The African American Historical Society of Rockland County is proud to launch the Rockland County Black Historical Communities Collaborative, a countywide initiative dedicated to uncovering, preserving, and sharing the stories of Black life across Rockland County.
Ongoing, 2025 Throughout 2025, AAHS continued expanding the Historic Hillburn Online Hub, documenting Hillburn’s layered heritage—from early community life to the landmark 1943 desegregation case. The Hub is becoming an essential resource for families, educators, descendants, and researchers. Historic Hillburn Online Hub Return to Newsletter
News 12 highlights first Black female principal in East Ramapo In honor of Black History Month, News 12 is featuring a woman who made her mark in Rockland County education and beyond. Dr. Arlene Clinkscale moved to Rockland County 60 years ago and became the first Black teacher in...
This video is courtesy of LOHUD. An advertisement will play before the video starts. Ramapo Film documenting desegregation battle “Two Schools in Hillburn” recounts the 1943 struggle to integrate the village’s Main School for white students and the Brook School, where “colored” students were sent. Joe Allen’s film recounts the...
This is a true story about two separate by equal elementary schools in Hillburn, New York — one white and one black elementary schools. In the 1940s, Thurgood Marshall played an important role in this gripping story, 11 years before his well-known involvement in the Brown v. Board of...
In an interview with John Lewis, he recalls his days in Selma, the Voting Rights Act, and the urgency of our votes being counted today. This video is an excerpt from a longer video of a program presented in February 2013 by The African American Historical Society of Rockland...
