TLN-11-13-19

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EGACY

• Good foster parents needed • More changes for Va. after elections • Victimization and injustice questions • Black Americans and spotswear companies

Yesterday. Today. Tomorrow.

WEDNESDAYS • Nov. 13, 2019

INSIDE

Richmond & Hampton Roads

LEGACYNEWSPAPER.COM • FREE

Things Northam says he will (and maybe won’t) do with a Democratic majority MECHELLE HANKERSON

VM - For the first time in 26 years, Democrats will have complete legislative control and an ally in the Executive Mansion.

It means the policies and proposals that have floundered under a Republican majority stand a chance, as long as it gets the final approval of Gov. Ralph Northam’s signature.

“I think Virginians spoke...,” Northam said in a public cabinet meeting held the morning after elections. “They like the progress we’ve made in the last two years.

I believe we have a unique opportunity in the next two years.”

Northam discussed a few policy areas he was all in on and some supported by more progressive members of his party that he appears less excited about.

Guns Northam said he said he thinks Democratic voters were especially incensed over Republicans’ failure to pass gun violence prevention laws after the Virginia Beach mass shooting. He’s open to whatever legislation comes his way, but said he’s especially focused on eight policies he set forth for the special legislative session he called in June to address gun violence in the state.

“They’re pieces of legislation that will save lives, they’re also pieces of legislation that Virginians agree

Gov. Ralph Northam held a public cabinet meeting after last week’s election to lay out his policy goals for the coming legislative session -- bills that have failed in past years but are now likely to pass under Democratic control of the General Assembly. PHOTO: Ned Oliver/Virginia Mercury with,” Northam said. “We’ll at least start with those.”

His list: Universal background checks A ban on weapons with high-

capacity magazines, suppressors and bump stocks Reinstating Virginia’s onehandgun-a-month rule Requiring reporting of lost and stolen firearms within 24 hours

An extreme risk protection, or red flag, law Tougher penalties for allowing children under 18 to access to loaded firearms

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The LEGACY

2 • Nov. 13, 2019

News

Needed: Newport News foster care families There are currently 170 Newport News children in foster care as of September 2019.

Over 30 percent of these children are placed in homes outside of the city due to a lack of foster care homes in Newport News. To increase the number of available foster care homes in the city, the Newport News Department of Human Services (DHS) is beginning the “Our Kids, Our Community” campaign, with a goal of recruiting 60 new foster homes in Newport News in 2020.

To launch the campaign, DHS is hosting an informational event on Thursday, November 14 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Newport News Marriott at City Center. Residents are invited to attend to learn about foster care, the 2020 campaign and how they can make a positive

(from page 1) Allowing municipalities to “enact any firearms ordinances that are stricter than state law” Prohibiting anyone subject to a protective order from possessing firearms All of those proposals died in committee during the regular session and were referred to the State Crime Commission. Lawmakers are due back in Richmond Nov. 18 to reconsider the legislation, but Northam isn’t holding his breath that anything will come of it.

“Here we are in November,” he said. “Right around the corner is January and we’ll be back in session so I suspect most of the work will be done in January.”

Confederate monuments Northam reiterated said he’s ready to let localities decide what to do with their Confederate monuments.

“The localities are in the best position to make that decision,” he said. “Obviously there needs to be

difference in the lives of Newport News children in need. The event is free and online registration

a change in the code to do that. I suspect legislation will be introduced to move in that direction.”

The issue is playing out courts across the state, including Charlottesville and Norfolk.

Labor policy Northam isn’t biting on policy ideas from younger, more progressive members of his party.

He said he doesn’t deal with “hypotheticals,” like some members’ calls to repeal the state’s longstanding Right to Work law, which prohibits unions from, for instance, making dues mandatory in organized workplaces.

Democratic Socialist Del. Lee Carter in Manassas is the lead voice in pushing for that repeal. He filed legislation for it and a bill that would allow government employees, like teachers, to strike without punishment.

Older Democrats have balked at Carter’s suggestion to repeal the Right to Work law.

is required. For more information, contact the DHS Resource Unit at fosterparenting@nnva.gov or 757-926-6283.

So who can become a foster parent? Foster parents must be 21 years of age or older, can be married or single, must have enough income to meet their own expenses, and be able to provide a safe, healthy home with enough space for a child.

Foster parents must undergo a background check and screening and attend training sessions.

The average age of youth in Virginia foster care is eight. These kids need loving homes with caring adults to support them during difficult times. Join us on November 14 and learn how you can give children in Newport News the comfort and care they need and change their lives.

Northam, who enjoyed success as a state senator and whose moderate politics were hailed as a key to winning his gubernatorial race, didn’t say what he would do if those sorts of things made it to him.

“That’s a hypothetical question,” he said. “I don’t deal with hypothetical questions, I deal with what’s put on my desk.”

Carter’s bills languished in committees this year.

Northam said he’s focused on “realities,” like helping workers by making sure people get training for available jobs and raising the minimum wage.

Minimum wage But Northam isn’t ready to say how high the state’s minimum wage should go or how fast it should get there. He’s only willing to say it needs to more than $7.25 an hour.

“I think all of us can hopefully agree there’s no way you can support yourself or your family on $7.25 an hour,” he said. Past proposals from

Democrats to raise the minimum wage have “fallen on deaf ears,” according to Northam.

In this year’s General Assembly session, legislation from Sen. Rosalyn Dance, D-Petersburg, would have incrementally raised minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2021.

Marijuana As part of his larger criminal justice reform effort, Northam is ready to decriminalize marijuana.

Decriminalization isn’t the same as legalization. He didn’t mention legalization, which would allow recreational marijuana use.

Northam’s version of loosening marijuana-related punishment would make violations related to the drug a civil offense instead of criminal — like getting a traffic ticket instead of going to jail.

He’s supported decriminalization since his 2017 gubernatorial run and several lawmakers who support it have said they expect traction on the issue with a Democratic majority.

www.LEGACYnewspaper.com

Nov. 13, 2019 • 3

At a Richmond elementary school, VCU students are helping to support immigrant students, families In the library of J.L. Francis Elementary School in South Richmond, VCU School of Dentistry student Laura Choque is telling dozens of students and their families — many of them recent immigrants to the United States — about the dental services available at Virginia Commonwealth University for little or no cost.

“We host events at the school that benefit kids but also parents. For example, we have this event called Give Kids a Smile where we treat children and we provide the services for free,” said Choque, who spoke to the families in Spanish. “It might be a cleaning or a filling, but we do it all for free.”

Choque’s presentation is part of a wider effort this fall by the School of World Studies in the College of

Humanities and Sciences, the School of Dentistry and the Center for Community Engagement and Impact at VCU to support the elementary school, which has a growing Hispanic population and that is nearly three-quarters economically disadvantaged.

“I thought it would be a good idea to ‘adopt’ a [Richmond public] school this semester to see how we could help out,” Nadal said. Her course, “Spanish 322: Hispanic Immigrants in the U.S.,” aims to teach students about Hispanic/Latinx cultures, and help them develop an understanding of the differences and values in the community, as well as the life conditions, efforts, struggles and needs that affect the life of Hispanic immigrants in the U.S. “I've been trying to help them

Work begins on $1.3m Abner Clay Park rehab MIKE PLATANIA RBS - With fencing up and bulldozers humming, the renovation of a Jackson Ward park is underway.

