NJG | Vol. 123, No. 22 - June 1, 2023

INSIDE:

Exclusive:

Robert Davenport III is one of the first persons to undergo successful curative treatment for Sickle Cell Disease. see page 5A

Honoring Black Americans’ Role In The Inception of Memorial Day

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia

Memorial Day has a deep historical connection to the African-American community in the United States.

The holiday, which originated as Decoration Day, initially began when formerly enslaved individuals and their descendants gathered to honor and decorate the graves of Union soldiers who fought during the Civil War.

“Oddly, that’s a fact that I wasn’t fully aware of,” former U.S. Ambassador Andrew Young told the Black Press.

Portsmouth Celebrates With Memorial Day Festivities

receiving

Lucas-Burke,

Scott, Dr.

Memorial Day dates to Decoration Day when formerly enslaved Blacks gathered to decorate the graves of Union Civil War soldiers.

Vice

GOLD STARS MEMORIAL IN CHESAPEAKE

CHESAPEAKE

On Sunday May 28, the city of Chesapeake held a Dedication Ceremony at the Chesapeake Park at 1 p.m. for its new Gold Star Families Memorial Monument.The memorial is designed to help families reflect on and salute their loved ones. The memorial has tributes of two sides made of Black granite. One side bears the words: “Gold Star Families Memorial Monument,” which salutes Gold Star families and relatives who sacrificed a loved one for America’s freedom.The other side has four granite panels: Homeland, Family, Patriot, and Sacrifice.

WWII Veteran Observes 100th Birthday; Recalls His Service

By Leonard E. Colvin Chief Reporter Journal and Guide

Since the end of the Civil War, the nation has observed the sacrifices of the service members on the fields of battle or on the world’s oceans.

But for the shrinking number of veterans who fought in WWII, still alive, it is even more special, especially if their birthdays land near the Memorial or Veterans Day observances.

Since last December, William Capehart has been focused on one goal: to live until May 26 to celebrate his centennial – 100th birthday.

“That was all he was talking about,” said Juwanda Scott, one of his nursing caregivers at the Old Dominion Rehabilitation Center, the rest home where he now lives in Newport News.

Last Thursday, Capehart achieved his goal. He was treated to some of his favorite foods, visited by his offspring

Apart from living a century, Capehart is one of the remaining 180,000 or so War II veterans still living today.

who could, and fielded phone calls from those who could not.

He was also serenaded by a local gospel quartet. “Papa” Capehart’s official birthday bash, organized by Scott, was attended by a huge crowd, including active and veteran servicemen, Newport News police, family, and friends.

Apart from living a century, Capehart is one of the remaining 180,000 or so War II veterans still living today.

There is an even smaller number of surviving African-American WWII veterans.

During the American involvement in the war, some 16.1 million U. S. service members served on land, sea,

and air to defeat the Axis Powers.

Capehart was one of 125,000 African-American men and women who served to defend this country during WWII in racially segregated combat and support units in Europe and the Pacific theaters.

Capehart was born in Colerain, North Carolina, a small town in Bertie County. He said he lived on a small farm with his mother and father and drove a truck, as well.

At 18, Capehart said he was drafted into the U.S. Army when the United States was drawn into an already raging war, after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in December 1941. see Capehart, page 7A

“It’s not surprising, though,” said Young, an American civil rights leader and hero.

Indeed, on a day when picnics, family outings, and other leisurely pursuits occur, the founders of Memorial Day meant for the occasion to honor AfricanAmericans newly freed from enslavement, and those who lost their lives fighting for freedom, said actor Wendell Pierce.

“We will never forget those brave and honorable souls,” Pierce stated.

Famous DJ Donnie Simpson called the occasion “very different for me.”

“While we honor those who gave their lives in

service for this country, I can’t help but think of those African-Americans who were massacred in Tulsa 100 years ago,” Simpson wrote on Twitter.

Author Christina Coles deadpanned, “The Civil War was over, and AfricanAmericans had founded Memorial Day in a ritual of remembrance and consecration. They were the true patriots.”

Ben Gold, a historian and founder of the real estate investment firm Recommended Homebuyers, said recognizing Black soldiers,’ and their families’ sacrifices and bravery is essential because it acknowledges their oftenoverlooked role in shaping the nation’s history. see Memorial, page 7A

Few Virginians Apply For Unused Brown Vs. Board Scholarships

By Rosaland Tyler Associate Editor New Journal and Guide

Less than 100 AfricanAmerican students in Virginia have actually received a Brown v. Board of Education Scholarship.

The scholarship program was launched by Virginia lawmakers about two decades ago, in 2004, and aims to help aspiring college students pursue a college degree if they were locked out of public school during Massive Resistance from 1959 to 1964.

Most people do not know about the scholarship fund which may help explain why to date, only 88 students have actually received one of these scholarships in its 19 years of existence.

The fund – close to $1 million dollars – is available to students in counties where federal funding was withheld from school districts during Massive Resistance and local school districts closed for one to five years.

As this population of students ages, the General Assembly passed HB 1419 and SB 1498, effective July 1, 2023 that now extends scholarship eligibility to the descendants of persons eligible.

Massive resistance was a strategy launched by U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd Sr.

of Virginia. Specifically, Massive Resistance was a set of laws enacted in1956 that aimed to prevent forced school integration after the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision was handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court. Several Virginia school districts closed including districts in Warren County, Charlottesville, Norfolk, and Prince Edward County.

Virginia’s scholarship program was launched by the state with $1,050,000 from the state and a large donation from Charlottesville philanthropist John Kluge. Thanks to new donations, contributions, and interest earnings, the scholarship fund now stands at $994,679.09. Thanks to the statelaunched scholarship fund, Vera Morton, age 67, graduated with honors from Virginia Western Community College in Roanoke in May 2022, according to Cardinal News. see Scholarships, page 8A

Only 88 students have actually received one of these scholarships in its 19 years of existence.

TOP: Portsmouth Mayor Shannon Glover welcomes attendees to the opening ceremony of the 31st Umoja Festival, May 2628, after

permission from village elders Leigh and Eugenia E. Burton. Mayor Glover was joined on stage by

Mayor Lisa

Congressman Bobby

Nathan Woodard, and Rev. Milton Blount. BELOW: Portsmouth followed up its weekend events on Monday with the 139th Memorial Day parade, one of the nation’s longest-running Memorial Day parades, starting in 1884. Shown is the I.C. Norcom band (left) and the Masons (right)

Photos:RandySingleton

Photo: ErnestLowery

Passes: Rock Legend Tina Turner Never Quit

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia

Tina Turner, the “Queen of Rock ‘n Roll’ whose legend grew after she overcame a bitter divorce to musician Ike Turner that was filled with violence, has died at the age of 83.

The superstar’s family confirmed her death in a statement on Wednesday, May 24, noting that Turner died “peacefully” at her home near Zurich, Switzerland.

“Starting with her performances with her ex-husband Ike, Turner injected an uninhibited, volcanic stage presence into pop,” Rolling Stone’s Brittany Spanos declared in a tribute.

“Even with choreographed backup singers – both with Ike and during her own career – Turner never seemed to reign in,” Spanos, who coauthored the tribute with David Browne, asserted.

“Her influence on rock, R&B and soul singing and performance was also immeasurable.

“Her delivery influenced everyone from Mick Jagger to Mary J. Blige, and her high-energy stage presence (topped with an array of gravitydefying wigs) was passed down to Janet Jackson and Beyoncé.

“Turner’s message –one that resounded with generations of women –was that she could hold her own onstage against any man.”

Born Anna Mae Bullock in Tennessee in 1939, Turner started her career in 1958 as the lead singer for Ike Turner and his Kings of Rhythm band.

Later, the couple changed the name to the Ike & Tina Revue and spun out hit after hit with songs like “Nutbush City Limits,” “River Deep,” and the seminal “Proud Mary.”

Following a tumultuous and abusive relationship, Tina escaped from Ike’s clutches in 1976 with no money and just the clothes on her back that reportedly were bloodied following Ike’s latest assault.

During divorce proceedings, Tina simply demanded that she keep her stage name which the judge granted.

With assistance from rock stars like Mick Jagger and David Bowie, Turner rebounded several years later and topped the pop music charts with her 1984 solo album, Private Dancer.

The album included a bevy of hit singles,

including a remake of

Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together,” and “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” which became the title of her successful 1993 biopic starring Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne.

She then enjoyed the starring role alongside Mel Gibson in the 1985 movie, “Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome.”

In 1986, Tina wrote her memoir, “I, Tina,” which

writers used to create the film, What’s Love Got to Do With It.”

Over her career, Turner earned 11 Grammy Awards, and sold an estimated 180 million records globally.

In 2001, Turner earned induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and, in 2008, after having taken a hiatus from performing, toured the world for her 50th anniversary in show business.

“Heaven has gained

From The Guide’s Archives

Archives

Can’t Find Hermit’s $100,000; Spades Fly As Seekers Dig For Cash

BALNAW, MD

By his death from a paralytic stroke here last week, the late Caesar Moore, 61, a hermit, is drawing the spotlight of world interest toward this tiny Baltimore suburb because he left a cash fortune of nearly $100,000 and no one can fi nd it.

The exact fi gure of the fortune is known only up to the year 1930 and a dozen passbooks of Baltimore banks now in the hands of New Jersey relatives and heirs show total cash in saving accounts as of that year of $71,000. The $100,00 total is estimated on the basis of his past rate of savings applied to the years between 1930 and 1935.

