Title supplied by cataloger. Rolland Joseph 'Speedy' Curtis was born in Louisiana in 1922. After serving in the Marines during World War II, he and his wife, Gloria, relocated from New Orleans to Los Angeles in 1946. Curtis served for four years with the Los Angeles Police Department, but resigned from the force in order to pursue both a Bachelor's and a 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. Two unidentified men at center forefront hold a certificate which reads, "1967 member Florence-Firestone Chamber of Commerce 'United for Progress'." They are with a group of people who participated in the ribbon cutting ceremony for the grand opening of the White Front Store, located at 7651 South Central Avenue. Among the group are White Front Vice President and General Sales Manager Sam Nassi (second from left), Bill Cosby (in glasses, fourth from left), Supervisor Kenneth Hahn (behind an unidentified woman), White Front Vice President and General Manager Harry Epstein (third from right), and Councilman Billy Mills (second from right). All others pictured are unidentified. The event occurred on March 30, 1967. See images 00053398; 000118760; and 00139487 through 00139497 for additional photos in this series.
Type
image
Format
1 negative : safety ; 10 x 13 cm. Photographic safety negatives
Cosby, Bill,--1937- Hahn, Kenneth Epstein, Harry Mills, Billy G White Front (Firm) African American men Men Asian American women Women African American politicians Politicians African American comedians Comedians African American actors Actors Television actors and actresses County officials and employees City council members County council members Businesspeople Executives Discount houses (Retail trade) Department stores Stores & shops Dedications Posing Smiling 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.
