Former senator shares her history at UIS

February 11, 2009
By Bethany Snelson
Columnist

Okay, I have to admit.  Before I went to the History Makers event, I had no idea who Carole Mosley Braun was.  The name sounded familiar, but that was it.  After the event, I can say that I am thoroughly ashamed that I never knew about this wonderful woman before now. 

The event started out in a confusing fashion, with a number of speakers being introduced before one even saw Ambassador Carole Moseley Braun or Kemau Kemayo,   Assistant Professor of African American Studies. Honestly, by the end of the speeches, I was wondering if the ambassador was even there and if we were all just going to be shown a film of the interview between the two figures.  However, to my relief and delight, the ambassador was finally introduced after a short informational video. 

The set up was fairly informal with just two chairs and a table on the Brookens Auditorium stage.  The Ambassador seemed comfortable and one could see that she is a woman of strength and grace.  Her answers to Kemayo’s questions were filled with interesting stories that really drew in the listener.  She spoke passionately about her position in the U.S. Senate, in which she served from 1993-99, and about her childhood in the jazz era.  It was amazing to hear that she had actually met a lot of famous people, such as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Miles Davis. 

What was most impressive was how real the ambassador was with the audience.  She freely admitted that she was a dropout in high school and talked about her journey to finish school.  She talked about the hardships of her job and how she worried about her son.  It was admirable how she did not shy away from speaking exactly what she thought about some things, including gay marriage.  She made controversial statements about how interracial marriage was once treated as gay marriage is now treated. 

The stories Moseley Braun told were the best part of the event.  My personal favorite was a narrative about when she was serving as an Ambassador and she was supposed to go canoeing down the Amazon River with a native.  Their boat was a very primitive thing and when she asked her aides if they were coming, the reply was “No Ambassador.  Someone has to stay here to tell the state department what has happened to you.”  Everyone in the audience laughed at that one. 

Moseley Braun explained that her current project is changing over her family’s ancestral farm to organic farming and that she has no interest in doing anything else in politics.  The question and answer session was just as good as the rest of the presentation, though it had a downside. One person asked an inappropriate question and it was apparent he had offended both the ambassador as well as Kemayo.  Once again, though, the ambassador showed class and responded with only the most respectful answer.

At the end of the night I was really glad that I had gone to the event.  And not just because there was free food, which is often the draw for us poor college students.  I saw the real Carole Moseley Braun, an integral part of history and a real class act.