Rick May is a gay activist and mental health advocate in and around Las Vegas. He was born on May 30, 1952 in Amherst, Texas. His family owned a ranch in Sudan, Texas. After graduating, he moved around Texas for some years before moving to Las Vegas in 1982. He then became an active member of the LGBTQ+ community in Las Vegas, organizing many Pride events and eventually opening his own business, R and R Sundries.
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Tamara Pickett was born Terry Lee Pickett. As a male, he served as a soldier in the United States Army. Terry finished her transition to Tamara with sexual reassignment surgery in 1996. As Tamara, she is known for her activism in Las Vegas, Nevada, especially her successful campaign for better health care provided by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for transgender veterans. She was also involved with the Nevada Gender League and The Turnabouts, a transgender support group in Las Vegas.
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Oral history interview with William (Bob) Bailey conducted by Claytee White on November 19, 1997 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. William H. “Bob” Bailey discusses how he arrived in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1955 to become the emcee at the Moulin Rouge and how he entered a black community that used his talents in the fight for equality and justice. He then discusses how the closing of the Moulin Rouge after a few months of operation propelled him into services on the Equal Rights Commission as well as a career in the television industry, ownership in several local gaming establishments, and formation of the NEDCO (Nevada Economic Development Company).
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Trula McGee grew up in a military family where children were well behaved, intelligent, and an asset to the family's community representation. She migrated to Las Vegas in 1952 and lived for a short time in Carver Park in Henderson and attended Basic High School. McGee lived on the Westside as a young adult and remembers the Golden West Shopping Center, Reubens Supper Club (H and Owens), Larry's Sight and Sound, and other Westside locations. The family shopped for clothing at Sears and JC Penney in the downtown area.
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Eugene Buford came to Las Vegas, Nevada from Birmingham, Alabama, when he was two years old with his mother and grandmother. He held a variety of jobs, including washing dishes at the Last Frontier and delivering ice to casinos like the Flamingo and the Stardust, and ultimately retired after thirty-six years with the Post Office. Buford's great grandmother, Mary Nettles, was instrumental in the formation and growth of the NAACP chapter in Las Vegas, and he recalls meetings in her house and his own role as president of the Junior League NAACP.
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