Schwartz was born on May 13, 1926 in Cheyenne, Wyoming. He attended Colorado Military School in Denver, Colorado and the University of Southern California. He left the university without a degree and went into the merchant tailoring business in Los Angeles, California. After that business went bankrupt, he moved to Las Vegas, Nevada with his brother, Seymour Schwartz, around 1951 and started Schwartz Brothers Clothing.

George Simmons was born on July 26, 1937 in Roxton, Texas. He studied at Texas Southern University and at the University of Texas. He moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1963 with his wife Eva. George Simmons designed homes for Sproul Homes in the 1960s, then was hired by the engineering firm Holmes and Narver. He worked for Holmes and Narver on a Department of Defense contract at the Nevada Test Site and in downtown Las Vegas. He is active in community groups and Black Golfers Association. Simmons retired in December of 2013.

Billy Paul Smith was born in 1942 and educated in segregated black schools in Shreveport, Louisiana, and Texarkana, Texas. He graduated from high school at fifteen and enrolled at Prairie View A&M University, where he trained with the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC). He earned his Bachelor’s degree in chemistry and in 1964, his Master’s degrees in chemistry and math. Smith’s math and science background steered him to the United States Army Chemical Corps, where he was quickly selected to join a new team.

Dr. Robert Bruce Smith was born July 08, 1937 in Philadelphia, but considers California as home. His father’s career as a minister had taken them back to the east coast, and after his seminary training they returned to Los Angeles, California, followed by a five year stint in Oregon before returning to Vista, California. After graduating high school, Smith left home to attend Wheaton College in Illinois, a small Protestant school.

Ann M. Snavely grew up in a very small town in Pennsylvania. She met her husband, S. Charles, at a small private hospital in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, where Ann was working as a nurse. She arrived in Nevada in 1965, courtesy of the United States Air Force, with her husband and two children. Ann and her husband raised their children in their Scotch 80s house.

William W. Sullivan was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. He completed his doctorate over a twelve year period at University of Utah. He helped open the Minority Center there, and was eventually recruited to teach in Missoula, Montana, where he stayed for three years.