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EGACY

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Yesterday. Today. Tomorrow.

WEDNESDAYS • Sept. 19, 2018

Army Sgt. Jon Harmon lost both legs after stepping on an improvised explosive device while on a mission in Afghanistan in 2012 . Today he speaks to commands and veterans about his personal struggle with mental health and how he works to overcome it.

PHOTO: Kevin Fleming

Richmond & Hampton Roads

LEGACYNEWSPAPER.COM • FREE

Surviving postdeployment PTSD

FIRST PERSON During my deployment to Afghanistan in 2012, my team was providing security and fire support for a key leader engagement with the local village elders. The mission was uneventful … until it wasn’t.

The next thing I remember, I felt a massive displacement of heat and overpressure. I had stepped on an improvised explosive device and had lost my right leg. My left leg suffered severe, irreparable damage. In the immediate response, two more IEDs were detonated, which caused 12 of my fellow paratroopers to sustain severe injuries, and killed one.

All I had ever wanted to be was a paratrooper. But now, I had to adapt to my new normal: being a double amputee. I focused on the life-changing physical injuries I sustained, and learned to walk again. Eventually I progressed enough to return to duty. But my recovery wasn’t over. Years later, I fell into a dark place, struggling with survivor’s guilt and posttraumatic stress disorder. I had never dealt with my invisible injuries. I discovered that PTSD can creep up on you and get worse over time. For me, it involved flashbacks and emotional numbness.

It was around the time of my

divorce that I had an emotional breakdown and contemplated taking my own life. But I thought about the guys I served with in the 82nd Airborne Division and said to myself, “How could I be so selfish?” My brothers died on the battlefield, and I lived. I owed it to them to get help.

After that, I started seeing a therapist who specialized in treating PTSD – that treatment continues today. Therapy helps me to process some of what I had compartmentalized and pushed aside, and it gives me a clean slate to process everything.

It was hard to say “I need help,” especially because I was an NCO. But I realized that as a leader, I should be setting the example. It was my opportunity to show others

that reaching out is all right.

It’s important for people to know they’re not alone, especially when they find their own dark place.

Relying on your support network can be lifesaving. Whether talking to groups or another veteran, I have discovered that sharing my personal struggles with mental health not only helps others, it also helps me.

I’ve also found the buddy system to be incredibly helpful. Every Friday I call one of my combat veteran buddies to see how they’re doing.

I can usually tell on the phone if they’re okay or not, and just having someone to talk to is crucial.

Everyone deals with their personal struggles in their own way, and even though some prefer no contact, it’s important to keep trying.

I know I’ve come a long way, but just like everyone who has experienced the chaos of war, I will always bear the scars. When I feel overwhelmed, I know to call a friend and say, “I need help.”

When I experience flashbacks, I use a tactic my therapist refers to as “grounding.” For me, this means concentrating on something, such as the look and feel of everyday objects around me. That concentration helps bring me back to reality.

Today, I’m working on my inner peace. I attend group PTSD sessions with other combat veterans to learn how to cope with my symptoms. I also attend yoga classes to help me with relaxation methods. Yes, even paratroopers can do yoga – and like it.

(continued on page 12)

The LEGACY

2 • Sept. 19, 2018

News

When just being near alcohol lands you in jail

Richard Walls at Richmond City Jail in Richmond in May. He is one of the plaintiffs in a class-action suit challenging a Virginia law that allows courts to label people “habitual drunkards” and send them to jail for up to a year for possessing alcohol. PHOTO: Steve Helber CHRISTIE THOMPSON In 2010 in a courtroom in Roanoke, Virginia, a judge legally declared Bryan Manning a drunk. Manning— who is homeless and difficult to track down—wasn’t even in the courtroom that day. A judge and a prosecutor simply considered his list of alcohol-related offenses: drunk in public, profane language, failure to appear in court. It was a quick, civil proceeding that would have lasting criminal consequences.

In the eight years since, Manning has been prosecuted over 30 times for something that is usually perfectly legal: possessing or drinking alcohol. In some cases, he says just being near it was enough to get him arrested. He was picked up once in a Walmart that sold alcohol, he says, though he hadn’t actually purchased any. Another time, he was arrested for smelling like booze.

Each time he was jailed, he lost any job he had at the time and usually all of his belongings, left behind at whatever public place he had been

sleeping.

Manning’s legal troubles stem from a vague, antiquated Virginia law that allows courts to label people “habitual drunkards,” often after they’ve committed multiple alcohol-related crimes. That decision happens in a civil hearing, where someone isn’t guaranteed an attorney to help them fight the allegations. Once someone is legally branded a “drunkard,” it’s a misdemeanor crime to purchase, consume or possess alcohol—an offense that can earn them up to a year in jail.

Virginia advocates and public defenders have been fighting the law for years, saying it targets homeless people suffering from alcoholism and jails them without full due process. Manning is one of the lead plaintiffs in a class-action suit filed

by Virginia nonprofit the Legal Aid Justice Center, claiming the statute is unconstitutional. But an August decision by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against them and upheld the law.

“It just seems really ancient,” said Elaine Poon, the managing attorney at the Legal Aid Justice Center. “Alcohol is legal for all of us, except for these people who have been deemed undesirable by the district attorneys.” Poon notes the law doesn’t specify what makes someone a drunkard, or how many previous offenses they need to have committed.

Manning was well known to Roanoke police by the time he was labeled a “habitual drunkard.” In the year prior, he was arrested at least 10 times for being drunk in public, racking up hundreds in fines. His address was listed as “transient” or the city’s rescue mission shelter.

The Legal Aid Justice Center found Manning—as they did the other lead plaintiffs—through his public defenders. While there is no data about how many of the “habitual drunkards” in Virginia are homeless, public defenders say they were seeing such cases pop up repeatedly on their caseload.

“There’s a group of individuals we

see very, very regularly. They’re the frequent fliers,” said Geoffrey Tucker, a Richmond public defender.

“It seems like a way of managing people that [the city] would rather not deal with, by putting them in jail instead of in treatment.”

Tucker is currently appealing one of his clients’ “habitual drunkard” status to the Virginia Supreme Court. Sometimes, clients don’t know they have been labeled as such until their first arrest for drinking. And even if the charges are ultimately dropped, many will not be released on bail while awaiting a hearing.

The statute has been used against a relatively small number of people.

According to the complaint, 1,220 Virginians were “interdicted” between 2007 and 2015, the legal process that can label someone a “habitual drunkard.” And from 2005 to 2015, “interdicted” individuals were convicted nearly 5,000 times for drinking or possessing alcohol.

Whether the law is enforced varies

(continued on page 5)

www.LEGACYnewspaper.com

Sept. 19, 2018 • 3

Mixed-use development rolling in Jackson Ward

NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC OF AN APPLICATION

BY VIRGINIA ELECTRIC AND POWER COMPANY FOR APPROVAL TO ESTABLISH VOLUNTARY RATE, DESIGNATED RIDER CRC, PURSUANT TO § 56-234 B OF THE CODE OF VIRGINIA CASE NO. PUR-2018-00133 On August 15, 2018, Virginia Electric and Power Company d/b/a Dominion Energy Virginia (“Dominion” or “Company”) filed an application (“Application”) with the State Corporation Commission (“Commission”) pursuant to Enactment Clause 11 of Senate Bill 966, passed during the 2018 General Assembly Session (“Enactment Clause 11”), § 56 234 B of the Code of Virginia (“Code”), and Rule 80 of the Commission’s Rules of Practice and Procedure (“Rules of Practice”) for approval to establish a voluntary rate, designated Rider CRC, Manufacturing and Commercial Competitiveness Retention Credit Rider (“Rider CRC”).

The Company states in its Application that Rider CRC is designed to support economic development in Dominion’s service territory by offering a retention credit, in the form of a two percent discount on the total monthly base generation charges, to any eligible retail large general service customers who agree to take Electric Service, including Electricity Supply Service, as those terms are defined in the Company’s Terms and Conditions on file with the Commission, exclusively from the Company for a period of at least three years. The Company further states that Enactment Clause 11 directs the Company to offer a retention credit to large manufacturing and commercial customers who are eligible to participate under the terms and conditions proposed in the Application.

