Greater Norristown PAL Celebrates Black History Month With Group Of Firsts

By Cherri Gregg

NORRISTOWN, Pa. (CBS) - The Greater Norristown Police Athletic League will celebrate Black History Month tomorrow with a group of "firsts" in Montgomery County.

Youth ages 10 to 18 will attend the program, which will include a panel of distinguished Montgomery County trailblazers like Montgomery County Common Pleas Court Judge Cheryl Lynne Austin who is the first African American woman to fill the post.

"The measurement of progress is always starting with the first," says Program Director Kenneth Fennel.

The program is titled, "Balancing the Scales: Minorities Accessing Equal & Equivalent Social Justice" and will gauge accessibility and progress of African American within society, but taking a look at Montgomery County 150 years after the emancipation proclamation.

"Some of these individuals have been in the struggle prior to reaching these plateaus of achievement," says Fennal. "Fifty years ago there were no Black judges in Montgomery County.  One hundred years ago there were no Blacks in key leadership positions."

Guests include Keir Bradford Grey, who Fennel says is the first African American women to serve as Chief Public Defender of Montgomery County.  For more info, go to GreaterNorristownPAL.org.