On a Friday night in early January, the driver of a Lexus sedan was heading east on Tropicana Avenue past Decatur Boulevard when a pedestrian tried to cross the street outside of a crosswalk. He was struck by the Lexus, taken to UMC and pronounced dead. It was one of the first auto-pedestrian accidents of the year in Las Vegas.

February is Black History Month, and UNLV is holding a forum looking at how the recession has impacted the African-American community. So how hard was the Vegas community hit? Were ethnic minorities more or less affected when it came to business, education, jobs, and healthcare? Local leaders weigh in.