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.; Photograph included in the Exhibit: Firsts, Seconds and Thirds: African American Leaders in Los Angeles During the 1960s and '70s from the Rolland J. Curtis Collection. In 1966, Yvonne Brathwaite Burke (1932-) became the first African American woman elected to the California Assembly, and in 1972, was the first woman elected to the House. She was also the first woman to chair the Congressional Black Caucus. In 1972, she became the first Congresswoman to give birth and be granted maternity leave while serving Congress.; 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. Yvonne Brathwaite Burke speaks at a rally for gubernatorial incumbent Pat Brown. Councilman Billy G. Mills is seated behind her.
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Image
Format
1 negative :safety ;10 x 13 cm. Photographic safety negatives
Burke, Yvonne Brathwaite Mills, Billy G Legislators--United States Political campaigns--California--Los Angeles City council members--California--Los Angeles Men--California--Los Angeles Women--California--Los Angeles Public speaking--California--Los Angeles Microphones Podiums--California--Los Angeles Los Angeles (Calif.)
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