Five Things most Americans didn’t Know About Beau Biden

When we lose a leader, a champion of equality in the justice system and politics, it hits home pretty hard. Beau Biden, the son of Vice President Joe Biden, passed away last week due to a brain tumor. He was diagnosed in 2013 and fought the hard battle that many face when diagnosed with the same thing. I refuse to say, “he lost his battle to cancer” as most people do, because no one who fights a battle with cancer loses. Each fight is a step closer to a cure. He fought with the very best medical care possible. I am encouraged and believe this will inspire those in the medical field to help find a cure for this horrible disease. The story of the Biden family resonated well with America and here’s why.

1. Beau Biden was Delaware’s Attorney General for eight years. As Chief Law Enforcement Officer of his state, Biden made and enforced laws that many consider near and dear to our hearts. He concentrated on many things but ran on a platform of keeping our children safe from internet predators, keeping our senior citizens safe from abuse and helping to stop domestic abuse.
2. As Beau, his Mom and siblings were going to buy a Christmas tree, they were in a tragic car accident that killed his Mom and little sister, leaving his Dad, Joe Biden, a single parent. Joe Biden was a widower for some time and would go home to his children daily, even as it demanded a four hour travel time each day. He did this so that he could tuck his children in at night, while during the day, he was a champion of equal rights for us, the poor and middle class. Beau, followed naturally and genuinely in his footsteps.
3. Beau served in the Iraqi war and flew in from Iraq to Washington D.C. to be with his Dad for his swearing in ceremony as Vice President of the United States of America.
4. Beau Biden’s political reforms were about equality and justice for all people and he fought for LGBT rights and civil rights for all Americans.
5. In 2010, even though many wanted Beau to run for the Senate, he declined and stayed true to his promise he made when he ran for  Attorney General and prosecuted what some say is one of the worst pedophiles of all time, Earl Bradley, a pediatrician, who raped, violently attacked and recorded the crimes he committed on children as young as 3-months old. More than 1,400 complaints came in about this child molester and Beau Biden successfully put this man behind bars for 14 life sentences without parole. Biden said, “I am determined to see that this defendant will never, ever be in a position to hurt another child again.” And he did just that.

For some, it takes an 80+ year old lifetime to achieve the things Beau Biden did in his short 45-years of life. His experiences were far beyond the spectrum of what most of us will achieve in our lifetime and as we selfishly mourn the loss of a great political figure, father, son, brother, husband and friend, we must continue to celebrate the life of so many like Beau Biden that do not reach the headlines each day. The power he had as an Attorney General fueled equal rights for the LGBT community, Black and Latino Americans and so many more. So as we say farewell to one of the greats, let us continue the work that he has done. Because Beau Biden was here and because he served, he has made this country a much better place for all who call it home.