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. The Reverend H. Hartford Brookins (at right) is pictured with several unidentified demonstrators outside the Thriftimart, located at 2600 S. Vermont Ave. The Reverend can be seen speaking into a handheld PA system as a few of the demonstrators listen on. Several picket signs are partially visible in the background and a portion of St. Agnes Catholic Church, located at 2625 S. Vermont Ave. peeks out along the right. The group was protesting discriminatory hiring practices by the company. Photograph circa 1964. See images 00128421 through 00128426; and 00143362 through 00143406 for all photos in this series.
Type
image
Format
1 negative : safety ; 10 x 13 cm. Photographic safety negatives
Thriftimart Thriftimart--Employees St. Agnes Catholic Church (Los Angeles, Calif.) African American men Men African American women Women African American girls Girls African American boys Boys Clergy Community activists Grocery stores Supermarkets Stores & shops Strikes and lockouts Lost architecture Picketing Microphones Sidewalks Streets Automobiles Posing Los Angeles (Calif.)
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