Oral History Research Center News
Current Oral History Research Center News
University Libraries adds first-person accounts to the historical record of the Dec. 6 campus shooting.
News highlights starring UNLV students and faculty who made local and national headlines.
The center's newest project will chronicle the extensive and rich history of sports in Las Vegas.
A collection of news stories and highlights featuring UNLV students and faculty.
UNLV director of oral history Claytee White talks about the essential role of Black performers in desegregating the Las Vegas Strip.
The Oral History Research Center and its inaugural director, Claytee White, celebrate 20 years.
Oral History Research Center In The News
UNLV'S Oral History Research Center is embarking on a project tracking the history of sports in Las Vegas. "It's kind of hard not to think about sports when you think about Las Vegas right now," said Oral History Research Center Project Manager Stefani Evans.
The building that housed the Holy Cow Casino and Brewery, on the northeast corner of Sahara and the Strip, made Las Vegas history for a couple of big reasons.
As Sara told UNLV oral historian Claytee White, “From the day Roosevelt was elected we had a picture of him in our house. And I still have it in my house.”
In 1960, Dr. James B. McMillan served as president of the local Las Vegas NAACP, Branch 1111. In March of that year, he received a letter from the organization’s national office in New York — encouraging branches nationwide to elevate activities that would lead to integration of public accommodations. McMillan, using that same mode of communication, sent a letter to Las Vegas Mayor Oran Gragson — demanding integration of the Strip and Downtown in two weeks. McMillan clearly stated that if integration did not occur, the Black community would march down the Strip on the Saturday evening of March 26, 1960.
About half a block away from where a now-viral TikTok was filmed showing racist harassment against a Black man sits a state historical marker titled “African Americans and the Boston Saloon.” It details the story of William A.G. Brown — a freeborn Black man who, between 1866 and 1875, operated the Boston Saloon, one of the mining boomtown’s best known taverns. Decorated with intricate gas lamps and crystal goblets, the saloon offered an upscale atmosphere that contrasted the stereotypical image of a seedy saloon — even recognized by figures such as Mark Twain.
About half a block away from where a now-viral TikTok was filmed showing racist harassment against a Black man sits a state historical marker titled “African Americans and the Boston Saloon.” It details the story of William A.G. Brown — a freeborn Black man who, between 1866 and 1875, operated the Boston Saloon, one of the mining boomtown’s best known taverns. Decorated with intricate gas lamps and crystal goblets, the saloon offered an upscale atmosphere that contrasted the stereotypical image of a seedy saloon — even recognized by figures such as Mark Twain.
