Abstract
Oral history interview with D. D. (Ethel Dolores) Cotton conducted by Claytee White on February 14, 1997 and March 21, 1997 for the Women's Research Institute of Nevada (WRIN) Las Vegas Women Oral History Project. In this interview, Cotton discusses the beginnings of her dance career in New York City, New York. Later in the interview, Cotton discusses working in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Cotton Club and her interactions with other African American entertainers. Cotton also discusses race relations and her experiences as an African American dancer in Las Vegas. Cotton later goes on to discuss her career change in the service industry.
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Scope and Contents Note
Oral history interview with D. D. (Ethel Dolores) Cotton conducted by Claytee White on February 14, 1997 and March 21, 1997 for the Women's Research Institute of Nevada (WRIN) Las Vegas Women Oral History Project. In this interview, Cotton discusses the beginnings of her dance career in New York City, New York. Cotton goes on to discuss her formal dance training and her high school years in New York. Later in the interview, Cotton discusses working in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Cotton Club and her interactions with other African American entertainers. Cotton also discusses race relations and her experiences as an African American dancer in Las Vegas. Cotton later goes on to discuss her career change in the service industry. She describes becoming one of the first black cocktail waitresses at Caesars Palace in 1966 and later working at the Tropicana as a floor manager in the pit. Digital audio and transcript available. Digital photographs available.
Access Note
Collection is open for research. Where use copies do not exist, production of use copies is required before access will be granted; this may delay research requests. Advanced notice is required.
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. Some transcripts do not exist in final form, therefore any editing marks in a transcript (deletions, additions, corrections) are to be quoted as marked.
Preferred Citation
D. D. Cotton oral history interview, 1997 February 14, 1997 March 21. OH-00278. [Cite format consulted: Audio recording or Transcript.] Oral History Research Center, Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Acquisition Note
This interview was conducted by the Women’s Research Institute of Nevada, part of the UNLV College of Liberal Arts Department of History. Materials from this oral history project were transferred to UNLV Libraries Special Collections and Archives on an ongoing basis ending in 2017; acquisition number 2017-017.
Processing Note
Interview materials were processed by Karla Irwin in 2017 and 2019. Access copies were created for digitized and/or born-digital audio and transcript files. Hana Gutierrez wrote the collection description. The audio cassette(s) for this interview have been reformatted by the Women’s Research Institute of Nevada into a digital format.
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Existence and Location of Originals
A bound transcript is available for use in UNLV Libraries Special Collections and Archives. See call number: F850.N4 C68 1998