When a wall was constructed in West Las Vegas, Nevada, as part of an interstate expansion project, residents on both sides of the wall interpreted its meanings differently. For the predominantly African American residents of West Las Vegas, the wall signified 80 years of oppression and exclusion by officials with the City of Las Vegas. For residents on the other side, the wall served to close off a blighted section of the city from downtown Las Vegas and especially from tourists. This critical ethnographic project documents the socially constructed and differentially interpreted meanings the wall signified for residents on both sides. This article concludes that a lack of meaningful social interaction among the residents on the opposing sides may be responsible for the differentially interpreted meanings of the wall and for the community of West Las Vegas.
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