Friends website
Friends on Facebook
Museum address
309 S. Valley View Blvd., LV, 89107
inside Springs Preserve
Report sums up a year of hard work
by Joan Whitely
The Friends of Nevada State Museum Las Vegas nears its fourth anniversary in June, with annual revenue last year of almost $28,000. Also in 2019, per its commitment to projects that enhance the museum, it paid out about $25,000. (The Friends do have reserve funds, so that it had a financial cushion when it disbursed almost 90 percent of its 2019 revenue.)
The money went for multiple activities ranging from a pilot program to provide museum membership to families with a fourth-grader in a Title 1 school near the museum, to a commitment to pay for round-trip delivery of educational Travelling Trunks from the museum for use in local classrooms.
Due to the volume of events and projects, the board has indicated it is looking to slightly expand its size in 2020. If you are interested or know a suitable candidate, you can email your suggestion to us.
Read our organization’s full 2019 Impact Report.
by Joan Whitely
Mary Savage, the Friends founding president, finished out her term and stepped down at the Friends annual business meeting on Jan. 16, after three successful years in that position.
Mary was invaluable in leading, supporting, and solidifying our board and our fundraising activities. We thank her profusely for serving and we wish her the very best.
In uncontested races, members on Jan. 16 elected Joan Whitely president and Jim Parish secretary.
Museum’s “Obsidian & Neon” engages, honors black community
by Joan Whitely
Reforming the criminal justice system is the core of, and the key to social justice nationwide, Karen Bennett-Haron told rapt Las Vegas listeners on Feb. 1.
The setting was the first panel discussion in “Obsidian & Neon”, a speaker series hosted at Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas, that organizers are calling a celebration of “black life and identity in Las Vegas.” The museum’s new photo exhibit of black Las Vegans links to the series.
Bennett-Haron, who is a judge in Las Vegas Justice Court, moderated the discussion among four local guests: Jon Ponder, founder of Hope for Prisoners, a non-profit that helps people exiting Nevada prisons reintegrate into society; Ramon Savoy, former editor of the Las Vegas Sentinel-Voice, a newspaper serving the black community; Dontae Scott, a real-estate investor; and Franny Foresman, a former federal public defender. Foresman was the only white person on the panel; two of the other guests had served time in prison.
First, the judge reviewed Nevada’s criminal stats, then opened up discussion on the reasons.
Depending on the specific academic study, Nevada is ranked 15th to 20th highest among U.S. states for the rate it locks up people (prison, jail or other secure facility) - which has earned Nevada the dubious title of “mass incarceration state,” the judge said. Then, within the state’s prison population, blacks - who comprise about 8 percent of the state population - account for about 29 percent of its imprisoned. (The latter figures match data reported by the Prison Policy Initiative).
Panelists agreed the Nevada legal system, in Foresman’s words, feeds people through the system to get the quickest possible result, in part because there’s not enough secure housing for people pre-trial. “The volume is so high they need to move them (on),” she said.
She named several specific ways the system tilts against people who may be poor and of color. First, our cash-bail system means that people without funds have to languish in jail until trial. But if a poor person is jailed three days, “they lose their job, (then) they lose their housing, they (may) lose their family.”
Second, criminal prosecutors here tend to unnecessarily “stack” charges. And, appointed public defenders - who have no personal rapport with the accused individual - may counsel them to plead guilty, despite innocence, to several charges just to have the bulk of charges dropped.
But the tilting starts even before a minority individual’s first trial. People with prior misdemeanors are more apt to be found guilty on their first felony charge. Yet, misdemeanor charges are regularly placed when a ticketing option - similar to getting ticketed for speeding - exists.
Panelists cited local cases: People detained (held in a secure facility) for jay-walking on a run-down street that lacked sidewalks on both sides. Or charged with carrying a concealed weapon for a set of knuckles found in his pocket. Or charged with intent to commit larceny after entering a property, when a trespassing charge would be equally valid.
