When most students study the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, they learn of the efforts of Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks and Thurgood Marshall. But the name Lincoln Lynch belongs in textbooks as well, especially when the discussion focuses on Long Island's own struggles to integrate blacks and whites.
Lynch, a former Lakeview resident, was a key leader of the local civil rights movement during the 1960s. He even pursued sued the Malverne school district after his children were prevented from attending "the district's mostly white elementary school," according to Newsday, which reported on Lynch's passing this week.
He died of stomach cancer Saturday at the age of 91, but his legacy lives on through the lasting impact he made through protests, sit-ins and speeches. While serving as chairman of Long Island's chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality, he made some inflammatory remarks during a 1963 event in Garden City, stating, "Here in Nassau County . . racial discrimination andsegregation cry out loud for correction," according to a curriculum to Long Island's civil rights movement crafted by Dr. Alan Singer, of Hofstra University.
He later served as vice president of the New York Urban Coalition. A memorial service will be held for Lynch at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Harlem on Nov. 12 at 2 p.m.
What do you remember about Lincoln Lynch? How did he impact you? Tell us in the comments section below.
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