Transcript of interview with Marie Jordan by Danny Budak, March 20, 1978

UNLV University Libraries Marie Jordan i An Interview with Marie Jordan An Oral History Conducted by Danny Budak Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas Special Collections and Archives Oral History Research Center University Libraries University of Nevada, Las Vegas UNLV University Libraries Marie Jordan ii © Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 2019 UNLV University Libraries Marie Jordan iii The Oral History Research Center (OHRC) was formally established by the Board of Regents of the University of Nevada System in September 2003 as an entity of the UNLV University Libraries’ Special Collections Division. The OHRC conducts oral interviews with individuals who are selected for their ability to provide first-hand observations on a variety of historical topics in Las Vegas and Southern Nevada. The OHRC is also home to legacy oral history interviews conducted prior to its establishment including many conducted by UNLV History Professor Ralph Roske and his students. This legacy interview transcript received minimal editing, such as the elimination of fragments, false starts, and repetitions in order to enhance the reader's understanding of the material. All measures have been taken to preserve the style and language of the narrator. The interviewee/narrator was not involved in the editing process. UNLV University Libraries Marie Jordan iv Abstract On March 20, 1978, collector Danny Budak interviewed the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) bookstore buyer, Marie Jordan (born June 26th, 1940 in Arizona) in the UNLV library. This interview offers Marie Jordan’s personal perspective of life in Nevada, being a local resident for twenty years. Marie also discusses family life and changes that she has witnessed in the Valley. UNLV University Libraries Marie Jordan 1 (Tape begins midsentence)—History interview. First of all Marie, can you tell me when you were born and when you first arrived in Nevada? Okay. Danny, normally I don’t usually give my age. But I was born in Arizona. And I stayed in Arizona, with my grandparents until I was sixteen and a half. At that particular time, my parents was living in Las Vegas, Nevada. So, I came into Nevada in ’54. I decided to go to school here. I went to Las Vegas High School. Marie, I noticed where you said that you came to Nevada to live with your parents. Were you living with your grandparents at the time, when you were born? Were your parents there at the time of birth? Well, we have a tradition in our family, the children will have the child and the grandparents will take them over. Okay. At the time that I was born, my grandparents took me when I was three months old, and reared me until I got sixteen and a half. That’s when I joined my mother and father here. Alright Marie, you were sixteen years old and you arrived in Nevada. You came to Nevada. Can you tell me what school you started at first? Las Vegas High School. Alright Marie. Could you tell me—before you came to Nevada at sixteen years old, can you tell me the different—different lifestyle you lived before you came to Nevada? Yes I can, Danny. Because when I was going to school in Arizona, all nationalities went to the same school. You get to Las Vegas and it’s completely different. The—maybe the Black kids go one place and you know, it’s just segregated. And in Arizona, we just—I didn’t know anything about that. When I came here, Black people had certain places to go. Like they couldn’t go UNLV University Libraries Marie Jordan 2 Downtown and gamble. They couldn’t go on the Strip. Wherever they—whatever they participated with, it was with their own kind. So you’re saying in Arizona, that they had schools, certain schools for Blacks, certain schools for Mexicans, certain schools for Whites? No. No. They never had—? No, no. This is not what I am saying. I’m saying, Mexican, Blacks, Indians, all nationalities, went to one school. We was—I mean, we was all in the same class. We were together. Hm. Then when I got here it was completely different. Mm. And I couldn’t understand why. Was—when you went to school there in (Unintelligible), and everything was like together like it was, was there many riots or fights? Was there—? Yes. There was a lot of fights. Mostly between Black kids and (Unintelligible) kids. Because, I don’t know—it seemed though, that, at that particular time, the White kids was really digging the Black kids, or vice versa, right? Uh-huh. And the Black kids just couldn’t understand why they were like that. Mm-hmm. Because they figured well, we all are human. And we feel that a person should be able to like who they want. UNLV University Libraries Marie Jordan 3 Alright, you were saying, when you got to Nevada, that Blacks were not allowed Downtown. They weren’t allowed in the casinos, they weren’t allowed in say—the (unintelligible) that they did have, if they did have any. That’s correct. And why—why is this? I don’t know. Was it—? To me I— Because of the— I never could understand that. It seemed to me like they wouldn’t—like the slavery thing was over, and that had nothing to do with it. So. Oh. That’s true. But just because the slavery was over, there was still some people that figured that Blacks were still dominant. Yes. I noticed where you said that the Whites kind of thought that the