African American History
Come to the library in February to find out more about African American History. You may see photographs of people you know. See photos of Walter Blount, Jr., Frances Pratt, and more.
A Few Important Dates in Nyack's African American History
- 1830 Slavery abolished in Rockland County
- 1861 St. Philips AME Zion Church founded
- 1875 Pilgrim Baptist Church founded
- 1946 Walter C. Blount, Jr., returned from 5 years in Army and was denied membership in the American Legion.
- 1947 YMCA first accepted black members
- 1959 Nyack Chapter of NAACP organized. Walter Blount, Sr. and Leonard Cooke both credited as leaders
- 1963 NAACP boycotts Memorial Day Parade, alleging discrimination by American Legion
- 1965 Hezekiah Easter, elected to Nyack Village Board, first black man elected to public office in Rockland County. He later became a county legislator.
- 1965 Frances Adeline Batson appointed Deputy Clerk, first black woman in post
- Mid-1960s to 1979 Urban renewal. Black homeowners weren't adequately compensated for their property and many who had owned homes in the Urban Renewal area were forced to rent in other locations.
- 1968 "Phoenician Tales: Black-White Relations in Nyack and its Neighborhood (1686-1967)", written by historian Carl Nordstrom
- 1977 Demolition of Hesdra house, a stop on the Underground Railroad, at 9W and Main St.
- 1979 Death of Henry Artopee, Nyack sports superstar. Street named after him.
- 1981 Arlene Clinksdale became Nyack's Superintendent of Schools, the first black woman superintendent in New York State
- 1989 Death of Dorothy Artopee, Nyack resident, star of High School bastketball team, activist for human rights, housing, civil rights. Daughter of Walter Blount, Sr., who owned a dry cleaning shop which was displaced by Urban Renewal.
- 1997 Death of Sir Hildreth Humphries, jazz musician
- 2005 Republication of Carl Nordstrom's book, now called "Nyack in Black and White: Race Relations over Three Centuries" by the Historical Society of the Nyacks and the Nyack Public Library
- 2006 Frances Pratt, Nyack NAACP president, receives Harriet Tubman Award at New York State Museum in Albany for decades of struggle against racism and inequality