From the Roosevelt Fitzgerald Professional Papers (MS-01082) -- Personal and professional papers file.

Oral history interview with Francis Oh Allen-Palenske conducted by Stefani Evans on June 30, 2022 for Reflections: the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Francis describes her childhood growing up in Lousiana with a white father and Korean mother. She recalls the family relocating to Reno, Nevada in 1983 where Francis obtained her bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Nevada, Reno in 1999. She describes serving as a staffer in Washington, D.C. for Representative Jim Gibbons (R-NV) before moving to Las Vegas, Nevada. She discusses her Korean mother, maternal grandmother, and maternal aunts as strong, smart, business-minded women. Throughout the interview, she discusses Korean traditions, celebrations, clothing, and foods, as well as Korean cosmetics and views about skin color.

LaVerne Ligon discusses auditioning for the show Hallelujah Hollywood at the new MGM. She auditioned for Bob Mackie and Donn Arden, who wanted her to be topless in the show. She refused. Three weeks later, Donn Arden called her and said that she had changed his mind and he really wanted her in the show and she didn't have to go topless. In fact the entire line of Black dancers that he was putting together for the show did not have to go topless.