Westchester County Executive George Latimer and Deputy County Executive Ken Jenkins honored two remarkable African American citizens, as well as the life’s work of a husband-and-wife team, for their professional accomplishments and community efforts at the 2024 Trailblazers Awards Ceremony. “Trailblazers: Preserving our Legacy” was hosted live at the Gateway Center at SUNY Westchester Community College, as part of the county’s Black History Month celebration. The awards recognize individuals who have made great contributions to African American history and culture throughout Westchester County and beyond.
Latimer said: “February is Black History Month, and each year we pause to reflect on the impactful stories of those Black Americans who are helping to shape our history here in Westchester, and all over the world. We are fortunate that our county has been blessed with places and exhibits of historical significance, that help us remember the Black leaders who were change-makers long before our time. Tonight, help us by honoring these two outstanding individuals, as well as the legacy of two former Westchester County residents, who stood out above the rest for their public service, and immense contributions to the mosaic that is Westchester County.”
This year’s honorees are Dean Horace E. Anderson Jr., recipient of The Vernon E. Jordan Jr. Award for Civil Rights, and Commissioner Deborah M. Norman, recipient of The Betty Shabazz Award for Civic Engagement.
Anderson is the ninth dean of the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, appointed in December 2019. Previously, Anderson had been serving as Haub Law’s interim dean. The law school has been thriving under his leadership, with increased enrollment and application numbers and successful new programs. Under his leadership, Haub Law garnered its first “U.S. News & World Report” ranking as the No. 1 environmental law program in the country. He also strengthened the law school’s social justice initiatives and oversaw the launch of the new Pace Access to Justice Project, which brings together students from across Pace University to apply human-centered design-thinking and legal training to create innovative technology tools to address real-world gaps in access to justice.
Anderson received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and a Bachelor of Science degree, from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. His areas of legal expertise include intellectual property, internet privacy, law and technology and communications law.
Norman began her career as an active-duty Military Police Officer (MP) and was stationed worldwide within the Army. She attained the rank of Master Sergeant and retired after 22 years of service. Norman attended many military schools and military courses throughout her career. She received an Army Achievement Medal for being selected as Distinguished Graduate of the Primary Leadership Academy. In 2002, Norman retired from the Army and returned to Mount Vernon where she was appointed by Mayor Ernest D. Davis as the first woman deputy fire commissioner of the Mount Vernon Fire Department. For the past 21 years, she has worked for four city administrations, servicing the community in various commissioner capacities.
Drs. Kenneth and Mamie Clark received The Humanitarian Award for their Contribution to School Desegregation. Long-time Hasting-on-Hudson residents Mamie Phipps Clark (1917-1983) and Kenneth Bancroft Clark (1914-2005) were American psychologists who, as a married team, are best-known for conducting groundbreaking research on the psychological effects of racism on the identity and self-esteem of Black children. They were activists on the national level, contributing to many social reform causes, including desegregation and the Civil Rights Movement.
The NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund called upon them to testify in several court cases challenging segregation in public schools. Their testimony demonstrating that segregation harmed Black children’s self-images before the Supreme Court contributed to the landmark Supreme Court Case that desegregated American public schools: Brown v. Board of Education.
