42 | Outsiders On The Inside | It’s the Senate, and We in It
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Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to Black History for Real early and ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Francesca, what's your real unapologetic take on Black Republicans? Ooh, okay. Um, well...

The logical part of my brain says black people are not a monolith and we are allowed to support whatever politics and politicians that we would like. And then the other part of my brain says, what y'all doing? I don't get it. I just I just it just seems weird.

Again, like people have the right to support whoever they want, but it feels so aggressive when I encounter black Republicans, at least online, not really in real life. It's kind of this like, I'm better than you. And like, I'm above racism. And.

And, you know, I pulled myself up on my bootstraps. And but then they're like the only black person in like a sea of white people. And they're wearing Trump merchandise. And it just it feels like this performance that is all about like, look at me. I am I'm the type of black person that love it all. And it's just very powerful.

Weird. I don't get it. What about you? Yeah, I have a lot of thoughts, of course. I'm going to try to keep it as simple and short as possible. I can make a distinction between the old school Republicans that I grew up around and the new school Republicans that exist today. Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell were very respected in the black community. They had a high regard and they didn't have this anti-black relationship to the rest of the community. These modern day black Republicans didn't.

I don't think that they have the same relationship and the community don't have the same relationship to them either. When you was talking, I was thinking about this Fox News segment I saw with these current black Republicans that have been elected into position. And all of them were bragging about how they were elected in majority white districts. And to me, it speaks volumes to what you was getting at. Like they like being the tokenized examples of what black is. In many different instances,

consciously and subconsciously be like, I'm not like them niggas over there. Right. Let me add to that. I'm not like them niggas over there. It's very strange to me. Like, B, I'm of the mind that I want to go where I'm celebrated and where I'm seen. I don't want to go anywhere where I am being exalted or hailed as better than other Black people.

And look, let's also just, you know, the elephant in the room here, the two-party system has never been perfect, okay? That idea of voting blue no matter who has had a chokehold on many Black Democrats. And we will acknowledge that it's not a perfect system in any stretch of the imagination. Oh, no, not at all, not at all. And on the other hand...

We got plenty, plenty reasons to look at black Republicans sideways. Like how all of y'all free thinkers, they went down the same path to saying that you don't go for this party because they want you on the plantation.

and that you've done all the research and now you're going to side with the party that currently houses the Confederate flag-toting KKK support people? But more young Black folks are turning to the Republican Party, and a lot of them aren't feeling any party. They're feeling disenchanted about politics, period. Any way it goes, Black folks got some tough choices. It's hard to tell who really got our best interests in mind. Who really do.

It's 1978, Worcester, Massachusetts. Senator Edward Brooke is blessed or maybe politically cursed. He's about to give a speech at the pre-primary Republican convention. Ed's running for a third term in the U.S. Senate. He flashes a wide smile and waves as he walks into the room. Usually giving speeches is a breeze, but he's never been under this much pressure. It'll take an act of God to keep him in the race.

Ed's been accused of mismanaging funds. And Ed's personal drama ain't helping that at all. He's divorcing his wife, Remesha. Press is bad and folks are turning against him. There's another Republican candidate gaining steam. Conservative talk show host A.V. Nelson. Ed doesn't need to apologize. He's always talked to the Massachusetts Republican Party into nominating him. He steps up to the lectern to speak.

"I know some of you may have been following the negative news about me, but don't let the media fool you." Ed's heart drops. "Just look at my record in the Senate. I've been working to cut taxes. I made it easier for young folks to afford houses." Rage rises from the pit of his stomach into his throat. This feels like a betrayal. He grips the edge of the lectern so tight it cuts into his palms.

The Republican Party is lucky to have a Ed Brooke, someone who has the head on right, who's not just spewing conservative nonsense. You can tell he's mad because he's speaking in a third person. I don't need this. I don't know how they talked back then, but I don't know. Yeah, he's pissed. He's never blown up like this in public. He needs this nomination or his entire political career might be dead in the water.

