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Holbert, Elgin, Jr., 1946-
A street on the Westside is named for Elgin Holbert's grandmother, Viola Cunningham, who was an early land owner. It is believed that in 2002 she donated the property for Madison School now renamed Wendell P. Williams Elementary School. Although from Eudora, Arkansas, a few miles from Mississippi, his parents are a mixed couple, mother is White and father, Black. His mother was treated well in the Westside community but was very private concentrating on rearing her children with little community interaction.
Person
Davis, Gerald W., 1949-
Gerald Davis was falsely arrested on a Sunday afternoon in October 1969, taken to jail, and spent the night there even though one police officer tried to correct the disrespectful behavior of his partner. This action led to a 3-day riot in the Black Westside community of Las Vegas. Davis was born in Las Vegas in a home at 1223 North H Street and remembers businesses like the Cove, the Louisiana Club, Hamburger Heaven, Town Tavern, and the Brown Derby, his favorite night spot even when he was too young to enter the establishment.
Person
Davis, Dianna, 1955-
Dianna Davis worked at the Clark County School District [CCSD] after a short stint as a maid where she was accosted by a hotel visitor and worked in fear afterwards. CCSD was better; she became a baker at the location that supplied food for all the schools in the county. Her fond memory is her favorite teacher, Mrs. Moten, who instilled a pride in blackness in her African American students. [Mrs. Moten is the mother of Fred Moten, the critical thinker of our times who is Professor of Performance Studies at NY University.]
Person
Johnson, James Harris, III, 1981-
James Johnson works as a cameraman/photojournalist for Channel 3 CBS News. He worked as an anchor in Laredo, TX, Bakersfield, CA, and Omaha, NE after leaving Las Vegas to advance his career. Racism in Omaha was more overt and damaging than in other cities. He moved back to Las Vegas with his wife and children and resumed the work he loves. To his credit, Johnson has earned three Emmy Awards because of his artistry in anchoring, reporting, editing, shooting, interviewing, producing, and writing.
Person
Urtubey, Juliana, 1986-
Born into a tumultuous Colombia, Juliana was about five years old when her parents relocated Juliana and her two older sisters to the United States. For a time, they settled in Chicago, then Arizona. She describes an upbringing that was safe and privileged. Education and preservation of bilingual speaking skills were held in high regard.
Person
Fildes, John, 1955-
John Fildes, MD, FACS, FCCM, FPCS (Hon) is the Professor and Inaugural Chair of the Department of Surgery at the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. In addition, he was the Interim Associate Dean for External Affairs, serving from September 2019 through April 2020.
Person
White, Lee A., 1946-
Lee White played professional football for the NY Jets, Los Angeles Rams, and San Diego Chargers. He returned to Las Vegas and entered the hotel casino industry as a dealer retiring twenty-five years later as a Vice President of Casino Operations.
Person
Drew, Barbara Jean, 1943-
Barbara Drew is the dean of the Academy for Ministers, teaches Bible study, and performs other spiritual work at New Jerusalem Worship Center. Drew migrated to Las Vegas from Fortune Fork, Louisiana, just two miles outside the city limits of Tallulah. She traveled by car where passengers slept, ate, and talked about their new lives-to-be. She lived with an aunt on D and Monroe in a shack with a butane stove and no indoor toilet. Her first job was at American Linen.
Person
Harris, Asalee, 1933-
Asalee Harris was born in Fortune Fork, a little place outside of Tallulah, Louisiana, on the road to Vicksburg, Mississippi. A family of sharecroppers, the cotton farming was arduous and eventually they moved to Tallulah. She married and her husband's brothers lived in Las Vegas so in 1954 Asalee and James joined them.
Person