Black History in Rockland County

Part Two: Post 1900

During the Great Migration era, many Black-Americans in the south traveled north, often to find work in cities like New York City or Chicago. In Rockland, numerous Black laborers were recruited to work in factories and plants here. Many had come up from NYC, but many more were recruited directly from states like Virginia and the Carolinas to work in brick yards in Haverstraw. 

In 1938, New York State made segregation in schools illegal. As was (and is) the case all over the country, loopholes and plausible deniability allowed certain districts to continue as they were before the ban. Red lined neighborhoods often forced segregation not just in public, but at home. White communities were separated from black communities on purpose through these policies. In 1943, Thurgood Marshall came to Hillburn. 

At the time, there were two schools in Hillburn, the Main School and the Brook School. The Main School, attended by mostly white children with a few African-American students as well, was well funded and clean. The Main School was also large, and could have easily accommodated all Hillburn students. 

The Brook School, attended exclusively by black or other non-white children, was underfunded and lacked basic necessities like indoor plumbing. Hillburn’s school district claimed that they determined which student went to which school based solely on geography. Thurgood Marshall, then a lawyer acting on behalf of the NAACP, claimed that the geographic bounds that had been drawn up had been drawn to purposely exclude children living in Black communities from attending the Main School. 

Marshall’s argument rested on a stretch of road that served as a geographic boundary between communities. Marshall argued that the road boundary was arbitrary and created purposeful segregation between the two communities. He drafted a petition, and sent it to the NY State commissioner of education. At this same time, many parents of Brook School students enrolled their children in the Main school for the upcoming school year. When those students were denied enrollment and forced to attend Brook, parents kept their children home from school in protest. That school year, Marshall and the Black community in Hillburn won, the commissioner of education agreed with the claim that the highway used as a boundary was being used to manufacture segregation. By October 18, 1943 the children who attended Brook were admitted to the Main School. The stretch of highway that was used to create segregation was eventually renamed to Thurgood Marshall Memorial Highway. 

In 1965, Nyack residents elected Rockland’s first African-American elected official, Hezekiah Easter. He was first elected in 1965 to the Nyack Board of Trustees, then in 1969, he was elected as an inaugural member of the Rockland County Legislature. Easter was a key figure in preserving Mount Moor cemetery during the construction of the Palisades Mall, and also took on issues such as housing and social justice during his tenure. For his work in the county, Easter was eventually inducted into the Rockland Civil and Human Rights Hall of Fame. 

Charlie Bullock was Rockland’s first Black fire chief. He began his career at the Central Nyack Volunteer Fire Department in the 60s. At the time, private fire departments were still legally able to discriminate against potential firefighters based on their race. Bullock was not stopped by this and testified in front of the New York State Commission on Human Rights. Bullock  advocated for his right and the rights of all Black New Yorkers to serve their communities without discrimination. Through his efforts, Bullock didn’t just end racial discrimination in Rockland’s fire departments, but fire departments across the state. In 1978 he became Fire Chief after volunteering with Central Engine Company #6. 

In more recent decades, Black immigrants from West Africa and the Caribbean, especially Haiti, have enriched Rockland’s community, contributing to its cultural heritage and history in the ways that immigrant communities so often do. Community groups such as the African American Historical Society of Rockland and The Haverstraw African American Connection (HAAC) continue to celebrate the Black heritage of the county. The African American Historical Park in Haverstraw features many prominent art pieces celebrating notable figures of Black history as well as the work of many local artists. HAAC hosts annual Juneteenth celebrations as well as other community events at the park.