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Unsung Pillars of the Westside: A Timeline of Legacy

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Welcome to our UNSUNG HEROES OF THE WESTSIDE (also known as the Pearson Pillar Mural Project), your gateway to exploring the inspiring history of the Historic Westside, centered around the Pearson Community Center. Here, you will find a thoughtfully curated collection of graphics and photos organized chronologically, each corresponding to the 21 pillars showcased within the community center. The stunning artwork for these pillars is crafted by the talented artist Mike Norice, while the timeline has been developed by historian, Claytee White.

On the sidebar, you can delve deeper into this project, discover biographies of Mike Norice and Claytee White, and stay tuned for an upcoming short documentary that will highlight the painting and research behind this meaningful initiative. Join us in celebrating the rich heritage of our community!

https://main--clarkcountynv--aemsites.aem.page/assets/images/government/departments/parks___recreation/services/public_art/projects/pearson-pillar-unsung-1870.pngThe First Black Landowner in Clark County

John Howell, recognized as one of the first landowners in the early history of the Las Vegas Valley, was a key figure in the area who first appeared on the US census in 1870. His land acquisition occurred during a transformative period marked by westward expansion and the discovery of mineral wealth. Howell, a freed Black had been enslaved in North Carolina.

In the late 19th century, the area was home to a sparse population of Native Americans and a few settlers. The discovery of silver in Virginia City’s Comstock Lode in 1859, spurred migration and economic activity, increasing an interest in land ownership throughout all of Nevada and surrounding areas. Howell owned The Big Springs (today’s Spring Preserve) with a partner, Jim Wilson. Howell worked as a farmer, freighter, gold miner, and rancher. His land ownership initiated agricultural and economic development in the area, laying the groundwork for future settlement and growth.

Howell married a Paiute woman and fathered several children. A historian at the Spring Mountain Ranch State Park wrote, “There are no statues of John Howell in any of the communities where he lived or that he helped to establish, but the foundations of our communities and our economy were laid by his industry and grit, and by many unsung people like him. His businesses and ranches were links in the slowly-spun web of commerce that opened this once-remote corner of the Mojave Desert and allowed the world to rush in to make the oasis we know today. These are the contributions of the first Black landowner in our [valley].”

https://main--clarkcountynv--aemsites.aem.page/assets/images/government/departments/parks___recreation/services/public_art/projects/pearson-pillar-unsung-1882.pngThe First Lady of Las Vegas

Helen J. Stewart sold 1,834 acres of land, to William Clark, majority owner of the San Pedro, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City Railroad. She reaped $55,000 from the sale which included water rights. JT McWilliams surveyed the land known as the Las Vegas Ranch before the sale took place.

While assessing the accuracy of his measurements, McWilliams discovered 80 acres of unclaimed land west of the area where the tracks would be laid. In 1904, He claimed the acreage and laid out a townsite. Stewart, as many women in the early days of westward migration, took advantage of freedoms that did not exist in establish cites of the era. She used this freedom to run a successful business, hire a tutor to teach her children, and became the postmistress of the area. In 1884, her husband, Archibald Stewart had been murdered in a gun fight at a neighboring ranch. Thus, Helen operated the Las Vegas Ranch as a successful stopping place for travelers as well as cultivated some of the ranch to grow alfalfa, grain, vegetables, fruit, and produce wine. Paiute women and Stewart formed a relationship that led to her lifelong fascination with their art of basket weaving.

https://main--clarkcountynv--aemsites.aem.page/assets/images/government/departments/parks___recreation/services/public_art/projects/pearson-pillar-unsung-1block17.pngBlock 17: A Black Space

As Las Vegas began in 1905 under the rule of the San Pedro, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City Railroad, it was decided that Block 17 would house Black residents. Neighboring Block 16 was the red-light district that allowed alcohol, gambling, and prostitution. Blacks worked on the railroad, owned eateries, operated boarding houses, and engaged in other entrepreneurial pursuits. Mary Nettles owned at least three properties on Block 17, took in washing, and operated several boarding houses. She acted as a spokesperson for the Black community in town meetings and was one of the five founders of the Las Vegas branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The additional founders were Clarence Ray, Zimmie Turner, Bill Jones, and Arthur McCants who became the first branch president.

