This Week In Black History

Thomas Bradley, lawyer, police officer and city councilman, was elected the first Black mayor of Los Angeles, CA, on this day. Though the city was only 15 percent Black at the time, Bradley garnered 56 percent of the total vote in defeating incumbent mayor Sam Yorty. Bradley was re-elected and served an unprecedented five terms. During his 20-year tenure, the city flourished as a financial center and benefited greatly from hosting the 1984 Summer Olympic Games. Bradley was born on December 29, 1917, in Calvert, TX. His family moved to L.A. when he was 7 years old. He entered the University of California at L.A. in 1937, majoring in education. From there he joined the Los Angeles police department and rose to the rank of lieutenant, the highest rank held by a Black during his 21-year career. In 1963, he became the first Black elected as a city councilman. He served in that position until he won the mayoral post. He retired from public office in 1993. He died on September 29, 1998, of a heart attack at the age of 80, in Los Angeles.

May 30, 1965-

Vivian Malone Jones became the first Black graduate of the University of Alabama on this day. Jones graduated with a bachelor's degree in management. Two years earlier, she, along with James Hood, made civil rights history by successfully enrolling at the University of Alabama despite then-Governor George Wallace, who stood in the way of the schoolhouse door in an attempt to prohibit court-ordered desegregation there. Most of Jones' working career was spent in the federal government until she retired in 1996 as director of the federal Office of Environmental Justice in the Environmental Protection Agency. Her civil rights-related efforts have earned her numerous awards. In 1995, the University of Alabama celebrated the 30th anniversary of Jones graduation by establishing the Vivian Malone Jones Scholarship Fund. Jones currently lives in Atlanta.