In the past decade, Boeing has been involved in a series of scandals and deadly crashes that have dented its once sterling reputation. At the center of it all, the 737 MAX. The latest season of Business Wars explores how Boeing allowed things to turn deadly and what, if anything, can save the company's reputation. Make sure to listen to Business Wars wherever you get your podcasts.

♪ Heritage, black is royalty ♪ ♪ From head to toe, black is beautiful ♪ ♪ Black is beautiful ♪

From Wondery, this is Black History For Real, where we chronicle the stories of movers and shakers from Black history all over the world. The stories will inspire you, educate you, and more often than not, need you shaking your damn head. I'm Consciously. And I'm Francesca Ramsey. Today, we're diving into the stories of the first Black senators after the Reconstruction era. A long time after Reconstruction.

Post-Reconstruction was a dark time. Black folks were barred from voting. Lenchings were happening left and right at record high numbers. And segregation was being written into law. But in the 1960s, the civil rights movement was popping. The Senate was bound to see some of that action. This is episode two, Outsiders on the Inside. Black is beautiful.

Edward William Brooke III is born in Washington, D.C., in 1919. Edward's name comes from his formerly enslaved grandfather. His dad, Ed Brooke Jr., is raised in Freedom. His mom, Helen Seldon, doesn't remember anything about her mother, but her father was white. Ed's got his white grandfather to thank for his super light skin, but he doesn't spend much time around white people. D.C.'s not Chocolate City yet, and it's segregated.

His childhood's kind of a dream. He ain't oblivious to how Black people are treated in America, but he's protected. He goes down to the Potomac River with his mom for picnics. And some summers, his family rents a cottage at an up-and-dee resort town for Black folks in Maryland called Highland Beach. Ed doesn't know how precious those trips with his mom are. By the time he does, it's too late. His childhood might be a dream, but soon Ed's forced to wake up.

Ed goes to Howard University, a historically black school on the northwest side of Washington, D.C. He majors in sociology and pledges to the great Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, the oldest black college fraternity in America. The frat's full of scientists, athletes, and artists who inspire Ed. In 1939, he's elected president of the chapter.

He calls it his baptism into politics. The threat of war is hanging over the European continent when Ed joins Howard's ROTC program. It trains students for the military. In September 1939, Germany invades Poland and the Second World War begins.

Two years later, Ed graduates and enters the Army Reserves Corps as a second lieutenant. So far, the U.S. has avoided fighting in the bloody war. Ed's not looking forward to getting called up and moves back in with his parents. He don't have much time to get comfortable. In November 1941, his mom gets sick. Loud noises are excruciating. She hardly eats, and terrible pain is almost constant. The worst part is, the doctor can't do nothing to help her.

Ed helplessly watches Helen suffer, and his load's about to get a lot heavier. Shortly after Sunday, December 7th, 1941, Ed's military bill comes due. It's a day like any other in D.C. Overcast, a light drizzle of rain, cold enough for Ed to see his breath when he sighs. He's swaying gently in a rocking chair on the front porch of his parents' house. All of the phones in the house got pillows over them to muffle the sound.

There's a towel over the doorbell to make sure nobody rings it. The radio used to be blaring at all hours. The news, music they danced to, and now silence. Ed's chest aches. He can't do anything to help his own mother. A guy holding an envelope walks up to the porch. A message for 2nd Lieutenant Edward Brooke.

It's a Western Union telegram. Ed's hands shake as he takes the letter and opens it. It's an order from the army. The words melt together. Declaration of War. Fort Devens. Combat. Ed swallows. He's been called up for combat. Fort Devens is in Massachusetts. That's hundreds of miles away from his mom. Do you... Do you know what this is about? Pearl Harbor, sir. It's been bombed by the Japanese.

No one would be foolish enough to bomb America. The messenger squints his eyes, confused. Oh, yes, they would. Pretty sure we're about to enter the war. Didn't you hear about it on the radio? The radio in his family's house is quiet. Of course he didn't hear it. How's his mom going to survive when he's hundreds of miles away?

