Queens DA honors local heroes during Black History Month

Queens DA Melinda Katz honored the contributions of Black and African American leaders in the borough Tuesday. Screenshot via Facebook live

By Rachel Vick

The Queens District Attorney’s Office honored the contributions of four influential Black and African American borough residents, including two veteran DA staffers, during an annual Black History Month celebration Thursday.

The honorees included Assistant District Attorney Yvonne Francis and staff member Mattie Pettway, Detective Patrick Blanc, who heads the Far Rockaway Colts and Astoria Houses Residents Association President Claudia Coger.

All four embody the spirit of the World’s Borough, said Queens DA Melinda Katz.

“The resilience of the community is a shining example for Queens in these difficult times,” Katz said. “This year’s celebration, which comes after a year of nationwide activism, is all the more poignant and serves as a reminder that we all must continue to work to guarantee justice for all.”

Pettway has worked in various bureaus in the Queens DA’s Office for  43 years. Francis, a Rosedale resident, has worked in the office for three decades.

“It has been an honor to serve this community as an assistant district attorney and agent of change,” Francis said. “Service has been a labor of love my entire life.”

Blanc, and NYPD detective, runs the Far Rockaway Colts, an organization engaging at-risk youth through football and mentorship. 

And Coger, Katz said, is “a force for good and for justice in western Queens. “

After an opening convocation from Rev. Evan Gray and the performance of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” keynote speaker Cheryl Wills addressed the more than 200 virtual attendees. Wills is a journalist, author and the first African American reporter in NY1 history to win an Emmy. 

“When I was growing up on the sandy beaches of Rockaway, not one person talked to us about Black history,” she said. It was only by tracing her roots that she learned more, she said.

Wills’ learned that the family who fled Jim Crow in Tennessee to start a candy shop in Astoria were named for the man who owned her ancestors — a grandfather who fought for the Union in the Civil War and won his freedom, and her grandmother who took the federal government to court for the pension she was owed as the widow of a soldier.

“My goal is to encourage everyone within the sound of my voice to also do some digging and to find out your own family history, because when you see the strength in your DNA no one can touch you,” Wills said. “There’s nothing you can’t do when you realize the strong people who came behind you.”

Event moderator and fellow NY1 reporter Ruschell Boone said Wills has been a mentor to her throughout her career.

“She is just beyond impressive,” Boone said.  “She is a sister and mother to many of us, people of color at NY1. She mentors us, shares with us, she encourages us and lifts us up.”