Gilbert H. Bradley, Jr. was a pioneering politician who became the first African American mayor of Kalamazoo, Michigan. He was born on September 16, 1940, in Hodge, Louisiana, to Gilbert and Carrie Bradley. When he was three years old, his family moved to Inkster, Michigan.
While much of Bradley’s early life remains undocumented, he attended Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, where he earned both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in education. He also pursued a Doctorate of Divinity. During his time at the university, he became a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.
Bradley became active in politics and aligned himself with the Democratic Party. He served as vice mayor of Kalamazoo from 1969 to 1971. In a 1969 Kalamazoo Gazette article, Bradley reflected on his election, stating that it showed the city was “not as racist as some people might have thought.” From 1971 to 1973, Bradley served as mayor, becoming the first African American to hold that office in Kalamazoo, having been elected at the age of 31. As mayor, he tackled key issues including housing inequality, educational access, recreational programming, and services for senior citizens. Although his tenure lasted only two years, Bradley brought a fresh and youthful perspective to city leadership, placing the needs of the poor and working-class communities at the center of his agenda.
In 1978, Bradley resigned from his position as director of the city’s human services department and moved to Alexandria, Virginia, where he served as the city’s social services director. In 1985, he was ordained as a minister and became pastor of two churches in Virginia. Bradley also worked as a counselor at two state prisons in Virginia and served as a chaplain at Saint Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, DC. He enjoyed golfing, fishing, and listening to music from a variety of genres.
In 2004, Bradley returned to Michigan. He passed away on May 25, 2018, at Elkhart General Hospital in Elkhart, Indiana, at the age of 77. That same year, the Kalamazoo Gazette emphasized the historical significance of his political legacy, noting, “Becoming mayor was an even greater challenge than serving on the commission. Before recent changes to the City Charter, the highest vote-earner became mayor. That means Bradley was the second-highest vote-getter in his first campaign, then earned the most votes in his second election. At 31 years old, he topped a slate of 19 candidates for seven seats.”
Bradley married Mary Marie Haines in 1968, and together they had two children.
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