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 right) is City Councilman John S. Gibson reading the Community Beautiful resolution at a podium. Beside him (right to left) are Watts Christmas Parade Queen, Pat McLamore; Edna Aliewine, co-creator of the Watts Walk of Fame and founder of the Watts/Willowbrook Christmas Parade; an unidentified man affiliated with the parade, and City Councilman Billy Mills. They are all in attendance to receive the Community Beautiful resolution for the South Los Angeles Invitational Christmas Parade. Photograph dated December 9, 1966. See images 00119162 through 00119164, and 00137974 through 00137981 for additional photos in this series.
Type
image
Format
1 negative : safety ; 10 x 13 cm. Photographic safety negatives
Mills, Billy G Gibson, John S.,--Jr Los Angeles City Hall (Los Angeles, Calif.) Resolutions City council members Legislators--United States African American politicians African American men African American women Men Podiums Microphone Los Angeles (Calif.)
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.
