University of Nevada
Oral History Program
Mail Stop 324
Reno, NV 89557-0099
775/784-6932
Fax: 775/784-1365
E-mail: ohp@unr.nevada.edu
Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Room 109 of the Mack Social Science Building on the University of Nevada, Reno campus
Organizations The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or the NAACP, emerged as the leading organization in the struggle for civil rights and the end of segregation in Nevada. The Las Vegas chapter was formed in 1928 through the efforts of Arthur McCants, Clarence Ray, Bill Jones, a Mrs. Nettles, and Zimmy Turner, with McCants serving as the first NAACP president in Nevada. In the 1930s, the Las Vegas NAACP’s primary goal was getting blacks hired on the Boulder Dam project, while during the 1940s, the group reorganized under new direction and became a prominent voice of the black community. Many of the important individuals in the movement at this time were religious figures, including Bishop Cox, Rev. Cook, and Rev. Simmons. Woodrow Wilson also emerged as an important leader during this period. Under the guidance of Dr. James McMillan, Dr Charles West, and Lubertha Johnson, the group began to use boycotts and demonstrations in the 1950s to challenge businesses that discriminated against blacks in employment and denied them access to public accommodations. The Reno NAACP branch became active in this decade as well, under the leadership of Eddie Scott, Joe Williams, Howard Gloyd, and Bertha Woodward. It was also during this time that many whites joined the Nevada NAACP. In Las Vegas, white members included George Rudiak, an attorney, and Hank Greenspun, the publisher of the Las Vegas Sun, while Clyde Mathews, a minister, joined the Reno branch. Governor Grant Saywer was also a member. Individuals from the Las Vegas NAACP started the Nevada Voters League in the 1950s as the black community’s political voice, since the NAACP could not involve itself in partisan politics. The league's primary mission was to influence Nevada—and in particular, Las Vegas—politics and force politicians to address the concerns of black citizens throughout the state. During the 1960s, Donald Clark and Charles Kellar emerged as the new leadership of the NAACP and directed its efforts in continuning to desegregate employment opportunities as well as the Las Vegas school system. The group also supported the establishment of the Equal Rights Commission to investigate claims of racial discrimination in employment and public accommodations. With the help of these organizations, the last vestiges of legal segregation and racial discrimination ended in the 1970s. |
