Abstract
The Clarence Ray Photograph Collection (approximately 1930-1960) consists of black-and-white photographic prints and negatives of Clarence Ray, casino scenes of people playing table games, and images of Ray with black activists in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Finding Aid PDF
Date
Extent
Related People/Corporations
Scope and Contents Note
The Clarence Ray Photograph Collection (approximately 1930-1960) consists of black-and-white photographic prints and negatives of Clarence Ray, casino scenes of people playing table games, and images of Ray with black activists in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Access Note
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections and Archives website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish.
Arrangement
Materials remain as they were received.
Biographical / Historical Note
Clarence Ray was born in California on February 8, 1900. He moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in the early 1930s and began a career in the gaming industry. Ray co-owned some of the first black-owned gaming establishments in Las Vegas and worked with a variety of organizations to promote worker's rights for black citizens. During construction of the Hoover Dam, Ray petitioned to guarantee employment for black workers. He actively encouraged casinos to open more job opportunities for black card dealers. Their efforts proved successful when casino owners agreed to a consent decree in 1971 that guaranteed 12% of all jobs in resorts and casinos to be filled with black employees. The city of Las Vegas named a park in Ray's honor for his contribution to the black community in Southern Nevada.
Ray died on December 1, 1993.
Sources:
Genealogy Files about "Clarence Ray." Accessed on April 14, 2020 on
familysearch.org.
"1971 Consent Decree." Documenting the African American Experience, https://digital.library.unlv.edu/index.php/aae/consent%20decree. Accessed on April 14, 2020.
"Clarence Ray Park." https://www.lasvegasnevada.gov/Residents/Parks-Facilities/Clarence-Ray-Park. Accessed on April 14, 2020.
Preferred Citation
Clarence Ray Photograph Collection, approximately 1930-1960. PH-00326. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Acquisition Note
Materials were donated to UNLV Special Collections and Archives; accession number 2020-064.
Processing Note
In 2020, as part of an archival backlog elimination project, James Howard wrote the finding aid and entered the data into ArchivesSpace.