Bridging the Divide: Tom Bradley and the Politics of Race

Historic Election of 1st Black Mayor of Majority White City

In 1973, Tom Bradley was elected mayor of Los Angeles, becoming the first African American mayor of a major U.S. city with an overwhelmingly white population. His multi-racial coalition of African Americans, Jews, white liberals, along with Mexican Americans and Asian Americans, united a divided city, and created a new model for race relations that reverberated across the nation.

Historic Election of 1st Black Mayor of Majority White City

3m 19s

  • 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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