Yvonne Brathwaite Burke

File:Yvonne Watson - Manual Arts High School - W 1950.jpg

Perle Yvonne Watson was born on October 5, 1932, in Los Angeles as the only child of James A. Watson and the former Lola Moore.{{cite book

| editor-last = Phelps

| editor-first = Shirelle

| title = Who's Who Among African Americans

| publisher = Gale Research

| year = 1998

| location = Detroit, Michigan, London

| isbn = 0-7876-2469-1

| page = 178| edition = 11th

}}

{{cite web

|url=http://www.ancestry.com

|title=California Birth Index 1905-1995 [database on-line]

|publisher=The Generations Network

|location=United States

|year=2005

|access-date=August 4, 2009

}}

After first attending a public school, she was sent to a model school for exceptional children. At Manual Arts High School she was a member of the debate team and served as vice president of the Latin Club her junior year and girls' vice president in her senior year.{{cite web |url=https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/1265/sid_4877_1950_0023?pid=225992653&backurl=https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?_phsrc%3DrXr12367%26_phstart%3DsuccessSource%26usePUBJs%3Dtrue%26indiv%3D1%26dbid%3D1265%26gsfn%3DYvonne%26gsln%3DWatson%26gsfn_x%3D1%26gsln_x%3D1%26msrpn__ftp%3Dlos%2520angeles,%2520los%2520angeles,%2520california,%2520usa%26msrpn%3D68337%26new%3D1%26rank%3D1%26uidh%3Dht4%26redir%3Dfalse%26msT%3D1%26gss%3Dangs-d%26pcat%3D37%26fh%3D1%26h%3D225992653%26recoff%3D%26ml_rpos%3D2%26queryId%3D01f430b90e3d116a930a9cb1c933bc17&treeid=&personid=&hintid=&queryId=01f430b90e3d116a930a9cb1c933bc17&usePUB=true&_phsrc=rXr12367&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true|title=W '50 Artisan "Yvonne Watson" (Manual Arts High School, Los Angeles)|author= |page=21|date=1950 |website=Ancestry.com |publisher=Generations Network|url-access=subscription|access-date=May 17, 2020 }}

Burke attended the University of California, Berkeley from c. 1949 to 1951 before receiving a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1953.{{cite news|url=https://alumni.ucla.edu/awards/yvonne-brathwaite-burke-53/|title=Yvonne Brathwaite Burke '53|newspaper=UCLA Alumni|date=May 28, 2015}} She subsequently earned a J.D. degree from the University of Southern California Law School in 1956.{{Cite web|url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=b001102|title=BURKE, Yvonne Brathwaite – Biographical Information|website=bioguide.congress.gov|access-date=May 4, 2016}} Burke is one of the first black women to be admitted to the University of Southern California Law School.

Her first entry into the world of politics was when she worked as a volunteer for the reelection of President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964."Burke, Yvonne Brathwaite." Current Biography 1975. The H.W. Wilson Company. 1975.p.61 She was elected to the California State Assembly in 1966, representing Los Angeles' 63rd District (1966–1972).{{cite web |author1=Beverly Hills Television |title=Beverly Hills View – Yvonne Burke |url=https://vimeo.com/111897477 |website=Vimeo |date=November 14, 2014 |access-date=3 September 2021}} Many of her early legislative efforts centered around juvenile issues and limiting garnishment of wages.

She served as vice-chairperson of the 1972 Democratic National Convention.{{cite journal|title=Women in Government: A Slim Past, But a Strong Future|journal=Ebony|date=August 1977|pages=89–92, 96–98}} She was the first African American and the first woman of color to hold that position, and presided for about fourteen hours when the chair left the convention on its last day.{{cite web |title=Yvonne Burke – National Visionary |url=http://www.visionaryproject.org/burkeyvonne/ |website=NVLP: African American History |access-date=3 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121210319/http://www.visionaryproject.org/burkeyvonne/ |archive-date=21 January 2021}}{{cite web|last=Terkel |first=Amanda |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/democratic-convention-women-history_us_5772eaeae4b0352fed3e4463 |title=The Long, Hard Fight To Finally Get A Woman At The Top Of The Ticket | HuffPost |publisher=Huffingtonpost.com |date=August 14, 2017 |access-date=August 29, 2018}}

That same year, she was elected to the first of three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.

File:Yvonne Brathwaite.jpgDuring her tenure in Congress, she served on the House Select Committee on Assassinations, House Beauty Shop Committee, 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

In 1973, with the birth of her daughter Autumn, Burke became the first member of Congress to give birth while in office and the first to be granted maternity leave by the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.

