November 03, 2009

A Congressional Gold Medal

We’re a week late on the news, but on October 28 President Obama awarded a Congressional Gold Medal to LeDroit Park native son the former Republican Senator from Massachusetts Edward William Brooke III.

Though he grew up here in LeDroit Park (at 1938 Third Street, NW), Sen. Brooke represented Massachusetts for two terms, from 1967 to 1979, and was a strong supporter of civil rights laws.  He co-authored the 1968 Fair Housing Act, the first Federal housing law (with teeth) to prohibit various forms of housing discrimination.

Speaking of fair-housing policies, in 1948 the Supreme Court ruled that restrictive covenants (restricting home sales on account of race and religion) were illegal.  At issue in the case, Hurd v. Hodges, was the purchase of 116 Bryant Street, NW, in Bloomingdale.

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  1. […] 2004, Pres. Bush awarded Mr. Brooke the Presidential Medal of Freedom and in 2009 Congress awarded Mr. Brooke a Congressional Gold […]

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