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Rogers, James M.
Bishop James M. Rogers was born around 1951 and was raised on a plantation in Louisiana near Tallulah, Louisiana. He arrived to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1970 at the age of 19, and was mentored by Dr. F.N. Addison. He also started to attend community rallies and town hall meetings. His initial involvement in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) happened through supporting his pastor and getting involved in marches and news conferences.
Person
Roles, Treva
Treva Roles was born March 10, 1928 to Louis and Katherine Smith, and spent her childhood in Erie, Pennsylvania and Chicago, Illinois with five other siblings. During the Great Depression, Roles’s father used his entrepreneurial skills to turn his traveling salesman profession into a family business, selling personal inventions. Eventually, he decided to sell the business, and buy a motel out west to retire. The motel ended up being the Fair Price Motel in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Roles soon moved out to help the family run it.
Person
Ross, R. Ian, 1938-
R. Ian Ross was born December 12, 1938 in Detroit, Michigan. He lived in Detroit, Michigan and Los Angeles, California until moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1953. He married Irmalee Anne Ross on September 02, 1961. He held various careers including attorney and an entrepreneur.
Person
Rothermel, Bradley
Dr. Bradley Rothermel was born in Monroe Center, Illinois into a family of educators. He attended Northern Illinois University in De Kalb for his bachelor’s degree and the University of Illinois for his Master’s and PhD. Rothermel’s work history includes coaching in the Chicago Cubs organization and at Kansas State and West Virginia University as athletic director and business manager, before arriving at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) in 1981.
Person
Seidman, Lorne
Lorne Seidman was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1969 because he was hired to teach business law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas(UNLV). He was also the discipline officer, assistant general counsel, and deputy attorney general of UNLV.
Person
Schwartz, Stanley
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.
Person
Simmons, George, 1937-
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.
Person
Sitton, Pamela
Pamela Sitton was born October 27, 1948. In 1963, her family moved to Las Vegas, Nevada where her father worked at the Nevada Test Site. She attended the original Las Vegas High School and then the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV), where she earned a degree in English literature. Sitton worked a series of part-time jobs from cocktail waitress to post office worker, and got married to Stanford Lee Sitton II in October 7, 1973.
Person
Smith, B. P. (Billy Paul), 1942-
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.
Person
Smith, Robert Bruce, 1937-
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.
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