Celebrating BHM
See the following articles:
Mount Vernon City Court’s All Black Bench Visits Local High School
Staten Island Courts Pay Tribute to Courageous Nurses Dubbed “Black Angels”
Restoring Black Identity in the Arts
Suffolk Courts Present Program on Pioneering African-American Playwright
Mount Vernon City Court’s All Black Bench Visits Local High School
Photo (L to R): Mount Vernon City Court Judges Peter Saint George and Tamika A. Coverdale, Mount Vernon High School Principal Pauline Pearce, Mount Vernon City Court Judges Lyndon D. Williams and Nichelle A. Johnson, and Court of Claims Judge Tim Lewis at Mount Vernon High School
March 1, 2024
Mount Vernon High School, Little Theater, Westchester
Members of the Ninth Judicial District’s Mount Vernon City Court’s historic All Black Bench participated in an engaging dialogue with Mount Vernon City High School students and faculty at an event commemorating Black History Month, hosted by the Westchester Black Bar Association in conjunction with the Court and the Ninth Judicial District. The District, led by Administrative Judge Anne E. Minihan, comprises the counties of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, and Westchester in New York’s Hudson Valley region.
The discussion among the Mount Vernon City Court judges and the Mount Vernon High School students and faculty centered on the Third Branch’s vital role in ensuring the fair and equitable administration of justice for all who appear before the New York State Courts, regardless of race, color, background, income, and/or need.
Chief Judge Rowan D. Wilson and the New York State Courts’ entire leadership team are committed to public outreach efforts, such as the March 1st Mount Vernon celebration, which serve to foster community-court partnerships, demystify the New York State Courts––informing the public about the different courts that make up New York’s state court system and the kinds of work they do––and encourage civic participation among students and New Yorkers of all ages.
Staten Island Courts Pay Tribute to Courageous Nurses Dubbed “Black Angels”
Photo: Virginia Allen (right), a retired nurse who worked the tuberculosis wards at Seaview Hospital, with The Black Angels author, Maria Similios
February 29, 2024
Richmond County Courthouse
An inspirational blend of history, dance, and cuisine, the Richmond County Courts’ African-American History Heritage Month February 29th celebration paid tribute to the courageous African-American female nurses, dubbed the “Black Angels,” who risked their lives to help patients fight tuberculosis when there was no cure. Some 300 “Black Angels”–filling positions abandoned by white nurses–served on the frontlines at Staten Island’s Seaview Hospital (now a nursing facility) from the 1930s to the 1960s, tending to tuberculosis patients, including administering the clinical trials for a drug that eventually cured tuberculosis. These brave, caring women hailed from around the country, many leaving the Jim Crow South, for the opportunity to work in a non-segregated environment and put their nursing skills to good use.
Nonagenarian Virginia Allen, who arrived at Seaview Hospital from Detroit, Michigan as a 16-year old nurse’s aide, and Maria Smilios, author of The Black Angels: Untold Story of Nurses Who Helped Cure Tuberculosis, were among the honorary speakers at the Staten Island event, which also featured remarks from Chief Judge Rowan D. Wilson, First Deputy Chief Administrative Judge Norman St. George, Administrative Judge Desmond A. Green (13th Judicial District), and Appellate Division, First Department Presiding Justice and keynote speaker Dianne Renwick. The program closed with a lively performance by the Susan E. Wagner High School’s African Culture Club Dancers, followed by a soul food luncheon. The February celebration was presented by the Richmond County Courts’ Equal Justice in the Courts Initiative Task Force, which works to foster an inclusive environment–where New York’s rich diversity is embraced– for judges, non-judicial personnel, and all court users.
Photo (L-R): Administrative Judge Green, Presiding Justice Renwick, and First Deputy Chief Administrative Judge St. George enjoy a performance by the Susan E. Wagner High School African Culture Club Dancers
Restoring Black Identity in the Arts
Photo: Panelists (L-R) Dr. Uchenna Itam, Professor of Art History, Hunter College; Alexandra Eaton, Senior Video Journalist, New York Times; Court of Appeals Associate Judge Troutman; Cheryl R. Riley, National Endowment for the Arts Recipient/Artist/Art Advisor; and Melody Capote, Executive Director, Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute. Featured in the background is Williams Commission Executive Director Mary Lynn Nicolas-Brewster. Historian and author Katy Morlas Shannon (not pictured here) is on screen
Tuesday, February 20, 2024
New York County Surrogates Court, Manhattan
On Tuesday, February 20, the Franklin H. Williams Judicial Commission held an insightful Black History Month program, “Addressing Erasure: Removing the Overpaint and Restoring Black Identity in the Arts,” at New York County Surrogates Court in lower Manhattan. The program featured a thought-provoking panel discussion, led by Court of Appeals Associate Judge and Franklin H. Williams Judicial Commission Co-Chair Shirley Troutman, which addressed the indefensible, decades-long practice of “overpainting” portraits to “paint out of history” prominent Black figures.
Suffolk Courts Present Program Centered on Pioneering African-American Playwright
Photo: Guest lecturer Rudy Carmenaty.
Thursday, February 15, 2024
John P. Cohalan, Jr. Court Complex, Central Islip
As part of their celebration of Black History Month, the Suffolk County Courts, together with the Amistad Long Island Black Bar Association and Suffolk County Bar Association, presented a continuing legal education (CLE) program centered on the inspirational work of pioneering African-American playwright Lorraine Hansberry. The engaging program, held at the Central Islip courthouse on February 15, explored the legal issues of racial land covenants through the seminal U.S. Supreme Court case, Hansberry v. Lee, and their effect on Ms. Hansberry’s remarkable life. The lecture focused on her award-winning play, A Raisin in the Sun, and its influence on society at the time of its debut as well as its impact today.
Administrative Judge Andrew A. Crecca welcomed the audience of court employees to the Central Islip Court’s Central Jury Room for the third installation of the Suffolk County Courts’ four-part series of programming in commemoration of Black History Month. Acting Supreme Court Justice Cheryl A. Joseph, who serves as Supervising Judge of the Suffolk County Supreme Court’s Matrimonial Parts and chair of the County’s Equal Justice in the Courts Committee, emceed the event, which featured honorary guest lecturer Rudy Carmenaty, Esq. Mr. Carmenaty, Deputy Commissioner of Nassau County’s Department of Social Services, lectures frequently on a wide range of legal and historical topics. “It gives me such great pleasure to introduce this program today because it brings us an extraordinary opportunity to see the law come alive right before our eyes,” said Acting Justice Joseph.
Photo: Acting Justice Joseph speaks to attendees
Photo: Rudy Carmenaty with members of the Equal Justice in the Courts Commission and Black History Month Committee.
