In 1964, the year that Vincent Kethen was born, desegregation of Las Vegas schools began. Like many African-American children living in the Las Vegas Westside neighborhood, Vincent was bused out of his neighborhood in third grade to attend a white school. In his case, this meant attending John S. Park Elementary and later other predominantly white schools. He talks about these experiences. John S. Park was a neighborhood of manicured lawns, while the school bus and the classroom were places fraught with fisticuffs. The experience of growing up during that era are recalled. Vincent provides a sense of that it was like to reside in his home neighborhood and the onslaught of the drug culture altered gang-lead neighborhoods. Being bused had positive results he explains, such as athletics, which served as an equalizer. For Vincent, a solid upbringing, which included love of church and the chance to attend college, encouraged him to make good decisions about his future. He received a four-year degree and he returned to Las Vegas to "give back." For over a decade and a half, her has coached young basketball players and helped them see their options for a brighter future than they might otherwise have seen.
Ramont Williams travelled from Crip to Christ. The first official Crip in Las Vegas, Williams migrated this culture to Las Vegas from the Los Angeles area. He founded the GQs who later became known as the Donna Street Crips. The Street was known as the bloodiest street in Clark County. On August 14, 1980, Williams was sentenced to 61 years in prison. Divine intervention put him back on the streets three times. That is why you will find Ramont Williams in the streets addressing the needs, hurts, and interests of those touched by gang violence.
Oral history interview with Eric Mendoza conducted by Holly O'Donnell on November 29, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Eric Mendoza shares his family's chain migration history from Manila, Philippines to the United States and his difficult immigration and naturalization process once arriving in America in 1996. He talks about what brought him to live in Las Vegas, Nevada, his education and professional pursuits, what his life is like in the United States compared to that of the Philippines, and the lives of his eight siblings. Eric Mendoza discusses the historical past of the Philippines, the infrastructure in place there, and government corruption. He also speaks to Filipino traditions and festivals, food and customs, his cultural identity, and assimilating to American culture.
Marcia L. Washington was born in Tallulah, Louisiana on February 8th, 1953. She moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1966, she was 13 and had always attended black only schools. In Las Vegas, she would experience her first school integration and bussing. Marcia Washington and Dave Washington got married on June 10, 1972, and eventually had four children, April, Vernon, Angel and Amber. In 2000, her passions lead her to become the first African American on the State Board of Education, where she was an active voice for eight years.
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.