Little did I know that when I saw Hazel Dukes at the annual meeting of the National NAACP in February of this year in New York City, that just a few short weeks later, she would have made transition. That is what has happened. The good news is that Hazel Dukes lived a long storied life. What better person to salute this Women’s History Month than Hazel Dukes of the National NAACP?
Here’s a part of her life story. Dr. Hazel N. Dukes was President of the NAACP New York State Conference and a member of the NAACP National Board of Directors, a member of the NAACP Executive Committee, as well as an active member of various NAACP board sub-committees. Dr. Dukes was a woman of great strength and courage. Her dedication to human rights and equality was exemplified by her role in linking business, government, and social causes. Dr. Dukes was an active and dynamic leader who was known for her unselfish and devoted track record for improving the quality of life in New York State.
Dr. Dukes was President of the Hazel N. Dukes & Associates Consultant Firm, specializing in the areas of public policy, health, and diversity. Also, Dr. Dukes was a member of the Assembly of Prayer Baptist Church, where she served as Executive Assistant to the Pastor, was a member of the Board of Trustees, and teaches the Adult Sunday School. Dr. Dukes received a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Adelphi University, Garden City, New York, and completed post-graduate work at Queens College. In 1990, she was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from the City University of New York Law School at Queens College, and in 2009 was conferred the Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, Medgar Evers College, Brooklyn, New York.
In 2012 she was awarded the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine, Harlem, New York. Dr. Dukes has many organizational affiliations; she was the former President of the Metro-Manhattan Links Chapter, and in 2010 was appointed the National Links NGO Representative, and was a former trustee of the State University of New York and Stillman College. Dr. Dukes was a member of the National Council of Negro Women, Inc. and the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS, INC.
Dr. Dukes was the recipient of numerous awards for her outstanding leadership activities, Ellis Island Medal of Honor, YWCA City of New York John La Farge Memorial Award for Interracial Justice, Guy R. Brewer Humanitarian Award, and the 2007 The Network Journal’s 25 Most Influential Black Women in Business Award, member Ford Motor Company Funds Committee of Honor for Freedom’s Sisters, was honored and received a Proclamation at the New York City Council’s Third Annual Martin Luther King, Jr., Awards ceremony at City Hall in New York.
Dukes was an active member of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Northern Manhattan Alumnae Chapter and was selected to receive the sorority’s Althea T.L. Simmons Social Action Award in August 2010. Dr. Dukes was Incorporated in 2007 as a Pi Eta Kappa Fellow, and her biography has been selected for publication in many journals and directories, including Fisk University Library, Minority Women Contribution, American Biographical Institute Personalities of Northeast, Who’s Who Among American Women and Who’s Who Among Black Women.
Known to many as “Ma Dukes” or “Queen Mother,” Dukes spent more than seven decades fighting for voting rights, economic development, fair housing, and education for all. At the age of 92, she made transition.
Dr. Dukes leaves behind a legacy of tireless advocacy and service. Leaders like Rev. Al Sharpton and Andrew Cuomo reacted with mourning of her passing. “Mom departed this life peacefully on the morning of March 1, 2025, surrounded by her loving family,” said her son, Ronald Dukes. “Mom was a committed civil rights leader in New York City and the nation and worked tirelessly on the frontlines almost to the end.
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