Raymond Harris, son of Sen. Tommie Broadwater, stands in a solitary last moment at his father’s side as Broadwater laid in state at the old County Administration Building in Upper Marlboro July 31. PHOTO RAOUL DENNIS

Celebrating The Life Of A “Game Changer”

By Hamil R. Harris and Raoul Dennis

PHOTOGRAPHY BY: RAOUL DENNIS AND ROBERT ROBERTS // LEAD PHOTO: RAOUL DENNIS

Raymond Harris stood silently before the casket draped in the Maryland state flag. He was the last remaining mourner in the meeting room of the old county administration building. It had already been announced that the room be cleared. The viewing time for mourners to pay their respects to Senator Tommie Broadwater, Jr. had come to a close. But Harris wasn’t ready to leave yet. He remained there in front of the flag-covered coffin that held his father within it.

“Growing up, I was in awe of my dad,” Harris later said after Broadwater laid in state July 31. His voice was quiet, but his words were deliberate and chosen carefully. “From my perspective, my dad was a person who moved mountains. He was just that man who was always doing for others.”

**Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks. PHOTO: ROBERT R. ROBERTS.**

That perspective is shared by many others whose lives were touched by the man known as the godfather of Prince George’s county.

Tommie Broadwater, the first African American elected to the Maryland State Senate from Prince George’s County, died July 11, leaving behind a legacy of wielding power and befriending people from all walks of life. He was 81.

County Executive Angela Alsobrooks said “He was a mentor and a friend to so many of us. He was also a barometer. He gave us the truth about what was going on and needed in the community.”

**Hundreds of mourners attended the August 1 funeral to pay final respects to the late Senator Tommie Broadwater. PHOTO: ROBERT R ROBERTS**

“A lot of people have been talking about how instrumental Senator Broadwater [was in] opening the doors for so many of us to be here,” said Prince George’s County Council Vice Chair Wala Blegay. “He started opening the doors by creating the machine that got people from Glenarden into state office, county offices, all through the county, and now all through the state.”

Belinda Queen, former District 6 School Board member and community activist, grew up close to the former senator and was mentored by him.

“I call him Rocky, he was my godfather,” Queen says of Broadwater. “Everyone knew right here in Prince George's County he would always introduce me in the political world as his goddaughter. I grew up with his family, and he's really close to my family and my grandmother. He molded me and trained me. He really took me under his wings [and taught me] to be the politician that I am today, to realize that it is important for us to not only serve the people, to make sure we're putting the people first.”

The worship center of the First Baptist Church of Glenarden became a living almanac of Prince George’s County political history as generations of lawmakers paid their final respects to the Senator on August 1.

From the old crew at the Ebony Inn to lawmakers yet to be born when Broadwater was elected to the Maryland State Senate in 1974, more than 1,000 people filled First Baptist where Pastor John K. Jenkins eulogized Broadwater as a “game changer,” who made a difference to people from all walks of life.

“He was a community game changer. He was a key political figure,” preached Jenkins who concluded his eulogy by giving Broadwater’s widow and children a vacation. “Their dad had them working all the time. He was married to the same woman for 64 years…and I learned recently that they never took a vacation.”

In life, Broadwater was a Bail Bondsman, businessman, restaurant owner, and entrepreneur who was known as “the Godfather,” of county politics who groomed a generation of lawmakers.

“Come over to the Ebony Inn and let's have some BBQ,” Broadwater once said in an interview at one of the community events he attended long after he left the Maryland State legislature in 1983.

Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-Md.) said in a statement, “I was saddened to hear that we lost a trailblazer in Prince George’s County politics. Just last month, I attended a tribute in honor of the one and only Tommie Broadwater,” Ivey also said, “He knew your name. He knew your church. He knew about your struggling nephew or your sick aunt. From the halls of power as a State Senator in Annapolis to the halls of the courthouse in Upper Marlboro and Hyattsville, Tommie was a formidable player in Maryland's political and legal landscape. Many sought his advice.”