According to the Application, to participate in Rider CRC, large general service customers must currently take service pursuant to, or otherwise qualify to take service under: (1) Rate Schedule GS-3, Large General Service – Secondary Voltage; (2) Rate Schedule GS-4, Large General Service – Primary Voltage; or (3) any special rates or contracts approved pursuant to Code § 56-235.2 (each a “Principal Tariff”), subject to the following limitations. The Company states that large general service customers who wish to subscribe to Rider CRC must not be receiving service from the Company under any experimental or pilot program tariff rate schedule, tariff rate schedule for market-based rates, tariff rate schedule to purchase 100% renewable energy, or companion tariff rate schedule, such as Rate Schedule MBR – GS-3, Large General Service – Secondary Voltage (Experimental), Rate Schedule MBR – GS-4, Large General Service – Primary Voltage (Experimental), or Schedule RF.

A conceptual rendering of the development envisioned in Jackson Ward.

JONATHAN SPIERS RBiz - As construction starts on a mixed-use, mixed-income development set to fill a city block in Jackson Ward, groundwork is being laid for a supplemental project that would fill another largely vacant block across the street and also could bring a hotel to the neighborhood.

Site work has started on Jackson Place, a $32 million undertaking by the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority and Washington, D.C.-based Community Preservation and Development Corp. The project will add apartments, commercial space and parking to the city block bordered by First and Second streets, and Duval and Jackson streets.

Across Second Street, RRHA is seeking a rezoning for a comparable project to Jackson Place, which would fill 3.4 acres in the block bordered by Second and Third streets between Jackson Street and Interstate 64-95. That second development would involve additional mixed-use buildings with housing above commercial space and a hotel with 100 to 115 rooms.

The second city block slated for rezoning gated off for a comparable project to Jackson Place, which is across the street. (Jonathan Spiers) The city planning commission

endorsed the rezoning at its regular meeting Monday, and City Council considered the request at its Sept.

10 meeting.

Next steps include RRHA putting out a request for proposals to secure a developer for the second project, said Marcia Davis, the authority’s chief real estate officer. She said the goal is to time that process within the 18-month construction schedule for Jackson Place, which started in July.

“Our hope was to get underway fairly quickly, so that construction was right on the cusp of what is happening between First and Second so it minimized disruption to the neighborhood,” Davis said.

“We didn’t want four years of construction going on.”

Davis said details for the second development remain in the works and a cost estimate has yet to be determined for the project, which RRHA has been working on with Pittsburgh-based Urban Design Associates. She said RRHA is aiming to issue the RFP this fall, pending zoning approval.

While CPDC already is working with the authority on Jackson Place and another project – a planned conversion of the former Baker School building across the interstate

(continued on page 12)

The Company states that, to qualify for Rider CRC, an eligible large general service customer account (“Qualifying Account”) must have, during the most recent calendar year, established a peak measured average 30-minute demand greater than 500 kilowatts, which did not exceed one percent of the Company’s peak load during the most recent calendar year, unless the customer had a non-coincident peak demand in excess of 90 megawatts in calendar year 2006 or any calendar year thereafter. The Company further states that a large general service customer wishing to participate in Rider CRC would be required to execute an Agreement for Electric Service (“ESA”) with the Company for each Qualifying Account that memorializes the customer’s election to volunteer for Rider CRC. The initial term of each ESA would be separately negotiated with each participating large general service customer; however, the initial term would be for a period of at least three years (“Initial Term”). Following the expiration of the Initial Term, the ESA would automatically renew annually for additional one-year terms (each subsequent term referred to as a “Renewal Term”), unless and until the ESA is cancelled by written notice by either party at least 60 days prior to the expiration of the Initial Term or Renewal Term, as applicable.

Once an ESA has been executed, the Company would make service under Rider CRC effective on the first day of the billing month immediately following the last regular meter reading date for each Qualifying Account. The two percent reduction in the total monthly base generation charges (billed by the Company to the Qualifying Account pursuant to the large general service customer’s existing Principal Tariff) would appear as a separate line item on the participating customer’s billing statement.

The Company proposes to make Rider CRC effective for usage on and after the first day of the month that is at least 60 days following the date of the Commission’s final order in this proceeding. The Company also proposes to make annual reports to the Commission if Rider CRC is approved.

Interested persons are encouraged to review the Application and supporting documents for further details of the Company’s proposals.

The Company’s Application and the Order for Notice and Comment that the Commission entered in this case are available for public inspection during regular business hours at each of the Company’s business offices in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Copies also may be obtained by submitting a written request to counsel for the Company, Lisa S. Booth, Esquire, Dominion Energy Services, Inc., 120 Tredegar Street, Riverside 2, Richmond, Virginia 23219. If acceptable to the requesting party, the Company may provide the documents by electronic means.

Copies of the Application and the public version of all documents filed in this case also are available for interested persons to review in the Commission’s Document Control Center located on the first floor of the Tyler Building, 1300 East Main Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219, between the hours of 8:15 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. Interested persons also may download unofficial copies from the Commission’s website: http://www.scc.virginia.gov/case.

On or before October 12, 2018, any interested person wishing to comment on the Company’s Application shall file written comments on the Application with Joel H. Peck, Clerk, State Corporation Commission, c/o Document Control Center, P.O. Box 2118, Richmond, Virginia 23218-2118. Any interested person desiring to file comments electronically may do so on or before October 12, 2018, by following the instructions on the Commission’s website: http://www.scc.virginia.gov/case. Compact discs or any other form of electronic storage medium may not be filed with the comments. All such comments shall refer to Case No. PUR-2018-00133.

On or before October 12, 2018, any person or entity wishing to participate as a respondent in this proceeding may do so by filing a notice of participation. If not filed electronically, an original and fifteen (15) copies of the notice of participation shall be submitted to the Clerk of the Commission at the address above. A copy of the notice of participation as a respondent also must be sent to counsel for the Company at the address set forth above. Pursuant to Rule 5 VAC 5-20-80 B, Participation as a respondent, of the Commission’s Rules of Practice, any notice of participation shall set forth: (i) a precise statement of the interest of the respondent; (ii) a statement of the specific action sought to the extent then known; and (iii) the factual and legal basis for the action. All filings shall refer to Case No. PUR-2018-00133.

On or before October 12, 2018, any interested person may file a written request for a hearing. If not filed electronically, an original and fifteen (15) copies of the request for hearing shall be submitted to the Clerk of the Commission at the address set forth above. Written requests for hearing shall refer to Case No. PUR-2018-00133 and shall include: (i) a precise statement of the interest of the filing party; (ii) a statement of the specific action sought to the extent then known; (iii) a statement of the legal basis for such action; and (iv) a precise statement why a hearing should be conducted in the matter. A copy also shall be served on Dominion at the address set forth above.

All documents filed with the Office of the Clerk of the Commission in this docket may use both sides of the paper. In all other respects, all filings shall comply fully with the requirements of 5 VAC 5-20-150, Copies and format, of the Commission’s Rules of Practice.

The Commission’s Rules of Practice may be viewed at http://www.scc.virginia.gov/case. A printed copy of the Commission’s Rules of Practice and an official copy of the Commission’s Order for Notice and Comment in this proceeding may be obtained from the Clerk of the Commission at the address above.

VIRGINIA ELECTRIC AND POWER COMPANY

The LEGACY

4 • Sept. 19, 2018

Want to check Scott Taylor’s ballot petitions?

Too late: They’ve been shredded BILL BARTEL After the court-ordered removal of Shaun Brown’s name from the Nov. 6 congressional ballot for fraudulent signatures and phony addresses, can the petitions of other 2018 federal candidates be rechecked accuracy?

Depends on who you’re asking about.

For example, in the 2nd Congressional District election, it's too late to check Rep. Scott Taylor’s original petitions. Republican officials have already shredded them.

The petitions of his Democratic rival, Elaine Luria, are still in the possession of a party leader who likely will keep them for a couple of years. But Luria’s petitions are private Democratic Party documents and not subject to state open records law. They can only be seen if party leaders agree to share them.

Meanwhile, petitions filed by independents like Brown and thirdparty candidates like Matt Waters, a Libertarian running for U.S. Senate, are publicly available documents that eventually will be permanently stored in the Library of Virginia.

The widely different approaches serve as a reminder that, while elections are a government process with strict regulations for getting a name on a ballot, the two major parties enjoy considerably more freedom and privacy in choosing their nominees.

Democratic and GOP leaders also have leeway in gauging whether a candidate has enough valid signatures. Some say they check every name on every petition against voter rolls. Others take a sampling and, if they find no pattern of errors, they certify the candidate has enough signatures.

