But then...that had me thinking. If I write a tale of a Black succubus trying to pull off some dangerous mission to fit in with some sanctimonious group of demon hunters, I had to ask the question: "Would her Black ass even be allowed in the casinos?" As a Black author, you can't go far without asking these kinda questions, especially if you're doing any historical worldbuilding. As Black Americans, we were everywhere, but everywhere didn't necessarily mean "everywhere". The Jim Crow curse of being seen and unseen simultaneously. But it was a key question as I wanted to write an urban fantasy trilogy about a Black Succubus and her struggle to belong somewhere and be seen. I found it cathartic to write a character who embodies all the angles of bullshit Black women encounter: Jezebel archetype, Pet to Treat in workplace, Black Tax, Having to always shrink to make yourself "palatable" or "non-threatening".  Code switching. I have a LOT to say about this, so it will be themes throughout the Trilogy for sure. But first, this book 1 would be historical, so I needed to get the history of Vegas, the settings, and tones right.

So, I did what Ms. Beverly Jenkins advised in so many of her conversations: Go to the library, do some research and find out what happened and when. And that's what I did. I started small with a simple question: "When was the Vegas Strip actually integrated?" 

And listen, where that one question took me, was pretty fascinating.

I stumbled upon the history of Las Vegas and how a little integrated hotel & casino became a catalyst to kick off the Civil Rights Movement on the Strip.

Asking the Right Questions about History in Vegas uncovered Civil Rights History I never knew.

Yep, the book's setting of The Rouge Palace is actually based off real history during the American Civil Rights Movement.  The Moulin Rouge Hotel and Casino was a real place that existed on the Las Vegas Strip and was considered the first major integrated hotel in America. Promoters of the Moulin Rouge Hotel at the time called it "the nation's first major interracial hotel." 

And not only that, but everything from talent (musicians, dancers, entertainers) to the wait staff was integrated, making it the only hotel & casino in Las Vegas that wasn’t segregated. That was pretty ground-breaking in 1955!  When I uncovered this little-known history, it helped me craft the character of not only Gemma, but Ari (her demon love interest and antagonist). I developed Ari as a Greed demon who maintains his power through this integrated casino. Historical accounts stated that the Moulin Rouge was very lucrative because they were able to hire the best talent across the board. From dealers to dancers, they were able to get the top folks in and this drew guests willing to spend big bucks there. 

This would be the ideal setting and why both Gemma and Ari would stay in Vegas. Greed was big there. There's no Vegas without the performers, and so many major performers hitting the circuit were Black. However, the Strip before integration made access for Black talent challenging to say the least, and insulting to say the most. 

You see, until the hotel's opening on May 24, 1955, Black entertainers performing in Las Vegas were denied access to the casino and hotel dining areas were they performed and were forced to seek overnight accommodations in Black boarding houses. Black tourism? Non-existent. And unfortunately, Nevada Assembly bills designed to bar discrimination in public places had failed, the last by only one vote. 

So, a diverse group of investors took a different tactic. 

They developed plans for an integrated hotel in a prime location—a site between the predominantly white area of the Strip and the largely black Westside. The result was a hotel integrated at all levels, from employees to patrons to entertainers. Listen, Black Showgirls!! Don't you just love when DEI mindsets come together and create something boldly inclusive? An integrated casino. On the Vegas Strip...in 1955. This should've been a movie! 

Opening night was a gala affair hosted by Joe Louis and featuring performances by The Platters and flashy chorus-line routines. Within the next few months the hotel attracted such performers as Louis Armstrong, George Burns, Nat King Cole, Jack Benny, Frank Sinatra, and Sammy Davis, Jr. Initially, the nightspot became so popular, a 2:30 a.m. "third show" was added. The existence of the Moulin Rouge was a threat to the other casinos on the Strip, as talent was booking up with at the Rouge and wherever the talent goes, the crowd (and their coins) follow. 

When civil rights activists scheduled a march on March 26, 1960, to protest racial discrimination in Las Vegas resorts, hotel owners, city and state officials, and Nevada Governor Grant Sawyer hurriedly set up a meeting with NAACP president, Dr. James McMillan and other Black leaders at the Moulin Rouge. Most of the hotel owners agreed to integrate their establishments, and the planned march was canceled.

Although the Moulin Rouge closed suddenly in October 1955, its short life had a lasting impact.

I was bummed to learn that the Moulin Rouge casino suffered major fires in 2003 and 2009, leaving only a portion of the two-story hotel left. The large cursive neon sign designed by famed Yesco sign designer Betty Willis, who also designed the famous "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign, was moved a few days prior to the 2009 fire to the Neon Museum for safekeeping, which I hope to see someday. The remaining portions of the hotel and casino, including the front facade and iconic tower, were demolished in 2010 due to safety reasons.

And this amazing history gave me everything I needed for my story and how this first installment of the "Vegas Trilogy" will go. How Gemma grew up on the Westside and attended the church her father led. How Ari, though one of the investors and founders of the casino, didn't necessarily do it as a goodwil toward men. After all, he's a greed demon presenting as white.  He just realizes that segregation ultimately hurts your bag—which is a sentiment many liberal-leaning white americans agreed with, that pushed integration more in favor with wealthy, business owners. Greed.  How it's totally plausable for Gemma to disguise herself as a showgirl to gain access to the casino's backstage layers. 

I wanted to write a love letter to this piece of history and felt really jazzed that I had learned something new, found a way to integrate this history into my story, and share it with others. That's the beauty of unpacking history—it's a sister of art as its meant to evoke strong emotion. Don't let anyone tell you different. We've always been a species that learned best from storytelling.

Fun Fact: The site of the former Moulin Rouge Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas is located at 900 West Bonanza Road. The property was a setting for filming the movie "Casino."

Acknowledgements

I will always be grateful to the lovely Ms. Bev for being such an inspiration for me to dig into history, to research and ask the big ugly questions. Because you never know what you might find. She's shared this years ago at an author's speaking event in Austin, well before these times, where we're seeing how much history has been either hidden or ignored by us everyday. 

How we engage with history in our writing (which is our daily life as writers) says so much about how we see the world. Why are things the way they are now? What had to happen for it to be this way? Asking these questions helps us pull at threads that are tied to a rich tapestry of our ancestors' interconnected lives. 

The Civil Rights Movement was no passing fancy. It started and never ended to this day. We know it, because the thread keeps stretching and getting longer. It's here to stay.