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.
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 as Director of the Amtrak Board of Directors.[1][2]
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[hide]Early life[edit]
Born Perle Yvonne Watson on October 5, 1932, in Los Angeles to James A. Watson and the former Lola Moore.[3][4] She married William A. Burke in Los Angeles on June 14, 1972. To this union was born a daughter, Autumn Roxanne on November 23, 1973.[3][4][5]
Education: Attended University of California at Berkeley, c. 1949-51; University of California at Los Angeles, Bachelor's degree; University of Southern California Law School, Juris Doctor, 1956.
Early political career[edit]
Prior to representing the 2nd District, Burke served as Vice-Chairperson of the 1972 Democratic National Convention[6] (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[edit]
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 [6]
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 theSpeaker of the United States House of Representatives.[6] 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[edit]
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.[7] Burke responded that she was living at her Brentwood mansion because the townhouse she listed in official political filings was being remodeled.[8]
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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. To this union was born a daughter, Autumn Roxanne on November 23, 1973.
Burke attended the University of California at Berkeley from 1949 to 1951; and the University of California at Los Angeles from 1951 to 1953 where she received a bachelor's degree; She then attended the University of Southern California Law School and received a juris doctor degree in 1956.
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