In these clips, Blaine Benedict dicusses how his family came to live in Las Vegas, Nevada; his father's career in Las Vegas casinos; and working in the casinos as a youth.
Interview with Sarann Knight Preddy conducted by Claytee D. White on June 5, 1997. Preddy moved to Hawthorne, Nevada, in the 1940s, becoming a business owner and president of the NAACP. Later she moved to Las Vegas, where she served as a community activist and worked as one of the first black 21-dealers.
Interview with Faye Todd conducted by Claytee D. White on October 15, 1996. Featured in Ebony Magazine in 1979, Todd achieved executive status in the Las Vegas gaming industry, serving as Special Events Coordinator for Desert Inn Hotel and Casino and Entertainment Director/Corporate Executive Assistant for Landmark Hotel and Casino.
Interview with Sarann Knight [Preddy] conducted by Yvonne Hunter on July 16, 1975. Preddy moved to Hawthorne, Nevada, in the 1940s, becoming a business owner and president of the NAACP. Later she moved to Las Vegas, where she served as a community activist and worked as one of the first black 21-dealers.
Interview with D. D. Cotton conducted by Claytee D. White on February 14, 1997. Raised in New York City, Cotton arrived in Las Vegas as a dancer in Cab Calloway's traveling production "The Cotton Club." During a period of strained race relations, she stood for equal rights as the first black cocktail waitress on the Strip and one of the first black dealers.
Interview with Anna Bailey conducted by Claytee D. White on March 3, 1997. Arriving in Las Vegas in 1955 to perform as a dancer for the opening of the Moulin Rouge, Bailey also starred in traveling shows nationally and in Europe. Returning to Las Vegas, she became the first African American to dance in a house chorus line on the Strip. Later she became one of the first black women in Nevada to hold a gaming license, owning and operating several small nightclubs.
Interview with Alma Whitney conducted by Claytee D. White on March 3, 1996. Seeking better employment opportunities, Whitney moved to Las Vegas from Tallulah, Louisiana, at the age of sixteen. Whitney supported Westside churches and schools and was respected as supervisor in housekeeping at Desert Inn. Whitney provides information on the African American migration to Las Vegas during the 1940s, post-war race relations in Las Vegas, the daily work of hotel maids, and the Culinary Union.
Interview with Lucille Bryant conducted by Claytee D. White on December 13, 1995. Moving to Las Vegas in 1953 from Tallulah, Louisiana, Bryant worked in the housekeeping departments of the Algiers Hotel, the Silver Slipper, the Sands, and the Stardust. Bryant provides an overview of pre-Civil Rights era conditions in Tallulah and Las Vegas including housing, schools, and working conditions as well as her experiences with the Culinary Workers Union Local 226.
Interview with Jackie Brantley conducted by Claytee D. White on October 27, 1996. Born in Las Vegas following World War II, Brantley grew up on the Westside. Beginning as a public relations specialist for Desert Inn Hotel and Casino, Brantley later worked as a model and supported the development of Nucleus Business Plaza.
Interview with Faye Duncan Daniel conducted by Claytee D. White on October 18, 1996. Beginning in clerical work at the Nevada Test Site, Daniel rose to become the Assistant Hotel Manager at Union Plaza Hotel and Casino. She established the Hotel Managers Association and the Professional Black Women's Alliance. After leaving the gaming industry, Daniel returned to school to train for a career in education. She worked closely with the Displaced Homemaker Program at the Community College of Southern Nevada and later with Help Centers of Southern Nevada.