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.; Photograph included in the Exhibit: Firsts, Seconds and Thirds: African American Leaders in Los Angeles During the 1960s and '70s from the Rolland J. Curtis Collection. Leslie Shaw (1922-1985) was named the postmaster of Los Angeles in 1963, under the direction of President John F. Kennedy. He was the first African American postmaster of Los Angeles, and the first black male to be appointed Postmaster of a major US City. He was preceded only by Nancy Avery, who was appointed Postmaster of Pacoima in 1961 and was the first African American Postmaster of a major office in California. Compton Postmaster Joseph Causey (left), and Los Angeles Postmaster Leslie Shaw pose for a photo while shaking hands in front of a seal that reads, "Post Office Department, United States of America" and below it, a partially visible quote by H.B.R. Briggs which reads, "The United States Mails Foremost In Public Service Noble Exemplar of Democracy". The American flag is visible on the right. Photograph circa 1965. See images 00130053 through 00130056, and 00143686 through 00143695 for additional photos in this series.
Type
image
Format
1 negative :safety ;10 x 13 cm. Photographic safety negatives
Shaw, Leslie N.,--1985 United States Postal Service--Officials and employees United States Postal Service African American men Men Postmasters Postal service Postal service--Employees Seals (Insignia) Flags Plants, Potted Handshaking Posing Smiling Los Angeles (Calif.)
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