May 29 - BlackFacts.com Black History Minute

BlackFacts.com: Learn/Teach/Create Black History

BlackFacts.com presents the black fact of the day for May 29.

Thomas Bradley was elected the first African-American mayor of Los Angeles.

The son of sharecroppers and the grandson of slaves, Bradley grew up in poverty. When he was seven years old, his parents moved to Los Angeles.

He was attending Southwestern University Law School while a police officer and began his practice as a lawyer when he retired from the police department.

His first mayoral campaign was in 1969; the city was still recovering from the Watts riots of 1965.

In 1973, he defeated Sam Yorty after establishing the support of a coalition with white voters. Bradley was re-elected four times.

Bradley’s achievements included securing the 1984 Summer Olympic Games for Los Angeles and presiding over two decades of expansion and civic growth.

He ran for Governor of California twice, in 1982 and 1986, but lost both times to Republican George Deukmejian. He was the first African American to head a gubernatorial ticket in California.

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