Ed clears the lump from his throat. He lifts his eyes up to the dreary horizon and prays his mom stays alive until he returns home and that everything he learned in the ROTC and Alpha Phi Alphas, enough to keep him alive. Ed breaks the news to his parents. On January 2nd, 1942, he hops on a train. He ain't thrilled to be leaving.

But America's allegedly on a mission to protect freedom and democracy. He's excited to fight German Nazis. Ed's part of the Black 366th Infantry Regiment. The Germans viciously attack his regiment at Mount Fieto in Italy. Every morning at 6, their troops are violently slaughtered. Ed starts believing his commanders are racists, looking for ways to off Black folks.

Ed and the other black soldiers are fighting for America and its high ideals, and they're being treated like second-class soldiers. But see, who's an enemy and who's an ally ain't so black and white away from the front lines. Ed meets a white woman named Regina Ferrari Scacco when he's in Italy. She's beautiful.

But she don't speak English that good and she got some man. That don't keep Ed from kissing her when they meet again. They got a special connection. He's falling for her. But Ed isn't in Italy for love. He's here for war and he fights for his country and his life. In 1945, the U.S. drops two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The devastation shocks the world and Japan.

Japanese Emperor Hirohito surrenders. The most destructive war in the history of the world is over. Ed goes back to America, but everybody isn't happy about his return. Ed's excited to see his parents, but war has changed him. He ain't a little boy in a bubble no more.

Ed fought for the nation, but Black veterans are being humiliated and murdered by white mobs. He went overseas to fight for freedom and democracy, and Black people in his own country still need help. Nothing's changing. He's lived in the nation's capital all his life and never really cared about politics, but he didn't survive a war to die back home. He's ready to get a little more political, and law school's his first step.

Ed leaves D.C. and goes to the Boston University School of Law. He keeps his head in the books, but his heart's on Remesia, his Italian Bhutan sweetheart. They've been sending each other letters across the ocean, and their devotion grows deeper and deeper. Ed flies Remesia out to the U.S.,

Days after she arrives on June 7th, 1947, they get married. It's a fast turnaround. Ed's dad worries being in an interracial relationship will make life harder. But their love for each other is intense. In 1949, Ed finishes law school. He moves to the Roxbury neighborhood in Boston with Remesia. They have two children. He settles down, but he doesn't get complacent. Combat didn't free Black Americans, but maybe politics will.

Ed's already dabbling in community work. Roxbury's dealing with the crime and lacks good social services and facilities. The neighborhood needs good Black leaders. Ed's regiment forms a Veterans Association, and he becomes its first president. Their motto is fitment.

Good soldiers, better citizens. Ed doesn't think of himself as a politician. He doesn't even know if he's a Democrat or a Republican. Ed campaigns to be the Massachusetts representative from Roxbury's 12th Ward. He's not really happy with the Democrats. They're looking a little corrupt. Boston's Democratic mayor just went to prison for bribery and fraud.

Then there's his still-forming politics. He's kind of bootstrappy. He thinks that the government should only do what folks can't do for themselves. Looks like the Republican Party is the way to go.

More than 5,000 people vote for Ed, but he finishes in third place and loses the race. Society ain't ready for him. He's a Republican in a Democratic state. He's Black when Massachusetts is mostly white. He's Protestant in a state that's mostly Catholic and he's poor.

Even his wife is a problem. Some black and white folks ain't down with the fact that Ed's married to a white woman. Ed just can't catch a break. Starting in the 1950s, he loses election after election after election. Eight-year-old Carol Mosley is having challenges of her own in the 1950s. She's growing up in Chicago and struggling in school.

Carol glances at the kids in the front row on the way to her seat. She doesn't know what makes the kids in the front different, but she's seen the other kids laugh at them. Her teacher passes out a worksheet. You're going to write a story about someone who has superpowers. Carol wants to write a story about kids who can fly. It takes her so long to write, and she only gets one sentence down in five minutes. The teacher frowns down at Carol's paper. Come with me. The teacher leads her to the front row.

