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.; Arthur Atlas Peters (1908-1975) was a prominent minister and singer in Los Angeles who was known as "The Good Shepherd." He was a choir director and sang in a choral group before founding Victory Baptist Church on Easter Sunday, April 2, 1943. That same year, he graduated from Los Angeles Baptist Theological Seminary with a Bachelor of Dignity Degree. In 1950, Victory Baptist Church made national news and inspired thousands when the Sunday night services were aired on Channel 11, KTTV at prime time. The church motto "To Serve The Present Age," became a true statement through community-oriented outreach projects. In 1953 Rev. Peters started the state's first Black church-owned nursery and day school for children in kindergarten through sixth grade. Some of the projects under Rev. Peters' leadership included the Vista Teen Post, Summer Day Camp, Serving Classes, An Awards Ceremony for the youth workers, Senior Citizens programs which included housing and various activities, Foreign Missions, Scholarship, Legal Seminars, Child Health and Disability Clinic and Civil Rights programs. Reverend Peters graduated from Southern University and the Metropolitan Bible Seminary in Los Angeles, and held several honorary degrees as well as being awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Central Mississippi College. During the 1960’s, the Victory Baptist Church became an advocate of politics, encouraging voter registration and hosting fundraisers for the civil rights movements; Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the guest speaker for the church's 24th Anniversary celebration. Rev. Dr. Peters served on the Adult Authority Board during former Governor Edmund G. Brown's tenure. In 1972 he was awarded another Honorary Doctorate Degree, this time from the University of Bangkok, in Seoul Korea. He received awards and commendations from the Board of Supervisors, Los Angeles County, Assembly Rules Committee and The Assembly of the State of California, the Supreme Award of Merit from the George Washington Carver Memorial Institute, the Los Angeles Human Relations Committee as well as numerous commendations from government officials. On September 25, 1975, Dr. Peters was found bludgeoned unconscious by unknown assailants at his home; tragically, he died four days later. He was interred on September 30, 1975 at the Inglewood Memorial Park Cemetery in Inglewood, California. The homicide has never been solved. The Reverend Arthur A. Peters (first on the right), pastor and founder of Victory Baptist Church, shakes hands with Charles N. Chapman (second from right) while in conversation with three unidentified men at an unknown event. Chapman, with paperwork in his hands, was the first African American to be elected president of the Los Angeles All City Employees Association (ACEA) in 1964. Rev. Peters was a prominent minister and choir director known as "The Good Shepherd" by his congregants. Photograph circa 1971. See images 00130137 through 00130140, and 00143719 through 00143722 for additional photos in this series.
Type
image
Format
1 color negative : safety ; 10 x 13 cm. Photographic safety negatives
Peters, Arthur A All City Employees Association (Los Angeles, Calif.)--Presidents Victory Baptist Church (Los Angeles, Calif.)--Clergy African American men Men Clergy Handshaking Eyeglasses Smiling Posing Los Angeles (Calif.)
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