1966 - Detail

November 8, 1966 - The first black United States Senator in eighty-five years, Edward Brooke, is elected to Congress. Brooke was the Republican candidate from Massachusetts and former Attorney General of that state.



Article by Jason Donovan

In the timeline of the chronicles of American history there have been a continuous line of individuals who dared to be first. In the 1960's there were many firsts, especially within the struggle for racial equality. One of those firsts was that of Edward Brooke III, the first African American since Reconstruction to be popularly voted into the United States Senate in 1966, as well as the first African American to be elected from Massachusetts.

Brooke was born in Washington D.C., 26 October 1919. His father was an attorney review for the Veterans Administration which afforded him a middle class upbringing. As he grew up racism was always in his face whether he was living in African American neighborhoods or in neighborhoods with extreme segregation rules that they they needed a pass from a white person living in the neighborhood to pass through. Even though he lived in segregation he did not ever experience the racial persecution that was the norm in many areas during the Jim Crow era. Brooke's middle class standing allowed him to attend Paul Lawrence Dunbar High School, Washington D.C.'s high school for blacks that was on par with the white schools in the region. Brooke considered himself "blessed to have been able to attend" the "best negro high school school in America." Howard University was the next stop on his educational path; he earned a Bachelor's of Sociology degree in 1941.

Military Service

Then World War II came calling. He would start his infantry service in 1941. During his service, he defended individuals in court marshal proceedings. He would honorably serve in the all black 366th Combat Infantry Regiment. He distinguished himself during the Italian campaign when, with his fluency in Italian and lighter complexion, he was able to cross enemy lines to work with anti-fascist forces. He would be discharged with the rank of captain and earned a Bronze Star and the Distinguished Service Award from the U.S. Military. He experienced rampent racism during his service. He has been quoted on his military service saying,..."In every regard, we were treated as second-class soldiers, if not worse, and we were angry. I felt personal frustration and bitterness I had not known before in my life."

After Military Service and Graduation

After the war he continued his educational path. He would earn a bachelor's degree in law or LLB in 1948 and a masters in law or LLM in 1949 from Boston University. While in college he also was the editor of the Boston University Law Review.

Following graduation he turned down multiple offers to join an established law firm. Instead choosing to go his own way, he established his own law firm in the Boston neighborhood of Roxbury, a neighborhood whose population consisted of mostly African Americans. Through his hard work in the community he formed relationships and connections that would help him in the future.

Brooke Starts His Political Career

Brooke would begin his political career in 1950. Even though he did well in those years, he failed to secure a victory. In 1960, he was named chairman of Boston's Finance Commission. In this position he was an anti-corruption crusader shining light on the darkness of corruption within city government. With his hard work on full display, he was elected to the position of Massachusetts's Attorney General. By winning this position he would make history as the first African American to hold the position. Brooke would be elected to this position for two terms.

1966 would bring a political promotion when he was elected to the U.S. Senate. He ran as a Republican. He walked a moderate path. While campaigning he said he would strive for "the entablement of, peace, the preservation of freedom for all who desire it, and a better life for people at home and abroad." He described "himself as a creative Republican." When the 1966 Senate Race results came in, he won with 62 percent of the vote. He once again made history being the first African American to win the popular vote for a U.S. Senate race and the first of his race to be seated since post Civil War Reconstruction. He would take an active role in his position.

Brooke's fellow senators gave him a standing ovation on his first day of the congressional session. Through out his congressional career he would continue to be a moderate in his party, continually reaching across the political aisle in order to find common ground, and as a result sponsored or cosponsored 624 pieces of legislation. According to congress.gov, the main area of concentration of legislation that he either sponsored or co-sponsored was social welfare, health, and international affairs to just name a few. Records on the site regarding Senator Brooke's congressional activities only start in 1973.

He made history in another way when he had a large impact on the civil rights movement. President Johnson chose him as a member of the National Commission on Civil Disorders, also known as the Kerner Commission. This commission looked into the deadly unrest that was gripping the nation at the time. The commission showed that contrary to popular belief the cause of the riots across the nation were the result of systemic racism perpetrated in the name of and "condoned by white society." It was not black anger that was being the prominent narrative pushed at the time. The commission also found that "the nation was so divided that the United States was poised to fracture into two radically unequal societies, one black one white."

All the hard work the Kerner Commission dedicated to its task would pay off with the passing of a landmark law, The Voting Rights Act of 1965. The Act removed barriers to voting based on race. The Act also removed barriers put in place in the south that stopped eligible African Americans and other minorities from voting. The law changed the electoral landscape in all following elections.

