My name is DEDRA Edmond-Drew and I, like my mother, am a native of Las Vegas, Nevada.
I have a strong connection to a major part of the once Black owned, operated and supported section of Las Vegas first known as McWilliams Townsite then later as the “Westside.” It was a thriving, and exciting community which flourished before, during, and after the great southern migration, World War II, and segregation. I now own the property that’s been in our family for over 80 years. It is located between “D” and “E” Streets on Jackson Avenue, lovingly called by most natives as Jackson “Street.”
The particular section where my property lies is next to where the Carver House Hotel once stood. This location is listed historically in “The Negro Motorist Green Book”, published by Victor Hugo Green from 1937-1968. This guide let Black people know where they could safely rest, eat and enjoy certain sites as they traveled on the roads of America. In the Historic Westside’s heyday, Jackson was known as the “Black Strip.” It offered lodging, barber and beauty salons, restaurants, a grocery store, a bowling alley, and of course several casinos. Our entertainers, our sports figures, and our military personnel came to Jackson Street because they weren’t allowed to stay in any of the Las Vegas Strip or Downtown hotel casinos. The “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign did not apply to everyone.
The entire Westside, like most predominately Black areas of so many other towns all across this nation, was self-contained by necessity. Before the 1964 Civil Rights Act was signed, Dr. James McMillian and the NAACP in 1960 negotiated with Mayor Oran Gragson to lift Jim Crow laws of segregation that were in place in Las Vegas. Laws that were put onto paper then, just like today, often times did not translate to those opposed to change. I remember the riots and unrest of the 1960’s. I am a product of the 1970’s Clark County public school desegregation where I was bussed to a different school every year. It was during this time that a tremendous amount of Black Flight took place. This was the beginning of the end for the Westside when residents started to move out of the area and take their revenue, influence and tax dollars with them. My parents also moved from 89106 to 89030 in North Las Vegas to 89103 in Spring Valley. At that time, Rainbow Boulevard was THE absolute last street!
The next detrimental thing that happened to the Westside was the interstate highways. Almost by design I-15 and US-95 configurations essential choked off direct access to Downtown and The Strip. This technique dealt the Westside a devastating blow. It has been used in so many Black communities across the country. This is not by happenstance.
Being a native of the City of Las Vegas, I have witnessed the explosion of growth all around town reaching all the way to base of the mountains, but to date, very little has changed within the borders of the Historic Westside. Despite revitalization plans being on the books for many, many years, and as of recent around $50 million being allocated solely to be used in the “Historic Westside”, it still looks like a former shell of itself. Systemic policies and lack of empathy are mindset changes that have to be made. Property owners’ lack of access to resources is another huge wall that needs to come down. The shameful, intentional neglect by EVERYONE must cease! Dreams for projects that may truly make a difference seem to wither and die because folks can’t navigate the red tape. Property owners who desire to build must also take responsibility, ask questions and get into position, not sit back and wait for the City to “save” them. Remember, nothing in life is free and if it is free, it probably ain’t worth having!
I can’t be the only one amazed that within this same Las Vegas zip code, Ward and District, everything south of Bonanza Road has been transformed. The Clark County Government Center, The World Market Center, The Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center, The Premium Outlet Mall, The Smith Center for the Performing Arts are all here, as is the new Auric Symphony Park luxury apartments, where rentals have astonishingly been listed as high as $5,000 monthly to live in 8-9-1-0-6! These are all great and beautiful things, but we’re asking that the wealth be shared and that inclusivity comes on over to the other side with meaningful commerce and quality rooftops needed to breathe life into the entire 89106.
This history that folks want to forget, I DO NOT! Because of the legacy that my Grandparents began, I CAN NOT! My paternal Grandfather, Ed Edmond Sr. was born in Bernice/Clairborne Parish, Louisiana. He was a Man’s Man who earned respect and gave it where it was due. He could build anything, including the family home that still stands on “G” Street, he would cook anything and make it delicious, and drive anything on wheels. He worked at the Nevada Test Site clearing away radioactive materials with his tractor wearing only his crisply creased, heavy starched Dickies shirt and pants and a bandana. My paternal Grandmother Jeanie (ne. Shaw) Edmond was the wonderful mother of 9 children, who loved being called Grandma. She periodically worked as a maid in a few of the Strip casino hotels, entering and exiting only through the back. She was soft spoken, but had quiet strength and was a serious force to be reckoned with. She was so fantastic in the kitchen and I’m still trying to perfect her teacakes. Her name is on a plaque in the halls of the Doolittle Community Center.
My maternal Grandfather Clay Jeffery Johnson was a Church of GOD in CHRIST (COGIC) Elder and was either the first or one of the first Black Skycaps at the airport. He came to Las Vegas from Irene/Pelham, Texas. My maternal Grandmother Viola (ne. Jimerson) Johnson, was an extraordinary Matriarch, cook, singer/musicians, and athlete who came from Fordyce, Arkansas. (She is featured at the Historic Westside Legacy Park in a 1965 photo taken at Doolittle field. She is teaching the girls how to play baseball, while the boys are on the other side of the fence looking in.) Having nowhere to go when they arrived, they lived in a tent on Jackson Avenue with many others who came here from the South. They both worked hard, saved and prayed and eventually purchased 418 Jackson Avenue. There, right in the middle of all the action, they built their home, 5 apartments to shelter other Black people, and the infamous “Johnson’s Malt Shop.” My Grandfather’s sister and brother-in-law, Irene and Poydras Johnson (they had the same last names) bought the parcel right next door on the corner of “E” Street and Jackson Avenue. They opened a soul food restaurant named “Irene’s Drive Inn” and also the “Rainbow Beauty Salon.”
My lineage of excellence goes back beyond this. I have Great-Grandparents and relatives who against all odds purchased large amounts of land. My Great-Great-Great-grandfather, Henry “Pap” Carruthers helped found the town of Pelham, Texas shortly after being freed from slavery. Pelham, Texas, which is near Corsicana and not too far from Dallas/Fort Worth still exists with descendants of the original families still living there today.
My ancestors dared to make an impact and create generational wealth in the process. My definition of this is not only mean monetarily, but spiritually, mentally and emotionally as well. I too dare to make an impact and take on the task of Re-development, Re-vitalization, and Restoration of the family property on Jackson Street. It seems that my Grandparents all were visionaries without even knowing it. We were eating organically on “G” Street and on Jackson we owned a Mixed-use development in the 1940’s before it was known as such. The blessings born from these things was the commitment to serve and help not only our family, but so many others.
ASE’