Dennis Free, who reviewed and approved Taylor’s petitions in his role as GOP chairman for the 2nd Congressional District, said he wouldn’t stand for any chicanery in signature collecting.

Elaine Luria “I take my duties very seriously,” said Free, a retired police officer. “If anybody forged anybody’s signature on any of them documents – and I don’t care what side of the aisle they’re from – I hope they get caught, and I hope they get punished to the fullest extent of the law.”

The Brown petition scandal involved members of Taylor’s reelection campaign who had collected petitions for Brown to help her gain a spot on the ballot – a tactic that Luria supporters say was to draw votes away from the Democrat.

However, Democrats challenged Brown’s petitions in a lawsuit focusing on those collected by Taylor workers.

Taylor’s staff's role came to light in a WHRV report. A subsequent investigation by The Virginian-Pilot found the petitions included the names of four dead people and 59 others who said their signatures had apparently been forged.

Richmond Circuit Judge Gregory Rupe ruled recently the petitions contained multiple forged signatures and “out and out fraud”, and he ordered Brown removed from the ballot. She filed an appeal to the state Supreme Court last week.

Virginia State Police are

investigating the signatures and the certifications on Brown’s petitions, and a special prosecutor has been appointed to review the case.

Taylor acknowledged that his staff helped Brown but denounced any illegal activity to help her.

Democrats do not accuse him of participating in fraud.

Parties use their own rules The removal of Brown, an act so rare that leaders of both major parties can’t remember it happening before, draws attention to a petition process that is an integral part of running for office but rarely gets public attention.

Everyone seeking elected office in Virginia has to get a certain number of voter signatures. It varies by the office: 10,000 for U.S. Senate, 1,000 for the U.S. House and far fewer for state legislative seats.

All must use state forms that have room for 21 voters per page. The person who gathered each page must sign it in front of a notary attesting they witnessed all the signatures.

After that, Democratic and Republican candidates have a different path than their independent or third-party rivals.

Leaders of the two major parties review their candidates’ petitions, following state guidelines but using their own systems for deciding whether there are enough valid signatures.

The review process isn’t open to the public. But party leaders who oversee signature checking in statewide races and Hampton Roads congressional districts said candidates are sometimes allowed to be present and get involved if issues arise.

Sandra Brandt, head of 2nd District Democrats, said she and others checked all the signatures submitted by Luria and her primary opponent Karen Mallard, even though each submitted hundreds more than the 1,000 needed.

Free said he takes a sample of 10 percent of signatures if a candidate

turns in at least 1,500 names. If he finds few errors, he’ll approve the candidate’s petitions.

“I thought it was a reasonable way to do it,” he said, adding that he destroys the petition soon after the state elections department approves a candidate to be on the ballot.

Brandt said she'll keep petitions in a secure storage box for years. She only recently destroyed petitions for U.S. Rep. Glen Nye, who left office in 2011. Those petitions are kept confidential because they contain confidential voter names and addresses, she said. In some cases, voters also list the last four digits of their Social Security number – an optional item on the form.

State Democratic and Republican officials follow similar policies, with some storing petitions until after that year’s election. But state law doesn’t require them to do so.

John Findlay, director of the Virginia GOP, said any requests to look at stored petitions is a “case-bycase” decision.

Meanwhile, independent and third-party contenders have their petitions reviewed by the state Department of Elections, which examines each signature to make certain it's valid. And unlike the two parties, those petitions are open public records. They’re kept by the department for two years and then sent to the library, said Dave Nichols, the department’s elections service manager.

Nichols said state officials check every signature for an independent candidate and do not stop until they reached the required number to be on the ballot.

When asked if the department is conducting a review of its process now that a judge has ruled some signatures it approved were fraudulent, Nichols declined to comment.

“That’s not something we can discuss right now,” he said. - VP

www.LEGACYnewspaper.com

Sept. 19, 2018 • 5

(from page 2) from city to city: less than half of Virginia’s prosecutors offices have used it since 2007. Prosecutors in Virginia Beach have interdicted the most people, according to statistics compiled by the Legal Aid Justice Center.

Prosecutors say the law is a way for them to try and control individuals who pose persistent threats to public safety and prompt a myriad of complaints from the community.

The Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office in Richmond has “interdicted” nine individuals since 2007. They, along with the Roanoke office, are a named defendant in the suit, though it’s filed against all Commonwealth’s attorneys. Deputy Commonwealth’s attorney Colette Wallace McEachin, who oversees the office’s interdiction orders, says her office uses the law sparingly to try and compel people to get help.

“We don’t interdict many people. It takes a lot. It really has to rise to a level where it’s not just a nuisance, [but] where we are concerned about the community’s safety or this person’s safety,” she said. McEachin finds that once someone has been labeled a “drunkard,” the possibility of a year in jail is more leverage to get them into rehabilitation than the fine for “public intoxication” would be. “There are at least three or four cases I know of where once a person’s been interdicted, we were able to convince them to go to treatment.”

The Virginia attorney general’s office also defends the law. In a brief submitted in the case, they wrote that the law serves the state’s “legitimate interests in curbing alcohol abuse and in the welfare and safety of Virginians,” and that the plaintiffs have failed to prove that the law discriminates against the homeless. Being labeled a habitual drunkard in and of itself doesn’t lead to imprisonment, they argue, and the state has the right to regulate alcohol.

But the statute remains an outlier.

Utah is the only other state with something similar on the books.

Plaintiffs in the case say they’ve been arrested on just the suspicion that they’ve been drinking. Ryan Williams, who has spent 15 years

Jennifer Carroll Foy on the streets of Roanoke, was sleeping in a park bathroom when police found a beer can in the trash.

According to Williams, they said it was his and sent him to jail. Two others claimed in the lawsuit that they also had been arrested over empty beer cans found nearby.

In a trenchant concurring opinion, appeals court judge Diana Gribbon Motz wrote that legal precedent required her to uphold the statute, but that she agreed it criminalized addiction. “Because thousands of Virginians remain subject to a law that, in my view, is unconstitutional, I [concur] with reluctance and regret,” she wrote. The Fourth Circuit does not allow court precedent to be overturned without the case being heard by the entire bench, instead of just a panel of three judges. Now the plaintiffs are petitioning to have it reconsidered by all the judges, in hopes of finally overturning the long-standing law.

One public defender-cum-state delegate, Jennifer Carroll Foy, will introduce a bill in the next General Assembly session that would repeal the law entirely. Foy introduced a similar bill in January, but it died in committee. Many of her fellow legislators didn’t know the law existed, she said, or didn’t believe it was still being enforced.

“A lot of people don’t think about the collateral consequences of throwing someone in jail. If they were on a waiting list for housing, now they’re off. If they were on disability, often times it’s cut off.

If they had a job, now they’ve lost it,” Foy said. “You can’t incarcerate yourself out of addiction.”

Did you know?... ... In the past, if you were a one person business or a two person business, but married to your business partner, you could not buy group health care insurance as a business. You had to purchase individual health care policies from the exchange.

As of July 1, 2018, Virginia now allows its smallest businesses to buy group health insurance policies. This means that you now have the opportunity to purchase health insurance from Anthem, United Healthcare, Aetna and others at group insurance rates.

You can change your policy now if this means better insurance and rates for you and your family.

6 • Sept. 19, 2018

Op/Ed & Letters

The LEGACY

The deadly apathy of white America JAMAR A. BOYD, II Recently, we learned about two young black men assumed to be guilty based on someone else’s perception.

Akil Carter, an 18-year-old male, was irresponsibly profiled and detained while he was riding home from church with his white grandmother and her friend.

Botham Shem Jean, a 26-yearold native of the Caribbean island of St. Lucia, was shot by a female police officer who’d mistaken his apartment for hers, and fired her weapon after he opened the door — yet another death of a black man at the hands of an irresponsible citizen, erratic police officer, and under preventable circumstances.

The arrest of Akil Carter and death of Botham Shem Jean remind us that the existence of black people in America is continually under subjection. The ability to function freely as an African American in the United States is still a truth unknown to too many — manifested The LEGACY NEWSPAPER Vol. 4 No. 38 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

as the assumptive skepticism that a black young man can’t have a white grandmother and another reality highlighted by the horrific actions of an officer killing an innocent black man in his home. This truth is not new to America, it is America. It dates back to chattel slavery, Jim Crow, segregation, the war on drugs, maximum minimum sentencing, government neglect, and many more issues that prohibit the existence of black people in this country.

