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Joe Clark, School Principal Who Inspired Film ‘Lean on Me,’ Has Died At 82 | HuffPost

Joe Clark, School Principal Who Inspired Film ‘Lean on Me,’ Has Died At 82 | HuffPost

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Joe Clark, Lean On Me, East Side High School, African American History, Black History, KOLUMN Magazine, KOLUMN, KINDR'D Magazine, KINDR'D, Willoughby Avenue, WRIIT, TRYB,

Morgan Freeman starred as Clark in the 1989 film that was loosely based on his tenure at Eastside High School.

 

— AP, HuffPost

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Joe Louis Clark, the baseball bat and bullhorn-wielding principal whose unwavering commitment to his students and uncompromising disciplinary methods inspired the 1989 film “Lean on Me,” died at his Florida home on Tuesday after a long battle with an unspecified illness, his family said in a statement. He was 82.

Born in Rochelle, Georgia, on May 8, 1938, Clark’s family moved north to Newark, New Jersey, when he was 6 years old. After graduating from Newark Central High School, Clark received his bachelor’s degree from William Paterson College (now William Paterson University), a master’s degree from Seton Hall University, and an honorary doctorate from the U.S. Sports Academy. Clark also served as a U.S. Army Reserve sergeant and a drill instructor.

See Also
Harry Belafonte, Civil Rights, Civil Rights Activist, Black History, African American History, KOLUMN Magazine, KOLUMN, Willoughby Avenue, WRIIT

 

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