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.; Photograph included in the Exhibit: Firsts, Seconds and Thirds: African American Leaders in Los Angeles During the 1960s and '70s from the Rolland J. Curtis Collection. At an early age, Paul R. Williams (1894-1980) knew he wanted to be an architect, despite his high school teacher advising him that "Your own people can't afford you, and white clients won't hire you." Williams learned to draw upside-down so that white clients wouldn't have to sit next to him while he drew. When touring construction sites, his hands were clasped behind him, to allow white people to extend their hand first if they wished to shake his. Williams became the first African American member of the American Institute of Architects in 1923.; 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.; Gilbert Lindsay (1900-1990) was born on a cotton plantation in Mississippi where he later picked cotton for 50 cents a day. In 1928, he moved to Los Angeles and became a janitor for the Department of Water & Power. By 1963, at the age of 62, Lindsay became the first African American to join the City Council. Appointed to fill a vacancy, he was re-elected consistently until his death in 1990.; In 1940, Tom Bradley (1917-1998) was part of the 400 African Americans in a racially segregated LAPD. Bradley was the second African American to join the Los Angeles City Council, representing the 10th district, in 1963. He was also the first and only African American to become Mayor of Los Angeles, and the second African American Mayor of a major city in 1973. His 20 years in office marked the longest mayoral term in the city's history. Architect Paul R. Williams receiving a resolution from Councilman Tom Bradley. From left to right, Councilman Billy Mills, Bradley, Williams and Councilman Gilbert Lindsay. Dated September 14, 1965.
Type
image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w;10x13 cm. Photographic prints
Mills, Billy G Lindsay, Gilbert Bradley, Tom,--1917-1998 Williams, Paul R.,--1894-1980 Architects--United States Resolutions City council members--California--Los Angeles Men--California--Los Angeles Los Angeles (Calif.)
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.
