Tln11117

L

EGACY Yesterday. Today. Tomorrow.

WEDNESDAYS • Nov. 1, 2017

‘

INSIDE The aftermath of Henrico race incident - 2 Nov. 7 election includes local races, too - 4 Groups partner in tekhen unveiling - 5 CDC initiative meant to improve health - 15

Richmond & Hampton Roads

LEGACYNEWSPAPER.COM • FREE

Remember to VOTE on Nov. 7. Polls open from 6 a.m- 7 p.m.

The LEGACY

2 • Nov. 1, 2017

News

Community demands change in Henrico schools A recent incident at a Henrico County middle school has an outraged community questioning the day and time in which we live and if their enragement is falling upon deaf ears.

Henrico Police were called to investigate a video posted on social media that showed Short Pump middle school students simulating sexual acts while yelling racial slurs and remarks towards black students.

The incident took place inside the locker room before football practice.

The video started with a text that read, “Ever wonder what happens in

the football locker room?”

What followed was disturbing.

Expletives were used, white players were seen thrusting on their black teammates while spitting out racial slurs and the victims of the lewd acts were unable to get up—all at the mercy of their schoolmates.

Past reports indicate school officials have taken action to reprimand the students who allegedly pinned down and violated black students by ending the football teams’ season early, but parents and community leaders feel this passive reaction is sending a message that the rights of

Roscoe Cooper black students are unequal to their white counterparts.

Henrico Schools spokesman, Andy Jenks, described the perpetrated acts as “offensive and wrong” and stated that appropriate action would be taken within “normal procedures” but the lingering question is what is the normal procedure now that it’s not a black youth to blame?, ask observers.

“We know how fast and swift our school system expels and suspends children of color; yet, these kids who have white privilege are allowed to go back to school with the victims,” said Rev. Marcus D. Martin, pastor of New Bridge Baptist Church in Henrico County.

Lorraine Wright, CEO and executive director of I Vote For Me, feels the response Jenks offered is lax. Wright feels the incident was criminal.

“It’s felony aggravated sexual battery to be exact,” she said.

Wright further asserts that in past years the standard operating procedures that the Henrico County school system exercised were not “equitably administered” and disproportionately and negatively impacted communities of color.

“This is not at all an isolated incident,” Wright said. “It is not an anomaly. Henrico County Public

Schools [allegedly] fosters, nurtures and endorses a culture of racism and discrimination. HCPS and the school board cannot continue their cavalier nonchalance regarding these critical issues. Our children of color continue to be dehumanized, degraded and disregarded within this district and the Commonwealth at large. The Virginia Department of Education must put an end to this criminal conspiracy that further disenfranchises our communities of color.”

It seems as if the school board is being quite tight-lipped about the incident. The Eastern Henrico community’s biggest school board disappointment comes from the board’s only black representative and its vice-chair, Roscoe Cooper.

According to various residents for the part of the county Cooper represents, he should have been the first person on the board to make comment and he sat mute.

At a recent school board meeting, this matter was brought up and one speaker publicly pointed out that Cooper has yet to touch the issue with comment.

The LEGACY reached out to Cooper, who represents the Fairfield District on the Henrico County School Board. While his HCPS voicemail was full, a message was left with his church office.

The message wasn’t returned and comment wasn’t offered by press time.

Wright questions how anyone can sit silent about this issue.

“Who will speak out against these atrocities,” she questioned.

“This video is not only a clear representation of the events that took place but also clearly speaks to the intent of the offenders as evidence by the racially charged captions on the post itself.”

Proclaiming to continue advocating for the protection of human rights – especially the human rights for youth of color—Wright said an official complaint to the Office of Civil Rights is forthcoming.

(continued on page 4)

www.LEGACYnewspaper.com

Nov. 1, 2017 • 3

Meet the candidate who talks to men in Confederate-flag T-shirts JOAN WALSH THE NATION - Under a dazzling purple-and-orange sunset at the Stafford County Fair last weekend, Jennifer Carroll Foy, a candidate for the state House of Delegates, strolled confidently toward a skinny young white man wearing a Confederateflag “Don’t tread on me” T-shirt. One of the first black female graduates of the Virginia Military Institute, Carroll Foy was there to ask for his vote. The man looked stunned as she approached, while his wife seemed mildly curious. And then Carroll Foy was really there—smiling, standing tall, handing out literature, explaining why she was running to represent the good people of Virginia’s 2nd District.

But first she had to figure out if the couple actually lived in her district.

Even explaining where her district begins and ends proved complicated, as every district in the state has been distorted by GOP gerrymandering.

Virginia’s 2nd District, for example, pulls in only half of Stafford County; the rest is in Prince William County.

The couple stared at her, confused and silent. Then the man broke the spell by saying: No, they didn’t live in her district. He looked down at the ground, while his wife, carrying a toddler, awkwardly thanked Carroll Foy. The very fact that Carroll Foy even attempted to reach a man in a Confederate T-shirt— just 95 miles away from where white supremacists menaced counter-protesters and where one of them murdered Heather Heyer with his car two months earlier—felt like a victory of sorts.

A victory for showing up in the age of Donald Trump, for standing your ground, asserting your equality—and our common humanity—whether that young man believes in it or not.

Carroll Foy is one of 26 first-time Democratic women candidates running for delegate in Virginia this year. Like New Jersey’s, the state’s off-year election is on Nov. 7.

Its what politicos are calling an “amazing surge” of women candidates in August. Carolyn Fiddler, a Virginia Democratic party

veteran, now with Daily Kos, called it “the Trump effect”— the exhilarating rush of female candidates who said to themselves: “If Trump can be president, I can run for office. Since she won her primary in June— against the local party-establishment favorite, in a recount, and by just 14 votes” — Carroll Foy has been placed in the top tier of these candidates, in terms of her overall strength and capacity to win. “Even though she got a late start because of the recount, she’s done a really good job at fundraising,” Carolyn Fiddler said. In fact, she’s raised more than $300,000, with 60 outside groups helping her along the way.

Teddy Smyth, her campaign manager, holds a weekly conference call to tell outside groups what the campaign needs (Virginia law allows coordination between campaigns and outside organizations). “We’ve made it work,” he tells me.

Catherine Vaughan of Flippable, a new group focused on flipping statehouses by backing candidates like Carroll Foy, said Smyth’s conference calls “have been a great way for the campaign to gain extra capacity by specifying what they need — campaign e-mails, design help.”

This reporter came to Virginia to see how this first-time candidate was navigating a racially and economically diverse suburban area during the Trump presidency.

Virginia’s 2nd District is 57 percent white, 26 percent African American, 18 percent Latino, 7 percent Asian, and 10 percent other. Stafford County, scooped into the district to protect GOP incumbents (but Del. Mark Dudenhefer decided not to run again), is even whiter and includes more whites without a college degree, i.e., Trump’s base. By contrast, Prince William County, where Carroll Foy enjoys a strong base of support, is majority minority. To win, she’ll need to pull votes from both sides of her district. Could a black progressive candidate like Carroll Foy bring some white Republican voters into her coalition?

She moved from a multiracial canvass operation to look at toxic coal-ash ponds at Possum Point,

Jennifer Carroll Foy then from the mostly white Stafford County Fair to a black Baptist church, and finally to a Latino bar and restaurant. She was comfortable in every culture. Her pitch doesn’t vary much, group to group; she’s not doing much segmenting of her electorate. And in all of those settings, more or less, her pitch worked.

The results of the Democrats’ new and belated commitment to taking back statehouses in Virginia means they’re running 54 challengers against GOP incumbents, up from only 21 in 2015. They need to pick up 17 seats to flip the 100-member House of Delegates—and there just happen to be 17 districts in GOP hands where Clinton defeated Trump last November. Democratic women are running in 11 of them.

While Virginia Democrats started this election cycle with optimism, things have become more worrying as of late. Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, running to succeed Gov. Terry McAuliffe, is just a nose ahead of Republican Ed Gillespie in most polls, even though Gillespie has run as an immigrant-scapegoating Trump clone in a state with a rising number of immigrants who voted against Trump in 2016.

The insult to injury, should Gillespie win, is this: He’s an architect of Operation REDMAP, which helped gerrymander statehouse seats in places like

Virginia in favor of Republicans, which then let those GOP statehouse reps create even redder congressional districts. Republicans control seven of Virginia’s 11 seats in the House of Representatives; Democrats hold four, despite their dominance in statewide races.

And as Prince William County goes, U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine tells this reporter, so go the Democrats’ fortunes.

“Prince William County is the battleground of the battleground,” he said. “I won it in 2006, for the first time for a Democrat since 1985.” Since then, the margins have only grown.

“Barack won twice; Hillary and I won last year,” said Kaine, a Democrat. “I know where Northam is looking right now.”

There are eight delegate seats that include parts of Prince William County. Incumbent Democrats hold just two of them, and the party is running challengers in the six GOPheld seats. Of these challengers, four are women, one is a black man, and one is a white man. Each of the four women has been given a strong chance to win.

Yet Carroll Foy said activism in her district has dipped some. “We started out with a big surge after I won the primary, but now it’s plateaued,” she said.

