Representative Yvonne Brathwaite Burke

Yvonne Pearl Brathwaite Burke (née Perle Yvonne Watson; born October 5, 1932) is an American politician and lawyer from California who served as a Representative from California in the United States Congress from 1973 to 1979. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the first African-American woman to represent the West Coast in Congress and contributed to the legislative process during three terms in office. Over a long public career, she also became a pioneering local official in Los Angeles County government and later a federal appointee to the Board of Directors of Amtrak.

Perle Yvonne Watson was born on October 5, 1932, in Los Angeles, California, the only child of James A. Watson and the former Lola Moore. She first attended public school and was then sent to a model school for exceptional children. At Manual Arts High School in Los Angeles, she distinguished herself as a student leader, serving on the debate team, as vice president of the Latin Club in her junior year, and as girls’ vice president in her senior year. Burke attended the University of California, Berkeley, from approximately 1949 to 1951 before transferring to the University of California, Los Angeles, where she received a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1953. She subsequently earned a J.D. degree from the University of Southern California Law School in 1956, becoming one of the first Black women admitted to that law school. She later became a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority and a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.

Burke’s first formal entry into politics came in 1964, when she worked as a volunteer for the reelection campaign of President Lyndon B. Johnson. In 1966 she was elected to the California State Assembly, representing Los Angeles’ 63rd District, and served there from 1966 to 1972. In the Assembly, many of her early legislative efforts focused on juvenile justice issues and on limiting the garnishment of wages, reflecting a broader concern with economic fairness and the welfare of young people. Her rising prominence within the Democratic Party was underscored in 1972 when she served as vice-chairperson of the Democratic National Convention. She was the first African American and the first woman of color to hold that position, and she presided for about fourteen hours when the convention chair left on its final day.

That same year, Burke was elected to the first of three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, serving from January 3, 1973, to January 3, 1979. As a member of the House of Representatives, she participated in the democratic process during a significant period in American history, representing the interests of her California constituents. During her tenure in Congress, she served on the House Committee on Appropriations, the House Select Committee on Assassinations, and the House Beauty Shop Committee. On the Appropriations Committee, she advocated increased federal funding to assist local jurisdictions in complying with court-ordered desegregation mandates, aligning her legislative work with the broader civil rights agenda of the era. In 1973, with the birth of her daughter Autumn, Burke became the first member of the U.S. Congress to give birth while in office and the first person to be granted maternity leave by the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. She did not seek reelection in 1978, instead running for Attorney General of California; she was defeated in that race by Republican George Deukmejian.

After leaving Congress in 1979, Burke continued her public service in education and local government. That year, Governor Jerry Brown appointed her to the Board of Regents of the University of California. Later in 1979, Brown appointed her to fill a vacancy in the District 4 seat on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, making her the first female and first African-American supervisor in the county’s history. The district she represented at that time was largely composed of affluent, conservative white coastal communities. In 1980, she sought a full term on the Board of Supervisors but was defeated by Republican Deane Dana. In 1982, Governor Brown again appointed her to the University of California Board of Regents, further extending her influence in higher education governance.

Burke returned to county government a decade later. In 1992, she ran for the District 2 seat on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. The primary election that June occurred just weeks after the 1992 Los Angeles riots, and the campaign was hard-fought and often negative. Burke narrowly defeated State Senator Diane Watson to win the seat. From 1992 to 2008, she represented the 2nd District on the Board of Supervisors, overseeing a district that included many low-income and minority communities. During this period, she served as Chair of Los Angeles County four times and as chair pro tem three times, playing a central role in county governance and policy. In 2007, she announced that she would retire at the end of her term in 2008. That same year, the Los Angeles Times reported that she was residing in the Brentwood neighborhood rather than in the mostly low-income district she represented, raising questions about compliance with state residency laws; Burke responded that she was living at her Brentwood home because the townhouse listed in her official filings was undergoing remodeling.

In the later phase of her career, Burke continued her involvement in national public service. On March 29, 2012, President Barack Obama nominated her to serve on the Board of Directors of Amtrak. She was confirmed by the United States Senate and served on the Amtrak Board from 2012 until her retirement in 2024, contributing to oversight and policy direction for the nation’s passenger rail system. Her appointment to the Amtrak Board extended a public career that had already spanned state, local, and federal office.

Burke’s personal life has been closely intertwined with politics. In 1957 she married Louis Brathwaite; the couple divorced in 1964. On June 14, 1972, shortly after she won a congressional primary against Los Angeles City Council member Billy Mills, she married William A. Burke in Los Angeles. William Burke, who had worked for Mills, later became known as the creator of the Los Angeles Marathon. Their daughter, Autumn Burke, was born on November 23, 1973, while Yvonne Brathwaite Burke was serving in Congress. Yvonne and Autumn Burke are the first mother-and-daughter pair to both serve in the California State Assembly, underscoring the family’s multigenerational role in public life.