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Entrepreneur Herman
Valentine, Sr., 85, founder of the Systems Management American Corporation (SMA), died Sunday, April 30, 2023, according to his family in Virginia Beach.
Valentine defined himself in his bio as the CEO and Founder of SMA which he built by selling an onboard computer system to the U.S. Navy for over a decade.
NORFOLK
Norfolk State University celebrated its 110th commencement ceremony on Saturday (May 6) with awardwinning actor, writer, director, and producer Nate Parker delivering the keynote address to nearly 600 graduating students at William “Dick” Price Stadium.
Nate Parker, a Norfolk native, has performed in at least 19 films, including “Beyond The Lights,” “Red Tails,” and most recently, “The Birth of a Nation,” which Parker wrote, directed, and played the role of the leading character, Nat Turner, who led an 1831 slave rebellion in Virginia. “The Birth of a Nation” won the Audience Award and the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film
Festival.
In his remarks, Parker challenged the graduates to understand their gifts and calling. He urged them to not give up on their dreams,
and to recognize those who have helped them along their life’s journey. Parker was awarded the NSU president’s medallion following his speech.
Valentine and SMA were symbolic of Black business development fostered by ambition, hard work, opportunity and access to resources long denied people of his background.
Valentine said SMA was a “start-up” business that grew to a $60,000,000-dollar company in 14 years with a $500.00 investment in 1970.
Valentine directed SMA’s growth from scratch to the 3rd largest Blackowned business in America.
Herman Valentine, Sr.
The 19-story headquarters of SMA was located in the heart of Norfolk’s business district at 254 Monticello Avenue. It was a proud and inspirational symbol of Black economic achievement, especially at a time when racial barriers were high. His success also inspired its share of envy. Today the space where SMA once stood is occupied by Norfolk’s MacArthur Center Mall Complex.
Valentine directed SMA’s growth from scratch to the third largest Black-owned business in the entire United States for a decade.
In 1984 he was named Entrepreneur of the Year and received the award from President Ronald Reagan at the White House. According to his obituary, Valentine came from humble origins. He was raised by his mother, Alice Hite, and father Frank Valentine, Sr. alongside his siblings Dorothy (Dot) and Frank. He would always credit Norfolk with being the city that shaped him. see Valentine, page 8A
According to the freshly published jobs report for April, the jobless rate for African-Americans in the United States maintained its steady slide to new historic levels, just one month after hitting a record low for the previous lowest level ever recorded.
On Friday morning (May 5), the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that the unemployment rate for African-Americans dropped below 5 percent for the first time in U.S.
Recently, an Illinois man switched on his leaf blower and was shot to death by his next-door neighbor.
Later, a Texas gunman shot five people to death “execution style” after his neighbors asked him to stop firing his rifle in his yard late at night. The shooter, Francisco Oropeza, 38, was still at large at press time. He shot all five of his victims late at night in late April in the town of Cleveland, located about 45 miles north of Houston.
And just last Saturday (May 6), a mass shooting at a shopping mall near Dallas left nine people dead, including the suspect, as well as seven injured.
These shooting sprees in Illinois and Texas come on the heels of another recent shooting in suburban Antioch, Ill. Specifically, Ettore Lacchei, age 79, was ordered held without bond after he shot and killed William Martys, age 59, in early April,. Both men are White.
Lacchei, the gunman, who was charged with first-degree murder, had a habit of waving a gun in the neighborhood,
which is located about 65 miles northwest of Chicago, according to news reports. Deputies raced to the scene and used life-saving measures. An April 13 autopsy from the Lake County Coroner’s Office revealed that Martys died from a gunshot wound to the head.
One seemingly nonthreatening gun violence encounter that sparked a
protest occurred in Kansas where a multi-racial group recently gathered outside of the downtown Kansas City courthouse after Andrew Lester, 84, (who is White) shot Ralph Yarl, 16, (who is Black) for ringing the wrong doorbell, while he was trying to pick up his siblings.
Lester answered the door with a revolver in his hand, according to news reports. see Shootings, page 6A
According to a 2017 report by the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) more than
4,400 recorded lynchings occurred between 1877 and 1950 nationwide. Most of the incidents occurred in the states of the former Confederacy of the South, during Reconstruction and the
height of Jim Crow.
Most of the victims were Black men, menaced by mobs of whites.
The reasons varied, but mostly for alleged insolent behavior or raping a white woman or violent conflict
with a white man.
Most of the victims were hung from trees, shot to death, or both. see Lynchings, page 5A
history.
This is new ground for the labor force in the country.
The employment report for April showed that the unemployment rate for Black people in the United States declined by threetenths of a percentage point, a drop that cannot be considered negligible.
The employment report for April showed that the unemployment rate for Black people in the United States decreased by threetenths of a percentage point, which is not an insignificant drop. That represents a 4.7 percent decrease overall.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate for
Black men, in particular, and for Black youths, fell.
After Black women reached a historic low in joblessness in March, their unemployment rate slightly increased, according to a jobs report.
Overall, the rate of joblessness in the United States has fallen to its lowest point in half a century, at 3.4 percent. The rate includes white workers, and their rate fell one-tenth of a percentage point, reaching 3.1 percent. Bharat Ramamurti, the deputy director of the White House National Economic Council, referred to it as “an incredible milestone.”
At last month’s White House Correspondents Association Dinner, The Daily Show correspondent Roy Wood Jr. delivered a hilarious takedown of a U.S. Supreme Court justice.
Perhaps Woods’ monologue came a bit too soon after new disclosures have revealed more hidden gifts provided to Justice Clarence Thomas from Republican megadonor Harlan Crow.
Pro Publica reported that Crow paid a $6,000 a month tuition bill for Thomas’ grandnephew Mark Martin to attend the private boarding school, Hidden Lake Academy, in northern Georgia in 2008.
Thomas recently revealed that he’d been raising Martin “as a son” while the justice and his wife, Ginny, lived in the District of Columbia.
“Harlan picked up the tab,” Christopher Grimwood, a former administrator at the school, told the outlet. He said Crow paid Martin’s tuition the entire time he was a student there, which was about a year.
Justice Clarence Thomas
Grimwood said he got to know Crow and Thomas and his wife and had access to school financial information through his work as an administrator.
Before and after his time at Hidden Lake, Martin attended a second boarding school, Randolph-Macon Academy in Virginia, as Pro Publica further discovered.
“Harlan said he was paying for the tuition at RandolphMacon Academy as well,” Grimwood said, recalling a conversation he had with Crow during a visit to the billionaire’s Adirondacks estate.
The amount Crow paid for Martin’s education over the years remains unclear. see Thomas, page 5A
Mother’s
has
and evolved since the mid-1800s.Today we celebrate motherhood and honor mothers and surrogate moms who have raised and nurtured children with love and courage.
Recently, an Illinois man switched on his leaf blower and was shot to death by his next-door neighbor.Oh, Happy Day! Photo: RandySingleton Speaker Nate Parker Photo: RandySingleton
Howard University
President Wayne A. I. Frederick has confirmed that President Joe Biden will deliver the commencement address at the historically Black university’s 155th ceremony. Officials have scheduled commencement activities for 10 a.m. on May 13 on the Upper Quadrangle of the main campus.
Erica Loewe, the White House’s Director of African-American Media, stated that in addition to Biden’s address at Howard University, administration officials plan to attend commencements at HBCUs nationwide.
According to the White House, President Biden’s impending visit to Howard,
the alma mater of Vice President Kamala Harris, follows the administration’s record-breaking investment of nearly $6 billion through the U.S. Department of Education to support HBCUs since 2021.
“Securing funding for the more than 100 HBCUs in the United States has been a prominent feature of Biden’s domestic agenda,” Loewe wrote on Twitter.
In addition, the visit coincides with the publication of new data showing the lowest Black unemployment rate in U.S. history.
“It is an honor and privilege to welcome President Biden to deliver the 2023 commencement address and celebrate the 2023 graduating class,” Dr. Frederick said.
Biden will also receive an honorary Doctor of Letters degree during the
commencement.
“This honorary Doctor of Letters is much deserved for his years of transformational service as U.S. Senator, Vice President, and now as President of the United States,” Dr. Frederick stated.
“We are excited to receive the president as this year’s distinguished guest and recognize him for his relentless work uplifting our communities that have been historically left behind.
“I look forward to honoring President Biden, our honorary degree recipients, and graduating seniors at the Commencement Convocation.”
Biden would be the seventh incumbent U.S. president to deliver Howard’s commencement speech.
On Sept. 1, Dr. Ben Vinson III will replace retiring Howard University President Dr. Wayne A. I. Frederick, who has held the post since 2014.
Vinson, a Dartmouth College and Columbia University graduate, grew up in Washington, D.C., He will assume office this fall to ensure a smooth transition.
His predecessor, Frederick began as interim president in 2013 and assumed the permanent post in 2014. Frederick announced his retirement in April 2022. Frederick will retire as the 17th president of Howard University.
Howard’s incoming president has taught and held teaching and administrative posts at several prominent universities including Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. In his current post at Case Western Reserve University, Vinson has served as provost and executive vice president since 2018.
Vinson is married to Dr. Yolanda M. Fortenberry, a biochemist. They have three children.
Vinson said in a recent statement, “I look forward to returning to the DMV, which I consider home, and working with the broader campus community to fortify Howard and help build upon its incredible tradition of delivering excellence, truth, and service to greater humanity.”
Meanwhile, the outgoing president, Frederick said in a recent statement, “I am
confident that Howard will continue to thrive under his guidance as a premier center for higher learning and innovation.”
Vinson has received multiple fellowships including awards from
Fulbright Commission; National Humanities Center; Social Science Research Council; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and the Ford, Rockefeller, and Mellon foundations.
By Rosaland Tyler Associate Editor New Journal and GuideA monument that honors the late Coretta Scott King was unveiled in Atlanta, at the King Center’s Peace and Meditation Garden on April 27.
