Transcript of interview with Alexandar Grayson by David Glasco, March 15, 1981

UNLV University Libraries Alexander Grayson 1 An Interview with Alexander Grayson An Oral History Conducted by David Glasco Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas Special Collections and Archives Oral History Research Center University Libraries University of Nevada, Las Vegas UNLV University Libraries Alexander Grayson 2 © Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 2018 UNLV University Libraries Alexander Grayson 3 The Oral History Research Center (OHRC) was formally established by the Board of Regents of the University of Nevada System in September 2003 as an entity of the UNLV University Libraries’ Special Collections Division. The OHRC conducts oral interviews with individuals who are selected for their ability to provide first-hand observations on a variety of historical topics in Las Vegas and Southern Nevada. The OHRC is also home to legacy oral history interviews conducted prior to its establishment including many conducted by UNLV History Professor Ralph Roske and his students. This legacy interview transcript received minimal editing, such as the elimination of fragments, false starts, and repetitions in order to enhance the reader's understanding of the material. All measures have been taken to preserve the style and language of the narrator. The interviewee/narrator was not involved in the editing process. UNLV University Libraries Alexander Grayson 4 Abstract On March 15, 1981, collector David Glasco interviewed card dealer, Alexander Grayson (born March 27th, 1952 in Durham, North Carolina) in his home in Las Vegas, Nevada. This interview covers the black experience in Las Vegas. Mr. Grayson also discusses prejudice, racism, education, and entertainment. Additionally, he recalls relocating to Las Vegas from North Carolina with his family when he was a child, as his father was in the Air Force. UNLV University Libraries Alexander Grayson 5 This is David Glasco interviewing Mr. Alexander Grayson. Mr. Grayson, were you born here in Las Vegas? No. I wasn’t. I was born in North Carolina, you know, my father was in the Air Force and we moved out here when I was two years old, you know, and I’ve been here ever since, you know. My father retired from the Air Force after he had served about ten years and he’s worked here and he’s lived here for some while now. Do you—well, seeing that you didn’t, wasn’t born here, did you find Las Vegas real hot or the weather any different from that in North Carolina? Well, like I said I moved out here when I was two but I did go back and visit my grandparents, you know, every now and then in North Carolina and in Mississippi. That’s where my father’s folks and people were from and everything. I went back there. The difference is, it’s just a little bit humid. I, you know, I think I would prefer to live back there. It’s a little greener, it’s prettier and everything, you know, but out here is just home. I’m used to it now and I guess it really doesn’t matter at this point. I’ve lived out here so long I’ve just grown accustomed to everything that surrounds me, you know, the mountains, the desert, the casinos, the lights, everything. Isn’t there any—are there any mountains in North Carolina? Oh. There are a few mountains but you wouldn’t call them mountains though. They’re so little but you know the rock—not the Rockies, I’m sorry, but what’s the name of them mountains? I forgot all about. Well, anyway, I remember when I was a little kid, I went on this thing called Tootsie Railroad, it was up in the mountains. My grandparents took me up there and everything. I had the best of time that I ever had in my life. You know, it was just like back, like going back on a farm or something. UNLV University Libraries Alexander Grayson 6 Is that right? I can’t help but to notice that you’re light skinned. Is there any other blood in your family? I mean, you know like, Indian? Well, my grandmother was, I’d say seventy-five percent Indian, you know, and you know, of course, being black during slavery times things happen where the slave owners took advantage of the black woman and sure, I’m sure I have white in me, and that’s probably why I am so light skinned. But yes, I guess, I’d say that. Well, Mr. Grayson, you mentioned slavery time. Being in Georgia—I mean North Carolina, that’s where you’re from, right? Right. Sorry I got that wrong. But I’m sure your grandmother, well, maybe she had, maybe she didn’t. But did your grandmother every relate to you anything about slavery times? How blacks were treated? Mistreated or whatever? Well, you know, not really, my—when I lived in North Carolina, I really didn’t see very much. It didn’t appear to me that people were really prejudice until I was twelve years old. I was back there visiting, I was Boy Scout. And we were going up in the mountains and I saw this thing written in red it was “KKK” written in red, saying “Nigger stay out!” And that was the first time that I really felt that there was a—these people were prejudice or that, blatantly prejudice, you know, it was just, could—just so obvious that they were. And then, as I grew up out here, I tried to compare the differences between North Carolina, which was supposed to be a southern state and where you were to expect things to be, people to be prejudice or whatever, and out here; I’ve seen some things that really