YVONNE BRAITHWAITE BURKE

Submitted by Bernice Zubrinsky

Born on October 5, 1932, in Los Angeles, CA; married William A Burke; children: Autumn and step-daughter Christine Burke.

Education: Attended University of California at Berkeley, c. 1949-51; member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.  In her junior year she transferred back down to Los Angeles to attend the University of California at Los Angeles, where she earned her bachelor’s degree; she was the first African-American woman to be admitted to the University of Southern California Law School, graduating in 1956, in the top third of her class, and earning her juris doctorate.  While attending USC, she and two Jewish students were refused membership in the women’s law society and so launched their own rival group.

 As a lawyer in private practice, she was active in the civil rights movement and appointed to the McCone Commission to investigate the causes of the 1965 Watts Riots.  A year later, she was elected to the state assembly and joined Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to speak at gatherings around the country. 

A pioneer in any field is deserving of recognition.  But when the pioneering spirit belongs to an African-American woman forging ahead in the realm of American politics, it is especially deserving of attention.  Yvonne Braithwaite Burke has achieved a number of firsts during her career. 

When she was named Vice-Chair of the 1972 Democratic National Convention, she became the first African-American to hold the post.  That year she was also the first African-American woman elected to the House of Representatives from California, when she won the state’s 37^th Congressional District seat.

She was the first African-American woman appointed to the Appropriations Committee during the 94^th Congress, where she served for the rest of her congressional career.  She was also the first woman elected to chair the Congressional Black Caucus in 1976, and was one of the first members of the Congressional Women’s Caucus when it was founded in 1977.

She was the first African-American elected to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, 4^th District, 1979-1980, and 2^nd District, 1992-2008.  During this time she served as chair for four non-consecutive terms.

On July 27, 2007, the Los Angeles Times published a front-page story concerning its investigation into Burke, which revealed that she was not living at a listed residence in the mostly low-income district she represents, but at another residence that she owns in wealthy Brentwood, California instead, an apparent violation of state law.  Burke responded that she was only living at her Brentwood mansion while the townhouse she listed in official political filings was being remodeled.  Subsequently, Burke announced that she would not seek reelection, when her term expired in 2008.

On December 1, 2008, Burke retired from the Board of Supervisors and was replaced by Mark Ridley-Thomas.

When Yvonne Braithwaite Burke goes to the Jonathan Club these days, she enters through the front door.  That was not always so. In her early years on the Board of Supervisors, when Burke would visit the prestigious Jonathan Club, she was asked to enter through the back door.  “I thought it was because people were dressing or something,” she recalled.  That does not happen anymore.

In an interview published December 9, 2002 Burke said her dream was to “Be remembered for changes I made in people’s lives.”

References: 

Wikipedia

Burke: Biography from Answers.com

National Association of County News

Los Angeles Times interview 3/01/2006

Los Angeles Times interview 7/27/2007