Curtis, Rolland J
Description
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 an unidentified choir group singing atop a stage during the Christmas Festival Sing-Along, which was held at the Denker Recreation Center, located at 1550 W. 35th Place. The Sing-Along was a three-day festival scheduled from Dec. 22 through Dec. 24 that was attended by singing groups from all over the city. The unusual festival, which sponsors hoped to make an annual event, was coordinated by the Mount Calvary Missionary Baptist Church and Bishop R. E. Alexander of the church. See images 00119148 through 00119151; 00130233, 00130234, 00130240; and 00137955 through 00137973 for additional photos in this series.
Image
Made accessible through a grant from the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation
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