President Obama today presentedformer U.S. Senator Edward William Brooke III with the Congressional GoldMedal for his unprecedented and enduring service to the Nation. The ceremonywas held in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.

The Congressional Gold Medal, designed and struck by the United States Mint,honors Senator Brooke's pioneering accomplishments in public service. SenatorBrooke broke new ground at a time when few African-Americans held state orFederal office. He was the first African-American elected to the U.S. Senateby popular vote, serving with distinction for two terms, from January 3, 1967,to January 3, 1979. During his first term, Brooke was appointed to thePresident's Commission on Civil Disorders, where his work on discrimination inhousing served as the basis for the 1968 Civil Rights Act.

The medal's obverse (heads side), designed and sculpted by United States MintSculptor-Engraver Don Everhart, features an image of the senator with theinscription EDWARD WILLIAM BROOKE on the right side. The medal's reverse(tails side) depicts the U.S. Capitol Building at the top and theMassachusetts State House at the bottom between two olive branches. Thecenter of the design showcases the inscription AMERICA'S GREATNESS LIES IN ITSWONDROUS DIVERSITY, OUR MAGNIFICENT PLURALISM HAS MADE THIS COUNTRY GREAT, OUREVER-WIDENING DIVERSITY WILL KEEP US GREAT. Additional inscriptions on thereverse are ACT OF CONGRESS 2008 and MASSACHUSETTS STATE HOUSE. United StatesMint Sculptor-Engraver Phebe Hemphill designed and sculpted the medal'sreverse.

To read the complete press release, see:Former U.S. Senator Edward William Brooke III Receives Congressional Gold Medal(www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS208857+28-Oct-2009+PRN20091028)

The crisp cadence of a fife-and-drum corps reverberated through the Capitol Rotunda on Wednesday morning, the august room packed with nearly 500 people craning their necks to see the remarkable tableau arranged on a stage before them.

There sat Edward William Brooke III, who grew up in a segregated neighborhood not far from the Capitol, fought in a segregated Army in World War II and returned to Washington in 1967, the first African American elected to the Senate by popular vote -- and on this day, the recipient of the highest honor Congress can bestow, the Congressional Gold Medal.

And there sat President Obama, whose stunning electoral journey to the White House seemed no more improbable than the one made four decades earlier by the 90-year-old man who sat beside him, a black Protestant Republican who won in the overwhelmingly white, Catholic, Democratic state of Massachusetts. After Obama heralded Brooke for a life spent "breaking barriers and bridging divides," the two men embraced tightly. It was a reminder of how much this country has changed in their lifetimes.

To read the complete article, see:An honor for a Senate pioneer(www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/28/AR2009102805119.html)