Oral history interview with Billie Rayford conducted by Claytee D. White on May 01, 2018 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Rayford discusses her early life in Jefferson, Texas. She talks about school integration, living during the Jim Crow laws, and the discrimination she experienced at the time. Rayford remembers moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1979, obtaining a teaching position at Rancho High School, and teaching students with special needs. Rayford describes the implementation of empowerment schools in the Clark County School District (CCSD), and her involvement with the dual enrollment program at the College of Southern Nevada (CSN) for CCSD high school students. Later, Rayford discusses her involvement with Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, Les Femmes Douze (The Ladies Twelve), 20 Pearls Foundation, and providing civil services for the Westside community. Lastly, Rayford talks about being a charter member of 100 Black Women.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Franzine Jasper conducted by Claytee D. White on September 20, 2017 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Jasper discusses her early life in Brooklyn, New York. She recalls becoming a nurse, moving to Henderson, Nevada in 1987, and her employment at a nursing home. Jasper remembers the Pacific Engineering and Production Company of Nevada (PEPCON) explosion, and describes the damage caused in that area. Later, Jasper discusses joining the faculty at the College of Southern Nevada (CSN), becoming the Chair of the nursing department, and later becoming Provost for the North Las Vegas campus. Lastly, Jasper talks about teaching courses at CSN, and the increase of English as a second language (ESL) students at CSN.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Hannah Brown conducted by Claytee White on September 27, 2012 and May 09, 2014 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. Brown talks about the Westside, growing up in Las Vegas, Nevada, the creation of the Economic Opportunity Board, and her direct involvement in the welfare rights marches and movement.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Eric Mendoza conducted by Holly O'Donnell on November 29, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project.
In this interview, Eric Mendoza shares his family's chain migration history from Manila, Philippines to the United States and his difficult immigration and naturalization process once arriving in America in 1996. He talks about what brought him to live in Las Vegas, Nevada, his education and professional pursuits, what his life is like in the United States compared to that of the Philippines, and the lives of his eight siblings. Eric Mendoza discusses the historical past of the Philippines, the infrastructure in place there, and government corruption. He also speaks to Filipino traditions and festivals, food and customs, his cultural identity, and assimilating to American culture.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Mildred Michele Fikes conducted by Kerry Thomas on May 14, 1975 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Fikes discusses her personal Las Vegas, Nevada history starting with her arrival to the city in 1942.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Alice Brown conducted by Claytee White on October 19th, 2005 for the UNLV @ 50 Oral History Project. In this interview Alice speaks about how her husband took a job at a titanium plant, so their family moved to Las Vegas, Nevada and she began working at the University of Southern Regional Division (now University of Nevada, Las Vegas). She gives detailed memories of the university campus, library, faculty, and staff from the 1960s era.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Rabbi Sanford Akselrad conducted by Barbara Tabach on March 7, 2018 for the Remembering 1 October Oral History Project. In this interview, Rabbi Sanford Akselrad discusses the response of the Jewish community of Congregation Ner Tamid to the October 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada. He discusses the healing service he led the day after the shooting, how the community paid respect to the victims, and the concert held to raise money. In addition to the actions of the Jewish community, Rabbi Akselrad discusses the congregation's work with the interfaith community to heal from this tragedy.
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Oral history interviews with Sam Boyd conducted by John Chickering, Ralph Roske, and Mark Lilley on February 16, 1973, February 28, 1977, and May 09, 1979 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Throughout the interviews, Boyd touches on the social, political, and industrial changes that occurred in Southern Nevada pertaining to hotels/casinos, America’s involvement in wars, and political figures that shaped Nevada’s jurisdiction.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Lomie Heard conducted by Stephen M. Singer on February 09, 1980 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Heard discusses education over the span of thirty years, and includes an overview on the building of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She also discusses Nellis Air Force Base, jet airplanes at Nellis, military families, and the Nevada Test Site.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Diane Orgill conducted by Claytee D. White on March 30, 2018 for the Remembering 1 October Oral History Project. In this interview, Diane Orgill, a volunteer with Red Cross, discusses her experience on the night of the October 1, 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada. She speaks of her role as a Red Cross representative at the Emergency Operations Center and the efforts of the Red Cross command center to provide a sense of order in the chaos. She describes some of the support provided to the survivors through the Family Assistance Center and the Disaster Action Team, giving an in-depth explanation of how these sections of the Red Cross function.
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