Oral history interview with Charles Quander conducted by Claytee D. White on October 27, 2005 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. Quander, who served as a flight officer in the Army Air Corps first all-Black fighter and bomber squadrons known collectively as the Tuskegee Airmen, talks about his upbringing in Washington, D.C., his early interest in flight, and his decision to train as a pilot at the outset of World War II. Quander talks about his training and reflects on both the process of learning to fly and the discrimination that the cadets experienced from the predominately white senior officers. He then talks about his post-military education and his career with the federal government, working as an investigator for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) and the United States Attorney's strike force on organized crime. He ends the interview describing his retirement and travel, his move to Las Vegas, Nevada, and his views on war, the Department of Homeland Security, and his perceptions of Las Vegas' growth.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Ethel Smith and Barbara Carter McCalister conducted by Claytee D. White on March 3, 2021 for African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. Barbara Carter and Ethel Smith grew up on the Westside in the 1950s, both born in the late 1940s. They attended the Westside School. Their memories of the city are colorful, vibrant, and clear. They loved school and excelled in the assigned work. After high school, before their chosen careers, both tried work as a maid and found the sexual harassment a real challenge. Their memories of entertainment, fun, customs, and business locations on Jackson Avenue and the surrounding Black business community, related on their walk down memory lane, provided good historical information. Barbara Carter entered banking at Valley Bank and Ethel Smith, the casino industry, at a time when the MOB ran Las Vegas. Their recollections remind us that businesses operated differently and these women were there to witness it. Subjects discussed include: Westside, Jackson Ave, MOB, La Concha Motel, Berkley Square, Valley Bank, Caesars Palace, Ash Resnick, Jackson Hotel.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Richard Caldwell conducted by Lloyd Henderson on March 6, 1980 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Richard Caldwell (b. 1935 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana) discusses his experience moving to and living in Las Vegas, Nevada. Caldwell discusses his family and his education in business administration before describing the various occupations he has held. Caldwell then talks about the changes in Las Vegas, including racial issues, prejudice, and segregation.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Cranford Crawford conducted by Claytee D. White on May 27, 2016 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview Crawford discusses his early life and moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1964. He talks about his involvement with the Las Vegas branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), working with African American community leaders, and the consent decree of 1971 alleging a series of violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Crawford describes his career with the Clark County Department of Family Services (DFS), issues of segregation in Las Vegas, and being involved with Les Femmes Douze (The Ladies Twelve). Lastly, Crawford discusses Las Vegas government, school integration, and becoming a Freemason.
Archival Collection
The Vern Lanegrasse Papers (1961-2010) consist of materials from the Brotherhood of the Knights of the Vine and the California Restaurant Writers Association as well as event programs, menus, and other materials related to food and wine.
Archival Collection
The Fun One Bowling League Records (1987-1997) contain league schedules, membership documents, standing sheets, and other organizational records from the Fun One bowling league, an LGBTQ bowling league that was established in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1985. Fun One was the Las Vegas LGTBQ community's second bowling league.
Archival Collection
The Byrd Wall Sawyer Collection primarily consists of Byrd's research files on Nevada from 1930 to 1970. The materials concentrate on her monograph, "Nevada Nomads," as well as her co-authored textbook, "Here is Nevada." The collection also includes speeches, journal articles, memos, research note cards and papers, correspondence, informational booklets and pamphlets, maps, photographs, audiovisual materials, and newspaper articles and clippings.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Lynnette Sawyer conducted by Nathalie Martinez on January 03, 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. Barbara Tabach and Laurents Bañuelos-Benitez also participate in the questioning. Lynnette Sawyer identifies as a Puerto Rican woman born and raised in Spanish Harlem in New York. Her ancestry extends from Spain to Africa and has helped her identity, as she became an educator and museum curator. She describes her life in New York and her journey to Las Vegas. As the founder of the Hispanic Museum of Nevada, she wanted to create a space that would teach young Latinos about their history and heritage.
Archival Collection
The UNLV University Libraries Collection of Clark County, Nevada Secured Assessment Publications (1992-2000) includes newspaper prints of Clark County, Nevada public records detailing land property information for the upcoming tax year. The Clark County, Nevada secured assessment rolls were created by the Clark County Assessor’s Office and published by the local newspaper of a designated area on or before the beginning of each year.
Archival Collection
The Felicia Campbell Papers (approximately 1962-2020) contains material documenting the life and work of long-time UNLV English professor, Felicia Campbell. Materials include Campbell's personal and professional papers including correspondence, scholarly journals featuring her published articles, article drafts, newspaper clippings, photographs, personal diaries, and awards. Also included are materials documenting Campbell's discrimination lawsuit against UNLV in the 1970s regarding equal pay for tenured female faculty.
Archival Collection