The Senate is slowly becoming more diverse. Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick on Wednesday appointed William “Mo” Cowan to be the state’s next U.S. senator, succeeding John Kerry. Cowan, Patrick’s former chief of staff, will hold the seat until a special election is conducted June 25. Cowan, 43, will become the Senate’s fifth black member ever—and it is the first time in history that two black senators will be serving at the same time. In his speech appointing Cowan, Patrick noted the new senator’s humble childhood, saying he is the “affirmation of the American dream.”
