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Hezekiah Easter, was inducted into the Rockland County Civil Rights Hall of Fame in 2003.  In his career and in the history of Rockland, Hezekiah Easter was often the first. He became the first Black person elected to public office in Rockland County 1965 when he won a seat on the Village of Nyack Board of Trustees. Easter served as deputy mayor and police commissioner in the village. In November 1969, he was elected as an inaugural member of the Rockland County Legislature.

Easter, a Nyack community leader ensured the preservation and restoration of a historic Black Cemetery (Mt. Moor Cemetery is currently surrounded by the Palisades Mall) and worked on behalf of social justice issues, including affordable housing and an integrated workforce.

” I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the community, and for as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can”  Yours in Christ, Trustee Ezekiah Easter.

Journal News File Photo