LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former Mayor Tom Bradley was eulogized Monday by Vice President Al Gore as a gentle, but firm, leader who pursued not-so-impossible dreams.
“On this day, as we gather around our fallen brother, we do so not to only recite his many titles — mayor, healer, husband, father, leader — but to testify to those lives grown out of his life. Let us carry the torch that he has lit for us,” Gore said to applause.
“Today, in the City of Angels, there is one more angel watching over us,” the vice president concluded at a funeral at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church. It was attended by more than 1,000 mourners and broadcast live on many southern California TV stations.
Bradley, who guided the city through 20 years of unprecedented growth and tumult as its first and only black mayor, died of a heart attack last Tuesday. He was 80.
In addition to Gore’s speech, there were words from Gov. Pete Wilson, Lt. Gov. Gray Davis, Mayor Richard Riordan, Supervisor Yvonne Braithwaite Burke and other leaders. A familiar theme: Bradley was a healer and bridge-builder.
“He emerged as a kind of sphinx from the ashes, one with the capacity to bring wholeness and healing. He did it with such great honor, with such great aplomb,” the Rev. Jesse Jackson said.
A private burial was planned at Inglewood Park Cemetery.