Blacks were still dominant. Well, like today, I can, you know, relate to that, like in sports, I feel that they’re, you know, dominant, but I don’t know how they could see that back in 1952, did you say—? Four. Nineteen fifty-four. Well, didn’t the Blacks here have a certain club or a certain casino that they could all gather at and just party themselves? Okay. Yes. That was one. It was called the Moulin Rouge. And it was all Black. Mm-hmm. UNLV University Libraries Marie Jordan 4 But the only thing I couldn’t understand about that is, the Whites could come over, but we couldn’t go over to their place. But they could come over and socialize with us. So how did the Blacks take this? They didn’t. Did they allow the Whites in? Yes. They did. Because, they feel like—they was gonna be more of men and ladies than the Whites. Oh. So. We accepted. Excuse me. Not I. But they accepted them the way they came in. If you haven’t noticed. I am talking to a Black lady. I—you told me about this—this certain spot that the Blacks went to. But this was after you were older than sixteen, correct? That’s correct. Alright. Let’s go back to when you were back in high school. And what was it like for you when you came to high school here? Did—were you accepted as say a cheerleader? A song leader? A rah-rah girl? Did you—? Were you voted as anything of the sort? Okay. When I went to Las Vegas High School, I was one of the cheerleaders, and I was also one of the rhythmists. Okay, in order to be that, you had to really work harder to be in this particular group than most of the Whites. Because they figure— Hm. If you want to be something, than you have to prove to them that you was qualified for this job. Alright Marie. So, when you were fresh—say when you were a fresh—when did you first—when did you first become a song leader, a cheerleader? So to speak. My second year. UNLV University Libraries Marie Jordan 5 Your second year in high school? Alright. Your junior and senior year, you were just, you just like attended the games. You weren’t involved with the team as a cheerleader or anything? No. I wasn’t. Alright. So after high school, did you decide to go on to college anywhere? At that particular time, no I didn’t. Because right after I got—I graduated from high school, I decided to get married. And it was two years later that I decided to go to college. And during that particular time, and within that two years that I decided to go, I happened to get pregnant so that was completely out. So, you went to school for two years? That’s correct. And then, you met a man that you fell in love with? You can call it that. (Laughs) Or—that you had the—the hots over? (Laughs) And you decided—you decided to marry this man because you became pregnant? That’s correct. Where—what is your husband’s name? Well, I’m not with the same man now. Oh. He is deceased. He is deceased? Mm-hmm. UNLV University Libraries Marie Jordan 6 What was his name? His name was Sherman Tony. Sherman Tony. Then when did you—after he’d—after he passed away, you had the baby, correct? That’s correct. And you met another man. Yes. I did. But that was like five years later. So—in between that five year span. Did you decide to go back to school at all? Or what did you do after your late husband passed away, until you met this other husband? Okay. At that particular time, I didn’t have any means of supporting my child. So I went to work at the Hacienda Hotel. And I worked there, I think it was five years. Mm-hmm. And then, after I quit that I started working at a men’s store near Downtown, which was named (Unintelligible) Men’s Wear. And I worked there for there for five years. And that’s where I met my present husband. At the men’s store? At the men’s store. Did he—was he coming in to buy a pair of slacks? Or a shirt or something? Well, at that particular— And he caught your eye? No. Well, at that particular time he was just coming in to look around, like most people do. And I presumed that I caught his eye or something, and his stops in there was quite frequently, then. So, he became very sociable with you? UNLV University Libraries Marie Jordan 7 Yes. And he asked you out and asked you out again? I accepted. And you accepted? Right. And how long before you two decided that you were right for each other and you got married? Well, I really hadn’t got over my first husband. And within the five years that I had to—after he had passed. Mm-hmm. I went with my present husband for five years. I just wanted to really make sure that we was meant for each other. Marie could you please tell me, when you met your husband, or when you got married, I mean, how—well, before you got married, what type of work did he do? Construction. Just basic construction, like building roads, and houses? Ah, no. He was mostly building homes and hotels and things like that. When I first met him, he was working for Miranda Construction. Okay. Miranda Construction went out of business and then he—for some reason, he got in with Sierra Construction and that’s who he’s presently working with now. Did he—so, he’s—he’s worked construction ever since you’ve met him? That’s correct. And he is still on construction? UNLV University Libraries Marie Jordan 8 Now. So he is probably, pretty high? Yes. More or less a boss, over the other employees? Supervisor. Supervisor? Is your husband active in any sort of summer league