“The campaign has a volunteer

(continued on page 13)

The LEGACY

4 • Nov. 1, 2017

Getting ready for Nov. 7 elections The statewide races for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general have been dominating the airwaves recently but local races are also plentiful this election cycle. They include the race for Richmond’s next sheriff, which features Democratic Party candidate Antionette Irving, who upset long-time Richmond Sheriff C.T. Woody Jr. in the June Democratic primary; write-in candidate Sgt. Carol Adams, a well known member of the Richmond Police Department, founder of the Carol Adams Foundation, a nonprofit that provides emergency assistance to women, men and children who are victims of domestic violence; Nicole D. Jackson, a former major in the Richmond Sheriff’s Office; and Emmett Jafari, a businessman, who comes from a family known for building selsufficiency.

Jafari is critical of Irving’s “talk”, especially during a recent gathering at the Richmond Crusade for Voters where she said that she could “talk herself into or out of any situation”.

“That’s slickster talk, the kind that

Emmett Jafari is absorbed and repeated by longtime jailers,” said Jafari. “The same candidate has met with the sheriff, and met family members, deputies, and inmates in a jail program.

“Despite never working any city jail programs herself, or ever working at the jail at all, Irving has signed off on the jail’s program. Red flag. So much for inmate privacy, or law controlling

civilian entry into jail environs . This is a type of entitlement that long term public employees believe places them beyond the law. Offenders are not the sheriff’s own private zoo.”

Adams notes that she has served the Richmond area community for over 27 years as a public servant, lived in the city for the past 19 years.

“I’m a graduate of Richmond Public School System and the University of Richmond [and] I feel that people know me, and they know I have a heart for service. I just need to get the word out to voters that they can write-in my name for Richmond sheriff.”

Before heading to the polls, remember to bring a valid photo ID. Acceptable forms of photo ID include: valid Virginia Driver’s license; DMV issued photo ID; valid United States passport; valid employee photo ID; other government issued photo ID; and, valid Virginia college or university student photo ID. If you do not have an acceptable form of photo ID, you may get a free one for voting purposes at any local Virginia voter registration office.

(from page 2) “We will not allow this to be covered up or minimized while these abusive individuals get a slap on the writs and our young men of color continue to be victimized by a system that does not value their humanity,” she said.

Martin echoes those sentiments and further states change must be demanded in the application of the county’s school policy.

“This will not be swept under the carpet to protect the shield of Henrico County Schools or personnel,” said Martin.

“The rights of students has and is being violated,” he continued.

“African-American male students have been sexually assaulted and forced to be with their attackers in school without consideration of posttraumatic stress and feeling of the victims. These white kids are not the victims.

“We demand just and equitable application of school policies for all children. We demand that the Henrico County school system address the racism that happens within our schools and we want to be a part of the solution.”

Nov. 1, 2017 • 5

www.LEGACYnewspaper.com

Groups partner to unveil ‘tekhen’ in Richmond

While the nation remains in controversy about the removal of Confederate statues, in the former capital of the confederacy, the Afrikan Ancestral Chamber, with Harambee!, UPAL (United Parents Against Lead) and Richmond’s Sacred Woman’s Circle recently unveiled a “poignant” memorial to inspire community.

The monument was recently unveiled at the African Burial Grounds in Richmond, in what was the largest slave trading district in the United States behind New Orleans.

The African Burial Grounds is also remembered for the internment of freedom fighter Gabriel and his liberation army as well as others who were enslaved and bred from the more than 100 enslaved auction houses that operated in the vicinity.

The memorial, a tekhen, is believed to be the first such monument contemporarily built by Africans (blacks) for Africans on public space in the U.S., according to the group. Commonly known as an obelisk – it is an ancient symbol signifying resurrection to the memory of Afrikan kings.

“This memorial stands as a reminder of African champions for liberty and ancient values that have stood the test of time. The interpretation of slavery is a sober reminder of one of most tragic times in American history, but does little to inform the public about African heritage before slavery,” said Nana

Monica Esparza.

The tekhen was erected with a plaque that reads “to symbolize the spiritual resurrection of a liberated and inspired people” said Queen Zakia Shabazz. “We built the pyramids. This is a glorious way to pay tribute to our DNA and ancestors.”

C.L. Belle’s

E Z Car Rental 3101 W. Broad Street

(804) 358-3406

FALL SPECIALL

ALL Cars

Small - Medium -

29

$

Large

95

a day

Free Pickup in Richmond Area

NO CREDIT CARD NEEDED

www.ezcarrentalsrva.com

6 • Nov. 1, 2017

Op/Ed & Letters

The LEGACY

Ed Gillespie’s cynical attack on rights restoration would drag Va. backward GOV. TERRY McAULIFFE (Va.) “Unrepentant, unreformed, violent criminals.” Those are the words Ed Gillespie uses to describe many of the 168,000 Virginians who have had their civil rights restored by my administration. In an ad clearlydesigned to scare and confuse voters, Gillespie implies that giving voting rights back to people who have made mistakes and served their time somehow makes Virginia less safe. This is deeply misleading and the lowest point yet in a Republican campaign that has been based entirely on fear, division, and Trump-style dog whistle politics.

I truly believe that if Mr. Gillespie understood the history of felon disenfranchisement in Virginia and across the nation, or took the time to meet the people he is using as political footballs, he wouldn’t feel so comfortable exploiting them for political gain.

When I took office Virginia was an outlier in its treatment of returning citizens. Unlike 40 other states that provide automatic restoration for individuals after they serve their time, the Commonwealth disenfranchised its residents for life.

The LEGACY NEWSPAPER Vol. 3 No. 44 Mailing Address 409 E. Main Street 4 Office Address 105 1/2 E. Clay St. Richmond, VA 23219 Call 804-644-1550 Online www.legacynewspaper.com

For generations, the policy of felon disenfranchisement had been used to suppress the voting rights of African Americans. That’s not conjecture it’s a part of our historical record.

The policy of felon disenfranchisement had been used to suppress the voting rights of African Americans. That’s not conjecture it’s a part of our historical record.

In 1902, Virginia’s constitution was amended to expand the policy of felon disenfranchisement and to add literacy tests and a poll tax.

Discussing these changes, Virginia State Senator Carter Glass said, This plan will eliminate the ‘darkey’ as a political factor in this state in less than five years, so that in no single county... will there be the least concern felt for the complete supremacy of the white race in the affairs of government.

So when our administration began the process of restoring the rights of thousands of former felons who had served their time and returned to their communities, we recognized that we were confronting an historic injustice intended to suppress African American voices. We also knew that many forces, such as those that led Ed Gillespie to run his

The LEGACY welcomes all signed letters and all respectful opinions.

Letter writers and columnists opinions are their own and endorsements of their views by The LEGACY should be inferred. The LEGACY assumes no responsibility for unsolicited material.

Annual Subscription Rates Virginia - $50 U.S. states - $75 Outside U.S.- $100 The Virginia Legacy © 2016

latest ad, would oppose our actions vigorously. However, we knew that this step was the right thing to do for Virginia. So we fought the politically motivated lawsuits and legislative attacks, and we fought divisive and misleading rhetoric to give more people a second chance at citizenship than any administration in American history.

Since my order last year, not a day goes by that someone doesn’t come up and thank me for restoring their rights. They often tell me that it changed their lives or that it gave them a renewed sense of hope. These are Virginians who have reentered society seeking to build better lives. Many of them waited years, sometimes decades, to become whole members of our society again.

Many have broken down in tears as I signed their restorations on what many have told me was the best day of their lives.

Yes, these men and women have made mistakes. But they have served their time in accordance with the sentence of a judge and jury and they have returned back into society to make the most of their second chance. These people are parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters.

They pay taxes and send their children to our schools. If they’ve repaid their debt to society, they

have earned the right to have a voice in their communities once again.

In 2009, Republican nominee and future Governor Bob McDonnell campaigned on restoring voting rights to those who had served their time. In 2013, my opponent was the sitting Attorney General of Virginia, Ken Cuccinelli. While we disagreed on many issues, both of us presented plans to restore voting rights to felons who had served their time. Until Ed Gillespie brought Trump-style divisive campaigning to Virginia, restoration of rights was generally a bipartisan issue.

If Ed Gillespie were elected, he would be duty-bound to raise his hand and pledge to serve all Virginians to the best of his ability – even the people he suggests are less worthy of citizenship. Ed’s ad suggests that rather than continue the progress that we have achieved, he would seek to undo our efforts and reinstate these archaic and discriminatory policies.

On behalf of those men and women and all Virginians, I hope he will stop using these 168,000 Virginians as pawns in divisive attack ads and get out and actually meet some of them. Maybe hearing their stories will change his mind about dragging Virginia back into a dark history that we dare not repeat.

www.LEGACYnewspaper.com

Nov. 1, 2017 • 7

P.T. Hoffsteader, Esq.

On election day This year’s elections for governor and lieutenant governor will determine who is in control of those offices during the 2021 redistricting process in Virginia.

The governor will have a veto pen over gerrymandered maps that may pass the General Assembly and the power to appoint an advisory commission to prove, once again, that there are many better ways to redistrict Virginia than the hypergerrymandered way the legislature does today.

The lieutenant governor will preside over the Senate of Virginia during this critical time, as well.

With a closely divided Senate, there are sure to be multiple, important, tie-breaking votes cast by that person. While there is strong support for reforming our gerrymandered process in the upper chamber, we are clear-eyed about how important every vote is in such a small body, and it is critical that our lieutenant governor is unequivocal about the need for redistricting reform.