just discouraged me about the American system, you know. It just—these people are supposed to be so fair and yet I don’t feel that I’ve been treated, in many ways. You know, I think the things that I’ve achieved in life, the things I’ve done are simply because of UNLV University Libraries Alexander Grayson 7 myself and not because anyone gave me anything or did any favors for me or what have you. I might say, I’m not saying that I’m against white people or anything like that. I’m just saying that I don’t think I’ve been treated fairly. I think you can see this yourself, Mr. Glasco, when you go out and being an athlete at UNLV, it may be a little different. But for people that have lived here all of their lives, going out to different places like the brewery and whatever, these people are treated as if they’re, they’re not even human. They’re lied to, they’re just patronized. I can’t understand why it’s gone on as long as it has. I—I understand that you know that during Las Vegas’s growth they’ve gone through different changes and you know at one point, let’s face it, the mafia ran this town, you know. And the way the mafia wanted things to go is that (Laughs)— that’s exactly how it went. So if they didn’t appreciate blacks or whatever than that’s how it was. I mean I was told stories by my parents, where like when Sammy Davis, Jr. and Pearl Bailey and them, they all worked out there. They could work—see they could work on the Strip or whatever but after they finished working, they had to go out the back door and had to sleep on the other side of town. You know, I was told that Sammy Davis Jr., once slept—slipped into the pool and they drained the entire pool because they felt that he would contaminate it, just because of the color of his skin, you know and I think it’s carried on till today. You know, I don’t really, can’t even explain why the people are like they are. I know this is like little, the little western town and everything is, you make your own rules and that’s how it appears to me right now. But I’m living in it, I’m just gonna have to deal with it. I know that could’ve been kind of long but I just hope that I could explain it. You know what I mean? Oh, no problem at all, Mr. Grayson. You mentioned a lot of prejudice in this town. Have you ever been confronted by prejudice yourself? UNLV University Libraries Alexander Grayson 8 Yes. Well, there was a time. Matter fact, I was a senior at Las Vegas High School, you know, and there were two white guys over at Clark High School that had been jumped on by two unidentified Black guys. That kind of just was the spark plug, right there. You know, that same night we had a basketball game against Clark and Clark happened to win it. And they kind of felt that it was some people from Las Vegas who did it or had something to do with it. And then, back and forth, people started fighting left and right or whatever and people were filing complaints against one another. Blacks against whites, whites against Blacks. But it had literally gotten so bad at one point where, I saw once two Black girls going around with boards hitting white girls, and you know, (Laughs) just thrashing them, man. (Laughs) Was dogging them, with no respect whatsoever. And I didn’t feel that that was right, you know. And that happened and that just brought a barrage of things as far as violence happening at both high schools or whatever, what have you. And that to me was just a blatant form of prejudice and just a simple thing as someone at another high school could create such violence or create such madness and one entire city and it just erupted, I mean, as if it was a volcano or something, you know. Yes. I’ve heard, I’ve heard about that riot. And as a matter of fact, I heard of a lot of racial incidents that happened during that time. Mm-hmm. And seeing that all of this prejudice happened, I read in this story that maybe it wasn’t even Blacks from your high school that jumped on those two white boys. Yes. That’s what I’m saying. We—they didn’t know who it was. They just assumed and they you know, just wanted to have a reason to, for revenge, you know, it was just—you know, UNLV University Libraries Alexander Grayson 9 especially in high school, you know how kids are, they’ll just assume anything and do it. They just react without any reason. They don’t even know why, they just did what they did, you know and but it gotten pretty bad. Like I said, at one point, my father used to have to drive us over, we stayed in Hacienda for a while, just to get away from all of that. He just took us away from that. He didn’t want us to be involved. He didn’t want us to see anything like that you know, I think my father’s a very strong man. Had a lot of respect for his family and for his community. And he didn’t want to see us involved in anything like that, so he tried to take us away from that. I mean, you know, we’re not rich and anything like that. But he took care of us you know and he made sure that we didn’t have to see anything that went on like that or, so, it wouldn’t affect us later on in life. You mentioned the Hacienda. Being—seeing as I’m not from here, what exactly is the Hacienda? Oh. The Hacienda? It’s just a casino, and they just matter fact, they just remodeled it a little bit. But it’s on a very little strip, you know, it’s a nice little place, you know. Oh, okay. Family place. Yes. Nothing big. It’s not Caesars