LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Community leaders were honored at an induction ceremony Saturday at the Historic Westside Legacy Park.
The announcement of the Legacy Park honorees was part of the annual African American Trailblazer Service Awards Program.
This park, located at 1600 Mount Mariah Drive, opened Dec. 4, 2021, and honors the past and future leaders in the Historic Westside community.
WATCH Ward 5 Councilman Cedric Crear speak to the importance of this event:
Those honored on Saturday include:
- Curtis R. Amie Sr. and Ruby Whiten Amie-Pilot - The couple moved to Las Vegas in 1952. Curtis began working in construction and Ruby began working as one of the first black window decorators at the Riviera Hotel in 1953. They were one of the first black couples to gamble, dine and spend the night at several Las Vegas Strip hotels after they, along with members of the NAACP, threatened to protest the highly publicized Floyd Patterson vs. Sonny Liston fight in 1963. Curtis Amie Sr. and Kermit Booker Sr. started the first black Boys Scout troop on the Westside in the early 60s. In 1966, after completing the miner’s training program, Curtis staged a protest to be allowed to work as a miner. He became the first black miner to work in the area mines until his retirement in 1978. Ruby worked at the Moulin Rouge from opening to closing. The couple opened the first nationally franchised business on the Historic Westside in 1973, a Dairy Queen, located on the corner of Bonanza Road and H Street.
Dr. Frederick Boulware – Dr. Boulware is the first black doctor to train at the prestigious Mayo Clinic when he joined as a resident in neurology in 1966. He then became the first black doctor to be appointed to the medical staff of the Mayo Clinic in 1969. He was one of the first black doctors in Las Vegas when he moved with his family to the city in 1971. He was board-certified in neurology and clinical neurophysiology, and established the first CT scan and permanent MRI scan labs in Las Vegas.
Rosalie Boulware – Boulware was an icon in workforce development in the Las Vegas community. She worked for more than three decades, focusing on the Westside community and underserved residents. She was responsible for assisting in the procurement and monitoring of millions of dollars in grants to place displaced workers, formerly incarcerated workers and under-represented workers in new jobs. She was also a longtime civil rights advocate in the Westside community, and served on the executive board of the local chapter of the NAACP for many years.
Otis R. Harris Jr. and Sylvia (Tisha) Fish Harris – Harris Jr. joined the Las Vegas Fire Department in 1964 and was later recruited to integrate the Nevada Test Site Fire Department as the first black firefighter. At the Test Site he was promoted to assistant to the chief and later to supply/property manager. He later joined the staff of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority in a management position, and became the Tourism Marketing Manager. He was the first African American appointed to serve in an executive position at the LVCVA. Sylvia Harris attended Bennett College for Women in Greensboro, North Carolina. While at Bennett, she participated in the sit-in initiated by the “Greensboro Four,” and the picketing of Woolworths and other stores in Greensboro, and was a voter registrar. After graduating from Bennett with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education, she moved to Las Vegas in August 1963. She soon found an apartment in Cadillac Arms Apartments on D Street in the Historic Westside and has resided in the Westside ever since.
Frank Hawkins – Hawkins is a native Nevadan, and graduate of the University of Nevada Reno where he was a three-time All-American running back. While playing football at UNR, Hawkins was a three-time All-American running back and when he graduated was the third all-time leading rusher in college football history. Drafted by the Oakland Raiders in 1981, he played seven years professionally, winning the 1984 Super Bowl. Hawkins returned home to build businesses and became the first African American ever elected to the Las Vegas City Council in 1991. He served the local NAACP as president for seven years.
Lisa Morris-Hibbler - Morris Hibbler began her career in 1997 with the city of Las Vegas; her remarkable 27-year tenure included being the first African American deputy city manager and chief of Community Services. Her commitment to service is evident through her involvement in various social and community organizations. She is an advocate for reform, focused on the well-being and development of children. She has worked to address the disproportionate representation of African American boys in the juvenile justice system, to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline and to improve academic outcomes for children of color.
George Simmons Jr. - It did not take Simmons long after moving to Las Vegas in 1963 to begin making an impact on the Historic Westside. One of his important achievements was the design of the first mall in West Las Vegas, The Nucleus Plaza, formerly known as the Golden West Shopping Center. He also worked for Sproul Homes to design the Regal Estates residential area in North Las Vegas. He worked for various engineering firms that contracted with the Nevada Test Site for 47 years. He was also an employee of Bechtel Corporation. His major accomplishments and contributions include serving as a board member for the Westside Federal Credit Union and the Valley View Gold Association. While at the Westside Federal Credit Union, he served as a member of the board of directors and was instrumental in establishing youth workshops in money management and financial literacy.
Wendell P. Williams - Williams was a teacher in the Clark County School District for more than a decade and became a Nevada assemblyman in 1987. During his legislative career, Williams served as the first African American speaker of the Nevada Assembly, where he passed the first racial profiling legislation in America. He was the chair of the Assembly's Education Committee for more than a dozen years and authored or co-authored 75 bills on education. In addition, he sponsored legislation that rebuilt schools in Historic West Las Vegas. He founded the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Committee, as well as the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Parade in Las Vegas.
The park incorporates unique elements, such as a timeline of the Historic Westside and an interpretive walking trail. It also includes public artwork and stories of the Westside, along with trees, landscaping and a playground.