The ability to function freely as an African American in the United 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.

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States is still a truth unknown to too many.

Famed and acclaimed novelist James Baldwin said, “To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.”

Think about it — an officer told Carter that he was handcuffed because of “... a misunderstanding based on someone’s perceptions.”

This is not a misunderstanding or one’s perception, this is bias, racism, and the manifestation of fear, a fear that leads to the oppression and repression of black bodies. A fear that screams boldly, “Your black life doesn’t matter.” This rage is one that the majority of white America is unable to comprehend and contextualize.

Black people in America, since this country’s inception, have been the targets and victims of unprecedented violence, leading to the birth and uprising of generations of black agitators and activists; young black men and women who’re determined to change the reality of

the oppressed. If I as a black man cannot live freely in this country, absent of the fear being killed, then where can I exist?

America is still led by an apathetic majority void of compassion, empathy, and sympathy. A majority unable and unwilling to confess their biases, hate, phobia, and toxicity, making themselves apathetic to the reality of African Americans. From their perspective intentional and toxic discrimination, racism, and police practices is not their problem; they have no role in this plight and degradation.

The old African proverb is, “It takes a village to raise a child.” But who will the village have to raise if the children are continually taken from us?

Boyd is a first year seminarian at the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University, President of the Georgia NAACP Youth & College Division, and a licensed Minister in the Church of God in Christ. -SOJOURNERS

www.LEGACYnewspaper.com

Sept. 19, 2018 • 7

P.T. Hoffsteader, Esq.

Believing

It’s so easy these days to despair about the future of our country. It feels like half the people I run into just want to pull the covers over their heads and ignore the news.

There’s dysfunction at the highest levels of government.

Recent reports — the new book

by Bob Woodward and a New York Times op-ed — reveal that top administration officials are so worried about the president’s impulses that they’ve formed a sort of “resistance” movement to thwart them. Many Americans express their disappointment in so many other Americans for supporting politicians who do not seem to know how to make our representative government work.

And while drama dominates the daily headlines, Congress is polarized, hamstrung, and ineffective. We’re subject to Russian election hacking with very little visible effort on the part of the federal government to do something about it. Dozens of vital issues, from economic inequality

to cyber-security, are going largely unaddressed.

So it might seem odd for me to suggest that we take a step back and count our blessings. But that’s exactly what I believe we need to do right now.

Our history should give us a shot of confidence. We have overcome formidable challenges: a civil war, two world wars, recessions and depressions, and through it all, America has not just survived, but improved. In my working lifetime, I have seen this country become a better place, plain and simple.

We enjoy the world’s largest and most competitive economy.

We have greatly improved the life of many older Americans with programs like Social Security and Medicare. We’ve improved the lives of many younger people with college scholarships and wider opportunities. And women and minorities have had doors opened to them like never before, even if there’s still room to improve.

We are the pre-eminent diplomatic and military power in the world.

Though terrorism is a serious worry, we do not face an imminent threat to our overall security.

Our citizens, federal employees, and military personnel are engaged all over the world, for the most part doing their best to improve life for people elsewhere.

Perhaps most important, we have

created a country where everyone has a chance to become the best she or he can be. There’s much room for improvement here, too — opportunity is not equally accessible.

But there are plenty of people who’ve managed to get ahead in life even though the cards were stacked against them.

We should not sound arrogant, and we should acknowledge our mistakes, but we have much to be proud of in our record as a nation.

I don’t want to suggest we don’t have big problems. Of course we do.

And just as noteworthy, progress over the decades doesn’t mean it’s inevitable.

While China invests in advanced robotics, for instance, we’re reinvesting in coal. Are the current administration’s trade policies laying the groundwork for a prosperous future? I worry that they’re not.

What impact will our huge and greatly expanding national debt have on our nation’s future? No one knows for certain, but it’s hard to believe things will end well if we don’t address it.

What about the inability of Congress to do its work? Nowhere is it written in the stars that things will continue on as well as they have, especially if our policy-makers don’t do their jobs.

But to confront these problems, and to start to forge solutions, you have to have a measure of confidence

in the system through which we’ll address them. And in this regard, our history should give us a boost.

My impression is we need it.

Lee Hamilton

Revealed?

Just say no to Richmond Revealed.

It is a fraud and black people don’t need white people to be middle men to our brothers and sisters on the continent.

In this digital age, there is absolutely no reason why Africans here and Africans there can’t connect. To presume othewise is paternalistic and also opening up the threat of neocolonial and neoliberal aka gentrifiers into the continent.

Why would I rely on the grand children of my oppressor to dictate my engagement with my motherland.

Evey part of that narrative is completely disgusting. My brother Diallo Sumbry takes these trips regularly. I know many others who are repatriates to the continent.

My brother Cashawn Myers has built schools and farms in Africa.

There are many ways to connect that do not require a white male from midlothian va doing a summer project on his way to Harvard for a masters degree to hold our hand. We are not babies. We don’t need him or them to connect to our brothers and sisters on the continent. All we need is us.

Duron Chavis

8 • Sept. 19, 2018

Faith & Religion

The LEGACY

The church’s apathy to climate exposes gap in service REV. TERRANCE M. McKINLEY COMMENTARY I have the privilege of attending The Global Climate Action Summit this year, representing Sojourners as we plot the course for our climate justice advocacy work. This meeting brings together influencers and leaders from around the world to serve as a launch pad for deeper worldwide multi-sector commitments that align with the Paris Climate Agreement.

But the most remarkable moment over these last few days didn’t occur in a conference hall, it occurred while I was sitting on a ledge in Grace Cathedral, a few inches from the floor.

Grace Cathedral, along with several partners, hosted a worship service as a kickoff to the Global Summit. Rev. Dr. Gerald Durley, a climate champion, a retired Baptist pastor, and the new chairman of the board of Interfaith Power and Light, participated in the service and in a small reception after in a room connected to the sanctuary.

I made my way to him after the service to shake hands and exchange pleasantries that preachers in my tradition often do, “Elder! So, good to see you again.”

He responded in turn, “Bishop, I am always glad to be in the company of a young public theologian.”

We both laughed at this formality which characterizes preachers’ interactions with one and another and began to catch up, talking family, upcoming conferences, and travel schedules.

I decided to end the night early and excused myself to head back to my hotel. But before I could, Durley called me over to sit with him, on that ledge, in a corner, a few inches from the floor.

Our apathy and indifference towards matters related to justice will give birth to future burdens and challenges for our children.

Essence Magazine recognized Rev. McKinley as a “Do Right Man” because of his work in the community beyond the walls of the church. The African American Pulpit Journal honored him alongside professors, pastors, and preachers from across the country as one of “The 20 to Watch Leaders Under 40.”

It was in that moment that we discussed the justice movement, his work with Dr. King in the Civil Rights Movement, the current administration, the midterm elections, and naturally, our conversation came around to climate justice — the biblical imperative to be good stewards over God’s creation.

I wondered out loud why people in the church don’t seem to care about climate justice.

An interesting question considering the climate summit unearths all the reasons people should care. A green economy is a means for achieving sustainable development and can serve as an engine for eradicating poverty. Faith leaders working with the public and private sector can

participate in efforts that generate good jobs, spur global development, and leave no one left behind.

These views are widely accepted, but even with this information there is a group within the church that remains uninspired and disinterested I can understand why this issue is not top of mind for justice advocates and citizens of the U.S. in general. In communities of color, like the one I grew up in, people are focused on other issues that impact them day-to-day — jobs, safety, healthcare, and family.

But during that conversation with Durley, I realized that there is one compelling reason that Christians should all care about the earth — generational legacy. We have to create a legacy of and a world that is safe for future generations to breathe in, live in, and thrive in.

Proverbs 13:22 says: “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, And the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.

This world that we are stewards over is our inheritance to our children’s children."

We must take this verse seriously. If we do not care, our unborn children will suffer the consequences of our indifference.

Our apathy and indifference towards matters related to justice will give birth to future burdens and challenges for our children. Our apathy and indifference to our earth exposes a gap in our discipleship.

We would do well to not only think about those who will come after us but to remember those who are struggling today because of climate change — climate change disproportionately affects the most vulnerable in our society.

