NEW YORK CITY — Civil rights trailblazer Dr. Hazel Nell Dukes, who was also president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) New York chapter has died.
Dukes had reportedly been ill and died on Saturday at age 92.
Dukes was born in 1932 during Jim Crow segregation in Montgomery, Alabama. Dukes, an only child, was born to a family of educators and believed she would become a teacher and enrolled in Alabama State Teachers College in 1949 but only stayed for one year.
Dukes; family moved to New York in 1955, where she would attend Nassau Community College in Long Island and became involved in community housing issues through the Economic Opportunity Commission. In the 60s, she was appointed by former President Lyndon Johnson to his Head Start early childhood education program.
Dukes also broke barriers in 1966 when she became the first Black person to work in the Nassau County Attorney’s Office. She would eventually head the the New York State NAACP for nearly five decades.
Dukes would remain an influential force behind the scenes and is credited with helping
On Monday, New York Mayor Eric Adams ordered flags to be lowered in honor of Dukes.
More on Dr. Hazel N. Dukes legacy and accomplishments.
