Who is Richard Bradley? The man who took on Dianne Feinstein speaks out 37 years later

In regards to having the senator's name removed from a San Francisco elementary school, Bradley says, "They should have the name removed.. She does not represent what makes the people happy and what's good in the world we live in or in San Francisco."

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Saturday, January 30, 2021
Man who took on Dianne Feinstein speaks out 37 years later
The man who battled former San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein to remove the Confederate flag from City Hall agrees with efforts to remove her name from a local elementary school.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- As we reported on Wednesday, one of the 44 schools in San Francisco slated to have a name-change is Dianne Feinstein Elementary. It was decision made by the school board because in 1984, Feinstein insisted on replacing the Confederate flag across city hall after a protester by the name of Richard Bradley took it down several times.

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Bradley never thought some Black and white pictures of him would resurface 37 years later. It shows Bradley climbing a flag pole with the end result of taking down the Confederate Flag.

Full disclosure, it was one of 18 flags in front of City Hall used to symbolize the different stages of American history. After Bradley took the flag down, then Mayor Dianne Feinstein ordered the Confederate flag be flown again. She eventually changed her mind.

Because of what he did, at least one board member is hinting that perhaps a school be named after him. Who is Richard Bradley?

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We found him in South Carolina. He is 70-years-old and said he would climb any pole if it meant getting rid of the Confederate flag.

"Yes I will. It represents the ugliness in the world that we live in," he told ABC7 News.

We asked him if the name Dianne Feinstein should be removed from that school because she ordered the flag to be replaced after he took it down, not once but three times.

"They should have the name removed from the school. She does not represent what makes the people happy and what's good in the world we live in or in San Francisco," he added.

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Yet that flag was there when George Moscone was mayor of San Francisco, before Feinstein. He did not take it down yet, there is a school named after him and the board is not removing his name. Bradley says Moscone's name should also be taken down.

At least one of the school board members suggested that perhaps they should name a school after Bradley. He said it wouldn't be a bad idea.

"I believe in helping the kids and having the kids have something to look up to that they can represent and the kids will be happy," he said.

He had this message for the members of the school board:

"Keep students in this country that we live in looking forward and looking at what represents them and what's good for America," he said with a smile.