Abner Clay Park at 501 Brook Road is getting a $1.3 million renovation that will include a new grass field, pavilion and basketball court.

The city began work on the 4-acre site in September with the demolition of a gazebo that was near the intersection of West Clay Street and Brook Road.

Crews also have begun tearing up the park’s main feature – a large field that’s being replaced with new grass to be used as a multi-use sports field and lawn event space. A public art display is also part of the renovation project.

Tamara Jenkins, spokeswoman for the Richmond Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities, said the project is scheduled to be finished by September 2020.

The renovation of Abner Clay Park has been in the works for years but started gaining steam last year when local engineering firm Timmons Group submitted plans to the city.

The $1.3 million budget comes from existing parks department funding, Jenkins said.

While much of the park has been closed and fenced off during construction, its children’s playground along West Clay remains open.

Anita Nadal to learn the alphabet and English sounds,” she said. “It's been a lot of fun. The kids are great. They’re so happy to have somebody speak a little Spanish to them, and to explain what’s going on with the alphabet and how Spanish and English are a little different.”

Wreskinski created a poster of the alphabet, illustrated with Spanish and English words, that can be taped to the boys’ desks for quick reference. “They don't necessarily have a lot of materials here for Spanish-speaking children, so I've been making my own,” she said.

Another student, Dominique Martinez, a senior homeland security major in the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs, has been working in a fifth-grade class and a kindergarten class, helping them learning English and math. Martinez is not fluent in Spanish, but is proficient enough that she has been able to work with the children.

“You don’t have to be that fluent in order to speak to the really, really small children. If they’ve recently started learning English, especially the kindergarteners and first-graders, you’re using basic vocabulary,” she said. “At higher grades, you might have to help ESL students with math, like long division and multiplication — that’s a little more rigorous.”

Nadal received a grant from VCU’s Service-Learning Program Office in August to support her students’

travel to and from J.L. Francis Elementary, and also to pay fees for the background check required of Richmond Public Schools volunteers.

The class’ service-learning work at J.L. Francis came about after Nadal was invited by Laura Middlebrooks, Ph.D., teaching assistant professor in the School of World Studies, to speak at the school’s career day in March.

Susie R. Goolsby, D.D.S., associate professor and director of student recruitment at the School of Dentistry, spread the word among dentistry students, helping to find Spanish-speaking dental students who would go to the school and talk about oral hygiene and give out toothbrushes and toothpaste.

Students from the Latin American Student Association at VCU also got involved, and are organizing an effort to collect clothing. The Barnes and Noble at VCU has donated bilingual books and School of World Studies students are holding a book drive for the school.

“Groups from all over campus have come together,” Nadal said. “I think that it shows our strong dedication and commitment to our community.”

Henry Jimenez, a VCU alumnus and the site coordinator for Communities in Schools at J.L. Francis Elementary who led the recent event for Spanish-speaking families, said the school greatly appreciates the time and enthusiasm of the VCU volunteers.

“They come with a willingness to help wherever is needed and that in itself is amazing,” he said. “Every day after volunteering, the students tell me about happy moments that they had during their time here at Francis and it warms my heart. The students enjoy having them in the school as well as the teachers and administrators.

“As a former Ram myself, I am excited to see fellow Rams give back to the community,” he added. “I look forward to continue working with these students and new students in the future.”

The LEGACY

4 • Nov. 13, 2019

Activists: Dominion Energy’s previously commanding role in Virginia politics Activists are celebrating what they call “a decisive rebuke” to Dominion Energy’s electoral spending.

“Voters in Virginia overwhelmingly rejected the monopoly’s attempts to influence Virginia’s political system in statewide elections” last week, noted the activists. All seven flipped seats in the House of Delegates and state Senate went to candidates who refused campaign contributions from the utility monopolies they will regulate in the General Assembly — Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power Company. This issue resonated with Virginian voters across party lines, noted the activists, as two Republican incumbents who also refused these campaign contributions kept their seats in highly contested races.

In response to the results of Virginia’s General Assembly elections, in which nearly 50 seats went to candidates who rejected campaign contributions from utility monopolies, said Clean Virginia executive director Brennan Gilmore.

“Clean Virginia congratulates the winners of this year’s General Assembly elections, particularly those who rejected campaign contributions from utility monopolies like Dominion Energy. Candidates who stood up to Dominion and defied its political power beat incumbents who failed to take a principled stance against monopoly corruption.

Dominion was on the ballot this year, and it lost despite its last-ditch efforts at defeating champions of clean energy and clean government.”

“Now is the time for [election] night’s winners to stand up for people over profits. The General Assembly must aggressively advocate for energy reform in Virginia, meaning lower bills for everyday people, clean energy that empowers communities,

Thomas F. Farrell, III and a competitive 21st century energy economy. Virginia needs the voter enthusiasm to propel our new delegates and senators to pass laws in 2020 that protect our environment, our wallets, and our democracy.”

Delegates and senators who have a principled stance against accepting campaign contributions from Virginia’s top utility monopolies, Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power Company, now make up onethird of the General Assembly.

Del.John Bell, flipped state Senate District 13, a rural-suburban district in Northern Virginia. Bell led 2019 efforts in the House of Delegates to ban campaign contributions from public service corporations, including utility monopolies like Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power.

Ghazala Hashmi made history by being the first Muslim-American woman elected to the Virginia State Senate representing District 10.

Dominion Energy gave Ghazala’s opponent nearly $60,000 this cycle, including a $20,000 last-minute contribution three days before the election.

Two Republican incumbents who publicly refused campaign contributions kept their seats

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www.LEGACYnewspaper.com

Nov. 13, 2019• 5

Virginia pledges $1 billion for tech talent pipeline LINDSAY McKENZIE IHE - Virginia will produce an additional 31,000 technology graduates over the next 20 years, Gov. Ralph Northam (D) announced last week.

That goal is an expansion of the state’s originally stated legislative target of graduating 25,000 additional students with technology degrees by 2039. Virginia's public universities currently award approximately 1,300 bachelor’s degrees and 400 master’s degrees in computer science per year, according to the governor’s office.

The push to boost the tech talent pipeline was driven by the imminent arrival of Amazon in Virginia. The Seattle-based company is building a second headquarters near Arlington, Va., and is expected to create thousands of jobs in the region for skilled workers, particularly those with cloud computing expertise.

To boost the number of computer science graduates produced by the state, 11 universities are expected to share a total of $961.5 million in state funding over the next two decades. The funding will be awarded on an annual basis and is subject to the universities meeting certain enrollment and fundraising targets set by the state. The agreements can be accessed here.

“This initiative is an investment in Virginians,” Northam said in a news release. “Virginia’s tech sector will continue booming only if we can train the workforce that those jobs require.

With today’s announcement, we are educating a workforce that will fill jobs at hundreds of tech companies around the Commonwealth, including at Amazon.”

Northam approved $16.6 million for the Tech Talent Investment Program in the state budget earlier this year, however, the allocations to individual universities had not previously been announced. New details of this first round of funding allocations show Virginia Tech and George Mason University will receive the lion’s share of the funding. This reflects the fact that they are projected to enroll the most additional students.

