Oral history interview with Larry Cooper conducted by Claytee D. White on March 05, 2018 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Cooper discusses his early life in Las Vegas, Nevada and growing up in the Westside. He talks about his educational experiences in Las Vegas, attending the Arkansas Agricultural, Mechanical and Normal College (now University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff), and teaching mathematics. Cooper recalls his employment at Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, becoming Vice President of Emerging Markets, and relocating around the United States for work. He remembers moving back to Las Vegas in the mid-2000s, his friendship with civil rights leader Jimmy Gay, and the contributions Gay made for the African American community. Cooper describes Westside businesses, and casinos on Jackson Street. Lastly, Cooper discusses the future of the Westside.
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.
The Honorarium, first celebrated in 1994, is an annual awards ceremony where the LGBTQ Center of Southern Nevada recognizes significant members of the Las Vegas queer community, as well as community supporters and allies. For more information on the 2004 Honorarium, see "Gay, Lesbian Center to Host Honorarium" [Las Vegas Sun, August 11, 2004, 9B] and "The Center to Honor Community Leaders [QVegas, August 2004, 20]. Of particular interest at the 2004 Honorarium is recognition of the cast of the Las Vegas Academy's production of The Laramie Project which drew a raucous protest from members of the virulently homophobic Westboro Baptist Church from Topeka, Kansas, led by Fred Phelps and members of his family. See "Las Vegas Academy Theater Cast to Receive Youth Activist Award [Las Vegas Review-Journal, August 14, 2004, 14B]; "Group Plans to Picket Play at School: Anti-Gay Protesters Target High School [Las Vegas Sun, May 6, 2004, 1B, 8B]; "Anti-Gay Group Targets LV School: Protest Set on Content of Student Play" [Las Vegas Review-Journal, May 7, 2004, 1B, 13B]; "Counterprotest Planned by Community Groups" [Las Vegas Sun, May 7, 2004, 7B]; "Anti-Gay Group Outnumbered" [Las Vegas Sun, May 12, 2004, 1B, 4B]; and "Anti-Gay Protesters Picket School: Hundreds Turn Out to Support School Targeted by Church" [Las Vegas Review-Journal, May 13, 2004, 1B, 4B]. [00:00:00 - 01:26:47]