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. View of the 2nd annual Watts Christmas Parade, held on December 10, 1966 which ran along Central Avenue from El Segundo Boulevard. Pictured is Joe Spaulding, Santa Monica mortician, who can be seen waving with one hand and holding what appears to be a plaque as well as the reins with his other hand, while sitting atop his Palomino horse. Mr. Spaulding wears a tan shirt, tan pants, tan boots and tan hat, and his elaborate saddle can be seen adorned with his initials, "JS." A large crowd of spectators are gathered along the street as the parade passes through. See images 00053373; 00053409; 00053433; 00119205, 00119206; 00125550; 00128938; and 00141769 through 00141796 for additional photos in this series.
Type
image
Format
1 color negative : safety ; 10 x 13 cm. Photographic safety negatives
If you're wondering about permissions and what you can do with this item, a good starting point is the "rights information" on this page. See our terms of use for more tips.
Share your story
Has Calisphere helped you advance your research, complete a project, or find something meaningful? We'd love to hear about it; please send us a message.