One of our supporters testified before a House committee last January and said, “redistricting

reform is not the issue I care about the most, but the issue I have to care about first.” Given the corrupting impact gerrymandering has on our political system – this is the most important issue of the day in Virginia. There are other important issues, but our government will continue to fail to represent Virginians if we do not end the practice of gerrymandering. This is a problem created by both Democrats and Republicans – and it will take both parties, along with Libertarians, Greens and other third parties, to solve this.

We have determined there are four candidates for hovernor and lieutenant governor who believe sincerely that election districts belong to Virginians and not to any party or politician. Dr. Ralph Northam, Cliff Hyra, Jill Vogel, and Justin Fairfax have all pledged to support non-partisan redistricting reform. These candidates stand with over 70 percent of Virginians and our 62,000- plus supporters who believe we have to fix our broken, gerrymandered system.

While we do not endorse political candidates, we wish to highlight the special leadership that both Northam and Vogel have shown on this issue.

Northam has not only supported redistricting reform but has also pledged to veto any map from the General Assembly that does not come from a non-partisan commission.

He also has pledged to appoint an advisory commission, much like

Gov. [Bob] McDonnell did in 2011, to draw maps that serve all Virginians because they were made with communities in mind first, instead of the interests of politicians, and with the transparency we should expect in this process. If elected governor, Northam will put an end to gerrymandering in Virginia.

Vogel has been an outspoken and unwavering supporter of redistricting reform since she was elected in 2007. Vogel is a great example of someone putting their principles before politics – and she has been with us in this reform fight for years.

Vogel has introduced legislation to form a non-partisan commission and reform the rules by which Virginia draws electoral districts to reflect the interests of Virginia voters instead of incumbent political needs. What’s more, in each of these instances, Vogel found a Democratic co-sponsor -- including senators Louise Lucas and Janet Howell. Vogel has been a longtime friend to the cause of redistricting reform, and her body of work on this issue deserves recognition and support.

With Northam, Hyra, Vogel and Fairfax, voters have many good choices for candidates who believe our election districts belong to Virginians – not to any political party or politician. We expect that if any of those four are elected that they will further this important cause.

Brian R. Cannon, Va. 2021

Concerning Henrico schools race issues I am sick and disgusted that

Henrico County Public Schools have created a culture... that white children can say and do anything to black and brown children with little to no consequences.

I am speaking not only as a mother, but as a mother with a black child that has also faced similar criminal actions from a white child. The school district once again refuse to remove the criminal(s) out of the school. This is unacceptable! Those two students are traumatized! This is a criminal act and should be handled as such.

The students that participated in those despicable actions should be suspended, until the formal and full investigation is completed.

[T]hose comments are not just offensive and wrong. Their actions are criminal! Not calling it what it is: a crime, is condoning the actions!

Those innocent students were pinned to the floor and could not move. They were humped and racial slurs were yelled at them! You may call that wrong, but that is called aggravated sexual battery and discrimination based on race. It’s offensive to me that you call it less than a serious state and or federal crime.

To assure that this will not continue to happen to children of color in school districts, it is also my expectation that the students involved in this hateful act face criminal charges, according to state and federal law. Counseling the football games for the year is not taking action.

Brenda Coles

8 • Nov. 1, 2017

Faith & Religion

The LEGACY

Prison officials in Va. consider this group a gang A judge disagreed Kalvin Coward calls himself God. And his fellow inmates at a Virginia prison who follow the same teachings — he calls them God, too.

Coward, 54, is an adherent of the Nation of Gods and Earths, also known as the Five Percenters, and his belief system includes the idea that the black man is God and that only 5 percent of the population knows this to be true and can teach it to others.

To Coward, the Nation of Gods and Earths, an offshoot of the Nation of Islam, is a positive philosophy and the focal point of his life. In the view of Virginia prisons, though, it’s a gang whose members believe they are “racially superior.” Until recently, prison officials did not allow devotees to discuss their beliefs publicly or read literature about them.

But last month, after a yearslong court battle, a federal judge in Alexandria ruled that Coward and others can observe their four honor days, possess foundational texts and engage in communal worship.

Michael Williams, a partner at Kirkland & Ellis, the firm that represented Coward, called the ruling a landmark for religious liberty cases.

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema wrote in her opinion that the Virginia Department of Corrections’ policy violated the inmates’ rights under the First Amendment and a federal law that prohibits religious discrimination in prison settings.

“After twenty-one years of tracking Five Percenters, the VDOC has not produced sufficient evidence supporting its position that the gang designation is warranted and furthers a compelling state interest,” Brinkema wrote.

The passage of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized

Persons Act in 2000, which includes protections for prisoners, was a “game-changer” for inmates seeking religious rights, said David Fathi, the director of the American Civil Liberties Union National Prison Project.

Since then, prison policies across the country have been challenged and this Virginia case is the latest example, Fathi said.

Lisa Kinney, a Virginia Department of Corrections spokeswoman, declined to speak about the Coward case, saying “a decision regarding appeal has not been made yet.”

In court, Coward, who is serving his sentence at Deep Meadow Correctional Center west of Richmond, said he wasn’t asking for anything different from the Christians in prison with him: freedom to worship, practice and teach.

“What a Christian feel for Christianity is what I feel for the NGE, or the Nation, you know? It cleaned me up just as Christianity is supposed to clean the Christian up,” Coward said, according to trial transcripts.

Free from stigma It was 1994 when Coward, dressed in clothes similar to that of a baker, rang the bell near the employee entrance of his former job and waited with his back to the door.

The restaurant manager at Piccadilly Cafeteria in Henrico County looked through the peep hole and opened the door.

Coward, pointing a gun at the manager, told him to “back up and get into the store,” demanded money and threatened to blow “his brains out,” according to court documents.

This robbery led Coward to a 45year sentence after he was convicted by a jury of armed robbery, abduction and two firearm ­charges. He maintains his innocence, even while

After Jay-Z wore a medallion linked to the obscure 5 Percenter religion, best known through prison stories and hip hop, the nation became curious. behind bars.

Long before the robbery case, Coward said, he had been an adherent of the Nation of Gods and Earths, but he said he gained a deeper understanding in prison.

As he became more devout, though, he was not able to practice fully.

The Nation of Gods and Earths was originally classified as a security threat group in 1996, Department of Corrections employee Christopher Burke, the central region coordinator for the operations and logistics unit, said during a trial in federal court.

There are some “problematic statements” in the group’s texts, Brinkema wrote in her recent opinion, that would lead people to believe it advocates for violence against white people.

That includes language that “the Caucasian is the devil” and “all Muslims will murder the devil, because they know he is a snake and also, if he be allowed to live, he would sting someone else. Each Muslim is

required to bring four devils.”

But Coward believes that the Virginia prisons falsely interpreted the meaning behind this literature.

After exhausting options to file a grievance within the prison system, Coward grabbed lined paper and hand-wrote his federal complaint in 2010 alleging Virginia violated his religious freedom.

Coward studied in the prison library with other inmates who followed the Nation of Gods and Earths. They pored over law books, helping Coward to argue the case by himself for years, including seeing it dismissed three times by a federal judge and restored three times by the appeals court. During his third appeal, Coward received free legal help. That firm stuck with him through a two-day bench trial and the August victory in court.

In the end, Brinkema wrote in her opinion that there was no evidence

(continued on page 9)

www.LEGACYnewspaper.com

(from page 8) Coward should be considered “violent, a racial supremacist, or a threat to prison order and institutional security.”

Coward said his family motivated him to keep arguing this case. This victory, he said Thursday, will allow him to share his beliefs with others, free from “stigma” and “equivalent to the mainstream religion.”

“Our duty to teach the truth to all the human families of the planet Earth, I love doing that,” Coward said in an interview by telephone. “It gives me great joy when I can elevate the mind of a younger brother, or a brother in general.”

Recognizing Five Percenters Although Coward testified that followers do not believe all white people are “devils” and that a white person could be a part of the group, Margaret Hoehl O’Shea of the Virginia attorney general’s office said in court that the race-centric language is threatening.

“That is a group of individuals who share a philosophy that they are racially superior and that they are striving to switch the circumstances around so that they become, in fact, the ruling race,” O’Shea said, according to trial transcripts.

Coward testified that the four devils referred to in the literature

Nov. 1, 2017 • 9 are lust, greed, envy and hate and that is personified as a white man because of slavery and the country’s general history of white men working to “keep the black man down or keep the black man subjugated.”

Brian Levin, the director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University at San Bernardino and a former New York City police officer, said that while the language used can be troubling, that is no reason to disallow a group from practicing.

“We don’t base religious protections in the United States on whether or not the particular faith has broad appeal, ” Levin said. “As much as I am deeply concerned about aspects of the philosophy, it’s their right and certainly it’s understandable that such a movement would germinate during a time when we still had laws banning interracial marriage and the Klan burning crosses throughout the south.”

The teachings of the Nation of Gods and Earths were “an open secret” in hip-hop culture in the late ’60s and early ’70s, said Felicia Miyakawa, who wrote a book on the Five Percenters and music. Miyakawa “decoded” rap lyrics to show the philosophy behind them.