The greatest mystery in the matter is the fact that Moore, who lived on next to nothing and survived, saved practically every cent he ever made for some baf fl ing reason, withdrew his $71,000 from the banks in 1930, and placed it elsewhere, probably, according to the results of investigations so far, buried in the soil of Balnaw, That residents believe the great cash hoard is hidden under the ground, perhaps somewhere near the one-room frame shack to which the wealthy hermit preferred to live, Balnaw is being dug up. Men and women by the score are taking their spades out to reputed treasure spots and, as a result, there are many holes being dug in the Maryland ground.

So feverish is the activity of the populace following the report that the fortune has been buried here that Balnaw residents will talk of little else save the Moore fortune.

Revised Relief Order Sending Women To The Berry Fields

NORFOLK

Steps to safeguard the welfare of the 700-odd women suspended from relief rolls were announced last week by relief of fi cials following a protest fi led by the Norfolk Colored Citizens Conference against the dropping of women with instructions to work in strawberry fi elds and capping factories.

Dr. H.G. Parker, the area administrator of the FERA, informed Rev. B.W. Harris, a representative of the conference committee, that the following precautions were effective immediately:

Men checking at every fi eld and capping factory to assure relief workers were present.

Checking the amount of all payouts to determine the amount of wage received and to supplement wages if not suf fi cient.

Parker said no person will be permitted to suffer because of an inability to secure work or to do work.

A survey will be made to determine the effect of the recent suspension order on school attendance. It will ascertain whether the children are going to the fi eld or remaining away from school because the parents have gone to work in the fi eld or capping factories.

It has been learned that a decided drop in attendance in schools of the city followed the dropping of the hundreds of Negro women from relief. The absentees were mostly the children of families on relief.

May 27, 1972

Edition of the Guide

Anti-busing Proposal Bitterly Opposed

NEW YORK

“It’s not the distance – it’s the Niggers” is a quote from a southern white matron and is the title of a new study on school busing released by Jack Greenberg, Director Council of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and Educational Fund, Inc., the principal arm of the civil rights organization.

The study presents a pointby-point refutation of the statements made by President (Richard M.) Nixon in a nationwide TV address on March 17 in which he announced his administration plans to impose a moratorium on further executions of court-ordered school busing.

The information-packed study said that gains have been made in fulfilling the rights of children to equal educational opportunities.

According to the report, the proposed anti-busing legislation would curtail only one kind of busing – busing to desegregate schools and not the school bus.

John A. Buggs, staff director designate of the commission, points out, “One need only imagine the national outcry that would result if all bus services for all schools’ purposes were suddenly withdrawn. Only when busing is used for desegregation purposes are there bitter complaints.”

Angela Davis Not At Scene, Say Witness

SAN JOSE, CA

The defense opened its case in the Angela Davis murder trials by disputing the prosecution’s testimony that she was not in San Rafael, California the day before the courthouse shooting that killed four persons.

A San Francisco attorney testified he drove Davis to Berkley at the time she was reportedly seen near the Marin County Civic Center.

Attorney Marvin Stender said Davis called him between 9-10 a.m. on August

an angel,” singer Ciara tweeted. “Thank you for the inspiration you gave us all.”

The Defender Network’s Twitter account praised Turner as “an unstoppable musical force who exuded grace and resilience. “ And hip-hop pioneer Grandmaster Flash said Turner would be missed. “My condolences to the Turner family,” Flash said. “Rest in peace Tina Turner you will be missed.”

In My Family, Father Made You Sing...

Having been selected as the first female musician in Naval history, Musicians Third Class Evangeline Geraldine Bailey, USN, 23, of Portsmouth, VA, and the U.S. Naval Hospital, Bethesda, Md, pauses for a moment with a few of the U.S. Navy Band in Washington. They are (L to R) Robert A Bell, John A. Reinhardt and David Z. Zehner.

6, 1970, met him at a parking lot, and rode with him to an address in Berkley. He said he left her “within a few minutes of noon.”

Stender testified on the first day of the defense case against kidnapping, murder, and conspiracy charges arising out of the August 7, 1970 gun battle. During the prosecution’s case which was concluded last week, several witnesses testified that Davis was with Jonathan Jackson in a survival station across the street from the Civic Center about 11 a.m. on August 6. The two were allegedly attempting to get help in starting a yellow van like the one used the next day to transport the hostages in the escape attempt.

High Court Rules On Free

Norfolk City Busing

WASHINGTON, D.C.

The appeal of the City of Norfolk from a lower court ruling that required it to provide free transporation for public school students was rejected here by the U.S. Supreme Court.

In addition, the court vacated a stay that would have prevented the implementation of the ruling by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Norfolk School Board told the Supreme Court in its appeal in April 13 that is would cost $3.6 million in one year to buy and operate buses

The NAACP had requested the court not to hear the case and vacate the decision because it intended to delay compliance in time for the new school year. Both requests were approved by the eight justices with Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. of Richmond Abstaining.

Henry L, March, III, a Richmond attorney for the NAACP, said we are “pleased and happy. It is great news” when he told of the favorable decision.”

Norfolk School Board Chairman Vincent J., Thomas, in commenting

HAMPTON

Young gifted and brilliant William “Smokey”

Robinson, a phenomenal show business institution for at least 12 years, will make his last performance with the Miracles at the Hampton Roads Coliseum on May 27 at 8 p.m.

Smokey literally rocked the entertainment world with his announcement early this year in Detroit that he planned to retire as an artist.

Also, all ears will be hearing his all-star Motown Show and band and distinguished guests who will be present from all over the country to witness this last performance of a great

on the adverse verdict, said, “I’m not surprised in view of our past record in appellate courts.

$242,000 In Contracts

Awarded To Minority Firms

PORTSMOUTH

The First Coast Guard District in Portsmouth has announced that in conjunction with Small Business Week held May 14-20, contracts total of $242,000 have been awarded to minorityowned businesses in Norfolk, Virginia Beach, and Jacksonville, FL.

Signing contracts for the projects recently were

Show

artist.

During this final appearance of the “Box Office King” of nightclub concerts and college campuses, many honors will be bestowed upon him at the Hampton Concert.

Recognized as a creative genius in the music world, Smokey Robinson once dubbed “the world’s greatest living poet,” by Bob Dylan and the Beatles, will continue to record, write and produce records for Motown Record Corporation, America’s number one independent record company that grew largely on the creative foundations Smokey Robinson helped to build.

James F. Lindsey, President of Lindsey Brothers Inc, of Virginia Beach, and Rear Admiral Ross Bullard Commander, Fifth Coast Guard District. Lindsey Brothers will build a sewage disposal system at Base Portsmouth, a septic tank at Parramore Branch Station, and general rehabilitations and renovations at Norfolk station. The total amount awarded to Lindsey Brothers is $209,000

T. J. Fence Company of Norfolk has been awarded a contract to install storm windows and doors at Coast Guard family housing at Cape Charles, VA.

“Smokey” Robinson Will Retire After Saturday’s

Turner’s message – one that resounded with generations of women – was that she could hold her own on stage against any man.”

Tina Turner

CARRTOON By Walt Carr

PROFESSOR EMERITUS OF SOCIOLOGY VIRGINIA TECH

JIM BROWN

By Wornie Reed, Ph.D.

The great football superstar, Jim Brown, joined the ancestors a few days ago. Let’s make note of one of his not-so-well-known achievements.

Jim Brown was the greatest all-around athlete in Syracuse University’s history and arguably the greatest in American history. I will have more to say about that in a later article.

While Brown’s legacy was tarnished by allegations of domestic assault, mostly against women, during his younger years and in his old age by accompanying Kanye West in groveling to Donald Trump, nevertheless, he did some noteworthy things off the sports field.

Muhammad Ali was drafted into the Army in 1967 but refused to go. For this, he faced intense public backlash and a possible prison term. So on June 4, 1967, Brown organized an event known as the Cleveland Summit and, alternatively, the Muhammed Ali Summit to assist Ali.

The group consisted of 12 African-American men, including eight prominent professional football players, Bill Russell, the great NBA star, and one collegiate basketball player, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, then known as Lew Alcindor. The other person was Carl Stokes, who later that November would win the election as Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio.

They met at an office of the Negro Industrial Economic Union, an AfricanAmerican empowerment organization founded by Brown.

On June 4, 1967, Brown organized an event known as the Cleveland Summit and, alternatively, the Muhammed Ali Summit to assist Ali.

Interestingly, one of these football players was Walter Beach, who, as a cornerback for the AFL Boston Patriots, had rallied his fellow Black players (all five of them) in 1962 to discuss the planned racially segregated hotel accommodations for the players for an exhibition game in New Orleans.

The Black players requested they did not stay overnight but that the team allow them to fly down and back the day of the game. Unfortunately, the team did not provide Beach with a plane ticket. Instead, they cut him from the team. This is the environment in which several still active players ventured to address the Ali situation.

Ali had refused to be inducted into the Army because of his religious beliefs and his ethical opposition to the war in Vietnam. And legend has it that these men met with Ali to provide him cover for his ultimate decision. If he changed his mind, as many people thought he would, they would take the “blame” for convincing him to do so. But, on the other hand, they would support him if he did not change his mind.

While it worked out that way, some participants told a different story, a story that might be better than the legend. Bob Arum, the powerful boxing promoter who controlled the closed-circuit television rights for Ali’s fights, had asked Jim Brown to call such a

meeting to persuade Ali to accept a deal that one of Arum’s law partners had negotiated with the government. The draftdodging charges would be dropped if Ali agreed to perform boxing exhibitions for U.S. troops.

