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Louis Conner oral history interview

Abstract

Oral history interview with Louis Conner conducted by John Grygo on March 22, 2013 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Conner discusses his personal history and growing up in Tallulah, Louisiana. He talks about moving to Las Vegas, Nevada with his family for job opportunities in the late 1950s. Conner describes his employment at the Stardust Hotel, segregation, and living in West Las Vegas. He then talks about integration in the mid-1960s, Jackson Street entertainment, and the changing demographic of the Westside.

Michael Bryant oral history interview

Abstract

Oral history interview with Michael Bryant conducted by Claytee D. White on August 05, 2013 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Bryant details life in the Westside community of Las Vegas, Nevada, his personal history, and life as an African American in Las Vegas. He describes his upbringing in Las Vegas, his father's high-end clothing store, and race relations between the African American and white communities of the city.

Ida Pinckney oral history interviews

Abstract

Oral history interviews with Ida Pinckney conducted by Claytee D. White on August 23, 2012 and November 05, 2012 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Pinckney discusses her personal history and life in Las Vegas, Nevada after moving there with her family as a child in 1942. She begins by talking about her family and living in a tent house in the Westside community of Las Vegas.

Melvin Sanders Jr. oral history interview

Abstract

Oral history interview with Melvin Sanders Jr. conducted by John Grygo on February 18, 2013 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Sanders discusses his personal history and his experiences growing up in Las Vegas, Nevada. He describes the development of West Las Vegas, his father being a pastor at the House of Holiness church, and talks about other spiritual leaders in the community. Later, Sanders discusses the riots after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

Charles Roland oral history interview

Abstract

Oral history interview with Charles Roland conducted by Claytee D. White on August 16, 2012 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. Roland begins by describing why his family moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1952 and attending Las Vegas High School. He discusses the African American community in Las Vegas, working in a restaurant called Sill's Drive-In, and his father, who opened the Hamburger Heaven restaurants. Roland also discusses race relations in Las Vegas prior to integration, the Binion family, and how Las Vegas has changed.

Rainier Spencer oral history interview

Abstract

Oral history interview with Rainier Spencer conducted by Sarah Buckner on April 27, 2015 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Spencer discusses his personal history and arriving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1997. He talks about his experience as a professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and his involvement regarding diversity issues at UNLV.

Norma de la Cerna Tolbert oral history interview

Abstract

Oral history interview with Norma de la Cerna Tolbert conducted by Claytee D. White on June 25, 2013 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Tolbert discusess her career as a professional dancer from the age of fifteen. She begins by describing her early childhood in Houston, Texas, moving to Chicago, Illinois where she began to study dance, and leaving home at fifteen years old to go to Atlantic City, New Jersey to dance in professional productions.

Brenda J. Williams oral history interviews

Abstract

Oral history interviews with Brenda J. Williams conducted by Claytee D. White on May 24, 2013 and June 10, 2013 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Williams discusses her personal history and life in Las Vegas, Nevada since she moved there as a child with her family during the 1940s. She describes the diversity of the Westside community she lived in, her family, and the recreational activities she participated in as a young woman.

Celese Rayford oral history interview

Abstract

Oral history interview with Celese Rayford conducted by Phillip Walley on November 14, 2015 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Rayford discusses her career as an educator in Las Vegas, Nevada. She begins by describing her upbringing in Las Vegas, the Westside community of Las Vegas, and attending Spellman College in Atlanta, Georgia. Rayford then discusses her involvement with Top Teens of America and how that program helps to prepare young girls for college.

Fannie Carr-Thomas oral history interview

Abstract

Oral history interview with Fannie Carr-Thomas conducted by Claytee D. White on December 05, 2015 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Carr-Thomas discusses her early life in Las Vegas, Nevada and the neighborhood she grew up in. She describes her visits to Hawthorne, Nevada and talks about the casinos there. Carr-Thomas then recalls working with her father in construction and seeing for herself the growth of Las Vegas.

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