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 (at left) is Los Angeles Rams head coach, George Allen receiving a resolution on behalf of the football team. Beside him, City Councilman Billy Mills stands in front of a microphone podium reading the resolution as seated guests listen on. Photograph dated February 16, 1968. See images 00119167, 00119168; 00119172 through 00119178, and 00137982 through 00137984 for additional photos in this series.
Type
image
Format
1 negative : safety ; 10 x 13 cm. Photographic safety negatives
Mills, Billy G Allen, George,--1918-1990 Los Angeles Rams (Football team : 1946-1994) Los Angeles City Hall (Los Angeles, Calif.) Resolutions City council members Legislators--United States African American politicians African American men Football coaches Spectators Podiums Microphone Men Los Angeles (Calif.)
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