Palace, you know. Yes. Obviously, you’re not married, looking at your apartment and stuff and you know. Oh. (Laughs) So now you’re talking about my apartment. (Laughs) I dig. (Laughs) UNLV University Libraries Alexander Grayson 10 No. I was married at one time you know. I got a little daughter, you know, by my wife and everything. But things just didn’t work out. I wish that they could’ve you know, I really loved the lady. And it just, it just happened. I don’t know what to say about it. I wish that it hadn’t but that’s just a part of life. I’m very fond of my little daughter and, you know, she’s growing up to be—I’m trying to mold her into what I want her to be. Because I know how I wanted my life to be ran and I can’t make her or anything. But I want her to see the best of everything and so she can react and respect the best of everything. Yes. Well, I notice that Las Vegas doesn’t have any all Black—predominantly Black high schools, do you feel that you’ve missed anything by not being able to go to an all-Black high school or do you feel that you’ve gained something by going to a mixed high school? I honestly feel that I’ve gained something you know because like I’m Black and I know what it is to be Black. So it’s no big mystery to me, how it’d be to be around Blacks all my life. I’ve been Black all my life. I’ve been around Blacks all my life. True. I wanted to see how the other people live, you know, I have some friends that are white, you know, and I respect them and I’ve learnt some things that they showed me. And I’ve showed them things. We were able to share things with one another and just you know find out how their part of town was ran and how our part of town was ran and we just learned from one another. We grew up together you know, we played sports together. And sure you know, you’re gonna, like I said, you’re gonna find some prejudice people. But you’re gonna find some good people no matter where you go. I gained something from going to the Las Vegas High School, you know, and I have some good friends out of that. What is your occupation, Mr. Grayson? UNLV University Libraries Alexander Grayson 11 Well, I’m a dealer right now at the, at Circus Circus. You know, I’ve been dealing there for the last five years, but it’s a nice little job. It’s not something I think I’ll be at for the rest of my life. I have a lot of outside interests I’d like to get involved with, promoting concerts here for Blacks. Not Blacks only, but Blacks as well as whites. I just—I want to see some form of entertainment for the average person. See no one then can really afford to go to see Frank Sinatra and Bill Cosby, you paying sixty dollars a shot for one person, you know. That’s outrageous and that’s not for us, that’s for the tourists. And I like to see more things like that come to Las Vegas to where people can afford it you know the family can get into things. And you know just be as one and go to—like you know going to the football games. I checked you out this year, Mr. Glasco. You got off. But I want to do things like that for people. I like helping people. That’s what I’m all about. Helping people, being fair to people. I like being fair and I think this community needs something like that, just some other form of entertainment, some other way of life. Instead of going to casinos all the time and I think it’s good for the kids, you know, we have them all out in the streets doing nothing and in the casinos, thinking that that’s the only way of life. And I think that’s unfair and unfortunate, you know, these kids are—can’t see how it is to live in a normal city. And this isn’t a normal city. It’s ran twenty-four hours a day, you know, and some kids, some parents just allow their kids to run the streets. You know, I was fortunate that I wasn’t always in the streets. I was learning something or doing something that was gonna—I could see that would do some good for me in the future in my life, you know, and I think concerts and parks and all those things are very important for this community, as far as just growth and to keep it stable. UNLV University Libraries Alexander Grayson 12 Do you feel that raising kids or growing up in Las Vegas is a disadvantage to children, seeing that you know—or to the Black community in general? That it’s a disadvantage to the Black community? I think it’s—I’m sorry, continue. Oh I was just gonna say that seeing that it mainly focuses attention upon tourists. Do you feel that the Blacks are being you know—? Neglected or? Neglected. Yes. Well, you know, I think as long as this community stays the way it is, separate, then neither of us are gonna prosper. You know, to keep us all on the Westside like more or less to keep us in our place, then nothing’s gonna happen. You know, look at cities like Los Angeles, Atlanta, Houston, where people are working together as one and not you know, one side’s Black, one side’s White. I’m sure that you have problems in Houston and LA, and Atlanta, but not as we do here you know. We’re gonna have to learn how to live with one another and be as one. And I think it’s very difficult for a person, a Black family to raise their kids in an environment that—how can you raise your kid to be one way and yet this kid day after day is seeing wrong and drugs? Like just a couple of weeks, no I’ll say, a couple a months ago, you heard about that big drug thing where the kids were killing one