Categories: Articles, Lil Nickelson,
Dr. Hazel Nell Dukes was given a celebration of her life and legacy that was befitting of her status as one of Harlem’s queens. From the long lines to view her earthly remains at the wake on Tuesday, March 11th, 2025, to her home going service that began on Wednesday, March 12th, 2025, Mother A.M.E. Zion Church located at 140 West 137th Street, was filled with love for our resting civil rights leader. Was it a coincidence that the church is located right down the block from the plague that her name was placed on a post on the corner of 137th Street and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd in 2019? Nah, Ma Dukes, as she was affectionately called, lived a life of service, and the many people she served wanted to show up and tell her they would see you later instead of saying a final goodbye.
Hazel departed this world sixteen days before her 93rd birthday. She came into this world in Montgonery, AL on March 17th, 1932, to Edward and Alice Dukes, and departed on March 1st, 2025, at her home in New York. Hazel moved to New York in 1955 with her father, but she kept her connection strong with her family members that still reside in Montgomery throughout her lifetime. When one is blessed with a long life as Hazel Dukes was, you have attended many funerals. However, Hazel planned her home going program from start to finish and the Rev. Dr. Malcolm Byrd, senior pastor of Mother A.M.E. Zion Church let all in attendance know so from the start of the program.
Hazel started protesting housing discrimination in Long Island in the 1960s and her battles for civil rights, voting rights, economic development, fair housing, and education led her to lead the NYS NAACP for five decades. Dr. Dukes was very instrumental in developing and being a resource person to leaders within that organization, as well as a spiritual leader to some of our nation’s top political and religious leaders because she cultivated relationships with each person early on in their careers.
Hearing two Caucasian women (former NYS Senator and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and NYS Governor Kathy Hochul) speak about how Hazel Dukes believed in them and encouraged them in some of the career moves before they even decided to take them on was very telling about the power of Ma Dukes. How an elder Black woman befriended them and had influence in their lives speaks volumes during Women’s History Month in 2025. They learned and came to know, just like the average Harlem resident knew, that Hazel N. Dukes cared.
Marc Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League commented when he spoke how he hopes to get to heaven and see Hazel one day so he can ask her why she put him on the program after the Rev. Al Sharpton.
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