We must also think about the people who came before us, the people who laid the foundation for the justice work we do today.

I asked Rev. Durley what he thinks this new generation of progressive, social media savvy activists needed to hear from him. “Grab the baton,” he said.

“Lead this movement now, it is your own.”

www.LEGACYnewspaper.com

Sept. 19, 2018 • 9

‘Black Church’ sends message to White House HAZEL TRICE EDNEY & HAMIL HARRIS TEWIRE - As America prepares to return to the polls for mid-term elections amidst racial tensions, continued economic inequities and a president that appears to embrace racism and shun truth, thousands of black church leaders and parishioners recently answered a “Call to Conscience/Day of Action” intended to send a message to the White House and beyond.

“Racism is not dead in America. As a matter of fact, it’s not even sick.

It doesn’t even have a cold,” said Dr. W. Franklyn Richardson, chair of the Conference of National Black Churches, preaching at a worship service the night before a mass rally More than 1,000 braved the sweltering 90-degree heat in Lafayette Park. Some came on buses from around the U. S. in Lafayette Park across from the

PHOTO: Roy Lewis/Trice Edney News Wire White House.

“We live in one of the most racist day, bishops and church leaders times in the history of this country. traveled to Capitol Hill to meet In spite of the fact that we’ve come with senators and representatives. through slavery. There’s nothing The activities recalled a 1960s type good about slavery. But slavery movement, an awakening of sorts. provided a forum wherein our “‘one thing that’s worse than oppressors were visible and we could slavery.

That’s to adjust to it. A see them. They were touchable. slave should be maladjusted,” What makes the difficulties of this time is our oppressors are invisible.” said the Rev. Jesse Jackson at the worship service. “It was hard to The worship service, intended to wake us up until Trump came along. stir up those planning to attend the rally, was held at Reid Temple AME Trump is nothing but a wakeup call.”

Church.

Richardson, the keynote speaker “...[A]t Lafayette Park, we not at the worship service, agreed only want the occupant of 1600 that Trump is only temporary.

Pennsylvania Avenue - who is living in the hands that black hands But he warned, “He speaks for the oppressors. He speaks for the built - we not only want him to haters. We need to be aware that see us we want him to hear us,” the nature of our battle. We will Bishop Reginald T. Jackson told the eliminate 45. But there’ll be some congregation. Jackson, president of young aspiring 45s. They will be the Council of AME Bishops, is the inspired by his conduct who’ll want visionary who called the “Day of to grow up and be like him. We Action”. must watch for those who are on the The high-spirited two-day event horizon who must come this way.” drew hundreds to a day-long issues Franklyn pointed out that Africansymposium before the worship Americans are statistically worse service that drew more than a off than any other racial group in thousand. After the rally the next

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every social category in America. He then paralleled the current pains of black people to those suffered by the children of Israel in the book of Jeremiah as they suffered an economic crisis.

“The spring harvest has past and the summer has ended and though we have planted, there has been no harvest,” he paraphrased the biblical Prophet Jeremiah. “When you do not plant it is unreasonable to expect a harvest, but when you plant you ought to expect a harvest. We, African-Americans, have planted.

We didn’t just show up here and volunteer. We have been planting," he said citing how black people led in building America through fighting in wars and even building the White House and U. S. Capitol buildings.

(continued on page 17)

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10 • Sept. 19, 2018

The LEGACY

Va. tourism revenues reached $25 billion in ‘17 Virginia’s tourism revenues had another record-breaking year in 2017 by reaching $25 billion, a 4.4 percent increase over 2016, according to Virginia Tourism Corporation. This spending supported 232,000 jobs, $5.9 billion in salaries and wages, and $1.73 billion in state and local taxes. All Virginia localities saw an increase in travel expenditures in 2017 compared to previous year.

Arlington County received nearly $3.3 billion in domestic travel expenditures leading all of Virginia’s 133 counties and independent cities.

Fairfax County followed Arlington County closely, ranking second with $3.2 billion. Loudoun County ranked third with $1.8 billion; Virginia Beach City, fourth with $1.6 billion and Henrico County, fifth with $916 million.

Out of Virginia’s 133 counties and independent cities, 44 received more than $100 million in domestic travel expenditures in 2017. Forty three counties and independent cities in Virginia realized one thousand or more jobs that were directly supported by domestic travelers during 2017.

The travel industry in the commonwealth has continued to grow eight years in a row since the Great Recession, which officially lasted from December 2007 to June 2009. Travel expenditures increased at a compound annual growth rate of 3.9 percent since 2010.

Foodservices and lodging were among the top performing spending categories for domestic travelers in Virginia. Domestic travelers spent $7.4 billion on foodservices including restaurants and other eating and drinking places in 2017, up 3.6 percent from 2016. Spending on lodging including hotels/motels, campgrounds, time share and vacation homes rentals was $4.9 billion in 2017, accounting for 19.9 percent of domestic traveler spending, up 4.1 percent from 2016.

Likewise, the hotel industry had a robust year with all performance indicators rising in 2017 according to STR. Both room demand and supply

Virginia Beach City, which boasts a giant-size King Neptune statue, came in fourth with $1.6 billion. grew by 1.7 percent and 0.9 percent respectively. Average daily rates in Virginia hotels reaching to $109.66, with an increase of 2.2 percent, improved RevPAR (revenue per available room) by 2.9 percent. The occupancy percentages, percentage of available rooms that were sold, were at 63.9 percent.

The travel industry continues to be a premium in consumers’ minds with healthy economic indicators.

The focal shift from products to experiences, as well as the impact of technology influencing one-of-a-kind, local, bucket-list vacations have proven to be beneficial travel trends for Virginia’s tourism economy as it continues to grow year after year.

This data is final for 2017 and updated from the forecasted data previously provided in May 2018.

Gov. Ralph Northam announced recently that Virginia’s tourism revenues reached $25 billion in 2017, a 4.4 percent increase over 2016. In 2017, tourism in Virginia supported 232,000 jobs—an increase of 1.1 percent compared to 2016. The tourism industry also provided $1.73 billion in state and local revenue, an

increase of 2.8 percent compared to 2016. The travel industry is the fifth largest employer in Virginia.

In 2017, domestic travelers spent $68 million a day in Virginia, which represents a 4.4 percent increase over 2016. Domestic travelsupported employees in Virginia earned nearly $5.9 billion in payroll income during 2017, representing a 4.8 percent increase from 2016.

“Virginia’s tourism industry is an important diversifier for our economy as it continues to grow and flourish in multiple regions of our commonwealth,” said Northam.

“Travelers are coming to Virginia from across the country and the globe to experience our rich historic attractions, unmatched outdoor recreation offerings, eight oyster regions, world-class food and craft beverages, beautiful landscapes, and exciting arts and culture. These visitors are spending millions of dollars a day, injecting critical funds back into our community coffers and helping to make Virginia the best place to live, work, and raise a family.”

“Our tourism industry is an

important and vital component of economic growth and job creation in Virginia,” said Secretary of Commerce and Trade Brian Ball.

“As the tourism sector continues to grow and new product is developed, our communities across the state become even more dynamic and vibrant. Tourism is fortifying towns and cities across the commonwealth, engaging and unifying our communities, and making it easy to for travelers to discover for themselves why Virginia is for Lovers.”

The Virginia Tourism Corporation is the state agency responsible for marketing Virginia to visitors and promoting the Virginia is for Lovers brand, which will celebrate 50 years in 2019. Virginia is for Lovers is the longest-running state tourism slogan in the country.

The corporation receives its annual economic impact data from the U.S. Travel Association. The information is based on domestic visitor spending, travelers from within the United States, from per-person trips taken 50 miles or more away from home.

www.LEGACYnewspaper.com

Sept. 19, 2018 • 11

Peninsula Fine Arts Center announces access program for low-income families Peninsula Fine Arts Center (PFAC) has joined Museums for All, an access program of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), administered by the Association of Children’s Museums (ACM). The program is meant to encourage people of all backgrounds to visit museums regularly and build lifelong museum-going habits.

The program allows those receiving SNAP (food stamp) benefits to visit PFAC for a minimal fee of $3 per person, for up to four people, with the presentation of a SNAP Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card. Similar free and reduced admission is available to eligible

visitors at more than 250 museums across the country. PFAC, located within Mariners’ Museum Park in Newport News, hopes to include Museums for All as part of its broad commitment to seek, include, and welcome all audiences.