The athletes would be rewarded with local closed-circuit franchises if they were successful. But, of course, they failed to persuade Ali to change his mind.

I could have told them that Ali would not change his mind. I had met Ali at a Muslim Mosque in D.C. on the Sunday in April 1967, a few days before he refused to step forward and accept induction into the Army. I had witnessed his commitment up close.

Several of the men gathered in Cleveland came seeking economic opportunity: however, I am glad that the men met. They could have walked away when they recognized that they would not change Ali’s mind and would not see any money from a deal with Arum. Instead, they used their collective power to support Ali, knowing they could receive some public backlash. They sacrificed some of their popularity to stand up for religious freedom and to stand up to a government that seemed to be singling Ali out for punishment because he was Black and outspoken.

This kind of united action by prominent Black athletes did not occur previously, nor has it happened since.

A Climate In Crisis

By Marc H. Morial (TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM)

“There’s one issue that will define the contours of this century more dramatically than any other, and that is the urgent threat of a changing climate.” – Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States uuu

When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, the city’s Black neighborhoods bore the brunt of the storm. Twelve years later, the Black districts of Houston were devastated by the full force of Hurricane Harvey. In both cases, these natural disasters exacerbated issues in neighborhoods that were already struggling. For years, communities of color have had to struggle through the everlasting effects of structural racism, the legacy of enslavement and socioeconomic factors like redlining, segregation, and poverty, without considering that climate change is likely to exacerbate these existing racial disparities.

The most severe harms from climate change fall disproportionately upon underserved communities who are least able to prepare for, and recover from, heat waves, poor air quality, flooding, and other impacts. As a result, they are at higher risk of climate-related health issues including respiratory and

cardiovascular disease, heat stroke, cancer.

Climate change and racism are arguably two of the biggest challenges of the 21st Century, which proves that this problem is systemic. When racism is systemic, it can operate without obvious intent. So, how does one address systemic problems?

With systemic and equitable solutions.

In April, the National Urban League released its 47th State of Black America report titled, Democracy in Peril: Confronting the Threat Within, where ACORE, our nation’s foremost experts on environmental justice, energy policy, renewable energy, and civil rights, examine the past and present impacts of fossil fuel and other pollution on Black, Brown, and underserved communities, and illustrate a realistic path forward toward realizing a truly just and equitable clean energy future.

This future is defined by American-made renewable

energy. With the billions of dollars American companies plan to invest in new wind, solar and battery storage projects, this will greatly improve air and water quality, lower electrical bills, and create new career opportunities –all factors that will greatly improve the quality of life of the nation’s most underserved communities.

The National Urban League has taken its own steps to prepare Black communities for a renewable future. Our Chicago Urban League affiliate created a Solar Energy Jobs Training Program where they utilize classroom trainings and hands-on lab activities to prepare students for work in the solar industry. They also conduct a Solar Sales and Finance course that covers the most critical concepts in evaluating a renewable energy project.

see Climate, page 6A

WHAT IS TIM SCOTT RUNNING FOR?

By Julianne Malveaux

(TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM)

South Carolina Senator Tim Scott (R) has joined the throng of Republicans seeking to unseat the former President as the frontrunner of that party.. So far, he is polling in the single digits, but he has $22 million left from his last Senatorial race that he can use for his Presidential race.

Other than the historically myopic Florida governor, Scott has scant competition to date, and from my vantage point he has about as much chance becoming President as I do. So why is he really in this race?

The siren call of the Presidency beckons many who are long on ambition and short on possibility. But sometimes long shots can make a difference and a statement. Think Rev. Jesse Louis Jackson, whose historic 1984 and 1988 campaigns opened doors for hundreds of African-American and progressive politicians, and footprints so deep that they are still impactful. Or think Arizona Senator John McCain whose populist Straight Talk Express was a feature of his failed 2008

Presidential bid. There was Shirley Chisholm, whose Presidential bid was a landmark for Black folks and for women, and Colorado’s Pat Schroeder who considered a Presidential run. All these folks, and most of the others, ran to make a point and make a difference.

What is Tim Scott’s point? In his opening rally on May 22, mostly more diversely attended than usual Republican rallies, he spoke repeatedly of his faith. Punctuating his talk with frequent cries of “Amen, “ faith was part of his theme. His talk was also replete with American exceptionalism, describing this nation as “the greatest nation on God’s green earth. Those

who have experienced American oppression might argue the “great nation” point, but those who oppose truth-teaching claim that children are being taught to “hate” our country, when all Black Studies and Ethnic Studies want to teach is the truth.

What I find fascinating about Tim Scott’s cherrypicking the Bible, with his constant scripture quoting, is that he cannot seem to find his way to the scriptures that address the way our Bible treats the poor. In Luke 6:20-21, the Bible reads “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.” Or, in Matthew 25:35-40, where the Lord says “I was hungry and you gave me something to eat ... whatever you did for one of the least of these you do

for me” Scott criticized people dropping out of the labor market without giving any context to the ways the labor market is changing. Replete with platitudes, Tim dropped clichés, like “from victimhood to victory.” “I chose personal responsibility over resentment,” he said, and engaged in mindless class warfare. Biden, he says, wants to get “mechanics and waitresses” to pay for student loan forgiveness. In his rambling hour long speech, Scott dusted off every Repubican cliché about poor people, Black people and others. And he offered himself up as proof that there is no racism in this country. He can’t explain the police killings of Black folks, though he did all he could to block the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act (2020) from passing. His life, he says, proves that opportunity works

in America. Clearly he is too myopic to acknowledge that there is not opportunity for everyone.

If I had a dollar for every time Scott said “radical left” or “left” I’d be dining resplendently this evening. He did a masterful job of tarring the left and making empty promises about what he will do. I’ll give him credit for energy and enthusiasm, but look askance at his promise to build up the military so that our allies can “respect” us while our adversaries will “fear” us. Military might, at what cost? Is every military dollar being spent efficiently?

What is Senator Tim Scott running for?

Secretary of Commerce, Labor or Housing and Urban Development?

He mentioned his Empowerment Zone legislation (which many say has not yielded great results)? Does he want a role in foreign relations, given his rhetoric about China? Does he want to beTrump’s running mate?

Or Secretary of Education (“less CRT and more ABC”)? Or is he running for chaplain?

“Stop cancelling our

founding fathers,” Scott said of the slaveholders who dehumanized million of Black people. “I am the candidate the far left fears the most,” Scott roared. “The truth of my life disrupts their lies,” he said. Tim Scott doesn’t understand that it’s not just about him. The fact that he lives the American dream doesn’t mean that millions of others are missing it.

What is Tim Scott running for? I think he is running against a series of simple truths. Our nation is in decline thanks to the culture wars he so willingly participates in. Platitudes and attitudes won’t change any of this. As long as Republicans are willing to punish the poor, restrict women’s right to choose, and improve our education, we will keep spiraling downward. And the scripture-quoting man needs to understand that Bible-thumping is not public policy and faith without works is dead (James 2:26).

Dr. Julianne Malveaux is an economist, author and Dean of the College of Ethnic Studies at California State University at Los Angeles (www.juliannemalveaux. com).

Julianne Malveaux

Marc H. Morial

Scott has scant competition to date, and from my vantage point he has about as much chance becoming President as I do. So why is he really in this race?

The National Urban League wants to see Black businesses and workers participate in the economic opportunity that renewable energy investments are creating.

A NEW JOURNAL AND GUIDE EXCLUSIVE: CHESAPEAKE FAMILY’S FAITH PLUS NEW MEDICAL TREATMENT CURE SON OF SICKLE CELL DISEASE (SCD)

By Leonard E. Colvin Chief Reporter New Journal and Guide

These days Robert L. Davenport, III, 22, enjoys running marathons with his family, playing intramural lacrosse at his school and working hard to complete his challenging course work at the College of William and Mary.

But at one time, his body was impacted by the Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) and even basic life activities were restricted and made much more difficult.

As the world prepares for World Sickle Cell Day on June 19, Robert’s story of a full recovery from Sickle Cell Disease provides hope for thousands of persons for whom the disease has proven to be incurable since it was diagnosed in 1910. Growing up, Robert had to choose athletic and other activities that would not cause painful crises that are common among individuals with Sickle Cell Disease. Because Robert was determined, he was able to earn his Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do in elementary school. But, distance running, track, and long trips often caused him to get sick or become extremely fatigued.

Robert is one of three children in the Davenport family. He has an older sister, Makaila, who recently graduated from law school, and a younger brother, Solon, who is a high school junior. The family currently resides in Chesapeake, VA.

Robert Davenport, III, affectionately known as “RDIII” is one of 100,000 mostly African-Americans in the U.S. whose lives

are impaired because of SCD. He was diagnosed with the genetic disorder at birth. His mother, LaTricia, recalls the devastation that she felt upon his diagnosis.

“When the doctors at Walter Reed Medical Center told us about how sickle cell disease affects a person’s health, we were afraid and felt hopeless,” she said.

“We were told that the disease causes frequent painful crises, and slowly destroys the body’s organs. Some patients experience frequent infections, the spleen typically fails during childhood and patients may experience acute chest syndrome – which impacts the lungs and breathing, strokes and sometimes even blindness.

Robert’s father explained, “The only treatment that was available was a regimen of antibiotics to prevent infections, trans-cranial doppler scans – to detect brain clot formations, blood transfusions, and heavy narcotic pain medications. We prayed constantly that God would provide a cure for Robert and others plagued by this disease.”

