Interview with James A. Gay III conducted by Perry Kaufman on April 12, 1972. Arriving in 1946 from Fordyce, Arkansas, Gay became the first African-American mortician in Las Vegas. He later worked as Assistant Manager of the Sands Hotel and Casino and Union Plaza while serving as an executive board member of the Culinary Union. Instrumental in the Las Vegas community, Gay worked to improved race relations, addressing social, economic, and civic issues. Gay was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 1988.
Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American & Pacific Islander Web Archive is comprised of archived websites captured in 2022 and 2023 that are related to UNLV University Libraries community documentation project, "Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American & Pacific Islander Oral History Project." Archived websites represent local Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) civic and service organizations and individuals that have been interviewed as part of the oral history project. The collection includes archived websites of organizations such as the Las Vegas Asian Chamber of Commerce, the Asian-American Advocacy Clinic, Asian Community Development Council, and Thai Culture Foundation. Archived websites of individuals represented in this collection includes entrepreneur, real estate investor, and motivational speaker Lisa Song Sutton and magician Juliana Chen.
2nd annual Gay Pride parade 1998. Photographer: Dennis McBride. Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada and the Nevada Freedom to Marry Coalition. (4-25-98)
Interview with Hazel Gay conducted by Claytee D. White on December 2, 1995. Hazel and her husband Jimmy Gay moved to Las Vegas in 1946, becoming leaders in the African American community during the civil rights era.