BRIDGING THE DIVIDE: TOM BRADLEY AND THE POLITICS OF RACE
Thirty-five years before Barack Obama’s election as President, the question of race and the possibility of crossing racial boundaries was put to the test in a remarkable, yet overlooked, story in American politics: Tom Bradley’s historic election as Mayor of Los Angeles, the first African American mayor of a major city without a black majority. His unique coalition of African Americans and white liberals united a divided city, influenced two generations of policy makers and leaders, and laid the groundwork for inter-racial coalitions which later encouraged the elections of many minority candidates nationwide.
Mayor Bradley, the son of a sharecropper and grandson of slaves, held office for an unprecedented twenty years, and transformed Los Angeles into one of the most important cities on the Pacific Rim. He ran twice for Governor of California, losing by the smallest of margins. If elected, Tom Bradley would have been the first African-American governor in the nation. BRIDGING THE DIVIDE is being produced by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Lyn Goldfarb and Emmy Award-winner Alison Sotomayor.
BRIDGING THE DIVIDE will be more than a biography of an incredible man; it is the story of the challenges which face our cities and nation, the paradox of race, and the complexities of coalitions. It is part of a unique and innovative multi-tiered media four-part project, which includes the following:
1. BRIDGING THE DIVIDE: TOM BRADLEY AND THE POLITICS OF RACE:
A 90-minute high definition feature documentary designed for television broadcast (PBS) and theatrical release.
2. TOM BRADLEY’S IMPOSSIBLE DREAM: A 30-minute educational documentary and study guide for middle and high school classrooms.
3. SHARE YOUR TOM BRADLEY STORY: A citywide network of story stations where we will video tape stories and scan photos and memorabilia which will intersect with a website where people upload user-generated videos and photos. This multi-layered, interactive website will serve as a gallery for stories about Tom Bradley and his impact on the city of LA.
4. TOM BRADLEY FILMED ORAL HISTORY PROJECT: A minimum of 100 hours of substantive and in-depth filmed interviews in high quality, high definition video which will reside both on our film’s interactive website and at the Tom Bradley archives.