The Davenport family was unfortunately very familiar with the disease. Robert’s grandfather, a former educator in the Norfolk Public School system, suffered with the disease his entire life and spent much time in the hospital battling the disease. His example of strength and faith helped the family to persevere and continue to believe that God would provide a cure.

A complicated medical SCD treatment for Robert began in 2020 when he underwent a new and promising procedure to rid his body of most of the debilitating and dangerous aspects of SCD.

Because he was under the age of 25 at the time, Robert was eligible for a clinical trial that involved a stem cell transplant from his brother Solon.

During a testimony before fellow congregants at Norfolk’s Shiloh Baptist Church, his father, Robert Davenport, Jr., translated a long scientific description called “HLAidentical sibling donor transplantation using alemtuzumab, low dose

total-body irradiation, and sirolimus.”

According to Mr. Davenport, in layman terms, his son’s treatment involved “a stem cell transplant from his brother Solon. It involved blood transfusions, radiation, and one round of drugs to suppress his immune system and another round to help to prevent infection. And after the transplant – there was the waiting. Months of prayer, and waiting,” he said. The treatment approach Robert underwent (nicknamed SUN) is one of two new “curative” procedures used to rid the body of the sickling of the red blood cells that identify SCD patients, according to Judy Anderson, Director of the Tidewater Sickle Cell Association, a position she has held for 46 years.

There are over 600 children in Hampton Roads who have SCD.

SCD causes the body’s red blood cells to form into a sickle shape that causes pain in the joints, anemia, and damages the organs in people with the malady.

Although Robert’s

younger sibling Solon has the sickle cell trait, it is not full-blown SCD and he was able to share his healthy stem cells to help rid his brother’s body of the disease.

Solon was a perfect match. One of the challenges associated with using this procedure to cure sickle cell disease is the identification of a stem cell donor that is a perfect match. A patient’s sibling can often be that match, but if that is not the case, another donor would have to be identified. AfricanAmericans would typically need an African American donor, but few AfricanAmericans get tested and registered on the donor rolls to help provide a cure for patients with sickle cell disease and other genetic disorders.

His father said Robert is one of the first to undergo the procedure. He said that the cost of the SUN procedure was extremely expensive, but fortunately insurance paid for most of it.

Until 2019, Robert experienced the normal debilitating effects of SCD, including the recurring painful episode that would cause stays in the hospital where he was given fluids and other meds to combat them.

But at one point in early 2019, Robert, then a biology major suffered a minor stroke during his freshman year at Hampton

University.

According to Anderson, strokes are common when the sickled red blood cells cause clots in the brain or arteries leading to it.

According to his father, it was the first time Robert had experienced such a medical event.

He said the family feared more of them and damage to other vital organs.

The physicians at Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters in Norfolk, Virginia got wind of the SUN procedure. Considering the stroke, the fact that his brother could donate the stem cells, and other medical factors caused by SCD, Robert fortunately qualified for the procedure. His father said the procedure took place at the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

The Davenports were worried not only about the risks associated with such an invasive procedure, but also the logistics of Robert having to live in the Washington, D.C. area for the three to four month process that included preparation for the transplant, the actual transplant and then almost daily appointments at the Sickle Cell Clinic to monitor his health and progress. see Sickle Cell, page 8A

Robert Davenport, Jr., , Robert III, Solon, LaTricia Davenport

A complicated medical Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) treatment for Robert began in 2020 when he underwent a new and promising procedure to rid his body of most of the debilitating and dangerous aspects of SCD.

TURNING 65? UNDERSTAND YOUR MEDICARE OPTIONS

By Matthew Moore

More than 10,000 Americans turn 65 every day. That’s more than 3.6 million new people learning to navigate Medicare each year. If you were born in 1958, you are joining the 1.62 million individuals in Virginia eligible for the government’s health

Climate

Continued from page 4A

The National Urban League wants to see Black businesses and workers participate in the economic opportunity that renewable energy investments are creating.

insurance program this year. Here are the key things I recommend you understand before enrolling in Medicare to get the health insurance coverage that best fits your lifestyle.

1. Know your Initial Enrollment Period. If you’re already getting Social Security, you’ll likely automatically get Original

As the eminent threats of climate change continues to loom, we can no longer afford to ignore it. We have an opportunity to realize the clean energy transition in a way that creates a more inclusive and equitable economy, but we need to implement bold and innovative ideas to be part of it.

Medicare starting the first day of the month you turn 65. If not, you have a sevenmonth window in which to enroll in Original Medicare, starting three months before your birthday month and ending three months after. For example, if your birthday is in July, your Initial Enrollment Period is April through October. It’s a good idea to enroll before the month you’ll turn 65, since, in most cases, you’ll gain coverage the first day of your birthday month. Otherwise, your coverage may be delayed. Missing this enrollment period could result in future penalties if you later decide to enroll in Original Medicare.

2. Know what to do if you still have insurance through an employer. If you or your spouse have group health

insurance from a current employer, you may be able to delay enrolling in Medicare until the employment or coverage ends.

3. Understand the different types of coverage. Since everyone has unique health needs, the good news is you have options when it comes to Medicare. However, evaluating all those options can feel overwhelming. The first choice you have to make is between Original Medicare and a Medicare Advantage plan to cover your medical appointments and visits to the hospital.

Original Medicare is managed by the federal government and includes Part A (hospital insurance) and Part B (medical insurance). It covers about 80 percent of medical costs and allows you to use any

health provider who accepts Medicare. However, it does not cover most prescription drugs, hearing, vision or dental care.

If you choose Original Medicare, you can choose to add a Prescription Drug Plan (Part D) through a private insurer. If you are concerned about the cost of personally covering 20 percent of your medical expenses through Original Medicare, you can purchase Medicare Supplemental Insurance, or Medigap, to make your out-of-pocket costs more predictable.

Medicare Advantage plans (Part C) are all-inone plans offered by private insurers, like Humana, that cover everything included with Original Medicare and may include additional benefits, like

dental, hearing and vision care, prescription drugs, transportation to medical appointments, fitness programs and flexible spending allowances, depending on the plans available in your area. Many Medicare Advantage plans also have $0 premiums; however, these plans do have provider networks, so check if your doctors are included in plans you’re considering.

As with any major decision, proper research goes a long way toward making the best plan choice for your personal health care needs. More information is available at medicare.gov and humana. com/Medicare.

Matthew Moore is President of Humana Virginia Medicare.

“Commemorating Memorial Day with Black heroes in mind serves several critical purposes. First and foremost, it ensures that their stories are included and preserved within the broader narrative of the holiday,” Gold insisted.

He said that by highlighting Black service members’ courage, resilience, and contributions, America pays homage to their sacrifices and honors their memory.

Moreover, Gold asserted that it fosters a sense of inclusivity, promotes diversity, and enriches our collective understanding of the complex tapestry of American history.

“In my experience as an

investor and developer, I have witnessed firsthand the power of recognizing and celebrating diversity,” Gold said. “Just as the real estate industry thrives when it embraces inclusivity, so does our society when we acknowledge and appreciate the diverse perspectives and experiences of all those who have served our country.

“By featuring the stories of Black heroes in Memorial Day commemorations, we not only educate and inspire, but we also contribute to a more inclusive and united nation.” Indeed, as noted in a Washington Informer

editorial, the significance of African-Americans in the holiday’s development and the numerous ideas regarding its origins may not be widely known.

Although the origins of Memorial Day trace back to the period following the Civil War, when some 620,000 soldiers lost their lives, the precise origins remain a source of controversy.

Several cities have staked claims to be the first to celebrate Memorial Day.

Still, a different narrative, perhaps more accurately, says that African-Americans in Charleston, South Carolina, in

1865 were the true founders of the holiday.

Renowned historian David Blight, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and American history professor at Yale University recounted a poignant commemoration in Charleston on May 1, 1865.

Organized by formerly enslaved people and white missionaries, Blight determined that the event occurred at a former racecourse that had served as a Confederate prison for Union soldiers during the war’s final year.

At least 257 prisoners had perished there, primarily due to disease, and were buried in unmarked graves.

Eventually, two dozen African-American residents of Charleston meticulously rearranged the graves into orderly rows.

They erected a three-metertall white fence around them, creating what they called the ‘Martyrs of the Racecourse’ memorial.

“After the Confederate evacuation of Charleston Black workmen went to the site, reburied the Union dead properly, and built a high fence around the cemetery,” Blight documented.

“They whitewashed the fence and built an archway over an entrance on which they inscribed the words, ‘Martyrs of the Racecourse.’”

He continued: “The symbolic power of this Low Country planter aristocracy’s bastion was not lost on the freed people, who then, in cooperation with white missionaries and teachers, staged a parade of 10,000 on the track.”

The gravesites were transformed into a breathtaking “sea of flowers,” as described by the New York Tribune, and the event was hailed as a procession of mourning and remembrance, unlike anything South Carolina or the United States had witnessed before.

Despite documented evidence about this event, the narrative of AfricanAmericans being the founders of Memorial Day essentially went untold.

“That’s the surprising part,” said Ambassador Young, a civil rights icon who also served as mayor of Atlanta from 1981 to 1990.

“It’s history I want to read and know more about, and everyone else should as well.”

Capehart

Continued from page 1A

After boot camp and training in driving and maintaining Army supply trucks, he was shipped off to the Pacific Theater.

“I served in Army truck units, behind the lines,” he recently recalled. “I am glad because I was not killed and I came home with all of my limbs.”

Shortly before the war ended, Capehart said instead of driving trucks, he was driving a staff car transporting military personnel from one place to another.

