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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Edited narrative of an interview with Audrey "June" Taylor Henry conducted by Claytee D. White on February 26, 2010. Henry was a dancer, choreographer, broadcaster and Las Vegas resident since 1992.
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Kerin Rodgers was born in 1936. She recounts her family history and stories of her youth growing up in Boston, MA, and shares how the family relocated to Seattle, WA in the mid-1940s. She talks about her enjoyment of theatrical arts and politics, and about being a resourceful divorced, single-mom and entrepreneur. In 1958 she opened a retail fashion store and modeling agency with a friend in Santa Monica, CA. Kerin had a knack for fashion and interior design that would assist her then and into the future. She also shares the story of arriving in Las Vegas as part of retail job with The Broadway stores in 1966—a two-week stint that seemed to have no ending. Her transition into Las Vegas included remarriage, a 1974 Keno win that enabled her to put down money on a home ( a house built by Paul Huffey) in the John S. Park neighborhood, and making close friends in the community. Her interview is sprinkled with tales of activities and personalities from the neighborhood's past and present. Kerin was involved with the Focus Youth House, speaks about First Fridays and art, as well as gives a perspective of police, criminal behaviors and changes in the neighborhood over the years. She hosted a local television show and enjoyed being a community activist.
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Color photograph of Debbie Conway (right) hosting the KCEP Power 88.1 radio talk show "Economic Empowerment into the 21st Century."
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Color photograph of Debbie Conway (left) in the studio hosting the KCEP Power 88.1 radio talk show "Economic Empowerment into the 21st Century.
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Series XVIII. Television, Radio Shows, and Movies
Mixed Content
Series XVIII. Television, Radio Shows, and Movies
Sands Hotel and Casino
Mixed Content
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