Tom Bradley (1917-1998)
In 1963 an attorney and retired LAPD lieutenant named Tom Bradley (1917-1998) won election to the Los Angeles City Council, becoming the first African American elected to that body. Over the next thirty years Bradley became one of the most important politicians in the history of Los Angeles. He was elected the first Black mayor of Los Angeles in 1973 and won reelection four times, becoming the longest serving mayor in the city’s history. During this period Bradley oversaw massive growth that saw Los Angeles become the second most populous city in the nation. Bradley also supported the city’s successful hosting of the 1984 Summer Olympics, expansion of the public transit system and increased civilian oversight of the police department. US vice president Al Gore spoke at Bradley’s 1998 funeral comparing the former UCLA track star to his friend and college football teammate, Jackie Robinson, saying that “ in many ways, Tom Bradley was the Jackie Robinson of public service -- making history through his quiet dignity, his iron determination, and his ability to walk through doors that opened to his insistent knock.”