The U.S. Army, Marines, and Navy used the strategy of conquering and hopping from one island to another, toward the goal of reaching the Japanese mainland.

“I remember we were packing up and getting ready to move closer to Japan,” he said. “Then the President (Harry S. Truman) gave the order to drop the atomic bomb. So, we were headed back home. The war was over.”

Capehart said he does not recall any racial tension with white soldiers commonly reported by Black servicemen serving in Europe and the Pacific war zones. He does recall the tensions among Black servicemen which erupted into fights over various issues. Most of the white soldiers were on the front line, on isolated islands, away from the all-Black service support units.

Back home in North Carolina, Capehart married Ruth Shaw. The couple had four children.

In 1953, Capehart moved his family to Newport News, Virginia, where he landed a job that lasted for three years at the Naval Shipyard.

He acquired employment at the Langley Air Force Base in the commissary warehouse where he worked as a stocker.

During his 32-year tenure working in that warehouse, he logged 15,000 volunteer service hours on the base and thousands of other volunteer hours out in the community.

William Capehart

– New International Version

He said he “helped build” his family home, one of the first along 41st Street in Newport News. He also assisted in constructing his home church, Antioch Baptist Church, where he worshiped for many years. He has 14 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren, “but I don’t know all of their names” he laughed. His wife passed in 1998 and he lost one son, Terry, who was 35.

According to Nurse Scott, Capehart’s eyesight is impaired, but he still listens to audiobooks of the Bible. He also spends a lot of time listening to his Gospel favorite.

“I eat anything I want,” he said during an interview with the GUIDE. “I also like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and my favorite pancakes at breakfast.”

Capehart said he attributes his longevity to “staying busy.”

His guiding words of wisdom come from Psalm 37:25:

“I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging for bread.”

Portsmouth Celebrates Its 31st Annual Umoja Festival

By Randy Singleton Community Affairs Correspondent New Journal and Guide

PORTSMOUTH

The city of Portsmouth kicked off its 31st annual Umoja Festival on Friday (May 26) at Festival Park on the downtown Portsmouth waterfront. The Umoja Festival is Portsmouth’s yearly celebration of diversity, unity, and African-American culture on the grounds outside the Atlantic Union Bank Pavilion.

The event featured arts and crafts vendors, food trucks, a children’s village, and a massive musical lineup of national acts in jazz, reggae, gospel, and rhythm and blues. These events were free and open to the public. Boyz II Men, 4-time Grammy Award and 9-time American

Music Award winners, were the Umoja Festival’s musical headliners at a ticketed concert at the Atlantic Union Bank Pavilion on Saturday (May 27).

Portsmouth Mayor Shannon Glover welcomed attendees on behalf of city officials in his opening remarks, and he sought and received permission from village elders Leigh and Eugenia E. Burton to start the festival. Mayor Glover was joined on stage by Vice Mayor Lisa Lucas-Burke, Congressman Bobby Scott, Dr. Nathan Woodard, and Rev. Milton Blount.

Mayor Shannon Glover spoke, via this reporter’s cell phone, to New Journal and Guide Publisher Brenda H. Andrews, who congratulated him on the festival’s successful start. Unfortunately, rain and wind hampered the festival’s activities on Saturday and Sunday.

One historic narrative says AfricanAmericans in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1865 were the true founders of the Memorial holiday.

Psalm 37:25

NIV – “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.”

Sickle Cell

Continued from page 5A

By the spring of 2020, the COVID Pandemic had besieged the nation. His family were told that Robert’s body would be stripped of its immune system so any exposure to COVID or other obnoxious biological agent could be fatal.

“I was working at the Pentagon at the time,” said Mr. Davenport. “That made the ability to be with Robert and mange his care much easier.”

He said the entire family and local community rallied around Robert and the cause. Family and friends in both the Hampton Roads and Washington, D.C. area made frequent visits to support Robert.

Robert’s mother, brother and sister traveled to D.C. every weekend to be with him and support his healing and recovery.

“The entire procedure and recovery period was made much easier by the prayers, calls, visits, and care packages that he received from church members, family friends and former teachers,” said Mr. Davenport. He praised “the excellent care givers at CHKD Sickle Cell clinic in Norfolk, headed by Dr. William Owen, and by Dr. Allistair Abraham at CNMC, in

Washington, D.C. who guided the family through the process both pre and post transplant. We were very blessed.”

After Robert was released from the Children’s Medical Center in D.C., there was concern about the effectiveness of the procedure or that he would be exposed to viruses or bacteria as his immune system was returning back to normal and healthy levels.

Now that several years have passed since the

– Robert Davenport III

procedure, and his medical team has determined that he has been cured of the disease, Robert enjoys , physical activities such as distance running. He plans to fly to Spain with his father and brother later next year to celebrate his graduation from college and Solon’s graduation from high school with no concerns of pain.

Robert III is now very active in his college community where he is the Undersecretary for Academic Affairs, an

Intern at Towne Bank, and at the end of the year, he will be finishing up his studies at William and Mary and plans to enter Law School.

Upon completion of law school, he will join his father and sister as a member of the legal profession.

As for his brother, Solon, he often states that while many consider it a miracle that he had the opportunity to donate and aid Robert’s healing, he considers it to be a simple act of “brotherly love.”

Solon believes that “he can do all things through Christ which strengthens him” and with that belief, he was not afraid.

“We were afraid of losing our son,” said Davenport, an NSU graduate and Army Veteran. “Fear is a part of being human. But we are a family of faith.”

Robert’s mother says Robert is doing wonderful things that he could have only previously dreamed about and living his best life.

This World Sickle Cell Day (observed every year on June 19), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is highlighting information and resources on SCD.

As we approach the observance, Robert has said, “I want to give people hope and strength to remain vigilant about possible cures for the disease. Know that God will provide. I am a living witness.”

Richmond’s Elegba Society Hosts 27th Juneteenth Events, June 10-11

RICHMOND Elegba Folklore Society, Richmond’s Cultural Ambassador, presents Juneteenth 2023, A Freedom Celebration in Richmond, Virginia on Saturday and Sunday, June 10-11.

Saturday’s program presents The Torch Lit Night Walk Along the Trail of Enslaved Africans. It begins at the Manchester Dock, 1308 Brander St., at 7 p.m. The Torch Lit Walk is free to attend; donations appreciated.

This program is a sacred pilgrimage of short walks to interpretive sites from the Manchester Dock, a point of entry of Africans into America to be sold, through Shockoe Bottom, a center of the trade of enslaved Africans in Virginia, to the Shockoe Bottom African Burial Ground, reclaimed as a site of memory. There are places to sit along the way including at the African Burial Ground. Buses will return attendees to their cars at the program’s conclusion. Water will be available.

Sunday’s program features Dancing With the Ancestors at the African Burial Ground, 1540 East Broad Street, beginning at 4 p.m. General Admission is $5 and children under 12 may attend for free.

Scholarship

Continued from page 1A

MEMORIAL DAY SALUTE TO AFRO-UNION VETS

CHESAPEAKE

The 23rd Founders Day ceremony was held on Memorial Day to honor the 160th anniversary of the Afro-Union soldiers who fought in the Civil War. The annual event is presented and hosted by Historian Dr. E. Curtis Alexander at the Unknown and Known AfroUnion Civil War Soldiers Memorial, 1001 Bells Mill Road in Chesapeake.

More than 209,145 AfroUnion soldiers volunteered to “fight for the right to fight, for the right to die in the fight, to save the United States of America and defeat slavery,” said Dr. Alexander.

This year’s commemoration included the placement, dedication and unveiling of a new unknown and known AfroUnion Civil War Soldiers

Also, there was a special salute to the Descendants of Norfolk County Area AfroUnion Civil War Patriot Heroes.

The Memorial is the only one of its kind in Virginia that is dedicated to saluting Afro-Union soldiers and sailor Patriot Heroes.

Last year, Morton was one of just two students who graduated after receiving recent funds from the Brown v. Board of Education Scholarship, as it’s called. The other scholarship student who graduated in 2022 finished at Liberty University.

Right now, applicants are not waiting to receive scholarship funds for the upcoming school year since no one has applied.

Morton, who grew up in Prince Edward County, received scholarship funds due to the fact that she was one of the students who was locked out of school during Massive Resistance when some Virginia localities shut down their schools rather than allow Black and White children to study in the same classroom.

Morton finally received an associate’s degree at a community college, after attending classes there for five years.

The Brown v. Board of Education Scholarship was

This commemoration will be sacred and joyful. Attendees are asked to wear white, and they may bring ancestral offerings such as flowers, fruit, sweets, libations or other gifts of personal significance. The program begins with the Get Woke Youth Summit. Youth of all ages are invited to participate in this cultural education exchange aimed at affirmation and personal growth. Dancing With The Ancestors continues fully at 5 p.m., and the program concludes at 9 p.m.

Dr. Shawn Utsey, appearing as the president of the Virginia Chapter of the Association of Black Psychologists along with chapter members, will discuss the legacy of generations of enslavement and mental health. This presentation will chart the relationship between certain African traditions and global African futures as a tool for healing and holism.

Kọ́lá Abímbọ́lá, a Babaláwo of Ifá, the spiritual path of the Yoruba people indigenous to parts of Nigeria, Bénin and Togo in West Africa, will facilitate attendees’ engagement in spiritual ceremony for Ancestral reverence. He is a full professor of philosophy at Howard University.

created by the Virginia General Assembly in 2004 during the case’s 50th anniversary. State legislators passed the measure – originally funded by a donor for $50,000, and later $1 million with a state match – to “restore education to persons denied a public education ... between 1954 and 1964,” according to a 2013 report by Brown v. Board of Education Scholarship Committee. When the scholarship fund was founded, Mark Warner was governor. Virginia is the only state that developed this type of scholarship fund. Warner said, “This program will help us move beyond the past and on to a more productive future.”