Some famous artists that are either members or have used the literature or symbols include the Wu-Tang Clan, Lord Jamar, Busta Rhymes

Hip-hop bloggers note that in the genre’s music and culture, the terms “Peace, God,” “Word Is Bond,” and “Cipher,” among others, all pepper the language of the participants and proponents. While the phrases and terms have flair, the sayings have origins that were established just as hip-hop was forming as a known entity. The Nation of Gods and Earths, is the source of those and other popular phrases. and Jay-Z. Michael Muhammad Knight, who is white, spent years with believers.

He wrote two books, multiple articles and strongly disagrees that members are violent.

“If the Five Percenters were anything like the state says they are, I would not be alive and I would never have been able to do the work

that I did with them,” said Knight, who testified during the case and is an assistant professor of religion and cultural studies at the University of Central Florida.

“People have been fighting this for decades,” Knight said. “There is a gathering of momentum as more states recognize the Five Percenters.”

-WaPo

www.LEGACYnewspaper.com 10 • Nov. 1, 2017 ww.LEGACYnewspaper.com

Oct. 18, 2017 • 9 Oct.The 11, LEGACY 2017 • 9

Your child’s dreams are like stars: If he chooses them as his guides, he can reach his destiny.

BORN TO BE GREAT By 2020, 65 percent of all jobs will require postsecondary education and training beyond high school. Jobs in healthcare, community services, and STEM will grow the fastest among occupational clusters. Previously, courses teaching higher-order thinking skills like critical thinking and problem solving were reserved for the economically advantaged and “gifted and talented.”

No child is ever destined for failure and the federal government has a responsibility to invest in the success of every student. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires that acquisition of those higher-order thinking skills be the standard for every student but your involvement is needed to make those requirements realities.

To learn more about ESSA and how you can get involved, visit www.nnpa.org/essa.

Made possible by a grant from the

© 2017 National Newspaper Publishers Association. All rights reserved

www.LEGACYnewspaper.com

Nov. 1, 2017 • 11

U.S. P.S series of stamps honors children’s book When you go the your local post office for stamps, remember to ask for the “Snowy Day” stamps.

The U.S. Postal Service is honoring one of the most beloved American children’s books of the 20th century, with a series of four “forever” postage stamps.

They depict Peter, the main character of Ezra Jack Keats’ famous book, and were issued in October.

“The Snowy Day,” first published in 1962, was one of the first successful picture books for children to feature a black main character. The book was awarded the Caldecott Medal, which is considered the most prestigious award for picture books, in 1963.

The book, illustrated with a series of collages, follows Peter as he wakes up and finds that snow has blanketed his city overnight. The young boy,

USPS stamps featuring Peter in Snowy Days” dressed in a red snowsuit, explores the winter wonderland, making snow angels and snowballs.

Peter would go on to appear in several more of Keats’ books, such as “Whistle for Willie,” “Peter’s Chair” and “A Letter to Amy.”

Keats was inspired to write “The Snowy Day” by a series of photographs in a 1940 issue of Life magazine depicting a young black boy. Keats, who was white, had been bothered the lack of black characters in children’s books.

Deborah Pope, executive director of the Ezra Jacks Keats Foundation, told NPR in 2012 that Keats initially received criticism from civil rights activists for “The Snowy Day,” but also was encouraged by letters he received from children and teachers who loved the book.

“There was a teacher [who] wrote in to Ezra, saying, ‘The kids in my class, for the first time, are using brown crayons to draw themselves,’” she said.

“These are African American children. Before this, they drew themselves with pink crayons. But now, they can see themselves.”

Annual comedy show promotes laughter to cancer patients CancerLINC will host its 5th annual “Here’s Laughing at You”, a cancer comedy show at the Funny Bone on Wednesday, Nov. 8, 7 p.m.

The show is held to encourage, “Laughter is the Best Medicine” even if you have been diagnosed with cancer or another chronic disease.

The show features four cancer survivors and an opening act with a comedian who also has fought the disease. The 2017 performers are Isabelle ChaseWehner, Neils Dunn, Bill McGee, Steve Thompson and Rob Reibold.

ChaseWehner is from Dayton, Ohio, went to The Ohio State University for Undergrad and is pursuing her JD from the University of Richmond.

She was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia six years ago. She was a CancerLINC intern in 2016 and has continued to volunteer for CancerLINC, a non profict organization that provides resources andf support to primarily low-income clients.

Dunn is a 7th grade math teacher who was diagnosed in April 2016 with pancreatic cancer. He is a musician and a published poet. He decided to participate in this comedy

show to help people stand up to cancer.

McGee is a retired school administrator and jazz musician.

He was born in Richmond, is married and shares a blended family with three children and nine grandchildren. Together with his wife, they have custody of their nine year old grand daughter and her 7-year-old triplet brothers. McGee was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2014, and wants to help men understand that a PSA test can save your life.

Thompson teaches adapted PE in Hanover County and coaches boys’ soccer for Atlee High School. He was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer with Mets to the liver in February 2017.

He is taking part in the comedy show because he says he is always laughing.

The opening act, Reibold, has been a comedian since writing his first joke at 4-years-old. He says he was the kind of kid who was always looking to make people laugh. He has opened for such names as Lewis Black, Eddie Griffin and Patton Oswalt. Rob was diagnosed with cancer four years ago.

“Going through the ‘battle’ changes

you and your outlook on life and you appreciate things more and when it comes to cancer and helping to find a cure or helping others, I’m there,” he says. “Just lead me to the stage.”

The comedy show is open to the

public. Standard admission is $20 in advance and $25 at the door.

Cancer patients and students are $15 in advance and $20 at the door.

Tickets can be purchased online at cancerlinc.org/comedy.

12 • Nov. 1, 2017

The LEGACY

2017 NFL SUNDAY TICKET INCLUDED AT NO EXTRA COST WHEN YOU SWITCH TO DIRECTV.

With CHOICETM Package and above. Subscription renews automatically each season at then-prevailing rate (currently $281.94/season) unless you call to cancel prior to the start of the season.

Req’s you to select offer. Out-of-market games only. Select international games excluded.

CALL FOR DETAILS IV SUPPORT HOLDINGS LLC

855-401-9510

Renews at full price. Offer ends 11/04/17. New approved customers only, lease required. Hardware and programming available separately. Other conditions apply. NFL, the NFL Shield design and the NFL SUNDAY TICKET name and logo are registered trademarks of the NFL and its affiliates. ©2017 AT&T Intellectual Property. All Rights Reserved. AT&T, Globe logo, DIRECTV, and all other DIRECTV marks contained herein are trademarks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.

www.LEGACYnewspaper.com

(from page 3) deficit right now that needs to be filled for GOTV, and that is what we are prioritizing for them,” said Vaughan of Flippable.

As one of the better-funded Democrats, Carroll Foy may be suffering from the expectation that she’s got the race in the bag.

While she’s up eight points on GOP candidate Mike Makee, she doesn’t feel safe. She remembers last Nov. 8, 2016 all too vividly. And if Carroll Foy doesn’t feel safe, Democrats, statewide and nationally, shouldn’t feel safe either, according to observers.

On a recent October Saturday Carroll Foy’s campaign, however, there was no visible enthusiasm problem. Every few hours, a new crew of at least a dozen canvassers showed up at a staging location, a corner home in the diverse Port Potomac neighborhood of Woodbridge, where they picked up maps and literature about Carroll Foy, as well as the whole Democratic ticket, and set out to knock on doors to identify Democratic voters and get them to commit to voting on Nov. 7.

The time for persuasion had mostly passed. Now the main job was to reach out to registered Democrats and/or people the campaign had already identified as Carroll Foy supporters.

Most of the canvassers were locals, but there was a large contingent from Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander’s “Let America Vote” project, as well as dozens of Washington, D.C., college students, including a Jeep-load of white students from Catholic University’s College Democrats. There was Amal Mimish, a young woman unaffiliated with any group, who grew up in nearby Fairfax but drove in from suburban Maryland, where she now lives.

Mimish said she was there because she wishes she’d done more to elect Clinton last November.

“When Trump got elected, I regretted not volunteering and organizing like this, and I swore to get involved,” she said. After researching Virginia candidates, she settled on Carroll Foy. “She’s awesome.”

Every few hours, Carroll Foy comes in to thank the canvassing groups and tell them her story. Raised by her grandparents, who had an eighthgrade education, she was one of the first black women admitted to VMI. “That’s where I learned how to work with people who’d rather I not be there,” she said. Then Carroll Foy

Nov. 1, 2017 • 13 headed to law school, but afterward, instead of going into private practice, she became a public defender.

“My family said, ‘We sent you to law school to make money,’ but I saw disparities in the justice system….

My clients are the indigent, children, the mentally ill, substance abusers.

Everyone deserves competent defense.”

She’s also been a foster parent for eight years, and, once she saw the obstacles foster families face, she started a foundation for foster children. Carroll Foy also just gave birth to premature twin boys, Alex and Xander, who remain in the neonatal unit almost four months later; she tries to visit them twice a day. Listening to this extraordinary story, several volunteers start shaking their heads in wonder.

“I think she’s absolutely wonderful,” Shirley Clark, a veteran Democratic Party volunteer, said. Clark was, on this October Saturday checking in canvassers, but she turns around in her chair to watch Carroll Foy talk.

Clark, who is black, has worked for dozens of Democrats over decades — she is who people mean when they say black women are the backbone of the Democratic Party—but hasn’t had many chances to work for a black woman. Later she hugged Carroll Foy and told her how proud of her she is.

