Ruby Duncan
{{Short description|American rights advocate}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Ruby Duncan
| image = File:Ruby Duncan.jpg
| caption = Ruby Duncan
| other names =
| birth_name = Ruby Phillips Duncan
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1932|06|07|df=y}}
| birth_place = Tallulah, Louisiana, USA
| death_date =
| death_place =
| education =
| occupation =
| nationality = American
| URL = {{url|https://www.rubyduncandreamkeepers.org}}
}}
Ruby Duncan (born June 7, 1932) is an American advocate for low-income families and welfare rights in Las Vegas, Nevada. She was the co-founder of the organization Operation Life and president of the Clark County Welfare Rights Organization.{{cite news |date=1971-02-22 |work=Reno Gazette-Journal |author= |title=O'Callaghan refuses to meet with outsiders on welfare |url= https://www.newspapers.com/image/150745233/?match=1&terms=%22Ruby%20Duncan%22%20Welfare |page=11 |location=Nevada, USA }} In the 1970s Duncan and 'Westside mother'{{cite news |date=2005-12-12 |work=The Daily Herald |author=Kathleen Hennessey |title=Book recounts Las Vegas women's anti-poverty activism |url= https://www.newspapers.com/image/468377575/?match=1&terms=%22ruby%20Duncan%22%20westside |page=20 |location=Utah, USA }} activists "organised a protest that shut down Caesars Palace in Las Vegas".{{cite news |date=2023-03-20 |work=Press Enterprise |author= |title=Independent Lens |url= https://www.newspapers.com/image/959063054/?match=1&terms=%22ruby%20Duncan%22%20Operation%20Life |page=15 |location=Pennsylvania, USA }} She also made "Nevada history" by bringing the federal food stamp program to the state.{{cite news |date=2008-03-08 |work=Reno Gazette-Journal |author=Geralda Miller |title=Welfare activist to talk in Reno |url= https://www.newspapers.com/image/150237965/?match=1&terms=%22ruby%20Duncan%22%20Operation%20Life |page=4 |location=Nevada, USA }}
Early life: 1932–1953
Ruby Phillips Duncan came from a family of sharecroppers.{{cite news |date=1985-04-01 |work=Reno Gazette-Journal |author=Myram Borders |title=Black crusader is spokeswoman for poor people |url= https://www.newspapers.com/image/148079234/?terms=%22ruby%20Duncan%22%20Nevada%20Welfare%20Rights%20Organization |page=21 |location=Nevada, USA }} Both her parents had died by the time she turned four, and from that point on she lived with relatives in Tallulah, Louisiana. The majority of her early life was spent working in cotton fields from May through October and attending a black school from November through April. She was a drug store clerk for two years.{{cite news |date=1971-03-18 |work=Nevada State Journal |author=Myram Borders |title=Clark welfare leader tells of background |url= https://www.newspapers.com/image/1011231549/?match=1&terms=%22Ruby%20Duncan%22%20Welfare |page=22 |location=Nevada, USA }} She left Louisiana for Las Vegas in 1953.{{cite news |date=1971-03-18 |work=Nevada State Journal |author=Myram Borders |title=Clark welfare leader tells of background |url= https://www.newspapers.com/image/1011231549/?match=1&terms=%22Ruby%20Duncan%22%20Welfare |page=22 |location=Nevada, USA }}
First years in Las Vegas
In Las Vegas Duncan worked as a house maid and a hotel maid. She was fired from the second job in 1964 for organizing other maids to protest against working conditions and low wages.{{cite news |date=2020-08-16 |work=Reno Gazette-Journal |author=Brett McGinness |title=10 influential women in Nevada history |url= https://www.newspapers.com/image/675873834/?match=1&terms=%22ruby%20Duncan%22%20Nevada%20Welfare%20Rights%20Organization |page=6 |location=insert }} After being fired, the only source of income she had to support herself and her young children was the Aid to Dependent Children (ADC) grant she received from the state welfare system.{{cite news |date=1969-07-11 |work=Nevada State Journal |author= |title=Welfare mothers complain |url= https://www.newspapers.com/image/1010897437/?terms=Duncan&match=1 |page=20 |location=Nevada, USA }} She was eventually able to get a job working in a hotel pantry, however while at work she slipped and fell, injuring her back and rendering her unable to work. This exposed her to the inadequate systems meant to support struggling families.{{cite news |date=2006-01-11 |work=St Mary and Franklin Banner-Tribune |author= |title=Book recounts Las Vegas woman's anti-poverty activism role |url= https://www.newspapers.com/image/474237656/?match=1&terms=%22ruby%20Duncan%22%20Nevada%20Welfare%20Rights%20Organization |page=15 |location=Louisiana, USA }} She contacted the State Welfare Department asking for job training so that she could get hired in a job that did not require physical labor, but the department was reluctant.