baseball, bowling leagues or anything? Yes he is Danny. He has a—he’s with this (unintelligible) little league. And he does that very often. He—you know, if he’s not doing baseball, he’s with the basketball team. Mm-hmm. Was he a very good basketball player himself, when he was younger? Ah, he said he was. But the way he gets on the floor sometime with his players, I don’t think he’s that very good. So when he’s out there, more or less, he—the players like to play against him, ‘cause he’s older and they like to maybe think that they can dominate? That’s correct, right. Alright Marie, I’ve heard a lot of stories about Las Vegas, and I was just wondering, like, it looks like—everything here looks paved and just really modern to me. I’m sure, when you first came here, a lot of the roads were dirt. And a lot of the area here, the yards were not green. Can you please tell me what it was like when you first got here? When you first got here? When you were around twenty years old? Okay. When I first got here—yes. Las Vegas has changed a whole lot. Because the area that my parents are living in now, I believe it was all desert. Because the home that they’ve—presently—presently moved in, it was this really new development. And from her, from the back of her UNLV University Libraries Marie Jordan 9 house on, it wasn’t anything but just plain desert. But now—you could look at it now, and you wouldn’t believe it’s the same place. Because when I first came here. When I very first came here, not in ’54, but I was—when I was about nine or ten, the only place that the Blacks had to go was called the Brown Derby. And it was like one spot, you know, and it was like tents and things, that what people was living in. It was—it was really strange how people was living in that particular time. I notice how you say, where the Blacks went. Did more or less, when—did more or less, the Blacks stay in a group? Or? That’s correct. Or they did not hang around with the White people? No. Oh. Because I don’t know—I feel like, well, the Blacks feel like that the Whites didn’t really want to be bothered with them. And so, they feel like, in order to stay out of trouble and out of the jail or something like that, they have decided just to stay with them, among themselves. Oh. So you’re saying that the Black people—or the White people, anyway, that they did not want to get involved with Blacks. Because they felt that they could be thrown in jail any certain time just for getting out of hand at the smallest? Well, like I said, when I first came here the police force was very, very strict on certain things. Mm. Now like now, every day you see maybe, fifteen or twenty people over on the Westside, as they call it. And for a while there, you might see, one or two, and it seems, though, that we looked at him and he was probably like in the wrong place at the right time. UNLV University Libraries Marie Jordan 10 Correct. So things have really changed. What I’m curious about is the Strip area. Like everything there seems so modern to me. Are there any certain casinos that have been there, like just forever? Yes. There was one that I barely remember. And I think it was called El Rancho Vegas. And if I’m not mistaken, I think that was the first one on the Strip, and then, came the Flamingo Hotel. Now that is about the only two that I know, that off hand. When you came to live with your parents, did they—were they ever involved with any of the casinos, such as—like did they have the gambling fever or did they like to go there just to play cards? Or—did they have—? Okay. No. They didn’t play cards or something like that. Hm. Because like I mentioned earlier—there was this place on the Westside called the Brown Derby—okay, they had everything that a person—probably could play keno, slot machine, whatever, they had that there. So in that case, that means that a Black didn’t really have to go Downtown to gamble off his money. Alright. As I wait for Marie to put on a little chap stick. (Laughs) Marie getting back to more or less yourself, can you tell me, the certain—have you received any awards and honors besides that high school cheerleading or anything besides that in—while living in Las Vegas? Yes. I have. I’m in a bowling league, and we bowled for the university. And I have received a trophy for bowling. And that’s about all of it I can—(unintelligible) UNLV University Libraries Marie Jordan 11 So, you’re just more or less, active as a bowler? You don’t play no slow pitch, softball in the summer with the ladies? Or bridge? Or anything of this sort? Well, I do have an outside job. I sell Mary Kay Cosmetics. And when I’m not at the bookstore, I’m usually out giving a demonstration on how to make (unintelligible) So you’re—you’re more or less, Avon calling? I wouldn’t consider myself an Avon caller. Because Avon, you go knocking from door-to-door. Right. With Mary Kay, you be invited in. You see the person away from home and they invite you to their house and then (unintelligible) Oh, so you more or less get an appointment before you come? That’s correct. Alright, so your special skills, do you have any special skills besides bowling? Yes, I sing. You’re a singer? Sure. Do you sing at—would you say, at luncheons or anything? Is this sort of just in the shower? Ah, I beg you pardon. (Laughs) (Laughs) No. I sing in my church, on Sunday mornings. So, you’re very religious? I