SARANN KNIGHTPREDDY She broke boundaries for black women — and the rest of us
I L L U S T R AT I O N
CELIA KRAMPIEN
Text based on materials from UNLV library, Las Vegas Sun and Las Vegas Review-Journal
Then I got started in the clubs, like the cotton Club on Jackson Street. I started as a Keno writer, then went to 21. I’ve done everything.
I worked there seven years.
I was born in Oklahoma. I got married at a young age, and we moved to Las Vegas in 1942.
I went to Los Angeles and took a business course but When I Got back to Las Vegas, what can I do? There were no opportunities for blacks.
The NAACP was trying to get integration in casinos. This was 1956. Jerry’s Nugget said they would hire someone with experience. So the NAACP begged me to take the job just for six months.
I remember during the war when they was bringing the Japanese through here. They had trucks for days coming through. They stopped off in Las Vegas. Most of the drivers was black, They had to come to the westside. But the “enemies” got to stay downtown.
There was a lot of prejudice in Las Vegas, but it’s hard to explain because all the kids went to school and church together. People Mingled.
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