speaker, tom bradley was born on december 29, 1917, in calvert, texas. the son of a sharecropper and the grandson of former slaves. mr. bradley achieved many firsts over the course of his career in los angeles where he moved with his family as a child. he was the first african-american lieutenant in the los angeles police department. where he served for 22 years. he took night classes at the southwestern university school of law during this time and received a law degree in 1956. in 1963 he was elected to the los angeles city council and was its first african-american member. he was also the city's first african-american mayor, as well as the longest serving mayor in the city's history. serving from 1974 to 1994. mr. bradley was a physically imposing figure, standing well over six feet tall, but his manner was soft, low key, and common. he helped lead los angeles through difficult times, including the first energy crisis of 1973 to 1974 and helped to boost economic development and investment in the city. following the riots associated with the rodney king