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Georgia Political Papers and Oral History Program

The Georgia Political Papers and Oral History Program is comprised of over 3,000 linear feet of archival collections, along with an extensive number of oral history interviews, that document the unique political culture of the state of Georgia.

Nellie Dunaway Duke

Nellie Dunaway was born on March 8, 1931, outside of Rome, Georgia. In 1949, she married Henry Duke, who worked for the Georgia Southern Railroad for most of his career. Nellie Duke attended the Carroll Lynn School of business and began her professional career in retail, and was later employed by the American Cancer Society from the early 1970s to the early 1980s. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Duke campaigned for passage of the Equal Rights Amendment in Georgia. From 1994 to 2015, Duke chaired the Georgia Commission on Women, an organization of which she was a charter member. She and Henry Duke had five children and resided in Carrollton, Georgia.; Dunaway Duke discusses her early life in the Rome area, her experience in high school, her entry into political activism, and her work with the Georgia Commission on Women. She also offers her opinions on the importance of the Equal Rights Amendment and gives a few thoughts on the #metoo movement and the state of contemporary gender issues in the United States.