Award Date

1-1-1997

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

History

First Committee Member

Joanne Goodwin

Number of Pages

79

Abstract

Beginning in the early 1940s in Las Vegas, African American women became the domestic work force of the glamorous strip. They dominated the "back-of-the-house" jobs for several decades. 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; This thesis examined black women's participation in the Culinary Workers Union, Local 226 by comparing Las Vegas with blacks in organized labor activities in other cities in the West. The research of Quintard Taylor (The Forging of a Black Community: Seattle's Central District from 1870 through the Civil Rights Era), Albert Broussard (Black San Francisco: The Struggle for Racial Equality in the West, 1900-1954), and Gretchen Lemke-Santangelo (Abiding Courage: African American Women and the East Bay Community) was used for this purpose; 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. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).

Keywords

African; American; Gaming; Industry; Las Vegas; Nevada; Roles; Vegas; Women

Controlled Subject

Blacks; History; Women's studies; Blacks--Study and teaching; Industrial relations

File Format

pdf

File Size

2744.32 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

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