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.; 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.; Thomas J. "Tom" Bradley (1917-1998) was a popular Los Angeles mayor that served in office from 1973-1993. Bradley's five-term tenure (20 years), marked the longest tenure by any mayor in Los Angeles city's history - surpassing Fletcher Bowron (15 years in office). Bradley's career started in 1940 when he joined the Los Angeles Police Department where in a short period of time, he reached the rank of lieutenant - the highest rank held by an African American police officer at the time. While working on the force, Bradley attended night school at Southwestern University School of Law, and in 1956 he passed his bar exam and received his law degree. From 1963-1972 Bradley served on the Los Angeles City Council - 10th District, and while in office, challenged incumbent mayor Sam Yorty for the 1969 mayoral seat, which he lost. He again ran in 1973, and this time successfully unseated Yorty to become the 38th Mayor of Los Angeles. Nine years after his mayoral win, in 1982 and again in 1986, Bradley ran for Governor of California, but was defeated both times by Republican George Deukmejian. During his record-breaking tenure, Mayor Bradley hosted the 1984 Summer Olympic Games, was a driving force behind construction of the Los Angeles' light rail network, pushed for the expansion of Los Angeles International Airport and the development of the terminals in use today, and was elected for a fifth mayoral term in 1989. He chose to leave office in 1993, rather than seek election to a sixth term. In 1996 Bradley suffered a heart attack and underwent triple bypass surgery; the following day he suffered a stroke which left him unable to speak clearly for the rest of his life, and his condition limited his public appearances. Sadly, in 1998 at the age of 80, Tom Bradley suffered a fatal heart attack while at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center. He is interred in Inglewood Park Cemetery. Mayor Bradley was the first - and to date the only - African American mayor of this city.; Rev. Thomas Kilgore, Jr. (1913-1998) was the first African American to become president of the American Baptist Churches, during a time when the African Americans only made up 20% of the members. He was a friend to Martin Luther King, Jr., and helped organize the 1963 March on Washington. He was a senior pastor at Second Baptist Church from 1963-1985, the oldest African American Baptist Church in Los Angeles. Kilgore combined spirituality and community work, believing that serving God and serving your community were intertwined. A large group of people can be seen gathered on the steps of City Hall for an unknown demonstration. Councilman Tom Bradley can be seen standing behind the podium with Reverend Thomas Kilgore standing to his right, as Councilman Billy Mills (third row, 3rd from the left) listens on with the crowd. No further information has been given. Photograph circa 1967. See images 00134152; 00134177; 00134179, and 00141803 through 00141806 for additional photos in this series.
Type
image
Format
1 negative : safety ; 10 x 13 cm. Photographic safety negatives
Kilgore, Thomas,--1913-1998 Bradley, Tom,--1917-1998 Mills, Billy G Los Angeles City Hall (Los Angeles, Calif.) African American men Men African American women Women African American politicians Politicians African American political activists Political activists Political participation City council members Community activists Demonstrations Speeches, addresses, etc Clergy Stairs Microphones Podiums Los Angeles (Calif.)
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