Shades of L.A. is an archive of photographs representing the contemporary and historic diversity of families in Los Angeles. Images were chosen from family albums and include daily life, social organizations, work, personal and holiday celebrations, and migration and immigration activities. Made possible and accessible through the generous support of the Security Pacific National Bank, Sunlaw Cogeneration Partners, Photo Friends, California Council for the Humanities, the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, and the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation
Images available for reproduction and educational use. Please see the Ordering & Use page at http://tessa.lapl.org/orderinguse.html for additional information. The contents of this collection are restricted to personal, research, and non-commercial use. The Library cannot share the personal and/or contact information of the donors, their descendants, or associates who contributed photographs and oral histories to the collection.
Description
Title supplied by cataloger.; Image is a reproduction. Walter Lear Gordon, Jr. was born in Santa Monica, California, on June 22nd, 1908. He was African American. He grew up in Shutson Park (now called Rose Hill Park), near Pasadena, and attended Rose Hill Grammar School and then Lincoln High School. The neighborhood and grammar school were almost entirely white. After high school, he attended USC for two years before attending Ohio State University In 1936 he graduated from Ohio State Law School. After graduation, Walter and a friend moved back to California where they promoted shows and held dances under the name “Gordon and Nickens.” In 1948 Walter was married and practicing law in Santa Monica when both of his parents were murdered during a robbery. He defended Billie Holiday in several lawsuits and worked mainly in divorces and criminal defense. Most of his clients were also black. He was married five times and had three children with his second wife, Anne Franklin. He ran for a Republican seat in Congress in 1954-55 but was unsuccessful. He continued to work as a lawyer well into the 1990s. Friends from California attending the fight at the "Garden" in New York City include, from left to right (front row), attorney Charles Coolidge Taylor, Mrs. Ethel Sissle (later Gordon), Nat 'King' Cole, Mrs. Marie Cole, Dr. King; and from left to right (back row) Noble Sissle, Dr. H.H. Towles, Roy (Sonny) Howard, and Paul Howard.
Type
image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w ;21 x 26 cm. Photographic prints
Cole, Nat King,--1919-1965 Sissle, Noble,--1889-1975 Sissle, Ethel Howard, Paul,--1895-1980 Howard, Sonny Madison Square Garden (New York, N.Y.) Couples--New York (State)--New York Musicians--United States Entertainers--United States Singers--United States Boxing--United States Lawyers--United States New York (N.Y.) Shades of L.A. Collection photographs Shades of L.A. African American photographs Group portraits
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