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Ruby Duncan was born in Tallulah, Louisiana on June 7, 1932. Her parents passed away when Duncan was three years old and she spent the remainder of her youth living with various relatives in and around Tallulah. Duncan started work at the Ivory Plantation at an early age, only going to school part-time. She quit school to work full-time as a waitress and later a barmaid. Duncan left Tallulah for Las Vegas, Nevada in 1952 to live with her aunt near Henderson, Nevada.

Nathaniel Whaley was born on July 01, 1934 in Tallulah, Louisiana. He moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1943. He married his wife Eva, in 1984. Before leaving high school to provide for his new wife and son, Nathaniel had a successful high school career as an accomplished athlete and Eagle Scout in the first black Boy Scout troop in the area. Nathaniel would go on to have a fruitful career as a mason and contractor, literally helping build the city of Las Vegas. His jobs included the Dunes, the Sands, Union Plaza and the Maxim Hotel.

Eunice Claxton was born in 1942 in Tallulah, Louisiana. When she was ten years old, she and her mother moved to Las Vegas, Nevada for a few years. She attended the Westside Elementary School in Las Vegas, but she finished her education in Reno, Nevada. She lived in Reno until 1974 when she returned to Las Vegas. Claxton worked in a number of different establishments. She worked as a change girl at the Desert Inn and as a cocktail waitress at the Dunes Hotel. She also worked at clubs such as the Cover and the El Morocco.

Marcia L. Washington was born in Tallulah, Louisiana on February 8th, 1953. She moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1966, she was 13 and had always attended black only schools. In Las Vegas, she would experience her first school integration and bussing. Marcia Washington and Dave Washington got married on June 10, 1972, and eventually had four children, April, Vernon, Angel and Amber. In 2000, her passions lead her to become the first African American on the State Board of Education, where she was an active voice for eight years.