Both Virginia Tech and George Mason pledged to significantly expand their tech degree programs and to build new facilities in response to Amazon’s HQ2 announcement in 2018. Inside Higher Ed reported earlier this year that George Mason’s ambitious target of more than doubling the size of its computer science degree programs

by 2024 seemed unlikely given the relatively small amount of funding the university had so far secured from the state.

George Mason was awarded $7.5 million in the 2019 state budget to knock down an old building

on the university’s campus in Arlington and make room for the construction of a new 400,000 square-foot Institute for Digital InnovAtion

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6 • Nov. 13, 2019

Op/Ed & Letters

The LEGACY

Want to help workers work?

Keep Va.’s right to work law CHRIS BRAUNLICH Are a majority of Democrats elected to the Virginia General Assembly “anti-worker?” Based on their response to a Virginia Chamber of Commerce survey, it would seem that way.

They were surveyed on whether they would support Virginia’s Right To Work (RTW) laws. Republicans were unanimously supportive.

Democrats were almost equally opposed to retaining Virginia’s 72-year-old law, with only five responding they would keep it.

The “comments” section of the survey betrayed the ignorance of many candidates about the advantages of Right To Work, portraying the law as a Dickensian throwback pitting businesses against workers with some citing a questionable recent Oxfam survey (see accompanying column by Chris Saxman) ranking Virginia low on “best state for workers.”

The truth shows a very different picture. Study after study demonstrates that a state Right To Work law improves not only the opportunity for a worker to have a job, but also drives personal incomes higher.

These considerations are important. Republicans and Democrats alike have expressed The LEGACY NEWSPAPER Vol. 5 No. 46 Mailing Address P.O. Box 12474 Richmond, VA 23241 Office Address 105 1/2 E. Clay St. Richmond, VA 23219 Call: 804-644-1550 Online www.legacynewspaper.com

concern about Virginia's reliance on the federal government for jobs, whether directly or indirectly through federal contracting. Only by building and maintaining a robust manufacturing and high tech sector will Virginia retain, for example, CNBC’s ranking of Virginia as “Best State for Business.” In doing so, CNBC cited Right To Work laws as a factor.

The issue of a state’s labor laws is important to businesses of all stripes, and is among the reasons Amazon reversed its decision to build a second headquarters in New York City. Despite $3 billion in state subsidies, the tech giant walked when told by officials in the Big Apple that $150,000-a-year tech workers would have to join a union.

Simply put: Right To Work laws are attractive to employers. And without employers, there are no employees.

What does the evidence show? Do Right To Work laws help businesses or workers? The answer to both is “yes.”

In a May 2018 study, Dr. Jeffrey Eisenach, Managing Director at National Economic Research Associates and an adjunct professor at George Mason University examined data comparing economic outcomes in Right To Work states with non-Right To Work states, 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

noting “the data is consistent with, and thus supportive of, the results of more than four decades of rigorous economic research.”

Whether private sector employment, the unemployment rate, manufacturing output or higher personal incomes businesses and workers in RTW states do better than those in non-RTW states.

Between 2001 and 2016 ...

Private sector employment in RTW states grew by 27 percent, compared with 15 percent in non-RTW states.

The annual unemployment rate in RTW states was, on average 0.4 percentage points lower than in non-RTW states. While four-tenths of one percent may not seem like much, if those non-RTW states had had the same unemployment rate as RTW states, there would have been 249,000 more Americans employed in 2017.

Real manufacturing output rose by more than 30 percent in RTW states compared with 21 percent in nonRTW states.

The reason all this is important?

According to Eisenach’s study, higher growth rates translate into higher personal income, rising 39 percent in RTW states vs. 26 percent in non-RTW states. This echoes a 2003 study conducted by

Robert Reed for the Journal of Labor Research, finding wages 6.7 percent higher in RTW states than in nonRTW states.

Five states have passed Right To Work laws since 2012. Former union strongholds like Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin have turned away from laws forcing workers into unions and those states have seen dramatic economic growth improving the condition of workers’ lives: In Indiana, factory payroll employment grew 9.4 percent; in Kentucky, $9.2 billion in new investments added 100,000 new jobs; in Michigan, the unemployment rate fell by 4.8 percent.

Virginia is in competition with each of those states for new business that will put more Virginia workers to work. Voters might well want to ask candidates favoring repeal of Right To Work why they want to put the Commonwealth at a competitive disadvantage ... and in the process hurt the ability of workers to find a job and improve the lives of their families.

Braunlich is president of the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy. He may be reached at chris@ thomasjeffersoninst.org.

www.LEGACYnewspaper.com

Nov. 13, 2019• 7

P.T. Hoffsteader, Esq.

Election thank you

Our Commonwealth spoke loud and clear. This is a victory for everyone who believes in decency, access to affordable health care, and an economy that delivers for every Virginian. Virginians across the political spectrum stood up and made it clear they will reward honest and effective leadership that focuses on results and our shared Virginia values.

As I traveled Virginia over the last year, holding 56 events for 81 of our General Assembly candidates across the Commonwealth, it was apparent that Democrats’ focus on health care, education, and economic opportunity were a far greater mobilizing factor than the gridlock and divisive rhetoric coming out of Donald Trump’s Washington.

When I was elected governor in 2001, the Commonwealth looked a lot different than it does today. In many ways, the Democratic Party of Virginia was in the wilderness, after years of one-party Republican control at the state and federal level.

Through the relentless efforts of so many men and women who stood up to serve, whether in elective office or as volunteers and staff, we have rebuilt this party and this Commonwealth. Leaders like Senator Kaine and Congressman Scott have been there every step of the way. Governors McAuliffe and Northam have led and continued advancing Virginia. And new leaders have stepped up to continue this fight – like our incredible freshmen Congresswomen Elaine Luria, Abigail Spanberger, and Jennifer Wexton, as well as our leadership in the General Assembly that over the last three years has built our strongest majority in a generation and the most diverse caucus in Virginia history.

Today we stand in a Virginia whose elected officials reflect our Commonwealth’s values and its rich diversity more than ever.

Years of hard work have led to a Democratic majority and the chance to increase economic opportunity for all Virginians, to continue to expand access to quality affordable health care, and to enact commonsense gun reform that keeps our communities safe.

I want to thank every Virginian who has put in the hard work that made election night’s victory possible. But we also need to recognize that our work does not end on Election Day, that we have a responsibility to lead and get results, and that victory today does not guarantee the same results

tomorrow. Together we have made incredible progress, but our work continues, and I’m planning to put in the hard work necessary to carry this progress into 2020 and the years to come.

Sen. Mark Warner

Change has arrived

Tuesday’s election results will usher in a dramatic change in Virginia’s legislative make-up for the next two years, including overseeing the redistricting process following the 2020 Census.

The next General Assembly will have the opportunity to pass the second-read of a redistricting reform constitutional amendment that already passed this February in an overwhelmingly bi-partisan vote.

OneVirginia2021 wants to thank all candidates who championed reform. Whether or not those candidates won their races, we are appreciative that the profile of this issue was raised in communities throughout Virginia.

Further, our organization congratulates all of Tuesday’s winners. We have had many allies on both sides of the aisle since we began our advocacy in 2014, and we look forward to working with the new legislature to make gerrymandering a thing of the past in Virginia.

