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Ben Ruffin

1941–2006

United States

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Biography

Benjamin Sylvester Ruffin (December 11, 1941 – December 7, 2006), also known as Ben Ruffin, was an African American civil rights activist, educator, and businessman in Durham, North Carolina. Growing up during the Civil Rights Movement era, Ruffin's life experience in Durham has provided him with a black consciousness that helped him analyze and empathize with the difficulty of growing up poor and black in America. This thus motivated, shaped and developed Ruffin's role as an activist, propelling him to assume leadership positions within organizations that ensured social justice and access to opportunities for blacks in the Jim Crow South.

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Biography text · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source checked 2026-10-13

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