Brooklyn’s PDPA honors NJ Rep. LaMonica McIver with ‘Woman of Courage Award’

New Jersey Congresswoman LaMonica McIver, the first Black woman to represent New Jersey’s 10th Congressional District and the youngest ever to be elected to the United States House of Representatives from the “Garden State,” was honored with the “Woman of Courage Award” by the Brooklyn-based Progressive Democratic Political Association (PDPA) during its 32nd Women Celebrating Women 2026 Sapphire Awards.

The gala ceremony took place at El Caribe Country Club, on Strickland Avenue, in Brooklyn, on May 3.

McIver, a member of the House of Representatives’ Small Business and Homeland Security Committees, was among 18 other women honored by the political club, whose founder was the Jamaican-born trailblazing former New York City Council Member, Dr. Una S.T. Clarke, during the five-hour-long gala. 

“It is my honor to introduce one of my colleagues in Washington, D.C.,” said Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke, Dr. Clarke’s daughter, who represents the 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn. 

“McIver has been shattering records in elected office since her start in public service,” added the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, who’s also an ex-officio member of PDPA. “She was a stalwart champion for the needs and aspirations of every resident of Newark’s Central Ward, and now she’s bringing that some fight to the halls of Congress for all who live and work in the 10th Congressional District.” 

Clarke said McIver was born and raised in Newark’s Central Ward, where she still resides with her husband and daughter.

“My sister is under siege by the Trump administration,” Clarke said. “She’s one of the first persons to go and see about those [immigrants] in ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) detention.

“She’s on the oversight to the agency that’s responsible for homeland security,” she added. “Now, she’s facing persecution and prosecution for doing her job.”

In receiving the award, McIver said: “Women have always stood in the gap. It has been women leading the charge at a time when we should be celebrating our achievements. 

“There are many people who want us feel like we don’t belong,” she said. “They want us feel like I don’t belong. Some of those people are Supreme Court justices.

“I’m honored to receive the Woman of Courage Award tonight,” McIver added. 

When she visited an ICE detention center in Newark last December, McIver said she did not know that she would be charged “via Twitter.”

“The Trump administration did not appoint me to be the congresswoman; the people of the 10th District appointed me,” said McIver, stating that Clarke was also among the congressional delegation that visited the detention center in Newark, where a Haitian immigrant died. 

“I’m going to show up,” McIver added. “We have to continue to show up. We are going to continue to use our voice. 

“I implore all of the women who are working hard: It takes all of us in our community to do what we have to do,” she continued.

On Dec. 24, 2025, Clarke condemned the death of Jean Wilson Brutus, 41, a Haitian national in ICE’s custody.

ICE said that Brutus, a “criminal illegal national from Haiti,” who was detained at Delaney Hall Detention Facility in Newark, passed away, Dec. 12, from “suspected natural causes.”

ICE said Brutus entered its custody on Dec. 11 after he was released from Union County Jail in Elizabeth, NJ, following his arrest for “criminal mischief — damage to property.”

But after touring the Delaney Hall Detention Facility, along with her Congressional colleagues Rob Menendez and McIver, both of New Jersey, Clarke told Caribbean Life that Congressional oversight is “essential to preventing and ending the abuses at Delaney Hall and within other detention facilities nationwide.

“No human being deserves to suffer the conditions we witnessed behind the veil of Donald Trump’s deportation machine, today,” she said. “But while the state of this facility was shocking, it was not at all unexpected.

Jamaican-born educator Rose Graham, a PDPA member, was also honored with the Award of Excellence during the Women Celebrating Women 2026 Sapphire Awards. 

Graham served as assistant principal at Public School 399 in Flatbush, Brooklyn, and is currently director of community affairs and attendance coordinator at Community District 17 in Brooklyn. 

The other honorees were Dr. Divinah Bailey, Trishia Bermudez, Dora Hall, Gloria Hall, Kenya Handy-Hilliard, Carol Howe, Darien-Johnson Tyson, Tara Martin, Yvette Modestin, Constance Nevers, Dora Nurse, Sherriann O’Garro, Esline Smith, Erane Quintyn, Ginette Rousseau Peterson, Nyree Whittaker-Roth and Brenda Wyllie. 

PDPA president Bishop Sylveta Hamilton-Gonzales told Caribbean Life after the event that the ceremony was “something that was needed in a time like this, when the community needs to push forward to make sure we understand our role in the community.

“These phenomenal women are deserving for the work that they’ve done within our community over the years,” she added. “And, in view of the inter-generational event, they are really role models for young women to come in the future.”

PDPA vice president Wayne Ragguette also described the event as “great, well put together. 

“These phenomenal women truly deserve the honor,” said Ragguette, who is also a political consultant in Brooklyn. 

In giving the Vote-of-Thanks and speaking on behalf of all honorees, Graham extended “deepest and most sincere thanks.”

“We are truly honored to be recognized — not simply for titles held, but for service rendered; service that we give without reservation; service carried out with intention and purpose,” she said. “Each of us comes from a different path — education, healthcare, politics, advocacy, community leadership — but service is what brought us together. It is our common ground. It is the thread that binds us, reminding us that the work is always bigger than any one of us. 

“We are individuals who stand on business and get the work done,” Graham added. “We are not spectators — ‘we are boots on the ground’. We meet communities where they are; we show up consistently; and we remain committed even when the work is difficult or unseen.”

Graham said the gala’s recognition belongs not only to the honorees but to the mentors who guided them — “mentors like Dr. Una Clarke, Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, Dr. Dee Bailey, the colleagues who walk beside us, the families who support us, and the communities who trust us. 

“Your belief fuels our resolve and gives meaning to the work we do every day,” she said. “Thank you to the organizers of PDPA, the supporters, and everyone who made this moment possible. 

“We do not take this honor lightly; we accept it as both recognition and responsibility — a reminder to continue serving boldly, intentionally, and unapologetically,” Graham added. “Thanks for placing me in the room and not just that, but for giving me a seat at the table.