Welcome

The Community Partners of the African American Collaborative joined together because each believes in the importance of collecting, preserving and making accessible the history of African Americans in Las Vegas. Users who enter this website will discover a single portal that connects stories and historical evidence of the African American experience.

Our goal is to fully preserve the heritage of the Las Vegas black community—its businesses, schools, churches, social and political organizations, publications, and entertainment. We will continue to locate, link, and curate this vibrant African American history—and make it easily accessible to everyone.

Welcome. Enjoy the exploration and discovery. We wish to continue to improve and enhance this site for all users.

Spotlights

The Sixth Grade Centers

December 11, 2013

In Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the United States Supreme Court decided that racially segregated schools were inherently unequal and mandated all school districts to desegregate schools. Meanwhile, there were three elementary schools located in West Las Vegas, and between 1956 and 1966 the Clark County School District (CCSD) built four additional elementary schools in this area. CCSD chose not to open any junior high or high schools in West Las Vegas; therefore, secondary schools in Las Vegas were more racially integrated.

However, CCSD closed two elementary schools in 1965 near West Las Vegas that could have been…

1971 Consent Decree

May 16, 2013

black and white photograph of Donald Clark and Charles Kellar A consent decree is as an order issued by a court that expresses a voluntary agreement by the participants in a lawsuit. In 1971, a consent decree alleged a series of violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Las Vegas gaming industry was continuing to discriminate against black workers.

Local NAACP attorney Charles…

EOB: The start of the Economic Opportunity Board

May 16, 2013

The term EOB is referred to in many of the oral histories conducted for the African American Experience. These three letters denote the Economic Opportunity Board. The EOB was established to create and manage programs to end poverty in urban Las Vegas, and used federal funding to create job training initiatives, day care, a radio station, and literacy programs.

Programs such as these were part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s theme to generate the era of the Great Society. His administration hoped to relieve economic distress and poverty in city communities in the so-called War on Poverty. Federal funds helped to start…