John L. Phillips Jr.

John L. Phillips Jr. (1924 or 1925 – February 16, 2008) was an American judge, businessman, and civil rights activist. He served as a New York City Civil Court Judge for the second Brooklyn district from 1977 to 1994, with the exception of a six-year period between the 1980s and 1990s. He owned the Slave Theater and Black Lady Theatre, as well as several properties in Bedford–Stuyvesant. After being legally judged mentally incompetent in an investigation observers said was politically motivated, his estate was heavily sold off by court-appointed guardians and he was living in poor conditions in assisted care during the final decade of his life.

Biography Phillips was born in 1924 or 1925 on a Kansas farm and fought during World War II. playing the song "Kung Fu Fighting" for his campaign. Running on a multi-party ticket, Phillips obtained a large lead in the race and won the election. He was defeated for re-election in 1986. After failing to win a return to his original seat in the 1991 New York City Civil Court elections, he was elected there in 1992. He retired as judge in 1994

Philips wrote, directed, and produced an interracial romance film named Hands Across Two Continents, In response to the Howard Beach racial attack, Phillips opened the theater as a space for the local Black community and the civil rights movement; Al Sharpton started holding weekly rallies at the theater, which he cites as a reason for increased civil rights organizing in Brooklyn at the time. Phillips also owned real-estate in his native Bedford–Stuyvesant, At one point, he was worth $10 million. In the 1989 New York City mayoral election, he endorsed Rudy Giuliani instead of eventual winner David Dinkins, citing the former's experience with fighting crime. The decision was controversial at the time, with several Black politicians responding with outrage. and in the latter's case he was legally judged mentally incompetent. Several observers found the judgment politically motivated, while Hynes (who ordered the investigation) maintained it was "undertaken for Mr. Phillips's own good". He was also confined to East Haven Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, a "dingy Bronx nursing home that his lawyer Ezra Glaser described as a place where people go to die" before being allowed to move to Castle Senior Living in Park Slope. Abigail Ronck of The Brooklyn Ink said that friends of Phillips' reported that "his room reeked of urine and garbage bags full of his clothes covered the floor". and a later report from The Brooklyn Ink said that there was poor record-keeping and unpaid bills and taxes from the guardians. He suffered from diabetes during his later life. The home settled with Phillips' family for $750,000 in 2015.