“I’ve had to get used to that,” Carroll Foy confessed over coffee. It happens to her all the time.

Joining her for canvassing in a neighborhood where houses range from modest to mansions and by chance, a stylish older black woman answers our first door. “I already voted for you, by absentee,” she told her. So did her husband. “Don’t you disappoint me!” the woman told her.

“I won’t!” Carroll Foy promised.

She knocked on door after door of Democrats — black, Latino, Asian.

“My wife already told me about you, we are voting for you!” said a Latino man, who greeted the candidate like a celebrity. An older Muslim woman in a bright red headscarf and a long orange dress assured Carroll Foy that she and her husband will vote for her.

It’s not always that easy.

Not a single white person lives in the houses on the list that day.

But back at the staging location, the canvassing teams, with volunteers of every age, included plenty of white people.

Across the street, red signs for Ed Gillespie dotted the lawn, in quiet competition with signs for Carroll Foy and Northam. Getting in the car

to go to the next event, a white man in a camouflage T-shirt rode by on his bicycle alongside a young boy.

He pointed to the canvassers and shouted, “Look, they’re Democrats!” as though showing the boy a rare beast in the wild. “Democrats support sanctuary cities — they let illegals who rape and murder hide from the police,” he said.

Gillespie’s campaign against Northam has been just like that, featuring ugly and debunked claims.

One in frequent rotation insists Northam has supported sanctuary for the violent MS-13 gang. But Virginia has no sanctuary cities, and Northam doesn’t want to see any established, according to his campaign. He does support the Dream Act, as well as comprehensive immigration reform.

So far, Carroll Foy hasn’t faced much ugly culture-war stuff, although her GOP opponent, Mike Makee, has run an ad insisting that her support for in-state tuition for DACA kids will displace native Virginian college students. Also, so far Makee hasn’t attracted support from national Republican organizations that can rival the intensity from progressive groups backing Carroll Foy. In a brief break from campaigning, she ticks off the ones that have given her the biggest boost. They include: Tech for Campaigns, which attracts volunteers from the technology industry to do pro bono work for candidates, designed her website, redesigned her logo, and has been making and testing Facebook ads.

Emerge Virginia, which trains new Democratic women candidates, was crucial. “Without them, I don’t know where I’d be,” she said. The group staged a weekend boot camp for women who were thinking of running. “It was brutal, honest, raw.

It taught us about fundraising, even about what we wore. They focused us on thinking, ‘What conversations will people have about me when I’m not there?’”

All the Emerge-trained women won their primaries. “That’s how good it was,” she said.

Emily’s List paid her recount legal fees and serve on her “consulting team.” Daily Kos helped raise tens of thousands with its e-mail pitches on her behalf; some of its donors only sent a dollar, but those dollars added up. Flippable came through with an early $5,000 donation.

Additionally, Kander’s “Let America Vote” canvassers were in action in

Woodbridge. Sister District and Run for Something have helped raise money, as well.

“From a candidate and campaign quality perspective, JCF is exceptional,” Vaughan said in an e-mail. “It’s clear why she’s a favorite of a number of progressive groups.”

And yet, Carroll Foy also believes she has to reach out to white voters, some of whom may be fairly conservative. Knocking doors in Port Potomac, she talked about the shock of November 2016. The result devastated her, and drove her to run for this office.

“I went to bed election night knowing he was ahead, but also knowing that the American people would never, ever elect anyone as intolerant or incompetent,” she said in August. She was wrong.

Post-election soul-searching has made her more concerned about the white working-class voters in her district who had abandoned Democrats — some of them after voting for Obama. “It’s not pleasant to hear, but I think our economic message just didn’t come through. I think we had one, but people didn’t hear it. I listened to the critique, and I took ownership of it. We have to talk about economic issues that matter to them on a daily basis.”

So while she’s still running as an unabashed liberal—supporting reproductive rights, a $15 minimum wage, protecting DACA kids— there’s been a slight shift in her pitch since we talked in August. She emphasizes traffic everywhere she goes. The Washington Post recently judged that the 2nd District has the worst traffic in the state, “and that’s not something you want to be number-one in,” she joked more than once. When she pitches Medicaid expansion, she likes to say, “It’s not about Democrats and Republicans, it’s about people.” She promises she can work across party lines. “People are tired of gridlock,” she said at every gathering. At VMI “I learned how to work with people who didn’t want me in the room,” she said again.

Asked her whether she favors single-payer health care — she is endorsed by Bernie Sanders’s “Our Revolution”—and she demurred.

“In a state where we haven’t even expanded Medicaid, we’re not talking about it now. Long-term, it might be the ideal, but I’m not really looking at it much.”

(continued on page 17)

14 • Nov. 1, 2017

The LEGACY

Raising domestic violence awareness with “Not One” campaign MICHA GREEN Aisha Braveboy, a former Maryland state delegate and current candidate for Prince George’s County state’s attorney, launched an anti-domestic violence campaign recently that featured live testimonies from the county’s domestic violence survivors, workers, advocates, and legislators.

“I decided to initiate the “Not One” campaign to raise awareness about domestic violence to empower victims to leave dangerous situations.

Domestic violence takes many forms, some subtle and unsubtle, and the goal is to educate people that no form of domestic violence is ever acceptable. I wanted to bring

Aisha Braveboy

people together to have a community discussion about this important issue,” Braveboy told the crowd during the event.

“Talking about domestic violence is important in Prince George’s County because the county typically experiences about 20-25 domestic violence related homicides each year,” Braveboy said.

She also thinks talking about the issue is important in the black community.

An “open discussion about domestic violence in the black community is important because discussing the issue has been taboo in the past.

The first step of the healing process is to acknowledge that you have a problem,” Braveboy said.

Skiffes Creek Connector Location Study James City County Citizen Information Meeting

Thursday, November 9, 2017, 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.

James River Elementary School 8901 Pocahontas Trail, Williamsburg, VA 23185 Come see preliminary information on the Skiffes Creek Connector Location Study. The study is positioned south of Interstate 64 from Exits 243 to 247, between Route 60 (Pocahontas Trail) and Route 143 (Merrimac Trail). The meeting will be held in an open-house style format with no formal presentation given. VDOT representatives will be present to discuss the study and answer questions.

Give your written or oral comments at the meeting or submit them by November 19, 2017, to Mr. Scott Smizik, VDOT Project Manager, 1401 E. Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23219. You may also e-mail your comments to Scott.Smizik@VDOT.Virginia.gov. Please reference “Skiffes Creek Connector Study” in the subject heading.

VDOT ensures nondiscrimination and equal employment in all programs and activities in accordance with Title VI and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. For more information or special assistance for persons with disabilities or limited English proficiency, contact VDOT’s Civil Rights Division at 757-925-2500 or TTY/TDD 711.

State Project: 0060-047-627, P101 UPC: 100200

During the campaign, several women shared their stories of physical, mental, financial and spiritual abuse.

One woman had been shot. Another told a story of dealing with abuse for 17 years until her daughters woke up one morning during a fight so concerned that the oldest pulled a knife on their father and called the police.

Debbie Johnson, now with the FBI, said she was chased around her parent’s house after leaving her first husband.

“Full slip on and no shoes, and … glass on my feet and hit that door to get out of my house and I was literally running in the street, up and down the street, banging on the neighbors doors to please let me in, he’s coming to get me. I filed several restraining orders to keep him away from me…. At the time I lived in the District of Columbia, I’m not sure what the laws were…in that particular incident they were able to come and pick him up,” Johnson said.

Because of its history of domestic violence, Prince George’s County has implemented tools in order to assist those looking for assistance when attempting to leave such situations.

“While we have been able to deal with quality of life issues and other crime, we’ve seen an uptick in domestic violence, in Prince George’s County, and so we really want to be able to put a tool in place to deal with the uptick that we’ve seen in domestic crime in our county,” said County Council Member Karen Toles (D-District 7). There have been 26 domestic homicides so far in the county in 2017, which is up from 20 in 2016.

“It’s the ability for individuals to earn sick and safe leave,” Toles said.

“If you’re not earning enough leave or do not earn leave at all, and you have a domestic violence incident occur in your life, and you have to go to the courthouse, if you have to seek assistance… you may not be able to do that, if you don’t earn leave. If you don’t earn leave means that you are not getting paid. And often times, if they don’t go get help, the situation escalates and gets far worse, and ultimately can result in death,” said Toles.

Nov. 1, 2017 • 15

www.LEGACYnewspaper.com

CDC initiative aims to improve health in family members of every age TEWIRE - Diseases resulting from tobacco use, obesity, and diabetes; plus heart disease and stroke. These are some of the leading causes of death among black Americans, according to the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The racial disparities are vast between Blacks and Whites when comparing the prevalence of these diseases and the death rates.

Closing the gap has been difficult.

But, over the past three years, the CDC has funded and facilitated the activities of five community-based organizations aimed to reduce death from these conditions.

The initiative, titled “Partnering4Health”, has not only shown success in preventing death, but provided new insight into community activities that significantly impact health outcomes, according to the Executive Summary of a recently released “white paper” on the results of the initiative.

“From 2014 to 2017, CDC provided five national organizations a total of $30 million to work with local communities and build their capacity for implementing sustainable changes that support healthy communities and lifestyles,” according the report.

