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 for 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.; The Bank of Finance was the first African American organized bank in California. Opened in 1964, it catered to small businesses in the community. During its time, it nursed local businesses to fruition and provided financial assistance for necessary community resources like medical centers, day cares, and homes for the elderly. Members of the organizing committee included Dr. Edward H. Ballard, Dr. Perry W. Beal, Wilton A. Clarke, Onie B. Granville, Mrs. Bernice M. Malbrue, Tom Bradley and Lorenzo V. Spencer. Both the bank building at 2651 S. Western Avenue and a branch opened at 8420 S. Vermont in 1968 have since been demolished. Photograph ran in the Los Angeles Sentinel newspaper on June 3, 1965. Photograph caption reads, "Early Thrift - Sixth grade students of 36th Street School were treated to a special guided tour of Bank of Finance recently. Joseph A. Batten, president, Neville Beaubien, executive vice president, and Dr. Edward H. Ballard, chairman of the board of directors of Bank of Finance, showed the students through the bank and explained some of the modern electronic machines used in present day banking. Burton Oliver, supervisor of the Thrift, Conservation, and School Savings section of the L.A. City School Dist., recommended this activity to encourage the students to develop early thrift habits. Bank of Finance officials were especially pleased when some of the students expressed interest in careers in banking. In front of the Bank of Finance, 2651 S. Western Ave., after the special guided tour are 36 students of the class with their teachers, Mrs. Tillie Wisotsky and George Avak, and Dr. Ballard."
Type
image
Format
1 negative : safety ; 10 x 13 cm. Photographic safety negatives
Bank of Finance (Los Angeles, Calif.) 36th Street School (Los Angeles, Calif.) African American Banks African American Bankers Banks and banking Bank directors Bank buildings Lost architecture Teachers African American children African American boys Asian American boys African American girls African American men Children Boys Girls Girl Scouts Women Men South Los Angeles (Los Angeles, Calif.)
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