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Transcript from interview with Rejoyce Williams by Claytee White, June 12, 1996
Rejoyce Williams moved to Las Vegas with her husband and their six children in 1960. Williams grew up in Fordyce, Arkansas, and has also lived in California. When she arrived in Las Vegas, she worked as a maid at the Las Vegas Hilton and participated in the Culinary Union strike in 1970. In the interview, she discusses her involvement in church activities, and other anecdotes from her employment.
Text
Lillie and Johnny Smith oral history interview
Oral history interview with Lillie and Johnny Smith conducted by Claytee D. White on October 19, 2023 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, the couple recalls meeting in Tallulah, Louisiana and marrying in 1973. In 1986, they relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada. Both Lillie and Johnny went to Job Corp and received training that they insist changed their lives and the trajectory of their family. Johhny learned how to drive and operate heavy machinery, and his job at Republic Services utilizes those skills. Lillie became a social worker after obtaining a master's degree.
Archival Collection
Johnson, Viola, 1921-2004
Viola Johnson was born October 12th, 1921 in Fordyce, Arkansas. Johnson moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1942 and lived in a tent. During her interview, she describes working conditions for maids and the Culinary Union strikes between 1969 and 1984.
Person
Jacobs, Essie, 1925-1999
Essie Shelton Jacobs (Essie Jean Shelton) was born in Fordyce, Arkansas on July, 11, 1925. Jacobs arrived in Las Vegas 1963 and worked in housekeeping at Aladdin Hotel for twenty-three years. Active in the Culinary Union, she worked as a supervisor and shop steward.
Person
Audio recording clip of interview with Judge Lee Gates by Claytee D. White, December 5, 1996
Part of an interview with Judge Lee Gates by Claytee D. White on December 5, 1996. Gates explores his mother's motivations for moving to Las Vegas in the 1950s.
Sound
Whaley, Eva Poole
Eva Poole Whaley was born on November 22, 1942 in Fordyce, Arkansas. She moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in the early 1960s. She worked in the Clark County School District. She and her husband were restaurant owners before Eva worked at Nevada Power, and then for the telephone company.
Person
John Edmond oral history interview
Oral history interviews with John Edmond conducted by Claytee D. White on February 19 and 25, 2013 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. Edmond discusses his family history in Tallulah, Louisiana and moving to Las Vegas, Nevada before Basic Magnesium, Inc. drew many African Americans to the region. He recalls working as a young boy at the local bowling alley and later attending college in Seattle, Washington. After college, Edmond returned to Las Vegas and became the first Black baccarat dealer at the Stardust Hotel working for Frank Rosenthal. He discusses later owning the largest shopping center in the city.
Archival Collection