Paving the way for future African Americans in Queens, William T. Garvin overcame prejudice and broke down color barriers at a time when segregation was still prevalent in this country.

He was the first black ever to serve on a local school board and was later the first to be appointed to assistant district attorney in Queens.

Though he spent much of his life a resident of the southeast Queens community, Garvin’s roots actually trace back to
the deep south.

Born in Ladson, South Carolina, a small town of Charleston in 1898, Garvin was one of 18 brothers and sisters.

His father, George Washington Garvin, was a fairly successful farmer, owning some 1,000 acres of land.

Though he attended elementary and high school in the then heavily segregated south, Garvin was nevertheless aggressive in his pursuit of education.

He eventually went on to Orangeburg State College and at the completion of his studies there, he moved north in 1923—as many African Americans did in the years after World War I—to continue his studies.

Settling into a six-room apartment with several of his siblings on 121st Street and 7th Avenue in Manhattan, Garvin went to Fordham University and obtained a law degree from St. John’s University in Queens.

Yet life wasn’t all about school. In the years following his father’s death, Garvin took the roll of father figure to his brothers and sisters, working for the Post Office to make ends meet.

During his employment there he met Josephine Smith, who he would marry in 1930.

In 1931 he graduated from St. John’s, the first of two blacks to graduate from that institution, passing the bar four years later. The St. John’s yearbook described Garvin as "quiet and unassuming," though he stood 6’1 and tipped the scales at 200 pounds.

Shortly after his marriage, Garvin settled into Queens, first living at 110-25 164th St.

While today the borough might be viewed as a tolerant haven for all walks of life, things were different during the Depression era.

Moving into their first home, Garvin and his wife were welcomed with a burning cross. Eventually they moved into a residence at 164-11 Brinkerhoff Ave.

Though he set up his civil law practice in Manhattan, Garvin was passionate about Queens life and heavily involved in the community.

He joined the local Queens Pontiac Democratic Club, became involved in area politics and knew the young Guy Brewer, who would later become an influential state assemblyman.

Garvin also helped found the Westminster Presbyterian Church, serving first as deacon and then as an elder. It wasn’t long before he would be recognized for his efforts.

On April 20, 1943, Queens Borough President James Burke appointed Garvin to local School Board 50, making him the first African American named to such a position.

Almost a decade later, Queens District Attorney J. Vincent Quinn made Garvin the first black assistant district attorney in the borough.

Cancer slowed Garvin down in 1966, and in just 10 months claimed the life of one of Queens’ most prominent black trailblazers.

Funeral services were held at the J. Foster Phillips Funeral Home on Linden Boulevard in St. Albans.

Garvin was laid to rest at Maple Grove Cemetery in Kew Gardens.

Black History.com

– List courtesy of the Queens Borough Public Library