Block 17 set Blacks apart just like in other cities across the country during the era of segregation commonly known as Jim Crow. As the downtown population swelled in the late 1920s, talk of people moving out of downtown, to allow businesses to grown, intensified.

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In 1917, The Black community established the first church, Zion Methodist, on Block 17. The land was granted to them by the owners of the San Pedro, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City Railroad as it did for all churches. Mrs. Mary Nettles invited Rev. Bradford of Arizona to come and organize the group into a congregation. He agreed, becoming the first pastor of the newly organized, non-denominational, United Methodist Church. The first Black pastor, Rev. Henry Cook took the reins in 1940.

Zion was just the beginning of the movement to establish a Black religious community in Las Vegas. The Black community established more churches than any other Las Vegas community. Pushed into these sanctuaries for the formation of clubs, groups, civil rights activities, and to build community, churches gave relief from life’s inequities. Black churches gave solace that championed a robust civic and spiritual life.

Helen J. Stewart donated the land that would become today’s Historic Westside School. In the beginning, the school educated Paiute, White, Latino/Latina, and Black students. Built in 1923, as a two-room school, it expanded in 1928 and a second building was added in 1948. As the 1930s brought the Black community wholly into the Westside area, the school followed suit. The first Black teacher, Mabel Hoggard was hired by the Clark County School District in 1947 and placed at the Westside School where Mrs. French was the principal. Many Black teachers followed Mrs. Hoggard including Barbara Kirkland, Henry Moore, and Bernice Moten.

Initially known as Las Vegas Grammar School #1, after forty-four years, in 1967 it ended it tenure as a school building. Today, the school serves the community as a design center, an events and meeting location, and the home of KCEP, the Black radio station.

https://main--clarkcountynv--aemsites.aem.page/assets/images/government/departments/parks___recreation/services/public_art/projects/pearson-pillar-unsung-1931.pngThe Boldest and the Baddest

The Las Vegas branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) began in 1928 by founders Mary Nettles, Zimmie Turner, Arthur McCants, Bill Jones, and Clarence Ray. McCants became the first branch president. It was simply time for the community to take this step. In 1925, the Ku Klux Klan had marched down Fremont Street in full regalia and in 1928 Congress had voted to build the Hoover Dam. As this period of population growth ensued, racism began to harden.

Once the NAACP founders learned of the discriminatory hiring practices at the dam, they acted immediately. This group and others that composed the original leadership class became activists to ensure just treatment for black men who sought jobs at the dam site. They responded to the situation in two distinct ways. First, prominent community activists formed a Colored Citizens' Labor and Protective Association to locate and prepare the proper candidates for dam employment. Second, they contacted the regional NAACP representative, William Pickens, known as the troubleshooter. Pickens arrived, was welcomed by the mayor Ernie Cragin, and delivered a speech in the Majestic Theatre building. He reminded the audience composed of the combined community that "this is taxpayer money that you're spending" to build the dam. Shortly after this visit, blacks found that jobs had become available to them but in meager numbers.

https://main--clarkcountynv--aemsites.aem.page/assets/images/government/departments/parks___recreation/services/public_art/projects/pearson-pillar-unsung-1941.pngThe Great Migration

Although few Blacks were given the opportunity to work on the Hoover Dam in the early 1930s, the World War II era proved to contain different employment outcomes. When the United States of American entered the war in 1941, the country was behind in the most recent technological advances in military warfare. Germany was using war implements made from components of magnesium. A factory had to be constructed quickly near the location of the element and near a good water supply. The railway system could bring the ore from Gabs, Nevada, and Lake Mead formed by the Hoover Dam made the area of present-day Henderson, Nevada, an ideal location.

