Dell Ray Rhodes was born February 26, 1947 and was raised in Louisiana. When her grandmother fell ill in 1950, Rhodes’ mother wanted to nurse her and made a temporary visit to Las Vegas, Nevada. She remained, and this is how three-year-old Rhodes came to live in the Las Vegas area. The family resided on the Westside where she attended Westside Elementary School, Madison Elementary School, Jim Bridger Middle School, and graduated from Rancho High School. Rhodes married young and worked a variety of jobs between the births of her seven children.

Mustafa Richards was born December 24, 1950 in Detroit, Michigan. He graduated from Murray High School located in Detroit. Although he was accepted to Wayne State University, Richards opted out of attending college and started his journey towards his study of multiple religions.

Bishop James M. Rogers was born around 1951 and was raised on a plantation in Louisiana near Tallulah, Louisiana. He arrived to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1970 at the age of 19, and was mentored by Dr. F.N. Addison. He also started to attend community rallies and town hall meetings. His initial involvement in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) happened through supporting his pastor and getting involved in marches and news conferences.

Treva Roles was born March 10, 1928 to Louis and Katherine Smith, and spent her childhood in Erie, Pennsylvania and Chicago, Illinois with five other siblings. During the Great Depression, Roles’s father used his entrepreneurial skills to turn his traveling salesman profession into a family business, selling personal inventions. Eventually, he decided to sell the business, and buy a motel out west to retire. The motel ended up being the Fair Price Motel in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Roles soon moved out to help the family run it.

Dr. Bradley Rothermel was born in Monroe Center, Illinois into a family of educators. He attended Northern Illinois University in De Kalb for his bachelor’s degree and the University of Illinois for his Master’s and PhD. Rothermel’s work history includes coaching in the Chicago Cubs organization and at Kansas State and West Virginia University as athletic director and business manager, before arriving at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) in 1981.

Lorne Seidman was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1969 because he was hired to teach business law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas(UNLV). He was also the discipline officer, assistant general counsel, and deputy attorney general of UNLV.

George Simmons was born on July 26, 1937 in Roxton, Texas. He studied at Texas Southern University and at the University of Texas. He moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1963 with his wife Eva. George Simmons designed homes for Sproul Homes in the 1960s, then was hired by the engineering firm Holmes and Narver. He worked for Holmes and Narver on a Department of Defense contract at the Nevada Test Site and in downtown Las Vegas. He is active in community groups and Black Golfers Association. Simmons retired in December of 2013.