In this replay episode, host Erika Washington talks with Claytee White, recently retired founding director of UNLV’s Oral History Research Center, about how the center was built through training and fundraising to preserve Las Vegas history and how the public can access UNLV’s library archives and digitized oral histories. They revisit Ruby Duncan’s life and impact following her recent death, including her leadership in the welfare rights movement, her lobbying for food stamps and WIC, and the multicultural organizing connected to national leader George Wiley and the March 6, 1971 “Storming Caesars Palace” march. White describes Operation Life’s long-running community work—opening the West Las Vegas library, creating clinics and employment programs, and establishing Ruby Duncan Manor—and they discuss sustaining momentum through voting, policy engagement, and continued activism as rights are rolled back.
- (00:00) - SNC S3 Claytee White - Ruby Duncan Final
- (01:50) - Introduction & Tribute to Ruby Duncan
- (04:04) - Clay T. White & the Oral History Research Center
- (04:50) - How UNLV Started Collecting Las Vegas History
- (08:19) - Learning Las Vegas History & Meeting Ruby Duncan
- (11:54) - The Oral History Project & Documenting the African American Community
- (16:43) - Ruby Duncan's Work & Operation Life
- (18:40) - The Welfare Rights Movement & Food Stamps in Nevada
- (21:12) - Operation Life's Lasting Legacy
- (34:00) - Storming Caesars Palace & the Multicultural Movement
- (36:37) - Keeping the Momentum: Democracy & Civic Engagement
- (45:34) - Ruby Duncan's Legacy
- (52:08) - Accessing UNLV's Oral History Archives
- (54:31) - The American Dream & Closing Tribute
