Abstract
The Woodrow Wilson Photograph Collection consists of black-and-white photographic prints and negatives. The images depict black elected government leaders attending the first Conference of Black Elected Officials held in Washington, D.C. in September 1969. Of particular interest are images of Nevada's first black state legislator, Woodrow Wilson; Georgia state representative, Julian Bond; and President Richard Nixon.
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Scope and Contents Note
The Woodrow Wilson Photograph Collection consists of black-and-white photographic prints and negatives. The images depict black elected government leaders attending the first Conference of Black Elected Officials held in Washington, D.C. in September 1969. Of particular interest are images of Nevada's first black state legislator, Woodrow Wilson; Georgia state representative, Julian Bond; and President Richard Nixon.
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
Woodrow Wilson was born in Morton, Mississippi in 1915, the eldest of four children. In 1940, he left Mississippi, joining the growing migration of Southern blacks who were drawn to employment opportunities in the West. Moving to Las Vegas, Nevada, he first worked at Basic Magnesium, Inc. before shifting his attention to developing greater opportunities for the city's black residents. Among his accomplishments was the creation of the West Side Federal Credit Union, the first local financial institution to serve the black community, in 1951. In 1949, he joined the Las Vegas NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), serving as president and director for twenty-eight years. In 1966, Wilson was elected to the Nevada State Assembly, becoming the state's first black legislator; he was re-elected to that body in 1968 and 1970. In 1979, Wilson was appointed to the state’s Equal Rights Commission. Wilson retired in 1984 and died in Las Vegas in 1999.
Source:
Przyby, John. "Meet Seven African American Who Helped Shape Southern Nevada." Las Vegas Review-Journal. February 23, 2014. Accessed April 6, 2020. https://www.reviewjournal.com/life/meet-seven-african-americans-who-helped-shape-southern-nevada/
Legislative Manual, State of Nevada, 56th Session. Nevada Legislative Council Bureau. Bulletin #89. Carson City, Nevada, 1971. Pg. 48
Preferred Citation
Woodrow Wilson Photograph Collection, 1969 September 11. PH-00085. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Acquisition Note
Materials were donated in 1978 by Woodrow Wilson; accession number 78-257.
Processing Note
In 2020, as part of an archival backlog elimination project, Melise Leech wrote the finding aid and entered the data into ArchivesSpace.