A single mother of seven, Ruby Duncan said she couldn't stand being on welfare but felt she had no choice after slipping on cooking oil while working in the kitchen at the Sahara in 1967.

The accident damaged her spine and left her unable to continue doing physical labor.

Yet when Duncan sought job training, she said Nevada's Welfare Department told her she was a poor candidate.

So she called the press, and the Las Vegas Sun wrote about her struggles in an article titled "Welfare Mother Wants to Work."

But it was after the State slashed welfare benefits for thousands of Nevada families that Duncan helped lead a movement alongside other welfare mothers, activists, and celebrities, including Jane Fonda.

She marched down Las Vegas Boulevard and into Caesars Palace, where Duncan said the protest temporarily stopped gambling on the casino floor.

(Ruby Duncan) We were hitting what you call the economic vein of Nevada, the Strip, the money, the power.

All I wanted them to know, we wanted them food stamps, we wanted help, we wanted everything we could get for low-income families, and especially for women and children at the time.

Now I'm asking a question for seniors.

We got poverty-stricken seniors here in this town, poverty, families, women and children, old folks.

Look at the homeless people.

We have no right to let people be hungry in this great United States of America.

It's a shame.

-That was Duncan in an interview from 2023.

Following the Las Vegas Strip protests, a federal judge would reinstate the welfare benefits Nevada had cut, and Duncan would go on to help form Operation Life.

The nonprofit on Las Vegas's Westside launched Nevada's first ever WIC program, providing nutrition and medical assistance to women, infants, and children.

Duncan is also credited with bringing food stamps to Nevada.

And on April 26, passed away at 93 years old.

Last weekend, family, friends, and community leaders gathered to honor her life and legacy.

Nevada Week's Maria Silva was there.

(Bishop Naida Parson) Today, we celebrate the woman and the warrior, the leader and the legend.

(Maria Silva) It was a celebration of life for a legend who changed countless lives... -She was able to impact public policy so children could experience home.

-...at the Second Baptist Church located in the Historic Westside, where the "Mother Power" movement was born... (Pastor Sharonda Manor-Foster) Dr.

Ruby was a resident of Weaver Street, 89106.

I'd just like to give a shout-out for there to let everybody know that something good did come from Weaver Street.

[applause] -...family, friends, and community members all gathered to honor Dr.

Ruby Lee Duncan.

(Niani Jones) ♪ For this Lord ♪ ♪ For this Lord ♪ ♪ I give You praise ♪♪ (Sondra Phillips-Gilbert) She came from Tallulah, Louisiana.

She was simple, humble, and beautiful.

And I'm just telling you she was an angel.

She was a warrior for the people.

-Her daughter, Sondra Phillips-Gilbert, who has proudly followed in her mother's footsteps... -I'm gonna be doing a lot, looking towards creating a foundation in her honor and working with other groups, other agencies, to help continue the fight in advocacy for families.

-...fondly remembers what it was like to witness her mother's activism, even taking part in the march that shut down the Las Vegas Strip and inspired the book and documentary Storming Caesars Palace.

-I was right there with my mother, Ralph Abernathy, Jane Fonda, all-- You know, I was in the forefront with her, and I remember singing "We Shall Overcome."

And every time I hear that or sing that, it just brings back a special meaning that we marched and we believed and we had faith that we can accomplish anything we set our minds on.

And we didn't take no for an answer.

Like my mother said, "Don't take no for an answer."

She meant that.

-Sondra also remembers her mother's bravery when times got tough.

-She stood for something, and she took her chances.

And those women stood up to the police, to the mob, and everybody else.

And so I'm just, just so honored that God protected her and allowed her to do great works.

And to bring the food stamps, we, you know, we were the last state in Nevada.

And these women were the reason.

They lobbied, they protest, and they brought food stamps in the state of Nevada.

And my mother said a mother would do anything to feed and protect her children, and she did.

-A mother's unconditional love, Ruby Duncan's legacy lives on through her six living children... (Pastor) Let's celebrate these children, and let's celebrate the God of our salvation.

-...and her 15 grandkids, 30 great-grandkids, and 13 great-great-grandbabies.

-We thank you all for coming out to celebrate her as the advocate and the community worker.

However, we wanted you all to know that with the same passion and the same tenacity that our grandmother, great-grandmother, Dr.

Ruby Duncan loved her family.

-And inside the Second Baptist Church in the Historic Westside, without a doubt, you felt that love.

♪ So many wonderful blessings ♪♪ -As you grieve in the hard times when it hurts, don't forget to walk towards the laugh.

Listen for the joy in life.

Listen for the sound of gladness.

Listen for the legacy, because legacy is not what she left for you; legacy is what she left in you.

Don't forget her laugh, and walk towards the laugh.

-We put our hands together for the life of Dr.

Ruby Duncan.

And we give You praise.

Hallelujah!

-I'm Ruby Duncan, and I'm going to make sure you do the great work.

[cheers and applause]