African-American men discuss growing up in Las Vegas

In the era of Jim Crow laws, it was normal in Las Vegas for black entertainers such as Sammy Davis Jr. to perform on stage for white audiences but be expected to leave the building through the back door.

Things have come a long way since then, but there’s plenty of ground to cover, a panel of five local African-American men said Tuesday.

“In the future, I see west Las Vegas becoming Las Vegas. No more west Las Vegas, no more Jim Crow, just Las Vegas,” documentary filmmaker Stan Armstrong said.

The panel’s hourlong discussion, “West Las Vegas: Daring to Dream,” will air on Clark County Television, Channel 4, throughout Black History Month starting at 8 p.m. Monday. It can be streamed at www.youtube.com/clarkcountynv.

Deborah Campbell, a nonprofit executive and former television reporter, moderated the program.

Panelists paid homage to west Las Vegas figureheads, including athlete and communtiy organizer Henry Thorns, and described the realities of growing up in the city.

“You were always hit with adversities. You were taught to be successful at all costs, a winner,” Eric Chester said. “I love the fact that, everyone I see, we all have that drive to be successful, that drive to never give up.”

For Chester, the road to success had detours. The west Las Vegas resident served 17 years in prison for a murder he committed at age 16.

On Wednesday, he encouraged west Las Vegas’ children not to fall into a spiral of crime, even if they had made mistakes in the past.

“You’re not perfect. Nobody should expect you to be,” he said. “Life is about reinventing yourself, recreating yourself. You can do it.”

Still, it can be difficult to overcome the obstacles black men face, said U.S. Marshal Christopher Hoye. He recalled returning to Las Vegas after graduating from Arizona State University in the 1980s.

“My friends got jobs as executives on the Strip. I was working in the kitchen,” he said.

Near the end of the discussion, Ramon Savoy, former publisher of a now-defunct African-American weekly newspaper, the Las Vegas Sentinel-Voice, encouraged ambition.

“If you have an idea, run with it,” he said. “You don’t have to wait on anyone else. You can be the leader of yourself.”

Contact Michael Scott Davidson at sdavidson@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861. Follow @davidsonlvrj on Twitter.