One of the legislative sponsors – the late state Sen. Benjamin Lambert, D-Richmond, said at the time, “These scholarships will help Virginia heal the wounds caused by Massive Resistance and offer educational opportunities for those who were wrongly denied access to a quality education.”

For more information, visit http://brownscholarship. virginia.gov.

Robert and Solon Davenport during Robert’s SCD treatment in Washington, D.C.

Photo: Courtesy

I want to give people hope and strength to remain vigilant about possible cures for the disease. Know that God will provide. I am a living witness.”

Memorial Bench with the Women’s Division of the Chesapeake Chamber of Commerce under the Liberation Tree.

Dr. Alexander (in uniform) is shown with supporters and a representative of the Chesapeake Chamber of Commerce as they dedicate the Memorial bench.

Photo: ErnestLowery

...

VAACC Gifts Franklin $15,000 For City’s Inaugural Juneteenth Event

The city of Franklin gained key support recently for its

forthcoming Juneteenth Cultural Celebration when the Virginia African American Cultural Center Inc., (VAACC) donated $15,000 to the city to aid in the orchestration of the inaugural event. This is in addition to the $15,000 the city of Franklin received from Amun Ra Inc., the non-pro fi t that is playing a key role in facilitating the celebration.

Juneteenth is a federal holiday celebrated on June 19 to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved Black people in the U.S.

-During the Franklin City Council’s May 8 meeting, presenting the $15,000 check to the city on behalf of VAACC, was its founder and chairperson, Dr. Amelia Ross-Hammond, who is also a newly reelected councilwoman for the city of Virginia Beach.

“We’re presenting a check for $15,000 to help toward your festivities and celebration, and know that over three, four, fi ve years, it’s going to get bigger and bigger,” she said.

She took some time to share with the Franklin City Council the mission, vision and goals of VAACC, “and you’ll see how you fi t into this perfectly,” she said.

“Our mission is to connect, preserve, interpret, inform and celebrate Virginia’s African American history,

culture and community and to educate the public about African Americans’ contribution in all areas of endeavor,” she continued.

She noted that the big vision of the VAACC, located in Virginia Beach, is being the statewide leader in generating historical and cultural content through programs, artistic performances and curated exhibits.

This aligns with events planned for Franklin’s Juneteenth Cultural Celebration, according to Ward 3 Councilman Gregory McLemore, who has been giving updates to the council as he helps lead efforts to organize the event.

Ross-Hammond said she has been going to Virginia’s General Assembly on behalf of the VAACC because her organization seeks to create opportunities for everyone to learn about African American culture, explore it and revel in its history, current experiences and future possibilities.

VAACC is also building partnerships with other African American cultural organizations about their history and missions.

Ross-Hammond noted that she went to the Virginia Municipal League conference where she met Franklin Mayor Robert “Bobby” Cutchins and McLemore. It was there that McLemore told her

about the Juneteenth event that Franklin was planning.

“I became very excited, because you all have history that needs to be shared all around,” she said. “So when he told me about this, I said, ‘I am on board,’ and on behalf of the Virginia African American Cultural Center, I believe in speaking and walking my talk, so today I’m here as part of us and your inaugural Juneteenth Celebration.”

She recalled how McLemore told her about major African Americans who were native to the area, including Dred Scott, Nat Turner and Anthony Gardiner. Gardiner later moved to Liberia.

“When he told me about Anthony Gardiner,” RossHammond recalled, “I said, ‘Just a minute. This man was a president in Monrovia, Liberia, and I am more recently from Monrovia, Liberia.’ What a coincidence. So that joined us and bonded us.”

When she returned to the speaker’s podium, RossHammond said, “Thank you all, the mayor as well as council members, for supporting what’s going to happen. This is going to be big.”

Cutchins said, “We greatly appreciate the support and the contribution, and we’re looking forward to the festivities and what it brings to Franklin.”

(L-R) Franklin Mayor Robert “Bobby” Cutchins, Dr. Amelia Ross-Hammond and Councilperson Gregory McLemore

Photo: Courtesy

A. PHILLIP RANDOLPH INSTITUTE, HR CHAPTER, PRESENTS 8TH ANNIVERSARY SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM AT SHERATON

HAMPTON ROADS

The A. Phillip Randolph Institute, Hampton Roads Chapter hosted its 8th Anniversary Scholarship Dinner Program on Saturday, May 20 at the Waterside Sheraton. Five college students received APRI Scholarship awards and six APRI awards were presented to community members in various categories. NJG Publisher Brenda H. Andrews served as the Mistress of Ceremony.

Persons receiving scholarship awards were Ericka Miller, College of William & Mary; Cassidy Alston, Old Dominion University; Sean Nesbit, Norfolk State University; Jerri Manuel, William and Mary; and Diamond Britt, Norfolk State University.

The introduction and presentation of the scholarships was done by Aaron Dudley and Judy Brown.

The introduction of the APRI honorees and presentation of awards was done by Anthony Abisia, Audrey Collins, and Roderick Riddick. The honorees were Mr. Thomas M. Little, International Vice President, Longshoremen’s Association, who received the APRI Labor Leadership

Award; Mr. Charles Spivey, APRI Labor and Community Service Award; Mr. Roger J. Giesinger, APRI Outstanding Community Service Award; Captain Janet Days, Commander Naval Station, Norfolk, Va., APRI Service in Excellence Award; and the APRI Honorary Honorees were State Senator Lionell Spruill and Former Congresswoman Elaine Luria, The national A. Phillip Randolph Institute is the senior constituency group of the AFL-CIO labor union. It has more than 35 chapters nationwide, and in every major city, which assist

their communities in voter registration, voter education, food drives, charity events, and maintaining good relations with community leaders to bridge the gap in the labor movement and civil, human and women’s rights movements. The Hampton Roads chapter is headed by President Anthony Abisia.

Other officers are 1st V-P Kim Brown; 2nd V-P Herbert Porter III; Treasurer Audrey R. Collns; Recording Secretary, Alvanda Cross, Sergeant AtArms Rodrick Riddick; and Chaplain Charles Spivey.

Program participants included Andre Washington, National APRI Officer;

Norfolk Councilwoman Andria McClellan who

from the

VSU Alum Leonard Slade, Jr. Named Poet Laureate & Phi Beta Kappa Member

Special to the New Journal and Guide

Leonard A. Slade, Jr., professor emeritus of Africana Studies and former adjunct professor of English at the University at Albany (SUNY), has been named Poet Laureate of The Southern Conference on African-American Studies, Inc. Professor emeritus and distinguished professor awardee George Garrison of Kent State University nominated Slade for the position, which was approved unanimously by the organization’s Executive Committee and members.

Professor Garrison stated, “Slade’s poetry reflects

the heartbeat of the Black experience in America, and it captures the spirit of our struggle for freedom, justice, and equality.

Slade’s development of scholarly and creative work

has led to his national and international reputation as a poet. His poetry creates a larger footprint in the world of organizations whose primary mission is to protect and preserve the history and culture of African people and their descendants, primarily in the hemisphere of the Americas: North America, South America, and the Caribbean.

“The Southern Conference on African-American Studies is honored to have such a scholar of distinction to be Poet Laureate,” said’Garrison.

Slade, who earned the master’s degree in English from Virginia State University, was also

recently named an honorary member of The Phi Beta Kappa Society. According to Anthony DeBlasi, president of Phi Beta Kappa, Alpha Alpha Chapter of New York, Slade’s unanimous vote for membership “was based on his many scholarly contributions, his dedication to the liberal arts, and his literary accomplishments.”

Slade was invited to deliver The Phi Beta Kappa Society Address at the Induction Ceremony at the State University of New York at Albany. He is a SUNY Citizen Academic Laureate, Collins Fellow, and former president of Alpha Kappa Mu National Honor Society.

CONGRESSMAN SCOTT AWARDED FOR CHILDREN, CIVIL RIGHTS ADVOCACY

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Congressman Bobby Scott (VA03) received three separate awards and honors recently from the Virginia Parent Teacher Association (PTA), the New Kent County Branch of the NAACP and the National Training and Simulation Association (NTSA).

On Saturday May 20, Congressman Scott, who serves as the ranking member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, was named Child Advocate of the Year by the Virginia PTA.

The organization pointed to Congressman Scott’s efforts to address achievement gaps, expand access to education, and improve the lives of children as reasons for awarding him this distinction.

Virginia PTA is the largest and oldest non-partisan volunteer child advocacy association in Virginia with more than 150,000 members across more than 950 of Virginia’s schools.

“Much of my time as the top Democrat on the Committee on Education and the Workforce has been spent making sure that we can finally fulfill the promise of Brown and ensure every child in America has access to a quality education,” said Congressman Scott.

Scott led the effort to deliver the largest federal investment in K-12

education in U.S. history through the education provisions in the American Rescue Plan Act. In that act, schools that were the most in need received the most funding.

He also just re-introduced the Child Care for Working Families Act, the Equity Inclusion and Enforcement Act and the Strength in Diversity Act which protects students’ civil rights.

“And with the support of community organizations like the Virginia PTA, I will remain laserfocused on providing children with a fully-funded, accurate, and highquality education and continue addressing the persistent barriers they face to success,” he told the group on accepting the award. The following day, on Sunday

May 21, Scott received the Edward W. Pollard Humanitarian Service Award from the New Kent County, Virginia Branch of the NAACP.

