Harvey Allen grew up poor in Philadelphia. After taking singing lessons at the Artie Singer Vocal School, he got jobs singing in night clubs up and down the east coast. He also took acting classes in New York and performed at the Copa Club. In the 1950s, he moved to Las Vegas, Nevada and auditioned for Jack Entratter at the Sands Hotel and Casino where he performed with numerous entertainers including Lena Home, Louis Armstrong, Tallulah Bankhead and Robert Merrill.

Andrew "Andy" Brewer was born in and went to high school in La Grange, Georgia. Brewer joined the military and discusses his attempts to get a job after his release, and his experiences in New York City. He shares that after working in a factory, running a driving school, and working as a porter, he ended up as a bus driver for 21 years. After his wife passed away in 1999, Andy was searching for somewhere to retire. He tried the South because his daughters were there, and he lived for a short time in Durham, North Carolina.

Dr. Percy Poon was born January 10, 1958 in Hong Kong, China, the oldest of four children. He attended Catholic school through junior high and high school, but decided to work after high school instead of going on to college. After working in banking and police forensics for a couple of years, he decided to continue his education.

Vicki Richardson was born in 1945 in Wilmington, Delaware. As a junior in high school, she was one of 12 African American students chosen to integrate the school system. She was a Civil Rights activist in high school and, throughout college, writing letters to local newspapers and engaging in protests to desegregate public spaces. At Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, Richardson studied philosophy and theology.

Aquiles Garcia was born in January 21, 1927 in Goya, Chaco, Argentina where his grandfather owned half the town. In 1934, Garcia moved with his parents and siblings to Buenos Aires, where he was taken in by his maternal aunt, Esther Larralde de Porta. His aunt was a professor in the Normal School, so he received an excellent education before earning his Bachelor of Arts degree. Garcia served four years in the Argentine Army, the last part under Juan Perón.

Rejoyce Williams was born April 26, 1905 in Fordyce, Arkansas. She left Fordyce when she was 17 for Oceanside, California, with her husband and their two children. The family then moved to Saginaw, Michigan, and eventually had nine children, six of whom survived. In 1960, the Williams family moved to Las Vegas, Nevada for two reasons: their youngest daughter, who suffered from asthma, needed to live in a dry climate and Williams’ mother-in-law lived in Las Vegas.

Hattie Canty was born and raised in St. Stephens, Alabama. She moved to California as a young woman to seek employment, and married and started a family. Canty's family moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in the late 1960s and she found work as a maid for the Thunderbird Hotel and later the Maxim Hotel and Casino. Canty became a Culinary Union Local 226 member. Over the years, she became involved in securing better salaries for women and increasing the number of African Americans in high-paying positions in the casino industry.