18 October 2010 Comments Off on Before Barack Obama, There was Tom Bradley

Before Barack Obama, There was Tom Bradley

Thirty-five years before Barack Obama’s election as President, the question of race and the possibility of bridging racial and ethnic barriers was put to a test in an overlooked and untold story in American politics:  The 1973 election of Tom Bradley, the first African American Mayor of a major city with an ovewhelmingly white majority.

Tom Bradley was an extraordinary politician who redefined and reconfigured Los Angeles. He was Mayor for an unprecedented twenty years, City Councilman for ten years and served as a police officer for twenty-one years. He opened City Hall and commission positions to women and minorities, created the first ever profitable Olympics, brought an historically abusive police department under civilian control, and transformed Los Angeles into one of the most diversified and important cities in the world.

Tom Bradley laid the groundwork for inter-racial coalitions unsurpassed until the election of President Barack Obama.  We believe that the story of Tom Bradley’s life, incredible achievements and legacy should not be forgotten.

Producers

Academy Award nominated filmmaker Lyn Goldfarb and Emmy Award winner Alison Sotomayor

WHY IS THIS FILM
IMPORTANT NOW?

BRIDGING THE DIVIDE: TOM BRADLEY AND THE POLITICS OF RACE will be the first documentary ever produced on the life and legacy of this extraordinary man. It is an incredible omission that Tom Bradley has been overlooked as one of the most significant and influential black leaders in the history of our nation.

A full telling of Tom Bradley’s story could not be timelier, or more urgent, and we are running out of time. Many of the staff and colleagues who worked with Bradley are in their late seventies, eighties and nineties. Since we began this project, Ethel Bradley, Tom Bradley’s widow, and Bill Elkins, lifelong friend and advisor, died. Max Palevsky, a major campaign supporter, former LA Police Chief Daryl Gates, and three important advisors to Tom Bradley, also passed away.

If we want to tell a story with all of the nuance and details from the people who were there, we need to begin immediately while their memories are still strong. If we do not begin now, chances are that critical parts of Tom Bradley’s story will be lost to history forever.


 

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