Civil Rights Hall of Fame to Honor Phyllis B. Frank

Phyllis B. Frank is currently the Interim Executive Co-director of VCS Inc. in New City NY. VCS is a family counseling agency with an anti-racist, social justice mission.

Phyllis is also a long time community leader in Rockland County, well known for her exemplary, trailblazing work confronting all forms of oppression. Even as a child, she was introduced to the idea of social justice by her family. Her passion for justice has been evolving throughout her life.

Her career has had a long and distinguished history.In 1979, already a staff member at VCS, Phyllis was asked to design a court-ordered program that would hold men accountable for intimate partner violence. It was the beginning of a new endeavor across the country and Phyllis was one of the pioneers. The brilliance and groundbreaking nature of her ideas was such that government officials, lawmakers, academics and practitioners began to seek her advice.

As Phyllis continued to think about the problems of men's violence against women, her clarity and courage led her more fully to an understanding of the problem as deeply rooted in sexism. In time, she began to consider how sexism was interconnected with other forms of oppression, most notably racism, heterosexism, and classism. She expanded her already broad range of activities to begin to challenge our community to confront these issues.

Phyllis began to energize hundreds of people in Rockland and surrounding counties to participate in a range of anti-racism programs. Some years ago she presented a film to the Rockland Community entitled ‘The Color of Fear’ which drew hundreds of people. The film enriched the conversations about race in our community. But Phyllis always believes there is more to learn. 

She continued to seek out other trainings about issues of race and this brought her to attend an Undoing Racism workshop presented by the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond. The People’s Institute is a multicultural group of trainers and organizers who train nationally and internationally, to wide acclaim.  Phyllis knew that this was a life changing workshop and partnered with a colleague,Ron Figueroa, to bring the workshop to Rockland.  

She has now brought this training here for more than 12 years in a row. She co-facilitates a monthly roundtable called ‘Working Together for Racial Justice’ and presents frequent educational programs and trainings on the issue of racism. These initiatives are changing the dialogue in Rockland County about matters of race.

She inaugurated the GayPride Rockland celebration which has changed the climate here for so many families. Most recently she has been educating the community on Transgender issues and co-facilitates a monthly roundtable for professionals. There are hundreds of people who have never met Phyllis who are safer, walk taller, and live more fully because of her.

Her induction into the Civil Rights Hall of Fame is well deserved. This honor recognizes the ways in which she has changed our community.