“The overall goal of CDC’s funding was to implement, evaluate, and disseminate evidence- and practicebased community health activities that promote health equity.”

In a nutshell, the CDC’s Division of Community Health selected three national organizations to work with their existing regional or local affiliates, chapters, or members.

The three organizations were the American Heart Association (AHA), American Planning Association (APA), and the National WIC Association (NWA). Those three organizations “provided 97 funding awards to 94 communities and their cohorts.” The additional two national organizations funded were

Doreleena Sammons Hackett the Directors of Health Promotion and Education (DHPE) and the Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE), both of which provided training, communication support, and technical assistance to the project.

“The funding supported the communities’ work toward [policy, systems and environmental] changes that would increase access to smoke-free environments, healthier foods and beverages, physical activity opportunities, as well as overall chronic disease prevention, risk reduction, and management initiatives,” according the executive summary.

The three-year-initiative yielded the following successes, the report states: * A 5 percent reduction in the rate of death and disability due to tobacco use * A 3 percent reduction in the prevalence of obesity * And a 3 percent reduction in the rates of death and disability due to diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.

The community-based strategies largely involved creative ways to communicate and increase awareness about tobacco use, poor nutrition, physical inactivity, and lack of access to chronic disease prevention, risk reduction, or management. Through

the use of their newsletters, websites, email blasts, conferences, forums, and existing publications, they reached their members, chapters/ affiliates, partners, stakeholders, decision makers and other audiences.

They also distributed CDC media messages and public service announcements to key audiences.

The mission of reversing negative behaviors largely through health education and awareness was daunting because of the prevalence of the unhealthy behavior.

“Health risk behaviors cause much of the chronic diseases prevalent in our society today. Tobacco use, the lack of physical activity, and poor nutrition are three behaviors that can lead to cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity,” said Doreleena Sammons Hackett, executive director of DHPE. “These unhealthy behaviors can be corrected, once started. But more importantly they are preventable.

Obesity is one of the most serious health concerns as it can lead to high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis and certain cancers.”

According to the CDC, more than one-third of adults (36 percent), or about 84 million people, were obese.

That includes about one in six youths (17 percent) aged two to 19 years.

Health experts have also acknowledged that the lack of walkable space and safe streets/ neighborhoods also contribute to these conditions as well as the lack of affordable fresh fruits and vegetables. The availability of tobacco and alcohol in resource-poor communities where fast food chains are the cheapest and quickest option for meals compound the issue.

The report recommends that making a few changes in society and in personal lives can make a difference.

“The 94 funded communities made remarkable strides in improving access to healthier opportunities where people live, work, and play,” according to the report. It also outlined the following detailed results: * More than 16 million people in communities throughout the United States now have more access to nutritious foods, physical activity, smoke-free environments, and/or

clinical preventive services. * Residents of 74 communities now have more access to healthy food and beverage options sold at corner stores, vending machines, mobile food trucks, farmers markets, or by planting new community gardens. * More farmers markets and other sources of fresh produce in those communities now accept food stamps and WIC vouchers, making healthy food more available and affordable to those with low incomes. * Residents of 36 communities have more opportunities for physical activity through the creation of bike- and walker-friendly spaces, strengthening of school physical education, addition of worksite wellness sites, and/or new shared use agreements that allowed the public access to unused facilities such as after-hours school gymnasiums or tracks. * People in six communities have more smoke-free parks, housing, or other environments. * Mothers of young children in 29 communities can take advantage of breastfeeding-friendly environments and better links to health care professionals and community resources that promote healthy lifestyles.

The initiative aimed to impact chronic diseases in areas where they are most debilitating, where they are diagnosed later, and where the diseases are “associated with worse outcomes in racial/ethnic minorities and low-income individuals, which affects the health of communities overall.”

Overall, the initiative was deemed to have been a major success: “True to its name, the Partnering4Health project showed that a model of supporting healthier communities by working with and through national organizations is a viable way to leverage resources and build capacity at both the local and national levels,” the white paper concluded. “After this promising start, it has great future potential for reaching even more communities.”

Hackett said that because the United States is emulated in the rest of the world, “changing our habits and behaviors towards good health can make positive changes in the rest of the World.”

16 • Nov. 1, 2017

Calendar 11.2, 7:30 p.m.

Participants in a free workshop offered by Virginia Credit Union will learn how to access their free credit report and gain insight into why they should review their credit report regularly.

During the How to Read Your Credit Report workshop, participants will go over a sample credit report to help them better understand how to read their own.

The seminar will be held at Virginia Credit Union, 7500 Boulder View Drive in the Boulders Office Park.

To register, call 804-323-6800 or visit https://www.vacu.org/Learning_ Planning/Financial_Education/ Seminars_Workshops/Detail/SID/10. aspx

11.2. 6 p.m.

The Henrico County office of Virginia Cooperative Extension will offer a series of free workshops in November to help residents to minimize debt, stress and unhealthy eating during the holidays.

The workshops are scheduled as follows: • Thursday, Nov. 2 — Tips to Minimize Holiday Debt and Stress will explain simple ways to save $100 in a month, budgeting for the holidays and how to avoid overspending.

• Thursday, Nov. 9 — Saving on Gifts and Decorations will focus on making and selecting inexpensive gifts as well as decorating on a budget.

• Thursday, Nov. 16 — Healthy Holiday Meals will highlight ways to lighten meals and offer ideas for leftovers.

The workshops, which are open to the public, will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. in the demonstration kitchen of the Human Services Building, 8600 Dixon Powers Drive.

Registration is encouraged.

To register or for more information, call 804-501-5160.

Information also is available at henrico.us/extension.

The LEGACY

COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES & EVENTS

11.4, 9 a.m.

The Henrico County Department of Community Revitalization will present a free workshop to show residents how to make minor home repairs, maintain their heating system and prepare for cold weather.

The class will be held in the Community Room at the Eastern Henrico Government Center, 3820 Dabbs House Road. Exhibits, handson demonstrations and refreshments will be included. The session is part of a workshop series that began in October and will continue through March to help residents maintain and improve their homes. For information, call 804-501-7640 or go to henrico.us/revit.

11.4, 10 a.m.

The Chesterfield County Public Library will host the third annual Festival of the Written Word. The family-friendly event is a celebration of books, reading and writing with 28 local authors, including featured speaker Dale Brumfield, author of The Virginia State Penitentiary: A Notorious History.

The event will be held at Midlothian Library, 521 Coalfield Rd. Writers, including Tyler Eldred, Sadeqa Johnson, Brian Rock and Maria Tucciarone will lead workshops, participate in panel discussions and mingle with participants. The festival will also include music, food and book sales, and craft activities.

Brumfield’s book, “Virginia State Penitentiary: A Notorious History” was released on Monday, Oct. 30.

The book chronicles the 190-year history of the” most shameful prison in America,” including riots, overcrowding, fire, execution and experiments on inmates.

During the event, Midlothian Library will serve as an official “Come Write In” NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) site. November is National Novel Writing Month and participants are challenged to write 50,000 words between Nov. 1 and 30.

For more information visit library. chesterfield.gov or call 804-751-CCPL.

11.4, 7 p.m.

The African Children's Choir melts the hearts of audiences with their charming smiles, beautiful voices and lively African songs and dances.

The program features wellloved children's songs, traditional Spirituals and Gospel favorites.

Concerts are free and open to all. free-will offering is taken at the performance to support African Children’s Choir programs, such as education, care and relief and development programs.

Music for Life (The parent organization for The African Children’s Choir) works in seven African countries such as, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa. MFL has educated over 52,000 children and impacted the lives of over 100,000 people through its relief and development programs during its history. MFL purpose is to help create new leadership for tomorrow’s Africa, by focusing on education.

The African Children’s Choir has had the privilege to perform before presidents, heads of state and most recently the Queen of England, Queen Elizabeth II, for her diamond jubilee. The Choir has also had the honor of singing alongside artists such as Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Keith Urban, Mariah Carey, Michael W. Smith, and other inspirational performers!

The African Children’s Choir is a nonprofit humanitarian and relief organization dedicated to helping Africa;s most vulnerable children today so they can help Africa tomorrow. No tickets required, but donations welcome.​

11.6, 6 p.m.

Sam Quinones, author of “Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic,” will visit Virginia Commonwealth University in early November and give a talk about the book and the opioid crisis that has devastated communities across the country and Virginia.

Quinones will speak at the W.E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts, 922 Park Ave. The event will be free and open to the public.

Registration is not required, and seating will be offered on a first-come basis.

“Dreamland,” which tells the story of the rise of heroin and painkiller addiction in the United States, is this year’s VCU common book.

The Common Book Program is a universitywide initiative focused on welcoming first-year students into the intellectual culture of VCU and engaging the university and Richmond communities with a book that explores complex societal issues through an interdisciplinary lens.

Quinones will answer questions and give insight into the opioid epidemic, into his process of researching “Dreamland.”

11.15, 7;30 p.m.

Barbara Wiltshire, an experienced nurse who specializes in wound and ostomy care, will be on hand at the November meeting of the Ostomy Association of Greater Richmond.

It will be a great time for learning and sharing. The meeting is held in the Williamsburg-A conference room, Henrico Doctors' Hospital, 1601 Skipwith Rd., Richmond.

For added information e-mail Mike Rollston at agriva@comcast.net or visit the web page at Richmond VA UOAA #296.