With that, our mission remains the same as it’s always been: we want to finally fix the broken, hyper-partisan redistricting practices Virginia has used for centuries by including citizens in the process and making

backroom deals a thing of the past.

Our 100,000+ advocates have been working toward this moment for years, when we can finally achieve real reform.

For us, this is a two-pronged approach: - First, the General Assembly should pass the proposed constitutional amendment to create Virginia’s firstever commission on redistricting. If this amendment ultimately moves forward in its second reading, it would be the strongest set of redistricting reforms to ever emerge from a state legislature in American history.

- Second, we also strongly support improving the existing amendment by passing additional bills that: - Keep communities of interest together - Require the commission to reflect Virginia’s diversity - Write the commission’s rules to explicitly prohibit gerrymandering in all forms while drawing district lines.

- 78 percent of Virginians overwhelmingly support a constitutional amendment to create a commission like this, and we are ready to work with Republicans and Democrats to pass this historic constitutional amendment and significant supplementary reform measures in the 2020 legislative session. It’s time to end gerrymandering in Virginia once and for all.

Brian Cannon OneVirginia

8 •Nov. 13, 2019

The LEGACY

Faith & Religion ‘Victimization’ and injustice: Why the new film, ‘Harriet’, evoked anger TIM PEOPLES PERSPECTIVE I try not to make assumptions, but I’m going to assume that for most of you reading this article your first encounter with the post-childhood, Bible-story Moses was different than my first encounter with Moses.

Perhaps you pictured Charlton Heston in a grainy movie setting.

I pictured a dark skinned woman running for her life.

I didn’t realize that was my first understanding of Moses until I watched Harriet, the recentlyreleased film dedicated to the great Harriet Tubman who rescued around 750 enslaved people into freedom. As I watched, it was no surprise that my Moses and the biblical Moses have always been intertwined.

“If it is hard to understand why justice is so important for ‘us people,’ it might mean that you have been on the side of injustice.”

Enslaved Africans were forced to reject African gods to accept the white Christian God. Most people who claimed people as property refused to allow the enslaved person to obtain “salvation” because spiritual freedom would be too much like physical freedom. For enslaved people, the Sunday service became more than just a time to worship; it was here they were able to discuss

Peoples is senior minister at Emerywood Baptist Church in NC. their collective problems, concerns and “solutions.”

Traditionally, enslavers hired white preachers to preach to black people, telling stories of the importance of God’s will to include slavery. While the preacher and the enslaved told the same stories, they interpreted them differently.

In Stony the Road We Trod: African American Biblical Interpretation, Caine Felder writes: “The black congregation tended to interpret biblical events differently – the white preacher interpreting biblical events figuratively while the blacks interpreted the events more literally and concretely. Thus, the

events in the Bible spoke powerfully and directly to their situation, and led them to shape a distinct and creative interpretation of the Bible.”

Enslaved people were particularly drawn to stories like the one describing the children of Israel fleeing from their Egyptian slave masters. These stories became more than just a retelling to gain converts and produce faith; they became a language and a way of communicating with one another.

The biblical imagery was used because it was at hand; it was adapted and invested with the experience of the enslaved.

The stories gave back to the people

an example of what God did for other slaves. They evoked memories of what God did in their own history, and provided a perspective of faith and hope with regard to what God will do in the future. The Bible plays a role in the slavery experience because, even though the experiences change, the use of the Bible does not.

In Harriet, the implications of victimization are clearly portrayed.

Eliza Brodess, owner of the plantation from which Harriet escaped, is confronted by a herd of other enslavers coming to demand payment for all the slaves Tubman helped escape. Without hesitation, Eliza cries and moans, claiming that she is the “real victim” here, losing her property. But what she has actually fallen victim to is the false doctrine used to promote stolen labor, knowledge and skills.

When the enslaved became more than the stolen labor for the enslavers, the enslavers felt oppressed. During the movie, this notion of enslavers being “victims” created some rage in me – or at least a need to get an Icee to help cool down. I think the reason for my anger is that the distorted use of victimization is still prevalent today. When black people and other people of color move beyond the

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Nov. 13, 2019• 9

Virginia’s Legislative Black Caucus swells to 23 ‘We unleashed some of those black votes’ NED OLIVER VM - Del. Lamont Bagby, D-Henrico, is still a little giddy.

“We all thought it was too good to be true,” the chairman of Virginia’s legislative black caucus said of last week’s election results. “I’m still in pinch-me mode.”

Democrats flipped six seats in Virginia’s House of Delegates, according to unofficial results. Four of them were made more competitive by a court-ordered redistricting plan that sought to correct racial gerrymandering that federal courts ruled had unconstitutionally packed black voters into the same districts.

“We picked up seats because we unleashed some of those black votes,” he said.

Republicans agree that the redistricting plan played a key role in Democrats’ House victories this week, though, unlike Bagby, they don’t see it as a good thing. House Majority Leader Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah, blamed “liberal judicial gerrymandering” and a flood of out-of-state cash in an electionnight statement bemoaning his party’s losses.

Of the four Democratic candidates who won those seats, one is black: Real estate agent Clint Jenkins, who challenged House Appropriations Chairman Chris Jones, R-Suffolk.

Jones was the architect of Republicans’ 2011 redistricting plan that was later overturned by the court, and, coincidentally or not, was most impacted by the remedial plan approved by the courts. It shifted his district 27.4 points to the left,

Robin Jones casts her ballot at Christ the King Church in Richmond. PHOTO: Parker Michels-Boyce according to the Virginia Public Access Project.

A second black candidate, Josh Cole in Stafford County, flipped a Republican seat that was not touched by the new redistricting plan. And a third, Alex Askew, won a Virginia-Beach anchored seat Democrats flipped back in 2017 and which was made slightly more Democratic as part of the 2018 redistricting plan. (A fourth candidate, Don Scott, won election in Portsmouth to a seat that is already represented by a black candidate.)

The victories bring the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus’ membership roster up to 23. Bagby said he hopes to use those boosted numbers to push for criminal justice reform, more state funding for schools in low-income neighborhoods

and more money for the state’s historically black colleges and universities.

During the election, Republicans touted the diversity of their own

slate of candidates, which included two black candidates campaigning to be the first black members of the state GOP in 15 years, but neither was successful in that effort.

(from page 4) founder Michael Bills contributed in highly competitive districts.

Both campaigned with significant anti-corruption and anti-monopoly messaging, proving that energy reform in Virginia is important to all voters, regardless of political affiliation.

Clean Virginia’s PAC, Clean Virginia Fund, gave over $250,000 this year to 76 Democratic and Republican candidates who returned a policy questionnaire that demonstrated a principled stance against accepting contributions from utility monopolies regulated by the General Assembly. Clean Virginia’s

an additional $1.44 million to select candidates who had this stance.

Total contributions from advocacy groups and individual donors, including through the GiveGreen Program, with a giving policy of only donating to candidates with a principled stance against accept utility monopoly money totaled over $4.5 million this year.

Dominion Energy spent over $2.6 million on Virginia’s General Assembly races, from Dominion Energy, its PACs, its CEO Thomas Farrell, and its registered lobbyists to candidates and committees.

