Staff Highlight: Claytee White & Black History Month 2015

Claytee White, Director of the Center for Oral History Research Center in Special Collections, will be speaking and moderating at a number of events in February in celebration of Black History Month.  All of these events are free and open to the public.  

In addition to her work as Director of the OHRC, Claytee frequently lectures on the history of African-Americans in Las Vegas. She is the author of several articles including “Eight Dollars a Day and Working in the Shade: An Oral History of African American Migrant Women in the Las Vegas Gaming Industry” in African American Women Confront The West, 1600-2000; “The March That Never Happened: Desegregating the Las Vegas Strip,” Nevada Law Journal 5 (2004): 71-83; and “Marking the Unique Moulin Rouge Era,” Casino & Gaming International, 2006 Issue1, 15-21.

The Black Experience: My Story
Saturday, February 7, 2015 | 2:00pm | Winchester Cultural Center

Community members will tell personal stories relating to their experiences of being an African American.  The stories will be performed through monologues in a TED Talk-style format, plus poetry, dance and music.  Each story will translate a revelatory moment or personal insight while exploring the rich history of Black Americans.  The event will be moderated by Claytee White, UNLV historian, directed by Ellis Rice, and the speakers and performers include: Las Vegas Singer and Performer Clint Holmes, longtime Las Vegas resident Dr. Al Gourrier Sr., publisher Ramon Savoy, the Austin Dancers dance company, pianist and Las Vegas performer Junior Brantley, and Left of Center Art Gallery owner and curator Vicki Richardson. For more information please call 702.455.7340.

“From Selma to Las Vegas” (Keynote speaker)
Sunday, February 8, 2015| 10:00am | Progressive Pilgrim Fellowship Church

Claytee will speak about the role of the black church in political and civil rights activism with a focus on the roles that women played in this movement.

Through My Brown Eyes...An Afternoon with Ruby Duncan
Friday, February 13, 2015 | 2:30 – 4:30pm | Greenspun Auditorium, UNLV Campus

Claytee will serve as moderator for this interview with celebrated Las Vegas activist Ruby Duncan whose story has lasting value beyond the Welfare Rights Movement of the 1970s. The conversation will take us beyond Las Vegas to Miami, Florida and as far away as Russia.

Ruby Duncan, Mary Wesley, Alversa Beals, Emma Stampley and Essie Henderson, among others, were arrested many times for protest activities such as the eat-in at the Stardust Hotel where children who had not eaten meat in a while enjoyed steak, lobster, and prime rib.  The well known Shell Oil heiress, Maya Miller, funded many of the organization’s trips to Carson City where Duncan learned to lobby the state legislature, became active in Democratic Party politics, and eventually traveled as far as Russia espousing women’s rights. Even today Duncan continues to receive honors for her work on issues regarding the poor..

History of Blacks in Las Vegas panel
Tuesday, February 17, 2015 | 9:00am-11:00am | Robert O. Gibson Middle School

Claytee will moderate this panel of community participants discussing the history of blacks in Las Vegas – there will be ample time for community questions and interaction with students.

Black Empowerment : A Link to Student Success
Thursday, Feb 19 |  2:00pm | CSN's Cheyenne Campus, Morse Arberry Bldg, Room 1772

This panel, moderated by Clark County Commissioner Lawrence Weekly, will include Claytee, Craig Knight, GM of KCEP Radio,; Karen Laing, CEO Nevada Partners; and a CSN faculty member (TBA).

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