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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.
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Black and white portrait photograph of Jimmy Gay working at his desk, dated 1946.
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Oral history interview with Esther Lynn conducted by Dennis McBride on August 24, 2000 for the Las Vegas Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Archives Oral History Project. Lynn moved to Las Vegas, Nevada from Los Angeles, California in 1976. She is a writer and editor, focusing on the Las Vegas entertainment scene, with by-lines in many local and national publications.
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Oral history interview with Roy D. Baker conducted by Dennis McBride February 08, 2004 for the Las Vegas Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Archives Oral History Project. In this interview, Baker discusses Fred Schoonmaker, a Reno, Nevada gay activist and his husband, Alfred Parkinson. Baker details their efforts to create Stonewall Park, a town for LGBTQ members in Nevada that was never realized. Schoonmaker attempted to establish Stonewall Park three times in three different locations: Silver Springs, Nevada; Rhyolite, Nevada; and Thunder Mountain, Nevada. Baker talks about his personal relationship with Schoonmaker, his opinion on Stonewall Park, and legal issues that Schoonmaker faced during the development of the town. Baker describes opposition from local residents against Stonewall Park and Schoonmaker's health after being diagnosed with HIV.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with David Parks conducted by Dennis McBride on January 31, 2007 for the Las Vegas Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Archives Oral History Project. In this interview, Parks, a member of the Nevada senate, discusses working on a Nevada anti-bullying bill and a family fairness bill, which stated that any two persons could have another person as a recipient beneficiary. Park describes dealing with opposition to the family fairness bill with some people arguing that it changes the traditional definition of family. Parks recalls running against a man with a similar name, David F. Parks, in a 2002 legislative assembly election.
Archival Collection