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.; 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. Cleveland Mayor Carl Stokes (left) is pictured shaking hands with Councilman Billy Mills at the Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner to benefit the California Democratic State Central Committee. The event took place on March 10, 1968. See images 00125412; 00128528 through 00128536; and 00143556 through 00143572 for additional photos in this series.
Type
image
Format
1 negative : safety ; 10 x 13 cm. Photographic safety negatives
Mills, Billy G Century Plaza Hotel (Century City, Los Angeles, Calif.) Democratic Party (Calif.) African American men Men African American politicians Politicians City council members Mayors Political participation Political activists Political parties Fund raising Tuxedos Hotels Handshaking Century City (Los Angeles, Calif.)
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