You'll be here today. I think you're like them. Probably gonna need a little more help. Oh, Carol gets it now. The kids she's sitting next to, they probably couldn't write their stories right either. Carol turns around. The entire class stares at her. Some of the students' hands fly in the air. The teacher turns to Carol and the students in her row. You all keep working. I'm sure you need more time.

Carol turns her back around and buries her face in her hands. "Alright, who wants to share?" It's not fair. Carol didn't choose to have dyslexia. Reading and writing can be a struggle, but she manages her work just fine. Most of the time. Shame and embarrassment turn sour in her stomach. Carol's gonna escape the front row, no matter how much work it takes. No one will ever make her feel small again.

The intersections of racism and ableism has always been one that's been very, you know, premium in our society. And I can only imagine how crazy it was when our society was just that much more unapologetic about being ableist and not give a damn about other people's feelings. So I can only imagine.

Yeah. I mean, I will say that the ableism is one of the things that's been hardest for me to work on because it is so casually ingrained in everything. And, you know, when we're talking about these intersections, disabled people are the largest minority group in our nation, and we really don't talk about them in that way. So then when you have the added lens of

being a black person. And so often disabilities are just completely misunderstood to this day to try and go back in time and understand what it must have been like to already have people thinking that you are

are less than because you're black. And then you have the added challenge of seeing the world differently when you're trying to, you know, do your schoolwork, no matter how you focus, those accommodations that even today where we struggle to give kids certain accommodations or even adults, they don't want to give accommodations.

So I can't imagine how challenging that was in the 1950s. Definitely. And for people in the back that's listening, when we talk about ableism, it's just defined as discrimination against people with disabilities. I know sometimes we throw words around that maybe people would not be that familiar with. And I know that ableism is so...

normalizing our society. Most folks don't even know there's a word for it, you know what I'm saying? So, you know, next time you find somebody being discriminatory or being insensitive to an individual with disabilities or to the concept of disabilities, they are in fact being ableist.

Carol's parents, Edna and Joseph Mosley, are active in the labor movement. When she's around 11 years old, her dad takes her to meet Anna Langford, the first black woman alderman in Chicago. She goes to community protests and marches for open housing in the 1960s. Carol looks up to the folks like the first black woman to graduate from the University of Chicago Law School, Jewel LaFontaine.

- Jewel's also the first Black woman to serve as the Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. Those are achievements Carol can get behind. - Carol starts thinking about where she wants to focus her career ambitions. Her dad wants her to make money and tells her to go into law. She trusts his guidance, so she agrees. Maybe she'll end up as successful as Anna and Jewel and all the other powerful women she looks up to. - In 1961,

Ed's got his eye on an attorney general job. No black person's ever been attorney general in any state. Ed ain't got the best track record for winning races. And he got some stiff competition. A white man named Elliot Richardson is a partner at a prestigious law firm.

Elliot's burning to become Attorney General, too. And he's got a mean resume. Like Ed, Elliot's a World War II vet. But Elliot was also a boxing champion at Harvard. And he served in the Eisenhower administration. He might cast a spell on Massachusetts voters. There's only one way to find out if Ed's good enough to beat him.

I'm Erlon Woods. I'm Nigel Poore. We're the hosts and creators of Ear Hustle from PRX's Radiotopia. When we met, I was doing time at San Quentin State Prison in California. And I was coming in as a volunteer. The stories we tell are probably not what people expect from a prison podcast.

Like cooking meals in a prison cell. Keeping little pets. Prison nicknames. And trying to be a parent from inside. Stories about life on the inside, shared by those who live it. Find Ear Hustle wherever you get your podcasts.

On January 5th, 2024, an Alaska Airlines door plug tore away mid-flight, leaving a gaping hole in the side of a plane that carried 171 passengers. This heart-stopping incident was just the latest in a string of crises surrounding the aviation manufacturing giant, Boeing.

