Facts about Carol Moseley-Braun
Carol Moseley-Braun Biography
Carol Moseley-Braun became the first female senator from Illinois (and the first Black woman senator in American history) when she was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1992.
She received her bachelors degree from the University of Illinois in 1969, earned a law degree from the University of Chicago in 1972, and the next year joined the U.S. Attorney’s office in Chicago.
Moseley-Braun, a Democrat, served in the Illinois state Senate from 1979-87 and in 1992 was elected to her United States Senate seat. After serving one term she was defeated by Republican Peter Fitzgerald in 1998. She then served as the U.S. ambassador to New Zealand from 1999-2001 under appointment from President Bill Clinton.
In 2003 she began a run for the Democratic nomination for president, but she withdrew from the race in January 2004, endorsing Howard Dean instead.
Extra credit
Carol Mosely-Braun is divorced from Michael Braun (married 1973-86), a fellow student she met at the University of Chicago; they have one child, also named Michael… The second Black woman to serve in the U.S. Senate was Kamala Harris, who served in the Senate from 2017-2021, then became vice president of the United States.