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Biography · Education & Scholarship

Joe Louis Clark

1938–2020

United States

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Biography

Joe Louis Clark (May 8, 1938 – December 29, 2020) was an American educator and administrator, who was best known for his tenure as principal of Eastside High School in Paterson, New Jersey from 1982 to 1989. He gained national attention for his unconventional and controversial disciplinary measures while leading the school, and was the subject of the 1989 film Lean on Me, starring Morgan Freeman.

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Biography text · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source checked 2026-10-13

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