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Transcript of interview with Liliam Lujan Hickey by Layne Karafantis, March 18, 2010, & March 25, 2010
Date
2010-03-18
2010-03-25
Archival Collection
Description
Liliam Lujan Hickey is best known in the state of Nevada for being the first Hispanic woman elected to the State Board of Education as well as for the enormous contributions she made while serving from 1998 to 2000. For this, an elementary school in Clark County bears her name. Despite many obstacles, Liliam has continually dedicated herself to standing up for the causes she believes in, such as providing preschool education to the underprivileged, preparing youth to enter the workforce, helping other Hispanics run for office, and proving that with enough courage anyone can accomplish their dreams. Born in Havana, Cuba in 1932, Liliam led a sheltered life that revolved mostly around her studies at a French Dominican school. She met her first husband, Enrique Lujan, when she was only sixteen and they wed soon after. Enrique was twelve years her senior, owned many casinos on the island, and provided a luxurious existence for Liliam and their three children. However, this lifestyle abruptly changed when Castro assumed power in 1959 and Liliam and her family were compelled to relocate to the United States. In Miami, Enrique assisted other refugees financially, hoping that his wealth would remain secure in Cuba. He was wrong. This left the family destitute. In addition to casinos, Enrique had been Cuba?s coach for the Olympics. He moved the family to York, Pennsylvania, where he hoped to find work at the York Barbell Company. Liliam, who had been accustomed to having maids and nannies in Cuba, found herself doing all the housework while she also worked in a factory. The change could not have been more dramatic and the living conditions became unbearable. The family chose to move to San Diego in a Volkswagen Minivan with the hope for a better life. The next few years brought many transitions. Things did turn around in San Diego, and Liliam she recalls her years in southern California as some of the happiest of her life. Liliam found a job working at the Scripps Clinic in La Jolla. After a few years, Enrique found a job in Las Vegas and the family moved again. In Las Vegas, Liliam gave birth to her fourth child, Mary, and life once again became financially difficult for the family. In 1972, the situation grew worse with Enrique?s untimely death. Liliam was a widow at forty years of age. She had to teach herself how to drive a car, write checks, and perform financial tasks that Enrique had insisted on managing while he was alive. Determined not to give up, however, she worked tirelessly to keep the family together. Amidst all this, a friend introduced Liliam to Tom Hickey, and after a brief courtship they were married in 1981. Within a few years, Liliam became active in politics, running for the State Board of Education. Her campaign manager advised her that voters would not be receptive to photos of a Hispanic woman on billboards, and to capitalize on the name “Hickey,” which was a recognizable name because her husband was an assemblyman. She took the manager?s advice and was elected in that campaign and for two more terms, the maximum limit for the office. After the first race, she proudly displayed her face on billboards across the state. During her time at the State Board of Education, Liliam dedicated herself to helping all children receive a better education in Nevada, not only Hispanics. She co-founded the Classroom on Wheels [COW] program, which brought buses to poor neighborhoods to provide pre-school education. She established Career Day, which pairs high schools students with business professionals in an effort to help them make the transition into the workforce. While the COW program is no longer running, 8 Career Day still operates and awards scholarships in Liliam?s name annually, which helps youth receive the educational opportunities they need to succeed. And she involved Hispanic youth in Boy Scouts by bringing ScoutReach to the Las Vegas valley. Lujan Hickey worked in a wide array of other community organizations. In the 1970s, she began to work with Circulo Cubano, which later became the Latin Chamber of Commerce, and she would later belong to the National Chamber of Commerce. A longstanding member of the League of Women Voters, Liliam saw the need to get Hispanics more involved in politics in the state. Her story is one of great inspiration, and when asked why she does it, she simply replies with a smile, “I love life.” Hickey?s narrative offers the reader a glimpse of the experiences of the Cuban refugee experience in the U.S. in general. Specific to Las Vegas, it provides a rare story of the experiences of early Latinas in the political and economic development of Las Vegas in the last half of the twentieth century.
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Krystal Ramirez oral history interview: transcript
Date
2019-10-30
Archival Collection
Description
Oral history interview with Krystal Ramirez conducted by Monserrath Hernández and Barbara Tabach on October 30, 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. Krystal talks about her personal history growing up in Texas and spending summers with her family in Mexico. She shares her thoughts about how Las Vegas has changed and how she has contributed to the city's art scene as a staff photographer for Vegas Seven (a local magazine), the New York Times, and the Marjorie Barrick Museum. Subjects discussed include: Texas; Chihuahua, Mexico; Latinx Identity; Vegas Seven; Beat Coffee House; Downtown Las Vegas.