In 1967 Congress passed new amendments requiring all women on Aid to Families with Dependent Children to enroll in job training programs. The only program available to welfare mothers on the Westside of Las Vegas, where Duncan lived, was a sewing class that met five days a week eight hours a day and paid $25 a week. This is where Duncan became radicalized and mobilized with other welfare mothers who eventually banded together to form what became Clark County Welfare Rights.
Nevada Welfare Rights Organization
Duncan, along with other black welfare mothers, led the movement for welfare rights in Las Vegas. She created the Nevada Welfare Rights Organization{{cite news |date=1969-07-10 |work=Reno Gazette-Journal |author= |title=Welfare recipients cite complaints about Nevada |url= https://www.newspapers.com/image/149624450/?match=1&terms=%22Ruby%20Duncan%22%20Welfare |page=2 |location=Nevada, USA }} which fought successfully to bring the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as the Federal Food Stamps Program) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women Infants and Children to Nevada.{{cite news |date=2006-03-08 |work=Reno Gazette-Journal |author=Geralda Miller |title=Welfare activist to speak in Reno |url= https://www.newspapers.com/image/150237965/?match=1&terms=%22ruby%20Duncan%22%20Operation%20Life |page=4 |location=Nevada, USA }} George Wiley trained members of the group, and many young attorneys volunteered legal advice. The group, led by Duncan, Mary Wesley, Alversa Beals, Emma Stampley, and Essie Henderson, organized protests, eat-ins, marches, speeches, and political events to advocate for those receiving welfare and for women's rights.
Activism and the Strip
In 1971 the state of Nevada cut 75% of welfare given to women with children.{{cite news |date=1985-04-01 |work=Reno Gazette-Journal |author= |title=Ruby Duncan |url= https://www.newspapers.com/image/148079253/?match=1&terms=%22ruby%20Duncan%22%20Nevada%20Welfare%20Rights%20Organization |page=22 |location=Nevada, USA }} Duncan organized with other welfare mothers, especially those from Clark County Welfare Rights and the Nevada Welfare Rights Organization, initially holding small demonstrations. They organized two large-scale marches of welfare mothers and their children down the Las Vegas Strip.{{cite web|title=Ruby Duncan Collection|url=https://unr.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01UNR_INST/146dp7v/alma991004369149706781|website=University Libraries: University of Nevada, Las Vegas|accessdate=9 November 2014}}
At the first in March 1971,{{cite news |date=1971-03-03 |work= Nevada State Journal |author= |title=Welfare March plans outlined |url= https://www.newspapers.com/image/1011226436/?match=1&terms=%22Ruby%20Duncan%22%20Welfare |page=1 |location=Nevada, USA }} upwards of 6000 people marched down the Las Vegas Strip, shutting down revenues to the casinos, including Caesars Palace, for several hours. Celebrities and well known activists including Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, Ralph Abernathy, Cesar Chavez, Dr. Benjamin Spock, and Dave Dellinger attended, protecting the protestors from police and bystander abuse.{{cite book|last1=Orleck|first1=Annelise|title=Storming Caesars Palace: How Black Mothers Fought Their Own War on Poverty|date=July 2006 |publisher=Beacon Press|location=Boston|isbn=9780807050316}} A week later, another march took place. This time they sat across six lanes of traffic, meaning women and children were arrested.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCsu6Ss96ew |title=Why Mothers Stopped Traffic in Las Vegas |date=2021-03-22 |last=Smithsonian |access-date=2024-12-14 |via=YouTube}}
The marches gained attention from local and national news. Duncan and the other welfare mothers of the Clark County Welfare Rights Organization subsequently organized eat-ins, where dozens of welfare mothers and their children would order food from casino restaurants and then leave, telling the casinos to bill the state government. Two weeks after the initial eat-in, a federal judge mandated that all of the mothers that had been dropped from welfare be re-added immediately.{{cite web|last1=Regales|first1=Jackie|title=Learning the Lessons of History|url=http://www.mothersmovement.org/features/06/09/regales_welfare_rights_1.html|website=The Mothers Movement Online|publisher=Mothers Movement|accessdate=30 October 2014}}{{cite news |date=1972-02-11 |work=Reno Gazette-Journal |author= |title=Stardust file lawsuit based on 'eat-in' |url= https://www.newspapers.com/image/148021462/?match=1&terms=%22Ruby%20Duncan%22%20Welfare |page=12 |location=Nevada, USA }}
Duncan also served as a Democratic Delegate for Nevada at the 1980 Democratic National Convention.
