Community Action Against Racism In West Las Vegas

This book chronicles Robert J. McKee's active participation in a successful protest action, led primarily by black females in the historically African American community of West Las Vegas, Nevada, from 2008-2013. The residents protested the closure of a main street (F Street) in their community for the expansion of Interstate 15. The community felt the street closure was racially motivated, with the intent of further alienating and isolating this already marginalized community. The street closure was one of many instances in a protracted history of events that further exacerbated race relations in Las Vegas. With only minimal support from the black church, courageous women mobilized their community from a neighborhood coalition into a successful community protest group, despite resistance from city officials and a racist backlash from some Las Vegas residents. The key players in this work were then-Mayor Oscar Goodman, State Senator and now U.S. Congressman Steven Horsford, and a host of local and state leaders. The closing of F Street creates an environ for McKee to discuss the current problems of race relations, urban sociology, city planning, social action, ethnography, and institutionalized racism.

An inside look at how craft beer makers and IPA devotees come together to brew, taste, and enjoy fine ale while also building a sense of community in Las Vegas Equally reviled and revered as Sin City, Las Vegas is both exceptional and emblematic of contemporary American cultural practices and tastes. Michael Ian Borer takes us inside the burgeoning Las Vegas craft beer scene to witness how its adherents use beer to create and foster not just a local culture but a locals’ culture. Through compelling, detailed first-hand accounts and interviews, Vegas Brews provides an unprecedented look into the ways that brewers, distributors, bartenders, and drinkers fight against the perceived and preconceived norm about what “happens in Vegas” and lay claim to a part of their city that is too often overshadowed by the bright lights of tourist sites. Borer shows how our interactions with the things we care about—and the ways that we care about how they’re made, treated, and consumed—can lead to new senses of belonging and connections with and to others and the places where we live. In a world where people and things move around at an extraordinary pace, the folks Borer spent time talking (and drinking) with remind us to slow down and learn how to taste the “good life,” or at least a semblance of it, even in a city where style is often valued over substance.

Examining the popular myths and unseen realities of welfare, this study reveals the political power of folklore and the possibilities of storytelling. In 1976, Ronald Reagan hit the campaign trail with an extraordinary account of a woman committing massive welfare fraud. The story caught fire and a devastating symbol of the misuse government programs was born: the Welfare Queen. Overthrowing the Queen examines these legends of fraud and abuse while bringing to light personal stories of hardship and hope told by cashiers, bus drivers, and business owners; politicians and aid providers; and, most important, aid recipients themselves. Together these stories reveal how the seemingly innocent act of storytelling can create powerful stereotypes that shape public policy. They also showcase redemptive counter-narratives that offer hope for a more accurate and empathetic view of poverty in America today. Overthrowing the Queen tackles perceptions of welfare recipients while proposing new approaches to the study of oral narrative that extend far beyond the study of welfare, poverty, and social justice.

The United States is not post-racial, despite claims otherwise. The days of lynching have been replaced with a pernicious modern racism and race-based violence equally strong and more difficult to untangle. This violence too often results in the killing of Black Americans, particularly males. While society may believe we have transcended race, contemporary history tells another story with the recent killings of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and others. While their deaths are tragic, the greater tragedy is that incidents making the news are only a fraction of the assault on communities of color in. This volume takes seriously the need for concentrated and powerful dialogue to emerge in the wake of these murders that illuminates the assault in a powerful and provocative way. Through a series of essays, written by leading and emerging academics in the field of race studies, the short “conversations” in this collection challenge readers to contemplate the myth of post-raciality, and the real nature of the assaults on communities of color. The essays in this volume, all under 2000 words, cut to the heart of the matter using current assaults as points of departure and is relevant to education, sociology, law, social work, and criminology.

Essays and interviews explode the myth of apolitical motherhood by showing how 20th century women have politicized their role as mothers in a wide range of social contexts.

Originally opened in May 1955, the Moulin Rouge Hotel and Casino quickly rose in popularity as Las Vegas' first racially-integrated hotel and casino. Sammy Davis, Jr., Louis Armstrong, and other A-list black singers and musicians performed at the Moulin Rouge on a regular basis, and for once they were allowed to spend the night in the same hotel where they performed. This book explains the important role that the hotel-casino played in early desegregation efforts in Las Vegas. With the Moulin Rouge as the backdrop, it provides an analysis of the evolution of race-relations in Las Vegas, including a detailed account of the landmark 1960 desegregation agreement. Finally, it examines recent efforts to rebuild and renovate the historic establishment.