10 • Nov. 13, 2019

The LEGACY

(from page 8) stereotypes that have been in place in the United States for hundreds of years, the narrative becomes, “Look what they are taking from me!” and “See what affirmative action did!”

As equity slowly trickles into the decades-old cracks in the foundations of our system, rather than recognizing the ways in which our nation has contributed to systematic oppression, the movement often sounds like persecution for people who have never experienced systemic oppression. The resounding response often causes people to gather like the enslavers and yell, “We are the victims here!”

When signs state “Black Lives Matter” in response to the continued years of oppression directed at black bodies, the retaliating crowd yells back, “No! All lives matter.” But that is not what is being questioned.

“While the preacher and the enslaved told the same stories, they interpreted them differently.”

What is being protested: children who are kicked out of schools because of their beautiful natural hair, while cultural appropriation is excused and allowed because “it’s not really hurting anything.” And many times, these are the schools in which they have been placed due to biased redlining, and in which they are tracked into classes by the color of their skin. The protests are for those same children who now sit in America’s prison system, a system that often preys on the poor and innocent. The protests are about resistance, about using agency to effect change.

When crowds gather forces to protest injustice and call out police brutality, the “victimized” crowd often yells back, “You are protesting America! What more do you people want?”

The answer is equity. If it is hard to understand why justice is so important for “us people,” it might mean that you have been on the side of injustice.

It is not lost on me that Harriet was released on All Saints Day. The saints now gone depend on us to continue the work for which they lived and died. While only a trickle

now, may equity soon roll down like waters, flooding the streets and filling the voices of the people called

by Christ.

As we commit to the work of the saints, may Harriet Tubman’s words become our words: “I said to the Lord, ‘I’m going to hold steady on to you, and I know you will see me through.’”

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Nov. 13, 2019 • 11

Black Americans are the faces of Adidas, but missing from its leadership MARC BAIN At Adidas’s North American headquarters, less than 5 percent of the employees are black, according to internal company figures revealed in a New York Times report. In real numbers, that equates to fewer than 75 people out of nearly 1,700 employees at the company’s Portland, Oregon campus.

The situation appears even more stark within the ranks of Adidas’s global vice presidents. Two people familiar with the figures told the Times that last year only three of approximately 340 people in that role—about 1 percent of the total—were black. “One of the black executives, a female head of operations, has since departed,” the Times noted.

As the Times points out, Adidas’s North American employee demographics contrast sharply with its public image, which has leaned on black Americans for decades. The discrepancy reiterates how significant the gap can be between a company’s outward face and the makeup of its actual corporate leadership.

The problem is hardly Adidas’s alone. At Nike, which publishes its diversity numbers, about 8 percent of company vice presidents and fewer than 5 percent of directors are black. Nike has also been called out for promoting women in its marketing materials while using contracts for female runners that effectively penalized them for getting pregnant. (Nike has said it will change its contracts.) The fashion industry overall, which makes much of its profits by selling to women, has surprisingly few female CEOs, and numerous companies fall short when it comes to diversity in their corporate leadership.

At Adidas, the contrast may feel especially pronounced because the company, though founded and based in Germany, owes a good deal of its image to black Americans. It signed the rap world’s first million-

dollar endorsement deal with Run DMC in 1986, and some of its most prominent brand ambassadors today include musicians Kanye West, Pharrell Williams, and Beyoncé, as well as basketball players James Harden, Kyle Lowry, and Damian Lillard.

Many of the sales associates representing Adidas to shoppers in its U.S. retail stores are black. An Adidas spokesperson told the Times that 55 percent of all its employees in the U.S., including people paid an hourly wage in retail stores, are people of color.

Not least of all, black Americans are also important customers. North America is one of Adidas’s biggest markets, representing more than 20 percent of its sales last year.

Black employees in Portland who spoke to the Times said they sometimes felt overlooked or discriminated against. Adidas’s president of North America reportedly acknowledged to employees that the company needed to improve diversity in its corporate office, the Times reported.

But in a later staff meeting, he also reportedly said that Adidas’s Portland office reflected the local population. The company first moved its U.S. headquarters to Portland, where Nike was founded, in 1993.

The city is currently more than 70 pecent white and just under 6 percent black, in part because of its history of keeping out minority groups.

“We are committed to fostering a respectful, equitable, and inclusive environment for all Adidas employees around the world,” the company said in a statement to Quartz. “It’s crucial that we have and support a diverse workforce that represents a variety of ideas, strengths, interests and backgrounds and that we promote an open culture where all of our people can fully contribute. We value all of our employees, are stronger because of their unique perspectives,

Pop star Beyoncé and are dedicated to achieving greater diversity at every level of the company.”

The company added that it is actively strengthening its policies and programs to make sure it’s recruiting and retaining a diverse staff. Adidas said it had recently expanded a diversity and inclusion team in North America, and it has a strategy in place to bring people from different backgrounds to the company’s corporate headquarters.

“While we have made progress in these areas, we recognize there is

much more to be done, and we are committed to doing it,” Adidas said.

In its 2018 annual report, Adidas described diversity as critical to its success, saying it allows the company to better meet the needs of a wide range of global customers.

It boasted that there are employees from more than 100 nations working at the company’s headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Germany, and said failure to create a culture that fosters diversity and inclusion could even impede its ability to achieve its business goals.

12 • Nov. 13, 2019

The LEGACY

The ICA’s newest exhibition looks at migration, illness and anxieties of the undocumented The Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University opened its annual Provocations series with an overnight ceremony in which participants can sonically “bathe” in the sounds of a healing gong.

“Provocations: Guadalupe Maravilla” kicked off Saturday with a reception, tea ceremony and an overnight performance, which ran from 10 p.m. through 6 a.m., Nov. 10, and included the activation of ceremonial gongs throughout the True Farr Luck Gallery.

During the sound-bath ceremony, four totemic sculptures were activated through performance, rituals and workshops that use sound, movement and human-to-human connection as a vehicle for healing and exchange. Activations also will take place in the spring.

The exhibition chronicles the experiences of Maravilla, an assistant professor in the VCU Department of Sculpture and Extended Media in the School of the Arts, who, at age eight, immigrated alone to the United States from El Salvador to escape the Salvadoran civil war.

Combining drawing, sculpture and performance, the artist draws on his own experiences with illness, migration and the anxieties experienced by undocumented people. To honor his undocumented father, the artist, formerly known as Irvin Morázan, adopted his father’s pseudonym — Maravilla, or “wonder” and “marvel” in Spanish — as his surname. He combined it with Guadalupe, the Spanish name for the Aztec earth mother deity.

Maravilla seeks to transform the gallery into a space for healing traumas related to migration, displacement and inhumane detainment. Banners embroidered with disembodied limbs and clenched fists along with images of flowers, dripping blocks of ice and skulls run throughout the installation.

For Maravilla, these fictive icons become emblems for ongoing resistance against persecution and trauma.

Suspended above is a serpentine sculpture made of wood and agave, a plant known for its healing properties.

www.LEGACYnewspaper.com

Nov. 13, 2019• 13

‘Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools’ Black girls who have been subject to punitive school policies and practices are at an increased risk of coming into contact with the juvenile and criminal courts and leaving school altogether, ultimately impeding their ability to achieve future success and lead successful and healthy lives, according to a new documentary, “Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools.”

