Legal Strides in Nevada, especially in Las Vegas
By Queen Gwen Walker
My mother, Juanita Walker and I moved to Las Vegas in 1962. I was only five years old and oblivious to the prejudices, the “Jim Crow” laws and practices. I only knew we were in a strange place away from my father and brothers.
Shortly after settling in with our cousins in Cadillac Arms, mom sought employment within days of our arrival and was successful in obtaining the only job available to a Negro women; which was becoming a “maid.”
Mother reported to the Sahara Hotel, eager to begin her new job and start our new life in this desert. After about three days of getting acclimated at cleaning hotel rooms, mother was assigned to cleaning a room where the guest had a dog. Mom was ordered to clean up dog poop, along with cleaning the room. It was at that moment my mom made up her mind, NEVER would she ever be a maid again.
It was during this same time in history that Negros/African Americans could only work and entertain in Casinos, but could not stay or gamble in the establishments or anywhere on the strip. It was because of these racist laws, casinos such as the Moulin Rouge, Brown Derby, Town Tavern, Louisiana Club, among others, were established on the Historic Westside.
It was also during this same time period that racial roadblocks were put into place to prevent Blacks, women, and others from practicing law in the state. Various methods were used to prevent them from becoming attorneys; such as residential requirements, biased character and fitness exams and blatant discriminatory measures.
Charles Keller filed a case in 1961 in, “Petition of Keller ” that allowed many of these roadblocks to be removed. Mr. Keller, being an established attorney in New York, sued the State Bar of Nevada for denying him admission after he had received a passing score on the bar exam. The bar claimed he failed to meet the character standards for admission. The Nevada Supreme Court found those allegations had no merit and he was finally admitted to the State Bar of Nevada in 1965, four years after passing the bar exam. He was the FIRST African American to pass the Nevada bar exam.
Contributing writer Queen Gwen Walker, Founder & President of “The Walker African-American Museum & Research Center” (Nevada’s First & Only Museum of Black History)