She did not seek re-election to Congress in 1978, but instead ran for Attorney General of California. She lost to Republican George Deukmejian.{{Cite web|url=https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/burke-yvonne-braithwaite-1932/|title=Yvonne Braithwaite Burke (1932– ) |date=April 8, 2007|website=BlackPast|language=en-US|access-date=July 1, 2019}}

In 1979, shortly after she left Congress, Governor Jerry Brown appointed Burke 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 in the District 4 seat on the Los Angeles 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.{{cn|date=April 2024}}

In 1992, Burke ran for the District 2 seat on the L.A. County Board of Supervisors. The primary election was held in June, 1992, just weeks after the 1992 Los Angeles Riots.{{cite web |author1=Beverly Hills Television |title=Beverly Hills View – Yvonne Burke & Zev Yaroslavsky |url=http://vimeo.com/215256568 |website=Vimeo |date=April 28, 2017 |access-date=September 3, 2021}} After a hard-fought campaign that often turned negative, Burke narrowly defeated State Senator Diane Watson.

In 2007, Burke 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 that she was not living in the mostly low-income district she represented, but rather in the wealthy Brentwood neighborhood, an apparent violation of state law. Burke responded that she was living at her Brentwood mansion because the townhouse she listed in official political filings was being remodeled.Prince, Richard. [http://www.maynardije.org/columns/dickprince/070727_prince/ L.A. Times Stakes Out Politician's Digs]. [http://www.maynardije.org/columns/dickprince/ Richard Prince's Journal-isms], July 27, 2007.

On March 29, 2012, she was nominated by President Barack Obama to serve on the Amtrak Board of Directors. Confirmed by the U.S. Senate, she held a seat on that board until 2024.{{cite news|title=President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2012/03/29/president-obama-announces-more-key-administration-posts|via=National Archives|work=whitehouse.gov|date=March 29, 2012}}{{cite news|title=Obama Nominates Yvonne Burke to Amtrak Post|first=Jean|last=Merl|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2012/03/obama-nominates-yvonne-burke-to-amtrak-post.html|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=March 29, 2012}}

In 1957 she married Louis Brathwaite, divorcing in 1964. She married William A. Burke in Los Angeles on June 14, 1972, just days after she won a Congressional primary against Billy Mills, a Los Angeles City Council member for whom William Burke had worked. William Burke is also the creator of the Los Angeles Marathon.{{Cite web|url=http://www.aqmd.gov/home/governing-board/board-members/board-member?name=dr.-william-a.-burke|title=Dr. William A. Burke|website=www.aqmd.gov|access-date=May 4, 2016|archive-date=October 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014032141/http://www.aqmd.gov/home/governing-board/board-members/board-member?name=dr.-william-a.-burke|url-status=dead}} Their daughter Autumn Burke was born on November 23, 1973.{{cite web

|url=http://www.ancestry.com

|title=California Marriage Index 1960–1985 [database on-line]

|publisher=The Generations Network

|location=United States

|year=2005

|access-date=August 4, 2009

}}

Yvonne and Autumn are the first mother-and-daughter to both serve in the California Assembly.{{cite web |title=Yvonne Brathwaite Burke |url=http://www.joincalifornia.com/candidate/2378 |website=JoinCalifornia |access-date=3 September 2021}}

Burke is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.

Burke is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.{{Cite web |last=Incorporated |first=Prime |title=National Academy of Public Administration |url=https://napawash.org/fellow/14693 |access-date=2023-02-07 |website=National Academy of Public Administration |language=en}}

== Electoral history ==

{{Election box begin no change | title=1972 United States House of Representatives elections in California[http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1972election.pdf 1972 election results]}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change|

|party = Democratic Party (United States)

|candidate = Yvonne Brathwaite Burke

|votes = 120,392

|percentage = 73.2

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change|

|party = Republican Party (United States)

|candidate = Greg Tria

|votes = 40,633

|percentage = 24.7

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change|

|party = Peace and Freedom Party

|candidate = John Hagg

|votes = 3,485

|percentage = 2.1

}}

{{Election box total no change|

|votes = 164,510

|percentage = 100.0

}}

{{Election box hold with party link no change

|winner = Democratic Party (United States)

}}

{{Election box end}}

{{Election box begin no change | title=1974 United States House of Representatives elections in California{{cite web|url=http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1974election.pdf|title=1974 election results}}}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change|

|party = Democratic Party (United States)

|candidate = Yvonne Brathwaite Burke (Incumbent)

|votes = 86,743

|percentage = 80.1

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change|

|party = Republican Party (United States)

|candidate = Tom Neddy

|votes = 21,308

|percentage = 19.9

}}

{{Election box total no change|

|votes = 108,051

|percentage = 100.0

}}

{{Election box hold with party link without swing|

|winner = Democratic Party (United States)

