[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 57 (Monday, April 26, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S4159]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO JAMES B. MCMILLAN

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, 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.
  McMillan first felt the call to participate in the civil rights 
movement amid a turbulent atmosphere in 1959 at a NAACP Freedom Front 
Dinner. The speaker was NAACP Field Secretary Tarea Hall Pittman whose 
subject was ``Las Vegas, now is the time.'' Despite death threats, 
McMillan began organizing for a local peace march on the Strip which 
turned the tide in the struggle for integration. From this point on, 
McMillan devoted his life to provide and expand opportunities for 
blacks. He began to register black voters and recruit black teachers 
for local schools. At age 74 he was elected to the Clark County School 
Board. Eventually a school in northwest Las Vegas, The James B. 
McMillan Elementary School, was named in his honor.
  Last year, McMillan published his autobiography, ``Fighting Back--A 
Life in the Struggle for Civil Rights.'' James B. McMillan's life truly 
was a reflection of a valiant, idealistic, and nonviolent struggle for 
equality. His lifeworks have opened doors for many blacks in the United 
States and will continue to be an inspiration for all who are engaged 
in the race for equality.
  This U.S. Senator is a better person because of the efforts of Dr. 
McMillan. Nevada is a better state because of Dr. McMillan's refusal to 
accept the status quo and his lifelong dedication in the struggle for 
equality.

                          ____________________