The film presents a number of these stories in heartbreaking detail and further explores a topic that was originally presented in the 2016 book of the same name by Monique W. Morris.

“Why not go to heaven now? I don’t want to be here,” Samaya, one of the girls featured in the film, says at one point.

At 12, Samaya is now an honor student. It has taken years of therapy and a change of school for her to recover from the traumatic incident that led her to a bridge above a highway contemplating suicide at the age of 7.

The event: One of her teachers, Mr. Rodriquez, gave Samaya a warning after a minor disagreement with another child.

Then, after Samaya accidentally knocked over a glass of water, Rodriguez punished Samaya by dragging her and her chair outdoors “in a fit of frightening rage.”

The teacher pulled Samaya out of her classroom on a cold 46-degree December morning. She did not have on a coat or jacket. She was wearing only a pink and gray sweatshirt and blue jeans.

Coping with the death of her beloved father, the destruction by fire of the only home she knew, and facing constant bullying, Ariana, another story shared by the filmmakers, found herself at a breaking point. “There is so much rage building in me,” the teen shares in the film.

Now, 16, Ariana said she didn’t know how to deal with the adversity she faced at home and school. She was suspended multiple times as classmates would pick on her because “I don’t look the way they look or dress the way they dress.”

Fortunately, a change in schools altered the trajectory of her life.

Ariana, now a drummer in her school band at the Columbus City Preparatory School for Girls, has been able to turn her life around

Monique W. Morris (R) with the help of teachers, whom she credits with guiding her toward a positive response to the challenges she faces.

Some black girls, like Samaya and Ariana, face educational, judicial, and societal disparities.

Black girls, and other girls of color, experience discriminatory, disparate, punitive, and unfair treatment in school, including suspensions, expulsions, referrals to law enforcement and arrests on school campuses, at rates that exceed the public school population in aggregate — and far exceed those experienced by their white female peers.

“This has to change. Our girls deserve more,” the filmmakers write on their website.

According to the most recent U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights data, black girls are seven times more likely to be suspended from school, and four times more likely to be arrested on a school campus than their white peers.

Punitive practices and policies in schools fuel systemic inequities and result in negative outcomes based on race and gender. They have profound consequences for black girls: rather than promote safety and well-being, these practices disproportionately push black girls out of school and further into the margins.

“Pushout,” is being screened in several cities. For more information, or to host a screening, visit www. pushoutfilm.com.

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The LEGACY

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Nov. 13, 2019• 15

Va. senators join colleagues in urging swift Senate Passage to renew funding for Virginia’s HBCUs U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), a member of the Congressional Bipartisan Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCU) Caucus, joined Senate colleagues and leaders from HBCUs – including a student from Virginia Union University in Richmond – in calling on the Senate to pass the bipartisan FUTURE Act, which would restore $255 million in federal funding for HBCUs and Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) that expired on September 30. While the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the FUTURE Act in September, Senate Republicans have blocked this critical legislation from coming to the Senate floor for a vote.

Virginia is home to Virginia Union University, Norfolk State University, Virginia State University, Hampton University, and Virginia University of Lynchburg – all of which stand to lose funding if the Senate fails to act.

“In Virginia, we’re talking about nearly $4 million in funding last year that is at risk unless we pass the FUTURE Act,” said Warner during last week’s press conference.

“This is an investment in our students.

It’s an investment in the middle class. And it’s time for the federal government to live up its commitment.”

Warner was also joined by Jalynn Hodges, a biology major currently serving as the first-ever elected student representative for the Board of Trustees at Virginia Union University (VUU), who underscored how renewing this funding would enable the Virginia Union community to continue to support students who pursue a career in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.

“When I arrived at my prestigious

Virginia is home to five HBCUs whose funding would be preserved by the FUTURE Act. Virginia State University, Norfolk State University, Hampton University, Virginia Union University, and Virginia University of Lynchburg received nearly $4 million in funding last year, which is now at risk unless Congress passes the FUTURE Act. HBCU in fall of 2017, I entered the gateway into my future. During my first year, I conducted research in our neuroscience and chemistry laboratory where I learned technical and analytical skills that are essential to my long-term academic and professional goals,” said Hodges, biology major at VUU. “With continued mandatory funding, students and faculty will be afforded access to ever changing equipment and laboratories that are consistent with industry standards.

“It is because of VUU that I am a better version of myself - one who is confident and assured that resources that have been afforded to me have prepared me for my graduate studies

in medicine.”

Earlier last week, Warner joined more than three dozen senators in a letter to Senate leaders calling for passage of the bipartisan FUTURE Act legislation to renew this vital funding for Virginia’s HBCUs. “As Virginia’s most affordable four-year public university, Norfolk State provides access to a quality higher education in a culturally diverse and supportive learning environment. Failure to restore Title III Part F mandatory funding for HBCUs will represent more than a $5.8 million loss for NSU. Without this funding, Norfolk State’s educational programs in both teacher preparation and the

STEM fields will be put at risk at a time when we are working to increase diversity in the front of our classrooms, and grow the pipeline of diverse STEM graduates to fill the jobs of the new economy.

Norfolk State University expresses appreciation to Senators Warner and Kaine for their leadership on this critical issue, and urges all Senators to join them in securing the future of America’s HBCUs and the students they serve by passing the FUTURE Act,” said Dr. Javaune AdamsGaston, president of Norfolk State University.

“Failure to pass the FUTURE Act will have serious consequences for America’s HBCUs, their students, and my peers. Norfolk State University’s supportive and culturally aware learning environment has helped me to grow as a leader and put me on the path to success. I would likely not have had these opportunities at other schools. All students regardless of their socio-economic background deserve access to a quality higher education and the opportunity to realize their full potential. It is time for Congress to stand with the students of America’s HBCUs by voting to pass the FUTURE Act,” said Linei Woodson, president of Norfolk State University’s Student Government Association.

In the mid-1990s, as a successful tech entrepreneur, Warner – who is also a former member of the Board of Trustees at Virginia Union – helped to create the Virginia HighTech Partnership (VHTP) to connect students attending Virginia’s five HBCUs with internship opportunities in tech firms across Virginia.

16 • Nov. 13, 2019

The LEGACY

Calendar

COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES & EVENTS

11.15, 9 a.m., 1 p.m.

Join the city of Newport News for a special talk with Peter Kageyama, internationally acclaimed author of “For the Love of Cities” and “Love Where You Live”. During sessions at the Newport News Marriott, Kageyama will discuss bottom-up community development and the people who are making change happen around the globe.

These talks are free and open to the public, but seating is limited and online registration is required.

The first 25 registered attendees who check in at each session will receive a special gift.

11.17, 5 p.m.

University of Richmond professors will participate in a panel discussion on how Alexander Hamilton, one of America’s Founding Fathers, and the musical hit based on his life, has transformed America’s historical imagination. “’History Is Happening’: Understanding Hamilton” will take place in UKrop Auditorium, Robins School of Business, which is two days before the play opens at Richmond’s Altria Theater.

Faculty panelists include: - Kevin Cherry, associate professor of political science, will discuss Hamilton’s understanding of government, executive power, and liberty.

- Patricia Hererra, associate professor of theatre, will discuss the power of the theater and the arts in rewriting history and making pathways for a more inclusive America.

