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.; Willie Lewis Brown, Jr. (1934-) is an American political figure who served over 30 years in the California State Assembly, after which he became the first African-American mayor of San Francisco. Some noteworthy accomplishments in Brown's career: He graduated from San Francisco State University in 1955, and in 1958 earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law; Joined the California Army National Guard's 126th Medical Battalion, serving from 1955-1958; Member of the California State Assembly from the 18th district from January 1965 to November 1974; Member of the California State Assembly from the 17th district from December 1974 to November 1992; Member of the California State Assembly from the 13th district from December 1992 to December 1995; 58th Speaker of the California State Assembly from December 1980 to June 1995; Minority Leader of the California Assembly from June 1995 to September 1995; 41st Mayor of San Francisco from January 1996-January 2004, the first African American to hold that office; was reelected in 1999, but term limits prevented him from running for a third term; Retired from politics after leaving the office in 2004, and from January through September 2006, he hosted a morning radio show.; Thomas J. "Tom" Bradley (1917-1998) was a popular Los Angeles mayor that served in office from 1973-1993. Bradley's five-term tenure (20 years), marked the longest tenure by any mayor in Los Angeles city's history - surpassing Fletcher Bowron (15 years in office). Bradley's career started in 1940 when he joined the Los Angeles Police Department where in a short period of time, he reached the rank of lieutenant - the highest rank held by an African American police officer at the time. While working on the force, Bradley attended night school at Southwestern University School of Law, and in 1956 he passed his bar exam and received his law degree. From 1963-1972 Bradley served on the Los Angeles City Council - 10th District, and while in office, challenged incumbent mayor Sam Yorty for the 1969 mayoral seat, which he lost. He again ran in 1973, and this time successfully unseated Yorty to become the 38th Mayor of Los Angeles. Nine years after his mayoral win, in 1982 and again in 1986, Bradley ran for Governor of California, but was defeated both times by Republican George Deukmejian. During his record-breaking tenure, Mayor Bradley hosted the 1984 Summer Olympic Games, was a driving force behind construction of the Los Angeles' light rail network, pushed for the expansion of Los Angeles International Airport and the development of the terminals in use today, and was elected for a fifth mayoral term in 1989. He chose to leave office in 1993, rather than seek election to a sixth term. In 1996 Bradley suffered a heart attack and underwent triple bypass surgery; the following day he suffered a stroke which left him unable to speak clearly for the rest of his life, and his condition limited his public appearances. Sadly, in 1998 at the age of 80, Tom Bradley suffered a fatal heart attack while at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center. He is interred in Inglewood Park Cemetery. Mayor Bradley was the first African American mayor of this city.; In 1966, Yvonne Brathwaite Burke (1932-) became the first African American woman elected to the California Assembly, and in 1972, was the first woman elected to the House. She was also the first woman to chair the Congressional Black Caucus. In 1972, she became the first Congresswoman to give birth and be granted maternity leave while serving Congress. Pictured at what could possibly be his campaign headquarters, Councilman Tom Bradley (first from the right), poses for a photo with (l-r): California State Assembly Member Willie L. Brown, Jr.; Mayor Richard Hatcher of Gary, Indiana; and California Assembly Member Yvonne Brathwaite Burke. This event took place in late February/early March, 1969 for Councilman Bradley's first mayoral campaign, which he lost to incumbent, Mayor Sam Yorty. A large banner hanging in the background reads, "best qualified Bradley for mayor". Mayor Richard Hatcher, the first African American Mayor of Gary, Indiana and Joe Arrendondo (not pictured), Indiana's only Mexican American State Assembly Member at the time, came to Los Angeles to boost Bradley's "black and brown coalition" to help him get elected. See images 00128550, and 00143591 through 00143600 for additional photos in this series.
Type
image
Format
1 negative : safety ; 10 x 13 cm. Photographic safety negatives
Bradley, Tom,--1917-1998 Brown, Willie L.--(Willie Lewis),--Jr.,--1934- Burke, Yvonne Brathwaite African American men Men African American women Women African American politicians Politicians African American women politicians Women in politics African American legislators Legislators African American mayors Mayors City council members Civic leaders Campaign headquarters Political campaigns Political candidates Political participation Political posters Banners Chairs Flower arrangements Posing Smiling Los Angeles (Calif.)
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