In accepting the award, he said, “I served as the president of the Newport News Branch in the 1970s, and during my time in Congress, I have been fortunate to work on a number of the NAACP’s priorities.”

He continued, “I have focused my legislative work on education, criminal justice reform, voting rights, fairness in the workplace and access to healthcare on behalf of not only Virginians, but all Americans.”

The Humanitarian Service Award was awarded to Congressman Scott “for his commitment to Freedom, Justice, and Equality for all citizens of New Kent, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the Nation.”

On Monday May 22, Scott, who also serves as a Co-Chair of the Congressional Modeling and Simulation Caucus, received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Training and Simulation Association (NTSA).

“Thanks to Hampton Roads’ unique profile and a cross-section of advocacy, innovation and investment from both the private and public sector, Virginia’s Third Congressional District has become a leader in advancing ModSim technology,” he said.

Officers and Members of the A. Phillip Randolph Institute, Hampton Roads Chapter

(L-R): Kim Brown, Congressman Scott, Brenda H. Andrews and Captain Janet Days

Scholarship Recipients

(L-R): Representative of Hon. Elane Luria, Charles Spivey; Captain Janet Days; Hon. Lionell Spruill, Thomas Little, Roger Geisinger

brought greetings

host city; and Rev. Ercel Sharpe. Musical entertainment was provided by Saxophonist

Charles Carter and Dee Polite and the Phenomenal Sounds Band.

AllphotosbyErnestLowery

Congressman Bobby Scott

Leonard A. Slade, Jr.

HAMPTON ROADS COMMUNITY CENTER AWARDED $500,000 FROM SENTARA

PORTSMOUTH

The Hampton Roads Community Health Center (HRCHC), headquartered in the newly opened Barbara L. Willis Wellness Center on 1541 High Street, Portsmouth, has received a major donation from Sentara.

The $500,000 Sentara award funds the purchase of a new Mobile Clinic as part of HRCHC’s mobile dental program. HRCHC provides comprehensive, preventative, and emergent dental services to the Hampton Roads community and surrounding areas’ most vulnerable populations.

“The new Hampton Roads Community Health Center is a wonderful asset to the citizens of Portsmouth, and the dental van will make it easier for them to offer our residents the dental care they need,” said City of Portsmouth Mayor Shannon Glover. “We are thankful for the Sentara Cares initiative and the grant Sentara contributed to the health center.” Senior vice president, government

and community relations, Anna James, said the health care organization is committed to advancing health equity for all community members.

“We understand that by joining forces with community partners such as HRCHC, we will improve health equity and remove barriers to health by maximizing convenience and providing consistent medical and wraparound services in neighborhoods that historically lack access to care,” she said.

In 2000, HRCHC launched the first Healthy Smiles Dental Center mobile unit. Today, the program visits more than 30 public schools in the cities of Portsmouth, Norfolk, and Suffolk. The program reaches children who are most in need, especially those participating in their schools’ reduced lunch program and the early education program, Head Start.

“Our dental units have become unreliable,” says Chief Dental Officer Dr. Robin Langston. “Having a new mobile unit will allow us to reach and provide more dental services to the

South Hampton Roads community.”

The new Mobile Clinic dental services will include: exams, X-rays, restorations, cleanings, extractions, full and partial dentures, in addition to a television, music and an awning to accommodate outreach events.

The dental program also provides services for the unhoused and unsheltered at the Oasis Social Ministry and Union Mission Ministries, as well as people with mental health and developmental issues at the Community Services Board and Eggleston. Eventually, residents of a nursing facility on Greenwood Drive in Portsmouth will also receive dental care through the mobile unit.

The community can expect to see the new Healthy Smiles Dental Center mobile unit by the summer of 2023.

“We appreciate this ongoing partnership with Sentara Healthcare,” says Chief Executive Officer Barbara Willis. “The generous grant will allow us to keep our commitment to the children and families of Hampton Roads on a consistent basis.”

LOCAL VOICES

Child’s Play

By Sean C. Bowers

When we were children, we played with children’s toys. Today’s Republican Right wants everyone to be children, play with the grownup weapons of war, every day, in perpetuity.

They argue that their 2nd amendment right to carry a gun are “under attack.”

When the 2nd amendment was written in the 1770s, the Colonial Revolutionary War muskets took almost one minute to get off two shots, after reloading. Those ancient, slow-firing, cumbersome weapons were what the 2nd amendment referred to.

Today’s AR-15 machinegun with multiple clips can fire hundreds of potentially deadly shots in just a handful of moments. That catastrophic volume increase of bullets per minute is the difference between a couple shots fired and the many mass-shootings our nation and in fact the world, is experiencing.

Those AK-15 weapons of war have no place on the streets of peaceful law-abiding nations. Permits for AR15 Weapons for legitimate purposes, for hunting or wild hog control could be issued like hunting passes in a controlled way. This approach could help start our nation’s return to a more peaceful home experience for all of us.

For everyone to be armed with a lethal weapon is not an option. Why? Because not everyone has the necessary maturity or mental composure to own and safely operate the AR-15 weapon of war. This is borne out in every mass-shooting where mentally angry, vengeful sick individuals show their clear lack of responsibility, gun-safety knowledge, and empathy.

In third world countries and dictatorships we see streets in other cultures filled with machine guns and lawlessness. That look is not one we want in America on our still semi-peaceful neighborhood streets.

Those on the Right repeatedly say, “No gun ever killed anyone; the shooter did.” They knowingly adjust their gun logic to allow the opportunity to kill,

Sean C. Bowers

more people, faster, semiautomatically.

The gun control issue is a wedge issue used by the Right to forcefully try to intimidate others. They use it to divide us, when it is really just about selling endless amounts of more weapons for maximum profits. America arms the rest of the world and profits from weapons sales, while refusing to acknowledge or responsibility for enabling mass produced distant deaths.

Now we are arming our own citizens and are allowing them to arm themselves at alarming rates, with between 2-4 weapons for every American. We have proven ourselves incapable of safe self-control. The evidence is no longer in doubt.

It is evident that some of our currently elected members of the Republican Right are not protecting us and are not doing their job as our elected officials. Please use your voice and vote to stop the Far Right, for peace at night, so that our grandchildren can go back to safely playing with children’s toys.

Sean C. Bowers has written the last 25 years, as a White Quaker Southern man, for the nation’s third oldest Black Newspaper, The New Journal and Guide, of Norfolk, Virginia, about overcoming racism, sexism, classism, and religious persecution. Some of his latest NJ&G articles detailing the issues can found by searching “Sean C. Bowers” on the NJ&G website. Contact him directly on social media at Linkedin.com or by e-mail V1ZUAL1ZE@aol. com NNPA 2019 Publisher of the Year, Brenda H. Andrews (NJ&G 35 years) has always been his publisher.

... answers to this week’s puzzle.

A great day can begin when men let Jesus Christ become a personal trainer for all ages, races, positions, conditions and geographical status of them. Genesis 1:2627 tell us that we are made in God’s image, in His likeness and we are also given authority by God over other creatures. Because Adam disobeyed God and ate from the forbidden fruit, God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:22). Was Adam being a responsible head of household when he followed Eve’s advice? Does the “Blame Game” offer acceptable excuses to God?

God spoke to Adam, not Eve. His lifestyle should have been to obey God (Genesis 2:15-17). Is it wise to blame others while trying to deflect our own failures? We learn from Genesis 3 that God sees and knows everything. Blaming others never solve problems.

Men of today can let Jesus become a personal trainer

regardless of our known circumstances. God is good and orders the steps of a good man and delighteth in his way (Psalm 37:23).

What constitutes a good man? Growing evidence of needed strength among men suggest that declarations of personal warfare with habits that do not build up the body of Christ nor can strengthen us spiritually must be eliminated. Men can become players in the war with soldiers of the cross to set good examples for others.

“When a man’s ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him” (Proverbs 16:7). God is our helper when we are surrounded by failures and human weaknesses. Boast not on yourself; boast on God and let others see His work through us.

“Let another man praise thee and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips” (Proverbs 27:2).

Presently, men can declare war on many undesirable

habits that do not build up the body of Christ. Godfearing men have faced all kinds of problems with or without resources. Let us remember to hold on to God’s unchanging hand. What changes can be made by men to create spiritual fruitfulness for God? Consult Jesus and lean not on our own understanding is the best answer. Cast thy burden upon the Lord and He will sustain us. Is help needed to forget past failures?

A well tested strategy in Isaiah 43:18-19 ask us not to remember former things.

Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians

5:17-18, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” Those who accept God’s love through Christ become new people in God’s eyes and are given new ways of thinking about ourselves.

Well-tested strategies include becoming serious followers of the teachings of Jesus Christ with faith. Therefore, my brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15: 57-58). Faith in God through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ can restore damaged confidence that can be regained through knowledge and wisdom of the Bible. Men, with God’s help, present yourselves so amazingly competent for new assignments that appear daily.

Mrs. Gladys McElmore was born in Essex County, Va. She was the founder of the Kathryn Bibbins Memorial Bible Study group.

MOMENTS of MEDITATION

By Rev. Dr. Archie L. Edwards, Sr.

A MEMORIAL

Read:

Luke 22:14-20

“For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till He come.”