Museums for All, according to administrators, helps expand access to museums and also raise public awareness about how museums in the U.S. are reaching their entire communities. More than 250 institutions participate in the initiative, including art museums, children’s museums, science centers, botanical gardens, zoos, history museums, among others.

12 • Sept. 19, 2018

(from page 1) A friend came to visit the other day. He lost 28 guys in Vietnam. I asked him when the last time was that he visited Vietnam, and he replied, “2 a.m.” That hit me really hard. He said the key to living a happy life is to learn to deal with emotions and to process them in a healthy way. Otherwise the trauma of losing your friends in combat will destroy everything you love. For me, this means letting out emotions that will otherwise haunt me.

I believe the reason I’m still able to serve in uniform – and perhaps the reason I’m alive – is that I asked for help and I got it. It wasn’t a one-time thing. I continue to get help and seek healthy ways to deal with my own PTSD. We all have our own paths and methods to cope with struggles. I hope that by sharing my story of recovery, someone will choose to ask for help instead of letting their struggles destroy them.

The LEGACY

(from page 3) pursue it.” into 48 senior apartments – CPDC’s Matt Engel said it is not yet involved in the second Jackson Ward block project. The two groups (CPDC, RRHA) likewise collaborated on the $11.4 million conversion of the old Highland Park Public School into senior apartments.

Where CPDC led the rezoning for the first Jackson Place block after entering into a development agreement with RRHA, this latest rezoning is being led by the authority and fellow property owner Club 533, a private club located on the southeast corner of the block.

Hirschler Fleischer attorney Brian Jackson is representing the joint applicants in the rezoning process.

Engel said CPDC would be interested in responding to the RFP, but said the hotel component could take it out of contention.

“Given that we’re primarily an affordable-housing developer, it’s out of our bailiwick,” Engel said. “We have a good relationship with them.

I think if there was a piece that fit our development profile, we would

In the meantime, CPDC is pushing forward with Jackson Place, which is approved for three-story buildings totaling 154 apartments, 72 of which are designated for replacement housing for residents of RRHA’s Frederick A. Fay Towers, near Gilpin Court across the interstate.

Along with the Baker School and Highland Park Public School conversions, the three RRHA-CPDC projects are planned to relocate a total of 200 residents from Fay Towers, which is being eyed for redevelopment.

The remaining 82 units of Jackson Place will consist of studios and one- and two-bedroom apartments that would be a mix of income-based housing and market-rate rentals. The 2.5-acre development also will include 6,000 square feet of commercial space and 71 on-site parking spaces.

Columbia, Maryland-based Harkins Builders signed on as the contractor. The architect is Maryland-based Grimm and Parker, which also worked with CPDC on the Highland Park Senior Apartments.

The project will incorporate the existing Franciscan Covenant building and adjacent memorial bell garden, and include additional green space. The new buildings are meant to fit in with the height of the covenant building and existing two-story buildings on the block’s southeast corner.

Those properties – 700 and 706 N. Second St., and 110 E. Jackson St. – recently sold for $1.4 million to 700 N 2nd Street LLC, which is tied to an entity registered with the State Corporation Commission by Robert Edward Lee Wilson VI. The LLC was represented in the deal by One South Commercial’s Ann Schweitzer Riley, who did not return a call seeking comment. One South’s Tom Rosman and Lory Markham represented the seller, 700 Jackson Street LLC. Jackson Place adds to other new development in Jackson Ward. A few blocks west, construction is underway on EGP Properties’ $27 million Marshall Lofts, a five-story, 167-unit apartment project at 2 E. Marshall St.

www.LEGACYnewspaper.com

Sept. 19, 2018 • 13

Andrew Gillum, Stacey Abrams, & Ben Jealous could be the first black governors of their states. Here’s how they got this far

From left: Ben Jealous, Stacey Abrams, and Andrew Gillum SHAUN KING The United States does not currently have a single black governor — not one. Florida, Georgia, and Maryland have never had a black governor. No black person has ever been the Democratic Party nominee for governor in Florida or Georgia. But that seems poised to change.

Recently, Andrew Gillum pulled off a stunning win in Florida’s Democratic primary for governor. He joined Georgia’s Stacey Abrams and Maryland’s Ben Jealous as the third brilliant, successful, and progressive black leader elected to represent the

Democratic Party in a gubernatorial race this November. Each of those elections will be a brutal nail-biter, but success is possible.

I’m sorry if you’ve heard me say this before, but it’s hard to understand a moment in history when you are in it. History is better seen, understood, and valued in retrospect. Still, we can already tell that we’re witnessing something potentially monumental. I won’t go as far as calling this moment the new Reconstruction, but we haven’t seen the possibility of this type of political representation at the state level since the years following the Civil War.

How did this happen?

First, let me paint with broad strokes for a moment, then we can get down to the details.

The three candidates are widely known and respected in their home states. They are not fictional creations of a political machine.

They’ve been working hard for the people in Florida, Georgia, and Maryland for more than a decade.

They have well-established political networks there. Before this spotlight was on them, they had each already fought for change and won on many different occasions. Gillum, now the mayor of Tallahassee,

was the youngest person elected to its city council at age 23. Abrams is a former state lawmaker who served as the minority leader of Georgia’s House of Representatives for six years. Jealous is a first-time politician, who became an activist during his college years, eventually working his way up to become the NAACP’s youngest-ever president.

They understand the media landscape. They’ve been on the big stage. They’ve spoken to huge audiences. They understand the nuances of get-out-the-vote campaigns and polling locations.

(continued on page 15)

14 • Sept. 19, 2018

The LEGACY

Low academic prowess can lead to drug abuse decades later A Virginia Commonwealth University researcher has found that poor academic achievement can lead to substance abuse. Data collected from Swedish participants over a period of 15 to 20 years indicate a strong correlation.

Kenneth Kendler, M.D., director of VCU’s Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, and collaborators from Lund University and the Karolinska Institute, which are both in Sweden, and the University of Florida recently published their findings in JAMA Psychiatry.

Kendler said results show that interventions for struggling adolescents could decrease the likelihood of drug abuse.

“Our results show, using two different and complementary methods, that improvements in academic achievement in 16-yearolds will produce a lowering in their subsequent risk for drug abuse,” Kendler said. “This is especially important because interventions to improve student morale and the quality of teacherstudent relationships have already been shown to produce short-term reductions in drug use.”

The researchers measured the correlation between academic achievement at 16 years of age and drug abuse by analyzing nationwide data from Swedish-born individuals. They followed 934,462 participants for 15 to 20 years.

Analysis also revealed that birth month influenced academic achievement, which helped lead the authors to conclude that most of the relationship between academic achievement and subsequent drug abuse was causal. Typically, children born later in the year are less developed and do worse academically than children their age born earlier in the year. But when the early month of birth factor was controlled for academic

achievement, the researchers found that it was not linked with risk for drug abuse.

The collaborators also analyzed 263,222 pairs of cousins, 154,295 full siblings and 1,623 identical twins

with dissimilar levels of academic achievement.

Both methods showed a link between academic achievement assessed at age 16 and increased future risk for substance abuse.

“We are pursuing several additional projects utilizing the resources of these Swedish registries to further understand a range of risk factors for the development of drug abuse,” Kendler said.

Sept. 19, 2018 • 15

www.LEGACYnewspaper.com

Bob Woodward to speak at VCU’s Singleton Center Legendary journalist Bob Woodward’s upcoming talk at Virginia Commonwealth University has been moved to a larger venue in response to anticipated crowd size.

Woodward, a Pulitzer Prizewinning investigative journalist, associate editor of The Washington Post and author of many books, including “Fear: Trump in the White House,” will speak at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 25, at the W.E. Singleton Center for the Performing

(from page 13 They’ve built and managed teams and organizations. They are each seen as young — Jealous is 45, Abrams is 44, and Gillum is 39, but they are actually seasoned political veterans who’ve been in the public sphere their entire adult lives.

You have to start there. Anything else will put the credit for their victories where it doesn’t quite belong. Gillum, Abrams, and Jealous won because their entire lives and careers built up to this moment.

I don’t mean to sound brash, but they are winners. They expected to win. They’ve won before. And that matters.

All three of them are also practical, down-to-earth bridge builders. They have strong views and policies, yes, but all three understand that to get stuff done on the state or local level, you have to build functional coalitions of diverse groups. The base of that coalition may very well be black — each of them has a very strong base of black support that they build and work from — but they learned a long time ago how to build broader coalitions in order to accomplish their goals.

