Title created 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.; Perle Yvonne Watson (1932-) is an American politician and lawyer who was the first African-American woman to represent the West Coast in Congress. She attended the University of California, Berkeley from 1949 to 1951, and then transferred to the University of California, Los Angeles where she received a bachelor's degree in political science in 1953. In 1956 she was one of the first black women to be admitted to the University of Southern California Law School, where she subsequently earned a Juris Doctor degree. In 1957 Yvonne Watson married Louis Brathwaite, taking his last name and becoming Yvonne Brathwaite; they divorced in 1964. Ms. Brathwaite was elected to the California State Assembly in 1966 representing Los Angeles' 63rd District. In 1972 she married William A. Burke and again took her husband's last name, becoming Yvonne Brathwaite Burke. She served as vice-chairperson of the 1972 Democratic National Convention, and was the first African American as well as the first woman of color to hold that position and also the first woman to chair the Congressional Black Caucus. In 1973, became the first Congresswoman to give birth while in office and be granted maternity leave while serving Congress. She did not seek re-election to Congress in 1978, but instead ran for Attorney General of California, though she ultimately lost. Mrs. Brathwaite Burke's tenure in U.S. Congress is as follows: Member of the California State Assembly from the 63rd district: January 2, 1967 – January 3, 1973; Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California: January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1979; Member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors: January 3, 1979 – December 2, 1980; Member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors: December 8, 1992 – December 1, 2008; and Member of the Amtrak Board of Directors: January 1, 2013 to present. A Foster and Kleiser campaign billboard with the image of California Assemblywoman Yvonne Brathwaite can be seen mounted on the side of the Ideal Nursery School. Ms. Brathwaite is standing in front of the American flag accompanied by the words, "Re-elect Yvonne Brathwaite to the Assembly. A proven legislator" in white and green text. Photograph circa 1972. See images 00128586 through 00128591 for additional photos in this series.
Type
image
Format
1 color negative : safety ; 10 x 13 cm. Photographic safety negatives
Burke, Yvonne Brathwaite African American women Women African American politicians Politicians African American women politicians African American legislators Legislators Women political candidates Women in politics Women politicians Political campaigns Political candidates Billboards Photographs Buildings Nursery schools Los Angeles (Calif.)
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