Interview with Woodrow Wilson conducted by Jamie Coughtry in 1989. Born in a Mississippi sawmill town in 1915 to a family that ran a boarding house, Wilson completed high school at a private boarding school and attended two years of junior college before the declining economy forced him into the Civilian Conservation Corps to work as a cook and baker. Migrating west in 1940, Wilson soon settled in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he worked for Basic Magnesium, Inc. He became a prominent Westside community activist, founding a federal credit union and serving as president of the Las Vegas NAACP. Wilson worked for over thirty years as a warehouseman for companies that occupied the Basic Magnesium site. In 1966, he was elected to the state assembly, becoming the first black legislator in the history of Nevada, advocating open housing legislation, anti-discrimination regulations, welfare reform, and civil rights.
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Interview with Lucille Bryant conducted by Claytee D. White on December 13, 1995. Moving to Las Vegas in 1953 from Tallulah, Louisiana, Bryant worked in the housekeeping departments of the Algiers Hotel, the Silver Slipper, the Sands, and the Stardust. Bryant provides an overview of pre-Civil Rights era conditions in Tallulah and Las Vegas including housing, schools, and working conditions as well as her experiences with the Culinary Workers Union Local 226.
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Oral history interview with Essie Lee Jones conducted by Claytee D. White on June 05, 1996 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. Jones begins by discussing her upbringing in Tallulah, Louisiana, working in the cotton fields with both white and African American workers, and explaining how she came to move to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1970. She describes becoming a maid at the Stardust Resort and Casino and later working as a waitress at the Frontier Hotel and Casino until her retirement. Jones talks about being a member of the Culinary Workers Union, the African American community's relationship with the union, and her experiences with racial discrimination and race relations in Las Vegas and Tallulah as an African American woman.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Lucille Bryant conducted by Claytee White on December 13, 1995 and March 01, 1996 for the Women's Research Institute of Nevada (WRIN) Las Vegas Women Oral History Project. Bryant begins the interview discussing her early life in Tallulah, Louisiana. Next Bryant discusses moving to Las Vegas, Nevada to look for work in 1953. Bryant discusses at length life in Tallulah from work to race relations. Bryant goes on to discuss her husband and children and to describe their family life. Bryant lastly discusses her experiences as an African American woman employed as a housekeeper on the Strip and her involvement in the Culinary Union local 226.
Archival Collection
Sonny (Sandy C.) Thomas is from Fordyce AR. He worked in hotels for over 30 years before securing job as funeral director for which he was trained.
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Oral history interview with Maria Benítez conducted by Monserrath Hernández and Maribel Estrada Calderón on June 21, 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. Maria Benítez is the image of a hardworking and determined Salvadoran woman. After facing adversity amidst the Salvadorian Civil War she talks about her journey as a nurse in El Salvador and migrating to the United States. Here in Las Vegas, she has worked as a cook on the Strip, been an active member of her church, and supported the education of her children selling pupusas. Subjects discussed include: El Salvador, Salvadorian Civil War, Migration, US Citizenship Documentation, and Judaism.
Archival Collection
From the Roosevelt Fitzgerald Professional Papers (MS-01082) -- Unpublished manuscripts file.
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