Enter Sen. Bernie Sanders He endorsed Gillum, Abrams, and Jealous, and he also traveled to Florida and Maryland to campaign

Bob Woodward

Arts, 922 Park Ave. Doors will open at 5 p.m. and seating will be limited.

This event is part of the VCU Humanities Research Center's Fall 2018 Speaker Series. It is co-sponsored by the Office of the President and the Richard T. Robertson School of Media and Culture in the College of Humanities and Sciences.

Woodward’s talk, “Truth, Freedom of Expression, Democracy and the Age of the American Presidency,”

will be free and open to the public.

Tickets and registration are not required.

In the event that the Singleton Center is filled to capacity, video of the event will also be streamed to three large overflow spaces on campus: the James W. Black Music Center Recital Hall, 1015 Grove Ave.; the Lecture Hall (Room 303) of James Branch Cabell Library, 901 Park Ave; and Room 1164 of the T. Edward Temple Building, 901 W. Main St.

alongside the candidates there.

(Sanders endorsed Jealous almost a year ahead of his June primary, but he announced his support for Gillum and Abrams just weeks before their elections.) The Vermont senator’s efforts helped solidify the progressive base for those candidates. They’ll each tell you that it made a difference. In fact, Gillum tweeted as much within hours of winning his election. Sanders’s support wasn’t enough for them to win, of course, but it definitely helped. His base is deeply committed and trusts him. They donate. They show up to events. They volunteer and phone-bank. Sanders’s network supercharged the trio’s already progressive campaigns.

Let’s pause right there for a moment. This is a huge deal. By bringing together a highly engaged black voting base with Sanders’s deeply committed core base of supporters, Gillum, Abrams, and Jealous have accomplished what Democrats will need to do if they are going to have any real success moving forward — they have unified the devoted base of the Democratic Party with the Berniecrats. That’s no small feat — and I’m not sure anybody other than these three black candidates for governor could’ve done it this way.

So that’s the macro-narrative.

Gillum, Abrams, and Jealous won

because they are deeply rooted, highly experienced political organizers with pre-established bases of support who knew that, in order to win, they’d need smart coalitions.

But politics is local. And the fact is that Gillum, Abrams, and Jealous made a slew of essential local decisions that resonated well with voters. Essentially, instead of jumping to the middle, and not really committing to serious policy reforms, they did the exact opposite and took strong stands on expanding access to health care, criminal justice reform, civil rights and voting rights, a living wage, better schools and better pay for teachers, and so much more. Those issues resonated deeply with voters — so much that Gillum was outspent by a factor of five by the establishment favorite in the race, Gwen Graham, but still won. (Gillum was the only non-millionaire in the race, but his financial backing by liberal billionaires George Soros and Tom Steyer, through their groups the Open Society Foundations and NextGen America, was instrumental to his campaign.)

Gillum also took a meaningful stand on an issue that resonates strongly with voters by Florida, which has seen a number of high-profile mass shootings in recent years: gun reform. He was

celebrated in early 2017 for beating back a lawsuit filed by the gun lobby and supported by the National Rifle Association. No other candidate could say that. In exchange, he got the support of gun reform groups like Moms Demand Action, which endorsed him in April. Young activist survivors of the Parkland school shooting campaigned for him.

All of that mattered But in the end, Gillum, Abrams, and Jealous made it this far because they out-organized their opponents.

They built complex ground games that got people out to vote. They crisscrossed their states, holding rallies and town halls, shaking hands, looking voters directly in the eye, and answering tough questions.

They went to community centers and senior citizen homes. They held large events, but ultimately won people over in living rooms and at kitchen tables.

Many things about how the 2016 presidential campaign went down turned me off to the Democratic Party. And it’s not just the presidency: The party has no control over either the House or the Senate.

The same goes for the majority of state legislatures and governorships across the country. But these candidates give me hope. They are different.

16 • Sept. 19, 2018

Calendar

9.19, 7 p.m.

Members of the Ostomy Association of Greater Richmond, a support group for ostomates, will dedicate their September meeting to offering tips and trials based on personal experiences. They’ll meet in the Williamsburg- A conference room, Henrico Doctors’ Hospital, 1601 Skipwith Rd. Newcomers and friends alike are invited to attend. Questions? Call Mike Rollston at 804- 232-1916, or email him at agriva@comcast.net.

9.22 - 30

Henrico Restaurant Week will return for its fourth year this time to benefit the Henrico Police Athletic League.

The event will offer diners a chance to experience a taste of Henrico at a number of participating county restaurants, while at the same time helping to raise funds for the Henrico PAL program, which has assisted at-risk children and teens since its formation in 2007.

Since its inception in April 2015, Henrico Restaurant Week has raised more than $18,000 for the Virginia Home for Boys and Girls, the Coal Pit Learning Center and the Henrico Christmas Mother.

This year’s edition of HRW will again offer diners the opportunity to enjoy two-course lunches for $10 or $15 and three-course dinners for $20, $25 or $30 at participating Henrico restaurants. Participating restaurants and sponsors will make donations to the Henrico PAL. The title sponsor of this year’s event is Publix. For more information, visit Facebook.com/ HenricoRestaurantWeek.

M ...advertised here. oments

&e m o r i e s

The LEGACY

COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES & EVENTS

A passport to travel

Tourists and locals alike are invited to discover the area’s treasures spanning 400 years of fascinating history, including historic homes, museums and other one-of-a-kind attractions. Twenty of the Richmond region’s historic sites will offer visitors a “Passport” to time-travel during a special admissionfree weekend, Sept. 22-23.

Each site will offer complimentary admission to visitors who show a Time Travelers Passport, available via download from the participating locations’ websites. Participating locations include, among others: The American Civil War Museum – Museum & White House of the Confederacy Best known as the Confederate executive mansion for Jefferson Davis and his family from 1861-1865, the house provides an ideal opportunity for exploring the full breadth and memory of the Civil War in Richmond. In its 200 year history, the house has served many roles: a private residence for Richmond's influencers, a headquarters of U.S. occupying forces during Reconstruction, the Richmond Central School, The Confederate Museum, and now the fully restored White House of the Confederacy.

All tours are guided and space is limited. As part of the house’s bicentennial, a special themed Lincoln & Davis tour begins at 1:30 p.m. Located at 1201 E. Clay St. in Richmond, The American Civil War Museum’s White House of the Confederacy will be open Sat.-Sun. from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

For more information, call 804-649-1861 or visit www.acwm.org. Attendees can use the passport to receive a free tour of the White House of the Confederacy OR a free tour of Historic Tredegar.

Prostate Cancer Awareness

Men’s Health Network is observing Prostate Cancer Awareness Month in September and is inviting you to take part in spreading awareness about prostate health.

Prostate cancer remains the leading cancer in American men; about 2.8 million men are living with the disease with almost 30,000 men dying each year. The American Cancer Society reports that approximately 164,690 men are expected to be diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2018.

MHN will continue awareness efforts during September with health screenings, partnerships, Twitter chats, and media engagement. Want to get involved during the awareness period?

For more on Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, visit the website prostatecancerawarenessmonth.com/- that has free downloadable fact sheets, brochures, and posters, links to national advocacy organizations, and a social media toolkit. To learn more about prostate cancer and prostate health, visit the Prostate Health Guide at http://www.prostatehealthguide.com/and the Men’s Health Resource Center at http://www.MensHealthResourceCenter.com .

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

Include the who, what, where, when & contact information that can be printed. Deadline is Friday.

9.22, 5 p.m.

Join the Marshall G. Johnson Scholarship Committee for a musical evening with the Richmond Boys Choir in Concert. The concert will be held at Pilgrim Journey Baptist Church, 7204 Bethlehem Rd., Henrico.

Top off your evening with a dessert buffet following the program. Enjoy the sweet taste of music and desserts, while helping students with college expenses!

Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for children under 12. For additional information and tickets e-mail, bngtrainer@comcast.net .

9.27, 6:30 p.m.

Virginia Credit Union will offer a free interactive workshop focused on the financial challenges of young adults. “Adulting 101: Smart Choices to Succeed in Your Finances” will cover money management principles and offer an in-depth look at effective cash flow, understanding student loans, and building a savings and investing plan.

