Join the Lorraine Hansberry Coalition (LHC) for the Closing Reception of The Clark Legacy on Saturday, May 17, from 1PM-4PM as we discuss the impact of the Clarks' work with Dr. LaRuth Gray.
Following the discussion with Dr. Gray, the LHC will also commemorate what would have been Lorraine Hansberry's 95th birthday on May 19.
Enjoy an afternoon of music, light refreshments, and connection with your community!
What Is The Clark Legacy Exhibit?
Originally curated and staged by the Hastings Historical Society, The Clark Legacy is the first of its kind to showcase the legacy of the dynamic husband-and-wife team of Hasting-on-Hudson residents Drs. Mamie and Kenneth Clark,providing a behind-the-scenes look at their personal lives and groundbreaking work as civil rights activists and pioneering psychologists best known for their “doll tests” that showed the negative impact of segregation on Black children’s self-esteem. Their test results were influential in the groundbreaking 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision that desegregated U.S. public schools.
Other topics include the history of their integrated neighborhood in Hastings, the story of the Clarks’ houseguest, Minnijean Brown of the Little Rock Nine, who lived with them in the late 1950s, and the background of some of the Black luminaries who were friends and visitors to the Clarks’ home on Pinecrest Drive.
When Is The Clark Legacy Exhibit Open to the Public in May?
This free exibit is open to the public on the weekends (Sat & Sun) of May 3-4, May 10-11, and May 17-18 from 1:00-4:00PM and on Thursdays May 8 and May 15 from 1:00-4:00PM. The exhibit will be held at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 2021 Albany Post Road, Croton-on-Hudson, NY, 10520.
Who Is Dr. LaRuth Gray?
Dr. LaRuth Gray is 2025 recipient of Westchester's Trailblazer Award. She is a lifelong educator, author, and currently Deputy Director of New York University's Metropolitan Center for Urban Education. She has lived as an adult through twelve American presidencies, and is nationally known for her leadership in the arts and in public schools.
About the Hastings Historical Society
In the mid-20th century, Hastings-on-Hudson had a series of village historians, most of whom operated independently out of their homes. A small group of Hastings residents felt that an entity devoted to preserving Hastings’ history was in order, so in 1961 several people got together to discuss the need for a historical society.
Although an organization did not come together then, around 1970 then-Mayor Sheldon Wagner was prevailed upon to hold a meeting of Hastings residents interested in forming a historical society. The Village offered the use of the courtroom on the second floor of the Municipal Building for meetings, and a portion of a nearby room for artifact storage. The New York State Board of Regents granted the Society a provisional charter on April 23, 1971, which is the official date of the Society’s inception. Outside of meeting times, the Society used the small storage area in the Municipal Building as its work space, which fondly became known as “the closet.”
From its humble beginnings in “the closet,” the Society is now happily ensconced in its historic home in Hasting's Draper Park— caretakers to an extensive artifact collection and 12,000+ photo archives related to Hastings’ history. For more information, please visit here.
