Cory Booker’s ethnicity, confirmed

Has Cory Booker‘s record-setting 25-hour Senate filibuster left you wanting to know everything there is to know about the New Jersey Democrat? Here’s a look at Booker’s ethnicity, with some crucial details about his family.

First off, Cory Booker is of African American and European descent. Many sources say his maternal grandfather was of Native American ancestry, though there is no widely known record of Booker discussing having a Native American grandfather. Booker has, however, spoken about his parents, their involvement in the Civil Rights movement, and their role in integrating a previously segregated neighborhood.

Booker’s trailblazing parents

My dad taught me never lose your laugh or take yourself too seriously. That joy isn't something that happens to you—it’s a choice you make. He died 6 days before I was elected to the Senate. Death can end a life but can't end a love. pic.twitter.com/oHfEHo1inW

— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) February 5, 2019

Booker, 55, was born on April 27, 1969, in Washington, D.C., but raised in Harrington Park, New Jersey. His parents are Carolyn Rose Booker and Cary Alfred Booker, who died in 2013, at age 73.

Both of Booker’s parents were trailblazers in the corporate world as some of the first Black executives at IBM. His parents were also involved in the civil rights movement. They played a key role in integrating the same predominantly white neighborhood in New Jersey where Cory was raised.

Referring to his father, Booker said,

My father passed away a few days before my election. This man, an African American born to a poor single mother in 1936 in the South, would worry in the last years of his life that he had better life chances when he was growing up than a young man born in the same circumstances would have today.”

And in his book Thoughts on Common Ground, Booker added,

My father taught me early in my life that attitude is a conscious choice; it is a currency available even to those with no access to money. No matter what the circumstances, you exercise your power, you demonstrate your worth, when you decide how to act and react in the face of it all. If the world punches you in the gut, that doesn’t define you; it’s what you do next that speaks your truth.”

Booker’s brother, Cary, is not his twin

With my brother Cary headed to Somerset, NJ for African American Day Parade events. pic.twitter.com/yoUydrbaea

— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) May 20, 2017

Cory has one brother, Cary Booker II, and although they look a lot alike, they aren’t twins as some suspect. Cary is also in public service, working as the Assistant Commissioner of the Department of Education at the State of New Jersey, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Cory has never married and does not have children. He dated actress Rosario Dawson from 2020 to 2022, and before that, he was romantically linked to influencer stylist Cleo Wade.

Booker ran for president in 2020, and some speculate he may run again. What’s for certain, after his history-making filibuster, he’ll be in the spotlight for some time to come, and before long, we may learn even more about Booker’s ethnicity and family background.