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Harris, Otis
Otis R. Harris Jr. was born May 19, 1941 to Otis R. Harris Sr. and Florence Harris. In the early 1940s, after an argument with a white person, Otis Harris's father decided to relocate from Texas to California. During the trip west, he stopped in Las Vegas where they were hiring at the Basic Magnesium plant. Though he only worked there briefly, Las Vegas became home to the Harris family. In this interview, Otis talks about his father's hard working nature and being raised with seven siblings in Las Vegas.
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Las Vegas African American Community Conversations, Part 1: Migration, Work, and Community Emergence: video
Date
Archival Collection
Description
The Las Vegas African American Community Conversations is a four part, one hour round table conversation with local Las Vegans. They share their powerful stories and great history, with topics ranging from “Migration, Civil Rights, Education, Church, Entertainment and the Early Legal Community”. Part One: A conversation about “Early Migration, Work and Community Emergence”. MODERATOR- Trish Geran ( Author/Community Activist) PANELISTS- Lucille Bryant (Community Activist) Jackie Brantley (Former Director-Office of Governor Kenny Guinn) Hannah Brown (Urban Chamber of Commerce) David L. Washington (1st Black Chief of Las Vegas Fire & Rescue Department) Brenda J. Williams (President-Westside School Alumni Foundation)
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Kirkland, Barbara Bates
Barbara Bates Kirkland was born 1934 in Shreveport, Louisiana. On a sunny day in 1946, Kirkland and her mother stepped off the train from Shreveport and onto the Western street of Fremont in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Kirkland’s mother, Atha Toliver, found employment as a maid. Toliver, who was determined that her daughter would get an education and a finer future, saw this as her opportunity to achieve this for her daughter. Later, she opened Eva’s Flower Basket, a floral shop that Kirkland would operate after retiring from teaching.
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