Immoral...unethical...excessively controversial are all stereotypical words that are used to describe politicians today. Carol Moseley-Braun is a great example of a courageous politician who has used ethics, morals, and controversy to serve the people. Moseley-Braun symbolizes a true heroine who has given women a flicker of hope and courage to excel in the world. The former Senator of Illinois and the first African-American woman to serve in the Senate, Moseley-Braun came to the Senate in 1992 after her upset primary and general election victories. In 1991, Moseley-Braun challenged Senator Alan Dixon of Illinois, who had voted to confirm Clarence Thomas as associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She believed that Dixon’s support for Thomas, who had been accused of sexually harassing a female co-worker, showed that he was out of touch with his female constituents. Moseley-Braun won the three-person Illinois Democratic primary and defeated Republican Richard Williamson in the 1992 election. Her first year in office was marked by controversy and praise for her stand against the renewal of the patenting for the Confederate flag as the insignia of the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

When asked why she was risking her political career in a losing battle, she responded that she owed the challenging of the flag to her ancestors to stand up and say "no." She believed that the flag was a symbol of the long struggle for civil rights and to all hose who died in slavery. Moseley-Braun said that she was not opposed to the Daughters of the Confederacy or their charitable works, only to the fact that the Senate would approve a logo which held a symbol that affected so many African-Americans. She stood her ground and won the battle. Her political courage changed the world. Without people like Carol Moseley-Braun, we will continue to be held hostage by race, religion, and gender. Carol Moseley-Braun gave that flicker of hope and courage to a generation of women who is now unafraid to stand up and be heard.