Government & political leaders
Bill Owens
1937–2022
Massachusetts connection
Boston; Massachusetts State Senate
Owens became the first Black member of the Massachusetts State Senate when he began serving in 1975. This is a different job from Edward Brooke’s U.S. Senate service. State senators help make Massachusetts laws; U.S. senators help make national laws.
You can use your device’s reading tools or read with a partner.
Your turn, historian
Find a detail. Build an idea.
- What did this person or group do? Point to a detail in the reading.
- Whose voice did this person bring into public decisions?
- What would you like to find out next? Which kind of source could help?
“Bill Owens mattered because ___. A detail that supports my idea is ___.”
Follow the evidence.
This short reading is an original classroom summary. Open the source with your teacher to check details and learn more.
Read the source: Commonwealth of Massachusetts ↗Ask: Who made this source? What can it tell us? What might it leave out?