The new 15-foot monument includes her trademark quotes, as well as a steel chapel dome, mosaic floors, and bronze microphones designed by sculptor Saya Woolfalk.
Mrs. King launched the King Center in 1968, after her husband was assassinated, and his corpse was delivered by a horse-drawn carriage to Southview Cemetery.
“The magnitude of her contributions to humanity are yet to be known,” said the Rev. Dr. Bernice King, who serves as the CEO of Atlanta’s King Center. “Today’s dedication of this monument is but a beginning. There’s much more to come, and when her legacy is fully revealed, we will know that because of her, because of Mom, because of Coretta Scott King, the dream lives and the legacy continues.”
Mrs. King’s statue in Atlanta is not like an earlier controversial statue called “The Embrace,” designed by sculptor Hank Willis Thomas. This monument in Boston contains a mix of limbs and arms that sparked controversy and ridicule when it was unveiled in January 2023. The Atlanta monument includes a reflective garden, a stonepaved area flanked by benches and flower beds that lead up to the monument. It is located near the eternal flame that burns next to the pool that surrounds the crypt that holds the corpses of Dr. King and his wife. The new monument in Atlanta aims to convey peace and total tranquility. It contains a live microphone that allows visitors “to speak their own words and commitments to civil rights and nonviolence.”
The monument cites few details about Mrs. King who was an aspiring vocalist when she met the Rev. Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr., while she was enrolled at Boston’s New England Conservatory of Music. Born in Marion, Ala, to entrepreneurs in 1927, Coretta Scott King married after she had earned an undergraduate degree in music at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and was awarded a scholarship to further her music studies at the New England Conservatory of Music. After earning a degree there, she joined her husband, then the pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery. In a recent statement on the King Center website, the Rev. Dr. Bernice King said her mother’s legacy was a “God-given assignment. She used faith, grace, elegance, strategy, intention and love to raise a nation on the brink of self-destruction while also raising her four children to not harbor hate, bitterness, and resentment but to let love lead.”
Archives taken from the pages of the (New) Journal and Guide
when it passes through the city on May 17, State Senator Henry E. Howell Jr. said in remarks at ODU that “Their (the marchers) presence in such large numbers will assist as nothing else ever has in sharpening my sense of awareness as to the problems of poverty’s effect on me and my city, as much as the poor person.”
Brenda H. Andrews CHIEF REPORTER: Leonard E. Colvin ASSISTANT TO THE PUBLISHER: Desmond Perkins ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Rosaland Tyler
PRODUCTION: Tony Holobyte
Harvard Speaker
The widow of the slain Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. will speak for her husband on June 12 at Harvard University’s Class Day Ceremonies in Cambridge, Mass. Mrs. Coretta Scott King of Atlanta will be the first speaker for the annual event who was not a university official or student. Dr. King accepted the invitation to address the group a week before he was shot to death by a sniper in Memphis.
13 Norfolk Workshop In Non-Violence Planned
NORFOLK
A mass citizens’ rally will be held at Foreman Field on May 17 at 8:30 p.m. as a conclusion of the day of the Poor People’s March activities. Thirteen workshops on nonviolence will be conducted earlier.
Several marchers will speak at the rally. According to a march official, residents will also participate in the program.
A statement on the objective of the march says: “The commitment to Nonviolence in the campaign means militant actions for economic justice without destruction either of a person or to property. For some, as for the late Dr. M. L. King, Jr., nonviolence is a total way of life. For others, it is a practice to be employed. Yet for all authorized participants in this campaign, nonviolence is a required commitment.”
Meanwhile emphasizing the effect the Poor People’s March will probably have on Norfolk and the nation
He said, “I am hopeful that when we say goodbye” to the marchers on Saturday morning as they go down the road to our nation’s capital to petition for national assistance, you and I will make a pilgrimage as individual citizens to Berkley and East Ghent; that we will walk the pavement and visit where we can and observe where we can’t the effect to poverty in Norfolk.”
Jordan Receives Endorsements
NORFOLK
Following the first public meeting of candidates for three seats on the seven-man city council in the upcoming June 11 councilmanic election, Attorney Joseph
A. Jordan was the recipient of an endorsement of the Tidewater Area Business League (TABL) and the apparent support of three of the other four independent candidates.
In this endorsement of Jordan, the league stated that it feels “he will effectively represent the interest of the many small businesses of Norfolk.”
The Forgotten Colleges Appeal For More Help WASHINGTON, D.C.
The nation’s state and land-grant universities called on corporations and other sources of philanthropy to provide a massive upsurge in their support of predominately Negro public colleges.
“Despite their many contributions to society, these institutions are ‘forgotten colleges’ when it comes to private support,” said the National Association of State Universities (NASULGC) in a statement released last week.
Public Negro colleges get less than one percent of their
Cassius “Muhammad Ali” Clay, dethroned World Heavyweight boxing champion, visited Norfolk on May 8. He was enthusiastically received by the student bodies of Norfolk State College and B.T. Washington High School.
Pictured above, Muhammad Ali is interviewed by Journal and Guide (sports) editor Cal Jacox and Marshall X, (center) minister of the local Muhammad Mosque, who is taking notes. More than
banners.
total income from private sources. “Because public institutions are not included in the United Negro College Fund, UNCF) they are cut off from this major source of corporate and foundations support,” the Association noted.
NASULGC’s statement was issued in booklet form on behalf of the nation’s 35 predominately Negro public four-year colleges and universities. These institutions currently enroll nearly 90,000 students representing more than two-thirds of all students in Negro colleges and about one-third of Negro students in all of higher education.
Huntington Students Hold Mock Convention
NEWPORT NEWS
The annual nominating convention for presidential and vice-presidential candidates for Huntington High School’s Students Government Association was held on April 30.
The assemblage had the appearance of our National (political) Conventions with the homerooms serving as states of the United States. States were located by their waving
5,000 students in both schools heard Ali’s evangelistic message. Later that evening Ali spoke at the local Mosque and appeared on a radio talk show. During his 50-minute speech at Norfolk State, Ali said Negroes will only progress when they have been segregated from the white society. Negroes should be given land and the means to produce goods and food so they can establish a separate state.”
Linda Gatling, the temporary chairman, called the body to order. The school band played the National Anthem and Joann Meredith offered the invocation.
Florence Cherry, the permanent chairman, presented the Association’s president, Vernice Wright. She charged the convention with the responsibility as good school citizens. Party platforms were outlined by Sheridan Christians and Peggy Allen.
Mary Marshall called the roll of states. At this time nominations for president and vice presidents were made from the floor.
Donna Black nominated Kermit Ashby as Vice President for the Students’ Republican Party. Michael West nominated Russell Owes as President.
May 12, 1956
Edition of the Guide
5 Arrested Following A Near Riot
ROANOKE
Near panic gripped some 3,000 colored dancers on the floor of the local American Legion
auditorium last Friday night when liquor and soda pop bottles began to rain out of the balcony occupied by 1,000 white spectators.
A dance attraction billed as the “Second Annual Coronation Ball” and featuring the “Greatest Rhythm and Blues of 1956,” a package show headed by Ruth Brown, drew a capacity crowd to the auditorium.
As is the local custom when a colored attraction is being held, white spectators took seats on the balcony, and for three hours danced on the floor and spectators enjoyed the presentation from the stage.
Just a few minutes before the end of the affair, however, one bottle was hurled out of the balcony. In quick succession, other bottles plummeted down upon the heads of the dancers and panic resulted.
Police officers, including special policemen and all officers available, were rushed to the auditorium and within a half hour, the building was evacuated.
Five persons, including three Negroes and two whites were injured.
The new monument in Atlanta aims to convey peace and total tranquility.
NOTE: Dr. Wornie Reed’s Column will be returning at a future date.
– Publisher Brenda H. Andrews“At last, there is a critical mass of people all over the country who are are prepared to draw the line against conservative efforts to erase Black history, against efforts to make anti-racism unnameable, against efforts to undermine the ability of the next generation to understand what the meaning of that history is for the here and now.” -
Kimberlé Crenshaw
In Florida, activists staged a sit-in outside the office of Governor Ron DeSantis, who signed a law last week that bans teaching about systemic racism and gender and race discrimination.
In Washington, D.C., and New York City, protestors marched outside the College Board headquarters to protest the watering-down of its AP African-American History course.
Across the country, concerned citizens convened Teach-ins on college campuses and read-alouds of banned books.
And dozens of Urban League affiliate presidents, gathered in New Orleans for a Leadership Summit, stood together for the Freedom To Learn National Day of Action on Wednesday, expressing their solidarity with the thousands of Americans defending truthful, inclusive education and efforts to remedy systemic racial inequities.
Schools banned nearly 1,650 individual books in the last school year, most of them because they include themes about race or sexuality. Among the titles
America pays its debts. It is a basic pledge. Millions of Americans who hold savings bonds or put their hard-earned money into federal treasury bonds need not worry. The bonds are good; the interest will be paid. The reason the dollar is the currency used by countries across the world is that America pays its debts.
The Republican “plan” is not a serious proposal. They won’t even admit what it requires. They are offering a posture, not a policy.
deemed to be too dangerous for children to read are Toni Morrison’s novel The Bluest Eye, which explores “the devastating effects of racism and self-hatred on young Black girls in America;”
Ibram X. Kendi‘s Antiracist Baby, a guide for discussing racism with young children; and Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, for which earned author Mildred D. Taylor the Newberry Medal, presented for “the most distinguished contributions to American literature for children.”
Access to truthful history, diverse books and critical ideas for students and educators are crucial to the nation’s history as a multicultural democracy. The so-called “War on Wokeness” threatens to eradicate decades of progress toward racial justice, by warping our view of the nation’s past, and thwart our future progress toward an equitable, multicultural society.