The workshop be offered at the Henrico County Library Tuckahoe Branch, 1901 Starling Dr. To register, call 804-323-6800 or visit www.vacu.org/seminars

Sex Offender Helpline

The helpline provides support to communities on issues related to accessing sex offender registration information; responsible use of information; sexual abuse prevention resources; and accessing crime victim support services.

The tips program provides the public an opportunity to report registrants who are failing to comply with registration requirements.

Tips can also be provided at www.parentsformeganslaw.org.

This program is not intended to be used to report police emergencies.

Sept. 19, 2018 • 17

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(from page 9) “Seems like the harvest has come but we didn’t get any of the harvest.

It was enough harvest for everybody, but the harvest was inequitably distributed. The folk who got the harvest, took the harvest and passed it on to their children,” he said to the applauding and shouting congregation. “We as pastors, we must focus on what our people are going through. I don’t mean the members of our churches. I mean the collective African-American people!”

The next day, Lafayette Square was filled with prayers, songs of praise and calls for social Justice as the Bishops of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church hosted a rally across from the White House to persuade President Trump to change his political ways.

The event, entitled a “Call for Conscience/Forward to Action”, featured leaders of the AME church and other national church leaders - young and old. They made it clear that they are organizing a massive get out to vote campaign that they hope will oust Republicans in Congress who simply have rubber stamped the president’s efforts to turn back the civil rights clock in many areas.

“We are here today because our cause is right, we are here today because we are sending a message, we are here today because we want to let this country know we ain’t going [to] let nobody turn us around,” said Bishop Gregory G.M. Ingram, prelate of the 1st Episcopal District who opened the rally with prayer and statement of purpose.

“We are here today because we have gone through so much, we have prayed too long, we have walked too far.”

Ingram came to the District with a bus load of congregants because he represents churches in Bermuda and much of the Northeastern United States including New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware.

Ingram was among more than a

Bishop Reginald T. Jackson dozen speakers to address the more than 1,000 congregants gathered in Lafayette Park. Speakers included veterans of the Civil Rights movement such as Rainbow/PUSH president/CEO Rev. Jesse Jackson; Bishop Reginald Jackson, president of the Bishops’ Council of the AME Church, who issued and led the call; and Rev. W. Franklyn Richardson, pastor of the Grace Baptist Church in New York and former general secretary of the National Baptist Convention USA, Inc. Other speakers included Bishop E. Anne Henning-Byfield of the 16th Episcopal AME District; Rev. Stephen Green, pastor of Heard AME Church in Roselle, N.J.; Pastor Jamal-Harrison Bryant of Empowerment Temple in Baltimore; radio talk show host and civil rights leader Barbara Arnwine, and poet and Morgan State University Professor Sheri Booker.

Bishop Jackson told the demonstrators that even though President Trump recently met with a small group of black pastors he

really hasn’t heard from the heart of black America.

“President Trump has heard from the professional prophets but now he is going to hear from God's prophets,” he said.

Rev. Jesse Jackson said that the best way to even the political playing field with Trump is at the ballot box. "November 6th, that’s our date and destiny: Ayanna Pressley, Massachusetts; Ben Jealous, Maryland; Stacey Abrams, Georgia, Andrew Gillum, Florida; Mike Espy, Mississippi," he said, pointing out major races around the nation with key African-American candidates.

During a press conference held at the Metropolitan AME Church in downtown D.C., Bishop Reginald Jackson and other church leaders talked about the importance of the election and how they plan to organize get out to vote rallies in local churches across the country.

“It is so important that the body of Christ, particularly the black church, operates with some level of moral authority,” said Rev. Jamal

Bryant, pastor of Empowerment Temple in Baltimore. “In the face of depravity and corruption of morality in the White House we have got to speak truth to power, we can not be silent in the church.”

Nebo AME Church, said “the event was keeping with the spirit and the legacy of the founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Richard Allen, who spoke out against injustice, spoke out against racism. That was 220 years ago and here we are in 2018 having to have voices spoken loudly against racism, sexism, ageism and the nefarious policies of this current administration.”

During a press conference after the rally the Bishops talked about formulating a nationwide campaign to get out the vote. Bryant said that they had received a call from the White House in which Jared Kushner wanted to speak and set up a future meeting. But Bishop Reginald Jackson said the church is interested in real progress - not “photo ops”.

18 • Sept. 19, 2018

409 E. Main St. #4 (mailing) • 105 1/2 Richmond, E. Clay St. VA (office) 23219 Richmond, VA 23219 804-644-1550 (office) • 800-783-8062 (fax) 804-644-1550 (office) - 1-800-782-8062 (fax) ads@legacynewspaper.com ads@legacynewspaper.com

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LEGAL, EMPLOYMENT, ANNOUNCEMENTS, FOR SALE, SERVICES Ad Size: 3 inches (1 column(s) X 3 inches)

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT THE CITY OF RICHMOND BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS Will hold a Public Hearing in the 5th Floor Conference Room, City Hall, 900 East Broad Street, Richmond, VA on October 3, 2018, to consider the following under Chapter 30 of the Zoning Code: BEGINNING AT 1:00 P.M. 34-18: An application of Todd M. & Megan Pierce for a building permit for alterations to increase the height of an existing one-story detached garage accessory to a single-family detached dwelling at 120 SOUTH COLONIAL AVENUE. 35-18: An application of Richard G. Day for a building permit for a twostory addition to connect existing 3-story and 2-story vacant buildings and create a multi-family building containing three dwelling units at 308 EAST LEIGH STREET. 36-18: An application of Evolve Hld LLC for a building permit to construct a mixed-use building containing 1,362 square feet of gross floor area of commercial space on the ground level and thirteen (13) dwelling units at 1100 NORTH 30th STREET. Roy W. Benbow, Secretary Phone: (804) 240-2124 Fax: (804) 646-5789 E-mail: Roy.Benbow@richmondgov.com

HEALTH/PERSONALS/MISCELLANEOUS IF YOU HAD HIP OR KNEE REPLACEMENT SURGERY AND SUFFERED AN INFECTION between 2010 and the present time, you may be entitled to compensation.

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Thinking of HALDER GROUP, AdLLC Size: 8.66 inches (2 columns X 4.33 inches) buying a new or 2 issues - Sept. 12 & 19 - $66 TRADING as AAA Deals 8920 W. Broad St, used car?

2 Issues - Sept. 19 & 26 - ($95.26 per run) $190.52 total Includes Internet placement Richmond VA 23294-5803 Rate: $11 per column inch (Henrico County) Please reviewyou the proof, makeinterest any needed andfor return by fa The above establishment is applying Thank for your in changes applying If your response is not received by deadline, your ad may not b Internet placement to the VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT Includes OF opportunities with The City of Richmond.

ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL X________________________________________ for a winePlease and beer reviewoffthepremises proof, make any needed changes and return by faxTo or e-mail. seeOkwhat opportunities are available, please license to Ifsell alcoholic beverages. your response is not receivedCall by deadline, ad may not berefer inserted. to get your current to our website at www.richmondgov.com.

PRANESH HALDER, OWNER. promotional pricing Ok with changes ____________________________ Note: Objections toOk theX_________________________________________ issuance of EOEX M/F/D/V and local dealer this license must be submitted to incentives for free.

ABC no later than 30 days from the REMINDER: Deadline is Fridays @ 5 p.m.

No hassle. No publishing date of the first of two Ok with changes X _____________________________ required newspaper legal notices. obligation.

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We are asking that you make tax deductible donation to our organization. We gratefully appreciate your continued support of our goals to help others.

We have opened an additional office in Newport News, and making plans to operate an additional office in Saluda, where we’ve been offered office space, a four bedroom house and double wide trailer on 10 acres of land for transitional housing for formerly incarcerated person. It is our vision to offer housing, job readiness training, employment and opportunity for individuals throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia for a second chance at life “To Get It Right” For more information: Richard Walker, 804 248-6756

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Sept. 19, 2018 • 19

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PRINT & DIGITAL AD SALES EXECUTIVE

WANTED TO BUY OR TRADE FREON R12 WANTED: CERTIFED BUYER will PAY CA$H for R12 cylinders or cases of cans. (312) 291-9169; www. refrigerantfinders.com

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-American-oriented 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.

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

Call 804-644-1550 EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY NOTICE 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 hearing-impaired, call (804) 367-9753 or e-mail fairhousing@ dpor.virginia.gov.

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