60 years after black Americans won the right to vote United States Through the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Senator Tim Scott made history, becoming the longest serving African-American in the 235-year history of the United States Senate. This historic moment will be shared with four other African-American senators, making it the largest group of black senators to serve simultaneously in the US Capitol, in a building built with slave labor.
On Friday, Scott will reach this milestone and become the longest-serving senator, replacing the record previously held by Massachusetts Republican Senator Edward Brooke, who served from 1967 to 1979. It is a first in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
In his first speech as a former senator, Scott said, “I believe in the greatness of America because I have experienced the goodness of our people in America. An ordinary guy like me can be blessed with such a unique opportunity.”
In this Feb. 25, 2020, file photo, Sen. Cory Booker and Sen. Tim Scott attend a briefing of administration officials on the coronavirus on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.
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Born and raised in North Charleston, South Carolina, Scott grew up in a single-parent household following his parents’ divorce. He was a troubled teenager who failed English, Spanish, geography and civics in his first year of high school. She often recalls the strained relationship she had with her grandfather, who dropped out of school in the third grade, picked cotton to survive, and was denied a vote for more than half his life. Even his grandfather, unable to learn to read, saw his grandson rise from those humble beginnings in South Carolina to become both a member of Congress and a US senator.
“Our family went from cotton to Congress all our lives,” Scott said at the 2020 Republican National Convention.
After serving in the House of Representatives from 2011 to 2013, Scott was nominated to the Senate by South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley in 2012 after former Senator Jim DeMint left to become president of the Heritage Foundation. Democratic Senator Cory Booker, who was elected in a special election, did not enter the Senate until a month after Scott’s nomination.
Senator Tim Scott, R-South Carolina and ranking member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, speaks during a hearing on December 11, 2024 in Washington, DC.
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In 2024, the Senate will see the highest number of black senators ever at the same time. This group includes Rochester senators Raphael Warnock, Booker, Scott, Angela Alsobrooks and Lisa Blunt. Rochester and Alsobrooks will also break barriers as the first two women to serve simultaneously in the Senate.
In his early days in the Senate, Scott was occasionally the only black person in the Senate. In 2016, following the deaths of Eric Garner, Walter Scott and Philando Castile, he gave a poignant speech about the deep divide between the law and communities in America. He reported that, as an elected official, he was stopped seven times and asked that he was driving. Even as a senator, Scott was questioned about his identity by Capitol Police despite wearing a pin identifying him as a senator.
“I thank God I wasn’t physically harmed, but I’ve felt the pressure when the scales of justice are tipped. I’ve felt the anger, frustration, sadness and humiliation that comes with feeling. If all you’re aiming for is being yourself,” Scott said in 2016.
This Nov. 13, 2024, Sen. Tim Scott, R-South Carolina, arrives midway through the Senate Republican leadership vote at the Capitol in Washington, DC.
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As his tenure ends in the 119th Congress, Scott will make history as the first Black chairman of a standing Senate committee. He will chair the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee and also chair the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the only black Republican to hold that position.
Marking the milestone achievement, Scott said in a statement: “My goal is simple: to work for the United States of America. As we begin to clean up the mess of the previous administration, I look forward to working with President Trump on his priorities, including paving a path for all Americans to dream of.” so that they have the necessary tools and resources to achieve the American version.”
“We will unlock opportunity, strengthen our nation, and make America a shining city on the Hill again,” he added.
