TROY — City residents and leaders are praising the life and community activism of the Rev. Cornelius Clark, pastor of Holy Serenity Church of God in Christ in North Troy, who died recently.

A longtime advocate for social justice in the city, Clark was outspoken in his efforts to develop a robust citizen review board to assess alleged cases of excessive force by law enforcement.

Clark, who had a three-decade career at General Electric, received the Director's Community Leadership Award in 2016 from then-FBI Director James Comey. The citation praised Clark for providing "tutoring, mentoring, and recreational activities for children through the Early Intervention and Mentoring Program."

“Reverend Clark was deeply committed to the well-being of our residents — especially the young people of our city,” Troy Mayor Patrick Madden said in an emailed statement Monday. “The city of Troy is a stronger place due to Clark’s selfless service, and I am deeply grateful for his partnership and insight on the many important issues facing our city.”

Details regarding Clark's death and funeral services were not available on Monday.

Fifth Avenue A. M. E. Zion Church’s Pastor George William Whitfield offered prayers to Clark's family in a post on Facebook.

Clark worked collaboratively with the city when it came to the issues facing the Troy community, and was a part of the Troy African-American Pastoral Alliance.

City Councilman Mark McGrath, who represents North Central Troy and South Lansingburgh, described Clark as a voice of reason.

“There were other pastors in this community that would run with a story and try to create chaos, and Clark always had command of reason,” McGrath said. “He was such a good man.”

Clark spoke to the Times Union's columnist Chris Churchill in September 2017 after a white Lansingburgh preacher made disparaging comments about black church leaders, suggesting that they were failing to preach against such an array of social problems.

Clark, who took part in a roundtable discussion with other black pastors, told Churchill he had been shocked by the pastor's words.

"We preach against every single item, and more, that he mentioned," said Clark. "Every one of us."

As he did on many subjects, Clark believed he and the other church leaders needed to speak out against the preacher's comments.

"If you allow ignorance to grow without responding, it gets worse and worse," he said. "If you see a problem that's spreading, you have to cut it off."

While Clark was a champion for issues facing the black community in Troy, he cared about the entire city, former Police Commissioner Tony Magnetto said.

The pastor offered to help with in-service training for police by fostering more communication and understanding between community people and law enforcement.

“He was always a straight shooter and man of his word,” Magnetto said. “Naturally he represented his constituents and the black community, but really his concern was for the entire community, and that really came through. He really cared about Troy.”

Through the years, incidents involving local law enforcement and city residents have created turmoil in the community, but those who worked with and knew Clark said he provided a calming presence that helped maintain order.

“He was very instrumental in bringing people from the faith-based community together to actually engage the young men and the community and ease tension between these young men and the police,” said Jerry Ford, a deacon at United Ordain Church. “He was a very upstanding individual.”