In the past decade, Boeing has been involved in a series of damning scandals and deadly crashes that have chipped away at its once sterling reputation. At the center of it all, the 737 MAX, the latest season of business wars, explores how Boeing, once the gold standard of aviation engineering,

descended into a nightmare of safety concerns and public mistrust. The decisions, denials, and devastating consequences bringing the Titan to its knees. And what, if anything, can save the company's reputation? Now, follow Business Wars on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge Business Wars, The Unraveling of Boeing, early and ad-free right now on Wondery Plus. ♪ Black is beautiful ♪

In April 1962, Ed officially announces he's running for office. Ed knocks on doors, goes to town committees, and speaks at Republican events. He's not super well-known, and many folks don't expect him to win. But in politics, you've got to expect the unexpected. Ed stands outside of Worcester Memorial Auditorium on June 16, 1962. It's the day of the pre-primary convention and he's high as spirits.

He smooths his fade and stares up at the arena's huge Greek columns and bronze doors. Fitting for his monumental day. At the end of it, Republicans are going to vote on who gets the party's endorsement to be the Attorney General. And, well, nothing can bring him down.

A roll call kicks off and Delegates Ed checks off his supporters. Vote for Elliott? Rumors spread. It's chaos. Ed's supporters say Elliott got a drinking problem. And Elliott's supporters say Ed's a communist who hits his wife. Ed grabs a pamphlet off the floor. Republicans shouldn't vote for Negroes because Negroes don't vote for them. Things have gotten off the rails.

Ed's disappointed in the Republican Party. The votes for Elliott are stacking up. He needs 854 votes to win. If Ed loses, his political career is over. He's lost too many elections already. The last delegation votes. Elliott gets 854. Exactly enough to get the win. His career in politics ain't barely got started.

The chairman calls for a second ballot. Ed plays the game. He tells indecisive delegates that he'll win the general election.

The votes come in again, 792 to 693. Ed wins this time. Ed wins the general election and becomes the first Black Attorney General of any state. In 1964 and 65, the Civil Rights and Voting Acts banned racial discrimination in employment, public accommodations, and voting. Ed serves two terms and dreams of being in the U.S. Senate. Times is changing.

Ed's feeling good about his political future. Now the man's personal future? Things getting rough. He's working long hours and coming home stressed. Shout matches between Ed, his wife, and his daughter happen so much, the neighbors ain't even surprised no more. Still, Ed shoots his political shot.

In December 1965, he announces his run for the U.S. Senate. If he wins, he'll be the first Black senator elected by popular vote. The two Black senators before him, Hiram Revels and Blanche Bruce, were elected by state legislatures a century ago.

In 1966, Ed's historic campaigns all over the news. He's against President Lyndon B. Johnson bombing policies in Vietnam. He claims he's colorblind, but pushes voters to rise above racism. He's got a record for supporting civil rights. Sometimes. Ed's trying to play both sides. But the Black Power movement is ramping up and race riots are popping off across the country.

It can't avoid it. He's going to have to talk about his blackness. That time comes in the fall. Civil rights activist Stokely Carmichael gives passionate speeches supporting black power in Boston. White folks are scared. Ed loses his lead in the polls and he turns with the quickness. He calls Stokely an extremist and says, a vote against me is a vote for Stokely Carmichael.

Hey, man. I'm a big fan of Stokely Carmichael, a.k.a. Kwame Ture. And what I know is that when it comes to his politics, he was very unapologetically back.

And I think that it's worthwhile to contextualize what was going on in this time, because this is when Barry Goldwater is formulating his Southern strategy. And this is when you see a lot of those old school Southern Dixie cracks start to switch over and move to the Republican Party. And a lot of those, you know, old liberal Republicans switch over to being, you know, modern day Democrats. That is the history that we tend to forget.

And a lot of ways that folks like to be lost in the sauce of race neutrality, trying to play both sides and act like, you know, these party systems don't just switch up like musical chairs, depending on what era we're talking about.

