Edward Brooke, first black elected US senator passes away

Edward Brooke, the first elected black US senator passed away on 3^rd January 2015. He was 95.
He belonged to US’s Republican Party.
About Edward Brooke

• He was elected to US Congress in 1966 by voters of Massachusetts State at a time of widespread racial unrest in the country.
• He was also the first African-American to hold the post of attorney general of any state in US. He was attorney general Massachusetts State.
• He had served as Congressmen in the US Senate till 1979 and was one of only nine African-Americans to do so, including US President Barack Obama.
• His name i.e. the Brooke amendment was given to US federal housing act, passed in 1969, which limited to 25 percent the amount of income a family must pay for rent in public housing.
• He lost his bid for the third term to Congress in 1978. After this defeat he returned to private law practice.
• In 2004, he was awarded US Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 2009, he was also awarded Congressional Gold Medal, the highest award Congress has to honor civilians.

Month: Current Affairs - January, 2015