WASHINGTON — Former Sen. Edward Brooke, the first black man elected by popular vote to the U.S. Senate, pointedly suggested Wednesday that lawmakers put aside their partisan differences awhile.
At a Capitol ceremony honoring him, the 90-year-old Massachusetts Republican addressed a multitude of issues on Congress’ plate: health care, overseas wars, restoring the economy and providing Americans with adequate housing.
“We’ve got to get together,” Brooke said. “We have no alternative. There’s nothing left. It’s time for politics to be put aside on the back burner.”
Brooke was presented the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest award Congress has to honor civilians for contributions to society.
At the ceremony, President Barack Obama called Brooke “a man who’s spent his life breaking barriers and bridging divides across this country.”
Brooke grew up in Washington and served in a segregated unit in the Army during World War II before entering the political arena and winning election to the Senate in 1966 as the first black senator since Reconstruction.
