In 1943, Cleophis Hill Williams was a teenager visiting her mother who had moved to Las Vegas. For most of her young life she had lived with her parents in Muskogee, Oklahoma and Paul Spur/Douglas, Arizona. The same year that she visited Las Vegas, she met her future husband Tom Williams, with whom she had nine children, all born and raised on the Westside. Tom worked construction and built their first home on G Street. For Cleophis, she focused her life on raising her children and, whenever possible, finding some precious time to read.
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.
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.
From the Dennis McBride Photograph Collection (PH-00263) -- LGBTQ+ events and organizations in Las Vegas, Nevada -- Digital images file. Notes from the donor, Dennis McBride: This event celebrated the 45th anniversary of the founding of the American Civil Liberties Union - NV, and was the occasion for presenting Clark County Commissioner [District E, Democrat] Chris Giunchigliani with the 2011 Emilie Wanderer Civil Libertarian Award. Individuals identified by the donor, Dennis McBride: Dina Titus [U. S. Representative - NV (Democrat)]; Phil Hooper [ACLU-NV Administrative Director (gay)]
Eddie Anderson was an outspoken and iconoclastic radio commentator in Reno, NV in the 1980s and '90s, who covered liberal politics and issues in his call-in program, Radio Free Reno. The program recorded here was broadcast on October 22, 1990, and includes a lengthy biography of conservative activist Janine Hansen of Nevada's Independent American Party; a short interview with then-Nevada State Senator Randolph Townsend; commentary on Question 7, Nevada's pro-abortion initiative petition legislation; pungent comments on Nevada's U. S. Representative Barbara Vucanovich; and comments suggesting that Jesus Christ was gay. It was at the end of this broadcast, captured on this tape, that "Pro-Life" Andy Anderson [Charles F. Anderson (1927-2011)], a notorious religious bigot and anti-abortion crusader who drove a Volkswagen around northern Nevada with a big fetus on the roof to emphasize his point, broke into the studio while Anderson was still on-air and assaulted him for his comments on Jesus. Andy Anderson and Eddie Anderson [no relation] had been acquainted since the early 1970s when both were janitors at St. Mary's Regional Medical Center. Andy Anderson was found guilty of battery in March 1991 and sentenced to community service. See "Abortion Foe Punches Reno Talk Show Host" [Reno Gazette-Journal, October 23, 1990, 1B]; "Pro-Life Andy Anderson Turns Himself In, But Cops Won't Take Him" [Reno Gazette-Journal, November 10, 1990, 1B]; and "Abortion Foe Guilty in Attack" [Reno Gazette-Journal, March 23, 1991, 1A]. Eddie Anderson's description of the attack may be found on pp. 144-145 of his oral history deposited in the Special Collections Department of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas [HQ75.4 A54 2000]. Also see Anderson's manuscript collection in Special Collections [MS-00457].
Archival Collection
Las Vegas, Nevada LGBTQ Collection
To request this item in person:
Collection Number: MS-00251 Collection Name: Las Vegas, Nevada LGBTQ Collection Box/Folder: Box 19, Digital File 00
From the Syphus-Bunker Papers (MS-00169). The folder contains an original handwritten letter, an envelope, a typed transcription of the same letter, and a copy of original letter attached.
Oral history interview with Eugene Buford conducted by Claytee White on September 12, 2006 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview Eugene Buford talks about his great grandmother, Mary Nettles, who was instrumental in the start and growth of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peoples (NAACP) in Las Vegas, Nevada. He speaks about his experiences with prejudice and discrimination, while reflecting upon what it was like being an African American growing up in Las Vegas.