Senator Brooke would have an impact in other areas as well. He was pivotal in many other pieces of legislation from the 1968 Fair Housing Act. This Act curbed discrimination in housing and established the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, the teeth of the Act. Woman's rights was another area he played a large role in advancing with his efforts to further the Equal Credit Act and his defense of "Title IX." These allowed woman to have financial freedom by opening financial accounts in their own name and protected "educational opportunities and athletic participation to woman and girls," respectively.

Civil rights were only one area of impact another area is that of international affairs. During his time in office the Vietnam war and the South African apartheid system were happening, the hot button issues of the day. Senator Brooke was deeply involved in opposing both situations. He was part of "fact finding missions to Asia" and as a result called for the United States to cease its use of napalm. He also called for a halt to trade with South Africa due to their brutal apartheid system.

In the late 1970's, Senator Brooke's political fortunes would falter. 1976 his fight for woman's rights continued when he called for abortion to be legalized. He was able to influence this debate as he served on the Senate Appropriations Committee which decided Medicaid funding via its Department of Health and Human Services bill. His efforts would be overwhelmed by the efforts of the anti-abortion lobby. His support for abortion legalization cost him in electoral support by losing the large and highly influential Catholic vote in his constituency. Another body blow was delivered via a Senate investigation into alleged "financial misconduct." The investigation found that "he had made false statements" and even though no charges were forthcoming, it cost him even more support. The third and last hit came via a very public brutal divorce.

The trifecta proved to much for him to overcome. He lost his 1978 reelection bid. After his political career, he went back to practicing law. He also continued to be a fixture in the community. He assumed a number of positions such as his involvement with the Low Income Housing Coalition and the Boston Bank of Commerce where he held positions of chairman of the board and chairman respectively.

The nation would recognize his contributions to American society. In 2004, President George W. Bush awarded him country's highest civilian honor by awarding him the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The Congressional Gold Medal would be awarded to him in 2009. These were only a few awards he received during his lifetime. Some other honors included receiving "thirty-four honorary degrees from the nations most prestigious colleges and universities." There were others including the NAACP's Spingarn Medal. Italy would also honor him with the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit. Massachusetts would dedicate a courthouse to him in the year 2000. Senator Brooke's long fight for the betterment of American society was a continuous uphill battle. Even with his struggles he proved himself non dogmatic continually striving to find common ground with his colleges in order to get things done. Senator Brooke's long and storied life would come to an end on 3 January 2015, he was 95.

Photo above: Senator Edward Brooke, 1967, Marion Trikosko. Courtesy Library of Congress. Photo below: President Lyndon Baines Johnson, Senator Brooke behind him, with some members of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (Kerner Commission) in the Cabinet Room of the White House, 1967, Marion Trikosko. Courtesy Library of Congress. Info source: Edward W. Brooke | Encyclopedia.com; The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Edward Brooke | First African American Elected Senator, Civil Rights Activist,"1998; Cane, Clay. "This Day in History: Edward Brooke Elected as First Black U.S. Senator by Popular Vote in 1966," 2024. The Black Chronicle; BROOKE, Edward William, III | US House of Representatives: History, Art and Archives; Senator Edward W. Brooke III. (2017, August 11). MV African-American Heritage Trail; "THE HONORABLE EDWARD BROOKE" thehistorymakers.com; Brooke, Edward W. "Edward W. Brooke." Congress.gov, 2025; "Senator Edward W. Brooke III." MV African-American Heritage Trail, 2016; "Edward Brooke-African American Poltical Leaders." Myblackhistory.net, 2015; George, Alice. "The 1968 Kerner Commission Got It Right, but Nobody Listened." Smithsonian, Smithsonian.com, 1 Mar. 2018; Crayton, Kareem. "The Voting Rights Act Explained | Brennan Center for Justice." 2023; Stanford University. "Voting Rights Act of 1965 | the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute." Kinginstitute.stanford.edu, 6 Aug. 1965.

History Photo Bomb

Crowds of the Civil Rights March in Washington, D.C. surround the Washington Monument. August 28, 1963. Courtesy National Archives.

San Cristobal, Cuba. Aerial photo of the Medium Range Ballistic Missile Launch Site, Number Two. Photo: Department of Defense, November 1, 1962. Courtesy National Archives.

Official Souvenirs
America's Best History

President Richard Nixon. Courtesy National Archives.

ABH Travel Tip

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