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.; Elected in 1963, Billy G. Mills (1929-) was the third African American to serve on the Los Angeles City Council, a seat he held until 1974 when he became a Los Angeles Superior Court judge. He was the first African American chairman of the Democratic County Central Committee, winning over fellow Councilman Tom Bradley by just three votes. Pictured is Councilman Billy Mills smiling with Nisei Week Queen Joanne Sono Uehara at Los Angeles City Hall. Queen Joanne can be seen in a traditional kimono, wearing a crown and holding an ornate scepter. They are present for possibly the 27th (judging by the year) Nisei Week Japanese Festival; though the word, Nisei means, "second generation" the festival celebrates and promotes both Japanese and Japanese American heritage and traditions. The festival is held in Little Tokyo within Downtown Los Angeles. Photograph dated 1967. See images 00139993 through 00140000, and 00141681 through 00141684 for additional photos in this series.
Type
image
Format
1 color negative : safety ; 10 x 13 cm. Photographic safety negatives
Mills, Billy G Los Angeles City Hall (Los Angeles, Calif.) Nisei Week Japanese Festival (Los Angeles, Calif.) African American men Men Japanese American women Women African American politicians Politicians City council members City halls Japanese--Clothing Kimonos Scepters Tiaras Smiling Posing Little Tokyo (Los Angeles, Calif.)
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