Submit your calendar events by email to: editor@legacynewspaper.com.

Include who, what, where, when & contact information that can be printed.

Submission deadline is Friday.

Nov. 1, 2017 • 17

www.LEGACYnewspaper.com

(from page 13)

And she looks for issues that let her connect with Republicans and independents. On this Saturday afternoon she met with Patty and Dan Morrow, who are renowned in Northern Virginia for their passionate crusade to get powerful Dominion Power to face up to its toxic-coal-ash disposal problem.

“I’m a registered Republican,” Patty confessed. “Although, lately, I’ve been voting for some Democrats.”

A few years ago, the entire Morrow family began to suffer acute health issues — bone troubles, blood diseases, spiking cholesterol; even their beloved mini-Yorkie, Bill, got horribly sick and veterinarians couldn’t diagnose the problem.

They also began to notice that their water sometimes changed color and that their pipes and shower heads were crusted with mystery crud.

When they began giving Bill the Yorkie bottled water, he gradually became the energetic dog he was before. Other neighbors noticed similar problems, and they began to suspect that their well water had been contaminated by toxic chemicals leaking out of the coal-ash ponds that Dominion uses to store its waste. (Its Possum Point plant hasn’t burned coal since 2003, but the ash seems eternal.)

The Morrows worked to get their well water and soil tested, and faced pushback from Dominion as well as state and local environmental bureaucrats. Finally, a test by the Potomac Riverkeepers showing unhealthy levels of toxins made state and local authorities pay attention.

Now there’s a moratorium on Dominion’s coal-ash storage plans until the state can test the soil and water and investigate other options.

The company cleaned out its five or so coal-ash ponds and deposited them in one big happy toxic pool—though the Morrows claim, with some evidence and eyewitness accounts, that Dominion dumped some of it into the gorgeous Quantico creek.

Dominion denies this. Now the company wants to cover the remaining coal-ash container with rubber or plastic. But many neighbors want Dominion to remove the coal ash permanently, hopefully to recycle it. Carroll Foy asked pointed questions, then promised the Morrows she would stay on the issue when she goes to Richmond.

By the end of their talk, Patty Morrow had a candidate. She

walked away with Smyth to get some Carroll Foy yard signs out of his car, while the candidate began an intense conversation with Dan Morrow. More coal-ash issues? No, they were talking about restoring old cars, which Dan Morrow did for a living until bone problems forced him to retire. They head to the family garage, and there he shows her two lovingly restored Chevy Novas from the 1960s. It turns out Carroll Foy just finished work on her own 1972 Nova and is beginning to restore a ’65 Mustang.

Smyth, who’s been politely trying to pry the candidate away to her next event, gives up. “I didn’t know any of this,” he blurts out.

“You’re missing out on a big campaign pitch,” Patty Morrow teased him. “The guys will love this!”

Carroll Foy seems surprised that anyone would care about her hobby, but Smyth agreed with the Morrows.

He’ll work something up to appeal to the “guys.” As we pull out of the driveway to head to the Stafford County Fair, Patty Morrow, the registered Republican, was putting her lawn signs on her property, as well as at the side of the road where her driveway begins.

The Stafford County Fair probably wasn’t the most natural setting for Carroll Foy, but she tackled it gamely. A Tae Kwon Do teacher peddling classes to children asked Foy to try to split some wood planks.

He was used to kids and women failing; Foy did it on her first try.

A Gideon Bible proselytizer came by to ask the devout, churchgoing Carroll Foy if she’s 100 percent convinced she’s “saved,” and, after a short exchange, she shook his hand.

“Thank you for your evangelical service, sir.” Two young white women with pastel highlights in their hair told Foy a friend had already told them they had to vote for her; they hugged her like an old friend.

At the Stafford County Democrats table, Yolanda Roussell said the area is getting more diverse and Democratic, and that Carroll Foy has a real chance there. Roussell is running for county supervisor, to advance traffic solutions, but also to figure out a way to take down the gigantic Confederate flag that billows on an 80-foot pole over the town of Aquia (officials say it’s on private property, so there’s nothing they can do). “Oh, it’s coming down,” Roussell promised.

Elsewhere, though, Carroll Foy

doesn’t get the most enthusiastic reception. People brush her off by saying, “We’re Republicans.” At least some smile politely. She gets a few people to listen to her by telling them her plans to reduce traffic in the district. A few diffident couples brightened up at her plans to extend the Metro deep into Prince William County and create more bus lines for Stafford County, and took her literature.

Toward the end of the night, as the sky darkened, the tractortrailer competition heated up, and Carroll Foy began to tire. Campaign manager Teddy Smyth took over introducing her to voters. Gamely, Smyth approached two older, beefy, red-faced white men in trucker caps, who looked something like the Southern sheriffs we remember from the ’50s and ’60s. With cold stares, they refused to even meet Carroll Foy and, as Smyth and the candidate walked away, the older guy in glasses joked to his friend, “Do I look black?”

Republicans began to run on racial grievance in the 1960s. Trump perfected the formula, observers note. Gillespie, a former moderate, has begun to channel it. After his MS-13 ad, he ran a spot denouncing McAuliffe for giving back the right to vote to Virginia felons who’ve served their time. In a recent interview he claimed there were more than 2,000 MS-13 gang members in Fairfax County alone (the Washington Post Fact Checker dinged him for that one). If the statewide race gets charged racially, can Carroll Foy avoid the sludge with her warm, rational appeal?

The Prince William County section of her district is diverse and Democratic, but even there, in Dumfries, a couple of miles from where she canvassed in an integrated neighborhood, a man is accused of placing Nazi and Confederate literature at a black church, in a mall bathroom, and in neighbors’ mailboxes. Kaine thinks Carroll Foy has the right background and temperament to win the district.

“Somebody who went through VMI, especially when she did, has to be strong, a path breaker. And now, as a public defender, she’s up close and personal with the poor and vulnerable,” he said. She’s just extraordinary.”

Her VMI background seems critical. She said, at every stop, “at VMI, I learned how to work with people who didn’t want me in the

room.” That will be necessary for her in Richmond. Beyond her warm persona, she’s tough as steel, notes he campaign. That’s how she faces down young men in Confederate T-shirts.

But on a recent Sunday morning there was a softer side of the very private Carroll Foy, when she attended services at Little Forest Baptist Church in Stafford. This reporter was one of three white people welcomed warmly by the churchgoers. At one point, a deacon asked if anyone in the congregation wanted to “testify” to God’s role in their life. No one stood up, and he began to move into “This Little Light of Mine,” when Carroll Foy came forward to talk about something she rarely mentions: Her very tough pregnancy.

“I found out I was pregnant with twins, and my doctor told me some women are built for multiple pregnancies but I wasn’t one of them.” She doesn’t mention that this was unplanned, and after she’d launched her campaign. “I just put the decision in God’s hands.” When her babies were born at 22 and a half weeks, despite her spending time on bed rest, they weren’t expected to make it.

“Again, I left it up to God.” Now both boys are six pounds and are soon expected to leave the neonatal intensive-care unit. She gave thanks to God, and the crowd began testifying about her testimony, thanking her for proving “with God all things are possible.” Later, she gave a short speech about her campaign and her background, but she didn’t need to sell hard. Pastor Nate Sneed told his congregation that they had “a moral duty to vote,” though he couldn’t endorse a candidate, and the church said “Amen.”

After the services, Carroll Foy got a hugged by, it, seems, everyone there, and then hugged again. Outside, people were asking Teddy Smyth for more lawn signs, and promising to take them to friends who attend other churches. The campaign manager was getting close to running out, but everybody who asked got their signs, a miracle of placards and stakes in Stafford. An older man in glasses who sat behind this reporter in the service, helping find the hymns and the scripture, came over holding about six signs, and shook hands. “We can do this. We’re gonna get her over the finish line.”

The LEGACY

18 • Nov. 1, 2017

Classifieds Are you in a suicide crisis?

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

1-800-273-8255

40

LEGAL, EMPLOYMENT, ANNOUNCEMENTS, FOR SALE, SERVICES

TRACTOR TECHNICIAN Marten Transport, Ltd., is in search of experienced technicians at our Colonial Heights location.

Competitive pay based on exp. & full benefits, including: Medical/Dental/ Vision Ins. + 401(K) Paid Vacation & holidays

SALON FIXTURES FOR SALE Haywood’s Hair Images located at 312 West Grace Street, Richmond has salon fixtures and equipment for sale.

You may view and purchase equipment on Mondays, by appointment.

Please call 804 241-6120 or 804 306-2533

Apply online today:

PRINT & DIGITAL AD SALES EXECUTIVE

www.marten.com EEOE functioning under an AAP

The LEGACY is looking for a reliable, highly-motivated, goal-driven sales professional to join our team selling print and digital advertising in the Richmond and Hampton Roads areas.

Duties include: Building and maintaining relationships with new/existing clients Meeting and exceeding monthly sales goals Cold calling new prospects over the phone to promote print and online advertising space

Qualifications: Proven experience with print (newspaper) and/or digital (website) advertising sales; Phone and one-on-one sales experience; Effective verbal and written communication skills, professional image and; Familiarity with Richmond and/or Hampton Roads areas.

Compensation depends on experience and includes a base pay as well as commission.

The LEGACY is an African-Americanoriented weekly newspaper, circulation 25,000, with a website featuring local and national news and advertising.