Yeah, it's also just disappointing that any black person would ever think, well, my job is going to be to position myself as the better black person and that that's going to help them in the long run. Because like you're still saying that black people are a monolith and you are still using another black person to position yourself as better and

And ultimately, you're both still black. So like, it doesn't mean that, you know, that there might not be differences between you politically or ethically, but ultimately in a white supremacist society, at some point, you're still going to have to reckon with the fact that

are still going to see you as black. Like even if you align with them in certain ways, like it's never, it's never enough because you're ultimately still black. And especially when you think about like what Stokely Carmichael was advocating for, it's almost like, bro, you realize he wants a better world for you also. Like he's, he's not just advocating for, he's advocating for all black people, including you. I think that is the, the,

struggle and difficulties when it comes to black grassroots movement organizing and being in politics. Stokely Carmichael is prioritizing the political, social, economic, you know what I'm saying, independence of black people. And Ed is trying to win the election to be able to, you know, hopefully impact the political, social, economic reality of black people. And

And when you, I feel like when I studied the 1960s, I seen that that tension that was going on then is kind of what's going on right now. When you think about how people are being very critical of Vice President Kamala Harris and how they are supporting her and being president based off of the different ways in which they feel like she's been marginalizing black issues or not going as hard as she needs to, or when it comes to her not calling for that ceasefire in Palestine. To me, I feel like it always shows that

Black politicians have always had to distance themselves from black revolutionaries and black revolutionaries have always been the thorn in black politicians side. And both of them have always tried to figure out how to work with each other while always figuring out how to get in each other's way.

Coming off that vote idea, it's enough to reverse his slide in the polls. The media is still fascinated by Ed. He's soaking up the limelight. And in November 1966, Ed wins the Senate race by a whopping 61%. He takes office in January 1967.

But some Black folks side-eye him. Only two of his staffers are Black. Time magazine calls him a NASP, a Negro Anglo-Saxon Protestant. I might still laugh, but I ain't gonna count. Remesia and the kids stay in Boston. In Ed's case, distance don't make the heart grow fonder. He's stepping out on his wife. His wandering eye and his strained marriage with Remesia are a constant.

Carol Moseley Bronze got a lot less drama in her life. In 1969, she earns a degree in political science from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Then she becomes one of 10 black law students at the University of Chicago Law School. One of her professors tells her that she's a law student first, then a woman, then black. But Carol tells the professor that the world sees her as black first, then a woman, then a law student. Carol organizes the Black Law Students Association, and then in 1972, she graduates with her law degree.

She runs a private law practice. Then she works as an assistant United States attorney. She marries a white man named Michael Braun, and they have a son. She's happy being a lawyer and ain't interested in running for political office. But that don't last long.

Carol has a neighbor in Hyde Park named Kay Clement. She encourages her to run for the Illinois House of Representatives. At first, Carol's not so sure about her odds. She doesn't know anything about politics. Her supporters tell her she can learn, but other folks are more cynical and they're not going to hold their tongues. Carol peers through the peephole on her front door. It's a black man she don't recognize. He's wearing a checkered button-up suit jacket. He steps back,

and she can see his hand in his pockets. I hear you on the other side of that door. How is that possible? She barely moved. Carol slams her hand against the door. The deadbolt isn't locked. I didn't say you could open my door. Come on now. I just want to talk. I heard you were running for the state house. You heard wrong. People are trying to get me to run. What exactly are you here for? She looks out the peephole again. He's gazing back like he can see her too.

Don't run for the House. The independent Democrats have been fighting the establishment for a long time. Don't ruin it for them. Carol peers out at him. The audacity. This is what you came for? To threaten me in my own house? I don't know if you know this, but this neighborhood is integrated. White folks are going to vote for a white person, and nobody's going to vote for a woman anyway. Leave now.

Her hands are shaking. Sweat glues her blouse to her body. But she's fired up. Another person who doesn't really know her underestimating her. Just like that elementary school teacher. Not again and not this time. Carol's gonna enter the race.

Kay Clement helps Carol build a campaign. They want to bring people together and avoid race issues. They call themselves the Coalition Crusade for Good Government. In 1978, Carol beats several other candidates in the race for the Illinois House of Representatives. Her term starts in 1979. She focuses on education and health care reform.

Carol becomes the first woman and the first black person to serve as assistant majority leader in the Illinois House. Her focus on race neutral politics is strategic. Soon, she'll be hitting folks upside the head with race issues.

