Oral history interview with Mary Wesley conducted by Claytee D. White on October 22, 2007 for the UNLV University Libraries Oral History Collection. In this interview, Wesley discusses her early life in Quitman, Mississippi. She recalls the racism she experienced during her youth, the church community in Quitman, and traveling to Las Vegas, Nevada by train. She talks about the welfare rights movement in Las Vegas, Operation Life, and businesses on Jackson Street. Lastly, Wesley describes the entertainment on the Westside, and integration on the Las Vegas Strip.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Stanley Weiner conducted by Kyle Wolff on March 12, 1978 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview Weiner talks about his father's employment, his own series of jobs, and living in different parts of Las Vegas, Nevada. He also talks about population growth, education opportunities in town, transportation, and recreation.
Archival Collection
The Dennis McBride Collection of Gay Erotica (1960-2006) contains a selection of pornographic publications, three VHS tapes of erotic films, and photographic prints mail ordered from gay erotica or physique photography studios. The three studios represented in this collection are Alexander Studio, Sierra Domino Studio, and Third World Studio.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Dr. Agnes Lockette conducted by Dennis McBride on March 25, 1996 for the Boulder City Library Oral History Project. In the interview, Lockette discusses her experiences teaching in the Clark County, Nevada School District (CCSD) and at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). Lockette begins by talking about studying at Albany State College in Albany, Georgia, moving around the United States due to her husband's military service, and finally settling in Boulder City, Nevada in 1953. She also discusses racial integration in CCSD and in her own classrooms at the Westside School (Las Vegas Grammar School) and C. T. Sewell Elementary School during the 1960s. Other subjects Lockette covers include the expansion of the Las Vegas, Nevada hotel and casino industries in the early 1950s, the increasing student population, teaching conditions, and other educators in Las Vegas including Mabel Hoggard and James Dickinson. Lastly, Lockette recalls her experiences with UNLV, community support and engagement for education, and working toward her master's and doctoral degrees in English.
Archival Collection
Oral history interviews with Jimmy Wilkins conducted by Lisa Gioia-Acres on May 30, 2008 and September 15, 2008 for the All That Jazz Oral History Project. In these interviews, Wilkins discusses his career as a jazz trombonist. He begins by talking about his upbringing in St. Louis, Missouri, his early interest in being a musician, learning to play the trombone in high school, and later enlisting in the United States Navy to play in Navy bands. Wilkins describes leaving the Navy after World War II ended and continuing his musical career by joining jazz bands in the St. Louis area, playing across the United States with traveling bands, and eventually moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1994. He talks about playing jazz in casinos such as the Four Queens and the Riviera, the current jazz culture in Las Vegas, and his retirement.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Dr. James B. McMillan conducted by Perry Kaufman on April 14, 1972 for the UNLV University Libraries Oral History Project. In the interview, McMillan discusses his childhood in Aberdeen, Mississippi and his parents' experience with racial discrimination. He then talks about his own experiences with racial discrimination while living in Las Vegas, Nevada. McMillan recalls his involvement with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and the tension between community leaders and local politicians including Pat McCarran and John Russell. McMillan discusses integration and white power structures and how they affect the Black community in Las Vegas. Lastly, he discusses his relationship with other Black activists and figures in the community, including Dr. Charles West, Bob Bailey, Lubertha Johnson, and Mabel Hoggard.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Carrie Christensen and Orien “Buster” Stevens conducted by Bernard Timberg on February 04, 1974 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, Christensen and Stevens discuss segregation in Boulder City, Nevada, their interactions with Native Americans, and the Westside community in Las Vegas, Nevada. They also talk about the Union Pacific Railroad, the influx of migrants and growth of churches during World War II. Stevens describes his experience working on Hoover Dam (Boulder Dam) as well as the railroad starting at age fifteen. Christensen discusses her personal life, her religious opinions, and mottos.
Archival Collection
The Reverend Donald M. Clark Papers (1953-1976) contain correspondence, meeting minutes, organizational plans, newspaper clippings, and personal memorabilia related Clark's work with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the Economic Opportunity Board (EOB) in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Archival Collection
The Elmer R. Rusco Collection on Ethnicity and Race in Nevada (1964-1972) contains correspondence, court cases, employment information, and research materials compiled by Rusco for a book he was writing on race relations in Nevada.
Archival Collection
The Ruby Duncan Papers on Operation Life (1972-1992) consist of the organizational records of Operation Life Community Development Corporation, a non-profit organization that worked to improve living conditions in West Las Vegas, Nevada by providing a variety of community development services. Included are correspondence, agreements, accounting records, lease agreements, meeting materials, reports, speeches.
Archival Collection