Celebrating a Life of Public Service and Distinction
BU Law mourns the passing of one of its most distinguished alumni, Senator Edward W. Brooke (JD’48, LLM’50).
Senator Edward Brooke (JD’48, LLM’50) was a legal trailblazer. The first African American to be elected to the United States Senate in 1967, he built his political reputation as Massachusetts attorney general, the first African American to hold that office in any state.
Born October 26, 1919, Edward William Brooke III grew up in Washington, DC, the son of Edward W. Brooke, Jr., a lawyer with the Veterans Administration. Following his graduation from Howard University in 1941, Senator Brooke served in the 366th Combat Infantry Regiment in World War II, eventually becoming a captain. He was awarded a Bronze Star for his service, and, while stationed in Italy, met his future wife, Remigia Ferrari-Scacco.
At the urging of two Army friends, Brooke moved to Boston and enrolled at BU Law in 1946. In a 1966 interview, he is quoted as saying, “I never studied much at Howard, but at Boston University I didn’t do much else but study.” He was editor of the Boston University Law Review, and opened up his own practice in Roxbury following his 1948 graduation. He returned to Boston University a year later, completing his LLM in 1950.
Following his successful run for Massachusetts attorney general in 1962, Brooke spent the next four years fighting public corruption, indicting a former governor, two speakers of the House, and a public safety commissioner.
As a Republican representing an overwhelmingly Democratic state, Senator Brooke valued compromise and earned a reputation for crossing party lines on important issues. He supported civil rights, fair housing policies, and the legalization of abortion, while advocating fiscal responsibility.
Among his finest accomplishments as senator, Brooke championed the Civil Rights Act of 1968, which included an open-housing amendment co-sponsored with Walter Mondale, Democratic senator from Minnesota. A year after its passage, he authored the Brooke Amendment, capping public housing rent at 25 percent of the tenant’s income.
He was known to stand up to party leadership, fighting against two of President Richard Nixon’s Supreme Court nominees whose views on civil rights were questionable. When Nixon’s involvement in the Watergate scandal became clear, Brooke called for a special prosecutor and was the first Republican to demand Nixon’s resignation.
Brooke continued his career in public service after leaving office, serving as chairman of the Low-Income Housing Coalition, and on President Reagan’s Commission on Housing and the Senate’s Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians, where he was charged with examining treatment of Japanese-Americans during World War II.
There have been many tributes to Senator Brooke’s impact. In a statement made over the weekend, President Obama said that “as the first African American elected as a state’s attorney general and first African American US senator elected after Reconstruction, Ed Brooke stood at the forefront of the battle for civil rights and economic fairness. During his time in elected office, he sought to build consensus and understanding across partisan lines, always working toward practical solutions to our nation’s challenges.”
“He gave life to the words ‘public servant,’ ” said Secretary of State John F. Kerry. “Whether in the Army Infantry during World War II, where he was awarded the Bronze Star fighting fascism; or as state attorney general, battling corruption; or, finally, as a United States senator, helping to pass landmark civil rights legislation and pushing for affordable housing, Ed Brooke gave to his country every day of his life.”
Senator Brooke was awarded the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, in 2004, and the Congressional Medal of Honor in 2009. His autobiography, published in 2006, is entitled Bridging the Divide.
In a blog post recalling Senator Brooke, Dean Maureen O’Rourke notes that, “Senator Brooke stands for many things and we are proud to claim him as our own and as one of our—and our nation’s—’firsts.’ Yet, for me, he transcends both race and politics. I will always be grateful to have had the opportunity to meet a man of his wisdom, kindness, generosity and humility. I will miss him.”
See more: Remembering a Pioneering Politician
