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Women of Clark County

Yvonne Atkinson-Gates

1956 -

Born in Henderson, Nevada, Yvonne Atkinson-Gates became a prominent political leader in southern Nevada. She served on the Clark County Board of Commissioners for District D from 1992 to 2007, becoming the first Black woman to chair the Commission in 1995. In 2002, she led the Democratic National Committee Black Caucus and was a founding member of Future PAC, an organization dedicated to increasing the representation of Black women in public office. Atkinson-Gates consistently supported public education and childcare programs throughout her career.

Pictured: Yvonne Atkinson-Gates. Clark County Museum.

Sources

• The History Makers: The Digital Repository for the Black Experience. “The Honorable Yvonne Atkinson Gates’s Biography.” Accessed April 9, 2025. https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/honorable-yvonne-atkinson-gates.

For questions or comments, please reach out to the Clark County Museum at ccmuseum@clarkcountynv.gov.