As a product of the Los Angeles Unified School District, Yvonne Burke attended Manual Arts High School, where she developed her interest in public speaking by joining the oratory society and participating in citywide competitions. Her numerous extracurricular activities helped to earn her scholarships from the University of California, Berkeley, and later, the University of California, Los Angeles.
She received her J.D. from the University of Southern California School of Law in 1956, before entering private practice. She received her legal credentials at a time when it was difficult for women, particularly African-Americans, to practice law. During this era, many private law firms showed no interest in hiring women. Therefore, she opened her own law office at 23rd Street and Western Avenue, specializing in civil rights and laws regarding housing, immigration, eminent domain, and the licensing of board and care homes.
She remained active in the Civil Rights Movement with memberships to various local and national organizations, subsequently landing a staff attorney position on the McCone Commission, which investigated the causes of the 1965 Watts Riots. She became a spokesperson for the underrepresented and through a grassroots campaign, won her first political office in 1966 as a California State Assemblywoman, a position she held for the next six years.
She became the first African-American woman elected to the U.S. Congress, in 1972, representing California’s 37th District. She was selected to serve as vice chair of the 1972 Democratic National Convention in Miami and later on the House Select Committee on Assassinations. In 1973, she became the first member of Congress to give birth while in office. She did not seek re-election to Congress in 1978, instead she ran for Attorney General of California, winning the Democratic nomination over Los Angeles City Attorney Burt Pines, before being defeated in the general election by Republican George Deukmejian.
In 1984, she was selected to serve as vice chairman of the U.S. Olympics Organizing Committee, before becoming the first African-American elected to the L.A. County Board of Supervisors, in 1992.
As a Los Angeles County Supervisor, she represents nearly 2.5 million residents in the nation’s largest county. Her efforts have focused on improving the lives of children, encouraging economic development and improving transportation throughout Los Angeles.
Additional areas of responsibility have included the Department of Affirmative Action Compliance, Community Development Commission, Department of Human Resources, Museum of Natural History, Department of Parks and Recreation, the County Public Library and the Department of Public Social Services. She has also taken the lead in moving to establish a County Archives system.
Supervisor Burke is married to Los Angeles businessman, William A. Burke, and has a daughter, Autumn and a step-daughter, Christine. Yvonne Burke's Web Site |
