Oral history interview with Justice Michael L. Douglas and Judge Timothy C. Williams conducted by Claytee D. White on November 10, 2011 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Justice Douglas opens the interview by discussing Arthur "Art" L. Williams Jr., a lawyer who was receiving a lifetime achievement award from the Las Vegas Chapter of the National Bar Association (LVNBA) later that month. He describes Art William's legacy to the legal community in Las Vegas, Nevada, his focus on forming the LVNBA, and how he created scholarships in Las Vegas to ensure that the area would be able to support future lawyers. Justice Douglas recalls Art William's career, credentials, and reputation in the Las Vegas Valley during the late 1980s. Judge Timothy Williams then discusses his friendship with Art Williams Jr. and how they first met when Williams Jr. invited him to join the LVNBA. He describes how Williams Jr. was foundational to the LVNBA, the importance of scholarships to Williams Jr., and his fundraising efforts.
Archival Collection
Oral history interviews with Reverend Jesse Scott conducted by Claytee D. White on April 15, 2004, May 20, 2004, June 04, 2004, and June 17, 2004 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Scott begins his interviews by discussing his personal history in Louisiana during the 1930s. He describes race relations at the time and recalls anecdotes about his experiences while he was attending college at Southern University. He then discusses the discriminatory actions, especially towards African American men, and how it affected them. Scott then talks about his involvement with the Los Angeles, California branch of the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in the late 1940s, women's participation in the NAACP, and the implementation of equal employment opportunities. Lastly, Scott discusses moving from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1970 after receiving an offer to serve as the executive director for the Las Vegas branch of the NAACP.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Mike Montano conducted by Lisa Gioia-Acres on September 19, 2008 for the All That Jazz Oral History Project. Montano begins by discussing his mother and father, who met in Hawaii when his father immigrated there from the Philippines, and later moved to Stockton, California during the late 1930s after Montano was born. He describes racial prejudice he has faced as an Asian American, how he developed interest in playing the piano as a child, and his siblings. Montano continues, detailing how he started playing jazz while attending the College of the Pacific and the musicians he played with. He describes first going to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1960 and returning throughout the 1960s as a member of various touring jazz bands. He talks about the other places he performed around the world and the celebrities and prominent musicians he has met. Montano concludes by reflecting on his career as a musician and his life in Las Vegas after moving there permanently in 1974.
Archival Collection
The Milt Palmer Photographs (approximately 1950-1991) contain original and reproductions of photographic prints taken by Milt Palmer, a photographer who worked for the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, and later under the division known as the Las Vegas News Bureau. Palmer captured celebrities and entertainers performing their Las Vegas shows, athletes in various sporting events, and various political figures. The majority of photographs in the collection are from approximately the 1950s to 1960s and some are signed by entertainers. The collection also includes digital reproductions of approximately half of the images found in the collection.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview roundtable with the Austin Family and Chazz Young conducted by Claytee D. White on August 06, 2014 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, the Austin family discusses their dance school, Austin Dancers, which they brought with them when they moved to Las Vegas, Nevada from New York City, New York in 1993. Linda Austin discusses her early interest in drumming, which later lead to a successful career as a musician, where she performed for celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey and Maya Angelou, and played with other musicians such as Quincy Jones. Charles "Chazz" Young also discusses his career as a dance teacher at Austin Dancers and the West Las Vegas Arts Center. The family discusses the cultural differences between Las Vegas and Harlem, where they came from in New York City, as well as the differences between teaching the children of Las Vegas compared to the children they taught in New York.
Archival Collection
Oral history interviews with the family of Joe Louis conducted by Claytee D. White on November 18, 2014 and February 06, 2015 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In these interviews, the family of Joe Louis discuss his life and career as a famous African American boxer from the 1930s to 1950s. They describe charity fights he held to raise money for the Navy Relief Fund during World War II, which later became an issue for him when the Internal Revenue Service claimed he still owed taxes on the money he raised despite it being donated. The family discusses what it was like growing up and meeting celebrity friends of Louis', such as Frank Sinatra and Muhammad Ali, Louis' involvement with the Moulin Rouge Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Louis' status as an African American sports hero. They also detail his eventual retirement from boxing, his job working as a greeter at Caesars Palace, and his death.
Archival Collection
The Rita Deanin Abbey Exhibition Catalogs (1975-1991) are comprised primarily of exhibition catalogs featuring Abbey's art at various museums and international exhibitions including the Palm Springs Desert Museum, the University of New Mexico Art Museum, Biennale Internationale d’Email Laval, and the International Exhibition of Enamelling Art in Japan. The collection also contains invitations to Abbey's art shows at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas as well as a copy of Abbey's curriculum vitae. Also included are select issues of
Archival Collection
The Hal Rothman Faculty Papers (approximately 1930-2006) are comprised primarily of research, teaching, and professional papers of Hal Rothman, professor of history at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). The papers include Rothman's research notes, manuscript drafts, conference articles, lecture notes, audiovisual material for his book
Archival Collection
Oral history interviews with Ida Pinckney conducted by Claytee D. White on August 23, 2012 and November 05, 2012 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Pinckney discusses her personal history and life in Las Vegas, Nevada after moving there with her family as a child in 1942. She begins by talking about her family and living in a tent house in the Westside community of Las Vegas. Pinckney describes how she feels Westside development has been stunted by an overabundance of churches in the area not paying taxes, life in the Westside during the 1940s, and her experiences as an African American woman in Las Vegas. Other topics of discussion include Pinckney being a member of Culinary Workers Union Local 226, her father and brother working at the Nevada Test Site, and various aspects of Las Vegas history. Willie Jean Beatty also participates in the interview, helping Pinckney expand on topics such as the presence of organized crime in casinos and her involvement in the Sisters Network: An Afro-American Breast Cancer Survivors Organization.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Roger Bryan conducted by Paul Murphy on February 27, 1979 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Bryan, who was the principal of Harvey Dondero Elementary School at the time of the interview, mainly discusses his background in education and his experiences teaching at various schools around Southern Nevada. Bryan mentions several of the cities he lived in prior to coming to Las Vegas, Nevada as well as the various parts of town he lived in after arriving. He also talks specifically about the schools he attended in Las Vegas, superintendents in charge of the district, his decisions while on the school board, the extent of vandalism in schools, and how the school district has changed over the years. Bryan finalizes the interview with a discussion of the most influential teachers he had when he was a student.
Archival Collection