wouldn’t say that. No. I don’t consider myself being that religious, no. Do you more or less, attend church, just when you’re needed—called upon to sing? No. I attend church day—I go to church every Sunday. UNLV University Libraries Marie Jordan 12 So I would—myself would consider yourself very religious. Because I—I’d say, I attend church mainly on just dates like Easter, Christmas, thanksgiving, as this. So in that case, you’re like those special event— Oh yes. Members. Well, when I—when I was young I went to a Catholic school and I was very religious, but this interview is about you so. Alright Marie, I’d like to learn a little bit more about your family. And I like to—I was just wondering—can you tell me more or less the different types of history of illness, in your family. Say, like your fourteen year old son, right now, has chicken pox? Or operations of this sort or anything? Okay, with him. Okay, he has all his children diseases, right, I guess that’s what you would call it. Chicken pox, measles, German measles, whatever, no major operations, no. Since you mentioned my family—my son, he’s—he plays basketball, and he plays baseball. But nothing really serious about operations or anything like that. Marie, back when you were around twenty years of age, what sort of transportation did they have—I’m sure they had airplanes but did your father prefer flying in a plane with not the everyday—well, what I’m trying to say, is the knowledge the pilots have today, or would you prefer going to ground route, say in your car, or train, or even by bus. Could you please comment on this for me? Yes I can, Danny. Oh, well, I won’t—let’s not say, twenty. ‘Cause I remember when I was living with my grandparents. When I was living with my grandparents—my grandmother and I decided that we wanted to go visit my brother. And he lives in Mississippi. There is no way that my grandmother would take a plane or a bus. The only convenient way with her was a train. She UNLV University Libraries Marie Jordan 13 (unintelligible) the safest place on earth was on a train. So we decided to go on a train. I gotta tell you about this. We get to Mississippi, and my brother is really strange. I mean, because he’s doing things that I never even heard of before. Okay. We’re back in Segregation again. Okay. Little kids, like much younger than him—I think by that particular time, I think I was about eight or nine and my brother was about fourteen, okay. And the kids that he were playing with were White. I mean, I don’t know if he was playing with them or not, but we was all in a group together. Is this what you’re meaning by him being strange? You—I noticed you said, he was weird or strange, in certain ways. Okay. I’m getting to that. Oh alright. Like I said, the children that he was participating around with, were really young. And he was (unintelligible) saying like “Yes ma’am,” and, “No, ma’am,” and stuff like that to ‘em. When to me, the only thing, would be, just plain English, would be, yes and no. So we go to this store and my brother was telling me, the man who owned the store, what he needed. So he had asked my brother, said, “Who is this girl? Or excuse me, gal.” And I didn’t know if he was referring to me or not. And I looked at him and I said, “Oh. My name is Marie and I’m (unintelligible) brother.” And he said—oh, excuse me, “Sister.” Mm-hmm. And he says, “Well, where are you from, gal?” And I said, “Well, I’m from Arizona.” And my brother says, “Say sir.” And I said, “Why should I say, sir?” He said, “Well, that’s the custom down here.” So I goes back home and I explain to my grandmother that there is no way in the world that I’m gonna say, “Yes. Ma’am, and no ma’am, to kids that’s younger than I am.” UNLV University Libraries Marie Jordan 14 Because I feel like it just wasn’t—(unintelligible) I’m not used to that. In Arizona, we said, “Yes and no.” Regardless what color, you were. And to me, I never—after that time, I never went back to Mississippi again. Because I just wasn’t used to this. Oh, and another thing, we had bathrooms, right? Mm-hmm. Better known as outside toilets. Right. Outhouses. Yes. I guess that’s what you call them. (Laughs) Okay. Water fountains—they had “Colored here. White there.” Colored toilets was one place and the White was inside. When you got ready—if you was riding the bus, or even the train, you had—you had a certain section that you rode in. And when you got in certain parts of like, way down in the south, if you was sitting in one section that you wasn’t supposed to sit in, the conductor would let you sit there, until you got into a certain part of town. And then, he would ask you to move back. Okay, once you get back in that section, he would pull the curtain on you. And to me this was like a—oh, how bad could you get it. And unlike, you know, when the train stopped and you get off and maybe the train gonna stay there for maybe an hour, okay, you get home, okay, you had to go back around where the kitchen was to eat. And to me, I just couldn’t dig that at all. And I still can’t today. But I am glad that things have changed. You were saying that when you went to your brother’s that you had to say, “Yes sir, no, ma’am, yes ma’am.” Were these people that were younger than you? You were twenty and they were younger? UNLV University Libraries Marie Jordan 15 No, no, no. I was seven and eight. But