Cory Booker Adds to the Senate Legacy

Posted on: October 16th, 2013 by tommyj

With a victory in the Senate race for the state of New Jersey, Cory Booker adds to the short list of popular elected Black Senators. Only 3 before him have won their seats by in a popular election. In the 237 years, there have only been a total of 8 Black elected Senators in American history…and his presence is a welcome from the recent influx of elected officials that have a personal agenda instead of the country’s best interest. Some do have their own party’s best interest in mind. And if you ask them they say it is the will of the American people who they represent. The last I checked, I did not ask to have the government of the United Staes of America to shut down, take the country to the brink of a default or to not pass laws that would help create JOBS, JOBS, JOBS as promised in the 2010 midterm elections.

The 2010 elections began an era of radical positions on American policy and views. The majority of those elected took positions that were in the interest of a minority segment of America..The Tea Party. Their views seemed to not be their own, but a conjoined agenda passed down by big backers and organizations. These new officials came from a gerrymandered segment of local communities, without any diversity of thought and ideology. There seems to be no free thinking member among them. Public officials like Cory Booker, that have represented a diverse population bring a better representation of America to Washington DC. Mayor Booker has shown his community, city, state and America that he governs on an even kiel. The demographic of Newark is as diverse as the opening session of a UN meeting, a little bit of everyone. A politician that has a hands on approach to governing and dealing with his constituents, will deliver an approach similar to that of a Trigonometry equation “If – Then”.

From our little corner of the world here in San Diego, we have seen the effects of a mayor who has his hands on the pulse of the city and a mayor that has his hands on…well you know. And one of them ends up not to good for the city. Mayor Booker’s open approach to government and the importance of government officials to see his constituents as people and not just a block of voters, helps to make better decisions when there is a need to get involved and when to take a step back approach. This leads to a “Solution” that is in the best interest of all, not just the select few or a supporters cause. Keeping people in perspective, Mayor Booker was literally hands on when saving lives, physically and figuratively. An intelligent approach to solving problems creating opportunities is a missing trait in Washington.

Eight African Americans have served in the United States Senate. No African American served in the elective office before the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1870. The Fifteenth Amendment prohibits the federal government and state governments from denying any citizen the right to vote because of that citizen’s race, color, or previous condition of servitude. Of the eight senators, three were popularly elected, two were elected by the Mississippi State Senate, and three were appointed by a state Governor. The 113th United States Congress marked the first time that two African Americans have served concurrently in the Senate. Congratulations to Cory Booker in his bid to the US Senate and welcome to history.

The official senate portrait of Barack Obama, the fifth African-American United States Senator who would later become the first African-American President

P. B. S. Pinchback (1837–1921)
Republican 44th (1875–1877)

Hiram Rhodes Revels (1827–1901)
Republican 41st (1869–1871)

Blanche Kelso Bruce (1841–1898)Republican
44th (1875–1877) 45th (1877–1879)
46th (1879–1881)

Edward William Brooke, III (born 1919)
Republican 90th (1967–1969)
91st (1969–1971)
92nd (1971–1973)
93rd (1973–1975)
94th (1975–1977)
95th (1977–1979)