In Memoriam: Hazel Dukes, iconic New York civil rights leader, dies at 92

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Dr. Hazel Nell Dukes, an iconic civil rights and social justice activist who spent her life fighting discrimination, has died at age 92.

Dukes died peacefully Saturday morning, her son, Ronald Dukes, said in a statement.

She was a former national president of the NAACP and was later appointed president of the NAACP New York State Conference in 1989. A position she held at the time of her passing.

“Dr. Dukes is a woman of great strength and courage. Her dedication to human rights and equality is exemplified by her role linking business, government and social causes,” according to a bio on the NAACP site.

Hazel Dukes was a civil rights icon

Dr. Dukes, affectionately known as “Queen Mother” or “Ma Dukes”, was revered for her more than seven decades in civil rights activism and working side by side with elected officials and leaders to fight for equality for all.

She was born and raised in Montgomery, Alabama, where she lived through Jim Crow and the civil rights movement.

Dukes moved to Long Island, New York in the 1950s to Roslyn Gardens, making her the first African American resident of the apartment complex.

There, she went full speed into her activism, becoming an advocate for housing equity and the first Black woman to work for the Nassau County attorney’s office.

Dukes was active in politics until her passing, supporting Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election and administering the oath of office to Gov. Kathy Hochul, the first woman elected governor of New York, in 2023.

“I speak often of the heroes upon whose broad shoulders we stand. Dr. Hazel Dukes was one of those heroes,” former Vice President of the U.S. Kamala Harris wrote on Facebook.

“‘Hazel was an educator, an advocate, and an activist. Her leadership within the NAACP moved New York state and our nation forward, whether through the fight for economic opportunity or access to education,” Harris continued.