Hazel Nell Dukes (March 17, 1932 – March 1, 2025) was an American activist. She served as national president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and president of the organization’s New York State chapter.
Hazel Dukes | |
|---|---|
 Dukes in 2024 | |
| President of the NAACP | |
| In office 1990–1992 | |
| Preceded by | Enolia McMillan |
| Succeeded by | Rupert Richardson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 17, 1932 Montgomery, Alabama, U.S. |
| Died | March 1, 2025 (aged 92) New York City, U.S. |
| Children | Ronald Dukes |
| Parents |
|
| Education | Alabama State University Nassau Community College Adelphi University |
Early life and education
editDukes was born in Montgomery, Alabama, on March 17, 1932. She was the only child of Alice and Edward Dukes. Her father was a Pullman porter.[1] She enrolled at Alabama State Teachers College in 1949 hoping to become a teacher. However, after moving to New York City with her parents in 1955, she started school at Nassau Community College majoring in Business Administration.
In 1978, Dukes received a bachelor's degree in business administration from Adelphi University.[2] She also completed post-graduate work at Queens College.[1]
She held three honorary doctorate degrees from the City University of New York Law School at Queens College, City University of New York’s Medgar Evers College, and Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine.[2]
Career
editWhile living in Roslyn, on Long Island, she worked to combat discrimination in housing.[3] She worked for President Lyndon B. Johnson's "Head Start" program in the 1960s. In 1966, she took a position at the Nassau County Attorney's Office, becoming the first black American to do so. She eventually worked as a community organizer for the Economic Opportunity Commission of Nassau County[4] and taught children who were living in poverty.
She remained consistently outspoken throughout the Reagan and Bush presidencies during the 1980s and into the 1990s. Dukes' main concerns were education reform and advancement of civil rights.
From 1989 to 1992, Dukes served as the national president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).[5][6]
Dukes was appointed president of the New York City Off-Track Betting Corporation (NYCOTB) in 1990, twenty-five years after she had been doing social work there.[7]
In 1997, she pleaded guilty to attempted grand larceny. She admitted to stealing $13,000.00 from a disabled NYCOTB worker who had allowed her to manage the worker's credit union account while Dukes was a manager of that organization.[8][9][10]
Dukes was appointed head of NYCOTB by New York City Mayor David Dinkins.[10] Rudy Giuliani, who defeated Dinkins in the 1993 New York City mayoral election, publicly condemned Dukes' management of NYCOTB, saying that the organization lost money under her leadership.[8][9]
Death
editDukes died in Harlem, New York City on March 1, 2025, at the age of 92.[11][12]
Recognition and public image
editDukes received a Candace Award for Community Service from the National Coalition of 100 Black Women in 1990.[13] In 2017, the Women's Black Agenda presented her with its Economic and Business Award, as part of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's annual conference.[14] She was awarded the Empire State and Nation Builder Award by the New York State Association of Black and Puerto Rican Legislators, and was recognized by the New York State Senate in 2018.[15] In 2019, a plaque honoring Dukes was placed on 137th Street and Adam Clayton Boulevard in Harlem.[16][17]
In January 2023, Dukes swore in Kathy Hochul as governor of New York.[18] In March 2023, a street in Roslyn Heights, New York, where Dukes once lived, was given the honorary name of "Dr. Hazel Dukes Way".[19]
References
edit- ^ a b Long, Ariama C. (March 1, 2025). Harlem mourns one of the greats, Dr. Hazel N. Dukes. Amsterdam News.
- ^ a b eighty over eighty: Dr. Hazel Dukes. The New Jewish Home.
- ^ "Black History On Long Island". Long Island Weekly. February 22, 2020. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
- ^ Economic Opportunity Commission of Nassau County, Inc. New York State.
- ^ "NAACP | Hazel N. Dukes". NAACP. Archived from the original on March 4, 2020. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
- ^ "Hazel N. Dukes | HuffPost". www.huffpost.com. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
- ^ Daley, Suzanne (April 16, 1991). "New York at Work; At OTB, a Battler of Waste And Champion of Rights". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
- ^ a b Steven J. Stark (December 21, 1997). "NAACP OUSTS BOARD MEMBER AFTER THEFTS". Articles.chicagotribune.com. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
- ^ a b Sullivan, John (October 16, 1997). "Former President of OTB Pleads Guilty in Theft Case". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
- ^ a b New York Daily News (January 12, 2019). Hazel Dukes, Serial Betrayer.
- ^ Roberts, Sam (March 1, 2025). "Hazel N. Dukes, Longtime Civil Rights Stalwart, Dies at 92". The New York Times. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
- ^ Jack, Dominique (March 1, 2025). "NAACP New York President Dr. Hazel Dukes dies at 92". Pix11. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
- ^ "CANDACE AWARD RECIPIENTS 1982-1990, Page 2". National Coalition of 100 Black Women. Archived from the original on March 14, 2003.
- ^ "NAACP NYS President Hazel Dukes Honored". Hudson Valley Press Newspaper. October 4, 2017. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
- ^ "Senator Montgomery and the New York State Senate honor Dr. Hazel Dukes, President of the NAACP New York State Conference". NY State Senate. March 20, 2018. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
- ^ "Dr. Hazel N. Dukes Honored". The Migdol Organization. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
- ^ Roman, Basil (July 3, 2019). "Dr. Hazel N. Dukes -A True Civil Rights Icon Honored". www.nycaribnews.com. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
- ^ "Kathy Hochul sworn in as first woman elected governor of N.Y." New York Daily News. January 1, 2023. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
- ^ "Newsday: Civil rights activist Hazel Dukes honored with street naming in Roslyn Heights | News | Roslyn Landmark Society". www.roslynlandmarks.org. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
External links
edit- Hazel Nell Dukes at IMDb
- Turnquests, Joshua. "A Tribute to Hazel Nell Dukes." NAACP Connect. NAACP, 2014. Web. October 29, 2014.