SUBTLE REVOLUTIONIST: THE LIFE AND POLITICAL CAREER OF SENATOR EDWARD W. BROOKE by JORDAN O’NEAL ALEXANDER A DissertAtion Submitted in PArtiAl Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Public History Middle Tennessee StAte University June 2020 DissertAtion Committee: Dr. Louis KyriAkoudes, Chair Dr. Michael DAvis Dr. Brenden MArtin Dr. Carroll VAn West TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………...........1 CHAPTER 1: CIVIL RIGHTS, RACE AND REPUBLICANISM………………….….13 CHAPTER 2: THE SUBTLE REVOLUTIONIST………………………………………53 CHAPTER 3: CREATING A BETTER LIVING FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS…….88 CHAPTER 4: STRIVING FOR CIVIL RIGHTS………………………………………121 CHAPTER 5: THE APEX OF BROOKE’S CAREER………………………………...162 CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………………………197 BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………………………209 APPENDICES………………………………………………………………………….224 APPENDIX A ………………………………………………………………………….225 APPENDIX B………………………………………………………………………….229 APPENDIX C………………………………………………………………………….231 APPENDIX D………………………………………………………………………….234 APPENDIX E………………………………………………………………………….242 ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Giving all honor and praise to God, this dissertAtion would not be possible without the prayers, support, and encouragement of several people in my life. My parents, O’NeAl and InettA Alexander, and younger sister, Tiffani provided encouragement and inspiration during the reseArch and writing processes, in addition to challenging my thinking. I would not be who or where I am without their love and support. To Rasheika SwAin And the SwAin FAmily, thank you for your encouragement And support. Your friendship has been invaluable throughout the reseArch and writing phases. To my interviewees, thank you for sharing your stories and experiences. Your wisdom, support And encouragement have enriched my life. My mentors, Dr. Michael DAvis, Dr. MAry Hoffschwelle, Dr. Pippa HollowAy, Dr. Louis KyriAkoudes, Dr. Brenden MArtin, Dr. Kristine McCusker, Dr. Molly TAylor–Poleskey, Dr. LisA Pruitt, And Dr. Carroll VAn West, encouraged me to persevere as I neAred the end of my graduate studies And began the writing phase of my dissertAtion. I am grateful to Dr. Louis KyriAkoudes for his discussions of the Civil Rights Movement’s multifaceted contexts and historiography, which aided my reseArch. LAstly, a speciAl thank you to Dr. Carroll VAn West for his insight, wisdom and encouragement when the writing process becAme a little overwhelming. I hope this work is a reflection of my commitment to excellence as well As everyone’s influence in my life. iii ABSTRACT In the second half of the twentieth century, EdwArd W. Brooke becAme one of the best known and respected AfricAn AmericAn politicAl leAders in the nation. He stood Against the national pattern, when mAny blAck politiciAns and voters turned Democratic during FDR’s New DeAl and then strongly endorsed President HArry S. TrumAn’s decision to desegregate the militAry in 1948. The old, moderate strand of the RepublicAn PArty, the party of Lincoln, appeAled to Brooke, who sought to protect civil rights and perceived the RepublicAn PArty as the most consistent wAy to achieve that goal. In so doing, Brooke ignored the direction of his party since the eArly twentieth century. He knew these patterns but remAined wedded to the RepublicAn PArty. Brooke believed that he could achieve more for civil rights within the party than without. For Brooke, RepublicAn PArty membership wAs more than a tool to ensure re-election in A stAte where blAck AmericAns only comprised two percent of the populAtion. As a RepublicAn, he shaped the civil rights legislAtive agenda. Brooke has fallen so far out of the diAlogue of mid–twentieth century civil rights leAders becAuse that wAs A banner he felt uncomfortAble weAring. Therefore, Assessments of Brooke and civil rights been in the wrong direction. He did not seek to be a civil rights hero—thus those looking for heroes And heroines ignore him—insteAd he advocAted a third path, one of bipartisAnship, cooperation and enlightened policymAking. This dissertAtion pursues these Answers through an analysis of the lAte senator’s commitment to government reform, bipartisAnship and protection of civil rights during his tenure in Congress from 1967 until 1979. iv 1 INTRODUCTION In the second half of the twentieth century, EdwArd W. Brooke becAme one of the best known and respected AfricAn AmericAn politicAl leAders in the nation. His cAreer in politics began modestly enough. In 1950, Brooke cAmpaigned as a “cross– filer” for the RepublicAn and Democratic nominations as the stAte representAtive from the Twelfth WArd in Roxbury, MAssAchusetts.1 Brooke cAmpaigned diligently, speAking with diverse groups, such as the Jewish, blAck, and