PHILADELPHIA, PA, Nov. 9, 2006 – Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA) today issued the following statement upon the death of CBS newsman and Philadelphia native Ed Bradley:

“Ed Bradley never really left his Philadelphia roots. He continued as an icon and a role model in his home town long after his days as a student at St. Thomas More and Cheyney State College, as a teacher, and as a broadcaster at WDAS had ended. My generation of Philadelphians listened to him as a young newscaster for legendary DJ Georgie Woods in the 1960s.

“Those experiences prepared Ed Bradley for his distinguished and pioneering career at CBS. Yet Philadelphia remained in his heart. He made many unpublicized and unheralded visits, for college and fraternity events, to inspire young journalists. He also returned home for well-earned honors. Health problems forced him to cancel what would have been his final trip – a ceremony at Temple University last month to receive the 2006 Lew Klein Excellence in Media Award. 

“For decades, as he traveled the globe and won Emmy after Emmy for his reporting at “60 Minutes,” generations of Americans, young and old, African Americans and  others from under-represented backgrounds, could turn on their television sets to be inspired by this symbol of credibility, integrity and opportunity. Ed Bradley’s thoroughness and doggedness as a correspondent were legendary. Yet he never lost his common touch. 

“Ed Bradley was – and will always remain – a class act. I join with all Philadelphians, and viewers everywhere, in mourning his untimely loss.”