As highlighted in the National Urban League’s 2023 State of Black America® report, “Democracy in Peril: Confronting the Threat Within,” 21 states already have enacted measures that censor the honest examination of racism and race in American society, and the College Board has excised crucial material from its AP African-American Studies curriculum in response.
The so-called “War on Wokeness” threatens to eradicate decades of progress toward racial justice.
The Freedom to Learn campaign has demanded that the College Board:
• Restore the AP AfricanAmerican Studies curriculum
• Commit to making the course available online to students who live in states in which politicians have enacted bans of books, knowledge, and ideas contained in the original curriculum that would prevent the course from being taught in those states
• Conduct an independent investigation into to how the course development process was corrupted by outside political forces
• Hold all implicated College Board officials accountable It is a betrayal of democratic values for any responsible leader to actively participate in distorting or denying any part of our country’s history.”
As Loyola University professor of communication and African and AfricanAmerican Studies Karsonya “Kaye” Wise Whitehead noted, “It is not simply a debate about curriculum. We are standing up and saying that our classrooms — this nation’s heart and soul — are not up for debate; they are not up for discussion. You are not going to whitewash us out of history.”
If I have not been clear, I believe that the best possible health for everyone should be the aim of a just and responsible society. Last week’s article ended with the following statistics from an NAACP Crisis article:
• Four in 10 Black men aged 20 or older have high blood pressure – 30 percent higher than white men.
• Black men’s risk of stroke is 2x that of white men.
• Black men experience 40% higher cancer deaths than white men.
• Black Americans are 80% more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes and nearly twice as likely to be hospitalized than whites.
The negative health impact of racism is not gender specific. Societal expectations of “the strong Black woman” create circumstances whereby the health impact of racism upon Black women is underestimated or ignored. According to a March 2023 US News and World Report article, Black women who are exposed to certain forms of racism may be more likely to develop heart disease.
Researchers tracked more than 48,000 women enrolled in the Black Women’s Health Study from 1997 to 2019. None had heart disease in 1997. During 22 years of follow-up, 1,947 women developed heart disease. Heart disease risk wasn’t tied to experiences of racism in everyday life, but women who reported experiencing racism in employment, housing and in their interaction with police were at higher risk of heart disease compared with those women who answered no to all three questions on structural racism. Black women who said they faced discrimination in employment, housing and in their interactions with the police were 26% more likely to develop heart disease than their counterparts who had not
Now Republicans are holding that pledge hostage, demanding savage cuts in spending or they will default on America’s debts by refusing to raise the debt ceiling. The threat is nuclear: failing to pay our debts will sink the value of the dollar, shake the global financial system, drive interest rates higher, and blow up the economy here and most likely across the world. Millions will be thrown out of work.
The threat is also stunningly irresponsible. The tantrum of a child or a mad person. Give us what we demand or we will blow up the economy.
The threat is about paying debts that the Congress has already accumulated. Over one-third of this debt – a staggering $8.3 trillion of it – was racked up in the four years under Republican President Donald Trump –largely from massive topend tax cuts and for massive emergency spending in the pandemic. Now Republicans are saying that they will renege on the debts that they helped accumulate if they don’t get their way.
So what do they want?
Amazingly, they refuse to say. They have said what they won’t do: they won’t raise taxes, even on billionaires and corporations that pay literally nothing. They claim they won’t cut Social Security and Medicare. They insist on deep cuts –freezing spending at 2022 levels for a decade – but they won’t say what will get cut.
It is unlikely that they will cut the military budget or support for veterans. If they
decided simply to freeze spending on the military and veterans, that would require cutting all domestic spending by nearly a fourth. That would mean slashing investment in public health, in roads and bridges, in air traffic control, in food safety, in education and job training, in science and technology programs, in affordable housing, in food and income support for impoverished mothers and children.
Traveling would get more dangerous. Our food and water would be less safe. We would lose the competition for the jobs of the future. Housing would get more expensive. Our schools would be poorer. Fewer would be able to afford training or college. More children would go hungry. No one likes to admit these things – but they are simply true.
In their 320-page bill, Republicans do identify some things that they want. They want to cut spending on Medicaid and food stamps by raising work requirements – although that doesn’t save much money. They want to erase investment in renewable energy while opening more subsidies to big oil and coal. They want to cut the money that would enable the IRS to audit corporations and the wealthy who are not paying the taxes they owe. That according to the Congress’s own budget office will end up costing a net of more than $100 billion in tax avoidance.
To justify this, they lie. They claim that the
government has grown “bloated,” appealing to popular prejudices. In reality – as they know – federal civilian employment is less than it was 60 years ago, even though the population has grown dramatically since then.
Why not lay out what they plan to cut? Because they can’t agree among themselves. Because they don’t want to admit to supporting cuts that would be very unpopular – and corporate subsidies and ripoffs that are indefensible.
The Republican “plan” is not a serious proposal. They won’t even admit what it requires. They are offering a posture, not a policy. But our politics have become so partisan and so poisonous that few if any Republican moderates will offer a voice of reason.
President Biden has called on the Congress to honor our past debts and lift the debt ceiling – and then to negotiate seriously about our nation’s priorities and how we pay for them. He has refused to pay ransom to those who threaten to blow up the economy. The question now is what happens if Republicans carry out their threat and refuse?
In that case, the president will have no choice. He should use his authority under the laws and Constitution of the United States to honor our commitments and pay our debts. The politicians may rage and posture, but the full faith and credit of the United States must be honored.
Every year, the American Library Association unveils its list of the top ten mostchallenged books for the previous year. And this year, Number One is the same as last year’s Number One: the book “Gender Queer,” by Maia Kobabe. Other books that achieved this distinction were Toni Morrison’s classic “The Bluest Eye,” “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M. Johnson, and other titles dealing with race, gender identity, sexuality and coming of age – in other words, real life.
neither abnormal nor alone. Meanwhile all students grow up knowing less about the world.
Censorship stunts their intellectual growth.
brave and principled people on school boards, but also bigger, more powerful organizations that are willing to support them.
experienced such structural racism. (Structural (or Institutional) racism refers to the ways that a society fosters racial discrimination through housing, education, employment, health care and criminal justice systems.)
“Chronic psychosocial stressors such as racism increase levels of inflammation, blood pressure and other risks for heart disease,” said study author Shanshan Sheehy. She is an assistant professor of medicine at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. see Health, page 6A
This year’s list also follows the Association’s announcement that demands to censor library books reached 1,269 last year – nearly doubling demands from the previous year. That’s a record high in all the years since ALA began compiling data more than 20 years ago. And because censorship demands now often include numerous books, a record-high number of individual titles made the list of targeted books last year: 2,571. The ALA says of those, the vast majority were written by or about people of color or the LGBTQ community.
This is a tragedy for students, and not just students who come from the communities the censors want to silence. Those students lose the sometimes life-saving experience of seeing themselves in a story and knowing they are
Art Spiegelman is the creator of “Maus,” a Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel that depicts his family’s experience of the Holocaust – and is frequently targeted by censors. His experience as a target of censors has made him a leading activist against book banning, and he believes the answer to the book-banning craze is to get involved in local politics – including school board elections, where the battles over censorship are waged.
Spiegelman made it clear in a recent CBS News interview that he recognizes the right of a parent to say their own child can or can’t read a book, but to make that decision for other parents’ kids is “suppression and authoritarianism.”
Spiegelman’s position seems entirely reasonable to me. We can honor
the rights of individual parents to make decisions about their kids’ exposure to books, art and other cultural materials without mandating decisions for everybody else. That seems like rational ground we should all be able to occupy.
But rationality left the room a while ago when it comes to the Far Right’s attacks on the freedom to learn. The main group leading the charge on banning books, Moms for Liberty, has become something akin to a terrorist organization. Reports now abound of group members carrying out harassment campaigns in their communities, calling for librarians to be shot and making unfounded public accusations of child abuse and pedophilia against their perceived “enemies.” The group has also become a significant force in Republican politics. And it’s growing. see Censorship, page 6A
What we need now are not just
Many Black adults are already at higher risk of developing heart disease due to high blood pressure or type 2 diabetes, so it’s important that they do all that they can to improve their heart health.
Continued from page 1A
According to public records of tuition rates, if he had paid for all four years at the two schools, the price tag could have exceeded $150,000.
According to the report, Thomas should have reported the tuition payments from Crow in his annual financial disclosures.
Several years earlier, Thomas disclosed a gift of $5,000 for Martin’s education from another friend. It is not clear why he reported that payment but not Crow’s.
Pro Publica concluded that the tuition payments added to the picture of how Crow has helped fund the lives of Thomas and his family.
“You can’t be having secret financial arrangements,” said Mark W. Bennett, a retired federal judge appointed by President Bill Clinton. Bennett said he was
friendly with Thomas and declined to comment on the specifics of Thomas’ actions for the record.
But he said that he wouldn’t let his lawyer friends buy him lunch when he was on the bench.
While the approximately 3,000 people in attendance at the White House Correspondents Association Dinner and countless others watching on C-SPAN enjoyed Wood’s humorous but valid – bit, many have realized that when it comes to Justice Clarence Thomas, the jokes on the American people.
In the brutally funny monologue, Wood roasted Thomas for taking trips around the world “like an Instagram model” on Crow’s dime.
“Billionaires always come up with something new to buy,” Woods quipped.
“[Crow] bought a Supreme Court justice. Do you understand how rich you have to be to buy a Supreme Court Justice? A Black one on top of that. There’s only two in stock and Harlan Crow owns half the inventory.”
Continued from page 1A
The events may have coincided with the mobs celebrating with picnics.
These events occurred during Post-Civil War Virginia when Blacks were securing some socio-political empowerment. There were even elections of Blacks to local and state political offices, who championed progressive legislation.
Loss of employment or brutal acts like lynchings were used to suppress and intimidate Blacks seeking advancement.
