Cory Booker is an African-American politician who currently serves as the U.S. Senator from New Jersey. He was born in Newark, New Jersey to Carolyn Rose and Cary Alfred Booker, two African-Americans who were among the first wave of black families to move into the city's central ward in the 1950s. Cory Booker attended Stanford University on a football scholarship and went on to earn a law degree from Yale Law School. After working as a lawyer and community activist in Newark, he was elected to the Newark City Council in 1998. He served as Mayor of Newark from 2006 to 2013, before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 2014. Throughout his career, Cory Booker has been an outspoken advocate for social justice and equal opportunity for all Americans regardless of race or background.