Yvonne Brathwaite Burke

Yvonne Brathwaite Burke

Yvonne Brathwaite Burke (born October 5, 1932 in Los Angeles , California ) is a former American politician . Between 1973 and 1979 she represented the state of California in the US House of Representatives .

Career

Perle Yvonne Watson, her maiden name, attended the public schools in her home country. She then studied at the University of California in Los Angeles until 1953 . After completing a law degree at the University of Southern California and being admitted to the bar in 1956, she began working in this profession. In 1972 she married the philanthropist William Burke, who started the Los Angeles Marathon . Politically, she joined the Democratic Party . Between 1967 and 1972 she was a member of the California State Assembly . In July 1972 she was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in Miami Beach , where George McGovern was nominated as a presidential candidate.

In the 1972 congressional election , Burke was elected to the United States House of Representatives in Washington, DC in the 37th  constituency of California , where she succeeded Lionel Van Deerlin on January 3, 1973 . After two re-elections, she was able to complete three legislative terms in Congress by January 3, 1979 . Since 1975 she has represented the 28th district of her state there as the successor to Alphonso Bell . She was from 1976 to 1977 as the successor to Charles B. Rangel first female chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus .

In 1978 she renounced another candidacy. At the same time, an application for the office of Attorney General of California failed . In 1979 and 1980 and again from 1992 to 2008 she was a member of the County Council ( Board of Supervisors ) in Los Angeles County . In March 2012, Yvonne Burke was supported by President Barack Obama in the board of directors of Amtrak appointed.

She left her documents in the archives of the University of Southern California .

Web links

• Yvonne Brathwaite Burke in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• Burke, Yvonne Brathwaite. In: History.House.gov (English)
• Brenna Sanchez: Burke, Yvonne Braithwaite 1932–. In: Contemporary Black Biography , 2005 (English)
• Errin Jackson: Burke, Yvonne Braithwaite (1932–). In: Black Past (English)
• Steven Edgington: New Arenas of Black Influence: Yvonne Brathwaite Burke. Interview 1982. University of California, Los Angeles , Online Archive of California (English)

Remarks

1. ^ The White House: President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts
2. ^ Finding Aid for the Yvonne Brathwaite Burke papers. In: Online Archive of California.