A housing development, Carver Park, was erected for Black workers and Victory Village was built for Whites. Black migrants flowed from small towns in the South like Fordyce, Arkansas, Tallulah, Louisiana, and small hamlets in Mississippi. Jobs at Basic Magnesium Inc. provided for many black families and grew the Westside community because Carver Park wasn’t ready for residents until 1943. The migration to Las Vegas was merely a small portion of the Great Migration that spanned from 1910 to the 1970s.

Architect, Paul R. Williams designed splendid structures for the elite and famous in Southern California. It is a little-known fact that he shared his talents generously in Clark County as well. His first project was the Carver Park complex at Basic Magnesium Inc., the war munitions plant that started the City of Henderson. That World War II migration brought him back to build more homes for Blacks to include Berkley Square, Highland Square, and Cadillac Arms. To illustrate his reach, while those 1954-55 developments were under construction in areas snugly surrounding the Westside, Williams also erected the Royal Nevada Hotel Casino on the Las Vegas Strip.

Berkley Square was the first Black housing development in Las Vegas. Paul Williams used his concept of the small house movement to construct these 148 homes. Prior to this development, Barbara Kirkland recalled what it was like to have a house: Most African Americans who wanted to own their own homes, either in the Historic Westside community or anywhere else in Las Vegas, had to save their cash and build their own home without assistance from a home lending institution. And that’s how we did it.

Berkley Square though proved to be a personal investment of Paul R. Williams’ time. There are still several mysteries that surround this project that opened for occupancy in 1954 but designed by Williams in 1949 with the original name of Westside Park. Financier Thomas L. Berkley, attorney, media owner, developer, civil rights advocate partnered with Paul R. Williams in this venture. Edward A. Freeman and J.J. Byrnes of Los Angeles financed the project. The developer was Leonard A. Wilson of Las Vegas. Construction was supervised by Harry L. Wyatt of the Las Vegas firm Burke and Wyatt. Massie L. Kennard, a Las Vegas civil rights leader, was the real estate agent. I surmise that this elaborate collaboration extended to Highland Square and Cadillac Arms.

As Charles I. West and his wife vacationed on the beach in Santa Monica with Alice Key, Dottie West, tired of the severe winters in Detroit, recalled that Count Basie had told them that more Black professionals were needed in Las Vegas. The three eagerly investigated the capital of Nevada and learned that the next state examination for physicians was being administered in a few days. Dr. West passed the exam, immediately packed up his office, and relocated to Clark County in 1954 as a member of the Great Migration. His best friend, James B. McMillan, soon completed his military duty in the Korean War and joined him in Las Vegas the following year and opened a dental office in the Moulin Rouge strip of offices and shops.

Hank Greenspun, owner of the Las Vegas Sun newspaper, devoted his October 10, 1984 “Where I Stand” column to West upon his passing. His tribute in defining of the life that West lived: “The freedom fight has lost a true champion.” Dr. West served as the first Black surgeon on the staff of Southern Nevada Memorial Hospital, now University Medical Center, acted as team physician to Rancho High School for ten years, and was appointed to the Governor’s Medical Advisory Board for the Aging. His influence in the field of civil rights was just as impressive. He revitalized the defunct Nevada Voter’s League, founded the first Black newspaper, The Voice, and was recognized for membership in the Southern Nevada Human Relations Committee and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

McMillan was the dentist who introduced and performed dental implants after training in the Revolutionary Dental Science Advancement in Puerto Rico and later, in 1966, in Paris, France. And equally important was his civil rights work where he was elected as president of the local branch of the NAACP, became a member of the Clark County School Board of Trustees, and was the first Black on the State Democratic Central Committee. He was an active lobbyist for equal representation of minorities in Clark County and an outspoken and effective advocate for better housing, employment, transportation for seniors, and general treatment of and for minorities. The integration of public accommodations in Clark County and the City of Las Vegas was achieved during his leadership of the NAACP in 1960.

