Edward Brooke

90 years old, Edward Brooke was awarded with Congressional Medal of Honor on Wednesday. He was the first African-American elected with popular vote in US senate. He received award as a former US Senator from Massachusetts.
In the ceremony President Obama said that Senator Brooke “moved the arc of history.”
In 1967, he holds his office after electing as first African-American senator with popular vote.
He was defeated by Paul Tsongas in 1978 after two terms. He is a man of honor and voted two of President Nixon’s Supreme Court nominees. He was the first senator to call for the resignation. To work on the causes like civil rights, housing, education, and women’s rights he arranged many meetings with other senators.
He was born in 1919. He served in World War II and as Massachusetts Attorney General from 1962 to 1966. He graduated from Howard University and Boston University Law School.
Two years ago Edward Kennedy nominated Brooke for the Gold Medal. He said for Brooke that he had an

“extraordinary career of breaking down the barriers of race and reaching across party lines to bring people together around common-sense solutions.”

Gold Medal is awarded for the

“highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions”

. Since 1976 it has been awarded 150 times. George Washington was the first to get Gold Medal. Last month Arnold Palmer received the Gold Medal. Each medal honors “a particular individual, institution, or event”