Colored Water and the Power of One: Brandeis University's Eleanor Roosevelt Lecture featuring Carol Moseley Braun.
Carol Moseley Braun was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president of the United States in 2004 and has served her country as the United States Ambassador to New Zealand, a county executive officer, an Illinois state representative, and Assistant United States Attorney. From 1993 to 1999 she served as a United States Senator for Illinois, becoming the first African-American woman elected to the Senate. She is the founder and CEO of Good Food Organics, and currently maintains a business law practice and consultancy in Chicago.
Ambassador Braun will chronicle changes in the United States' social order that have occurred during the last generation, focusing on the role of the individual to effect such change- Brandeis University
Bio
Carol Moseley-Braun
Carol Moseley-Braun is a former Democratic Senator from Illinois and the first African-American woman ever elected to the U.S. Senate. She was elected to the Senate in 1992 and has since supported a variety of legislative causes, including child care, women in business, and education. She was the first permanent woman member of the Finance Committee, a member of the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, and a member of the Special Committee on Aging. Formerly, she served on the Judiciary Committee, the Small Business Committee, and on the Bi-Partisan Commission on Entitlements and Tax Reform.
Moseley-Braun introduced 14 separate bills during her time as a senator, more than half of which became law. The first bill she introduced requiring Congress to disclose the costs of any federal unfunded mandates, became law in 1995. She initiated the Education Infrastructure Act as well, a first effort by the federal government to repair and renovate elementary and secondary school facilities and libraries. She also coordinated Project Synergy, a public/private partnership that introduced Chicago public school children to computers and technology donated by local companies. She also co-sponsored the Community Development Financial Institutions Act, which allowed people and businesses in underserved neighborhoods improved access to capital, and was active in amending and passing the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, an initiative in preventative crime strategies.
Moseley-Braun was educated at the University of Illinois at Chicago and at the University of Chicago Law School. Prior to her election to the Senate, she served the state as an Assistant United States Attorney (1973-77), a member in the Illinois State Legislature (1978-88) and a Recorder of Deeds of Cook County (1988-92).