Carol's just getting started in Springfield, and over in D.C., Ed Brooks hitting his stride in the Senate. He serves his second term in the late 1970s. Ed opposes apartheid in South Africa and supports integration in the U.S. He also advocates for low-income housing. Ed decides to run for a third term in the Senate. He's on top of the political world, but his personal life is still in shambles. Ed's dating Anne Fleming, a woman he met at a party he threw for his mother.

Ann's about to flip Ed's life upside down in more ways than one. See, Ed files for divorce in 1976. Ramesha and their daughter Remy tell the press they're shocked about the divorce filing. Ramesha says he waited till she was out of the country to file out a spike. He pays her around $500 a month, but that ain't cutting it. She tells the Boston Globe,

After 30 years of marriage, I have no personal insurance. I'm sick and I don't have enough money for the things I need. Ed tells the press he pays for everything and that they've been discussing divorce. But Ed's weak and Democrats and Republicans pop up as challengers for a Senate seat. The bad news keeps coming after Ed's divorce team makes a mistake on a financial statement. The public's losing trust in Ed.

He wins the Republican pre-primary convention in Worcester, Massachusetts. But he's booed at the event and explodes in anger. Democrat Paul Senghas defeats Ed in the election. His political career is dead. Just like his marriage to Remesia in 1979, he marries his new love. And it'll be a while before another Black person gets to see him the same. But the next Black senator is about to unlock a whole new door in national politics. ♪

Carol Moseley-Bronze finally made her way to the top of her political world, but her home life suffers. She divorces her husband in 1986, and she's outgrowing the Illinois House of Reps, but fate's on her side in surprising ways.

In 1991, Anita Hill accuses Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas of harassment. Delaware Senator Joe Biden's leading Clarence's hearings in the optics are beyond bad. A bunch of white men tearing down a black woman. Carol's disgusted. She's convinced the Senate needs to change. It's too white and too male.

Carol jumps into the race for Illinois senator. She tells a reporter, my duty is to stand up for something and to be the spokesperson for the outrage and disappointment and those who wanted to see change in the Senate. Getting endorsements and monies like pulling teeth. And folks are watching her every move. The Federal Election Commission investigates her because she got more than $200,000 in unaccounted campaign expenditures. She says she ain't corrupt.

But she ain't done flirting with trouble. She meets South African Hosey Matthews, and he woos her. He's a dapper man who got experience working on Jesse Jackson's presidential campaign. In late 1991, Hosey becomes her campaign manager. They fall in love and are engaged for a little while. He boosts their campaign, but trouble follows him. Hosey and Carol might be spending campaign money on shopping sprees and trips.

Husi's also accused of sexually harassing campaign staff. But Carol sticks by him. Her loyalty and questionable spending could be her downfall. For now, Carol rides the backlash and defeats Republican Alan Dixon. She's the first Black person to serve in the U.S. Senate since Ed Brooke. And she's the first ever Black woman in the Senate. Carol's the new senator-elect when Husi becomes a lobbyist for the Nigerian government.

Folks are looking to capitalize on her blackness. Joe Biden is the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and he wants Carol to join. Eventually, she caves, and it's the start of a relationship with Joe that pays off. Long after, they're both out of the Senate. Carol starts her Senate term in January of 1993, and she's not just the first black woman in the Senate. She's the only black person in the Senate during her term. Double trouble.

The drama begins a few months after her term starts. A vote comes up in the Senate Judiciary Committee. It's a design patent renewal for the United Daughters of the Confederacy. The organization's logo has a Confederate flag on it. There's no way Carol's voting for that traitorous symbol of slavery and racism. The renewal's rejected. Republican Senator Jesse Helms isn't happy with the decision.

Carol's sitting in a hearing when she finds out Jesse's proposing an amendment to the committee's rejection. Carol might be the first Black senator, but racial progress clearly isn't linear. Carol hurries to her desk. She's exhausted. But Jesse's up to a bunch of white nonsense. She catches the tail end of Jesse's speech.

Carol rolls her eyes and scans the faces of the three other senators in the chamber.

