Title supplied by cataloger.; In the 1960s, 'mental retardation' was a medical term used to describe a person with an intellectual disability. However, the term 'mental retardation' has offensive connotations, and reinforces negative stereotypes. In October 2010, Congress passed Rosa's Law, which changed references to 'mental retardation' in specified Federal laws to 'intellectual disability,' and references to 'a mentally retarded individual' to 'an individual with an intellectual disability.' The description in this record retains the original language to provide context, and provides the subject heading 'intellectual disability' out of respect for intellectually disabled persons, as well as for search purposes. 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. Pictured is City Councilman Art Snyder (at center) holding and presenting a resolution to the members of the Atwater Park Center for the Mentally Retarded. Snyder's wife, Mary Frances Neely is on the far right in the black dress; no one else pictured has been identified by name. Photograph dated September 5, 1968. See images 00119484, 00119485 and 00138054 through 00138059 for additional photos in this series.
Type
Image
Format
1 negative : safety ; 10 x 13 cm. Photographic safety negatives
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