History defines the past as much as it informs the present. To understand how Vegas’ African American community overcame racial segregation and rose as a symbol of resilience, we have to return to the railroad land auction that conceived Las Vegas.
According to historian Claytee White, Anglo developer and surveyor J.T. McWilliams had established a settlement west of the San Pedro, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake Railroad. After the railroad’s 1905 land auction, many residents left McWilliams’ Townsite to move east of the tracks to the new town of Las Vegas.
The community west of the tracks declined, White says. And in the 1920s, African Americans in Las Vegas faced increasing pressure to leave the Downtown area. City officials threatened to not renew business licenses unless Black-owned establishments relocated across the tracks into the old McWilliams’ Townsite. The result: Many Black business owners and residents were relegated to the wrong side of the tracks.
This piece of history, not always taught in textbooks or schools, is just one of many in the exhibit Rhythm and Resilience: Black Vegas. Presented by the City of Las Vegas, narrated by White and curated by the Nevada Museum of Art associate curator Carmen Beals, it takes viewers through the impacts of racial discrimination while celebrating the creativity, adaptability and achievements that helped define the city, as well as contemporary artists who continue Vegas’ Black and multicultural legacy.
“The focus will draw in not just the attention of people my age who are just interested in history and remember, but it will also draw in younger people who want to look back at history through a contemporary lens,” White says.
The exhibit tells the story of people who have thrived despite all odds—from the first known African American settler to come to the Valley, to the surge of Black migrants to Las Vegas during World War II, to the blossoming of Jackson Avenue as a center for community, business and entertainment in the 1950s, to the integration of public accommodations in Las Vegas in 1960 and the push for equitable employment in casinos in the 1970s.
Several artists including Avis Charley, Chase McCurdy and Q’shaundra James interpret that history, making it part of an “intergenerational” conversation that resonates today, Beals says.
Artifacts like Joe Louis’ boxing gloves and items from the Moulin Rouge—the first integrated hotel-casino in Las Vegas and the country—are also on display. Videos with photos and White’s narration, and a re-creation of a beloved restaurant storefront provide immersive elements.
RHYTHM AND RESILIENCE: BLACK VEGAS Thru August 20, Monday-Thursday 10 a.m.-3 p.m., free. Civic Center Gallery, 525 S. Main St., lasvegasnevada.gov. Validated two-hour parking available at City Hall garage.
Here are three of our favorite things at the exhibit
“Larry’s Music Bar” by Iyana Esters
“Larry’s Music Bar” by Iyana Esters
Commissioned specifically for this exhibit, Iyana Esters’ textile masterpiece cuts a slice of what life might have looked like during the Westside’s golden age. It’s designed to pay tribute to Larry Wilburn, the original owner of Sight & Sound, where superstars like Muhammad Ali and Johnny Mathis would come to get their records when they were in town.
Paper fans from the Carmen B. Collection
Widely distributed by Black churches, paper fans kept congregationists cool in crowded spaces that lacked air conditioning.These fans are displayed in the “Amen Corner” of the exhibit, which includes a church pew and highlights the long history of Black churches in Las Vegas, from the first, Zion Methodist, to the many that have since been established in the Westside.
“Moulin Rouge Casino Chip” by Courtney Yards
This window-sized version of a poker chip from the Moulin Rouge displays a playful pattern. The use of just three colors is classy and understated, just like the history of the casino. Opened in 1955, the Moulin Rouge attracted Hollywood elite and international entertainers. It closed just six months after opening, and after a series of fires the building was demolished in 2009.
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