This joyous season has been tempered by the passing this week of a true Las Vegas legend, former owner of the Moulin Rouge, civil rights activist and business pioneer, Sarann Knight Preddy at age 94. The photo in this article, by Las Vegas Review-Journal, shows Sarann Knight-Preddy at a protest rally/press conference at the corner of F Street near the Interstate 15 overpass in 2008. Her group objected to proposed plans to block off the overpass at F Street, segregating the historically black neighborhood. Thanks to their efforts, the plans were dropped!!. Knight-Preddy was recently featured in the Moving Forward segment (Episode 2) of MAKERS: Women in Nevada History, a documentary collaboration by Vegas PBS and UNLVs Womens Research Institute of Nevada. . wrinunlv.org/education/las-vegas-leaders-a-wrinvegas-pbs-project/ I met Miss Preddy, and educated myself of the Moulin Rouge Hotel and the story of the Historic Westside Las Vegas during my stint working for Kcep-Fm (Power 88) as Promotions Consultant and,later, Marketing Manager under GM, Louis LC Connor, (the Love Captain). I used to work the door at KCEP fundraiser events like Classic Thursday and others. The hotel had long been closed and there was no gaming, but the elegant showroom was still open for special events. We became Facebook friends last year after she sent me a request. I was surprised that she remembered me and was honored to learn that she had been following my Facebook posts for some time. For those unfamiliar with the pioneering achievements of Sarann Knight-Preddy, I leave you with the entry from >>> blackpast.org/ Sarann Knight migrated to Las Vegas in 1942, settling with her husband in the Westside African American community. Preddy first sought employment on Jackson Street, the black business district, and soon became a Keno writer in the Cotton Club. Preddy moved to Hawthorne, Nevada with her husband and purchased her first gaming venture, a nightclub for blacks offered to her for $600.00. Borrowing the money from her father, Preddy renamed the enterprise the Tonga Club, and operated it for seven years. With club ownership she became the first black woman to own a gaming license in Nevada. Sarann returned to Las Vegas in 1955 and one year later went to work at Jerry’s Nugget as an experiment. The NAACP had been told that Jerry’s Nugget would hire a black dealer if they could send in a qualified person. Sarann accepted the challenge, intending to work at the North Las Vegas casino for six months. She stayed there for seven years. Preddy went back into business for herself as the owner and operator of The People’s Choice Casino. She then purchased the famed Moulin Rouge. Since its 1955 opening and closing, the resort had passed through several owners never realizing the success that it had enjoyed in its heyday. The problems continued despite Preddy’s best efforts. The Rouge was closed in the late 1990s. The famed hotel casino burned to the ground in 2003. Preddy also ran for the Las Vegas City Council, served on the local NAACP Executive Board, organized the Womens Auxiliary to the local NAACP branch, and became a founding member of the Las Vegas Barbara Jordan Democratic Club. She was a key leader in the business sorority, Gamma Phi Delta. - < cc: Anthona Mc Neil * April Calloway * Urban Musicman * Bill Lee * Carlton Booth * Andre Mychals * Kcep Fm * Carlaya Koslow * Ben DjBenzo F * Mark Leslie * Terry Wade * Ali Don * Rodney E. Collins * Michelle Stefin
Posted on: Sat, 27 Dec 2014 02:15:35 +0000
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