First African-American U.S. attorney for Nevada wants to ‘open the door’ for others

Jason Frierson’s job as U.S. attorney for Nevada comes with an additional responsibility. He wants to show other students and young lawyers what’s possible. “It can be exhausting being the first, because you want to open the door so you’re not the last,” said Frierson, the first African-American U.S. attorney for Nevada. “You are an example. You are paving the way for other people, and you want to make sure that you leave it in a good place for other people.” Frierson, a former prosecutor, public defender and state lawmaker, was confirmed as the U.S. attorney for Nevada in April 2022, becoming the first African-American man to serve as the state’s top federal law enforcement official. During a recent interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Frierson recalled moving to Nevada after growing up in Compton, completing law school, becoming a politician and fighting a cancer diagnosis. The University of Nevada, Reno recruited Frierson with a full scholarship to play football in 1988. Frierson said he wanted to get away from Southern California, either through an athletic scholarship or by joining the military. He grew up “in the midst of the development of Compton’s reputation,” and was briefly sent to boarding...