Caribbean Life, M 6 arch 29–April 4, 2019 BQ
PATIENTS’
CHOICE
RATED & AWARDED BY PATIENTS
SM
By Nelson A. King
After serving six years as
a Civil Court judge in Brooklyn,
Justice Kathy J. King was
appointed an acting Supreme
Court Justice in 2009, where
she presided over criminal and
civil court matters.
Prior to that, in 2003, Justice
King was elected to Civil
Court, Kings County.
In 2014, she was elected to
the New York State Supreme
Court in Brooklyn.
In an exclusive Caribbean
Life interview over the weekend,
Justice King, a Brooklyn
resident, reminisced about her
Caribbean upbringing and her
pursuit of law, among other
things.
“I am the daughter of Caribbean
immigrants who were
born in Montserrat, British
West Indies,” she said.
“Although my mother and
father had no formal education,
they stressed the value of
education to me and my sister,
as a means of achieving personal
growth, opportunity and
advancement.
“Their values and unwavering
support motivated me to
be the first in my family to
attend college and graduate
school,” Justice King added.
“While I was raised in St.
Albans, Queens, my fondest
memories growing up were of
time spent in the Caribbean.
My mother would send my sister
and me to spend summers
in Montserrat.
“Just travelling to Montserrat
was an adventure,” she continued.
“From New York, we
would fly into Antigua and then
catch a ‘puddle jumper’for the
20-minute flight from Antigua
to Montserrat. Once arriving in
Montserrat, it was total immersion
into Caribbean way of life
— sun, surf and, of course, the
warm embrace of our family
and friends on the island.
“As an adult, I often seek
refuge from the hectic pace
of work and my other responsibilities
by hanging out at a
local beach or, if time permits,
traveling to the Caribbean,”
Justice King said.
In 2014, King was the recipient
of Montserrat Progressive
Society’s Mother of the Year
Award, which recognized her
accomplishments as a trail
blazer and working mother.
She said her interest
in pursuing a career in law
was nurtured by Judge Kenneth
Browne, with whom she
interned during college in the
mid-70s. Judge Browne was the
first African American judge
elected to Civil and Supreme
Court in Queens County.
Justice King said her internship
coincided with the end of
the Vietnam War, the progressive
movement in American
Society, and was the catalyst
for her to attend law school
since, she said, she discovered
that the law can be used as a
“vehicle for social change.”
Prior to enrolling at the
State University of New York
Buffalo Law School, Justice
King said she attended City
College’s Urban Legal Studies
Program.
As the first in her family to
attend an institution of higher
education, she said life in law
school was challenging.
Notwithstanding the challenges,
however, she said she
was able to graduate “through
support of family and a steadfast
determination.”
After law school, Justice
King said she returned home,
and, shortly thereafter, purchased
a brownstone, moving
to the Bedford-Stuyvesant section
of Brooklyn.
Judge Kathy King.
Justice Kathy King reminisces
about Caribbean upbringing