Oh, give me a break. The American flag doesn't even have a patent. And this unpatriotic flag should? The Confederates were fighting to keep my ancestors enslaved. More senators show up in the chamber, confused by the back and forth.

Oh, please. Making this about race? I don't know about Illinois, but race relations are great in North Carolina. Let's not resort to theatrics. I try to be calm, try to be laid back. But this is an insult to millions of Americans, black and white. Carol puts out a motion to table the amendment, but the motion loses 48 to 52. Carol's so angry she can barely breathe, but she takes the floor again.

Carol sits through three hours of debate over the patent renewal. Eventually, her motion to table the amendment goes up for another vote. This time, it passes 75 to 25. It's one of her first victories, but the fall is coming.

Carol's getting along fine with the other senators. She's liberal on social issues like gun control and the death penalty. And in 1994, she writes the Educational Infrastructure Act. She wants to bring more money for education into low-income communities. But her public persona is about to take a hit. The Federal Election Commission case over Carol's campaign money is dropped.

But she's not out of the woods. Carol and Hosey catch heat from meeting with Sonny Abacha, a dictator in Nigeria in 1996. It's a bad look and it's bad timing. Right before the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Carol takes her chances and runs for a second Senate term in 1998. But her reputation's damaged beyond repair. She loses the race to Republican state Senator Peter Fitzgerald.

In January 1999, Carol leaves the U.S. Senate. She says she's never running for office again. Ed Brook isn't trying to be near national politics when he leaves the Senate either. He goes back into law and makes a decent living. And he has a son in 1981 with his wife, Anne. Life is chill.

Ed's still invested in politics, just not as an elected official. He supports extending the Voting Rights Act to all the states. He's also pro-choice and says that he would hate to see the day Roe v. Wade is overturned. In 2009, President Barack Obama awards Ed a Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award in the country.

Ed doesn't live to see the Supreme Court overturn Roe. He dies in 2015 at 95 years old.

Carol mostly bronze pro-choice, too. But she's more worried about other issues. She's against the Iraq war. She thinks the country's spending money all wrong. She think Americans treat the environment terribly. To her, it all comes down to bad leadership. She starts running for president in 2003. She promises she'll bring more women and minorities into politics if she wins.

No more feeling inferior. She's aiming for the top. But Carol lags in the race. She drops out in early 2004. In 2011, she campaigns for mayor of Chicago and loses. She doesn't become secretary of the interior like she wants in 2020. Clearly, she's not folks' first choice. Maybe she should wipe her hands of politics. Her old colleague, President Joe Biden, don't leave her hanging, though.

In 2024, he taps Curl as the chair of the U.S. African Development Foundation. She's concerned with human rights in African countries. She says that Africa is chaotic and she's dedicated to bringing democratic and American values to the continent. Hang on, it's sounding like peak American imperialism, literally like let's civilize the Africans with some American values. Yeah, I ain't going for it.

Sometimes I'm looking at Carol and Ed Brook funny, but they both rose higher than folks ever expected. They cleared the path for a mixed kid with a funny name to become the first Black president. And now Carol's rooting for another politician who came in her wake, Kamala Harris. Maybe the U.S. is finally ready to vote a Black woman into the Oval Office.

If you like Black History for real, you can listen early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. ♪♪

This is episode two of our three-part series, Black Senators. We use multiple sources when researching our stories, but Bridging the Divide by Ed Brook, Senate.gov, and The Senator and the Socialite, The True Story of America's First Black Dynasty by Lawrence Otis Graham were extremely helpful. Black History for Real is hosted by me, Francesca Ramsey. In

And me, Consciously. Black History for Real is a production of Wondery. This episode was written by Eves Jeffcoat. Sound design by Ken Nana. The theme song is by Terrace Martin. Lindsay Gomez is the development producer. The court name producer is Taylor Sniffen. Sophia Martins is our managing producer. Sonia May is our associate producer.

Our senior producers are Matt Gant and Morgan Gibbons. The executive producers for Wondery are Marshall Louis, Aaron O'Flaherty, and Candace Malinkas-Wren.