FILE NUMBER........

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

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

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

Whereas, When young William Bailey embarked on his own vocal

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

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

professional entertainer; and

Whereas, Bob Bailey pursued his ambition to be an international

lawyer by attending and graduating from the highly-respected Morehouse

College in Atlanta, Georgia; and

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

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

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

the opportunity to have three hit records; and

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

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

and loyal supporter in all his future endeavors; and

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

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

utilizing her own sparkling personality, became a performer at the

legendary Apollo Theatre and eventually moved on to Broadway where she

performed with legends such as Louis Armstrong, Pearl Bailey, Duke

Ellington and Count Basie; and

Whereas, Anna Porter’s talent, captivating beauty and gracious

personality earned her nationwide fame and led her to London, England, to

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

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

featured a show with all African-American entertainers; and

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

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

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

City; and

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

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

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

what was a very segregated city; and

Whereas, The television show sponsored by the Moulin Rouge with

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

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

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

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

businesses owned by African Americans; and

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

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

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

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

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

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

to his appointment as the local chairman of the Urban Renewal Advisory

Commission in 1956, which was followed by numerous other

appointments, including an appointment by Governor Grant Sawyer in

1961 to the commission established by the Legislature to study the extent of

discrimination against minorities in Nevada; and

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

Commission made him a natural choice to direct a federally encouraged

Manpower Services program that trained minorities in jobs traditionally

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

recruitment of assistance from casino executives and managers, opened up

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

Whereas, To augment the meager income from his television career,

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

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

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

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

and, during that period, employed over 500 African Americans; and

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

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

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

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

Whereas, Bob Bailey later established the Nevada Economic

Development Company, which helped minority businesses obtain $300

million in loans and lines of credit over 19 years; and

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

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

Minority Business Development Agency, which included the responsibility

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

United States Congress on its work; and

Whereas, Anna Bailey encouraged her husband to accept the

appointment at the United States Department of Commerce and for the 4

years during his absence managed the family business, including the

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

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

mother of their two children, Kimberly and John; and

Whereas, Being homesick for Nevada, Bob Bailey declined the offer

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

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

a contract to certify local businesses as qualified to participate in a new

Small Business Administration program; and

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

various community organizations and kept her beside her husband through

all their commitments and successes for the past 48 years; and

Whereas, Together Bob and Anna Bailey raised two college graduates,

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

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

business developer; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of Nevada, the Senate

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

Legislature do hereby commend and express their heartfelt gratitude to

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

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

together and prosper together; and be it further

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

copy of this resolution to Bob and Anna Bailey.

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