Rockland Post

Hillburn, Rockland County — For many local residents, the name Brooks School still carries weight, even though the building no longer stands. Opened around 1909, Brooks School served as the only school in Hillburn for African American and Native American children during an era of segregation. White children attended the main Hillburn school, leaving Brooks School as a separate, often underfunded facility.

Parents and community leaders grew increasingly frustrated with the unequal conditions. Desks and textbooks were old, classrooms overcrowded, and the facilities were far from the quality offered to white students. In the 1940s, the fight for fairness reached a turning point when families, with the support of the NAACP, challenged the segregated system in court. Among those involved was a young attorney named Thurgood Marshall, who later became the first African American Supreme Court Justice. His work in cases like these laid the groundwork for integration in schools across New York and eventually the nation.

Local historians say Brooks School is more than just a building; it’s a symbol of the struggle for equal opportunity. “This school represents the courage of families who refused to accept second-class education for their children,” said Chuck Stead, a member of the Historical Society of Rockland County. “It’s part of our shared history, and it deserves to be remembered.”

While the physical building is gone, the story of Brooks School lives on in local archives, memories of former students, and historical projects highlighting Rockland’s African American and Native American communities. Recent efforts by community members aim to place a marker near the original site to honor the families and activists who made a difference.

A Rockland County Community College student whose family once attended Brooks School expressed hope for continued recognition. “I’m glad something is being written now,” they said. “Our history matters, not just for me, but for future generations who need to know the sacrifices that were made.”

Brooks School may have closed decades ago, but its legacy — and the fight for justice it represents — continues to shape Rockland County today.