}}

{{Election box end}}

{{Election box begin no change | title=1976 United States House of Representatives elections in California{{cite web|url=http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1976election.pdf|title=1976 election results}}}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change|

|party = Democratic Party (United States)

|candidate = Yvonne Brathwaite Burke (Incumbent)

|votes = 114,612

|percentage = 80.2

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change|

|party = Republican Party (United States)

|candidate = Edward S. Skinner

|votes = 28,303

|percentage = 19.8

}}

{{Election box total no change|

|votes = 142,915

|percentage = 100.0

}}

{{Election box hold with party link without swing|

|winner = Democratic Party (United States)

}}

{{Election box end}}

{{Portal|California|Politics}}

• Women in the United States House of Representatives
• List of African-American United States representatives

{{reflist}}

• [https://books.google.com/books?id=aHw-88bZdboC&dq=%22give+birth+in+office%22&pg=RA1-PA331 "Yvonne Brathwaite Burke"], Africana: The Encyclopedia.
• Ebony (September 1967). "Women Who Make State Laws": pp. 27–34.
• Gray, Pamela Lee. "Yvonne Brathwaite Burke: The Congressional Career of California's First Black Congresswoman, 1972–1978." Ph.D. diss., University of Southern California, 1987.

{{CongBio|B001102}}

• [http://www.visionaryproject.com/burkeyvonne Yvonne Burke's oral history video excerpts] at The National Visionary Leadership Project
• {{C-SPAN|22320}}
• [http://www.joincalifornia.com/candidate/2378 Join California Yvonne Brathwaite Burke]

{{s-start}}

{{s-par|us-ca-hs}}

{{s-bef|before=Don Allen}}

{{s-ttl|title=Member of the California Assembly
from 63rd District|years=1967–1973}}

{{s-aft|after=Julian Dixon}}

|-

{{s-par|us-hs}}

{{s-bef|before=Lionel Van Deerlin}}

{{s-ttl|title=Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from California's 37th congressional district|years=1973–1975}}

{{s-aft|after=Jerry Pettis}}

|-

{{s-bef|before=Alphonzo Bell}}

{{s-ttl|title=Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from California's 28th congressional district|years=1975–1979}}

{{s-aft|after=Julian Dixon}}

|-

{{s-bef|before=Martha Griffiths}}

{{s-ttl|title=Chair of the House Beauty Shop Committee|years=1975–1979}}

{{s-non|reason=Position abolished}}

|-

{{s-bef|before=Charles Rangel}}

{{s-ttl|title=Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus|years=1976–1977}}

{{s-aft|after=Parren Mitchell}}

|-

{{s-off}}

{{s-bef|before=James Hayes}}

{{s-ttl|title=Member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
from the 4th district|years=1979–1980}}

{{s-aft|after=Deane Dana}}

|-

{{s-bef|before=Kenneth Hahn}}

{{s-ttl|title=Member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
from the 2nd district|years=1992–2008}}

{{s-aft|after=Mark Ridley-Thomas}}

|-

{{s-bef|before=Zev Yaroslavsky}}

{{s-ttl|rows=2|title=Chair Pro Tem of Los Angeles County|years=2007–2008
2002–2003
1997–1998
1993–1994}}

{{s-aft|after=Don Knabe}}

|-

{{s-bef|before=Edmund D. Edelman}}

{{s-aft|after=Gloria Molina}}

|-

{{s-bef|before=Zev Yaroslavsky}}

{{s-ttl|rows=2|title=Chair Pro Tem of Los Angeles County|years=2006–2007
2001–2002
1996–1997
1992–1993}}

{{s-aft|after=Don Knabe}}

|-

{{s-bef|before=Edmund D. Edelman}}

{{s-aft|after=Gloria Molina}}

|-

{{s-prec|usa}}

{{s-bef|before=Mike Gallagher|as=Former US Representative}}

{{s-ttl|title=Order of precedence of the United States
{{small|as Former US Representative}}|years=}}

{{s-aft|after=Jay Kim|as=Former US Representative}}

{{s-end}}

{{CBC Chairs}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burke, Yvonne Brathwaite}}

Category:1932 births

Category:20th-century American women politicians

Category:21st-century American politicians

Category:21st-century American women politicians

Category:African-American members of the United States House of Representatives

Category:African-American state legislators in California

Category:20th-century African-American women politicians

Category:Amtrak people

Category:Candidates in the 1978 United States elections

Category:Female members of the United States House of Representatives

Category:Jones Day people

Category:Living people

Category:Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors

Category:Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly

Category:Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California

Category:People from Brentwood, Los Angeles

Category:Politicians from Los Angeles

Category:USC Gould School of Law alumni

Category:University of California, Los Angeles alumni

Category:Women state legislators in California

Category:20th-century African-American politicians

Category:21st-century African-American women politicians

Category:21st-century African-American politicians

Category:20th-century members of the California State Legislature

Category:20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives