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Transcript from interview with Rejoyce Williams by Claytee White, June 12, 1996

Date

1996-06-12

Description

Rejoyce Williams moved to Las Vegas with her husband and their six children in 1960. Williams grew up in Fordyce, Arkansas, and has also lived in California. When she arrived in Las Vegas, she worked as a maid at the Las Vegas Hilton and participated in the Culinary Union strike in 1970. In the interview, she discusses her involvement in church activities, and other anecdotes from her employment.

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Transcript from interview with Helen Anderson and Karen Walker by Claytee White and Barbara Tabach, February 21, 2014

Date

2014-02-21

Description

Helen Anderson came to Las Vegas in 1962 from Arkansas, and had her daughter, Karen, in 1967. The pair discusses the family business, Hamburger Heaven, and other businesses on Jackson Street and the Westside. They also talk about hte changes in the neighborhood and their work with the West Las Vegas Citizens for Hope group, and Karen's family services business.

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Transcript of interview with Dr. Angela Clarke by Lisa Gioia-Acres, October 3, 2008

Date

2008-10-03

Description

Interview with Dr. Angela Clarke conducted by Lisa Gioia-Acres on October 3, 2008. A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Clarke spent a great deal of time reading medical texts and started working at Social Security by the age of fourteen. Following high school, she joined the women's Air Force and attended Morgan State College on the GI Bill. Clarke recalls instances of racism and the efforts she personally made to mitigate or change circumstances for blacks. Among her many awards, she was given a plaque for integrating Air Force swimming pools. Later accepted at University of Maryland, her first year's tuition was paid by the Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation. Clarke lived and practiced medicine in Beverly Hills until 1976, when a friend suggested that she was needed in Las Vegas as a board-certified family practitioner.

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Transcript of interview with Shirley Edmond by Claytee D. White, June 24, 2010

Date

2010-06-24

Description

Interview with Shirley Edmond conducted by Claytee D. White on June 24, 2010. Born in Las Vegas, Edmond was the first African American woman in Southern Nevada promoted by the United States Post Office to be a supervisor. Edmond describes growing up in the Westside neighborhood of Las Vegas as the daughter of a local preacher. She shares memories of community stores, neighborhood landmarks, and her work at the Post Office and Matt Kelly Elementary School. Edmond's husband, Mackie, also contributes to the interview.

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Transcript of interview with Hazel Gay by Claytee D. White, December 2, 1995

Date

1995-12-02

Archival Collection

Description

Interview with Hazel Gay conducted by Claytee D. White on December 2, 1995. Hazel and her husband Jimmy Gay moved to Las Vegas in 1946, becoming leaders in the African American community during the civil rights era.

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James A. Gay III interview, 1973: transcript

Date

1973

Description

Interview with James A. Gay III conducted by Joyce M. Wright in 1973. Edited by Elizabeth Nelson Patrick, and transcribed for the project "Black Experience in Southern Nevada, Donated Tapes Collection," James R. Dickinson Library, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, December 1978. Arriving in 1946 from Fordyce, Arkansas, Gay became the first African-American mortician in Las Vegas. He later worked as Assistant Manager of the Sands Hotel and Casino and Union Plaza while serving as an executive board member of the Culinary Union. Instrumental in the Las Vegas community, Gay worked to improved race relations, addressing social, economic, and civic issues. Gay was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 1988.

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Transcript of interview with William H. Bailey by Betty Rosenthal, March 16, 1978

Date

1978-03-16

Archival Collection

Description

Interview with William H. Bailey conducted by Betty Rosenthal on March 16, 1978. Arriving in Las Vegas in 1955, Bailey became an assistant producer and master of ceremonies in the first interracial hotel in Nevada, the Moulin Rouge, and subsequently worked in radio and television. Bailey reflects on the history of discrimination in Las Vegas and its impact on the entertainment industry. Bailey's wife Anna was the first black girl dancer on the Strip in the 1961 production, "Nymphs of the Nile." Appointed by Governor Grant Sawyer to the Nevada State Equal Rights Investigatory Commission in 1961, Bailey served as its chairman and traveled throughout the state holding hearings. He describes his work on the commission and how discrimination in housing personally affected him.

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Transcript of interview with Jimmy Gay by Perry Kaufman, April 12, 1972

Date

1972-04-12

Description

Interview with James A. Gay III conducted by Perry Kaufman on April 12, 1972. Arriving in 1946 from Fordyce, Arkansas, Gay became the first African-American mortician in Las Vegas. He later worked as Assistant Manager of the Sands Hotel and Casino and Union Plaza while serving as an executive board member of the Culinary Union. Instrumental in the Las Vegas community, Gay worked to improved race relations, addressing social, economic, and civic issues. Gay was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 1988.

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Transcript of interview with Jerry Eppenger by Claytee D. White, September 14, 2011

Date

2011-09-14

Description

Interview with Jerry Eppenger conducted by Claytee D. White on September 14, 2011. Eppenger's family moved from Arkansas to Las Vegas in 1953. Joining the Marine Corps in 1964, he was among the early combatants in the Vietnam War. After a brief time in Alaska, he returned to Las Vegas and found work as a security guard at Bonanza Hotel and Nevada Test Site before attending dealer school. Eppenger recalls local black leaders and describes episodes in segregation and racial relations of 1970s Las Vegas. He shares memories of his beloved Cadillac and the fast and lucrative lifestyle of a dealer.

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Transcript of interview with Mozella Sheds Scott by Claytee D. White, November 30, 2010

Date

2010-11-30

Description

Interview with Mozella Sheds Scott conducted by Claytee D. White on November 30, 2010. Scott discusses her varied work history and career as a directory assistance telephone operator for Centel (Sprint) in Las Vegas. Observing reading deficiencies in the community, she created the Parent-In-Charge and Word-on-a-Rock programs to improve reading skills.

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