Oral history interview with Renee Watson conducted by Claytee D. White on June 14, 2022 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: A Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Watson discusses her early life in Harbor City, California where she attended a private school. She discusses living and working in a great number of places, eventually arriving to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) in 2018 as Associate Vice President for Campus Life. In this role, she managed eight departments and 131 employees, all charged with helping students navigate their academic careers while enjoying the college experience. At the time of the interview, Watson was about to move to Mount Pleasant, Michigan, to serve as the Vice President of Student Affairs at Central Michigan University where she plans to know, understand, update, and apply policies equitably with transparency.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Kim Bavington conducted by Claytee White on July 15, 2010 for the Voices of the Historic John S. Park Neighborhood Oral History Project. In this interview Bavington discusses moving from a gated community to a Mid-Century Modern ranch house in the historic John S. Park Neighborhood. She also reflects on various Las Vegas, Nevada locations where she resided including Francisco Park, Spring Valley, and Green Valley.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Bill Belknap conducted by R. J. Johnson on February 12, 1979 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Belknap discusses Colorado River, Nevada State Advisory Commission, WWII, Henderson Power Plant during WWII, and the El Rancho Hotel in the 1940’s. Belknap also discusses the Tule Springs Archaeological Project 1966-1967, atomic testing, Lake Mead, Boulder City, music and Jazz in Southern Nevada, teaching at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), photography, and the Grand Canyon.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Michael Arage conducted by Dalton DuPré on November 12, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project.
In this interview, Michael Arage discusses his upbringing in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Ontario, Canada with his sister and his Filipino-Palestinian heritage. He talks about how his parents immigrated to the United States, his life and education in Toronto, and his relocation to Los Angeles, California where he married his wife. Michael Arage shares how the couple moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 2012 when his wife started a job at Zappos. Because he lacked a work visa, Michael Arage began playing poker and working in sports betting. In 2019, he founded a community organization to support the people of Palestine, called Nevadans for Palestinian Human Rights. Michael Arage talks about his activism efforts, anti-Arab racism, his cultural upbringing, and of Filipino and Arabic foods and customs. He also shares his views of living in Las Vegas, the difficulties of raising a child away from her cousins, and differing governmental policies and healthcare between Canada and the United States.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Paris Oddo conducted by Claytee D. White on July 20, 2017 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Oddo discusses her early life in Detroit, Michigan. She recalls moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1984, becoming an electrician, and being a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (I.B.E.W) Local Union 357. Oddo talks about completing a five-year apprenticeship program offered by the Union, and her experience as a female electrician. She remembers her employment at the Nevada Test Site, working closely with radioactive materials, and being diagnosed with illnesses due to radioactive exposure while at the Nevada Test Site. Lastly, Oddo expresses her concerns over nuclear waste storage at Yucca Mountain.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Asalee Harris conducted by Claytee D. White on May 17, 2021 for African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. Asalee Harris was born in Fortune Fork, outside of Tallulah, Louisiana. Born into a family of cotton sharecroppers, farm life was arduous; eventually she and her family moved to Tallulah where she met and married her husband, James. Asalee and James moved to Las Vegas in 1954 where James' brother lived. She details her work as a maid and member of the Culinary Workers Union Local 226, local businesses she remembers on Jackson Street including Wesley's Barber Shop, Johnson's Grocery Store, Elite Market, the Westside Credit Union, and her church work at New Jerusalem Church. Subjects discussed include: sharecropping, Tallulah, Louisiana, Westside Credit Union, and New Jerusalem Church.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Selma Bartlett conducted by Claytee D. White on September 18, 2008 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Bartlett discusses arriving to Henderson, Nevada in 1954 and recalls the homes in that area. She shares her experience in banking and her employment with First National Bank of Nevada. Lastly, Bartlett discusses the housing crisis of 1987 and describes the housing industry during that time.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Marzette Lewis conducted by Claytee White on October 30, 2012 and November 14, 2012 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. Lewis first discusses the murder of her father at the hands of the Ku Klux Klan in Quitman, Mississippi, then visiting and moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in the 1950s. Lewis also discusses the proponents of good neighborhood schools in lieu of bussing children all over the country.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Larry Davis conducted by Barbara Tabach on October 14, 2020 for The Great Pause: Las Vegas Chronicles of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Born and raised in Southern California, Larry moved to Las Vegas in 1995 to work in the funeral services industry. He describes the changes he has seen during his career during the past 40 years with particular regard to recent challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Archival Collection