Skip to main content

Image / Executive Secretary Flossie Burnley and Field Deputy Robert Farrell

Have a question about this item?

Item information. View source record on contributor's website.

Title
Executive Secretary Flossie Burnley and Field Deputy Robert Farrell
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 1967
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.
Executive Secretary Flossie Burnley (standing) and Field Deputy Robert Farrell (at right), both assistants to City Council Member Billy Mills (not pictured) are seen in Farrell's office speaking with three unidentified visitors to Los Angeles City Hall. Mrs. Burnley is the first African American in the city's history to be appointed executive assistant to a council member. She joined Mills' staff in 1963 and worked her way up from senior clerk stenographer, to assistant secretary, to executive secretary. Photograph circa 1967. See images 00128658 through 00128660; 00128915 through 00128926, and 00143637 through 00143641 for additional photos in this series.
Type
image
Format
1 negative : safety ; 10 x 13 cm.
Photographic safety negatives
Identifier
00128922
Rolland J. Curtis Collection; Los Angeles Photographers Collection
RC_398.11
http://cdm16703.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/photos/id/140492
Subject
Farrell, Robert
Los Angeles City Hall (Los Angeles, Calif.)
African American men
Men
African American women
Women
Secretaries
City halls
Office furniture
Offices
Desks
Nameplates (Plaques)
Los Angeles (Calif.)
Time Period
1960
1961
1962
1963
1964
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969
Source
Curtis, Gloria

About the collections in Calisphere

Learn more about the collections in Calisphere. View our statement on digital primary resources.

Copyright, permissions, and use

If you're wondering about permissions and what you can do with this item, a good starting point is the "rights information" on this page. See our terms of use for more tips.

Share your story

Has Calisphere helped you advance your research, complete a project, or find something meaningful? We'd love to hear about it; please send us a message.

Explore related content on Calisphere: