UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations 1-1-1997 The roles of African American women in the Las Vegas gaming industry, 1940-1980 Claytee D White University of Nevada, Las Vegas Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/rtds Repository Citation White, Claytee D, "The roles of African American women in the Las Vegas gaming industry, 1940-1980" (1997). UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations. 3353. http://dx.doi.org/10.25669/t7b3-20g5 This Thesis is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by Digital Scholarship@UNLV with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Thesis in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. 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Further reproduction prohibited without permission. THE ROLES OF AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN IN THE LAS VEGAS GAMING INDUSTRY, 1940 - 1980 by Claytee D. White A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a degree of M aster o f Arts in History Department of History University of Nevada, Las Vegas August 1997 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 1387158 UMI Microform 1387158 Copyright 1997, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. The Thesis o f Claytee D. White for the degree of Master of Arts in Ifistory is approved. lerson, Joanne%. Goodwin, PhD —ExamimmÇVv Committee Member, Jay A. Coughtiy, PhD. Exam i^g ^m m ittee Member/losephler^ o sq A. Fry, PhD Graduate Faculty Representative, Martha C. Knack, PhD. Dean of the Graduate College, Ronald W. Smith, PhD. University of Nevada, Las Vegas August 1997 u Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT In the November 1966 Washington Post article, “What It’s Like to be a Colored Woman,” Louise D. Stone stated that “There are two kinds o f females in this country — colored women and white ladies. Colored women are maxis, cooks, taxi drivers, crossing guards, schoolteachers, welfare recipients, bar maids and the only time they become ladies is when they are cleaning ladies.” Beginning in the early 1940s m Las Vegas, African American women became the domestic woric force of the glamorous strip. They dominated the “back-of the-house” jobs for several decades. The back-of-the-house is the invisible housekeeping area of the hotel that enqiloys maids, housemen, inspectors, and linen room workers and is supervised by an executive housekeeper. This research studied these women by investigating their migration to Las Vegas from small towns in the South and researching their working environment. Oral interviewing was the methodology used to conduct this study. Blacks from two small towns in the South, Fordyce, Aricansas and Tallulah, Louisiana, composed about one half of the migrants of the World War n era. Their journeys were conqxared to the migrants of the Great Migration through the works of Carter G. Woodson (A Century o f Negro M igration), Florette Henri {Black Migration: M ovem ent N orth, 7900-/920), and James Grossman (Larw/ o fHope: Chicago, Black Southerners, and the Great Migration). They came to Las Vegas for work. Black men 3.1X Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. were beckoned by the Basic Magnesium plant in Henderson and women by the gaming industry. This thesis examined black women’s participation in the Culinary Woikers Union, Local 226 by comparing Las Vegas with blacks in organized labor activities in other cities in the West. The research of Quintard Ta^or (The Forging o f a Black Comnnmity: Seattle’s Central District from 1870 through the Civil Rights Era), Albert Broussard {Black San Francisco: The Struggle fo r Racial Equality in the West, I90(f~I954), and Gretchen Lemke-Santangelo {Abiding Courage: African American Women and the East Bay Community) was used for this purpose. The Culinary Union was a major force in the working lives of African American women. (Quintard Taylor found an ambivalence in Seattle’s black community’s views of labor unions. In Las Vegas black women were strong union supporters. Their membership in the Local 226 provided excellent benefits, good wages, prestige, and power. Additional migrants entered the city when the Moulin Rouge, the first integrated gaming establishment, opened in 1955. One of the goals of this paper was to prove that these new migrants caused the city’s racial discrimination policies to change. These migrants were professional people who started the first black newspaper, produced the first black television show, and entered the casinos and hotels through the front door becoming dancers, cocktails waitresses, and executives. XV Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT..................................................................................................................... in ACKNOWLEDGMENTS............................................................................................... vi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION................................................................................... I CHAPTER 2 “SWING LOW SWEET CHARIOT:” THE MIGRATION PROCESS.............................................................. 14 CHAPTERS “EIGHT DOLLARS A DAY AND WORKIN’ IN THE SHADE:” EMPLOYMENT OF BLACK WOMEN MIGRANTS AND THEIR ROLE IN THE CULINARY WORKERS UNION, LOCAL 2 2 ........................................................... 27 CHAPTER 4 “WE’RE MOVING ON UP:” THE MOULIN R O U G E.......................................................................... 46 CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION......................................................................................... 67 BIBUOGRAPHY............................................................................................................. 74 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The master’s program has been a rewarding experience because of the help, guidance, love, and support that I received from so many people on UNLV’s canqnis and from the Las Vegas community. Like an Oscar winner, I am reluctant to name people because most likely some important person who went beyond the call of duty for me will be omitted. Nonetheless, I must express my gratitude to the fullest extent possible. First, I thank the women of Fordyce and Tallulah for agreeing to long interviews, for inviting me to church and community meetings, and for sharing their stories with me. I thank the women and men that I interviewed who migrated here from other parts o f the country and helped me understand the community buikling process of the Westside. Susan Jarvis, Jonnie Kennedy, and Kathy War in Special Collections of the UNLV library were wonderful They remembered my project and suggested additional materials for my perusal Their caring attitude made me feel at home and comfortable during the many hours I spent with them. Chris Wiatrowski and Maurice Ware in Nonbook were equally helpful No matter how many times I had problems with those viewing machines, they were still cheerful and went beyond their assigned duties