Educator, Lawyer, Senator

Born as Carol Elizabeth Moseley Braun on August 16th 1947, she is considered one of the leading Black American political figures in the country.

Raised in Chicago, Illinois, she attended the University of Illinois and graduated in 1969 with a Political Science degree. She then proceeded to law school at the same university and earned her degree in 1972, after which she started working as an assistant US attorney in Chicago a year later.

In 1978, Moseley Braun held her initial political seat as one of the Democratic representatives of the Illinois House of Representatives. She focused her work on issues of social change, particularly in healthcare, government and education. A decade later, she took on another position and was elected as the recorder of deeds for Cook County and administered hundreds of employees as well as the multimillion budget of the public agency.

In 1992, she ran for the United States Senate, aiming to replace fellow Democrat Alan Dixon in the Democratic primary, and won. She then became the first Black American woman in the Senate. As senator, she dealt with issues such as civil rights and women’s rights, education, and gun control.

Moseley Braun sought re-election in 1998, but lost to Republican Peter Fitzgerald. Despite losing the position, she was appointed by former president Bill Clinton as US ambassador to Samoa and New Zealand, a post she resigned from when after Clinton’s term ended.

Today, Carol Moseley Braun works as a business advisor and the owner of organic foods company Good Foods Organics.