Oral history interview with Reverend Prentiss Walker conducted by Bernard Timberg on January 27, 1974 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Walker discusses Las Vegas, Nevada from 1933 to the early 1970s, including the equality of opportunity and social acceptance that black citizens enjoyed in Las Vegas in the thirties. He also recalls how black people did not look upon southern Nevada as a place of permanent residence, but rather as a temporary place to earn money quickly.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Herb Jeffries conducted by Cork Proctor on 2009 May 5 for the All That Jazz Oral History Project. In the interview Jeffries discusses his life as a singer and actor, entertaining in Las Vegas, Nevada where Frank Sinatra offered support when Jeffries encountered racial discrimination. He also talks about his life after retirement, his family, being an America, his military service, and his relationship with Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington as a young performer.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Gertrude Toston conducted by Claytee D. White on July 21, 2006 for the UNLV @ 50 Oral History Project. Toston discusses attending the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) in the 1960s. She also discusses working as a customer service representative for Western Airlines for 27 years before going back to UNLV to work on her master's degree in special education. She then talks about working as a graduate teaching assistant and student teacher advisor at UNLV and as a teacher at Brinley Junior High.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Vicki Richardson conducted by Claytee D. White on January 29, 2003 and August 19, 2003 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Richardson discusses teaching art in the Clark County School district and owning businesses, including the Left of Center Art Gallery in North Las Vegas, Nevada.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Agnes and Emory Lockette conducted by Claytee D. White on March 11, 2004 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Agnes and Emory discuss their early lives and their experience living in Boulder City, Nevada since the early 1950s. Emory talks about his education as an engineer, his employment with the United States Bureau of Reclamation, and race relations in Boulder City at the time. Agnes recalls her career in education and teaching at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Lastly, Emory discusses water resource management in the southwest region of the United States.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Melvin Green conducted by Stefani Evans and Claytee D. White on September 23, 2016 for the Building Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Green discusses his upbringing in Louisiana and growing up in a family of farmers. He recalls moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1983, working for Nevada Partners, and his involvement in the redevelopment of the Westside School. Green talks about his architect firm, KME Architects, and lists projects his company has worked on in Las Vegas. Lastly, Green describes presenting new designs to community members and partnering with church leaders to build community housing.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Ray Christian conducted by Russell Ellis on March 19, 1978 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Christian discusses race relations within schools, baseball teams, theatres, and Boy Scouts in Las Vegas, Nevada. He also talks about his custodial at the El Portal Theatre, the Las Vegas Westside neighborhood, and living through the Great Depression. Christian ends the interview discussing how white and black veterans helped improved race relations in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Gerome Sapp conducted by Claytee D. White on September 9, 2015 for the Building a Las Vegas Tech Culture Oral History Project. In this interview, former NFL player Gerome Sapp recounts his personal, academic, and business experiences. He first came to Las Vegas, Nevada in September 2012 seeking investment opportunities for his company, Fluencr. A year later, he received the investment and moved to Las Vegas. Eventually, Sapp began working with the 2015 Life is Beautiful festival to document the artists of the Art Motel.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Louis Richardson conducted by Stefani Evans and Claytee D. White on July 29, 2016 for the Building Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Richardson discusses his personal history growing up in South Carolina and his education in construction and engineering. Richardson describes being deployed to Vietnam after graduating college and his career as a design engineer for Mead Corporation. He then talks about teaching youth and young adults in Sierra Leone, West Africa in the mid to late 1960s. Later, Richardson recalls starting his construction business, Richardson Construction, and the first projects he was involved with throughout Las Vegas, Nevada. Lastly, Richardson discusses working on buildings at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Ffolliott "Fluff" LeCoque conducted by Betty Rosental on March 03, 1978 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview Fluff LeCoque discusses the first time she worked with black entertainers which was at the Thunderbird Hotel and Casino, the various black artists she worked with, segregation at the Las Vegas Strip, and her extensive career in the Las Vegas entertainment business.
Archival Collection