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Barbara Jean Drew oral history interview
Oral history interview with Barbara Jean Drew conducted by Claytee D. White on May 17, 2021 for African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. Barbara Drew is the Dean of the Academy for Ministers, teaches Bible study, and performs other spiritual work at New Jerusalem Worship Center. Drew migrated to Las Vegas from Fortune Fork, Louisiana, just two miles outside the city limits of Tallulah.
This interview covers life in the Black community beginning when Drew arrived in 1961. She spoke about the importance of businesses like the Brown Derby, Hamburger Heaven, and the Town Tavern that hosted jazz on Sunday afternoons with a dance floor that she enjoyed. She discussed her first job running American Linen, a Dry Cleaners owned by Phil Shapiro; Shapiro mentored Drew, teaching her about business operations, purchasing property for her family, bookkeeping, and the importance of having a bank account. She also spoke of a neighborhood where neighbors helped neighbors and opportunities that flourished throughout the Black community. Subjects discussed include: Jackson Ave, Town Tavern, New Jerusalem Worship Center, Kasper Park, Berkley Square, and Phil Shapiro.
Archival Collection
Lisby, Lee Henry
Lee Henry Lisby was born July 01, 1902 in Louisiana. In 1942, Lisby moved from Tallulah, Louisiana to Las Vegas, Nevada, where he found success in owning real estate. He retired as a sawmill worker, truck driver, construction laborer, and hotel porter. His first housing was an old Army hospital tent, and then he built a house. All of his ten children graduated from high school in Las Vegas.
Person
"Thesis Problem: Studying Southern Nevada Migration": manuscript draft by Roosevelt Fitzgerald
From the Roosevelt Fitzgerald Professional Papers (MS-01082) -- Unpublished manuscripts file.
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Rogers, James M.
Bishop James M. Rogers was born around 1951 and was raised on a plantation in Louisiana near Tallulah, Louisiana. He arrived to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1970 at the age of 19, and was mentored by Dr. F.N. Addison. He also started to attend community rallies and town hall meetings. His initial involvement in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) happened through supporting his pastor and getting involved in marches and news conferences.
Person
Shepherd, Henry S.
Henry Shepherd was born and raised on a plantation in Tallulah, Louisiana, where the primary crops were peanuts and corn. When he moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1967, he worked as a bartender at the Sands Hotel. Shepherd was able to send his daughter to college because he was working for the Culinary Workers Union Local 226. Leaving the Sands Hotel, he went to the Landmark Hotel and Casino, and then went to Circus Circus Hotel. The Luxor Hotel and Casino was his final stop in a bartending career that spanned over three decades.
Person
Whaley, Nathaniel, 1934-
Nathaniel Whaley was born on July 01, 1934 in Tallulah, Louisiana. He moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1943. He married his wife Eva, in 1984. Before leaving high school to provide for his new wife and son, Nathaniel had a successful high school career as an accomplished athlete and Eagle Scout in the first black Boy Scout troop in the area. Nathaniel would go on to have a fruitful career as a mason and contractor, literally helping build the city of Las Vegas. His jobs included the Dunes, the Sands, Union Plaza and the Maxim Hotel.
Person
Shepherd, Henry S.
Henry Shepherd was born and raised on a plantation in Tallulah, Louisiana, where the primary crops were peanuts and corn. When he moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1967, he worked as a bartender at the Sands Hotel. Shepherd was able to send his daughter to college because he was working for the Culinary Workers Union Local 226. Leaving the Sands Hotel, he went to the Landmark Hotel and Casino, and then went to Circus Circus Hotel. The Luxor Hotel and Casino was his final stop in a bartending career that spanned over three decades.
Person
Fountain, Ernest M., 1954-
Ernest M. Fountain was born in Tallulah, Louisiana. After finishing his bachelor's degree in business administration, Fountain moved to Las Vegas, Nevada to study banking and finance. He began his banking career in 1976 when he started working for Valley Bank of Nevada. At the time, he was one of only two black lending officers in the state of Nevada. He is the former Director of the Las Vegas Minority Business Development Center, and is also the founder and past president of the Black Business Council of Nevada, formed in 1991.
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