Dr. Gianluca De Fazio, an associate professor at James Madison University, directed a research project that has uncovered almost 600 historical news accounts of lynchings across Virginia.
A byproduct of the research is a report “Racial Terror: Lynching in Virginia,” including an interactive map of the lynchings across the state from 1866 to 1932.
“It’s very helpful ... to think of some kind of racial terrorism
in which these lynchings are not just about punishing an alleged or perceived criminal,” De Fazio said, adding that the lynchings were often meant to send a message to the community not to violate laws or the racial hierarchy.
The EJI report makes a distinction between “frontier lynching” in the West and racial terror lynchings that occurred in the South. In frontier lynchings, the subject was accused of a serious crime and given “some form of process and trial.” Southern lynchings were largely “extrajudicial” – without court proceedings – and racialized: The ratio of Black victims to white victims in southern states was 4-to-1 from 1882 to 1889, increasing to more than 17-to-1 after 1900.
According to Dr. Fazio’s report, lynchings occurred statewide, with Tazewell County having the most, 7. Locally the most according
to Faizon’s report, occurred in Newport News (formerly Warwick County).
One of the Newport News victims was Fred Tinsley in June of 1902. He was hanged for “paying attention to a married white woman.”
There was a rare case involving a white man. In 1900 Williams Watts, was shot and then hung for “assaulting a married white woman.”
A still “un-named” Black man died in 1909 when his “body was riddled with bullets” for “paying attention to an unmarried white woman.”
Two well-documented and brutal deaths of Black men in Norfolk and old Princess Anne County (Virginia Beach) were recorded by Fazio’s research.
The case in Princess Ann County was recently highlighted in the Virginia Mercury News service, which countered any image of Virginia as a moderate and genteel bastion of racial
tolerance.
The Mercury story details the story of 10-year-old Alice Powell singing a Christian hymn, “The Sweet By-andBy,” as she left for school early on Friday November 13, 1885. She took the solitary path through a portion of Princess Anne County where the present Holland Road exists.
At the day’s end, following a violent thunderstorm, when she didn’t return home, a search party was mustered and searched through the wooded areas near the child’s home.
Late that night the posse came upon the scattered remains of her lunch before discovering Powell’s mutilated body in a gruesome crime scene within a half-mile of her home.
Two Virginia newspapers, the Norfolk Virginian and the Richmond Dispatch, gave the first accounts of Powell’s death and were among the first to report the subsequent lynching of her alleged killer, a Black employee of the family named Noah Cherry.
“Alarm turned to fear,” according to the Virginian’s account. “A crowd of people searched for the little girl and found her body about a halfmile away from her home. The Virginian’s description of her corpse was graphic:
“On the right side of her neck was a terrible gash, large enough to insert a man’s hand ... [H]er underclothing was torn, showing that the murderer had also attempted an outrage before the murder.”
The Virginian newspaper said someone in the crowd remembered Cherry had an argument with one of Alice’s brothers and had sworn to get even. The area’s constable arrested Cherry on Saturday morning, and authorities gathered evidence against him through the weekend, finding Cherry’s blood-spotted clothing and Alice’s school books in a bundle near his home.
The same weekend the Dispatch and Virginian’s accounts came out, Cherry was murdered by an angry crowd not far from the Princess Anne jail near the intersection of Princess Anne and North Landing Roads.
After Alice Powell’s funeral, newspapers reported talk of lynching intensified.
But both the Virginian and the Dispatch had already mentioned the possibility of lynching in their very first accounts of Alice’s death.
The Virginian’s story came out before the funeral and publicized it as well as the possibility of a lynching.
A 2021 report by the University of Maryland’s Howard Center for Investigative Journalism found news accounts after Reconstruction of the Investigations often fueled racial hate and drove lynchings with their coverage.
According to an account from the Virginian, on Sunday night a crowd of masked people assembled near the jail.
They marched to the jail at 11 p.m., forced the jailer to flee, and seized Noah Cherry.
They marched him down the road to a nearby pine tree.
According to the newspaper, moments before his death, surrounded by that angry mob, Cherry confessed to killing Alice Powell. The crowd then hung him and shot him more than a dozen times.
The November 19, 1885, edition of The Virginian included an article about Noah Cherry’s lynching. (America’s News Archive)
The day after the lynching, a Princess Anne County judge ordered Cherry’s body to be taken down, according to the Virginian, that said a second coroner’s inquest found that he’d been killed by unknown people.
The Dispatch had fewer details but also mentioned this second inquest. Cherry was buried near the Princess Anne jail, somewhere around the Virginia Beach Municipal Center.
Next week: George Blount was snatched from a jail cell in the Berkley section of Norfolk in 1906 and beaten to death.
A 2021 report by the University of Maryland’s Howard Center for Investigative Journalism found news accounts after Reconstruction of the Investigations often fueled racial hate and drove lynchings with their coverage.
The U.S. surgeon general recently declared widespread loneliness in the United States the latest public health pandemic, comparing its effects on people’s health to those of smoking a pack of cigarettes every day.
In his 81-page research, Dr. Vivek Murthy found more than half of U.S. residents have felt lonely at some point.
According to Murthy, healthcare experts have concrete proof that loneliness impacts a significant part of the U.S. population, causing sensations akin to hunger and thirst.
“The feeling the body sends us when something we need for survival is missing,” Murthy explained.
He stated that he wants to raise awareness of issues that impact most people and encourage them to speak out instead of enduring silence.
The Surgeon General’s declaration seeks to increase conversations surrounding loneliness, though Murthy doesn’t foresee any legislation or formal federal action ahead.
The declaration noted that, in recent
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He shot Yarl first in the head and then in the arm.
According to the police report, Yarl said he heard a voice say, “Don’t come around here.” Yarl got up, ran away and is lucky to be alive. Lester posted bail, which was set at $200,000, the sheriff’s office said.
According to CNN, Lester was released on bond and attempted to speak with the judge throughout the proceeding but was not argumentative.
Lester is scheduled to appear in court on June 1. Meanwhile Yarl, the
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All of which makes it intimidating to think about getting involved in school board politics if you want to fight censorship. And that’s exactly the point. What we need now are not just brave and principled
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Many Black adults are already at higher risk of developing heart disease due to high blood pressure or type 2 diabetes, so it’s important that they do all that they can to improve their heart health. “Keeping blood pressure in the normal range, not smoking, leading a physically active life, and sleeping well are good for your heart,”
than $1 billion, making it the most expensive sale in NHL history.
decades, Americans reported feeling lonelier because of their declining involvement in religion, civic groups, and families.
Single-person homes had doubled over the past 60 years but worsened when COVID-19 struck, forcing most Americans to abandon school, workplaces, and social visits.
According to the advisory issued by Murthy, individual health and the lack of social connection pose a significant risk to one’s longevity.
The advisory noted that a poor or insufficient social connection has ties to a high disease prevalence, a 29 percent increase in the risk of heart disease, and a 32 percent increase in the risk of having a stroke.
The potential for anxiety, depression, and dementia is increased when an individual is lonely, the advisory cautioned.
Murthy said the lack of social connection may increase susceptibility to
Black teen, suffers from headaches and still faces a long road to recovery, according to his attorneys.
His attorney, Lee Merritt, recently told CNN, “Had the bullet hit his head a fraction of an inch in any other direction he would probably be dead right now.”
At the recent multiracial protest held for Yarl outside of the downtown Kansas City courthouse, Linda Deah, age 33, stood with her younger sister Denise.
Both women are Liberian immigrants like Cleo Nagbe, (Yarl’s mother).
They attend Revival of Hope Ministries located in the city’s immigrantheavy northeast. The church is currently raising funds to buy tee shirts that
people on school boards, but also bigger, more powerful organizations that are willing to support them. The organization I lead, People For the American Way, has a cadre of school board members in our Young Elected Officials network. We are engaged in outreach to these folks, especially in states that are hotbeds for book banning like Florida and Virginia. We’re asking them what they need,
Sheehy added.
Among our unresolved and disturbing aspects of “Black” Health Issues are Maternal and Infant Mortality. According to the CDC: “Black, American Indian, and Alaska Native (AI/ AN) women are two to three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women.”
The New York Times ran a recent article:
“Childbirth Is Deadlier for Black Families Even When They’re Rich, Expansive Study Finds: The study ... by the National Bureau of Economic Research, includes
viruses and respiratory illnesses.
In older adults, it’s estimated that social isolation leads to more than $6.7 billion in additional Medicaid spending because of extra hospital and nursing facility costs.
The Surgeon General also warned that isolation and loneliness lower academic achievement and worsen performance at work.
Additionally, employers lose about $154 billion each year because of stressrelated absences by employees.
“Given the profound consequences of loneliness and isolation, we have an opportunity, and an obligation, to make the same investments in addressing social connection that we have made in addressing tobacco use, obesity, and the addiction crisis,” Murthy asserted.
“This Surgeon General’s Advisory shows us how to build more connected lives and societies. If we fail to do so, we will pay an ever-increasing price in the form of our individual and collective health and well-being.”
say, “Ringing a doorbell is not a crime. Justice for Ralph,” according to news reports.
“It’s just too much,” said Linda Deah, who is a medical aide at an assisted-living facility in a mostly white, middle-class suburb and works a second job at a tax-prep center, more than 50 miles away, in St. Joseph. “At church we’re being killed. In supermarkets we’re being killed,” she said.
“We’re being hunted down like animals,” said her sister Denise, who works at a call center and as a cosmetologist.
Before Yarl was shot, a similar incident occurred on April 19, just before 10 p.m., in the small town of Hebron, N. Y, some
including on the security front. We want to empower them to stay in their roles because we need them more than ever to stand up to the onslaught of groups like Moms for Liberty. If the American Library Association’s findings are any indication, this is just the start of a new struggle for the freedom to learn, one that hasn’t yet reached its peak. We owe it to the next generation not to stand on
nearly all the infants born to first-time mothers from 2007 to 2016 in California, the state with the most annual births…it combines income tax data with birth, death and hospitalization records and demographic data.”
