Interview with William H. Bailey conducted by Betty Rosenthal on March 16, 1978. Arriving in Las Vegas in 1955, Bailey became an assistant producer and master of ceremonies in the first interracial hotel in Nevada, the Moulin Rouge, and subsequently worked in radio and television. Bailey reflects on the history of discrimination in Las Vegas and its impact on the entertainment industry. Bailey's wife Anna was the first black girl dancer on the Strip in the 1961 production, "Nymphs of the Nile." Appointed by Governor Grant Sawyer to the Nevada State Equal Rights Investigatory Commission in 1961, Bailey served as its chairman and traveled throughout the state holding hearings. He describes his work on the commission and how discrimination in housing personally affected him.
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Oral history interview with Thelma Turner conducted by Claytee D. White on October 21, 2004 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Turner discusses her family background and moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1947. She describes the city at the time and recalls her educational experiences while attending the Fifth Street School and Las Vegas High School. Turner then talks about her involvement as a teacher for Sunday church school and her employment at the Moulin Rouge Hotel-Casino as a change girl and waitress. Later, Turner discusses the Helldorado Parade, racial integration, and being the first African American family to move to North Las Vegas in 1966. Lastly, Turner describes housing and what the community was like in the Westside.
Archival Collection
The Q. B. Bush Papers are comprised of Q. B. Bush's personal papers dating from 1957 to 2018 and document Bush's work in Westside Las Vegas, Nevada casinos including the Moulin Rouge, Town Tavern, and the El Morocco. The collection also documents Bush's involvement with the Dealers Security Association and the association's effort to provide better working conditions for African American casino employees. Included are both original photographs and copies of photographs that document the African American casinos where Bush worked, as well as the Bush family at various events.
Archival Collection
