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.; Homer Broome (1931-2007) joined the LAPD in 1954, and by 1969 became the first black Captain of the LAPD. He was again promoted in 1975 to the rank of Commander, also the first African American to do so. Broome is credited with opening the doors for many minority law enforcement officers throughout Los Angeles and across the country, including Chief Bernard Parks. Captain Homer F. Broome, Jr. (right) of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is pictured with Councilman Billy Mills as he's being presented with a proclamation from the City of Los Angeles in the International Ballroom of the Beverly Hills Hilton, which took place on October 20, 1969. In the photograph, both men hold the proclamation as they shake hands. See images 00128433 through 00128435, and 00143444 through 00143456 for additional photos in this series.
Type
image
Format
1 negative : safety ; 10 x 13 cm. Photographic safety negatives
Broome, Homer F Mills, Billy G Beverly Hilton Hotel (Beverly Hills, Calif.) Los Angeles (Calif.).--Police Department--Officials and employees African American men Men African American police chiefs Police chiefs African American politicians Politicians City council members Police Police--Awards Awards Award presentations Proclamations Hotels Ballrooms Handshaking Smiling Posing Beverly Hills (Calif.)
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