Samantha Seeley, assistant professor of history, will explore Lin Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton as a creation of our times’ needs versus those of the 18th century, providing context on the contentious politics of the 1790s.

Since its debut in 2015, Hamilton: An American Musical has become a household name and cultural phenomenon.

11.21, 9 a.m.

11.14, 6 p.m.

Join Kristen E. Stewart, the Natalie L. Klaus Curator of Costumes and Textiles and Richmond fiber artist Nastassja Swift for a one-of-a-kind multimedia experience.

Featuring a dance performance including Swift’s larger than life wool masks and a mini-documentary exploring her project “Remembering Her Homecoming,” a conversation will follow between artist and curator exploring the themes of claiming, interpreting and sharing identity in Swift’s work and in the Valentine’s exhibition Dressing Identity.

Tickets are $10 per person and free for students with a valid student ID.

Please support Bridging The Gap In Virginia's efforts to continue to provide reentry services to returning citizen “Overcoming Barriers” that they face in life. 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

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.

“#BallotBattle: The Social Struggle for Suffrage” will use modern social media platforms to examine the suffrage debate and the intersecting issues of race, gender, power and politics as they coalesced in Virginia’s capitol city in the early 1900s.

Examining the positions, opinions and disagreements between five high-profile Richmonders between 1909 and 1920, the exhibit will imagine these tensions playing out as if historical activists had access to present-day social media.

Virginia’s 1902 Constitution had stripped Richmond’s African American men of their voting rights, and the role of women in the home and public society was hotly contested. In the midst of this heated political and social climate, the individuals highlighted in #BallotBattle will represent a variety of positions beyond pro-suffrage and anti-suffrage, providing the visitor with a nuanced take on a vitally important era in Richmond history.

Visitors will also be encouraged to interact with the exhibition itself, using an Instagram wall and engaging with a rotating list of written prompts where they can “like”, “dislike” and comment via sticky-note emojis.

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Nov. 13, 2019• 17

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Dems pick a speaker VM - House Minority Leader Eileen Filler-Corn of Fairfax fended off a challenge from three other Democratic delegates to win the

job leading the lower chamber as the speaker-designee. It won’t be official until the House convenes in January.

Eileen Filler-Corn Filler-Corn, 55, would be the first woman to wield the gavel.

“It’s a tremendous honor I don’t take lightly. And I’m ready to move forward,” Filler-Corn, who will also be Virginia’s first Jewish House

speaker, said after the closed-door meeting Saturday in downtown Richmond.

Some Democrats grumbled about not selecting a more progressive pick like Lashrecse Aird of Petersburg, who had thrown her hat in the ring.

And the naming of an all-Northern Virginia leadership raised some eyebrows.

Del. Lee Carter, D-Manassas, a Democratic Socialist and one of the caucus’s most outspoken progressives, said that “change is hard.”

“Change doesn’t come because you ask for it nicely,” Carter said.

“It comes because you demand it.

And you fight. And you make things uncomfortable. I’m going to keep fighting.”

(from page 5) in August that the university had (IDIA). Virginia Tech, by contrast, was allocated $168 million to put toward the university’s planned Innovation Campus. The funding disparity prompted questions about Virginia Tech potentially receiving preferential treatment, which state representatives denied.

In this first round of Tech Talent Investment Program funding, George Mason has been allocated $2,301,844 to support the expansion of its bachelor’s degree programs and $972,914 to build up master’s degree programs. Over the next 20 years, the university anticipates receiving a total of $110 million to support its bachelor’s degree programs and $125 million for master’s degree programs. Future funding will be subject to George Mason meeting outlined enrollment targets.

Both George Mason and Virginia Tech will be busy raising funds in the coming years, because state support for the expansion of their master’s degree programs is contingent on the universities matching the state funding. George Mason representatives reported

already raised approximately $20 million.

Michael Sandler, interim vice president of communications at George Mason, said in an email that leaders of the university were pleased with the allocations.

The university’s agreement with the state outlines a target of gradually growing enrollment in the university’s computer science programs over the next 20 years.

Sandler said George Mason is still on track to grow its computer science enrollment to 15,000 students by 2024 if other technologyrelated degrees are included, such as computer game design or cybersecurity. Sandler said the university is anticipating significant enrollment gains in the coming years.

Anne Holton, interim president of George Mason, said in a news release that the state’s investment “confirms our standing as a significant producer of diverse tech talent in Virginia.”

“We’re grateful to state officials for their confidence in our ability to continue to deliver talent for decades to come,” she said.

The LEGACY

18 • Nov. 13, 2019

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SEALED BID SALE SALE OF REAL ESTATE LOCATED AT 3008 IDLEWOOD AVENUE RICHMOND, VA 23221 PARCEL 119, PMI #10395 Sealed bids are being accepted by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) in the office of the Property Management Assistant Program Manager located at 7511 Burbage Drive, Suffolk, VA 23435, until, but no later than, January 14, 2020 at 11:00 a.m. for the following property.

For that certain parcel of land (Parcel 119), located in Richmond, Virginia, on the north side of and fronting on Idlewood Avenue. The surplus property is unimproved vacant land, relatively rectangular in shape with level topography and road access to Idlewood Avenue.

Subject property contains 2,867.287 square feet or 0.0658 acre. Zoning for subject property has been determined to be R-5, Single Family Residential with a special use permit. Property is located in Flood Plain Zone X, Map # 5101290036D. Bids must be submitted in the manner prescribed in the “Instruction to Bidders” available from VDOT, accompanied by a certified check, cashier’s check or money order in the amount of 10% of the bid as a deposit. The successful bidder’s deposit will be applied toward the purchase price. All others will be returned. Closing shall occur within 30 days after approval of sale. The value placed on this parcel is $40,140.00.

Employees of VDOT, their immediate families or any person employed with the valuation and/or acquisition of this property are ineligible to bid.

The right is reserved to reject any and all bids. The property is being sold “as is” with conveyance by deed without warranty. For further information and proposals, contact VDOT at the above address or call Jacqulyn M. Lane at (757) 956-3254 or send an email to Jacqulyn.Lane@VDOT. Virginia.gov to request a bid package.

All bids must be submitted on the Bid Proposal Form by the stated deadline for consideration.

Nov. 13, 2019• 19

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EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY NOTICE

GUN AUCTION! Online only guns, ammo, and swords auction.

Ending soon! Over 100 items. Rhoadesville VA. Bid now: wilsonauctionco.com. VAAF# 2908000769.

Do you have old stamps, coins, or documents? EV Stamps in Richmond is actively seeking consignments for our weekly auctions. Call Emerald Ventures 804-266-3071 or visit www. evstamps.com.

REAL ESTATE AUCTION: THURS. DEC 5 AT 4PM. 311 Acres offered in 6 large tracts and 10 one-acre building lots. The zoning offers great potential for commercial, industrial, residential, agricultural, and recreational uses. Long public road frontage.

Land joins George Washington National Forest. Located on Magnolia Ave. (Rte. 501) across from Dickinson Ln. in Buena Vista, VA. Minimum bid $572,000 (plus 5% buyer’s premium).

Contact Woltz & Associates, Inc. Brokers & Auctioneers - VA#321.

