Former Nevada regent praised as ‘icon,’ civil rights pioneer

June Whitley, remembered as a civil rights pioneer and a unifying force during her 15-year tenure on Nevada’s higher education board, has died. She was 79.

“She was a master at building coalitions,” said Paul Meacham, who became Nevada’s first black college president in 1983 thanks to Whitley’s efforts. “She worked in the black political arena and the white political arena. She knew how to work the system.”

Administrators at the Nevada System of Higher Education say Whitley, who sat on the agency’s Board of Regents from 1979 to 1994, was the first woman and the only African-American to serve as chair.

“She lived on the west side during segregation, where all of the black people and the Mexicans lived,” civil rights advocate and longtime friend Hannah Brown said Thursday. “It took a lot of nerve to go against the odds back then and say, ‘I can do a better job.’ It took a lot of courage.”

Since her death Saturday, relatives said they’ve received an outpouring of support from community leaders, including Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. The senator called Whitley’s husband Thursday evening to express his condolences.

“She was a kind, gracious, thoughtful regent who always took a statewide view but was also a champion for her community,” NSHE Chancellor Dan Klaich wrote in an email, calling her a “genial but very strong leader.”

Klaich, who served on the board with Whitley for a decade and preceded her as chair, described her as a staunch supporter of Nevada’s community colleges, even in their infancy. Whitley is credited for persuading state leaders to hire Meacham as president of the College of Southern Nevada, then called Clark County Community College. He was the first African-American to lead a higher education institution in the state.

“She paved the road for someone like me to attain the ability to even run for Board of Regents,” said Regent Cedric Crear, who is one of two African-Americans sitting on the board today. “She’s an icon, especially for the black community.”

CSN presented Whitley with the school’s Frederick Douglass Lifetime Achievement Award in December to commemorate her contributions. CSN also honored Whitley in the early 2000s with a namesake student center at the school’s Cheyenne Campus.

Granddaughter Enosha Jackson, 37, painted Whitley as a strong-willed and religiously devout family matriarch who was beloved at Second Baptist Church, where she was a member for decades since moving to Las Vegas in 1958.

Whitley, a Texas native, married her high school sweetheart, with whom she had three children: Dion Whitley Simpson, Tanya Williams and Lewis Whitley Jr. She worked at a telephone company for 25 years in Las Vegas, holding various management positions.

She is survived by her husband, Lewis Whitley; children Tanya Williams and Lewis Whitley Jr.; son-in-law Rafus Simpson; 10 great-grandchildren; and six grandchildren: Eboni James, Crystal Whitley, Jackson, Jacque Williams, Shebora Whitley and Tashi Whitley.

“Her love was just really contagious,” Jackson said. “What we all remember as grandchildren is that she was our rock — our motivator.”

Contact Ana Ley at aley@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5512. Find her on Twitter @la__ley