U.N.L.V. sign

Oral History Research Center News

Current Oral History Research Center News

UNLV letters surrounded by roses
Campus News | March 17, 2023

A roundup of news stories highlighting UNLV faculty and students who made headlines locally, nationally, and globally.

Moulin Rouge meeting for integration in Las Vegas.
People | February 1, 2023

UNLV director of oral history Claytee White shares Nevada’s diverse history, telling us why ‘Nevada Means Home’ for so many.

Remember sculptor Claes Oldenburg who created U.N.L.V.'s iconic Flashlight sculpture this month.
Campus News | August 3, 2022

A collection of news stories highlighting university experts’ insights on and contributions to health, environment, and society.

We Need to Talk sign on TV screen
Business and Community | March 25, 2022

Latest episode in series presented by UNLV Libraries and Greenspun College of Urban Affairs will examine the hub of Las Vegas’ diverse Latinx communities and its significance in Nevada’s historical timeline.

a teacher and student in a classroom
Campus News | March 7, 2022

A collection of news stories highlighting the experts and events at UNLV.

Graduates bumping fists
Campus News | June 8, 2021

A collection of news stories highlighting celebration, health, and progress at UNLV.

Oral History Research Center In The News

City Cast Las Vegas
March 22, 2023

70 years ago, iconic Black musicians like Sammy Davis Jr. and Harry Belafonte might have graced the stage at Vegas casinos — but wouldn’t be allowed to stay on-site, or walk through the front door (though many pushed back). 

PBS
March 16, 2023

Storming Ceasers Palace tells the inspirational story of a group of determined mothers from West Las Vegas. Mothers who became advocates for their children and for welfare rights. 

USA Today
February 25, 2023

Drive to the 900 block of West Bonanza Road in Las Vegas' Historic Westside, and all that’s left of the Moulin Rouge Hotel & Casino is a giant vacant lot and a series of peeling murals on an adjacent building. But this spot on the National Register of Historic Places is a portal into the city’s Black history.

USA Today
February 24, 2023

Drive to the 900 block of West Bonanza Road in Las Vegas' Historic Westside, and all that’s left of the Moulin Rouge Hotel & Casino is a giant vacant lot and a series of peeling murals on an adjacent building. But this spot on the National Register of Historic Places is a portal into the city’s Black history.

Las Vegas Weekly
February 23, 2023

African Fashion Show: The fashion industry owes so much to Black culture. Many of the trends we see today, and that were popularized in the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, can be traced back to the Black community. In recognition of that influence, Las Vegas’ chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women Inc. will host its fifth-annual African Fashion Show, educating attendees on the history of Black fashion and the importance of the African American image. Claytee White, director of UNLV’s Oral History Center, will guide the conversation as a guest speaker, joining designers, fashion boutique owners and market vendors in a celebration of Black heritage. 

KSNV-TV: News 3
February 22, 2023

Las Vegas has no shortage of great entertainers no matter their racial background, but turn back the clock 50 or 60 years ago, those entertainers could not stay at the casinos or hotels they performed at. Instead, they stayed at the Historic Harrison Guest House.

Oral History Research Center Experts

Claytee D. White is an oral historian whose many projects include the history of African Americans in Las Vegas.
An oral historian and author on preserving family memories.

Recent Oral History Research Center Accomplishments

June 8, 2022
Claytee D. White (Oral History Research Center) is joining community icons Audry Batiste, Richard Bryan, Rob Dondero, Michael Green, Peter Guzman, John Mowbray, Ted Quirk, Bob Stoldal, and many others on the Board of Directors of The Mob Museum, National Museum of Organized Crime & Law Enforcement. This honor allows her deeper engagement with…
May 25, 2022
Claytee White (Oral History Research Center) was honored with the distinguished Pioneer Award on May 22 by the Las Vegas chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women (NCBW). She received the honor at the 16th Annual Madam C.J. Walker Awards luncheon at the MGM Grand. The nonprofit NCBW is a volunteer organization for African American women…
May 19, 2022
Iesha Jackson (Teaching and Learning), Doris L. Watson (Educational Psychology and Higher Education), Claytee D. White (Oral History Research Center), and Marcie Gallo (History) published the article, "Research as (Re)vision: Laying Claim to Oral History as a Just-us Research Methodology," in the special issue of the International Journal of…
April 6, 2022
Barbara Tabach (Oral History Research Center) received the Mink Award at the Southwest Oral History Association (SOHA) annual conference. The Mink Award is SOHA's highest honor and recognized Tabach's nearly 15 years of preserving local history through oral history interviews.   
July 9, 2021
Michael Green, Andy Kirk, Willy Bauer, Michelle Turk (all History), Claytee White (Libraries), and Karen Harry (Anthropology) presented at the NEH Summer Institute, "Hoover Dam and the Shaping of the American West," which brought 25 K-12 teachers from around the country to Southern Nevada for a two-week program of content, pedagogy, and tours.
October 27, 2020
Iesha Jackson (Teaching and Learning), Doris L. Watson (Educational Psychology and Higher Education), Marcie Gallo (History), and Claytee White (Oral History Center) gave their second of two peer review presentations on their collaborative project, Digging Deep and Branching Out: Using Oral History and Collaborative Inquiry to Explore Candidate…