800-551-3588 - woltz.com RVA TAX SALE. Online and onsite auction for 60+/- City of Richmond tax delinquent properties. Bidding begins Wed., Nov. 20 at 2 p.m. Preview properties online. Motleys, 3600 Deepwater Terminal Rd., Richmond, VA | www.motleys.com/rvataxsale | 877-MOTLEYS. VAL16 ONLINE AUCTION Construction Equipment & Trucks. Wayjo Co. Total Liquidation Auction includes Excavators, Directional Drills, Trucks, Trailers, Tools and Much More. Bid Tues., Nov. 19 - Thurs, Nov. 21 at 11 am. BID ONLINE @ MOTLEYS.COM. Motleys Industrial | 877-MOTLEYS. VAL16 EDUCATION/CAREER TRAINING AIRLINES ARE HIRING – Get FAA approved hands on Aviation training. Financial aid for qualified students - Career placement assistance. CALL Aviation Institute of Maintenance SCHEV certified 877-204- 4130 HELP WANTED / DRIVERS Need CDL Drivers? Advertise your JOB OPENINGS statewide or in other states. Affordable Print and Digital Solutions to reach truck drivers. Call Landon Clark at Virginia Press Services 804521-7576, landonc@vpa.net REAL ESTATE FOR SALE ATTN. REALTORS: Advertise your listings regionally or statewide.

Affordable Print and Digital Solutions that get results! Call Landon Clark at Virginia Press Services 804-521-7576, landonc@vpa.net SERVICES DIVORCE-Uncontested, $395+$86 court cost. WILLS $195.00.

No court appearance. Estimated completion time twenty-one days. Hilton Oliver, Attorney (Facebook). 757-490-0126. Se Habla Espanol. BBB Member. https://hiltonoliverattorneyva.com.

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

PRINT & DIGITAL AD SALES EXECUTIVE

AUCTIONS ATTN. AUCTIONEERS: Advertise your upcoming auctions statewide or in other states. Affordable Print and Digital Solutions reaching your target audiences. Call this paper or Landon Clark at Virginia Press Services 804-521-7576, landonc@vpa.net

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.

CUO 0010145- Procurement 1107 HAMPTON SOLICITATION CITY OF HAMPTON Thursday, December 12, 2019 Shower Inserts Installation 2:00 p.m. EST – ITB 19-65/EA Holding MANDATORY pre-bid meeting and site visit on November 21, 2019 at 9:30 AM, 1928 W. Pembroke Ave, Hampton, VA 23661 For all forms or additional information, see our web page at https://www.hampton.gov/bids-contracts or call (757)727-2200.

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

Out-of-market games only.

Select int’l games excluded.

2019 NFL SUNDAY TICKET

INCLUDED AT NO EXTRA COST WHEN YOU SWITCH TO DIRECTV. With CHOICE Package or above. Subscription renews automatically each season at then prevailing rate (currently $293.94/season) unless you call to cancel within two weeks after the start of the season.

CHOICE

™

All Included Package

MO.

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Stream NFL SUNDAY TICKET live from anywhere with the NFL SUNDAY TICKET APP included Watch live games wherever you go. Stream every out-of-market game live, every Sunday (select int’l games excluded), from virtually anywhere. Only available in HD.

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Never miss a touchdown from inside the 20 with RED ZONE CHANNEL® The RED ZONE CHANNEL brings you the final yards of every scoring drive around the league on one LIVE channel. Included with NFL SUNDAY TICKET MAX.

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8-Game Mix Channel Only DIRECTV lets you watch up to 8 live NFL games on one screen, complete with scores and game clock—in amazing HD. And when you want to expand one game onto the full screen, simply highlight and click. Only available in HD.

For 12 mos. plus taxes w/24-mo. agmt & qualifying AT&T wireless svc (min. $50/mo. after discounts for new customers). Autopay & Paperless bill req’d.

Prices higher in 2nd year. Regional Sports Fee up to $8.49/mo. is extra & applies.*

Includes: ■ Over

185 Channels ■ FREE Genie® HD DVR Upgrade

*$19.95 ACTIVATION, EARLY TERMINATION FEE OF $20/MO. FOR EACH MONTH REMAINING ON AGMT., EQUIPMENT NON-RETURN & ADD’L FEES APPLY. Price incl. CHOICE All Included Pkg., monthly service and equip. fees for 1 HD DVR & is after $5/mo. autopay & paperless bill and $10/mo. bundle discounts for up to 12 mos each. Pay $74.99/mo. + taxes until discounts start w/in 3 bills. New approved residential customers only (equipment lease req’d). Credit card req’d (except MA & PA). Restr’s apply.

Don’t settle for cable. Call now!

Iv Support Holdings LLC

844-929-0435 www.satellitedealnow.com/legacy

CHOICE 1-YR ALL INCLUDED PACKAGE W/ ELIG. WIRELESS: Ends 10/19/19. Available only in the U.S. (excludes Puerto Rico and U.S.V.I.). 1st & 2nd year Pricing: $59.99 for first 12 mos. only. After 12 mos. or loss of eligibility, then prevailing rate applies (currently $110/mo for CHOICE All Included), unless cancelled or changed prior to end of the promo period.

Pricing subject to change. $5/mo. autopay/paperless bill discount: Must enroll in autopay & paperless bill within 30 days of TV activation to receive bill credit starting in 1-3 bill cycles. First time credit will include all credits earned since meeting offer requirements. Must maintain autopay/paperless bill and valid email address to continue credits. No credits in 2nd year for autopay/paperless bill. Eligible Wireless for $10/mo. bundle discount: Consumers only. Sold separately. Reqs new or existing AT&T postpaid svc on elig. plan (excl. Lifeline) on a smartphone, phone or AT&T Wireless Internet device (excl. voice-only AT&T Wireless Internet). Eligible svc must be activated w/in 30 days of TV activation and svc addresses must match to receive bill credit starting in 1-3 bill cycles. First time credit will include all credits earned since meeting offer requirements. Must maintain both qualifying svcs to continue credits. No credits in 2nd year for bundled services. Includes: CHOICE All Included TV Pkg, monthly service & equipment fees for one Genie HD DVR, and standard pro installation. Exclusions: Price excludes Regional Sports Fee of up to $8.49/mo. (which is extra & applies to CHOICE and/or MÁS ULTRA and higher Pkgs.), applicable use tax expense surcharge on retail value of installation, custom installation, equipment upgrades/add-ons (min. $99 one-time & $7/mo. monthly fees for each extra receiver/DIRECTV Ready TV/Device), and certain other add’l fees & charges. Different offers may apply for eligible multi-dwelling unit and telco customers.

DIRECTV SVC TERMS: Subject to Equipment Lease & Customer Agreements. Must maintain a min. base TV pkg of $29.99/mo. Some offers may not be available through all channels and in select areas. Call for details.

GENERAL WIRELESS: Subj. to Wireless Customer Agmt (att.com/wca). Credit approval req’d. Deposit/Down Payment: may apply. Charges/restrictions: Taxes, Reg.Cost. Recovery Charge (Up to $1.50), other fees and charges, usage, speed, coverage & other restr’s apply per line. See att.com/mobilityfees for details on fees & charges. International and domestic off-net data may be at 2G speeds. AT&T service is subject to AT&T network management policies, see att.com/broadbandinfo for details.