another, you know the big—over by (Unintelligible) all that kind of stuff? These kids were just killing themselves over stupid things and police didn’t even do anything about it. People died and were being killed and you call the police and they come hours later, you know. I think until this community is got—grown together as one and know it, it’s gonna be quite difficult to raise anybody, a respectable child, you know, someone who’ll have respect for himself and his community. ‘Cause all they seen is bad things, at least UNLV University Libraries Alexander Grayson 13 the Black kids are, you know. And then, sure they’re gonna be upset and jealous, not being able to come, you know kids can’t even come on this side of town. It makes no sense. I’m glad I’ve kinda gotten to see both sides of the town. I have a few friends, like you, and a few others I know that live on this side of town, you know. Yes. What could you say exactly, or what do you feel that you as a person could do to help the Black community in this town? Well, I think, such as I was telling you about the concerts and things like that, I think this community will like could grow and prosper by individuals such as myself or just speaking out for one thing and saying that you’re dissatisfied the way that you’ve been treated or the way that this community has been ran. I mean there’s no money, no funds, being put into this community. Everything’s building everywhere. You see new casinos going up everyday. What have you seen on the Westside of town being built? We are in slums and nothing’s being done about it and they’re just saying hey, let ‘em stay over there and rot. No. Imma have to do something about it and people like you and other people at your school, educated people are gonna have to come over here and say, “Hey. I’m willing to come over here and live.” And start moving people over this way. And saying hey, this place can’t be up here, and I’m willing to start (unintelligible). That’s what I’m gonna do about it. You say that concerts could help the community but what I really mean by helping Blacks, what do you think you could do to help ‘em academically, you know? In the books, you know? How can you educate them, I mean, you know? I’ll tell you one thing you know it’s not that I don’t advocate a higher education. I think it’s fine for some. You gotta realize David that these are people that all their lives they’ve had nothing, you know, and they’ve seen these jobs like say at the Circus Circus, or wherever else. You know, UNLV University Libraries Alexander Grayson 14 kids coming right out of high school say, “Okay, Imma work at a casino and do that, make me eight dollars an hour.” Well, fine, eight dollars an hour is fine for a while but if you don’t do anything with that eight dollars an hour but go out and buy you a new car and get girls pregnant and spend it on dope, nothing’s gonna happen. You’re not producing anything. It’s just like masturbation, you know, you’re not producing one thing. Now I think that some kids you know, I think we should give people, different people tasks, you know, what they want to do in life, and find out what they want to accomplish in life. And at that point put ‘em in that particular program. You know, if people, we give ‘em tests, they can’t handle school then—I can’t say if they can’t handle school because there’s been tests proving that you know just because a guy doesn’t do good on a certain test that he won’t be— Good in school. Good in school. Yes. Because most of these tests are made out of—I’m not tryna, I hope this doesn’t appear to be, to be that I’m being prejudice but I’m not, I’m just saying, but most of these tests are made up for white people, and the white society. These kids been brought up in a Black society, Black dialect, Black rhetoric, the whole trip. They just—they don’t know anything else but what they’ve been taught. And if they haven’t been taught any different, they’re not gonna respond to anything new or differently. Mm-hmm. So I think it’s just—one, parents must be more concerned about where their kids are at and what they’re kids are doing. You know, fine when you’re off at work and everything but if we’re gonna have, if we’re old enough to have kids, we’re old enough to be responsible for ‘em. And UNLV University Libraries Alexander Grayson 15 then, I think it, it’s up to our kids to carry on this community. But it’s up to us for us to teach our kids, what this community’s all about and what they have to do to continue to keep it a certain way. Yes. I remember a singer on the Donahue show about a man named Douglas, a Black man who wrote a book on tests. And in one of the tests that they had, they asked a simple question to Blacks and to Whites, and they asked them both, you know, each group, if they had a donut and a saucer, you know, and a napkin, what would they do with it. And the white kids said that they would put the donut on the saucer and you know the Black kids said they’d put the donut on the napkin. And you know, it’s just, I guess an environmental thing. Right. It is just an environmental thing. It’s what you’ve been taught. If—what if those kids never had napkins—never had plates to eat off of, you see what I’m saying. Now I mean that could be taking it to the extreme but say that happened, they wouldn’t know anything an better than to say, hey, I’ll put it on a napkin, you know. But if you’re