regardless, what age you were, you had to say that, it just was a custom down there. “Yes ma’am, and no ma’am.” That was giving respect to the person that you was talking to, whether he was older or younger. Well, that just shows good manners. That’s true. But in that particular time you had to do that. Shoot, I expect you to respect your elders at certain times, right? Right. But this was a custom. You had to say that. “Yes ma’am, no ma’am,” or “Yes ma’am” and “No sir.” So what I was wondering is—‘kay, you deal—working in the bookstore at the university, you deal with all types of people, and I was wondering, I’m sure you don’t, but I was just wondering how you feel towards Whites now, today? To me—when I look at a person, I don’t look at color. I look at the person as being an individual. Sure, I come in a lot of contact with different nationalities. But like I say, (unintelligible) doesn’t make the person. It’s what’s in that person heart. Hm. And like I said, I never was reared up being prejudice. And to me, everybody is the same. Have you ever had—have you ever encountered a weird experience or a rough experience with a White person? No. I haven’t. I get along very well— Why not—? With the people that I work around. I’m sorry—when I say, White person, I mean—I’m not only meaning White people, I mean Mexicans, just other nationalities, other races. UNLV University Libraries Marie Jordan 16 Well, sometime, you get a student that’s back from the south, okay. And he has been taught to—I don’t know, just down right be really nasty to certain nationalities, which is Black. And I have had problems with the students. They say that I’m the only one at the register and he don’t want to come to me, for me to ring out his books. Like maybe I could—he don’t want me to touch his book because he’s afraid that the color might rub off. Well, how can he say that, when his color don’t rub off, so how he figure mine will? Well, you—I know that there are people today that are still prejudiced. That’s just, that’s gonna be with us, for—I feel, forever. When we’re dead and gone it will always be with us. Blacks will be prejudice against Whites. But they will still be able to you know, live with them, and be near ‘em at times. But they will just, you know, they will prefer, like if they’re in a rough situation where they need to be helped or they need a, say there’s three Black—Black guys beating up on a White guy, I just can’t see where three other Black guys will come in and help that White guy. No. I don’t think that’s right. That’ll just—that’ll always be. No. I don’t think that’s right. Don’t you agree? Yes, I do. Okay. But my—okay, let’s say, you said, that—have I had any problems? No. I had—not really. But I found out, through the years, I—my best friends are White. Not that I have dominated the Black man or the Black Woman. Because I am very proud in what I am. But it seems as though, that I can correspond better with the White group, than I can with my own. Because it seems as though, that they understand where I’m coming from than where I’ve been. Mm-hmm. Ah, I’ve noticed like—on the football field, there’s a lot of racial slurs, a lot, and I was just wondering if—such as, what I’m referring to is a Black person being called a UNLV University Libraries Marie Jordan 17 nigger. And what I was wondering is, if you’ve ever been called this, and if you have ever been insulted in such a way? Where it just gets you—I’m sure that when you’ve been called something like this, where you just have a negative approach to ‘em, you know, afterwards. Danny, being very honest with you—I haven’t yet. And I hope that I never will. Because I feel like a long time ago, your—when a person, especially a White, calls you a nigger, this was your name. I mean, either, if you dug it or not, you were a nigger, right? Okay. Things have changed. And like I said, I hope I never be called one. Because I probably would end up in jail. Because I figure, I know my nationality, and you don’t have to, you know, tell me that over and over and over. But if one ever called me a nigger, I think I would probably, whoop his behind. Alright Marie. I’d like to jump back a little bit, to when, more or less, the—if you ever had any key points in your life, you know, real big goals that you wanted to get down. That you wanted to accomplish, that you haven’t? The big dreams that you’ve had? Yes. About three years ago—I’ve been, I went to a community college, to take up a course. The course was all communications and law enforcement. The reason why I decided to take law enforcement because I felt like I could help society. Okay. I finished the course. I went through everything that was required. I passed everything except for the all communications—I mean the—test. Once I gets up there in front of this, I guess he was some big guy that was giving the exam. And he asked questions. Okay. He told you back then, that whatever he asked you, he didn’t want you to think about it. He just wanted you—whatever he asked you—he just wanted you to come out and just give him the answer right out of your head. What you felt at that time? Yes. Because he felt like, whatever—you might’ve been in an incident and you would have to well, do whatever you thought was best, at that particular time. So, he asked me something UNLV University Libraries Marie Jordan 18 about, if I decided that I wanted to become a policewoman and was out in the field, and I got a call saying there was a disturbance at this particular house in an all-White dominant neighborhood, what—what would I do? Well, see, I told him I would go to the scene of the accident and I would knock on the door and everything. And he said, “Okay. Let’s say if there wasn’t any answer.”