Carol Moseley Braun, ’72, Named Board Chair of the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center
Carol Moseley Braun named board chair of the DuSable
Carol Moseley Braun, the first Black woman elected to the U.S. Senate and a lifelong public servant, is the new board chair for the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center.
“Her status as a historical figure, her exceptional career and commitment to public service will bring invaluable expertise to the DuSable,” Perri Irmer, president and CEO of the DuSable, said in a statement. “We are confident that her leadership will help us continue to amplify our mission and the importance of Black history and culture, ensuring it is accurately told and shared with future generations.”
The first female senator from Illinois and one of only two Black senators in the 20th century, Braun served one term from 1993 to 1999. She was born in Chicago in 1947 and came of age during the Civil Rights Movement, which instilled within her an early interest in politics. Braun worked on the campaigns of state Sen. Richard Newhouse (D-24th) and then-state Rep. Harold Washington (D-26), and later obtained a law degree from the University of Chicago. She spent the next five years as a prosecutor in Chicago, before launching a successful campaign for the Illinois House of Representatives in 1977. Representing the 24th and then 25th districts, which encompassed Hyde Park, Braun spent a decade pursuing liberal social agendas and coordinating with Mayor Harold Washington’s administration on Chicago-specific issues and policies. She left that role for a term as the Cook County Recorder of Deeds.
Read more at Hyde Park Herald