Los Angeles' first Black mayor, Thomas Bradley, was born.
(Photo: Sam Mircovich / Reuters) On Dec. 29, 1917, politician
Thomas “Tom” Bradley was born in Calvert, Texas. Bradley was the
first Black mayor of Los Angeles and served in office from 1973
to 1993. He was also the first African-American mayor of a major
American city without a black majority. Born the son of
sharecroppers and the grandson of slaves in rural Texas,
Bradley's family moved to Los Angeles in 1924. He went on to
attend UCLA where he excelled in academics and sports. While at
UCLA, Bradley became a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity and,
years later, went on to become national president of the
organization. In 1940, Bradley joined the LAPD and worked his
way up to the rank of lieutenant, the highest rank an African-
American could earn at the time. This racist limitation inspired
Bradley to leave the force, but not before he attended
Southwestern Law School at night and passed the bar exam.
Bradley became active in politics in 1963, servi