It also states: “Black mothers and babies have the worst childbirth outcomes in the United States. But this study is novel because it’s the first of its size to show how the risks of childbirth vary by both race and parental income and how Black families, regardless of their socioeconomic status, are
60 miles northeast of Albany. Kevin Monahan, age 65, came outside with a gun and fired, at four young adults who turned their car into the wrong driveway while looking for a friend’s house. He shot and killed Kaylin Gillis, age 20, the young woman who mistakenly pulled up in her car to his driveway. The gunman and the victims were White.
Meanwhile, in California, Fred Veenendaal, vice principal at Sunnyside High School, recently harassed several young Black girls while they walked through his gated community. He dialed the police and said the girls were “ghetto” and “Section 8 people.”
However, the girls said
the sidelines; please think about how you can help.
Svante Myrick is President of People For the American Way. Previously, he served as executive director of People For and led campaigns focused on transforming public safety, racial equity, voting rights, and empowering young elected officials. Myrick garnered national attention as the youngest-ever mayor in New York State history.
disproportionately affected.
“The richest Black mothers and their babies are twice as likely to die as the richest white mothers and their babies.”
May is Mental Health Month. Next week, in Part 3, we’ll discuss issues related to Black Mental Health and I will bring a layman’s perspective to initiating resolution to health issues affecting Black people.
Dr. E. Faye Williams is President of The Dick Gregory Society and President Emerita of the National Congress of Black Women.
Snoop Dogg, the hip-hop legend and business mogul, has joined entrepreneur Neko Sparks in a bid to buy the National Hockey League’s Ottawa Senators.
In an Instagram post, Snoop announced his involvement.
Snoop wrote to his 80 million fans, “It’s crazy what Neko Sparks is trying to do in Ottawa.”
“I’m excited about being a part of that business team.
“I WANT TO BRING
HOCKEY BACK TO OUR AREA.”
According to The Athletic, the legend counts among more than a dozen investors –including numerous persons of color – in Sparks’ consortium, which is making a significant push at owning the Senators. The final price for the Ottawa club could be more
in a video that records the encounter, “We didn’t even do nothing, so we recording you right now. You know that’s harassment, right?”
Veenendaal, who has been with the Fresno
If their bid is successful, the idea of Snoop being an NHL owner could be appealing. Unquestionably one of the most popular entertainers today, Snoop’s presence could lead to unprecedented interest from African-Americans, who have mostly shied away from hockey.
Sports analysts believe that if the Senators construct a new arena, Snoop could increase fans and media coverage. Such a move would lead to massive revenue generation for the team.
There has yet to be an official date for when the sale of the Senators will finish, as the process of talking with and vetting the most qualified buyers is still going on.
“I’ve been watching hockey for about 25 years now. I’ll watch it more and more when kids that look like me play the game,” Snoop told ESPN.
Unified School District for just under 15 years, was placed on leave as the district investigates a viral video of his recent encounter with the Black teens, according to news reports.
According to Murthy’s advisory, individual health and the lack of social connection pose a significant risk to one’s longevity.
Continued from page 1A
Valentine was born July 26, 1937, and attended Booker T. Washington High School and Norfolk State University where he studied Business Management.
At one point he served in the U.S. Army.
After NSU he received training with the U.S.D.A. Graduate Administration.
He returned home to become NSU’s Business Manager from July 1969 to December 1970.
In that position, he was responsible for University Assets and Financial Controls.
“I was part of the team that converted and assisted with the first computer system installation on campus for business purposes,” he said in his LinkedIn Account. “I worked very closely with the IBM Team. All Campus Auxiliary Staff reported to me.”
In an article “And Still I Rise: SMA Sets Sights On Comeback” in the December 4, 1996 edition of the New Journal and Guide, Valentine talked about how he started and grew his business into one of the most successful in the country; how it fell from prominence and where SMA was headed at that time. He did continue to operate his business on a much smaller scale for a number of years after that interview.
Valentine said that while working with the U.S.D.A., he started a small computer keypunch company. This is how information was typed into computers at that time.
Using the federal minority contracting system, he submitted bids for contracts from NASA, EEOC, and the Department of Education.
By 1980 his keypunch and consulting business was making $4.6 million.
Two years later, Valentine bought the 16-story J.C.
Penny building for $4 million at 254 Monticello Avenue. This was the largest real estate purchase undertaken by a Black business owner in the city’s history. He did this with a loan from the reluctant city of Norfolk.
“Nobody said I would be able to pay it back,” he said in the GUIDE, but he paid $3 million of it back in just three years. That shut the mouths of doubters about his financial stability.
Valentine gave generously to non-profits as well as NSU and ODU.
He also supported programs for Norfolk Public school students.
SMA provided a $100,000 grant that allowed 70001 Training and Employment Institute, a non-profit based in Washington, D.C., to team up with the Norfolk Public School District and
create the SMA “Stay In School Program” for Norfolk school dropouts. It was the only one of its kind in the country. And, he provided after-school training and employment for unwed and pregnant teen mothers in various skilled jobs to save them from a life of poverty.
“Mr. Valentine was an iconic businessman who inspired young Black men (like me) to venture into a space that was considered unfamiliar territory!” said former Portsmouth Mayor and Businessman Kenneth Wright.
“I’ve been in business for the last 25 years and adopted his model of excellence as a roadmap to my success.
I consider him a pioneer in the government contracting space. Well done, Sir!”
Valentine recalled in the GUIDE article that when SMA put its logo across the top of its building, no other
building in the area was doing it. “Weeks afterward,” he said, “you saw every other major corporate building with their names being put on their buildings.” SMA’s muscle was developed when Valentine received a patent for his SNAP II non-combat onboard Navy computer system, which he sold to the Naval ship contract. SMA was contracted to build and install SNAP II as well as “ruggedize” it to endure the effects of combat and the rolling of Navy vessels plowing through the seas. That one contract started at $7 million in 1984 and reached $62.2 million by 1987.
Slow payments on the contract and some complaints were common, but SMA grew at 85 percent a year.
Six years after winning the contract, SMA’s SNAP II was in 507 Navy Vessels.
In the late 80s, SMA expected a $111 million contract raise. It would assure SMA for years if approved and upgraded the system.
According to the GUIDE article, the Navy was “dragging its feet” in approving the big contract option to continue the SNAP II project.
The Navy, FBI a Federal Grand Jury were secretly investigating allegations of a kickback scheme being run by several of Valentine’s underlings.
The Navy refused to approve the contract extension. Employee layoffs and operations of SMA were cut back or abandoned.
Valentine’s financial empire was crumbling and his reputation was under assault.
Of the 5,000 SMA employees, 32 top administrators were charged. The worst offenders, Morgan Joe and Alton Skeeter were
indicted on racketeering, perjury, and filing false tax returns.
Herman Valentine was cleared of any wrongdoing.
On a chilly Sunday morning November 24, 1996, the city demolished the SMA building with an implosion using high explosives.
It was televised on local TV.
Valentine continued the SMA operations and moved the abbreviated version to Norfolk’s Koger office building away from the downtown area.
Valentine told the GUIDE that after he was exonerated, people who doubted his innocence apologized and noted to him that the Navy “gave me a dirty deal.”
Valentine remained undaunted.
“I think if anyone knows me, they know I like challenges. I always want to succeed and overcome the odds,” Valentine said. “I have achieved a lot in the last 10 years. And I have also lost a lot, too.”
A member of the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., consistent recognition in rankings of Top 10 Black Businessmen, inducted into the National Black Press Hall of Fame, and recipient of the Colgate Darden Award were only a few of his honors.
Throughout his life Herman Valentine offered countless professional development opportunities for local men and women, minorities, and the disadvantaged, creating opportunities in his community for many who went on to develop lauded careers of their own.
He was an avid lover of horses and lived for many years on Cavalier Horse Farm, a place he dearly loved. He hosted horse shows and used his farm as a place for riders to train, some of whom went on to Olympic competitions. He leaves behind his wife, Dr. Dorothy Valentine, their two sons Ward and Bryce, their families, and their grandchildren.
As a child Tikesha Williams found the library near her family home in Petersburg to be not only a place to read and meet friends but a safe refuge.
In high school, her first after-school job was at the Virginia Avenue School Library.
“I recall the librarian there reinforced in me the importance of reading,” she said. “I knew early I wanted to work at a library or own a bookstore of my own.”
In 2019, just before COVID hit, Williams started selling books online.
The COVID pandemic sharpened her ability to sell books since many public libraries and bookstores were closed or restricted how people moved about in either.
Sometime early last year, an acquaintance called and informed Williams that a bookstore in Newport News was for sale.
Last November, Williams’ lifelong dream came true. She sealed the deal to buy the fourdecades-old “Paperback, Ink – All Booked up” bookstore at
9716 Warwick Boulevard in Newport News.
Since then, Williams has applied a few coats of paint, added more shelves, a coffee shop, and even a number of new and used titles in the storefront outlet.
Williams, who is also an insurance adjuster, commutes for 1.5 hours between Petersburg and Newport News.
Her husband and children still live in Petersburg as she shares a house in Newport News.
“That hour-and-a-half commute gives me time to think, plan my days and collect my thoughts,” she said. “This has been a huge investment. But I am now working for myself in my bookstore.”
Williams said that business is good. She has a staff of seven who help her keep things going. People of varying ages and races patronize the place, browsing for new and old titles to read or they sit and enjoy a nice free cup of coffee.
“A lot of people don’t know we are here yet,” she said.
“So, I have to do a little more marketing. But when they do come in, they are amazed that it’s so bright and new.”
“There are a lot of elderly
and retired people who come in just to get out of the house,” she said. “There are even a lot of young people. They like our prices; they can get three used books for $20. Seniors get discounts, too; so, we are affordable.”