– 1 Corinthians 11:26

Today we honor the American men and women who gave their lives fighting for their country. And it’s fitting that we do this. Most states observe Memorial Day at the end of May, though some celebrate it on April 26, May 10 or June 3. Actually, the day originated during the Civil War. A Virginia woman of French descent, accompanied by others, decorated the soldiers’ graves, both union and confederate. Some think she chose May 30 because

on that date Napoleon’s body was returned to France from the island of St. Helena.

The Christian remembers another important death, on that is not associated with a quiet spot in some cemetery but with a triumphal resurrection. It is the crucifixion of Jesus. No warrior ever fought a fiercer battle. No soldier ever passed through a more difficult conflict. In dying, our Lord felt the full force of divine judgment as He bore our sins in His own body on the cross. He destroyed “him that had the power of death, that is, the devil” (Hebrew 2:14). Prior to Calvary, Christ left instructions for keeping that event alive in

our memories. He said, “For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till He come.” The Lord’s Supper is a vivid memorial of His atoning death, and every Christian should partake of it regularly. We do not recall some beautiful grave site in Jerusalem. Our Savior is risen and is seated in Glory. His nail-scarred hands and feet tell of a battle fought and won. We remember His death with joy, because He is the Captain of our salvation who lives forever!

Lifted up was He to die, “It is finished” was His cry; Now in Heaven exalted high –Hallelujah, what a Savior! – Bliss

THOUGHT: The empty cross and the empty tomb spell a full salvation.

Rev. Dr. Archie L. Edwards, Sr., is an Associate Minister at Second Calvary Baptist Church in Norfolk.

GREATER FIRST BAPTIST-ORLANDO PLANS LUNCHEON TO CONCLUDE CELEBRATION

SUFFOLK Rev. S. Allison Baker, a son of the church licensed by Greater First Baptist Church-Orlando, Suffolk, and current pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Columbia, South Carolina, is returning “home” to be the Guest Preacher for the Church’s 100th Anniversary Celebration Luncheon on Sunday, August 20, 2023. The vent will

take place at the Hilton Garden Inn Riverfront, Suffolk.

The theme for this Grand Occasion is “99 Years of G.R.A.C.E. – Marching Toward 100” based on scripture found in Ephesians 2:8.

This event will be the culminating activity of a year-long celebration. Call the church office at (757) 539-0032 for tickets and other information.

New Children’s Book, ‘I Love My Daddy,’ Further Dispels Myths About Black Fathers

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia

For centuries, there’s been a false assumption that Black fathers are absent, apathetic, and uninvolved in their children’s lives.

The stereotype of the absent Black dad remains quite ubiquitous in popular culture.

It often takes the form of a dysfunctional family unit, but in recent years, studies have proven that the stereotype is nothing more than a myth.

That legend is further vaporized in the new children’s book, “I Love My Daddy,” by Maryland social worker and military veteran Juanita Banks Whittington.

The 27-page book, complete with fascinating illustrations by Ananta Mohanta, celebrates what Whittington calls “the unique and special bond between a father and his little girl.”

It follows a father and his baby girl, who play together in parks, and the doting dad reads bedtime stories each night to his beloved daughter.

For Whittington, the book opens her home to readers. It reveals the camaraderie between her and her husband, Ian, and his routine of doting on their daughter, Zuri.

“My husband reads to my daughter every night,” Whittington told the National Newspaper Publisher’s Association’s Let It Be Known. She said her husband

“I Love My Daddy” Amazon.com for $14.99

helped inspire her to write a children’s book about the relationship between a Black father and his child.

“He kept telling me he wasn’t seeing Black fathers in children’s books,” Whittington said.

“There was always the grandmother and child, or the mother and the child.

“So, I went to friends and family members, and they said they liked the idea, and I went forward and found an illustrator that I liked.”

She noted that it was a must that the illustrator could relate.

“And he was everything I was looking for, especially in the illustration to portray all the things that go on in my household,” Whittington said.

A military veteran and social worker, Whittington is the founder of Nehi Cares, a consulting, foundation, and wellness business that focuses on the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion and helps individuals understand the foundations of wellness by

practicing healthy habits daily to attain better physical, social, emotional, and mental health outcomes.

Whittington holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Baltimore and a master’s in social work from the University of Maryland, Baltimore.

Her friends and loved ones said Whittington has always displayed a passion for helping, which comes across in “I Love My Daddy.”

“I wanted to make sure that I did [the book] right,” Whittington explained.

“I wanted to make sure that it was something that other families could relate

INVITATION FOR BIDS

to. So many people have said they wanted to write a children’s book after seeing and talking with me, so I wanted to portray something positive.”

She continued: “Many times, in our community, there’s this negativity about Black fathers, so I wanted to make sure that, regardless of their race, people could pick this book up and say, ‘It’s awesome. I could relate to this, and I want this for my child.’”

“I Love My Daddy” retails on Amazon.com for $14.99. Click here for more information and to purchase the book.

CLASSIFIEDS

HELP WANTED

”Drive your own truck. No down payment. No monthly payment. Get 40% of the truck’s net profit for each week. Drive for Atlantic Commodities Trade Inc with CDL A license and health card. Send an email to atlanticcommoditiestrade@gmail.com or call 774-601-3083.

STAFF ENGINEER II (MECHANICAL ENGINEER)

Jefferson Science Associates, LLC has an opening for a Staff Engineer II (Mechanical Engineer) in Newport News, Virginia. Requires a master’s degree in mechanical engineering or related field. Must also possess coursework or experience background w/CAD packages (SolidWorks & CATIA); Finite Element Analysis software (ANSYS & COMSOL); Rapid prototyping (3D printing & Laser cutting); & Programming Languages (Matlab & LabVIEW). If interested, please send resume to ewing@jlab.org

FUN PUZZLE FOR YOUR LEISURE

INVITATION FOR BIDS PR2039-39-23

The Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority will receive bids for the Diggs Town Air Handler Unit Disconnect Replacement Project.

The scope of work includes all supervision, labor, material, and equipment necessary for Air Handler Unit Disconnect Replacements at Diggs Town, 1619 Vernon Drive, Norfolk VA 23523. The work for this project includes but not limited to replace all 198 AHU’s disconnects and ensure that they are accessible, replace the load and line conductors to the AHU’s disconnects, replacement of 12 Eaton 150A breakers with 100A breakers in buildings 6, 7, 8, and 10, install AFCI type breakers in all units, replace 150 AHU 50A breakers with 45A breakers, finish work and the full scope of work is described in the Contract Documents.

A pre-bid meeting will be conducted on June 8, 2023 at 10:30 AM outside of 1619 Vernon Drive, Norfolk, VA 23523 (Diggs Town Rental Office). All prospective bidders are strongly encouraged to attend.

Please contact Randy Hill - NRHA Senior Construction Project Manager at (rhill@nrha.us) for any related questions. All questions must be received by 1 PM June 16, 2023.

Sealed Bids will be received, publicly opened and read aloud on June 22, 2023 at 11:00 AM local prevailing time at the office of the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority, 910 Ballentine Boulevard, Norfolk, Virginia.

Contract documents will be available for review by appointment only at the NRHA Office of Economic Opportunities, Calvert Square Envision Center, 975 Bagnall Road, Norfolk, VA (please call (757)314-2026 to schedule); Builders and Contractors Exchange, Norfolk, VA; and on the Virginia Procurement Website (www.eva.virginia.gov). A thumb drive will be available from NRHA, 910 Ballentine Blvd., Norfolk, VA for the non-refundable price of twelve dollars (Company Check Only).

NRHA does not discriminate against individuals on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, elderliness, familial status, disability, source of funds, sexual orientation, gender identity or veteran status in the admission, access to or operations of programs, services or activities. Small businesses and businesses owned by women and minorities and Section 3 certified businesses are encouraged to respond.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

Chesapeake Public Schools

RFP: #24-2223

Title: Actuarial Valuation Services for Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB)

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS

CONTRACT ID #: C00122267DB123

I-81 CIP MM 72.0 NB TO MM 73.4 NB

ACCEL/DECEL LANES WITH BRIDGES

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is seeking Statements of Qualifications for the I-81 CIP MM 72.0 NB to MM 73.4 NB Accel/Decel Lanes with Bridges design-build project from qualified and experienced respondents with design and construction experience of highway facilities. The project is located in Wythe County on I-81 at the junction of I-77, between I-81 NB mile markers 72.0 and 73.4. Proposed improvements include lengthening the acceleration lane at the merge area from the I -77 SB off ramp to I-81 southbound and lengthening the deceleration lane from the I -81 northbound on ramp to I-77 NB. Proposed improvements also include complete replacement of the existing bridges over Peppers Ferry Road and replacement of the I -81 northbound bridge over the I-77 NB trumpet ramp. Other roadway improvements include extending the I -77 Exit 41 SB acceleration lane to create an auxiliary lane that lengthens the merge area between the Exit 41SB entrance ramp and the off ramp to I-81 SB. Replacement of the I-81 southbound bridge over I-77 is not part of the project. The project does not increase the capacity of I-81 and will provide two lanes of travel in both I -81 directions. The work includes but not limited to: roadway and bridge design, survey, environmental, geotechnical, hydraulics and stormwater management, traffic control devices, transportation management plan, utility relocation, public involvement/relations and stakeholder coordination, quality assurance and quality control, construction engineering and inspection, and overall project management.

Questions/clarifications regarding the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) should be submitted to Joseph A. Clarke, PE, DBIA (joseph.clarke@vdot. virginia.gov).

Copies of the RFQ and additional submittal requirements can be found on Bid Express (bidexpress.com)

The Department assures compliance with Title VI requirements of nondiscrimination in all activities pursuant to this advertisement.