LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Academics and activists in the Las Vegas Valley are remembering Ruby Duncan after her passing at the age of 93.
The activist made it her mission to stand up for better services for needy families.
Her activism started after she was hurt on the job working in the Sahara Hotel on the strip and needed to go on welfare. She found the system to be flawed and met many other mothers struggling to feed their children.
“She was fighting on behalf of all people who were struggling,” said Tyler Parry, “and recognized that every human life had dignity and value, and they deserved to be treated that way.”
Parry is an associate professor of African American and African Diaspora studies at UNLV and teaches his students about Duncan's work.
“My deepest hope is that we can continue to honor her legacy — not just by remembering what she did, but by applying what she did in real time for our circumstances today.”
Southern Nevada activist, Minister “Stretch” Sanders, met Duncan several times.
“Atlanta had Martin Luther King, Jr., New York had Malcom X, Chicago had Jesse Jackson, and Las Vegas had Ruby Duncan," Sanders said.
He described how Duncan “left us a blueprint — or should I say a ‘Ruby’ print — and that means to see an injustice and to do something. Don’t sit and be quiet and watch others be oppressed.”
