African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project event roundtable conducted by Claytee D. White on January 18, 2014 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this panel event, Jean Childs, Joe Neal, Jackie Brantley, LaVerne Ligon, and Ramon Savoy discuss their early lives and explain how they arrived to Las Vegas, Nevada. Childs talks about her father’s business, the Penguin Club, and the history of African Americans in the gaming industry. She talks about her involvement with the Economic Opportunity Board (EOB) and the Head Sstart federal program. Savoy remembers the foundation of Las Vegas Sentinel-Voice and the challenges of distributing weekly publications during the late 1950s. Neal recalls his first political campaign, being a chairman for the EOB, and becoming a Nevada State Senator. Later, Brantley describes the 1971 consent decree, discrimination against African American workers in the gaming industry, and her career in hotel management. Ligon remembers her career as a dancer, being a part of an all-African American dance line, and integration in the entertainment industry.
Oral history interview with Rick May conducted by Dennis McBride on December 29, 2001 for the Las Vegas Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Archives Oral History Project. May begins by discussing his upbringing in Texas, what it was like growing up knowing he was gay while living in a conservative area, and the moment he accepted his sexuality. May describes some of his early sexual experiences with other men and moving to Las Vegas, Nevada, so that he could contribute to the gay community. May details attending and organizing gay pride events in Las Vegas, participating in the gay community, and starting his own gay-friendly business, named "R & R Sorted Sundries." May also discusses his work as a nurse.
Oral history interview with Ralph Vandersnick conducted by Dennis McBride on October 18, 1997 for the Las Vegas Gay Archives Oral History Project. Vandersnick discusses growing up on a farm with his family in Illinois, owning a gay bar called the Studio Club in California, and owning another gay bar called Snick's Place when he moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1976.
The Reno Gay Rodeo Collection comprises organizational records collected by Dennis McBride that document the National Reno Gay Rodeo from 1977 to 1988. It includes newspaper clippings, notes, and ephemera, as well as legal documentation from two lawsuits fought unsuccessfully in 1988 to retain the Reno rodeo. The two lawsuits were the Silver State Gay Rodeo Association vs Lawlor Events Center (1988), and the Lantry, et. al. vs Third Judicial District Court, NV (Nevada Supreme Court dismissal, 1988).
Oral history interview with Wendy Butler conducted by Dennis McBride on May 23, 2007 for the Las Vegas Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Archives Oral History Project. In this interview, Butler discusses her involvement with the magazine Lesbian Voice in Las Vegas, Nevada. She recalls that other gay magazine publications at the time would not include women’s issues or representation. Butler describes the development of her publication by reaching out to a diverse group of gay people in Las Vegas, and addressing issues surrounding gay people. Lastly, Butler discusses how she advertised her magazine and branching out to find support outside of the gay community.
Oral history interview with Stormy Caldwell conducted by Dennis McBride on March 26, 2005 for the Las Vegas Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Archives Oral History Project. In this interview, Caldwell discusses the gay community in Lake Tahoe and Reno, Nevada. She talks about her involvement with Stonewell Park, an idea of a separated gay community during the 1980s. Caldwell then discusses buying land on Thunder Mountain, Nevada and the possibility of Stonewell Park being built in that area.