photo by Justin Yurkanin

Last fall, the Nevada Department of Transportation amputated F Street at the I-15 overpass, pissing off almost the entire Historic Westside. A little research revealed that the Las Vegas City Council voted to close the street two years earlier, but hadn’t gotten around to telling the people who were going to be affected.

The community organized, held meetings, protested at city hall, adopted a team color (red). And today they marched on the Las Vegas Strip.

Why The Strip? A couple of reasons: The National Association of Broadcasters meeting at the convention center and the fact that political action in the heart of the tourist district tends to get politicians scrambling to protect the city’s image. Which means quicker results.

The evening before the march, about 40 people gathered at the corner of F Street and Madison for a chant rehearsal and pep rally. They dusted off the classics, e.g. “No justice! No peace!” and introduced a few originals by Bonnie Greathouse, head organizer for ACORN.

This morning, about 60 red-shirted protesters boarded a charter bus outside Second Baptist Church for the march. An eight-car caravan crawled up Las Vegas Boulevard to Flamingo, where the march began. They raised their signs.

Who are we? Voters! What do we want? The wall down! When do we want it? Now! Who are we? Voters! What do we want? The wall down! When do we want it? Now! Who are we? Voters! What do we want? The wall …

The march began at about 10:30 a.m. It ended around noon. Along the way, it picked up a couple douchey tourists who mock-protested while they slurped daiquiris and confused several Asian travelers.

Did they get their message across? It’s hard to say. But a pair of documentary filmmakers who have been working on a piece about being black in Las Vegas captured the event for posterity, and maybe for national television. And just to make sure no one is confused about who’s to blame for F Street, the Westsiders erupted in a few spontaneous chants of their own. I can’t remember them exactly, but I know they contained the words “Oscar Goodman, shame on you.”