The October 2019 “Crossroads of Rockland History,” featured an interview with Dr. Arlene Clinkscale who made New York State education history when she became the first African American woman in the state to lead a school district. Nyack.
Dr. Clinkscale, who began her career in 1950, came to Rockland County in 1960 after ten years of teaching elementary school in Virginia. She taught in Pearl River and Spring Valley for six years before assuming a series of senior administrative positions in the East Ramapo and Nyack Central school districts, rising to the rank of district superintendent in Nyack in 1981.
During the interview she talks about her career, including the time in 1968, when she was selected to be part of an academic team to assist during the Ocean Hill-Brownsville teachers strikes. In 1983, she was interviewed by Ebony Magazine for a feature article titled “Superwomen of Public Education.”
You can listen to the podcast here.
Crossroads of Rockland History, a program of the Historical Society of Rockland County, airs on the third Monday of each month at 9:30 am, right after the Steve and Jeff morning show, on WRCR radio 1700AM and www.WRCR.com. Join host Clare Sheridan as we explore, celebrate, and learn about our local history, with different topics and guest speakers every month.
The Historical Society of Rockland County is a nonprofit educational institution and principal repository for original documents and artifacts relating to Rockland County. Its headquarters are a four-acre site featuring a history museum and the 1832 Jacob Blauvelt House in New City, New York.
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Arlene Clinkscale discusses church and her work as the first African American woman to become a Superintendent of Schools in New York State and going back to work as a principal in Englewood at the end of her career.