There are 127 Black-owned bookstores in the United States, according to a recent census by the website “Oprah Daily.”
Williams, 48, now owns one of seven AfricanAmerican-owned bookstores in Virginia, according to the website of her Paperback, Ink in Newport News. There are two in Virginia Beach, one in Norfolk, and Chesapeake. With Black authors penning more books with varied themes, the idea of bookstores going the way of Radio Shack or Sears Mega stores may be a myth, Williams said.
Also, the idea that AfricanAmericans are not readers is bogus, she said.
“Black people do read,” said Williams. “This is one stigma which is ceasing with Black people.”
Williams held the official ribbon-cutting for her Warwick Boulevard site recently and it was well attended.
I think if anyone knows me, they know I like challenges. I always want to succeed and overcome the odds.”
– Herman ValentineTikesha Williams cuts the ribbon for “Paperback, Ink – All Booked up” bookstore at 9716 Warwick Boulevard in Newport News. Photo: Courtesy
The City of Newport News recently received a $145,000 grant from private donors that may decrease the number of food deserts in the city.
Although there are more than 6,500 food deserts nationwide, the new grant that was funded by the American Beverage Foundation for a Healthy
America (ABFHA) and the African-American Mayors Association (AAMA), aims to decrease the number of people who actually suffer from food scarcity in Newport News. The grant will provide funds to Sarfan Food Forest, which will throw open its doors to low-income residents from the southeast community and allow them to pick and store free fruits and vegetables that are grown on its 5-acre site.
NORFOLK
At its regular meeting on Friday, May 5, 2023, the Norfolk State University Board of Visitors voted to set tuition, fees, room, and board rates for the 20232024 academic year. The BOV approved modest increases that will aid NSU to remain a viable educational resource for the Commonwealth. The annual tuition cost for fulltime in-state undergraduate students will increase by $174, bringing the Fall 2023 tuition to $5,926. NSU’s tuition cost remains one of the lowest rates in the Commonwealth
of Virginia. The tuition for non-resident undergraduate students will increase by $508 to $17,428 for a full-time student. Tuition for graduate students will increase by $264 for resident students to $9,084 for full-time students. Tuition for non-resident graduate students will increase by $626 to $21,498.
Mandatory Fees for all students will increase by $114 to $3,984. Room and Board for all students will increase by $326 to $11,170.
The new rates will take effect for the Fall 2023 semester.
Sarafan Forest is the third-largest food forest in the nation. The new grant will fund programs at Sarafan, as well as community health and educational programs.
Of the grant, Newport News Mayor Phillip D. Jones said in a recent statement on the city’s website, “Thank you to the American Beverage Foundation for a Healthy America and the AfricanAmerican Mayors Association for investing in Newport News and helping bring the Sarfan Food Forest to life. The poverty rate in the Southeast Community is 54 percent, a staggering statistic we are striving to address through initiatives like the Sarfan Food Forest. I commend ABFHA and AAMA for their commitment to cities across the nation and supporting the health of our
residents.”
Specifically, the new grant will give low-income Newport News residents year-round access to free, fresh fruits and vegetables at Sarafan, which already owns and operates more than 75 different fruit trees, berry patches, numerous gardens, a pollinator meadow, a farm stand, an outdoor classroom area and a main gathering area with picnic tables and shade sails.
The new grant will help Sarafan Farms and The Newport News Foundation launch numerous foodscarcity campaigns including outdoor classrooms, community farm stands, indigenous gardens, a pollinator meadow, recreational areas, and more. Through this project, Newport News aims to remove the city from the food desert list.
The grant will provide funds to Sarfan Food Forest, which will throw open its doors to low-income residents from the southeast community and allow them to pick and store free fruits and vegetables that are grown on its 5-acre site.
Associate Editor
New Journal and Guide
Hampton University
graduate Margaret O.
Daramola is now Virginia’s next poet laureate.
Gov. Glen Youngkin recently appointed Daramola to replace outgoing Poet Laureate Luisa Igloria. Youngkin heard Daramola perform in-person at the investiture of Hampton University President Darrell Williams in March and was “greatly impressed by her presence and passion.”
As Virginia’s new poet laureate, Daramola will perform at official events and promote the art of poetry in the Commonwealth for the next two years.
Daramola grew up in Switzerland and began writing as a child. She published her first book in 2021, “A Pathway Through Survival.” Her first book describes how she made peace with despair and
gained spiritual and emotional healing.
Virginia’s new poet laureate achieved a spot on the dean’s list honoree every semester at Hampton University. She is a former vice president of the African-American Student Association and a member of Hampton University’s Pre-Law Society. Her awards include the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship and Student Poet initiative award.
She also played for Hampton University’s women’s volleyball team
CHESAPEAKE
One-hundred and sixty deputies of the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office were treated to pizza recently, courtesy of The Honor Network and Papa John’s Pizza.
The Honor Network is a non-profit organization based in Long Island that travels around the country performing acts of kindness in areas impacted by mass casualty incidents.
in 2021, according to the university’s website, and won two Swiss championships prior to coming to Hampton Roads.
“Virginians will be honored to have such a talented poet represent us as Laureate,” Youngkin said in a recent statement. “I have always believed that the promise of Virginia’s future is represented in young adults like Margaret. Suzanne and I look forward to Margaret blessing Virginians across the Commonwealth with her incredible gift.”
NORFOLK
Mount Zion Baptist Church will be commemorating its 127th Anniversary by holding a grand worship experience. The church was founded in 1896 and is a bedrock in the City of Norfolk. This celebration will recognize the over twelve decades of worship and service in Berkley and the greater Norfolk community, will honor the pioneers who built the foundation of this great congregation, and will share the future aspirations for the church under the leadership of Rev. Dr. Carl N. Sherrill.
The Honorable Rev. Dr. Mark M. Whitaker, Assistant Pastor of New Bethel Baptist Church in Portsmouth, Virginia will be the keynote speaker.
The celebration service will be held on Sunday, May 28, 2023 at 3:00 p.m. at Mount Zion Baptist Church, 900 Middlesex Street, Norfolk, Virginia 23523.
At the turn of the 19th century facing the severe discrimination of the Jim Crow Laws, Mount Zion Baptist Church 2 was organized by fourteen faithful souls. Mount Zion was born from a desire to give thanks and gratitude to God who enabled many disenfranchised AfricanAmericans to exercise their God-given freedom to worship.
This historical church was built from the lumber of an old house that was hauled to Berkley Avenue, known as the “Old Plum Board Church.” After the “Great Berkley Fire” in 1916, a new modern structure was erected on Berkley Avenue
Extension.
In 1975, Mount Zion broke ground on its current location at 900 Middlesex Street. At that time, Mount Zion was the first church in the United States to be powered by solar energy.
The church prides itself on fulfilling its mission to “Love God, Love Man and Serve the World.”
On April 23, 2023, the group came to Chesapeake to honor the victims of the Walmart mass shooting. While performing an act of kindness at Chilled Ponds in memory of victim Randy Blevins, founder Tommy Maher met Chief Deputy, Lt. Colonel Christopher Pascal. Maher presented Lt. Colonel Pascal with a “Be the good sign, Emotional Support
for Law Enforcement” books for the sheriff’s office and police department, and with
the help of Papa John’s Pizza, lunch for more than 160 deputies.
NORFOLK
The Southside community is coming together on May 11th at 6:00 p.m. to host a Mental Health Symposium at the Southside Boys & Girls Club. The event will feature a Townhall-style discussion format, and partnerships by the Boys and Girls Club, Community Service Board, GEAR Recovery Inc.
The Mental Health Symposium is aimed at promoting mental wellness and lifestyle for the residents of the Southside community. The Symposium will host multiple mental wellness health and lifestyle vendors
to help individuals achieve mental health and access to resources.
The event will feature experts in mental health and wellness, including Mental Health Professionals, City Officials, Norfolk Public School Representatives, Affordable Housing, Norfolk Police Department, Norfolk Department of Public Health, and other relevant community resources. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn about different health and community resources available in the community and get an insight into best practices for maintaining
mental wellness. The Boys and Girls Club, City of Norfolk Community Service Board, and GEAR Recovery Inc. have joined hands to organize the symposium, and they are committed to providing resources and support to the Southside community.
Light refreshments will be served during the event, and attendees will have the opportunity to network with other members of the community and mental health professionals.
The Southside Boys & Girls Club is located at 701 Berkley Ave Ext, Norfolk, VA.
NORFOLK
The Links are joining with the American Red Cross and the Sickle Cell Association in sponsoring a Blood Drive on May 18 to Tackle Sickle Cell. The Red Cross Bloodmobile will be on site at Shiloh Baptist Church, 745 Park
Avenue, Norfolk, VA 23504, on Thursday, May 18, 2023 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a group of inherited red blood cell disorders that affect mainly people of African descent. People with SCD often require regular blood transfusions to
help them live full lives and enjoy most of the activities that other people do. Tackle Sickle Cell aims to ensure adequate blood supplies are available for SCD patients. Please visit: RedCrossBlood.org and enter: theLinks to schedule an appointment.
“LOVE GOD, LOVE MAN, SERVE THE WORLD”
NORFOLK Virginia Arts Festival presented its 2023 Ovation Award to an artist who has had an extraordinary impact on the region for more than 50 years: former Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater principal dancer, choreographer, and beloved educator Elbert Watson. The award was presented to Mr. Watson in a ceremony on Saturday, April 29 at the Slover Library in Norfolk.
“Elbert Watson has served as an inspiration, a guide, and a mentor for young people in the Hampton Roads region for decades,” said Virginia Arts Festival Perry Artistic Director Robert W. Cross.
“A brilliant dancer who toured internationally for years, he returned home to create and lead one of the most vibrant arts education programs not just in the region, but anywhere – and is still building a legacy that has influenced generations.”