Charles Kellar migrated to Las Vegas in 1959 to sit for the Nevada State Bar exam. It was Thurgood Marshall’s goal as head of the National NAACP Legal Defense Fund to position a Black attorney in every state in the union. Nevada was one of the states without one so Marshall persuaded Attorney Charles Kellar to move to Clark County to galvanize civil rights efforts throughout the state. In addition to many years of work for individual liberties in New York, he also owned a good deal of real property that he sold when he relocated to Nevada. The cashier’s check was so thoroughly examined when he presented it at a local bank that the police was called. The thinking at that time in our history was that no Black man could possibly have almost $300,000. Kellar laughed and began studying for the Nevada real estate exam and volunteering in the NAACP office to pass the mandatory one-year period before he could sit for the Nevada Bar exam. When results were posted, Kellar’s score was not on the list. He fought the State of Nevada for five years before his license to practice was granted.

From that rocky start, Kellar successfully filed a consent decree in 1971 that forced the town and Clark Kellar to free up 12% of jobs in a wide array of categories for Blacks. He worked on issues of school integration well after the federal courts had decreed in Brown v Board that schools should be integrated. The issues of housing, advocating for the poor were always on his To Do list. In his later years, he told the local newspaper, "Having a cause to fight for gives you a purpose, and having a purpose -- a vision to accomplish something -- is so important. That's what kept me going." Kellar made his transition at age 93.

https://main--clarkcountynv--aemsites.aem.page/assets/images/government/departments/parks___recreation/services/public_art/projects/pearson-pillar-unsung-1947.pngFirst Black Casino Executive

In the book, The Warmth of Other Suns written by Isabel Wilkerson, James “Jimmy” Arthur Gay III assisted a Black traveler from Southern California with hotel accommodations on the Las Vegas Strip in Clark County. Gay was already in an executive position when Blacks could only work in the back-of-the-house as guest room attendants, porters, and linen room staff.

Gay and his wife Hazel, migrated to Clark County from Fordyce, Arkansas in 1946 with plans to start the first funeral home for Blacks. Because of his race, he was not allowed to sit for the Nevada State mortician’s examination. But he pivoted becoming the director of the Jefferson Recreational Center at C and Jefferson streets where he taught swimming, coached basketball and football, and started a pageant for girls. Soon though, in 1952, he accepted a communications position at the Sands Hotel Casino. Over his career in the Gaming industry, he also worked at the Union Plaza, Fremont, Aladdin, and Silverbird Hotel Casinos.

Gay’s list of interests and experiences extend from his college days where he became a world class sprinter. His talent as a runner placed him on the 1936 Olympic team where Jesse Owens won four gold medals. Sports were always important and added color to his life affording opportunities as the first Black person in the United States certified as a water safety instructor by the Red Cross, founding member of the Valley View Golf Club in 1958, and then to an appointment to the Nevada Athletic Commission by Governor Grant Sawyer.

His work for civil rights was just as prestigious. He was a member of the Clark County and State Democratic Central Committee, served on the Board of CCSD, and 21 years on the Executive Board of the Culinary Workers Union local 226. As the chairman of the annual NAACP Freedom Fund Banquet, he raised more money than most branches across the Country.

https://main--clarkcountynv--aemsites.aem.page/assets/images/government/departments/parks___recreation/services/public_art/projects/pearson-pillar-unsung-1940s.pngFordyce and Tallulah

The portion of the Great Migration that pushed travelers into Nevada began when the city got started in 1905. However, the official Great Migration that caused over 6 million Blacks to flee the South started around 1910 and lasted for sixty years until 1970. Forces that drove this exodus included racial violence, the need for economic and educations opportunities, and freedom from oppression. Blacks soon learned the South wasn’t the only part of the country mired in racism, it was everywhere. It followed with each step as they reached for a better life.

Fordyce, Arkansas and Tallulah, Louisiana were excellent examples of American towns that exploited Blacks through daily microaggressions, jobs at the bottom of all pay scales, inferior education, and Jim Crow treatment. The dreams they chased into Clark County led to a lesser nightmare; there were jobs. There were a few positions for Blacks in the railroad yard, then a minor number during the construction of the Hoover Dam beginning in 1931. World War II galvanized the flow of Blacks into Las Vegas as no other catalyst because the war machine demanded workers especially at Basic Magnesium Incorporated. Black men assisted in processing the ore that would be used to build bullets, rifles, airplanes, and other materials that would allow the American military to equal the technology already being used in Germany.

