Political Quotes

“I rise to day to pay tribute to James B. McMillan, pioneer and leader of the civil rights movement in Nevada. James McMillan was a longtime Las Vegas dentist whose name was often associated with the local civil rights movement as well as the desegregation of Las Vegas casinos. Dr. McMillan has been widely praised for his role in bringing down the color barriers in Las Vegas. He began his exemplary career in Detroit and then moved to Las Vegas where he became the first practicing black dentist. His pioneering initiatives were displayed through such efforts as helping to form the Human Rights Commission and his 1964 Senate run as the first black from Nevada to run for the U.S. Senate. Additionally, in 1971, McMillan became the first black to be appointed to the Nevada Board of Dental Examiners. When McMillan first arrived in Las Vegas the town was dubbed the ``Mississippi of the West'' and blacks were generally not allowed in hotel-casinos. While serving in the Korean war, McMillan opened his home to house black entertainers. At the time, black entertainers were rapidly escorted in and out of hotels and were not allowed to fraternize with hotel guests but only to perform in the show rooms. However, desegregation began shortly before McMillan first came to Las Vegas in 1955 with the opening of the Moulin Rouge, the first integrated hotel-casino. Throughout his career McMillan worked to further the accessibility to hotel-casinos for blacks.…”