Clarence Ray Park

The Clarence Ray Memorial Park features a playground and plenty of open space. It is named after Clarence Ray, who was a co-owner of the first black-owned gambling houses in Las Vegas. He participated in the struggle to get major casinos to hire black dealers, culminating in the 1972 Consent Decree. Ray also involved himself in efforts to secure the employment of black workers at the Hoover Dam. He helped to end public accommodations discrimination in the gaming industry in 1960, which worked to secure state civil rights legislation. Finally, he also helped to maximize black voting power by organizing the Voters League in 1928; later he was president of the revived Voters League for two terms during the civil rights struggles of the 1960s.