Showing posts with label Edward Brooke dies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Edward Brooke dies. Show all posts

Saturday, January 03, 2015

Edward Brooke, first black senator since Reconstruction, dies at 95

Edward Brooke -- the first African-American to be popularly elected to the U.S. Senate -- passed away Saturday, according to family spokesman Ralph Neas and the Massachusetts Republican Party. Brooke was 95.

Brooke served in the Senate from 1967-1979 and has often been heralded by both parties as a trailblazer. He is the only African-American to be elected to a second term and was the first black Republican elected to the Senate since Reconstruction.

Read more: Edward Brooke, first black senator since Reconstruction, dies at 95