Waldren T. “Pokey” Phillips, a former president of the NAACP New London office, well-known civil rights advocate and longtime Justice Marshal, died on January 23 of the aftermath of COVID-19 at Yale New Haven Hospital. He was 64 years old.
Phillips’ daughter Rasheedah said she has been inundated with texts and phone calls from people wanting to share their stories about him since her father’s death, including one she had not heard before about his meeting with late civil rights icon John Conyers Jr. would have.
In 2012, Pokey and other members of the NAACP New London office managed to get a last-minute meeting with Conyers, a Michigan Democrat who was then chairman of the US House Judiciary Committee, over widespread wrongdoing the police and to discuss the failure of local, state and federal officials to bring police officers to justice.
With the news of Philip’s death, Tamara Lanier, Vice President of the New London NAACP, also considered this spontaneous trip to Washington.
“I wasn’t sure we’d make it. Pokey said, ‘We’re going. Get your things together. Get in the car. We’ll drive down tonight and be there tomorrow morning.’ He was the guy who took charge, “Lanier said. “He just made things happen.”
Rasheedah Phillips said she had heard a lot in the days since her father died that he was a man in charge and when he said he would do something he put all his heart into it.
“If he said yes, he would, he gave everything,” she said. “That’s one thing I’m going to live up to.”
Originally from Philadelphia, Phillips moved to New London at the age of 18 after being hired to work at Electric Boat, where he worked for 25 years and left to head the paint department.
He dedicated much of his life in New London to the NAACP, an organization he was involved with during his childhood in Philadelphia through his mother and grandmother. He joined the New London office in the early 2000s, worked his way through the ranks, and served as its president for two terms from 2005 to 2008.
“He became known as a local freedom fighter for his peers and the black community,” said his obituary.
The local NAACP has passed a resolution in Phillips’ honor, one copy of which will be given to his family and another copy placed in the branch archives. The resolution calls Phillips “a non-apologetic fighter for truth, transparency and justice”.
“Brother Pokey loved the city of New London and served its people faithfully. He put the last one first, gave the voiceless a voice and welcomed the left out, ”it says.
Phillips received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the New London NAACP in 2017, but was unable to accept it in person as he was waiting for a heart donor at Yale-New Haven Hospital. His family accepted the award on his behalf.
Phillips was a father of five and spent time with his family, particularly his six grandchildren.
“He always said the best sound in the world was to hear his grandchildren laugh,” said Rasheedah Phillips.
Pokey stayed active his entire life – he rode his bike to work every day – even after his heart transplant in 2017, Rasheedah said. Her father had a couple of weights in his hospital room while he was waiting for his heart transplant, and after that he bought a bike and started riding again regularly, she said. “He couldn’t stay seated.”
Phillips was in terminal heart disease when he received a transplant at Yale on December 5, 2017. In an interview with The Day a few months later, he thanked the Vermont man he knew little about, but whose death gave him a second chance in life.
“I have to thank God that this person was able to help me survive,” he said. “I will never forget that. This person is in me and always there for me.”
Lanier said Phillips “cheated” on death many times in his life, and rebounded stronger each time.
He was for many years a member of the Walls Clarke Temple AME Zion Church, a member of the Church’s Board of Trustees and the Black Elks Lodge in New London County.
He was also an excellent law enforcement officer. He became deputy sheriff in 1994 and remained as Justice Marshal when the sheriff system was abolished in 2000.
Ron Johnson, Phillips’ longtime partner marshal, said Phillips was a “big-hearted” man who “cares for many people.” He joked that there were days when he and Phillips fought like an old married couple, but they also had a bond and a trust with each other, which meant they never had to guess each other.
Johnson said Phillips’ work with the NAACP, which he talked about often, opened his eyes to various issues going on in the area at the time.
“He took care of everyone,” said Johnson.
Perhaps the most memorable moment in Phillips ‘career as Marshal was in 2009 when a prisoner in the Broad Street courthouse pulled a 9mm gun from a shoe and pointed it at Phillips’ head.
He and other Marshals, including Johnson, wrestled the gun from the man, preventing a deadly situation. For his actions, Phillips was awarded a Silver Star of Bravery by the American Police Hall of Fame and Museum in Miami, Florida.
Rasheedah Phillips said she was lucky enough to spend Christmas with her father last year when the family was enjoying a prime rib dinner and wearing matching pajamas.
“I remember him saying that was why he lived. Right here, his family,” she said. “I can still see him smile and look across the table. It’s a memory I’ll keep forever.”
Comments are closed.