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Title
Bank of Finance event
Alternative Title
Los Angeles Photographers Photo Collection;
Creator
Curtis, Rolland J
Contributor
Made accessible through a grant from the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation
Date Created and/or Issued
Circa 1968
Contributing Institution
Los Angeles Public Library
Collection
Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection
Rights Information
Images available for reproduction and use. Please see the Ordering & Use page at http://tessa.lapl.org/OrderingUse.html for additional information.
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Description
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.; The Bank of Finance was the first African American organized bank in California. Opened in 1964, it catered to small businesses in the community. During its time, it nursed local businesses to fruition and provided financial assistance for necessary community resources like medical centers, day care, and homes for the elderly. Members of the organizing committee included Dr. Edward H. Ballard, Dr. Perry W. Beal, Wilton A. Clarke, Onie B. Granville, Mrs. Bernice M. Malbrue, Tom Bradley and Lorenzo V. Spencer. The bank building at 2651 S. Western Avenue, and a branch opened at 8420 S. Vermont in 1968 have both since been demolished.
Photograph depicts an unidentified Bank of Finance event. Pictured at left is Bank of Finance Vice President J. David Duncan and Assistant Branch Manager Larry E. Grant at the far right, with one unidentified man and five unidentified women. A large flower arrangement is visible behind the group. Photograph is circa 1968. See images 00120190; 00120200 through 00120209; 00121696; 00121697; 00125591 through 00125593; 00125597 through 00125600; 00138691 and 00138692 for additional photos in this series.
Type
image
Format
1 negative : safety ; 10 x 13 cm.
Photographic safety negatives
Identifier
00120205
Rolland J. Curtis Collection
RC_0088.06
http://173.196.26.125/cdm/ref/collection/photos/id/136709
Subject
Bank of Finance (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Bank of Finance (Los Angeles, Calif.)--Employees
Lost architecture
Savings and loan associations
Banks and banking
Bank buildings
Bank employees
Bankers
Management
African American women
African American men
Women
Men
Floral decorations
Boutonnieres
Los Angeles (Calif.)
Time Period
1960-1969
Source
Curtis, Gloria

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