On Tuesday, February 25, Judge Marva Brown shared her story as this year’s Black History Month keynote speaker, describing her path from a low-income community to her career as a judge in the Manhattan Criminal Court.

Judge Brown, who holds a law degree from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and a B.A from Columbia University, spent more than

17 years as a public defender. She was elected to the Kings County Civil Court in November 2023 and currently presides over cases in the Manhattan Criminal Court.

She was awarded the Woman of Distinction Award and Proclamation from NY state assembly member Brian Cunningham in May 2022, along with the Harriet Tubman Award from the 77th Precinct Community Council in August of 2023. Mr. Daymyen Layne, director of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), said, “The DEI office chose Marva as a way to celebrate excellence from black Americans, and to highlight women as we celebrate our 50 years of co-education.”

This year’s Black History Month theme, chosen by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), is “African Americans and Labor.” Mr. Layne said, “Looking at what Marva has done in law, from her time at Columbia to being a public defender, she has had an excellent career. I hope students will see a bit of themselves in her path.”

After attending the talk, Sulayman Abdirahman ’27 said, “As an African American student who wants to go into law, I felt inspired by her speech. I also connected to her experiences of growing up in a low-income community, as I come from one myself.”