Willem Richelen Hendrik Smit (“Hank”) passed away on Monday, May 20th, 2019 after a brief illness. The son of parents from Suriname and Barbados Hank was born in Harlem New York on January 6th, 1932. Hank received his education at Brooklyn College as an undergraduate, University of Pennsylvania Wharton School for his MBA and Fordham University for his PhD in Education.
An avid patron of the New York arts scene he dedicated his career to uplifting others with long stints at Children’s Television Workshop and then as an administrator at John Jay College. Hank’s entire life was spent in Manhattan only leaving the city to pursue education, to serve his country in the Korean War and in his later years to winter in his beloved Barbados. He lives behind his wife Virginia whom he was married to for 58 years, his children Christie, Derrick and Pieter and his three grandchildren. A notice for a memorial service will be posted. Contributions can be made in his name to the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.