HAAM

Leadership

Barry D. Lites : The Board Chairman

Barry is also a practicing attorney in Huntington, having received his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1986. His firm, Law Offices of Barry D. Lites LLP, specializes in corporate and real estate law and represents both private and public sector clients, including the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development.

The Firm’s offices are located in Huntington Village and midtown Manhattan.
Barry is also an adjunct professor at Hofstra Law School where he teaches International
Business Transactions, a course based on his experiences doing business in Europe and the
Middle East.

Over the years, Barry has been active in the Huntington community having served as a director on the boards of the Huntington Chamber of Commerce, the Townwide Fund, Leadership Huntington, Moonjumpers, Inc. and the Huntington Housing Authority. His Firm is also pro bono counsel to Angels for Warriors, an organization that offers free legal services to the women and men of the U.S. Armed Services.

Barry received his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Since 1997, he and his wife of 35 years, Dr. Leigh Ann Hutchinson, a Long Island-based cardiologist, have lived in Huntington, raising their four children: Elizabeth, Ann, Christopher and Barry Jr.

Museum

Board Of Directors

The Huntington African American Museum’s board of directors consists of longtime community leaders as well as those who have a passion for the preservation of an important part of American history.

Barry D. Lites, Esq

Chairman

Irene Moore

Vice Chair

Bruce Segal

Director

Kevin Thorbourne

Treasurer

Tiarra Brown

Executive Director

Sam Miller

Director

Huntington's Outstanding Individuals

Huntington's Outstanding Individuals

Alice Coltrane

1937-2007

Alice Coltrane stands as one of this country’s leading women in jazz. A skilled pianist and one of the rare jazz harpists in history, Alice Coltrane lived in Huntington with her husband, John, as an accomplished American musician, composer, bandleader, and Hindu spiritual leader.

John William Coltrane

1920-1967

A lifelong Huntington resident and iconic American jazz saxophonist, bandleader, and composer, he stands as a pivotal and highly praised figure in the realms of jazz and 20th-century music.

Samuel Ballton

1838 -1917

An enslaved person-turned Union Army veteran, Samuel Ballton traveled north to Huntington and made it his home. As a real estate developer in the Greenlawn section of Huntington, many of the homes he developed stand to this day. As a prolific farmer, he earned the moniker “the Greenlawn Pickle King” in 1899 by cultivating 1.5 million cucumbers-turned-pickles in a single season.

Peter Crippen

1809-1875

Pioneer of the African American community in Huntington, Peter Crippen made his way to Huntington from Virginia and purchased a grist mill, the oldest industrial building in North America, and made it his home. The home remained in his family for over 100 years through 2019. Mr. Crippen was a founding member of Bethel AME Church, the first African American church in Huntington.

Jupiter Hammon

1711-1806

A lifelong enslaved person and an American writer, Jupiter Hammon is acknowledged as “the father of African American poetry.” His poems were first published in 1761, the first African American published poet in North America. Beyond his groundbreaking poetry, he also authored prose, served as a preacher, and worked as a commercial clerk for the Lloyd family on what is now known as Lloyd Neck, New York.

Booker Washington

1856-1915

An American educator, author, and orator, served as the predominant leader in the African American community and contemporary Black elite from 1890 to 1915. For many years, Huntington was Mr. Washington’s summer home.