Many early migrants travelled by car. There were men like Red Mitchell from Tallulah who made a career of driving workers to Las Vegas, taking them home for vacations, funerals, and to urge family members to join them where you “could pick up money by the handfuls on the streets.” Blacks came in great numbers. In 1940, Blacks numbered 178 and within two years, 4000 people were added to that population demographic.

Tourists began to come to Clark County to marvel at the Hoover Dam. Housing was needed as these trips included gambling that had been legalized in 1931. The motels on Fremont Street and Las Vegas Boulevard met the initial need for shelter but not everyone wanted to gamble. In 1941, Pearl Bailey performed at the El Cortez downtown and a few years later the Deep River Boys entertained there. The El Rancho opened just south of San Francisco Street (Sahara today) and the Las Vegas Strip in Clark County began the focus on national and international entertainment. This early period was ushered in by Hollywood movie stars who were multi-talented thus the combination of song and dance was the trademark of the fledging entertainment that proceeded the lineup of Black entertainers. In 1945, the Last Frontier that had joined the El Rancho, featured Tip Tap Toe, a trio of Black tap dancers. More Blacks followed. In 1946 the golden-voiced tenor, Arthur Lee Simpkins appeared and then the Mills Brothers at the Nevada Biltmore. The banner year that catapulted the sharp rise in the numbers of Black entertainers to Clark County was 1947 when The Will Mastin Trio was booked at the El Rancho, Delta River Boys and the Nicholas Brothers at the Nevada Biltmore, and Lena Horne topped the bill at the Fabulous Flamingo. The Nicholas Brothers returned in the same year to appear at the El Rancho.

These stars stayed at boarding houses on the Westside expect for a few exceptions. Lucrative boarding house businesses allowed the Black community to see the stars in the neighborhood at restaurants, barber shops, and various beauty salons. Black stars became familiar, spent money at Black businesses, and performed jam sessions organically in small entertainment venues on Jackson Avenue. The early 1960s brought a change in the boarding house industry when integration allowed performers to live where they worked.

While at Morehouse in Atlanta, Georgia, Bob Bailey began to sing at various venues and was hired away by the Count Basie Band. He left the road in this capacity when he married Anna, a dancer, and moved to New York. They began to perform together in Clarence Robinson’s productions; one of those brought them to the Moulin Rouge in Las Vegas for the 1955 opening. The Moulin Rouge was the first integrated Hotel Casino in Clark County. It rivaled any of the famed establishments on the Las Vegas Strip. The entertainment was stellar, food was fabulous, and the audience was peppered with Hollywood celebrities nightly.

After several months of operation, the establishment’s operators decided to add a show after 2:00 in the morning. All Strip hotel ended their evenings’ entertainment with the midnight show. When the Rouge added that show, Strip entertainers, high rollers, and local dancers and showgirls crossed the tracks to mingle with the cosmopolitan crowd at the Moulin Rouge. Six months after opening night, the Rouge closed.

However, Bob and Anna Bailey were persuaded to stay in town by Dr. Charles I. West. They moved to Cadillac Arms and began to take jobs on the road and settled into the life of the Westside when Anna secured a job as the first Black dancer at the Flamingo Hotel Casino. Bob engaged in many local and national ventures. While living in New York, Bailey enrolled the School of Radio and Television. When working at the Moulin Rouge he and Alice Key started the first Black television show on Channel 8 called the Talk of the Town. In 1962, Bob chaired the Nevada Equal Rights Commission. From 1965 to 1971, he worked as a local newscaster. He and Anna opened a popular night stop called Sugar Hill and received a Nevada gaming license. In 1989, George W. Bush appointed him as the National Deputy Director of the Minority Business Development Agency in the US Department of Commerce. A Middle School in the Clark County School District was named for him in 2006. Finally, in 2013, Bob and Anna Bailey received the highest honor given by the Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education – the Distinguished Nevadan Award.

