgetown, Barbados. Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

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Caribbean nations are producing an “action plan” with legal options to push the United Kingdom (UK) into negotiating a decades-long slavery reparations deal, according to officials at a reparations conference.

Leaders in the region are hoping the UK would agree to targeted and constructive negotiation talks at upcoming Commonwealth and UN summits, but they are ready to take the matter to international courts if Britain continues to resist diplomatic options, according to the Guardian.

Earlier this month, a spokesperson reiterated the British government’s long‑held position that “the UK does not and will not pay reparations”.

Ralph Gonsalves, the former prime minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, said the Caricom Regional Conference on Reparations, which was hosted last week by Barbados with the Caricom Reparations Commission (CRC), was key for agreeing to a unified strategy to bring Britain to the negotiating table. Gonsalves is now an elder and adviser for the Repair Campaign, a social movement for reparatory justice.

He said that slavery happened over centuries and reparations had to be realistic and set over decades. “We need a concrete, multigenerational plan,” he said.

On the legal options available to the Caribbean, Gonsalves challenged arguments that Britain did not violate historical laws during transatlantic slavery, adding that the UK’s signature on contemporary UN conventions had established a binding legal obligation for reparative justice.

“The fact is that the consequences of slavery fall squarely under the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which obliges states to help address the consequences of native genocide and slavery,” Gonsalves said.