Interview with James A. Gay III conducted by Joyce M. Wright in 1973. Edited by Elizabeth Nelson Patrick, and transcribed for the project "Black Experience in Southern Nevada, Donated Tapes Collection," James R. Dickinson Library, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, December 1978. Arriving in 1946 from Fordyce, Arkansas, Gay became the first African-American mortician in Las Vegas. He later worked as Assistant Manager of the Sands Hotel and Casino and Union Plaza while serving as an executive board member of the Culinary Union. Instrumental in the Las Vegas community, Gay worked to improved race relations, addressing social, economic, and civic issues. Gay was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 1988.

Gay Pride 1999 at Sunset Park; Photographer: Dennis McBride. (5-8-99)