Yesterday, community members came together in New York City for a heartfelt gathering to honor the legacy of a giant—a steadfast advocate for civil rights who overcame significant political and professional challenges to serve us all for nearly 50 years.
Dr. Hazel N. Dukes, the long-serving president of the New York State chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, was laid to rest yesterday morning during her funeral, which was held in Harlem.
Dukes died on Saturday, March 1st at her residence near Harlem Hospital.
She was 92.
A diverse group of mourners, including everyday New Yorkers and prominent political figures, gathered at Mother Zion AME Church, where Dukes regularly attended, to pay their respects. Among the attendees were some of those she had mentored and supported, including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, and former Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Clinton recalled meeting Dukes in 1992 during Bill Clinton’s campaign for the presidency. She said that it was Dukes who inspired her to pursue a Senate position in New York.
“{and} when I ran for president in 2016 against he-who-shall-not-be-named, there she was again – as fierce, as focused, as smart as ever,” Clinton said.
She urged the audience to continue Dukes’ legacy and to “recommit to not being tired.”
“To not giving in or giving up. To not allowing the forces of darkness and meanness and chaos to cover our land. To stand up and speak out, just like Hazel Dukes did, and just like she would expect all of us to do,” Clinton said, evoking an enthusiastic round of applause.
Dukes remained supportive of Cuomo during his times of controversy and turmoil.
“She used to say she was my second mother,” Cuomo recalled. “On a personal level, there’s a hole in my heart. Whenever there was trouble, she was the first one to be there. Whenever there was a setback, she was the first one to be there to give me a hug and a kiss.”
Marc Morial of the National Urban League highlighted Dukes’ impact on politics at both the state and national levels.
“Hazel Dukes was the Mother Teresa of New York City, but she was also, when it came to politics, the EF Hutton of New York City. When she spoke all heads turn, because they wanted to hear what she had to say,” Morial said. “I think anyone who ran for office or who really wanted to stand up an initiative in New York, they made a pilgrimage to see Mama Dukes, to get a perspective, to see what she said. Now, she had this incredible ability to be gracious and blunt at the very same time, and I think that’s why she was so beloved because she pulled no punches.”
By 1989, Dukes headed the national NAACP organization with the help of Dr. Benjamin L. Hooks, who was elected executive director at the time. She remained in that office until 1992 and was the only woman still alive to have held that title when she died.
She also served as the president of the New York State conference of the organization from 1977 until her passing. In addition, she founded and led a consulting firm named Hazel N. Dukes & Associates, which focused on strategic planning.
Even though Dukes never held an elected position, her unwavering commitment to advocating for equal opportunities for Black individuals in housing, education and employment earned her significant respect and influence among several Democratic governors, including Mario M. Cuomo, his son Andrew, and Governor Hochul, at whose inauguration in January 2023, Dukes served as the officiant. She also made a substantial impact during Mayor David N. Dinkins’ term.
She was an important figure in the civil rights movement and later gained recognition as a respected leader, her colleagues viewing her as brave, determined and exceptionally loyal.
Hazel Nell Dukes was born on March 17, 1932, in Montgomery, Alabama, as the only child of Edward and Alice Dukes. Her father worked as a Pullman porter and union organizer, while her mother was a domestic worker.
As a child growing up in what would later become a pivotal city in the Civil Rights Movement, Dukes was constantly surrounded by history. She and her family resided in the Graetz neighborhood of Montgomery, which would eventually be recognized as the former home of civil rights champion Rosa Parks. Parks had moved to Montgomery and married in the same year Dukes was born. The couple became active members of the Montgomery NAACP chapter, and Parks would later play a crucial role in inspiring the Montgomery Bus Boycott in the 1950s.
“I could stand on my front porch and look at Ms. Parks’s front porch,” Dukes recalled in an interview with Amsterdam News. “Sweet, kind, low-key woman who went to work every day. She and her husband had no children.”
Like her parents, Dukes also thought she would pursue a career in education, and even enrolled at Alabama State Teachers College. However, when she and her family moved to New York in 1955, she attended Nassau Community College on Long Island. She started her career by combating housing discrimination on Long Island and was involved with President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Head Start program during the 1960s. She made history as the first Black employee at the Nassau County Attorney’s Office and subsequently served as a community organizer for the Nassau County Economic Opportunity Commission.
In 1978, she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Adelphi University after completing her studies at Nassau County Community College. She pursued postgraduate work at Queens College and was awarded several honorary doctorates.
Her résumé of accomplishments reads like a catalog of inspiration and empowerment, showcasing a remarkable journey of dedication to community service and economic advancement. Dukes actively participated in the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Northern Manhattan Alumnae Chapter, and was honored with the sorority’s Althea T.L. Simmons Social Action Award in August 2010. In 2007, Dr. Dukes was recognized as a Pi Eta Kappa Fellow. She also garnered many acknowledgments, including a Candace Award for Community Service by the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, the Economic and Business Award from the Women’s Black Agenda during the annual conference of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, and the Empire State and Nation Builder Award from The New York State Association of Black and Puerto Rican Legislators. In 2019, a plaque commemorating her was installed at the corner of 137th Street and Adam Clayton Boulevard in Harlem.
In 2023, North Hempstead, N.Y., named a street after her in Roslyn Heights, where she lived for decades before relocating to Manhattan. At the renaming ceremony, State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli recalled her encouragement for him to run for the school board at age 18, referring to himself as a graduate of the, “Hazel N. Dukes school of civic engagement and activism.”
Dukes was widely admired for her incredible strength and courage, as well as her role as a trailblazing civil rights leader. She dedicated her life to advocating for racial diversity and equality, actively participating in politics until her final days. Her death on the first day of Women’s History Month adds a particularly meaningful touch to her legacy.
“With humility and fortitude, it is my hope that my accomplishments have had an impact,” Dukes said at the NAACP national convention in Boston in 2023 when she was awarded the Spingarn Medal, the organization’s highest honor.
The street outside the church was filled with mourners paying their respects during her wake. People started lining up before dawn, and as the day progressed, the lines grew long, wrapping around the block.
“She was a very tough person, but she was a very nice person, and was very sincere about fighting for folks’ equal rights,” said Harlem resident Edward Muse, who made sure to be first in line at 5:30 a.m.
Nearly everyone whose life Dukes impacted believes her legacy will endure forever. Even in her passing, she continues to give back.
Instead of sending flowers, people are encouraged to contribute to the NAACP Youth & College division to support the upcoming generation.
Rest in power, Mama Dukes.