ItAliAn communities, as well as white RoxburiAns. He won nomination on the RepublicAn ticket, but then lost in the general election.2 Observers believed Brooke ran a good cAmpaign, which mAde him a potentiAl cAndidate for future office. In 1952, he announced as a cAndidate for the RepublicAn nomination for stAte representAtive.3 Although he cAmpaigned persistently, Brooke lost in the general election.4 Nevertheless, he cleArly identified himself as a RepublicAn. Brooke wAs drawn to the RepublicAn PArty for a number of reAsons. First, his parents were RepublicAns.5 Second, he considered the Democratic PArty, at the locAl and stAte levels, to be corrupt.6 Third, on the stAte level, Democrats had long ignored blAck AmericAns’ 1 Senator EdwArd Brooke, interview, October 31, 2001, trAnscript, NAtional Visionary LeAdership Project Collection of AfricAn AmericAn OrAl Histories, LibrAry of Congress, WAshington, D.C., 51. 2 Brooke, interview, October 31, 2001, 55; SenAtor Edward W. Brooke, Bridging the Divide: My Life (PiscAtawAy, NJ: Rutgers University, 2007), 56. 3 Brooke, Bridging the Divide, 55–57. 4 Brooke, interview, October 31, 2001, 51–52; Brooke, Bridging the Divide, 60. 5 Brooke, interview, October 31, 2001, 55. 6 Brooke, Bridging the Divide, 55, 64–65. 2 needs and consistently undermined civil rights legislAtion, as Brooke noted, “It wAs a RepublicAn governor and a RepublicAn legislAture that enacted antidiscrimination lAws And Democrats who resisted them.”7 From his perspective, the example of genuine, RepublicAn stAte leAders working on behalf of MAssAchusetts residents reinforced Brooke’s decision.8 For example, “the RepublicAn PArty had desegregated the NAtional Guard” in MAssAchusetts and wAs “… much more progressive than wAs the Democratic PArty.”9 Brooke stood against the national pattern, when mAny blAck politiciAns and voters turned Democratic during FDR’s New DeAl and then strongly endorsed President HArry S. TrumAn’s decision to desegregate the militAry in 1948. The old, moderate strand of the RepublicAn PArty, the party of Lincoln, appeAled to Brooke, who sought to protect civil rights and perceived the RepublicAn party as the most consistent wAy to achieve that goal.10 In so doing, Brooke ignored the direction of his party since the eArly twentieth century.11 The RepublicAn PArty effectively abandoned blAck AmericAns for northern, EuropeAn immigrants whom party leAders deemed hard working, loyal and the 7 Brooke, Bridging the Divide, 58. 8 Ibid., 55, 57–58. 9 Brooke, interview, October 31, 2001, 55. 10 Brooke, Bridging the Divide, 6, 55, 57–58, 60; Brooke, interview, October 31, 2001, 55–56, 73–74; Edward W. Brooke, The Challenge of Change: Crisis in Our Two–Party System (Boston: Little, Brown, And CompAny, 1966), 64–77, 148–159, 160–169, 184–215, 266. 11 HeAther Cox RichArdson, “ChApter 4: AbAndoning Equity,” 79–107; “Chapter 5: Republicans and Big Business,” 109–138; “Chapter 6: Republicans Become Liberals,” 194–195, in To Make Men Free: A History of the Republican Party (New York: BAsic Books, 20014), Accessed April 4, 2019, ProQuest Ebook CentrAl. 3 embodiment of AmericAn citizenship, although the national coalition gradually adopted A more nativist approach during the 1920s.12 Consequently, some RepublicAn officiAls viewed some blAck AmericAns as lAzy, insolent and undeserving of first–class citizenship.13 Incipient Jim Crowism spreAd throughout the RepublicAn PArty in the 1920s and 1930s and often limited blAck AmericAns’ work opportunities to meniAl jobs.14 Secondly, blAck AmericAns looked for new allies. As politicAl historiAns Joshua FArrington and ElizAbeth Gritter both noted in their monographs, Black Republicans and the Transformation of the GOP And River of Hope: Black Politics and the Memphis Freedom Struggle, 1865–1954, blAck AmericAns initiAlly received patronage from the federal government, in the form of jobs through the postAl service, but that pattern began to diminish in the 1920s.15 BlAck RepublicAns throughout the South organized blAck/biraciAl politicAl coalitions, known as BlAck–And–TAn groups, to ensure protection of civil rights and job opportunities for blAck communities as white RepublicAns becAme indifferent to civil rights injustices.16 Intense lobbying and 12 RichArdson, “ChApter 4: AbAndoning Equity,” 79–107; “Chapter 5: Republicans and Big Business,” 109–138; “Chapter 6: Republicans Become Liberals,” 194–195, in To Make Men Free, accessed April 4, 2019, ProQuest Ebook CentrAl. 13 RichArdson, “ChApter 5: Republicans and Big Business,” 109–138; “Chapter 6: Republicans Become LiberAls,” 194–195, in To Make Men Free, accessed April 4, 2019, ProQuest Ebook CentrAl. 14 RichArdson, “ChApter 6: RepublicAns Become LiberAls,” in To Make Men Free, 194–195. 15 JoshuA FArrington, Black Republicans and the Transformation of the