Title supplied by cataloger. Rolland Joseph 'Speedy' Curtis was born in Louisiana in 1922. After serving three years in the Marines during World War II, he and his wife, Gloria, relocated from New Orleans to Los Angeles in 1946. Curtis served four years with the Los Angeles Police Department, but resigned from the force in order to pursue both a Bachelor's and Master's degree from USC. He later became involved in city politics, as an associate of Sam Yorty, and later a field deputy to City Council members Billy Mills and Tom Bradley. He was briefly director of the Model Cities program in 1973. Rolland J. Curtis died in his home in 1979, the victim of a homicide. An affordable housing complex on Exposition Blvd. near Vermont Ave. was named in his honor in 1981, along with a nearby street and park. An unidentified group of children appear to hold court in a school yard while participating in a pageant. A young boy and girl sit center stage as king and queen, both wearing crowns; the queen is adorned in a beautiful red robe. Four princesses and their escorts can be seen sitting on either side of the royal couple. All of the girls wear long dresses, crowns and hold bouquets made of crepe paper flowers. Four of the five escorts wear suites, including the king. The stage is decorated with crepe paper honeycomb ornaments and green garland with flowers. Lunch tables, a monkey bar apparatus, and a merry-go-round are visible farther back in the school yard playground. A house and apartment building can be seen beyond school grounds. This festivity took place at an unknown school, possibly Victory Baptist Church Day School. Photograph circa 1975. See images 00130166 through 00130175, and 00143729 for additional photos in this series.
Type
image
Format
1 color negative : safety ; 10 x 13 cm. Photographic safety negatives
African American boys Boys African American girls Girls African American children Children School children School facilities School sites Schools Stages (platforms) Merry-go-rounds Decorations Crepe paper Smiling Apartments Dwellings Los Angeles (Calif.)
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