BRADLEY, MELVIN L.: Files 1981-1983 – REAGAN LIBRARY COLLECTIONS

Parts or all of this collection or series of Presidential records are not currently processed or available for research. Some folders, segments or whole boxes are processed and are currently available for research. This available material is noted in bold.

The remainder of the folders listed in these inventories are subject to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests under the provisions of the Presidential Records Act (PRA)

If you are interested in submitting a FOIA request for access to any of the unprocessed records listed in these inventories or have any questions about these collections or series, please contact our archival staff at 1-800-410-8354, outside the US at 1-805-577-4012, or email reagan.library@nara.gov.

BRADLEY, MELVIN L.: Files 1981-1983

Policy Development, Office of, 1981-1983

Public Liaison, Office of, 1983-1989 - See Separate Inventory

Special Assistant to the President

Biography

Melvin Leroy Bradley was born on January 6, 1938 in Texarkana, Texas. He spent his youth in Texas and graduated from local Dunbar High School in 1955.

After his high school graduation, Mr. Bradley moved with his family to Los Angeles, California. There he worked in a variety of occupations while periodically continuing his education. He worked as a launderer, clerk, postal carrier for the United States Postal Service and as a Deputy Sheriff with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. During this time he attended college classes at Los Angeles Community College and Compton College. In 1970, he left the Sheriff’s Department to attend Pepperdine University in Malibu, California and to work for the Governor of California, Ronald Reagan, as assistant for community affairs. He graduated in 1973 with a B.S. degree. He continued his work for Governor Reagan through the end of 1975.

After leaving the Governor’s Office, Bradley worked as director of public relations for the Charles R. Drew Postgraduate Medical School of Los Angeles from 1975-1977. He served as assistant to the vice president and account executive with United Airlines in 1977-1981. Mr. Bradley was a staff member of the Office of the President-Elect serving as special adviser to the director of the office of Presidential personnel.

From the beginning of the administration, Mr. Bradley was a Senior Policy Adviser within the Office of Policy Development staff, focusing on urban affairs and small business. He continued, on an ad hoc basis, as an adviser to Presidential Personnel on minority appointments. Mr. Bradley was promoted in April 1982 to a Special Assistant to the President for Policy Development. At the time, his primary responsibilities were working with the Office of Policy Development staff to assure that policy analyses for the President were sensitive to the needs and priorities of the minority and disadvantaged communities.

In August 1983, Counsellor to the President, Edwin Meese, authorized the transfer of Mr. Bradley to the White House staff working in the Office of Public Liaison. He retained his title of Special Assistant to the President for Policy Development and was to have continued offering policy advice on minority issues via the Cabinet Council system run through the Office of Policy Development. He also continued his advisory role on minority appointments. He remained associated and reporting to the Office of Public Liaison for the rest of the Reagan administration when he resigned in early February 1989.

Mr. Bradley is married to the former Ruth Ann Terry and they have four children.

Scope and Content Note

Our initial survey of the Bradley collection shows a much larger emphasis on public liaison work regarding minority and urban issues. In addition, Mr. Bradley was heavily involved with recruitment, assignment, and vetting of minority candidates for appointments within the Reagan administration. These functions began in his earliest days at the White House and continued until he left. Given this evidence, we have placed the majority of material within the Office of Public Liaison collection for Mr. Bradley, although a good deal of material predates 1983.

We have retained a small amount of correspondence and chronological files clearly marked as pre-1983 for this Office of Policy Development Bradley collection. This material also includes records from the Office of the President-Elect which Bradley carried with him to the White House and used in his time there.

OA 9004

[General Correspondence] October 1980

[General Correspondence] November 1980

[General Correspondence] December 1980

[General Correspondence] January 1981

[General Correspondence] February 1981

[General Correspondence] March 1981

[General Correspondence] April 1981

[General Correspondence] May 1981

[General Correspondence] June 1981

[General Correspondence] July 1981

[General Correspondence] August 1981

[General Correspondence] September 1981

OA 9005

[General Correspondence] October 1981

[General Correspondence] November 1981

[General Correspondence] December 1981

[General Correspondence] January 1982

[General Correspondence] February 1982

[General Correspondence] March 1982

[General Correspondence] April 1982

[General Correspondence] May 1982

OA 9006

[General Correspondence] June 1982

[General Correspondence] July 1982

[General Correspondence] August 1982

[General Correspondence] September 1982

[General Correspondence] October 1982

[General Correspondence] November 1982

[General Correspondence] December 1982

[Correspondence] March 1981-December 1981

[Correspondence] January 1982

[Correspondence] February 1982

[Correspondence] March 1982

[Correspondence] April 1982

[Correspondence] May 1982

[Correspondence] June 1982

OA 09687

[Correspondence] July 1982

[Correspondence] August 1982

[Correspondence] September 1982

[Correspondence] October 1982

[Correspondence] November 1982

[Correspondence] December 1982

[Correspondence] January 1983

[Correspondence] February 1983

[Correspondence] March 1983

[Correspondence] April 1983

[Correspondence] May 1983

OA 09688

[Correspondence] June 1983

[Correspondence] July 1983

[Correspondence] August 1983

[Chrons January 1981-February 1981]

[Chrons May 1981]

[Chrons June 1981]

[Chrons July 1981]

[Chrons August 1981]

[Chrons October 1981]

[Chrons November 1981]

[Chrons December 1981]

[Chrons March 1982]

[Chrons June 1982]

[Chrons July 1982]

[Chrons] January 1983-December 1983

[General Correspondence] 1981-1982

[General Correspondence] 1981-1982: [General Correspondence 1981]

[General Correspondence1982]

[General Correspondence] 01/12/1981-11/18/1981

[General Correspondence] 09/02/1982-12/30/1982

8a Correspondence 1982