HONORING LIFE AND LEGACY OF RUBY DUNCAN

Quick facts

Record: House Floor
Section type: Recognition
Chamber: House
Date: April 27, 2026
Congress: 119th Congress
Why this source matters: This section came from the House floor portion of the record.

Linked context

People mentioned: Horsford, Steven

Readable version of the official text

Mr. HORSFORD asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. HORSFORD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart to honor the life and legacy of Ms. Ruby Duncan who sadly passed away yesterday surrounded by her loving family in Las Vegas.

In 1972, she founded Operation Life, the first federally funded

community development corporation led by low-income women.

But even before that, in 1981, she helped organize a powerful march

on the Las Vegas Strip, bringing more than 6,000 people together to protest cuts to welfare support for women and children.

When the march ended, the movement did not. She and other Black mothers continued their fight by staging eat-ins at casino restaurants, demanding dignity and justice.

She led the charge to make sure no child in Nevada went hungry,

helping bring WIC to our State, expand food assistance, and deliver thousands of meals to students every day.

Her impact reached all the way to the White House where President

Jimmy Carter invited her to help shape national programs.

Her work was always rooted in community and rooted in Las Vegas. She showed us what it means to turn struggle into action and action into lasting change.