https://main--clarkcountynv--aemsites.aem.page/assets/images/government/departments/parks___recreation/services/public_art/projects/pearson-pillar-unsung-1950s.pngDecade of Change: The 1950s

The 1950s was the watershed era for the Westside; new housing was constructed, the Nevada Test Site opened with more federal jobs, the first integrated hotel casino opened, more professionals joined those that helped to build the middle class, the first Black newspaper began, Jackson Street housed a greater number of businesses, and the first Black attorney moved to Clark County. In the 1930s and 1940s, many Blacks lived in shacks, tents, and tiny trailers. That picture began to brighten with the arrival of Berkley Square, Highland Square, and Cadillac Arms to give shelter to Black families. World War II ended with the explosion of two atomic bombs in the Japanese cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. was followed by the Marshall Plan that rebuilt Europe and the Cold War ensued. The lack of trust meant that we needed to test and stockpile nuclear weapons. The place chosen for those tests was the Nevada Test Site just 65 miles from downtown. The first Black doctor, dentist, journalist, dancers and showgirls, and additional entrepreneurs added to the growing population of the Westside. In1959, Attorney Charles Kellar arrived to join the protests for Civil and Human Rights.

The Moulin Rouge was constructed simultaneously to Berkeley Square, Highland Square, and Cadillac Arms. Middle class developments replaced tents and shacks. The small nightclubs in the Black business corridor flourished greatly when the Rouge opened. The Jackson Hotel was built along with the Carver House / Cove Hotel. in 1955. Black travelers had choices of living options. Sarann Knight Preddy returned from Hawthorne, NV for the opening night of the Moulin Rouge in May 1955. Preddy opened the Playhouse Lounge but could not secure a gaming license after being the first Black person to have one in the City of Hawthorne. She dropped out of the gaming business to run for the Las Vegas City Council and, was the first black to win a primary. But in the final contest, she lost the seat by seventy-two votes. She returned to the gaming business, buying, and operating the People's Choice Casino. In the late 1980, she and her family bought the Moulin Rouge, invested personal capital to compel the business to regain its 1955 glory, but it was not to be.

https://main--clarkcountynv--aemsites.aem.page/assets/images/government/departments/parks___recreation/services/public_art/projects/pearson-pillar-unsung-1971.pngOperation Life in the Westside

Women who qualified for benefits under the welfare umbrella, received $35 per month to feed and clothe child and a housing stipend. If living with a male significant other, he had to leave the home if the female spouse and children wanted to eat and have shelter. The system demanded that if an adult male was found on the premises anytime within a 24-hour period, benefits could be instantly terminated.

Thus, women worked jobs under the table to help with extras like fresh fruits and vegetable. Marble Manor Housing Development served as home for many of these families, so it was easy to meet and talk about solutions to the poverty they endured. Soon, they discovered that there was a national movement discussing these issues as well. They formed the Clark County Welfare Rights group but needed a leader. The first night that Ruby Duncan attended the meeting, she walked out as president of the gathering. They immediately joined the National Welfare Rights Organization and began listening and learning about the policies that made their lives less than; that othered them because they were poor. The women who made up the movement included Otestine Walker, Mary Wesley, Alversa Beals, Essie Henderson, Rosie Seals, Emma Stampley, Aldine Weems, Ruby Duncan, and others. Their lobbying efforts, marches on the Las Vegas Strip, an eat-in campaign, and other hard-fought battles produced food stamps for women in Nevada, the WIC program, and an increase in the dollar amount for their children.

When the national movement petered out, these women in Las Vegas did not stop demanding more. They formed at 501©3, Operation Life, and wrote grants that started a childcare center, established a clinic for black children, erected a senior citizen’s housing complex, and created the first library in the Westside neighborhood. They never stopped spreading the word of their successes in Las Vegas and poor women’s role in making Clark County better for families.