—“Okay. I would probably bust in, since I already got a call there was a disturbance there.” So I’d bust in. And the first thing the guy do is call me a nigger. What we just got through talking about, right? And he said, “What would you do?” I said, “I would grab that guy, pull my stick out, probably hit him over the head a couple of times. Probably bruise him in a—in a certain way and bring him back to the police station. “And then, what would you do?” I said, “Well, probably being him having bruises on him,” I said, “He’d probably lose his (unintelligible) arrest.” Then who they go’n believe, me or him? Marie, did you say this was a junior college? Community college. Community college. Alright. You were studying, so you were studying law? Right. You only went to school two years, right? That’s correct. And this was at the community college? That’s right. So you only studied law and—? Communications. Communications. Did you—did these ever come in handy for you? UNLV University Libraries Marie Jordan 19 Well, law enforcement—no. Because after I completed the all (unintelligible)—the all tests, he told me I would be a very good police. But there was certain things that the Society of Nevada didn’t allow. And I figured, to me, regardless, what position you hold, if you did wrong then you have to suffer. So I figured that, the two years that I spent taking criminal justice, was just a waste. Because I felt like everybody had to go by rules and regulations. And I couldn’t understand why some people was different. Did you—what I was wondering is when did you first start working at the university? At the bookstore? Oh. Let’s see—about seven years ago. And you’ve worked on for seven years? That’s correct. Is this—? Do you enjoy this type of work? What you’re doing now? Yes. I do, because I know each year, although, I might get tired of looking at the same faces, for a year, right? Okay. But I know the following year, I’m gonna see new faces, which means, I’m gonna meet new friends. So I do—I really enjoy what I’m doing. I like working with the public. I notice, you worked a lot with the athletes. Yes, I do. I’m an athlete and you issue our books to us and you get us whatever we need. Is this more or less, just for you to do? You’re the only woman that does this? That’s correct. My major job is with the—the jobs. Okay. During the time that they have picked up all the books that they need. And then, my next job is making sure that all the supplies is taken care of, that the merchandise is on the shelf and plus I do a little ordering. Alright. Do you get along with the people you work with, inside the bookstore? UNLV University Libraries Marie Jordan 20 Well, when you work in close contact with people, you are gonna have some misunderstanding. But we usually iron it out. Yes. We—there’s no place in the world that you can work—as small a group as we are, and not have misunder— (Tape one ends) (Audio begins midsentence)—Really, you know, interesting, in a well, concerned about, well, and that’s—I was wondering a lot about your speech. I was—what I was wondering is if—for example like—when you pronounce your words, you say, like in ask, you say, “Axe.” And I was just wondering, did you—is this involved in a lot of the Blacks or is this just how you were brought up in the area you lived? Danny, I really can’t give you a definite answer on that. I don’t know, it’s some of the words that I can say very well, some of them are not really up to par. I don’t know, it’s—it could be, my background. Because like I was telling you earlier, my grandparents, was creole, and you know they talk with a slur. My father was Indian and you know, they don’t speak too good of English, and my mother’s Black. So, when you put all those three nationalities together, maybe that could be why my words are like they are. Another thing I was wondering is if, I noticed out on the football field, if this is, if this is just a front, or if it’s, if they have a class where you could learn this—is in the Blacks, where they say, “Hey, man, what’s happening?” And sort of things like that. Okay. I was just wondering? When they do it. Is that just for them to be cool? Or? That’s it. UNLV University Libraries Marie Jordan 21 That’s it. They’re just being—trying to be cool. It’s not a matter of speech. It’s just—yes. I guess you could say, it’s a matter of speech. If they really get down to it, I don’t think they can really talk just downright good English. Because they been doing the hip stuff so long, you know. So besides them trying to be cool, everyone more or less, is blessed with the same—same sort of speech. Yes. Some might have accents or some might not speak English, but more or less, got the same speech? That’s correct. Because I feel like, if they really had to—just really talk right. Let’s say—let’s say that they was going for an interview for a job, right? Okay. You couldn’t use that kind of English around a man that you never seen before and he’s checking you out to make sure, are you qualified for that job. So I be