Saturday, January 3, 2015

Edward Brooke, First Black Man Elected To US Senate, Dead At 95

The former senator died of natural causes in his Florida home on Saturday.

Office of the Clerk, http://U.S. House of Representatives

Ralph Neas, a former aide to the senator, told the Associated Press that Brooke died of natural causes in his home in Coral Gables, Florida.

Brooke served two terms in the Senate after he was elected in 1966. The liberal Republican was the first African American elected to the senate, but two black men served before him in the 1870s, when state legislatures chose elected officials.

Brooke has said he was "thankful to God" that he was able to see Barack Obama lead the U.S. as first black president, the AP reported.

In Oct. 2009, Brooke was honored with the Congressional Gold Medal. Obama described Brooke as "a man who's spent his life breaking barriers and bridging divides across this country."