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Beginning with the rise of gambling resorts, Blacks worked in hotel casinos in downtown Las Vegas and on the Clark County Strip. First in the back-of-the-house and later as dealers, cocktail and food waitresses, and bartenders. Their greatest protection and job security came through the Culinary Workers Union Local 226. This powerful liberating force was led by a Black woman throughout the 1990s.

Hattie Canty enjoyed the luxury of staying at home to raise her children when she first arrived in Las Vegas in 1961 but wanted to contribute to the family in a different way, she went to work as a maid in 1972. In 1975, her husband passed away. She began to spend hours walking picket lines during her time off at the Maxim Hotel Casino. Her activism was observed, and she was elected to the executive board of the local in 1984, the year of a seventy-five-day walkout. Workers gained the health benefits that they deemed necessary for their families. In 1990, the membership elected Canty president of the largest union in Southern Nevada. She held that position for over a decade. Canty's tenure as head of the union coincided with the longest labor strike in American history. In September 1991, 550 culinary workers at the Frontier Hotel walked off the job over wages, benefits, and pension cuts by the casino's owners. The strike lasted 6 years, 4 months, and 10 days, one of the longest in US history.

In 1993, Hattie Canty helped establish the Culinary Training Center which helps women train to enter the hospitality industry and retain their jobs. She left behind a lifetime of achievements full of dedication to her family, community, and all workers in Clark County.

Many Black family-built homes using draftsmen, neighbors, and family members who knew the basics of building livable structures especially before FHA financing was available to Blacks. Although the Federal Housing Administration Act began in 1938, Blacks did not fully participate until 1968 when the US Fair Housing Act was passed.

Local Black builders though, erected many housing developments throughout the city and designed a plethora of public spaces. George Simmons worked as an architect in the 1960s for Sproul Homes’s communities in Charleston Heights and Winterwood on Desert Rose Golf Course. And even though integration had taken place at the beginning of the era, Simmons and his family were not allowed to purchase homes in either of those communities. However, when he worked on the Sproul Homes on Veronica Street in North Las Vegas, he did purchase a residence there. In 1964, he turned to a commercial venture and designed The Golden West Shopping Center on Owens Avenue in the Westside. It was the largest shopping center in the County at that time.

In the 1970s a new builder moved to town and started Richardson Construction in 1978. Louis Richardson served in the military where he worked around the world on various construction projects. He moved to Las Vegas with a stellar résumé that qualified him for jobs with all governmental entities. Successes, one after the other just kept on coming – public libraries, community centers, fire stations, schools, the Housing Authority, UNLV, and the Moulin Rouge. Beginning with the Housing Authority, Richardson then bided on the Clark County School District’s locations that over the years, included the 5^th Street School and H.P. Fitzgerald Elementary School. His jobs with Clark County included five fire stations, the Pearson Center, Loan Mountain Park, and numerous library branches for initial work and remodels, community centers - Doolittle and Pearson, and UNLV’s Wright Hall rebuild and the original work on the student services complex. Marble Manor, Gerson Park, Ruby Duncan Manor, and Sherman Garden allowed him to build shelter for the community members who were rebuilding their lives. Richardson was an artist and the Lorenzi Park project proves it. First he drained the lake, made it larger, erected an island in the center with a domed area for seating. We marvel at his artistry throughout the county.

The Black builders who are still hard at work in Clark County are Frank Hawkins and Melvin Green. Hawkins’ buildings remind us of our history, each named for a pioneer who made Southern Nevada a better place to live. His elegant structures pepper the Westside and stretch outside of the confines of the Black neighborhood. His next development is Windsor Park where he will replace homes that caved in on themselves because of underground seismic shifts. Melvin Green is the architect who worked to refurbish the Westside School, is engaging with Jackson Street property owners to design a special look to the previous business corridor, and next, he may handle the Moulin Rouge property. Simmons, Richardson, Hawkins, and Green are locals who have built and are building the new Westside.

https://main--clarkcountynv--aemsites.aem.page/assets/images/government/departments/parks___recreation/services/public_art/projects/pearson-pillar-unsung-1982.pngThe Pearson

Dr. William Pearson moved to Las Vegas in 1963 to establish a dental practice. Simultaneously, he engaged in the County, City, and in the Black community leaving deep indelible marks that touched hearts and the history of the region. He served as the first Black on the City Council in 1982 and was elected to the Board of County Commissioners in 1984.

