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. A group of unidentified school children are seen standing together in a circle, with their hands clasped together in front of their face. The young boys and girls are well dressed and appear to be praying during a school festivity at an unknown location, possibly Victory Baptist Church Day School. Crepe paper flowers adorn the yellow building at right, and two unidentified adults (maybe parents or teachers) are partially visible standing just below them. Several large colorful ornaments with green garland hang on an apparatus behind the children and two apartment buildings are visible over the school yard fence. Photograph circa 1975. See images 00130166 through 00130175, and 00143729 for additional photos in this series.
Type
image
Format
1 color negative : safety ; 10 x 13 cm. Photographic safety negatives
African American men Men African American boys Boys African American girls Girls African American children Children School children School buildings School sites Schools Playgrounds Decorations Crepe paper Prayer Apartments Dwellings Los Angeles (Calif.)
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