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 […]
The Palisades Shopping Center is one of the most popular attractions that Rockland has to offer and is a cornerstone of the community. People from all over the NYC metro area know this mall and visit it frequently, bringing in significant amounts of revenue for the county and the town of Clarkstown. In recent years, […]
Part One: Pre-1900 The African American community of Rockland County is older than the United States itself. The Dutch, when they first settled what was then the New Netherlands colony, actively participated in the trans-atlantic slave trade. Enslaved people had a presence in the Hudson Valley from as early as 1626, three years after the […]
On the evening of February 10th the town board of Orangetown honored the town’s first African-American police officer, Courtney F. Smith. Smith, who passed away in 2015, was a trail blazer and beloved member of the Nyack and Orangetown community. For the ceremony, Teresa Kenny read out a proclamation honoring Courtney Smith and members of […]
The evening of February 3rd saw the Rockland County Legislature meet to discuss the potential of passing a bill known as the Safety and Dignity for All Act. Rocklanders showed up in droves with over 500 people both inside and outside the Rockland Board of Elections building in New City. The vote on this […]
On the evening of January 20th the town of Cornwall in Orange County, New York voted and unanimously passed resolutions to request a feasibility study be conducted on the West Shore rail line. Rockland residents, especially those who live in the eastern most part of the county, are most likely familiar with this train line. […]