Abstract
Oral history interview with James, Tony, and Frederick Smith conducted by Claytee D. White on February 25, 2014 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, James discusses his family background, military career, and marriage, and the sons add details about their mother's career at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino. All three talk about the role of churches in the Westside, Las Vegas, Nevada, and James recalls what the Westside was like in the 1960s and 1970s. He mentions a midnight curfew on the Strip for black residents, entertainment and business venues in the Westside, the role of the Culinary Union in black residents' economic opportunities, and the response of casino-hotel management to federal legislation designed to combat racism. The sons then discuss their educations and careers, about gang activities in Las Vegas, and changes in economic opportunities for young people.
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Scope and Contents Note
Oral history interview with James, Tony, and Frederick Smith conducted by Claytee D. White on February 25, 2014 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, James discusses his family background, military career, and marriage, and the sons add details about their mother's career at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino. All three talk about the role of churches in the Westside, Las Vegas, Nevada, and James recalls what the Westside was like in the 1960s and 1970s. He mentions a midnight curfew on the Strip for black residents, entertainment and business venues in the Westside, the role of the Culinary Union in black residents' economic opportunities, and the response of casino-hotel management to federal legislation designed to combat racism. The sons then discuss their educations and careers, about gang activities in Las Vegas, and changes in economic opportunities for young people. Digital audio available; digital transcript 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
James, Tony, and Frederick Smith oral history interview, 2014 February 25. OH-01717. [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 and transcribed by the Oral History Research Center (OHRC) which is part of the UNLV University Libraries Special Collections and Archives Division.
Processing Note
Interview materials were processed by UNLV Libraries Special Collections and Archives in 2016 and 2022. Melise Leech wrote the collection description. Access copies were created for born-digital audio and/or transcript files. The audio has been minimally reviewed and all readily available information has been included in the description.