E-mail resume and letter of interest to ads@ legacynewspaper.com detailing your past sales experience. No phone calls please.

To advertise, email ads @

legacynewspaper .com or call 804644-1550

PUBLIC AUCTION of Unclaimed Vehicles

225+/- IMPOUNDED AUTOS, LIGHT TRUCKS & MOTORCYCLES SOUTHSIDE PLAZA DRIVE-IN

Monday, Nov. 13, 2017 Gates open at 9:00 AM Auction begins at 10:00 AM

Auction will include the vehicles listed below plus many others: 2007 1990 2000 2001 2002 2004 2000 1998 1998 1995 2000 1988 1993 2000 2003 1998 2000 2000 2003 2007 2009 2003 1991 1996

CHEVROLET IMPALA TRAILER TRAILER MAZDA PROTÉGÉ CADILLAC DEVILLE BUICK CENTURY CHRYSLER SEBRING CHRYSLER LHS HONDA ACCORD HONDA CIVIC FORD AEROSTAR FORD WINDSTAR DODGE RAM BUICK PARK AVENUE FORD EXPEDITION FORD EXPLORER INFINITI Q45 HONDA ACCORD CADILLAC SEVILLE CHEVROLET ASTRO DODGE CALIBER CHEVROLET IMPALA LEXUS GS 300 GMC JIMMY DODGE CARAVAN

2G1WC58R379114682 NCX738580 JM1BJ222XY0270252 1G6KD54Y51U170958 2G4WS52JX21194627 1C3EL46X04N374713 2C3HC56G0YH126415 1HGCG5550WA062576 2HGEJ6677WH505906 1FMCA11U2SZA57621 2FMZA5249YBA63640 JB7FL24D2JP092036 1G4CW53L3P1652805 1FMRU17L4YLA07606 1FMZU73K93UC47656 JNKBY31A7WM402009 1HGCG6553YA091174 1G6KS54Y0YU194102 1GCDM19X93B140388 1B3JB48B57D503300 2G1WT57N191170281 JT8BD69S530188859 1GKCS18Z9M8544315 1B4GP44R4TB184696

SEIBERT’S is now accepting vehicles on consignment!

Reasonable Seller’s Fees. 409

642 W. Southside Plaza Dr. Richmond (804) 233-5757

WWW.SEIBERTSTOWING.COM VA AL # 2908-000766

DENTAL INSURANCE Call Physicians Mutual Insurance Company for details. NOT just a discount plan, REAL coverage for 350 procedures.

844-709-6890 or http://www.dental50plus. com/28 Ad# 6118

Thank you for your interest in applying for opportunities with The City of Richmond.

To see what opportunities are available, please refer to our website at www.richmondgov.com.

EOE M/F/D/V

Retrieve knowledge by reading newspapers!

Thank you for picking up your copy of The Legacy

Nov. 1, 2017 • 19

www.LEGACYnewspaper.com

EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY NOTICE

ANTIQUES AND COLLECTIBLES DC BIG FLEA & ANTIQUE MARKET. NOV 4-5 Over 600 Booths!

An AMAZING Treasure Hunt! SHOP FOR BARGAINS! Dulles Expo, Chantilly, Va 4320 Chantilly Shop Ctr 20151. Sat 9-6…Sun 11-5. Park free…Adm $10. 703-378-0910 www.thebigfleamarket.com AUCTIONS ACCELERATED SALE 59,108± SF Multi-Use Building. Assessed: $2,622,700 Opening Offers Only $1,000,000. 3200 Magruder Blvd, Hampton, VA 23666 SALE HELD: ONSITE & ONLINE NOV.1, 2PM. www.motleys.com • (804)601-8147 VA16 EHO ONLINE AUCTION Construction Equipment & Trucks 10/24, 5 PM -10/31, 11 AM Excavators, Dozers, Road Tractors, Loaders, Dump Trucks, Trailers & More!

BID ON-SITE: 3600 Deepwater Terminal Road, Richmond VA www. motleys.com • 804-232-3300 • VAAL#16 THREE DAY ON-PREMISE FILM PRODUCTION AUCTION “MERCY STREET”-A Civil War Drama. November 3-5, 2017. 2013 Maywill Street, Richmond, Virginia, 23230 Furniture, Antiques, Accessories, Primitives, Over 1000 items! www.tilmansauction.com VAL #348 HELP WANTED/TRUCK DRIVERS CDL TRAINING FOR LOCAL/OTR DRIVERS! $45,000-$60,000 1st Year! 4-wks or 10 Weekends for CDL. Veterans in Demand! Richmond/ Fredericksburg 877-CDS-4CDL; Lynchburg/Roanoke 855-CDS-4CDL; Front Royal/Winchester 844-CDS4CDL BROWN TRUCKING – is looking for COMPANY DRIVERS and OWNER OPERATORS. Brown requires: CDL-A, 2 years of tractor trailer experience OTR or Regional (Multiple states) in the last 3 years, good MVR and PSP. Apply: www.driveforbrown.com. Contact Brandon Collins.

919-291-7616.

LOTS AND ACREAGE ONE DAY ONLY LAKE ANNA LAND LIQUIDATION, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 11— 1+ Acre Lakefront and Lake Access Lots From Only $54,900. Buy Now, Build Later. (888) 615-3610 MISCELLANEOUS SAWMILLS FROM ONLY $4397.00- MAKE & SAVE MONEY with your own bandmill- Cut lumber any dimension. In stock ready to ship! FREE Info/DVD: www.NorwoodSawmills.com 1-800-578-1363 Ext. 300N

We are pledged to the letter and spirit of Virginia's policy for achieving equal housing opportunity throughout the commonwealth.

We encourage and support advertising and marketing programs in which there are no barriers to obtaining housing because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, elderliness, familial status or handicap.

For more information or to file a housing complaint, call the Virginia Housing Office (804) 367-8530 or (888) 551-3247. For the hearingimpaired, call (804) 367-9753 or e-mail fairhousing@dpor.virginia.gov.

Getting Home is Easier. Nice Pay Package. BCBS + Other Benefits.

Monthly Bonuses. No-Touch. Chromed out Trucks w/APU'S. CDL-A. 855-200-4631

PROC 01-156-002-03600/1027 HAMPTON SOLICITATION The Director of Finance or his designated representative will accept written responses in the Procurement Office 1 Franklin Street, 3rd floor, Suite 345, Hampton, VA on behalf of the Entity listed below until the date and local time specified.

CITY OF HAMPTON Tuesday, December 5, 2017 2:00 p.m. ET – ITB 18-21/TM Hampton General District Court Led Light Replacement. Mandatory Pre-bid Meeting November 8, 2017, 9:00 AM at Hampton General District Court, 236 N. King Street. Meet in the lobby.

Thursday, December 7, 2017 1:30 pm ET-ITB 18-22/CLP Hampton Roads Center Parkway Acceleration Lane.

City Project NO: 01-016. VDOT Project No: (U000-114-R03, P101, R201, M501 (UPC 107343). There will be a mandatory attendance prebid at 10:00 AM (ET) on Friday, November 17, 2017; Hampton City Hall, 22 Lincoln Street Public Works Engineering conference room located on the 4th floor.

This is a state funded project with an MBE goal of 4.34% and WBE goal of 3.82%.

For additional information, see our web page at http://www.hampton.gov/bids-contracts A withdrawal of bid due to error shall be in accordance with Section 2.24330 of the Code of Virginia. All forms relating to these solicitations may be obtained from the above listed address or for further information call; (757) 727-2200. The right is reserved to reject any and all responses, to make awards in whole or in part, and to waive any informality in submittals.

Minority-Owned, Woman-Owned and Veteran Businesses are encouraged to participate.

Karl Daughtrey, Director of Finance

SERVICES DIVORCE–Uncontested, $395+$86 court cost. No court appearance.

Estimated completion time twenty-one days. Telephone inquiries welcome-no obligation. Hilton Oliver, Attorney. 757-490-0126. Se Habla Español. BBB Member.

CHTravels.com One-stop for travel planning and booking.

We’ll do the work so you don’t have to.

Place your “For sale”, “Wanted”, and “Service”... ads here.

Call 804-644-1550 Meet sexy friends who really get your vibe...

Try FREE: 800-914-0978 18+

Thinking of buying a new or used car?Call to get current promotional pricing and local dealer incentives for free.

No hassle. No obligation.

Call: 866-974-4339

DENTAL Insurance Physicians Mutual Insurance Company

A less expensive way to help get the dental care you deserve If you’re over 50, you can get coverage for about $1 a day* Keep your own dentist! NO networks to worry about No wait for preventive care and no deductibles – you could get a checkup tomorrow

Coverage for over 350 procedures – including cleanings, exams,

fillings, crowns…even dentures

NO annual or lifetime cap on the cash benefits you can receive

FREE Information Kit

1-844-709-6890

www.dental50plus.com/28

*Individual plan.

Product not available in MN, MT, NH, RI, VT, WA. Acceptance guaranteed for one insurance policy/certificate of this type. Contact us for complete details about this insurance solicitation. This specific offer is not available in CO, NY;call 1-800-969-4781 or respond for similar offer. Certificate C250A (ID: C250E; PA: C250Q); Insurance Policy P150 (GA: P150GA; NY: P150NY; OK: P150OK; TN: P150TN)

6096F

MB16-NM001Fc