Mourners filled the Mother A.M.E. Zion Church in Harlem to remember the life of Hazel Nell Dukes, a longtime civil rights leader.

Dukes died in Harlem earlier this month at the age of 92.

Political leaders from around the state and country gathered for the funeral.

Gov. Kathy Hochul recalled “her life was a gift to us all.”

“‘Ma Dukes’ was good to the last drop… to the last drop,” Mayor Eric Adams said.

“Hazel always made us respect the continuity of leadership,” the Rev. Al Sharpton said.

Dukes was born in the 1930s in Montgomery, Alabama, a place known as the birthplace of the civil rights movement.

But it wasn’t until after she moved to New York that Dukes found her voice as a fierce champion for justice.

“Her career as a Black woman with all that she did is truly a part of the history of this country that we cannot allow to be erased,” former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton noted during Dukes’ funeral.

She was known affectionately to so many as “Ma Dukes,” her life of service began early.  

Dukes spent the last 50 years as an advocate for justice.

In the 1960s, she worked for president Lyndon Johnson’s Head Start program. In the 1990s, she rose to become the national president of the NAACP.

Additionally, she led the NAACP’s New York state chapter until her death.

“She didn’t give up on her friends, but we when she embraced you even when others were attacking, she is your best defender and you will win any fight. If you have Hazel Dukes on your side,” Hochul said.

During her funeral service, Dukes was remembered for her infectious energy — even at the age of 92.

Mourners highlighted the causes she vigorously championed: de-segregation, voting rights and women’s equality.

“Part of her lives in all of us, and so we’re going to fight against those individuals who want to turn back the clock of progress,” New York state Attorney General Letitia James, who was one of countless leaders mentored by Dukes, said.