taught one way, you’re going to answer and react that way. It’s just as if all your life you know, I’m sure your parents may have fed you pork or whatever and you just find out recently that pork isn’t necessarily good for you. But all your life you’ve been taught that hey, this is a good nourishing meal or whatever and you’re used to it and it’s not necessarily that you’re ignorant. It’s just that—it’s just that it’s hard to break habits and if you haven’t been taught things correctly you’re not going to respond to anything correctly. You follow what I’m saying? Yes. You know, so, that’s it basically. UNLV University Libraries Alexander Grayson 16 Yes. Well, getting back to the educational part. In which ways do you think you can help Blacks in this community, say, the ones that are striving for an education, the ones that have the brains for an education, in which ways do you think you can help the Blacks in this community maintain—obtain an education? First of all, we were trying to produce scholarships, and centers, matter fact, help tutor kids who aren’t necessarily the brighter kids, you know, help them. If they—if that’s what they honestly want to do, let’s be behind these kids a hundred percent. Now if they’re not, let’s say, “Hey, well, look, you’re wasting my time and you’re wasting your time. If you’re not ready, serious about school, why be in school? Go out and get you a job then. If that’s all you think you’re capable of doing. If that’s all you’re worth then that’s all you need.” You see what I’m saying? Yes. So, for the kids that are ready for school and want to go to school, then fine. Put them in school and be behind them a hundred percent. Help them at all times, and just push them to the very end, you know. Make sure these kids graduate. And like I said, it’s not that I don’t advocate a higher education, but today, in this society, in this world, a B.A. is equivalent to a high school diploma. I mean, if you can talk or whatever, get you a job, then, if that’s all it takes to get you a job, then, why do you need a degree, you see what I’m saying? Yes. There’s guys who—who have promising careers who don’t even have a high school—well do, all they have is a high degree or whatever, or a high school diploma. You know, so the education—education isn’t necessarily going away but if that’s the way they want to go, I’m more than willing to help them. I want my kids to go to school but if they’re not ready to go to school, I’m not gonna force ‘em. UNLV University Libraries Alexander Grayson 17 Yes. Well, how many other Blacks do you feel in this community, feel the same as you do? I think there’s a multitudes of Blacks that feel the way that I feel, you know, it’s just that they’re afraid—and not afraid, they just don’t, they don’t feel that there are very many other people that would be willing to help them. They don’t want to be the only one in the middle trying to—they don’t want all the weight put on them. Yes. And I think that it’s very important that Blacks get together and just help one another. And that’s how, you know like, for instance, I’ll give you an example, you know how the orient people, the Vietnamese came over here, the Bo people—they live together, they, there as one, there’s one family, and they save money, now these people are millionaires, in like what? Five years. Because they pooled all their money. They pooled all their resources to make it. And that’s what’s the most important thing in this day and time, to make it. Whether you’re working a nine to five or going to school, long as you make it, that’s the key thing, making it. Because you are—you determine your lifestyle. You determine whether you’re going to be successful or a failure. Well, you speak very—you know, intelligently. Did you attend college? Well, you know, David I went couple years over at community college and I felt, you know, getting back to what I was saying, I felt that—I didn’t need to go to school to attain the things that I wanted to attain in life, you know what I’m saying? I found that there are other ways of making money, legally, and being the respectable businessman in my community or being, just being respected all the way around. No, I doubt very seriously if I’ll be working at Circus Circus, for another year. I doubt—I’ve made a few investments on property and land and I’m really just gonna be independently wealthy, I feel. And I think from what you see here, you may have said that my apartments kinda junkie, but there are some very expensive things in my apartment, you UNLV University Libraries Alexander Grayson 18 know. I like expensive things and I have expensive tastes. And so, I know that I have to do certain things to attain all those things. Yes. I noticed that painting on the wall. It’s looks, you know— Oh. I mean, I don’t know that much about art but— Well, tell you the truth David, I didn’t know that much about art, either. (Laughs) (Laughs) My wife gave me that, you know, well, it was ours, and she bought it. She’s very much into art. She’s a very intelligent lady, and she got that for us couple years ago, yes. Before we, before I interviewed you, we were sitting down here, and we ate and stuff. Mm-hmm. And you was talking about rebuilding houses and how you had invested money in that. I’m not very into the business part, you know, I’m a hotel manager, but I don’t see how you can really make a lot of money investing