“Once a paper trail gets started, you’re in the system,” Savoy said. “You can get a misdemeanor just from having a history.” And repeated misdemeanor punishment can lead to felony behavior, or at least felony charges.
And that history can commence as early as grade school, Savoy continued. He knows of adults whose paper trails have started from getting “RPC’d” - receiving a Required Parent Conference for alleged classroom misbehavior.
Scott - who grew up in Las Vegas - said his own criminal record began at age 10 when police labeled him a gang member “simply from living in the area,” a poor end of town with heightened police presence. He also lived in public housing as a child, and claimed it was a form of ostracization, not by his choice, that set him up to make bad choices.
Las Vegas has shed some unfair targeting by police in the last 10 years or, Ponder said. He noted that more than 100 police officers participate in Hope for Prisoners as mentors. Following the law is “enhanced” when a person has positive, not just negative, contacts with the law, he concluded.
On Feb. 22 Dine-Out and Raise Funds, All At Once
by Joan Whitely
Have a good meal and support the Friends in the process by dining between 5:30 p.m. and 11 p.m. at Romano’s Macaroni Grill on Feb. 22 (Sat.) at 2001 N. Rainbow Blvd., Las Vegas 89108.
Either present a Friends voucher or tell your server that you’re there to support our non-profit. When you do that, the restaurant will donate 20 percent of your tab (including alcoholic beverages) to the Friends. Please tell your circle of friends, co-workers, and neighbors about this chance to support a good cause.
In the future, we intend to periodically offer dine-out fundraising opportunities at other restaurant locations.
by Joan Whitely
This year we will repeat some of our most popular events, including our 2nd annual “Red & White” wine-tasting (April 18) as well as our 2nd annual tea event (June date to be announced soon.)
Look out, also, for some new events including the May 30 “Jubilee! Reunited,” which will connect some of the museum’s design sketches of “Jubilee!” stage costumes with actual costumes from the long-running show.
From such events the Friends have learned that our key source of revenue are the creative, jam-packed baskets that we raffle off.
To make alluring baskets, we will soon start collecting your donations of in-kind goods for baskets themed to tea, coffee, wine, beer, mixed spirits, American-style barbecuing, Southwestern cuisine, the Vegas Golden Knights, beauty, and fitness. Stay tuned for details on what to drop off at the museum, and when.
This year, for the first time, we will also offer members the chance to underwrite a themed basket - a good option if you don’t like shopping but want to contribute.
| 2020 EVENTS, NV STATE MUSEUM, LV All events held at the museum and are free with paid admission or membership. No registration required unless otherwise noted. Friends general meetings are the 3rd Thurs. of month. The museum is at 309 S. Valley View Blvd., inside Springs Preserve, LV 89107 |
||||
| DATE | TIME | EVENT | SPEAKER/LEADER | CONTEXT |
| Wed Feb 5 | 4:30 pm - 7:30 pm | Teacher Meetup | Public-school teachers learn about museum assets. Volunteers, snack donations needed. | Museum Event |
| Sat February 15 | 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm | Obsidian & Neon: Black Art | In honor of Black History Month, second in series of three discussions. This one will cover "Black Art: Mission or Expression?" | Museum Event |
| Thu Feb 20 | 6:00 pm - 7:15 pm | Don’t Bomb the Bighorn | A representative from the Friends of Nevada Wilderness will speak about bighorn sheep conservation on the Desert Wildlife Refuge | Friends Event |
| Sat February 22 | 5:30 pm - 11:00 pm | Friends Benefit Night at Romano’s Macaroni Grill | Friends get 20-percent of tab when you eat at Macaroni Grill, 2001 N. Rainbow Blvd. LV 89108. Party must present flier or mention Friends to server. Flier available on our Facebook page. | Friends Event |
| Sat Feb 29 | 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm | Obsidian & Neon: Black Economic Presence | In honor of Black History Month, third in series of three discussions. This one to cover "Black Economic Presence and Mobility in Sin City." | Museum Event |
To see the complete schedule for the year, please go to our Events page.