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Astrid Silva oral history interview: transcript
Date
2019-04-22
Archival Collection
Description
Oral history interview with Astrid Silva conducted by Monserrath Hernández and Barbara Tabach on April 22, 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. Astrid Silva was born in Gomez Palacio, Durango in 1988. She immigrated with her mother to the United States in 1992, where they were met by her father before flying to Los Angeles. She recounts her first impression of the United States and her families eventual move to Las Vegas, where she describes her time living in Las Vegas' west side and struggles she faced being an undocumented student living in Las Vegas. She describes her first meeting with Senator Harry Reid and the friendship that developed afterwards. She has spoken at the Democratic National Convention and has been vocal about her status as a Dreamer. She is currently the Executive Director for DREAM Big Nevada which was established in 2017 in order to provide aid to Nevada's immigrant families. She writes about her hopes for Dreamers and her continued work in expanding the ways that immigrant families can be helped in an always changing political climate. Subjects discussed include: DACA, Dreamers, Immigrant Rights, and Higher Education.
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Mayra Salinas-Menjivar oral history interview: transcript
Date
2019-09-20
Archival Collection
Description
Oral history interview with Mayra Salinas-Menjivar conducted by Nathalie Martinez, Elsa Lopez, and Barbara Tabach on September 20, 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. Mayra Salinas-Menjivar is a lawyer in Southern Nevada and a graduate of William S. Boyd School of Law. She grew up in Las Vegas but describes her early years living with her maternal grandparents in El Salvador. She describes some of the aftermath she experienced regarding the Civil War in El Salvador, and recounts some testimony told to her by her mother about that particular time period. She details the differences in immigrating in the 1990s and speaks about being an undocumented student. While pursuing a business degree at UNLV she found herself working at a law firm which is where she first decided to pursue law as a career after graduation. She talks about her experiences during law school and her time helping with the law school's immigration clinic. Subjects discussed include: Salvadorian Civil War, Immigration Law, Education, DACA, William S. Boyd Law School.
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Linh Fee oral history interview: transcript
Date
2022-02-04
Archival Collection
Description
Oral history interview with Linh Fee conducted by Cecilia Winchell, Stefani Evans, and Jerwin Tiu on February 4, 2022 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. Linh Fee talks about her family life growing up in Oahu, Hawaii, how her parents met in Vietnam, and memories of her childhood with her six siblings. She shares how she moved to Las Vegas, Nevada to find work after graduating from college at the University of Hawaii and her brief time working in the hospitality industry as a cocktail server. Fee discusses her career change to become a dental hygienist and life with her husband and three children.
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Simon Lamsal oral history interview: transcript
Date
2022-12-16
Archival Collection
Description
Oral history interview with Simon Lamsal conducted by Jerwin Tiu, Cecilia Winchell, and Stefani Evans on December 16, 2022 for Reflections: the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Lamsal describes growing up in Kathmandu, Nepal, and growing up with his grandparents. After graduating in Nepal, Lamsal applied to college in the United States and started in Arkansas studying computer science but later relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada and continuted at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). Lamsal describes joining CSUN, the National Millenial Community, and investing in his community. Currently, he is in graduate school and an information technology intern at MGM. Thoroughout the interview, Lamsal touches on a number of other topics regarding finding community, cultural foods, and family life.
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Depictions of Black people in various media and advertisements (including offensive caricatures, racist slogans and names, and non-Black people in Blackface)
Date
1890 to 1940
Archival Collection
Description
Folder from the Roosevelt Fitzgerald Professional Papers (MS-01082) -- Personal and professional papers file.
Mixed Content
Tick Segerblom (Clark County Commisioner) oral history interview conducted by Magdalena Martinez and Taylor Cummnings: transcript
Date
2022-09-06
Archival Collection
Description
From the Lincy Institute "Perspectives from the COVID-19 Pandemic" Oral History Project (MS-01178) -- Elected official interviews file.
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Gregory Koehler oral history interview: transcript
Date
2019-05-15
Archival Collection
Description
Oral history interview with Gregory Koehler conducted by Claytee D. White on May 15, 2019 for the Remembering 1 October Oral History Project. Koehler begins talking about his family, early life, and occupation. He explains the line of jobs he has had, his history with firefighting, and how he moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 2003. Koehler then recalls how he had attended the Route 91 Festival concert and the events that unfolded during the shooting. He describes what he saw, felt, and how he tried to help the people who were shot. Lastly, he talks about the aftermath of the event and the struggles he had gone through.
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