EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted. Green numbers along left margin indicate location on the printed bill (e.g., 5-15 indicates page 5, line 15).

1-1 Whereas, William H. "Bob" Bailey was born in Detroit, Michigan, on

1-2 February 14, 1927, into a family with a strong musical tradition, and he

1-3 grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, where he learned to sing in church choirs; and

1-4 Whereas, When young William Bailey embarked on his own vocal

1-5 career as part of a quartet called the Four Notes, he adopted the nickname

1-6 "Bob" to avoid confusion with his cousin, Bill Bailey, who was also a

1-7 professional entertainer; and

2-1 Whereas, Bob Bailey pursued his ambition to be an international

2-2 lawyer by attending and graduating from the highly-respected Morehouse

2-3 College in Atlanta, Georgia; and

2-4 Whereas, Despite his scholastic achievements, Bob Bailey’s love of

2-5 music took center stage when he was hired by Count Basie to become one

2-6 of the two featured singers with the Count Basie Orchestra, affording him

2-7 the opportunity to have three hit records; and

2-8 Whereas, It was during this time with Count Basie that he met and

2-9 married the lovely and talented Anna Louis Porter who became his partner

2-10 and loyal supporter in all his future endeavors; and

2-11 Whereas, Anna Porter was born in Savannah, Georgia, grew up in New

2-12 York City and, inspired by her mother’s creative survival skills and

2-13 utilizing her own sparkling personality, became a performer at the

2-14 legendary Apollo Theatre and eventually moved on to Broadway where she

2-15 performed with legends such as Louis Armstrong, Pearl Bailey, Duke

2-16 Ellington and Count Basie; and

2-17 Whereas, Anna Porter’s talent, captivating beauty and gracious

2-18 personality earned her nationwide fame and led her to London, England, to

2-19 perform at the London Palladium for 6 months, and from there to Las

2-20 Vegas as a member of the chorus line at the Moulin Rouge, a casino that

2-21 featured a show with all African-American entertainers; and

2-22 Whereas, The breakup of Count Basie’s big band in 1950 gave Bob

2-23 Bailey the opening to move on to the new medium of television, and in

2-24 preparation, he attended the School of Radio and Television in New York

2-25 City; and

2-26 Whereas, Bob Bailey’s break into television did not occur until after

2-27 he worked in Las Vegas as a co-producer and master of ceremonies at the

2-28 Moulin Rouge, the only casino at that time which was open to everyone in

2-29 what was a very segregated city; and

2-30 Whereas, The television show sponsored by the Moulin Rouge with

2-31 Bob Bailey as its host was canceled when the Moulin Rouge closed after

2-32 only 6 months, but Hank Greenspun, who owned KLAS-Channel 8,

2-33 continued the program that was the first to be produced, acted in and

2-34 directed by African-American talent and the first to be sponsored by

2-35 businesses owned by African Americans; and

2-36 Whereas, While he was pioneering the way for African Americans in

2-37 the television industry as a current events talk show host with KLAS and a

2-38 newscaster and variety show host with KTNV-Channel 13, Bob Bailey also

2-39 wrote editorials for the Las Vegas Voice, the local African-American

2-40 newspaper, and authored a column for the Las Vegas Sun; and

2-41 Whereas, Bob Bailey’s high profile after only 2 years in Las Vegas led

2-42 to his appointment as the local chairman of the Urban Renewal Advisory

2-43 Commission in 1956, which was followed by numerous other

3-1 appointments, including an appointment by Governor Grant Sawyer in

3-2 1961 to the commission established by the Legislature to study the extent of

3-3 discrimination against minorities in Nevada; and

3-4 Whereas, Bob Bailey’s work investigating job opportunities for the

3-5 Commission made him a natural choice to direct a federally encouraged

3-6 Manpower Services program that trained minorities in jobs traditionally

3-7 reserved for whites and, as a result of Bob’s determination and persistent

3-8 recruitment of assistance from casino executives and managers, opened up

3-9 more than 1,000 jobs to minorities in less than 2 years; and

3-10 Whereas, To augment the meager income from his television career,

3-11 Bob Bailey became a real estate broker and developer, and in 1964 he and

3-12 his wife, Anna, opened a club in West Las Vegas named the Sugar Hill,

3-13 which became an after-hours hangout for the next 25 years for such big

3-14 name entertainers as Sammy Davis, Jr., Johnny Carson and Duke Ellington,

3-15 and, during that period, employed over 500 African Americans; and

3-16 Whereas, In the mid-1960s, Bob and Anna Bailey also bought the riot-

3-17 damaged West Owens Shopping Center and converted much of it into the

3-18 Pan-Afro Auditorium, a move that continued to build the economic growth

3-19 and employment of the African-American community in Las Vegas; and

3-20 Whereas, Bob Bailey later established the Nevada Economic

3-21 Development Company, which helped minority businesses obtain $300

3-22 million in loans and lines of credit over 19 years; and

3-23 Whereas, Bob Bailey’s success in this venture led to a job in

3-24 Washington, D.C., as an associate director and, later, deputy director of the

3-25 Minority Business Development Agency, which included the responsibility

3-26 of overseeing a $66 million national budget and helping to report to the

3-27 United States Congress on its work; and

3-28 Whereas, Anna Bailey encouraged her husband to accept the

3-29 appointment at the United States Department of Commerce and for the 4

3-30 years during his absence managed the family business, including the

3-31 development and operation of the Baby Grand Night Club, which they had

3-32 acquired just prior to Bob’s appointment, and continued her role as the

3-33 mother of their two children, Kimberly and John; and

3-34 Whereas, Being homesick for Nevada, Bob Bailey declined the offer

3-35 to stay in Washington after President George Bush left office and is

3-36 currently concentrating on his New Ventures Inc., which has been awarded

3-37 a contract to certify local businesses as qualified to participate in a new

3-38 Small Business Administration program; and

3-39 Whereas, Anna Bailey’s boundless energy has made her a vital part of

3-40 various community organizations and kept her beside her husband through

3-41 all their commitments and successes for the past 48 years; and

3-42 Whereas, Together Bob and Anna Bailey raised two college graduates,

3-43 now successful in their own right, John Robert Bailey, an attorney with

4-1 Lionel, Sawyer & Collins, and Kimberly Ann Bailey-Tureaud, a minority

4-2 business developer; now, therefore, be it

4-3 Resolved by the Assembly of the State of Nevada, the Senate

4-4 Concurring, That the members of the 70th session of the Nevada

4-5 Legislature do hereby commend and express their heartfelt gratitude to

4-6 William H. "Bob" Bailey and Anna Bailey for all their efforts to help make

4-7 Nevada a place where persons of all races and diverse backgrounds can live

4-8 together and prosper together; and be it further

4-9 Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly prepare and transmit a

4-10 copy of this resolution to Bob and Anna Bailey.