pac.dog pac.dog / Clips

REMEMBERING RUBY DUNCAN

Speaker
C001113
Subject
C001113
Source
Congressional Record · original
Chamber
senate
Published
Thursday, May 14, 2026
Sentiment
positive (score 1.00)

Sign in to add to a watchlist →

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 82 (Thursday, May 14, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 82 (Thursday, May 14, 2026)] [Senate] [Page S2315] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] REMEMBERING RUBY DUNCAN Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Mr. President, I also rise today to honor the life of Ruby Duncan, who was a powerhouse in anti-poverty, welfare, and justice advocacy in Nevada for several decades. Ruby, sadly, passed away on April 6, 2026. After her own experiences as a single mother of seven, Ruby dedicated her life to uplifting women, children, and families; and she transformed Las Vegas' welfare system for generations to come. After spending her formative years in Louisiana, Ruby moved to Las Vegas in 1952, where she worked in …

Full text

3,170 chars

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 82 (Thursday, May 14, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 82 (Thursday, May 14, 2026)] [Senate] [Page S2315] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] REMEMBERING RUBY DUNCAN Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Mr. President, I also rise today to honor the life of Ruby Duncan, who was a powerhouse in anti-poverty, welfare, and justice advocacy in Nevada for several decades. Ruby, sadly, passed away on April 6, 2026. After her own experiences as a single mother of seven, Ruby dedicated her life to uplifting women, children, and families; and she transformed Las Vegas' welfare system for generations to come. After spending her formative years in Louisiana, Ruby moved to Las Vegas in 1952, where she worked in the city's booming hotel and casino industries. Ruby was injured while working as a cook and found herself relying on social welfare programs to support her growing family. Ruby was met with a disjointed State welfare system. At that time, race, gender, and public attitudes determined an individual's access to the resources that they needed to thrive. For Ruby, this inspired a lifetime devoted to breaking down those barriers for others. Recognizing that Black women were especially vulnerable to inequities in the welfare system, Ruby mobilized with other Black mothers to create the Clark County Welfare Rights Organization and, eventually, the Nevada Welfare Rights Organization. Under Ruby's leadership, the groups engaged with State legislators, organized sit-ins, eat-ins, and marched down the Las Vegas Strip to protest for better treatment for Nevada's families in need. Those efforts did not go unnoticed, prompting Nevada to reverse a 75-percent cut to welfare for women with children and participate in Federal nutrition assistance programs. Ruby's work also sparked community developments that continue to provide support and resources to families in West Las Vegas to this day. In 1972, she founded Operation Life, an organization tasked with bringing robust childcare, education, career, healthcare, and prevention services to a historically underserved neighborhood. Operation Life brought the first library, a medical clinic for children, a childcare center, low-income housing, drug and violence prevention programs, and job training to the Westside. Today, these initiatives fuel a community made stronger because of Ruby and her relentless drive. I ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating Ruby Duncan's life and the lasting impact of her dedication and sacrifice. Ruby loved Nevada and made life better for everyone who lives there. As she once said, ``If you want your life to get better, you got to fight for it.'' And through her tireless fight, the community supports that Ruby built will endure for the women, children, and families of the future. And as a friend of mine, as someone whom I got to know as a young girl and then later was able to work with, I extend my deep condolences to Ruby's children, her family, her friends, and the countless lives that she touched. She will be dearly missed. I yield the floor. ____________________

Related clips (by topic)

Closest matches by cosine similarity over the clip embedding index — semantically related coverage even when the speaker or subject differs.

More from this speaker

More on this subject

pac.dog is a free, independent, non-partisan research tool. Every candidate, committee, bill, vote, member, and nonprofit on this site is mirrored from primary U.S. government sources (FEC, congress.gov, govinfo.gov, IRS) and each state's Secretary of State / election commission — no third-party data vendors, no paywall, no editorial intermediation. Citations to the originating source are on every detail page.

Estimated value: $180/mo per user — but we made it free.

Want to partner? Contact us.