Willis Edwards: A Legacy of Service

With support from the Center for Southern California Studies and the Tom and Ethel Bradley Center, graduate students in the CSUN history program (History 596RM: Introduction to Public History) recently completed a documentary on Los Angeles Civil Rights leader, Willis Edwards (1946-2012). Edwards is not a household name; most Angelenos have no idea who he was. He was not a politician, entertainer, or athletic star. However, behind the scenes in the African American and Civil Rights communities, Edwards had a knack for making things happen and for speaking truth to power. Although he had very little money or institutional support, Edwards' life and work intersected with and shaped the administration of Mayor Tom Bradley, the Civil Rights movement, the life and legacy of Rosa Parks, the reach and influence of the NAACP, and the international HIV/AIDS movement.