Operation Life (1972-1992)
Duncan co-founded Operation Life in 1972{{cite news |date=1972-11-07 |work=Reno Gazette-Journal |author= |title=Governor said not responsible for grant denial |url= https://www.newspapers.com/image/147644657/?match=1&terms=%22Ruby%20Duncan%22%20Welfare |page=7 |location=Nevada, USA }} and served as the director for nearly two decades. The non-profit organization worked towards improving the lives of families and promoted welfare reform in West Las Vegas.{{cite news |date=2008-03-08 |work=Reno Gazette-Journal |author=Geralda Miller |title=Welfare activist to talk in Reno |url= https://www.newspapers.com/image/150237965/?match=1&terms=%22ruby%20Duncan%22%20Operation%20Life |page=4 |location=Nevada, USA }} Operation Life initiated community programs including drug and alcohol abuse prevention, daycare centers, medical clinics, lunch programs and employment programs.{{cite news |date=1985-04-01 |work=Reno Gazette-Journal |author=Myram Borders |title=Black crusader is spokeswoman for poor people |url= https://www.newspapers.com/image/148079234/?terms=%22ruby%20Duncan%22%20Nevada%20Welfare%20Rights%20Organization |page=21 |location=Nevada, USA }} Operation Life also contributed "Ruby Duncan Manor" a housing building for 30 elderly and disabled individuals. Duncan stepped down as director in 1990 and the organization ended in 1992.{{cite web|title=Ruby Duncan Biography|url=http://wrinunlv.org/research/our-history-profiles-of-nevada-women/ruby-duncan/|website=University of Nevada, Las Vegas|publisher=University of Nevada, Las Vegas|accessdate=28 October 2014}}
Recognition
She received the following awards and honors:
- 1973: Represented USA at the World Congress of Peace in Moscow{{cite news |date=1973-09-25 |work=Reno Gazette-Journal |author= |title=Welfare congress |url= https://www.newspapers.com/image/150666759/?match=1&terms=%22Ruby%20Duncan%22%20Welfare |page=13 |location=Nevada, USA }}
- Distinguished Nevadan{{cite web |url=https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/duncan-ruby-1932/ |title=Ruby Duncan (1932- ) |author= |website=blackpast.org |date= 2007-11-06 |access-date=2025-05-08}}
- University of Nevada, Las Vegas, honorary degree{{cite web |url=https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/duncan-ruby-1932/ |title=Ruby Duncan (1932- ) |author= |website=blackpast.org |date= 2007-11-06 |access-date=2025-05-08}}
- University of Nevada, Reno, honorary degree
- Community College of Southern Nevada, honorary degree
- 2008: Margaret Chase Smith Award from the National Association of Secretaries of State{{Cite web |title=NASS Margaret Chase Smith American Democracy Award |url=https://www.nass.org/node/179 |access-date=2024-12-08 |website=NASS |language=en}}
- 2009: Freedom Tree award, University of Nevada Reno
- 2010: Ruby Duncan Elementary School, North Las Vegas, Nevada opened{{Cite web |title=Ruby Duncan Elementary School |url=https://rubyduncandreamkeepers.org/m/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=508093&type=d&pREC_ID=979252 |access-date=2024-12-14 |website=rubyduncandreamkeepers.org}}
- Honored by Steven Horsford on the House Floor during Women's History Month.{{cite web|title=Horsford Honors Ruby Duncan On House Floor For Women's History Month|url=http://horsford.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/horsford-honors-ruby-duncan-on-house-floor-for-womens-history-month|website=Congressman Steven Horsford 4th District of Nevada|publisher=Congressman Steven Horsford 4th District of Nevada|accessdate=1 November 2014|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141101150719/http://horsford.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/horsford-honors-ruby-duncan-on-house-floor-for-womens-history-month|archivedate=1 November 2014}}
- 2020: Duncan was one of ten women selected to represent Nevada in USA TODAY's commemoration of the centenary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment.{{cite news |date=2020-08-16 |work=Reno Gazette-Journal |author=Brett McGinness |title=10 influential women in Nevada history |url= https://www.newspapers.com/image/675873834/?match=1&terms=%22ruby%20Duncan%22%20Nevada%20Welfare%20Rights%20Organization |page=6 |location=insert }}
Books and documentaries
- [http://dewey.library.unr.edu/xtf/view?docId=ead/93-48-ead.xml A Guide to the Ruby Duncan Papers, 93-48]. Special Collections, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Reno.
- {{cite book |date=2005 |last=Orleck |first=Annelise |title=Storming Caesars Palace: How Black Mothers fought their own war on poverty |publisher=Beacon |location=Boston, USA |ISBN= 978-0807050316}}
- A 1995 documentary Making a difference: Nevada's political women 1965-82 featured Duncan{{cite news |date=1995-02-11 |work=Reno Gazette-Journal |author=Barbara Anderson |title=Documentary focuses on women in politics |url= https://www.newspapers.com/image/153276269/?match=1&terms=%22ruby%20Duncan%22%20Nevada%20Welfare%20Rights%20Organization |page=43 |location=Nevada, USA }}
- A 2023 documentary Storming Caesar's Palace about Duncan's "fight for a universal basic income"{{cite news |date=2025-01-31 |work=The Spokesman Review |author= |title=Tonight's listings |url= https://www.newspapers.com/image/1167499663/?match=1&terms=%22ruby%20Duncan%22%20Operation%20Life |page=6 |location=Washington, USA }}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Portal|Biography}}
{{Authority control}}
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Category:People from Tallulah, Louisiana