Carol Mosely Braun
Carol Mosely Braun 1947 - present
Representation matters! Not because there is a magic number that automatically results in the ending of racism or injustice, but because empathy can only be realized when you either share an experience or you see yourself in another person. The election of Carol Mosely Braun to the United States Senate meant that Black girls and women finally had a voice in the country’s most exclusive lawmaking body. According to Braun, “I’ve never been anything other than a Black female, so I see the entire world through those set of experiences… I hope that set of experiences allows me to give back to the world something unique and something different that it needs to have.”
When Braun was elected to the Senate by Illinois voters in 1992, she became the first Black female Senator in U.S. history. Thus, 6, no other Black women have been elected t o the Senate. Braun’s historic election paved the way for future Senators Barack Obama, Corey Booker, and Kamala Harris.
Braun is a Chicagoan through and through. Her mother was a police officer, and her father was a medical technician. Braun’s parents instilled the importance of education in her. To pay for college, Braun worked multiple jobs. The hard work paid off as Braun soon after earned her law degree from the University of Chicago.
She went on to have an exceptional career as a prosecutor and eventually as an advocate for education, while serving in the Illinois state house.
