Bridging the Divide: Tom Bradley and the Politics of Race

Bradley’s LA Becomes Polarized and Erupts into Civil Unrest

While Mayor Bradley presides over a city polarized by race and class, anger over the beating of Rodney King, the murder of black teenager Latasha Harlins and the acquittal of LAPD officers accused of beating Rodney King, fuels the 1992 civil unrest, one of the largest urban riots in U.S. history. Mayor Bradley tries to bring the LAPD under control and force LAPD Chief Daryl Gates to resign.

Bradley’s LA Becomes Polarized and Erupts into Civil Unrest

4m 3s

  • Full Episode: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Full Episode

    S1 E1 - 55m 40s

    Thirty-five years before Barack Obama’s election as President, the question of race and the possibility of bridging racial barriers were put to the test in an overlooked story in American politics: Tom Bradley’s 1973 election as Mayor of Los Angeles: The first African American mayor of a major U.S. city elected with an overwhelmingly white majority.

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