A leader with no heirs
LOWELL -- It wasn't the gripping drama of the Republican State Convention that drew me to Tsongas Arena here this weekend.
There was no drama, with the top of the ticket decided months ago, and a decidedly thin slate of candidates for the other offices.
It wasn't for the opportunity to watch Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey address the partisans, either. She was interesting enough, but no reason to give up a glorious spring afternoon.
No, I came to Lowell to see a singular politician in Massachusetts history. I came to the convention to see Edward W. Brooke.
Now 86, the first popularly elected black US senator doesn't spend a lot of time in Massachusetts. He came to the convention for a commemoration of the 40th anniversary of his first Senate win, and the creation of an award named for him.
Brooke was elected in 1966, and served two terms. He was the first African-American senator in nearly a century. His only predecessors had been two Reconstruction Era senators who were voted in by carpetbagger Southern legislatures. No one had ever come close to pulling off what Brooke did.
And, of course, in Massachusetts he has had no heirs. Forty years after he was elected to the Senate, and 44 years after he was elected attorney general, he remains -- incredibly -- the only African-American to hold either office in this state. In fact, he's one of the few serious, black, statewide candidates ever.
He modestly deflected most of the credit for his political success. ''A lot of dedicated and loyal people gave of their treasure and efforts and worked door-to-door," he recalled. ''We ran a real grass-roots campaign. It was a tough fight back in those days."
Brooke said he is disappointed that only two African-Americans have been elected to the Senate since he was.
''Of course, I had hoped that the Senate would be more representative of the population and that there would be more black candidates for the Senate and more members would be African-American. It hasn't happened.
''One of the reasons is that a lot of them didn't run for that office because of the fear of rejection by white voters. And the other is white voters who still, because of their prejudices, will not vote for a black person. But I think that's going to change. I'm a supreme optimist, and I believe we're going to have a Senate that's more representative."
The issue of diversity, he noted, isn't confined to African-American candidates. ''With so many immigrants coming to the country from South America, from Africa, from Asia, the problem has somewhat widened, unfortunately. I'm hoping that the great diversity which has made this country great will be recognized by both political parties, and by the country as a whole."
Brooke has had health issues in recent years, but he seemed to be in fine form this weekend. Indeed, he delivered an impromptu tough-love speech to the convention, calling on delegates to get moving to recruit more candidates, and to do more to build the Republican Party. Brooke had entered to polite applause, but left the podium to a standing ovation.
Deval Patrick's gubernatorial campaign has occasionally made me think of Brooke's career, in that it confronts similar challenges. I asked Brooke if he'd been following it. He left no doubt where his loyalty lies in this election, and didn't mention Patrick at all.
''Of course, I'm a Republican, and I support Lieutenant Governor Healey for election," he said. ''You know, this is no longer a two-party state and that disturbs me. That disturbs me not just for the Republican Party, it's also disturbing for the Democratic Party. They need an opposition. All we've really got left is the governorship."
Brooke's career once seemed to answer the question of just how high African-Americans could rise in Massachusetts politics. In hindsight, though, it didn't. That's certainly not Brooke's fault. But it's almost as if, when Brooke left office, his secret of success went with him.
Adrian Walker is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at walker@globe.com. 
