Role Politician | Preceded by James A. Hayes Name Yvonne Burke Succeeded by Julian C. Dixon | |
Similar People Autumn Burke, Herb Wesson, Steve Cooley | ||
Preceded by Alphonzo E. Bell, Jr. | ||
Yvonne brathwaite burke a lady of firsts
Yvonne Brathwaite Burke (born October 5, 1932) is a politician from Los Angeles, California, United States. She was the first African-American woman to represent the West Coast in Congress. She served in congress from 1973 until the end of 1978. She was the Los Angeles County Supervisor representing the 2nd District (1992–2008). She has served as the Chair three times (1993–94, 1997–98, 2002–03). Her husband is William Burke, a prominent philanthropist and creator of the Los Angeles Marathon.
Contents
- Yvonne brathwaite burke a lady of firsts
- Oral Histories Yvonne Brathwaite Burke
- Early life
- Early political career
- Terms in US Congress
- California political involvement
- References
On December 1, 2008, she retired from the Board of Supervisors and was replaced by Mark Ridley-Thomas.
On Thursday, March 29, 2012, she was nominated by President Barack Obama to serve on the Amtrak Board of Directors.
Oral Histories: Yvonne Brathwaite-Burke
Early life
Born Perle Yvonne Watson on October 5, 1932, in Los Angeles to James A. Watson and the former Lola Moore. She married William A. Burke in Los Angeles on June 14, 1972. Their daughter Autumn Burke was born on November 23, 1973.
Burke attended the University of California, Berkeley from c. 1949 to 1951 before receiving a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1953. She subsequently earned a J.D. from the University of Southern California Law School in 1956.
Early political career
Prior to representing the 2nd District, Burke served as Vice-Chairperson of the 1972 Democratic National Convention (she was the first African-American to hold that position), represented the 4th District (1979–80), was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives initially representing portions of Los Angeles (1973–79), and was a member of the California State Assembly representing Los Angeles' 63rd District (1966–1972). Many of her early legislative efforts centered around juvenile issues and limiting garnishment of wages.
A lot of what she achieved influenced her to convince others to run after their dream, so she went to children's hospitals and encouraged some of the children to never give up. She said: "No matter what is in your way never give up and chase after your dream, with no interference of discouragement."
Terms in U.S. Congress
During her tenure in Congress, she served on the House Select Committee on Assassinations and the House Committee on Appropriations; during her tenure on the Appropriations Committee, she fought for increased funding to aid local jurisdictions to comply with desegregation mandates
In 1973, with the birth of her daughter Autumn, Burke became the first Congresswoman to give birth while in office and the first to be granted maternity leave by the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. She did not seek re-election to Congress in 1978 but instead ran for Attorney General of California. She won the Democratic nomination over Los Angeles City Attorney Burt Pines but was defeated in the general election by Republican State Senator George Deukmejian.
California political involvement
In 1979, shortly after leaving Congress, Governor Jerry Brown appointed her to the Board of Regents of the University of California; but she resigned later that year when Governor Brown appointed her to fill a vacancy on the L.A. County Board of Supervisors. Burke was the first female and first African-American supervisor. Her district, however, was largely made up of affluent, conservative white areas on the coast. In 1980, Burke was defeated in her bid for a full term in the seat by Republican Deane Dana. In 1982, Brown again appointed her to the Regents.
In 1992, Burke ran for the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. After a hard-fought campaign that often turned negative, Burke defeated State Senator Diane Watson.
In 2007, she announced that she would retire when her term expired in 2008. On July 27, 2007, the Los Angeles Times published a front-page story revealing Burke was not living in the mostly low-income district she represented, but rather in the wealthy Brentwood neighborhood, an apparent violation of state law. Burke responded that she was living at her Brentwood mansion because the townhouse she listed in official political filings was being remodeled.