Dennis McBride interviews Eddie Anderson (born 1946) about his role in advocating for LGBT rights, specifically his participation in the various political and social movements during previous decades. The interview begins with a discussion of Anderson’s background, including his experiences growing up in children’s homes and living with his grandparents. Anderson mentions marching with his grandparents for both workers’ and women’s rights as some of his first political involvements. Anderson also discusses his original aspirations for becoming a priest as well as his memories of meeting President John F. Kennedy during a visit to his high school when Anderson was student body president. Anderson then discusses travelling to the South, specifically in Selma, Alabama, during one summer while in high school in order to help register Black voters. Anderson then discusses his friendship with Nevada Senator Bill Raggio and his wife, and his joining of the U.S. Navy, where he met President Ri
The Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada (PLAN) records span the years 1994 to 2002 and are comprised of material documenting the organization's involvment in gay issues in Las Vegas, Nevada. PLAN was founded in 1994 as the umbrella organization for Nevada's progressive groups and institutions. This collection is comprised of material documenting the Minority Status and Child Protection Act of 1994 and the Coalition for Unity and Equal Rights Nevada, and contains a number of files from that effort, including opinion surveys, meeting agendas and campaign plans.
Session 1: Interviewed by Marcela Rodriguez-Campo. Barbara Tabach also participates in the questioning. Session 2: Interviewed by Rodrigo Vazquez. Monserrath Hernandez also participates in the questioning. Patricia Vazquez was born and raised in Las Vegas, NV and shares her experiences growing up in the Valley as a Queer Latina. At a young age, she remembers traveling back and forth between Mexico and the U.S. to visit family. When she started school she shares how her home language, Spanish, became her family's "secret language" as she began to learn English. During elementary school Patricia was tracked into the special education program, and remove from the mainstream classroom. She would find her love for learning in books and libraries as she taught herself how to read in English. Despite being tracked into less advanced courses, Patricia would end up taking AP/ Honors courses in high school after forging her favorite teachers signature, which changed her educational trajectory. After coming out to her family, Patricia went nearly a decade distanced from her mother and continued her college education at Arizona State University. There, she would complete a bachelors in painting and a masters in comparative literature. Her work with the Chicano Studies program at ASU helped her develop her Chicana identity and begin her involvement in social activism. In Las Vegas, she worked to fight for marriage equality and LGBTQ rights with the American Civil Liberties Union , and later with the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada. She also conducted several lectures for the Latino Youth Leadership Conference on sexuality, gender, and homophobia for over a decade. She has served as an English Professor at the College of Southern Nevada for the last 20 years and is an avid hiker, traveler, and painter.
Oral history interview with Hanford Searl conducted by Dennis McBride on November 02, 1996 for the Las Vegas Gay Archives Oral History Project. Searl discusses being gay and the struggles he faced in religion and university before moving to Las Vegas, Nevada.
Oral history interview with Ralph Vandersnick conducted by Dennis McBride on October 18, 1997 for the Las Vegas Gay Archives Oral History Project. Vandersnick discusses growing up on a farm with his family in Illinois, owning a gay bar called the Studio Club in California, and owning another gay bar called Snick's Place when he moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1976.
Oral history interview with Albert Hood conducted by Dennis McBride on June 16, 1998 for the Las Vegas Gay Archives Oral History Project. In this interview Bert Hood discusses his early life, getting married to a woman, joining the army, discovering his sexuality, and the various loves of his life. He also talks about coming to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1962, working at the Sands Hotel as a bartender, serving The Rat Pack, who tipped him generously, cruising at Squires Park, local gay landmarks, and the first drag shows in Las Vegas.
The UNLV Center for Social Justice (CSJ) Records (2015-2016) are primarily comprised of postcards and fliers advertising events hosted and sponsored by CSJ at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). Events advertised include the Stand Up. Speak Out. event series. This series aligned with Latin heritage celebrations; LGBTQIAA student, staff, and faculty luncheon; Transvisible: The Bamby Salcedo Story documentary movie viewing; Pozole con MEChA, an educational event about issues affecting the Xicanx community; and Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), which the center styled as "Dia de lxs Muertxs." The collection also includes a promotional poster and participant manual for the 2016 Cultural Leadership Retreat hosted by CSJ.
Ron Lawrence is one of the busiest people in the gay community, so I want him to know how much I appreciate his reserving time for me so that I could complete this oral history interview. The importance of his work toward the well-being of the gay community in Las Vegas cannot be measured, and much of what he's accomplished and otherwise made possible will live long after he leaves us. With Ron's consent to this interview, our knowledge of Nevada's gay history is greatly enriched and our record preserved.
Bert Hood is celebrated in Las Vegas's gay history for his ownership of the Red Barn, one of our most famous gay bars. This is another of those serendipitous interviews I've conducted with someone I very much wanted to interview but didn't know how to find. Bert's in Las Vegas from Oklahoma City for just a short while visiting old friends, and I was lucky enough to have found him through Bill Schafer, president of the Southern Nevada Gay and Lesbian Historical Society. I want to thank you, Bert, for donating these two hours of your vacation time to me so I can preserve your stories for the gay community.