in houses. Well, you see David, first of all, it’s all a matter of dollars and cents. I can go out and buy a house—let’s say I bought a house for thirty-five thousand dollars, on the Westside, okay, these people feel these houses are worth nothing. I can put a thousand—let’s say five thousand dollars worth of paint on that house and patch up a few holes and I’ll make twenty or thirty thousand, maybe even more off that house, just (unintelligible) you know, doing the landscaping and everything correctly. Mm. And that didn’t take anything. There’s way to go about it. See I want to educate other Blacks about this, how to go about getting loans without even having money. I’m not a rich man but you UNLV University Libraries Alexander Grayson 19 see what I’ve attained. I just want to help people, and that’s what I feel, that’s why I strive so much or stress to be financially independent. Because if I’m not financially independent, how can I help someone else, you see what I’m saying? Right. Sure, I can tell them things but when I tell somebody something, I want to be able to show them that hey, this is what I did, and I did it this way. Not to necessarily say that you have to follow my ways but this is the way I did it. Yes. Well, when you redid the houses and stuff, that—don’t you have to pay for labor like (unintelligible)? Oh, well, see that was it, I had a lot of friends, you know, and we just, we went around doing different houses and everything and it’s become a business now, David. Like I said, I doubt very seriously that you’ll see me working at Circus Circus one more year. I just needed a certain amount of money to get me started and now that I have it then hey, it’s no problem. It’s just like the domino theory, once you have one fall then they’ll all fall. Mm-hmm. (Laughs) That’s real nice. Mr. Grayson, I hate to dwell on the thoughts of prejudice or racial boundaries or anything, but I’m a student at the University of Nevada Las Vegas here in town, and there’s not that very many Blacks, you know. I believe the school is about twelve, thirteen thousand and I might see maybe a hundred, two hundred Blacks there at the whole school. Why is this? I mean, you know, being, seeing that I come from a predominantly Black high school, it’s new to me. It’s strange to me. And I’ve always wondered this. And you know, I thought maybe you could give me (unintelligible). Well, I’ll tell you, I don’t—you know I—I think that—like I said, it, I feel if this university were in a different community, in a different environment, then maybe there would be more Blacks UNLV University Libraries Alexander Grayson 20 attending that university. But see here in Nevada where money talks and let’s face it, bullshit walks, you know. These people want to make money now ‘cause they’ve never had anything. Mm-hmm. And so they, they’re saying, let’s forget the education for a while, let’s make some big money. And to them, eight dollars, like I said, eight dollars an hour is a lot of money, you know. And there have been plenty, plenty of successful Black men in this community that have made it in the casino industry or what have you. But I think most of these people have the wrong idea about the jobs here and I think they come to a realization after they’ve been here for a while, hey, well, it’s now almost too late for me to start all over again, you know. When you’re nineteen, twenty years old, these kids parents aren’t rich. They can’t afford to keep these kids there the rest of their lives. They got other kids there that have their support, their younger brothers and sisters. Right. You know, so they’re caught in between a rock and a hard place. You have to make a decision, hey, I’m going to go to school or I’m gonna work. You see, and, like I said, but with all these bright lights and all the money and everything else in this community, you know, you’re gonna have to either want to work or you’re gonna have to wanna work. You realize just want to just say, hey, I gotta make me some money. ‘Cause I see what all these other guys—you know like, you see all these pimps and pushers here in Vegas, you know. And this is what some Blacks or kids idealize. Because they—the guy has a big Cadillac and all the furs and all this and that and he went about it a different way. Not that I disrespect the pimp or whatever or respect him. I’m just saying that’s a way of life and a lot of people have adapted that way. They feel well okay. If I don’t become a pimp or don’t go to school then I better work. And— So you’re saying that the Blacks in this community are bypassing an education for money? UNLV University Libraries Alexander Grayson 21 That’s it basically. They have to make a decision. A firm decision, at that point. Whether they—after they get out of school. You’ll find that most of them do graduate from high school. But after that, they, they’re into the casinos working, you know, starting their lives. All right. You talked about the pimp and—I mean, staying that the neighborhood that you lived in, you know, and I noticed that it’s not in the high red district, you know, nothing like that. And— No. It’s not Beverley Hills, you’re right. Do—I mean, does a lot of pimps—is there a lot of pimps, a lot of dope dealing? I think that there’s a lot of—that’s what I’m saying, there’s a lot of dope around there. There’s a lot of guys who come from this community who become pimps because