Viola Johnson was born October 12th, 1921 in Fordyce, Arkansas. Johnson moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1942 and lived in a tent. During her interview, she describes working conditions for maids and the Culinary Union strikes between 1969 and 1984.
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Interview with Viola Johnson conducted by Claytee D. White on March 12, 1996. Johnson lived in a tent when she moved from Fordyce to Las Vegas in 1942. She describes working conditions for maids and the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 strikes between 1969 and 1984.
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Essie Shelton Jacobs (Essie Jean Shelton) was born in Fordyce, Arkansas on July, 11, 1925. Jacobs arrived in Las Vegas 1963 and worked in housekeeping at Aladdin Hotel for twenty-three years. Active in the Culinary Union, she worked as a supervisor and shop steward.
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Eva Poole Whaley was born on November 22, 1942 in Fordyce, Arkansas. She moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in the early 1960s. She worked in the Clark County School District. She and her husband were restaurant owners before Eva worked at Nevada Power, and then for the telephone company.
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Oral history interviews with John Edmond conducted by Claytee D. White on February 19 and 25, 2013 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. Edmond discusses his family history in Tallulah, Louisiana and moving to Las Vegas, Nevada before Basic Magnesium, Inc. drew many African Americans to the region. He recalls working as a young boy at the local bowling alley and later attending college in Seattle, Washington. After college, Edmond returned to Las Vegas and became the first Black baccarat dealer at the Stardust Hotel working for Frank Rosenthal. He discusses later owning the largest shopping center in the city.
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View at dusk of the Sands Hotel and neon sign seen from the street. Tallulah Bankhead headlines the marquee.
Site Name: Sands Hotel
Address: 3355 Las Vegas Boulevard South
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