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Swatling, Carol-Ann
Carol-Ann Swatling was raised in Buffalo, New York, in what she subtly calls a “non-traditional upbringing.” Her primary caregivers during her early years were her maternal grandmother, who she fondly recalls and a great uncle and aunt who operated a hearse business. Her mother was in and out of her life, but it was her mother’s sister who mentored her while working at a retail store during high school.
Person
Taylor, F. Andrew
F. Andrew Taylor was born June 06, 1963 and was raised in Connecticut. He moved to New England and Georgia before arriving in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1991 at the age of 28. Armed with a degree in painting from the Swain School of Design, Taylor got a job at a Laughlin, Nevada casino as a caricature artist. After a brief stay in Laughlin and Bullhead City, Arizona, he moved to Ward I, Nevada, where his girlfriend, now wife, lived.
Person
Anderson Toland, Helen , 1926-
Helen Anderson was born Helen Eileen Herndon on May 03, 1926 in Marceline, Missouri. She attended the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and received her Master’s degree in speech corrections/therapy from the University of Southern California. In the early 1960s, a romance with Las Vegas, Nevada civil rights worker Jim Anderson budded in Los Angeles, California at the National Association for Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) meetings. In 1964, they got married and she moved to Las Vegas.
Person
Toston, Gertrude
Gertrude Toston was born May 09, 1947 in Galveston, Texas, and grew up in Austin, Texas. Her parents moved to Seattle, Washington, to provide more opportunities for their children but ended up separating. Toston’s mother brought the children to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1960 to have the support of her sister while she divorced. Her sister's husband, Reverend Coleman, was the pastor of Second Baptist Church, and the family became very involved in church activities.
Person
Troutman, Porter
Porter Troutman was born and raised in Newellton, a small farming community in Louisiana. He went to school to Ruth Wood Elementary School and graduated from a high school in St. Joseph, Louisiana. He then attended Southern University from 1961 to 1965 and earned his Bachelor's Degree. His father held a multitude of jobs to support the family and was highly involved in the Civil Rights movement.
Person
Tryon, John G.
John G. Tryon was born December 18, 1920 and grew up in Washington, D.C., the oldest of three sons. His father worked with the National Bituminous Coal Commission during the Depression and his mother was editor of the American Association of University Women's Publications.
Person
Underhill, Byron (Byron DeForrest)
Byron Underhill was born February 02, 1919 and moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1927. Underhill and his father owned and operated the first Coca Cola Bottling Company in Clark County, Nevada. Underhill had three children, born between 1948 and 1955.
Person
Washington, Isadore
Isadore Washington was born in Tallulah, Louisiana, the son of Isadore Washington, Sr., and Destelle Washington. His father came out to Las Vegas, Nevada in the 1930s to work on Hoover Dam, and the family followed in 1942 when Isadore was eight years old. His mother worked at the El Rancho and Last Frontier Hotels, the Shaw Apartments and Harrison boarding house on the Westside where black entertainers were expected to stay. Washington recalls playing with Wayne Newton when they were children and life on the Westside where he attended the Westside School.
Person
Washington, Marcia, 1953-
Marcia L. Washington was born in Tallulah, Louisiana on February 8th, 1953. She moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1966, she was 13 and had always attended black only schools. In Las Vegas, she would experience her first school integration and bussing. Marcia Washington and Dave Washington got married on June 10, 1972, and eventually had four children, April, Vernon, Angel and Amber. In 2000, her passions lead her to become the first African American on the State Board of Education, where she was an active voice for eight years.
Person