At the intersection of Van Nuys Boulevard and Kewen Avenue, in front of the Pacoima Post Office, dozens of community members gathered for a dedication to honor a local trailblazer, a female postmaster who helped open the door for other people of color in her community.
The Nancy C. Avery Square, named after the first Black postmaster of a “first class” post office since Reconstruction, was held during the last week of Black History Month on Feb. 23.
A lifelong civil rights activist, Avery was an active Democratic party worker, housewife and school recreation assistant. She was also affiliated with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and served on the executive committee of the San Fernando Valley NAACP branch.
It was historic when in 1961, President John F. Kennedy named her the postmaster for Pacoima at the urging of Democratic leaders. While there had been Black postmasters before her, they had all worked in smaller, more rural offices.
Avery served as the postmaster until 1984, when she retired and moved to Lancaster. She died in January 1992; she was 72 years old.
The signage now placed at the intersection honors her accomplishment and marks another page of history in Pacoima.
The ceremony was held in partnership between the Adonai Convent International Ministries and Los Angeles City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez. Rev. Zedar Broadous, executive minister for Adonai Convent International Ministries, had approached Rodriguez about the dedication, which the councilmember readily agreed to.
Broadous, who knew Avery during her time in the NAACP, described her as having a beautiful personality and as someone who not only cared for her children but also for other youth in the community.
“She cared about the progress of this community,” Broadous said. “She was part of numerous other organizations. I believe one of them … was a charity organization that gave scholarships to young people. … Everyone who knew her loved her.”
He added that Avery was chosen to be the postmaster not just because of her affiliation, but also her personality. While she has been quoted as saying she “was a token,” referring to the practice of including someone from an underserved minority to give the appearance of diversity and inclusion, Broadous said that Avery appreciated the honor and understood that being in her position allowed her to open doors for other people.
“She made an undiluted impression,” Broadous said. “Especially during that period of time, the 1960s, when it was a turbulent time in this community, in the country, to be able to look back and say, ‘This person saw me, this person heard me, this person cared about me.’”
Three people who were hired by Avery came to the dedication, recounting their first experience with the late postmaster and sharing nothing but kind words in her memory. One of them was Chester Morris, who was the last person Avery hired before her retirement.
In 1984, Morris had been laid off from his job at a General Motors plant and came to the post office looking for work. He remembered that during the interview, Avery didn’t ask any questions about the post office; instead, she spent the time learning what kind of person Morris was and what he wanted to do.
The interview left an impression on Morris, who, nearly three decades afterwards, would follow in Avery’s footsteps and become the postmaster for the Pacoima Post Office, which he expressed great pride in.
“I stand here as a living legacy [to Avery],” Morris said. “It was because of her that I became postmaster here, and through her, I’ve mentored others as well, so that that legacy just continues to grow and to build. That’s what makes it so special.”
After a poem reading and a dedication prayer in honor of Avery, Rodriguez came to the podium and said how this intersection now represents the “intersectionality” of Black history and Latino culture. A little under three years ago, the Pacoima Post Office was dedicated to the memory of rock & roll legend Ritchie Valens.
She thanked the Adonai Convent International Ministries for their advocacy to enshrine the memory of people like Avery so that future generations will learn about their contributions.
“A woman opened the doors for everyone else to walk through, because those doors were not left open for us,” Rodriguez said. “At a time in this country that is attempting to erase our history, we will be standing … [to preserve our heritage] here in Pacoima, the rest of the San Fernando Valley and throughout Los Angeles.”