Broadwater’s political career began after he was elected to the Glenarden Town Council in 1968. In 1970, he was then elected to the county’s Democratic Central Committee. Then in

1974 Broadwater was elected to the Maryland State Senate where he represented the citizens of the 24th legislative District.

The tributes to Broadwater began several months before his death at two different tributes and concluded after his death with his body lying in repose at the county administration building Monday and finally during his funeral Tuesday.

Faith and politics shared the same space at First Baptist. Elder Bobby Henry of the City of Praise began the service by reading Psalms 23 and Rev. Henry P Davis, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Highland Park, then offered a prayer.

“God, we thank you for this gift of life. Thank you for loaning us, Tommie Broadwater. We are a better people because Tommie Broadwater came our way. We don't mourn his death, but we celebrate his life.”

As he walked into the sanctuary, Judge Alexander Williams, Jr. said, “You see a thousand people here because he helped so many people in a major way and people just loved him and each has a story to tell about what he did for them.”

“The family is certainly saddened by this loss, but they have so many powerful memories of Senator Broadwater. His legacy is just unbelievable” he continued. “Here we are today with a thousand people from all walks and from across the state and all this bespeaks of who Senator Broadwater was and the influence he had across the state.”

The front left side of the church was filled with lawmakers spanning many years. People from all walks and station, from the garage worker to corporate executive, joined the viewing line at First Baptist for a last goodbye to the beloved state leader. Here in this moment, Broadwater was touching people in the same way he did in life: from the streets to the elites, he connected with everyone. He never rose so high that he distanced himself from ‘regular people’ and he never bit his tongue in the company of ‘big people.’

And he was a fighter. A true scrapper. A political warrior.

Former County Executive Jack Johnson said,” He was the Muhammad Ali of Prince George’s County Politics. He was a fighter for the people. He loved the people, he worked for them and he made a difference for so many.”

“Tommie was here for Black people in Prince George’s County when that's all we had,” said former Maryland State Delegate and Prince George’s County Councilmember Jolene Ivey. “Senator Broadwater’s kindness and generosity, in every way, helped all of us who knew him to overlook any flaws he had. We should all hope to build those kind of relationships with people.”

Senator Anthony Muse said, “He was the one who made the way for all of the Black Senators from Prince George’s County. He was able to come up with a system that was not always kind to people of color. He was the Godfather of politics, and we all loved him.”

During the service, Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) spoke from a video as well as Maryland State Senator Joanne C. Benson while special guest Doug E. Fresh paid tribute to Broadwater calling him a member of the family.

Maryland State Delegate Nicole Williams said as she left the service, “I wouldn't be in the position I am in today had it not been for what he did for our county and our community.”

“Tommie and I were in Fairmont Heights elementary school together,” said lawyer Jerome Shelton. “I was in 7th grade with Lillian, I remember when he got tuberculosis, he started working at the Ebony Inn. I remember when he married Lillian and I followed him from then to now.”

The Broadwater story isn’t likely to end with the August 1 sunset.

Retired Judge Williams, who served as spokesman for the Broadwater family, says there are several potential projects that may discussed in honor of the senator.

“We are going to caucus together to see if we can come up with a memorial or a street named in his honor, a building named for him. We need to capture his memory so it’s not lost forever.”

Blegay responded to that question at the old CAB memorial for Broadwater the day before. She said a place in the upcoming cultural center is among the possibilities.

“We definitely look at Glenarden and make sure that we actually start to tell the story,” Blegay said. “We have the cultural center coming to Largo, and that's one of the things I'm going to make sure to bring up. We need a section that talks about what Senator Broadwater did. When people walk into that cultural center, they should be able to see [all] our history because when you read it, you realize it’s phenomenal.”

Harris, a retired police officer who has seen more than his share of human challenges, still describes his father with a certain wonder.

“I loved him, I respected him, I appreciated him for who he was. For me, he was larger than life. Just being in his presence, watching him and hearing him move mountains. Like I said, I was in awe.”