Abstract
Oral history interview with Lawrence Wickliffe conducted by Kim Odusanya on November 29, 2014 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Wickliffe discusses his personal history living in Ferriday, Louisiana and later moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1953. He talks about his first impressions of the city and his career as a firefighter. Wickliffe then describes the West Las Vegas riots and protesting for social change, redlining on the Westside, and the recent economic upturn in the area. Later, Wickliffe recalls being the first African American paramedic in Las Vegas and his promotion to Battalion Fire Chief in 1978. He describes assisting at the MGM Grand fire in 1980 and the subsequent implementation of fire sprinkler systems inside hotels and casinos. Lastly, Wickliffe recalls desegregation on the Las Vegas Strip, families moving out of the Westside, and changes in Las Vegas.
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Scope and Contents Note
Oral history interview with Lawrence Wickliffe conducted by Kim Odusanya on November 29, 2014 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Wickliffe discusses his personal history living in Ferriday, Louisiana and later moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1953. He talks about his first impressions of the city and his career as a firefighter. Wickliffe then describes the West Las Vegas riots and protesting for social change, redlining on the Westside, and the recent economic upturn in the area. Later, Wickliffe recalls being the first African American paramedic in Las Vegas and his promotion to Battalion Fire Chief in 1978. He describes assisting at the MGM Grand fire in 1980 and the subsequent implementation of fire sprinkler systems inside hotels and casinos. Lastly, Wickliffe recalls desegregation on the Las Vegas Strip, families moving out of the Westside, and changes in Las Vegas. Digital audio available; no 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
Lawrence Wickliffe oral history interview, 2014 November 29. OH-02203. [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 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. Miguel Dominguez 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.