REBROADCAST | Idaho's first black elected official remembers upbringing in Pocatello, time in office

Note: This episode originally published on Sept. 28, 2025.

Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day and we're commemorating the occasion with a look at black history in eastern Idaho.

This week on "It's Worth Mentioning," Rett Nelson speaks with Delphia Bradley. She moved to Idaho Falls in 2023 to escape harassment and racism. After operating a meal delivery service, Bradley now has a traveling art exhibit about African-American culture. The exhibit will be coming to Idaho Falls soon, where she hopes to eventually open an African-American cultural arts center.

Bradley discusses the topic of racism and her experience living as a black woman in eastern Idaho.

Then, we speak with Les Purce. The Pocatello man became the first black elected official in Idaho in 1973 and recently retired as the president of Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington.

It's an episode you don't want to miss.

Season two is currently in production. If you have a topic or guest idea for an upcoming episode, email [email protected].

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