CAROL MOSELY BRAUN
- CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST -
G'day folks,
Welcome to the life of another outstanding woman. Carol Elizabeth Moseley Braun, also sometimes Moseley-Braun, is an
American politician and lawyer who represented Illinois in the United
States Senate from 1993 to 1999.
Carol
Moseley Braun became the first African-American woman to be elected to the U.S.
Senate in 1992.
Born on
August 16, 1947, in Chicago, Illinois, Carol Moseley Braun was elected to the
U.S. Senate in 1992, becoming the first black woman to earn that distinction.
While in office, Moseley Braun was accused of misusing funds from her 1992
campaign, and she lost her next race. She joined the private sector in 2004.
Carol
Moseley Braun was born Carol Elizabeth Moseley on August 16, 1947, in Chicago,
Illinois. A leading African-American politician, Moseley Braun's career has
been marked by both great successes and missteps.
After
graduating from the University of Illinois in 1969 with a degree in political
science, Moseley Braun attended the university's law school. She earned her law
degree in 1972, and began working as an assistant U.S. attorney in Chicago the
following year.
Moseley
Braun held her first political post as a Democratic representative to Illinois
House of Representatives, beginning in 1978. As a representative, she was known
as an advocate for social change, working for reforms in education, government,
and healthcare. In 1988, she took another challenge. She was elected recorder
of deeds for Cook County, Illinois, overseeing hundreds of employees as well as
the public agency's multimillion-dollar budget.
In 1992,
Moseley Braun made the leap to the national political arena: She ran for a seat
in the U.S. Senate, looking to unseat incumbent Democratic Senator Alan Dixon
in the Democratic primary. Up against a seasoned politician who had spent
decades in office, Moseley Braun appeared to be the underdog. But many
responded to Moseley Braun as a chance for political change. She won the
primary, but faced another tough opponent in Republican Richard Williamson.
Williamson tried to capitalize on Moseley Braun’s mishandling of a tax
situation. Although the scandal marred her campaign, she won the election,
becoming the first African-American woman to win election to the U.S. Senate.
As a
senator, Moseley Braun tackled many issues, including women's rights and civil
rights. She served on several committees, including the powerful Senate Finance
Committee. Moseley Braun continued to support educational reforms and called
for more restrictive gun control laws. Her time in office, however, was
affected by claims that she misused funds from her 1992 campaign, spending the
money on personal expenses. While no charges were ever filed, this allegation
clung to Moseley Braun as she sought re-election in 1998.
Moseley
Braun's re-election campaign was also hindered by her Republican opponent Peter
Fitzgerald. A self-financed candidate, Fitzgerald didn’t have restrictions on
how much he could spend during his campaign. He won the election by a close
margin. After leaving office, Moseley Braun was appointed U.S. ambassador to
New Zealand and Samoa by President Bill Clinton in 1999. She left the post at
the end of the Clinton Administration. A career-long advocate for education,
Moseley Braun then taught at Morris Brown College.
In 2003,
she campaigned for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Moseley Braun
opposed the war in Iraq and spoke out about the country’s economic situation,
but she dropped out of the race in early 2004 after failing to garner enough
support. She asked her supporters to vote for Howard Dean.
Since
then, Moseley Braun has been working as a business consultant and started an
organic foods company called Good Foods Organics. She has one child: a son
named Michael from her marriage to Michael Braun, which ended in divorce.
Clancy's comment: Mm ... Another great achiever.
I'm ...
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