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. When young Charles White (1918-1979) raised his hand at school to ask if there were any black heroes in American history, his wife recalled, "He was told to shut up and sit down." Years later, White's murals and paintings depicted African American heroes and everyday people, and came to epitomize the idea of "black is beautiful." When White and his wife were the first interracial couple in the community, their son later recalled "for Sale signs went right up." White became the third African American artist to be elected a full member into the National Academy of Design. Artist Charles White painting at home.
Type
image
Format
1 negative :safety ;10 x 13 cm. Photographic safety negatives
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