Watson was born and
raised in Norfolk, and fell in love with dance as a child. He performed with the modern dance group at Campostella Junior High School, the Tidewater Dance Guild, the Norfolk State University dance theater and the Academy of the Tidewater Ballet, and won numerous local dance competitions while attending Booker T. Washington High School.
He auditioned for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York in 1973 and was accepted into the famed company, where he quickly became a principal dancer, taking on major roles and performing across the U.S. and internationally. He later joined the Staatstheater Ballet Company in Kassel Germany.
Returning home to Norfolk in the early 1980s, he was asked to join the Norfolk Academy faculty and created a far-reaching dance program that
I vividly remember one unforgettable Friday night dance, as a senior student at Booker T. Washington High School in Norfolk, Virginia. You see, I loved to dance to all the latest 1960’s rock and roll, rhythm and blues, antiwar songs and anything called the Motown sound. Even today, I get happy in the Lord and dance in the spirit to the hymns and gospel songs of the church.
(L-R) Robert Cross and Elbert Watsonremains one of the most arts education programs in the country nearly 40 years later.
In addition to his role as Co-Chair of the Norfolk Academy Arts Department and Dance Master, Watson continues to perform and to choreograph new
works, joining in special projects with many area arts groups including the Chrysler Museum and the Virginia Symphony Orchestra. He is the founder of the Tidewater Dance Collective and The Elbert Watson Dance Company.
By Randy Singleton
Community Affairs Correspondent New Journal and Guide
Rev. Dr. Brenda Boone-Smith & Higher Praise Community of Hampton Roads, celebrated their 23rd Reunion Anniversary on April 16, 2023 in a Buffet Dinner and Concert at the Chesapeake Conference Center. Rev. BooneSmith’s sister, Gospel Vocalists Amelia Sears Goodman and Linda Porter kicked off the celebration.
Dr. Boone-Smith presented Elder Ronald Harper & The Harmonizing Echoes an award for their dedication and support. She also expressed gratitude to them for sharing their inspiring Gospel music ministry with her and her choir, Higher
Praise Community Choir for over 15 years.
The evening was spent worshipping, and praising in words and songs.
“God blessed us to have a highly Spirit-filled anointed service and the food was extremely good,” said Dr. Boone-Smith. “We dined together with our musical guests, attendees, family, and friends.”
The Gospel Concert featured the original Legendary Slim’s Supreme Angels, Milwaukee, WI; Rev. Thomas Spann & The Brooklyn AllStars, Brooklyn, NY; Frankie Davis, Paris, France & The Mighty Stars; and Hampton Roads Best: The Word Singers; Elder Ronald Harper and The Harmonizing Echoes.
As I looked around the dance floor in that crowded gymnasium, nicknamed, “the dungeon,” I spotted an unfamiliar face. She was an extraordinarily beautiful girl, pecan tan, medium height, long hair, bow legs and “cutting a mean rug.” She caught my eye but I did not catch hers. I found out later that her first impression of me was not positive. She saw me as a show off, all over the dance floor, cutting up and loud. Now in my latter years, having grown up a bit, I must admit she was correct.
Knowing that she loved to dance and I did too, I made my move and cut in on her dance partner. I have not stopped dancing with her since. That was early 1960, now it is May of 2023 and we have been married for sixty years, since May 10, 1963. A few months prior to this, my beloved maternal grandmother (Momma), Clara Robinson Davis’ last words to me were, “That girl is the one for you.” I did not know she would go home to glory the next morning. She was only fifty-nine and in the hospital for what she said was a minor procedure. I took her dying words seriously.
We are so proud of our family which started growing in October, 1964 when Monica Delores was born, and in September, 1966, Donita Michelle, the “knee baby” was
born. Twelve years later in February, 1978, along came Jaimie Hope, the last of our children to be added. Today, in addition to our girls, we have two sonsin-law, Raymond Ferebee (Monica) and Keith Caleb, Jr. (Jaimie). We are blessed with eight grandchildren: Winfield, Korinn, Toya, Blake, Blaire, Kyndal, Joi, and Keith, I. The fourth generation of the Edwards’ clan include Javon, Nasaiah, Kaila, and Tyrell.
In 1963, I cannot honestly say there were very many of our family, friends, acquaintances who gave us a vote of confidence that our union would endure. There were no signs that indicated otherwise. We were too young, from opposite sides of the track, different personalities, different tastes, different ways of looking at the world. Where was the common bond, the thread that tied us together?
The answer is simple, “If it had not been for the Lord on our side,” we would never have made it. God truly knew me from my mother, Clarestine Edwards’ womb in 1942 and from Dee’s mother, Helen Smith Winfield’s womb in 1946.
see Dancing page 5B
This marriage was ordained by God, even with its many ups and downs.Rev. Dr. James and Rev. Dee Edwards at 2023 MEAC Tournament Photo: Courtesy Photo: Courtesy AllphotosbyRandySingleton The Legendary Slim’s Supreme Angels Rev.Thomas Spann & The Brooklyn AllStars
God blessed us to have a highly Spirit-filled anointed service ...”
NOTE TO OUR READERS:We wish to inform you of the recent transition of Mrs. Gladys McElmore. We will continue to carry her column in her memory until further notice. Thank you.
– Publisher Brenda H. Andrews
At the age of about thirty, Jesus began His public ministry. He had submitted Himself to baptism by John to demonstrate His faithfulness and obedience even though He was sinless. Jesus began His early ministry by participating in worship at the synagogues. The usual worship consisted of the recitation of prayers, scriptural readings from the Law and from the Prophets, a sermon and a benediction.
Jesus, on many occasions, encountered opposition, rejection and of course conflicts occurred in the synagogues. How familiar do these stories seem to us today? There was opposition in Capernaum because He healed a man (Luke 4:31-37). The ruler of the synagogues was extremely angered because
Jesus healed a woman on the Sabbath (Luke 13:1016). Jesus publicly stated He was the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy. His preaching and teaching often provoked negative reaction (Matthew 13:5458; Mark 6:1-6). After reading these scriptures we will all know that present day oppositions and criticisms of Jesus’ ministry are by no means new problems. Jesus handled His frequent confrontations by issuing stern warnings to those who flaunted their righteousness in synagogues. He called them hypocrites. As opposition to His work continued, He warned His disciples of a time in the future when they, too, would be persecuted in the synagogues (Matthew 10:17; Matthew 23:24; Mark 13:9; Luke 12:11;
Luke 21:12). Read other verses in Matthew, Mark and Luke on the teachings, healings, rejections and the warnings of Jesus Christ for the early Christians and for us today. Let us continue to ask God for opportunities to share the scriptures and the benefits involved when this knowledge is available. Luke made it known that Jesus showed a loving interest in all kinds of people. He had time for children, the poor and oppressed along with people in other categories.
Regardless to the reported goodness of Jesus, hatred flared (Luke 4:28-30).
However, God allowed Jesus to walk through the crowd and to go on His way unharmed! We, no doubt, can also remember God saving us from some evil entrapments! God is awesome every day and drives out evil spirits that we cannot handle. We are helpless and hopeless without God through His Son Jesus Christ who was glorified at the beginning and the end of His ministry. As we strive to continue spreading the GOOD NEWS to all people, let us not forget that our hope lies in Almighty God who acts on our behalf!
Mrs. Gladys McElmore was born in Essex County, Va. She was the founder of the Kathryn Bibbins Memorial Bible Study group.
1. If momma isn’t happy, no one’s happy. For she is the seat of emotions, the Right-Brain and she sets the emotional’ tone in the family.
2. “But the Jerusalem above,(the Messianic Kingdom of Christ), is free and she is our mother.” (Galatians 4:26) “For it is written in the scriptures, Rejoice, Oh barren woman who has not given birth to children; break forth into a . joyful shout, you who are not feeling birth pangs, for the desolate (childless) woman has many more children than she who has a husband.” (Galatians 4:27; Isaiah 54:1) – Amplified Bible 3. Isaiah 54: The Amplified Bible states as appropriate for 4 categories of women: lonely disappointedchildless-widow. 4. Although it was designed primarily to celebrate the rejoicing of the redemption of Zion, this scripture has a long, primarily overlooked; message for women.
5. The special message for women is this: If women will read this chapter prayerfully and receptively for one year, they will be spiritually prepared for the states of loneliness, disappointment, childlessness, or widowhood should they occur.
6. For all women,
regardless of their marital or single state have been lonely or disappointed at some times.
7. This 54th chapter of the book of Isaiah gives all the confidence, assurance, and understanding that feminine hearts have longed for through the ages.
8. It is important to keep your eyes on the words of the Bible. For Jesus says in John 6:63 – “My words are spirit and they are life.”
9. So the Bible words are more than ink on paper. The spirit and life of the words leap off the paper and stream through the pupils of the eyes and engage the spiritual centers of the brain, bringing wholeness, health, and, peace. This same process emanates from the hearing of the word. The spirit/mind in the Believer is quickened or made alive. This spiritual food feeds the heart/soul, which is the
clothing of the spirit.
10. Verses 1-3 relate to the • childless woman, manned or single, who is barren and has never experienced the pangs of childbirth. But she is not to become depressed and sad. The Bible tells her to sing and shout aloud for although she is desolate (childless) and without biological children, “the childless woman has many more spiritual children that far outnumber the biological children of the manned wife,” says the Lord.
11. The childless woman should re-establish relationship with those of her spiritual self and make her home comfortable for entertaining. She should write endearing notes and invite the spiritual children for tea, brunch, or dinner. They should go on cruises, leisure excursions, and educational tours. Extend yourselves. Get involved in causes. Live deeply, the devotional life in God.
