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Women of Clark County
Ruby Duncan
1932 -
In 1971, Ruby Duncan, along with other community leaders, organized demonstrations and protest marches on the Strip in response to Nevada’s drastic reduction in welfare support for women and children. Duncan had worked at various hotel-casino jobs but eventually found herself relying on welfare. Duncan also co-founded Operation Life, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of those in West Las Vegas. Operation Life offered numerous services, such as an employment program and a drug and violence prevention initiative, as well as establishing community resources that had not previously existed on the Westside, including a library, daycare, and public swimming pool. Duncan has received numerous honors for her work as well as honorary degrees from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, University of Nevada, Reno, and the Community College of Southern Nevada.
Pictured: Ruby Duncan, 1971. North Las Vegas Library Photograph Collection. UNLV University Libraries Special Collections & Archives.
Sources
- Orleck, Annelise. Storming Caesars Palace: How Black Mothers Fought Their Own War on Poverty. Beacon Press, 2006.
- UNLV Special Collections Portal. “Ruby Duncan Collection on Operation Life.” Accessed April 9, 2025. https://special.library.unlv.edu/ark:/62930/f1g026.
- UNLV Special Collections Portal. “Transcript of Interview with Ruby Duncan by Claytee D. White on February 13 and March 2, 2007.” Accessed April 9, 2025. https://special.library.unlv.edu/ark%3A/62930/d1sx67b1f.
For questions or comments, please reach out to the Clark County Museum at ccmuseum@clarkcountynv.gov.