Jimmy Gay discusses racism in Las Vegas before and after World War II. He says that prior to WWII, there wasn't a lot of prejudice, and there were only a few African American families. After WWII, he says that the influx of soldiers returning and the migration of Black families from the South led to Las Vegas becoming the "Mississippi of the West."
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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
Color photograph of Marcia Washington growing up in Tallulah, Louisiana.
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Oral history interviews with Alma Whitney conducted by Claytee D. White on March 03, 1996 and May 28, 1996 for the Women's Research Institute of Nevada (WRIN) Las Vegas Women Oral History Project. Whitney opens the interview by talking about her life in Tallulah, Louisiana. She discusses race relations in Tallulah and how she traveled from Tallulah to Las Vegas, Nevada. Whitney describes her first job as a maid at the Desert Moon Motel, and her move later to the Desert Inn Hotel. Whitney discusses her career of over 30 years at the Desert Inn along with her promotion from maid to supervisor. Whitney also describes a time when Desert Inn employees went on strike for three weeks.
Archival Collection