Hazel Dukes

(She/Her/Hers)

President – The NAACP New York State Conference

"I am honored to participate in the new Advisory Board in answering the call of New Yorkers who overwhelmingly voted to ensure that all New Yorkers in every status will be able to be included in our great City’s efforts to improve the lives of all New Yorkers," said Hazel Dukes, President, NAACP New York State Conference.

Dr. Hazel N. Dukes, a civil rights activist, has dedicated more than seven decades advocating to achieve racial diversity, equity and inclusion to bring long-lasting social change. Dr. Dukes is a member of the NAACP National Board of Directors and President of the NAACP New York State Conference. She is a woman of great strength and courage with an unwavering commitment to civil rights and public service. Her dedication to human rights and equality is exemplified by her role linking business, government and social causes. Dr. Dukes is an active and dynamic leader who is known for her unselfish and devoted track record for improving the quality of life in New York State.

A harsh system of civil and human injustice persists; intimidation and violence speak to the widespread de facto absence of a civil and human rights agenda in America says Dukes, and the fires of frustration continue to burn.

Dr. Dukes is a successful entrepreneur, President and founder of Hazel N. Dukes & Associates Consultant Firm. The firm has extensive expertise in strategic planning as it pertains to education, economic development, civic engagement and youth development.

Dr. Dukes is the recipient of numerous honors and awards for her many years of commitment to justice and activism. She received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, YWCA City of New York John La Farge Memorial Award for Interracial Justice, The Network Journal's 25 Most Influential Black Women in Business Award, First Annual Ruth Clark Trailblazer Award, National Action Network Legacy Award, City & State Fifty Over 50 Lifetime Achievement Award, John E. Zuccotti Public Service Award by the Real Estate Board of New York, first recipient of the Metro-Manhattan Chapter of The Links, Inc. Hazel N. Dukes Social Justice Champion Award and was a Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce 2023 125th Anniversary Gala honoree.

In 2020 Dr. Dukes was presented the key to New York City by former Mayor Bill de Blasio for years of dedicated public service to New York City; the New York City Council has awarded Discretionary Funding to the NAACP New York State Conference technology program that was renamed the "Hazel N. Dukes Education Initiative" in honor of her commitment to improve educational opportunities for under served communities. Her biography has been selected for publication in many journals and directories: Fisk University Library, Minority Women Contribution, American Biographical Institute Personalities of Northeast, Who's Who Among American Women, Who's Who Among Black Women and in 2022 was inducted into the prestigious Who's Who in America Biographical Registry.

In January 2023 Dr. Dukes made history by becoming the first layperson in the United States of America to administer the oath of the office to a governor.

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 from 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.

NAACP Affiliations

Member, NAACP National Board of Directors (Member of the NAACP Executive Committee, Vice Chair, Convention Planning Committee, and various NAACP board sub-committees)
President, NAACP New York State Conference
NAACP National President, 1990-1992
Former President, NAACP Great Neck – Port Washington Branch

Civic Affiliations

Vice Chair, New York State Commission on African American History
Member, National Democratic Party
Member, Metro-Manhattan Chapter of The Links, Inc. (Former Chapter President)
Member, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Northern Manhattan Alumnae Chapter
Member, National Council of Negro Women, Inc.
Member, Manhattan Community Board 10
2010 National Links NGO Representative
Former trustee of the State University of New York and Stillman College
Member, New York State COVID-19 Vaccine Equity Task Force

Religious Affiliations

Member, Assembly of Prayer Baptist Church
(Executive Assistant to the Pastor, Member of the Board of Trustees
and Adult Secretary Sunday School Teacher)

"…if I can help somebody as I pass along; then my living shall not have been in vain."