A Virtual Salon: Nevada's Public Monuments
Conversations about statues and historical commemorations are taking place across the nation, while collective action, in many cases, is seeing the removal of monuments from public places. In the midst of these actions, what is happening in Nevada? Join Nevada Humanities for the Virtual Salon: Nevada's Public Monuments as we talk with historians and activists on the front lines of change about monuments, markers, and the physical presence of history in this state. Moderated by oral historian Claytee White, the panel includes historians Alicia Barber and Michael Green, artist Emily Budd, and artist and activist Fawn Douglas. This event was live streamed on Thursday, September 17, 2020 at noon PDT.
Michael Green is an associate professor of history at UNLV. He is the author of several books about the Civil War era, including the forthcoming Lincoln and Native Americans, and numerous books about Nevada, including Nevada: A History of the Silver State, published in 2015. He is executive director of the Pacific Coast Branch of the American Historical Association and executive director of Preserve Nevada, our state's oldest statewide historic preservation organization. He is president of the Nevada Center for Civic Engagement, which puts on the "We the People" high school civics events and other programs, and serves on the boards of The Mob Museum and the UNLV College of Liberal Arts. He writes "Nevada Yesterdays," funded by Nevada Humanities, for KNPR.
Alicia Barber, PhD, is a public historian and author working at the intersections of public memory, historic landscapes, and community identity. Through her firm Stories in Place, she produces and contributes to collaborative exhibits and historical markers, oral histories, and digital projects including Reno Historical, Illuminating Reno’s Divorce Industry, and the 4th Street-Prater Way History Project. Her historical installations can be found at the Nevada State Capitol, the Nevada State Library and Archives, the Reno City Plaza, the historic downtown Reno post office, and along East 4th Street and Prater Way through Reno and Sparks. Author of Reno’s Big Gamble: Image and Reputation in the Biggest Little City, she produced and hosted the history feature “Time & Place” for KUNR Public Radio. From 2003 to 2013, she taught U.S., Nevada, and Public History at the University of Nevada, Reno, where she also directed the University of Nevada Oral History Program. Dr. Barber serves on the Nevada Board of Museums and History and holds a PhD in American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin.
Emily Budd (she/her) is a lesbian artist specializing in time travel through mold-making. Drawing from her background in bronze-casting and paleontology, her sculptural explorations challenge the human perception of time and speculate on our own futurity and fossilization. Reformative monuments, artifacts and memorials become an act of queer place-making while contemplating human sustainability when facing imminent change. Budd currently lives and works in Las Vegas, where she teaches Sculpture at UNLV.
Fawn Douglas is a member of the Las Vegas Paiute Tribe, where she previously served as a Tribal Councilwoman. She also has roots in the Moapa Paiute, Cheyenne, Pawnee, and Creek Nations. In 2012, Fawn earned a degree in Global Studies from the College of Southern Nevada. In 2015, she obtained a B.A. in Art, Painting and Drawing at UNLV. Fawn has been involved with the Native American Student Association, American Indian Alliance and serves as the President of the Native American Alumni Club at UNLV. Fawn is a community organizer for many issues on conservation from Standing Rock Protectors for the water to the designation of Gold Butte National Monument here in Southern Nevada. Her efforts have not stopped there, she continues to be a force in preservation of the Desert National Wildlife Refuge and Paiute Cultural rights. As an artist, Fawn continues to pull her heritage into her work. She works in mixed media, print, pastel, spray paint, acrylic, oil paint and ceramics. She has murals in various locations in the City of Las Vegas as well as the Paiute Indian Reservation. Her art in the MFA program addresses issues from the Indigenous perspective on what it means to be Native in the contemporary, shining a light on race, class and gender through sculpture and performance.
Claytee D. White is the inaugural director of the Oral History Research Center for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Libraries. She collects the history of Las Vegas and the surrounding area by gathering memories of events and experiences from longtime residents. Her projects include early health care in the city, history of the John S. Park Neighborhood, The Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project, and a study of musicians who played with some of the greats in the entertainment field. As one of five founders of the Las Vegas Black Historical Society Inc., she chronicles the history of the Las Vegas black community that was established in 1905. Her published writings on the subject include a book chapter, encyclopedia entries, and several articles. White received her bachelor's degree from California State University, Los Angeles, master's degree in history from University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and has completed work toward a doctorate at the College of William & Mary. White currently serves on the Board of Women of Diversity, the UNLV Presidential Debate Planning Committee, and the Historic Preservation Commission. White has also served on the Historic Preservation Commission for the city of Las Vegas, Nevada Humanities executive board, and is the past president of the Southwest Oral History Association.
A special thanks to Sundance Books and Music, our forever partners in the Nevada Humanities Salon Series.