12. (v. 4) Comforts the childless or single woman who may have been married in early life, but is now divorced or widowed. It may nurture one who has had an abortion, and feels shame and guilt. The older married woman must not impinge or worry about life after the demise of her husband. She too must embrace life with gusto.
see Rivka, page 6B
MOTHER’S DAY 2023
“But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the Mother of us all” (Galatians 4:26 KJV)REBECCA’S WELL BY REV. DR. REBECCA R. RIVKA
Read: Proverbs 31:10-31
The book of Proverbs opens with warnings about evil women but closes with a description of a godly woman. Everything about this woman is praise worthy. She has greatness of character. It should be noted that those traits of the woman worthy of praise apply to a woman married or single.
1. Diligence (vv. 13, 17 -16, 27b) this trait is to be mixed with a pleasant spirit and a good attitude. She is to possess pride in not just getting by, but in doing a good job. 2. Industry and efficiency (vv. 14, 16, 24). This trait indicates that she is a thinking individual. In the investment of her time, she looks for dividends and returns. Instead of focusing on the grind, she looks to the benefits her work will bring.
3. Compassion (vv. 20, 26). This quality is to be governed by discretion. It appears God has given the
woman a particular capacity for compassion. Usually the man learns compassion and its exercise from her. 4. Beauty (vv. 22, 25). She dresses herself with dignity and taste. Her attractiveness is cultivated externally and internally, both of which have their place of importance. If married, she is a devoted wife. 1. She maintains her husband’s confidence (v.119). He can be comfortable in being transparent with her, even to the extent of sharing his feeling of inadequacy, insecurity and disappointment. He knows that she will keep these to herself. 2. She meets his needs (v. 11b). Supportive and affectionate, she encourages him in his personal pursuits. She’s committed to him and to his efforts.
3. She seeks his good (v. 12). She never views public criticism as something of worth. 4. She aids his influence (v. 23). She’s a large part of
the reason he is great, though others may not be aware of the extent of her effect upon him. If a parent, she is a dependable mother. Not only is she a woman with greatness of character and a devoted wife, she is also dependable in her mothering role. How? 1. She is disciplined (vv. 15, 18 -19). She learns how to take charge of herself so that she can meet her family’s needs.
2. She is organized (vv. 21, 25). In these verses there is a sense of planning. She takes the challenge of a family as just that, instead of viewing it as a cross she must bear.
3. She is dedicated (v. 27). Her dedication is marked by unselfishness and a desire to
Continued from page 3B
This marriage was ordained by God, even with its many ups and downs. We have never gone to bed angry at each other, but one of us would have to stay up all night. Praise God, we have seen 21,900 new mornings containing new mercies, 60 years of love, forgiveness, honesty, and respect. We held up
live for those of her household. The woman chosen to live up to the description written by Lemuel – first spoken by his mother – has tangible rewards awaiting her. Her life of greatness, devotion and dependability are not lived for naught.
The results of her faithfulness will be that: 1. Her children will bless her; 2. Her husband will praise her; 3. Her peers will be challenged by her; 4. Her works will bring their own praise; and 5. Her Lord will be honored by her life.
Rev. Dr. Archie L. Edwards, Sr., is an Associate Minister at Second Calvary Baptist Church in Norfolk.
the blood-stained banner declaring our allegiance to God and each other in this marriage. People may not have seen a sign when we got married but they do now. Mark 10:79 (f) KJV, “What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.”
Now, I look across, not the dance floor of the gymnasium, but the floor of our bedroom, living room, family room, kitchen or whatever space is near, and ask the same pretty girl ... “May I have this dance?”
Sunday, May 14, 2023!
Rivka
Continued from page 4B
13. Now, v. 5 is the signature verse for all women, but especially for the single or divorced and/or the woman who has been jilted. Your real husband is the Lord Jesus who created you, the Maker and Sustainer of all mankind. “Ishi” is His name.
(Hosea 2:16) This is it. No mortal man can match your true Husband who is your Maker. Psalm 4:3 makes this poignantly clear: “But know that the Lord has set aside the Godly for Himself.” So live a clean and Godly life in the spirit. You are not married because God made you for Himself. Say to others, “I AM Godly.” This knowledge can certainly be expected to engender your optimal selfesteem . and soul worth. You will never seek a mate, nor feel lonely again.
14. (v. 6) God calls all to Himself who feels forsaken and grieved in Spirit, particularly young wives, married in their youth, and later refused or rejected.
Jesus will never forsake you. The Father God says you may feel I have left you all alone, but although you could not “feel” me I am right by your side. I have been there all the time. Furthermore, Jesus says He will be with you always, ever until the end of the world. 0, rest in His covenant of Peace, Love, and Mercy. (v. 10)
15. (v. 11) I will comfort you who are tossed and afflicted and will not be comforted. I will come and make you the jewels, the precious jewels of my crown.
“After you have suffered awhile, I will make you perfect (mature) establish, strengthen and settle you.”
(1st Peter 5:10) 16. (v. 13) Christ Jesus says be happy don’t worry about your children whether they are spiritual or biological/ spiritual. “All thy children shall be taught of the Lord.”
17. (v. 14) Mothers, you who are spiritual or Bio-Mothers ... Listen to your present and futuristic blessings:
a. “You shall be established in righteousness.”
b. “You shall be far from oppression.”
c. “You shall not fear.”
d. “Terror will not come near thee.” (Forget talks of ISIS Hate Groups, etc.)
18. (v. 15) If strife comes before you, it doesn’t come from me, says Jesus. Furthermore, any man or woman who comes against you shall stumble and fall.
19. ( v.17) This final verse says it all regarding the restoration of all women, the wife of Jehovah (Israel) as well as tp.e wives of mortal men.
20. “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.”
21. Remember my sisters in Christ. The Amplified Bible states: “Read this whole chapter (Isaiah 54) every week for one year and you will be spiritually prepared for childlessness or widowhood should the situations occur.”
Blessings and Shalom.
Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.
NORFOLK
Leah’s Chase’s Chicken Creole is simple, delicious, and easy to prepare with patience.
After watching the dish being shared on the premiere of “The Dooky Chase Kitchen: Leah’s Legacy,” which premiered on WHRO-15 (PBS) last Saturday, it was the excuse needed to pretend one was shopping in the French Quarter buying fresh ingredients for her dish: green peppers, tomatoes, and okra.
Since he was coming to town that night (May 7), I put on some Kirk Whalum. Then I got to work paying homage to a culinary mentor Leah Chase. Looking back, it was an honor to get a few cooking tips from her.
While covering the New Orleans Jazz years ago, a friend wanted to make sure we visited Dookie Chase Restaurant. He told me that besides a shared interest in looking for the best cuisine, Mrs. Chase reminded him of his mother, which motivated the visit even more.
Mrs. Chase, the Queen of Creole Cuisine, was passionate about Creole cooking and AfricanAmerican art. She and her husband, Edgar “Dooky” Chase’s restaurant, was a gathering place during the
First recipe shared by the famous Creole cooking authority and New Orleans restaurateur. Chase’s granddaughter, Chef Zoe Zoe, and grandson Dook Chase are co-hosts of “THE DOOKY CHASE KITCHEN: LEAH’S LEGACY. The series premiered recently on WHRO-15 Saturdays at 10 a.m. and repeats on Sundays at 11:30 a.m.
Civil Rights Movement. and was known as a gallery due to its extensive African-American art collection. Before the pandemic, Food & Wine Magazine named it one of the 40 most important restaurants of the past 50 years. Creole and Cajun cuisine comes from the people who populated the Gulf and southern Louisiana Bayous. Its mash-up of recipes come from the Gulf’s indigenous people mixed with the descendants of enslaved Africans, their descendants, and the influences of French, Italian, and Hispanic colonizers. Cajun incorporates West African, French, and Spanish cooking
techniques into its authentic cuisine.
In short, Creole cuisine uses tomatoes, and Cajun cooking does not. Therefore, the terms “Cajun” and “Creole,” used loosely and interchangeably when describing Louisiana food, are not the same.
The late Mrs. Chase was generous and welcoming to the chef-writer. With her golden brown complexion and beautiful white hair, I saw how she could remind my friend of his mother.
Mrs. Chase thought I was after her chicken recipe. But what I really wanted was the secret to her gumbo. Her secret?
Mrs. Chase said, “make it good.”
Here is the recipe Chef Zoe prepared. Be sure to tune in next week. My editor said I nailed it last week.
My mentor would be proud.
Ingredients:
6, 5 oz. boneless and skinless chicken breasts;
1 tbsp. salt;
½ tsp. white pepper;
¼ cup olive oil;
1 cup chopped onions;
½ cup chopped green peppers;
2 cups whole tomatoes;
2 cups chicken stock;
2 cloves garlic (chopped);
½ tsp. ground thyme;
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper;
12 small whole okras;
1 lb. shrimp (peeled and deveined);
1 tbsp. chopped parsley.
1. Season chicken with 1 teaspoon salt and the white pepper.
2. In large skillet heat the vegetable oil. Place seasoned chicken in hot oil, turning it as it cooks. Lower heat. Remove chicken and set aside.
3. Sauté onions in skillet until clear. Add the green peppers; stir and cook. Add whole tomatoes, stir them into onion mixture. Add stock, garlic, thyme, cayenne pepper, and rest of the salt.
4. Cook sauce on high heat for four minutes. Lower heat; return chicken to sauce. Add okra and simmer until okra are just tender.
5. Add shrimp and cook until shrimp are pink. Add parsley.
6. Serve over rice or penne paste.
Yield: 6 servings
Recipe: The Dooky Chase Kitchen; Leah’s Legacy.
NJGs Food and Culture Correspondent
VIRGINIA BEACH
The Princess Anne Independent News is a Virginia Beach bi-weekly tabloid. The Virginia Farm Bureau highlighted its publisher JohnHenry Doucette who accepted a plaque which recognized the work of several columnists. Glen Mason, New Journal and Guide Food and Culture Correspondent, received the Farm Bureau’s Members’ Choice Award for his series on farm to table cooking.
