Nyack Celebrates Black History Month

A short summary of the long history of African American presence in Nyack
by: Bill Batson
Nyack Sketch Log Author & Illustrator

The recorded presence of African Americans in Rockland County began at the same time that Europeans arrived in the region. African slaves and free blacks were a part of the Dutch community that settled here in 1687. According to census records from 1723, nearly one fifth of the 1,244 inhabitants of the county were African slaves.

With the abolition of slavery in New York State in 1827 and the founding of predominantly black Baptist and Methodist churches in Nyack in 1859 and 1875, a period of social and economic stability for Nyack’s black community ensued. A black middle class flourished in Nyack after the Civil War that owned businesses and properties and continued to do so for a century.

On the left, an African American Fire Fighter in Nyack 1890. Sisco - no first name listed

Black families named Avery, Batson, Cooke, Easter, Fountain, Hesdra, Holland, Pratt, Sisco and many others have made significant economic and civic contributions to their communities and the public at large.

When Cynthia Hesdra died on February 9, 1879, she was reportedly worth $100,000 - the equivalent of $2.3 million in contemporary dollars. As an African American female entrepreneur and reputed Underground Railroad conductor, Hesdra was a blazer on multiple trails. Today, she is remembered in Nyack by one of the Toni Morrison Society's "Bench by the Road" in Memorial Park located near a property once owned by Hesdra.

A stumble in our march toward racial equality occurred when funds from the Federal Urban Redevelopment Act in 1956 provided a catalyst for decimating Nyack's thriving black middle-class community that was located in the downtown area under the guise of urban renewal.

Nyack made a significant step forward in the recognition of African Americans when Hezekiah Easter, Jr. became the first African American elected to public office in Rockland County when he won a seat on the Village of Nyack Board of Trustees in 1965.

Hezekiah Easter Jr., Ruth Easter, Hezekiah Easter Sr. (l to r).

With the installation of a monument to Cynthia Hesdra in our Memorial Park, unveiled by Toni Morrison in 2015, Nyack continues to be a community that celebrates the history and contributions of African Americans.

The Batson/Avery Family

Please join us on June 6, 2020 at 1pm (rain date June 13), when the African American Parade will make its way through Nyack, ending at Memorial Park for a festival. This year's Grand Marshall is Dr. Lori L. Martin, Professor of Sociology and African American Studies at Louisiana State University, who has played a pivotal role in preserving local African American history in Nyack and throughout the nation.

Dr. Lori L. Martin

You can contact us at (845) 358-0548, or visit www.Nyack-NY.gov.