LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwired - Jul 22, 2015) - PBS SoCaL, PBS for Greater Los Angeles, presents Bridging the Divide: Tom Bradley and the Politics of Race, the story of the first African American to be elected mayor in a major U.S. city with an overwhelmingly white majority. In remembrance of the 50^th anniversary of the Watts Riots, this documentary will premiere in the greater Los Angeles area Tuesday, August 18, 2015 at 8 p.m. on PBS SoCaL.

Thirty-five years before Barack Obama's election as President, the question of race and the possibility of bridging racial barriers were put to the test in an overlooked story in American politics -- Tom Bradley's 1973 election as Mayor of Los Angeles. Bridging the Divide: Tom Bradley and the Politics of Race tells the story of how Bradley's coalition of African Americans, Jews, white liberals, Latinos, and Asian Americans united a divided city, brought inclusion and access, and set the foundation for sustainable interracial coalitions.

Bridging the Divide: Tom Bradley and the Politics of Race was produced for public broadcasting by Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker Lyn Goldfarb and Emmy® Award-winner Alison Sotomayor. PBS SoCaL is the national presenting station for Bridging the Divide: Tom Bradley and the Politics of Race. The film will also air on PBS stations nationally during African-American History Month in February 2016 (check local listings).

Bridging the Divide has received major funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Cal Humanities, California Community Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, and the Los Angeles City Council Heritage Fund. For more information, please visit http://www.pbssocal.org/tv/nationalproductions/tom-bradley/

About PBS SoCaL
PBS SoCaL is the only station in the Greater Los Angeles area providing the full PBS schedule to Southern California and is home to all PBS program premieres as they are released nationally. As Southern California's flagship PBS station, PBS SoCaL provides early education, access to a broad array of arts and culture, and programs for, about and by the people of Southern California.

PBS SoCaL is the parent to three unique broadcast channels, PBS SoCaL/KOCE-HD, PBS SoCaL Plus, and PBS SoCaL World, which are dedicated to educating, entertaining and enlightening viewers throughout Southern California.