E-mail a friendEdward Brooke
airdate August 27, 2009
When elected as a Republican from Massachusetts in '66, Edward Brooke became the first African American elected to the U.S. Senate by popular vote. After serving two terms, he practiced law in his Washington, DC hometown and chaired the National Low Income Housing Coalition's board. Brooke graduated from Howard, served in the Army and earned a law degree from Boston University. In ‘02, he was diagnosed with breast cancer and works to raise awareness of the disease in men. Brooke received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in '04.
Web Exclusive - Extended Interview (11:24)
Edward Brooke
Tavis: In just a moment a look at Dr. King's iconic speech at the 1963 March on Washington, but first, yesterday I spoke briefly with former Massachusetts Senator Edward Brooke. Senator Brooke was the first African American elected to the Senate since reconstruction, and although he was a Republican he worked closely with Senator Ted Kennedy.
[Begin interview clip.]
Tavis: Senator Brooke, it's an honor to have you on this program, sir. Thanks for your time.
Sen. Edward Brooke: Thank you. Nice to join you.
Tavis: So what was it like for you serving alongside Ted Kennedy in the Senate?
Brooke: Well, I enjoyed my service with him. He's the senator who walked me down the aisle and had lunch for me and my wife when we first came to Washington. And I worked with him on legislation. Though he was a Democrat and I was a Republican we usually voted the same way. And we became pretty close friends.
I knew his brother, the president, John F. Kennedy, and had an office next to Robert Kennedy. I knew the Kennedys pretty well, and in later years I've gotten to know Ted Kennedy even more than the others.
Tavis: To your earlier point, legislatively, tell me how your work and his work intertwined, given again that you were, although an African American, a Republican, and he a liberal Democrat.
Brooke: Ted was always interested in healthcare. I was primarily interested in housing - in particular, housing for the poor. But on many other issues, the Voting Rights Act, the Civil Rights Act, poverty, all those issues, and even on foreign issues, foreign policy issues as well as domestic you would find us generally voting in the same way.
Tavis: Senator Brooke, thank you for your service, thank you for your time under these difficult moments to talk about your friendship with the late, great Edward Kennedy. I appreciate you taking the time to talk to us, sir.
Brooke: All right, thank you, Tavis.
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