In 1949, Brenda Williams attended the historic Westside School, what was then called the Las Vegas Grammar School.
Although the school was integrated at the time, much of the community was not.
Hearing the stories of those who attended the Westside School was part of her motivation to write "Westside School Alumni Stories: Our School, Our Community, Our Time, (1923-1967)."
After graduating, Williams has several firsts to boast of. She was the first African American to ever work in the banking industry in Nevada, and then the first at the Department of Motor Vehicles as well.
Many years later, she was called upon by then Senator Richard Bryan to be a constituent services representative in his Las Vegas senate office. In 2007, former Mayor Oscar Goodman appointed her to serve as interim councilwoman for the City of Las Vegas.
Williams is the founder and president of the Westside School Alumni Foundation.
WIlliams joins KNPR for a series of profile interviews in honor of Black History Month, as she recalls those early jobs, the discrimination she faced, and the progress she made in the community.
Brenda Williams, retired, former constituent services representative for Sen. Richard Bryan and interim city councilwoman, City of Las Vegas