Pearson worked as a member of the Economic Opportunity Board, the NAACP, always supported the hiring of minorities, advocated for the funding for the University Medical Center, and supported initiatives for better streets. In 2002, the Board of Regents selected him as a Distinguished Nevadan. The Westside community supported his nomination as the name of the 2008 Community Center opened on Carey Avenue. Dr. Pearson made his transition in 2004 as a well-loved Las Vegan, a model citizen of Clark County, and a true Distinguished Nevadan.

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Black art in Clark County has evolved from the time of Benny Cassel, mentor to Vicki Richardson who along with two partners, founded the Left of Center Art Gallery in Clark County. Harold Bradford and Slyvester Collier added their creative ideas with Richardson’s and formed the gallery with classes, exhibitions, and workshops for the community. Artists work side by side, yet each is doing her own thing while feeding off each other. Left of Center sprang from Richardson’s first gallery on A Street.

The artists are from many ethnic backgrounds with self-taught artists working beside those with master’s degrees. Workshops and mentoring make the gallery a place where everyone can nurture their art. Collier, like Richardson retired as a teacher from the Clark County School District while Bradford came from the Yesco Sign Company, a Las Vegas institution. All three enjoy honing the skills and stretching the talents of young artists. Left of Center captured the Neo-Pop period’s social-political issues and yet remained a place of the traditional artist speaking across generations and adhering to the tenets of their hearts.

https://main--clarkcountynv--aemsites.aem.page/assets/images/government/departments/parks___recreation/services/public_art/projects/pearson-pillar-unsung-thennow.pngThen and Now

From 1870 to 2025, Blacks migrated in and out of Clark County, many stayed. They belonged to all income levels, worked in a wide array of occupations, and coalesced around the love for community. The Westside was home. John Edmond’s family lived humbly but his math skills turned him into the first Black baccarat dealer hired by Frank Rosenthal at the Stardust Hotel Casino. Those earnings and investments along with savings from several other Black dealers in the neighborhood led to the ownership of the Golden West Shopping Center (later Nucleus Plaza -1980). By the time Nucleus Plaza and the property across the street, the Edmond Town Center (acquire in 2000), were prospering, Edmond stood as the sole owner.

Today, after must change, a rampage of neglect beginning in the 1980s, a powerful drug infestation that caused businesses to close, the area needed major investments to begin anew. In 2020, John Edmond was appointed as the Economic Development Representative for the State of Nevada in the US Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration. His timing was perfect again. Edmond made possible investments of over $10m that include the College of Southern Nevada campus, the design initiative for Jackson Avenue, and the funding of a tourism grant centered around culture, sports, and medical tourism into and flowing out of the Westside.

Latinos began settling in Las Vegas' Historic Westside in the early 1890s and throughout the 1900s. The arrival was influenced by factors like the railroad and agriculture industries, which drew them to Utah. Additionally, the fall of Cuba in the 1960s and 70s led to an influx of Latinos from Cuba to Southern Nevada.

In Las Vegas's Historic Westside, the Latino population constitutes approximately 40% of the residents. The neighborhood, once predominantly Black, has seen a shift in demographics, with Latinos now forming a slight majority. While the area is diverse, with Black residents making up about 38%, Latinos are a significant part of the Westside's cultural and historical fabric.

The community is poised for greatness. In the beginning, there was no plan, redlining set the community apart from growth possibilities, because banks drew a red line around the community. Now, almost totally erased, the red lines are fading, and capital is beginning to be realized and made available. Ideas are limitless. The future is bright.

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