Senator Steve Bradford was the first Black politician to publicly declare his support of Black Lives Matter. At the time, Bradford was termed out of the Assembly and moving towards Senate, yet took time to show solidarity with millions across America outraged over the number of unarmed people being killed by the police. Bradford now represents Senate District 35 which includes Inglewood, CA. This author wondered if Bradford would maintain his position on these controversial police shootings, after being elected to the Senate. It appears he has. In a statement released related to the shooting of two sleeping motorists in Inglewood, CA, Bradford introduced Senate Bill 345 (SB 345) to force police departments to be compliant with public records requests.
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I support Congresswoman [Maxine] Waters and Black Lives Matter and their efforts to increase transparency at this [Inglewood] agency and every police department in the state. That’s why I’m authoring SB 345 which will require law enforcement agencies to post their training policies and procedures on their websites.
Sen. Bradford has a long history of trying to keep Black males from being racially profiled. He infamously tried to ban saggy pants while serving on the Gardena city council and former President Barack Obama’s “My Brothers Keeper” mirrors a program that Bradford chaired while in the Assembly.
Early in 2013, Assembly Speaker John A. Perez named Bradford the Chair of the Assembly Select Committee on the Status of Boys and Men of Color. The Select Committee is a bipartisan panel of legislators from around the state tasked with fact finding and making recommendations for addressing the issues facing young men in California, particularly black and Latino boys.
Bradford accepted an invitation to the White House to attend President Barack Obama‘s announcement of “My Brother’s Keeper,” a federal investment in the lives of boys and men of color. The program follows the work Bradford’s Select Committee on the Status of Boys and Men of Color has done to give young men of color the tools they need to succeed, while dismantling systemic injustices that stand in the way of their success.
My Brother’s Keeper was implemented in Compton under Mayor Aja Brown and Long Beach under Vice-Mayor Rex Richardson.
Read Sen. Bradford’s full statement on the Inglewood police shooting by clicking here.
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