NJG | Vol. 123, No. 24 - June 15, 2023

NewJourNal & Guide New JourNal & Guide

COURT’S 5-4 DECISION ON VOTING RIGHTS IS WIN FOR MINORITIES

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

In a surprising decision on Thursday, June 8, the Supreme Court struck down Republican-drawn congressional districts in Alabama, ruling that they discriminated against Black voters. The 5-4 vote means state officials must redraw the heavily Republican-favored map of Alabama’s seven congressional districts.

Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh, both conservatives, joined the court’s three liberals in the majority.

The ruling by the court, which currently holds a 6-3 conservative majority, marks a departure from the state’s attempt to make it more challenging to address

In a surprising decision, the Supreme Court struck down Republicandrawn congressional districts in Alabama, ruling that they discriminated against Black voters.

concerns raised by civil rights advocates regarding the dilution of Black voters’ power in states like Alabama, where voters are divided into districts where white voters dominate.

The cases brought before the court were consolidated and originated from the litigation over the new congressional district map, which the Republicancontrolled Alabama Legislature drafted after the 2020 census.

The challengers, including individual voters and the Alabama State Conference of the

NAACP, argued that the map violated Section 2 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act by discriminating against Black voters.

Under the new map, only one out of seven districts would likely enable Black voters to elect a candidate of their choice.

The NAACP contended that Alabama, with a population of over a quarter Black residents, should have at least two such districts and presented evidence supporting the feasibility of drawing an additional majority-Black district.

see Court, page 2A

LOCAL PASTOR BUILDING ORPHANAGE IN GHANA

By Rosaland Tyler

Associate Editor New Journal and Guide

After she experienced a steady stream of nightmares several years ago, the Rev. Dr. Jacquelyn Hayes-Danto, a Newport News pastor, arose from her bed, booked a flight to Ghana, and launched an orphanage.

Now, a steady stream of donors in Virginia and elsewhere are helping Danto care for the “frantic and visibly abused” youngsters in Ghana who streamed through her dreams late at night for several months, according to a post on her website – Standing On The Promises of God Children’s Home Ghana. This means more than a dozen orphans now live in the new, 7-acre

VOTE:

Tuesday, June 20, 2023 Virginia Primary Election

school she is building in Asamakese.

The orphanage is located on a plot of land that a coconut farmer sold to Danto after her family and friends financed her first $2,500 trip to Ghana in 2021. Later, relatives and

friends gave her another $2,500 for her second trip in November 2022. Soon, Danto returned home to the USA, raised $27,000, flew back to Ghana, and bought a tract of a land from a retiring coconut farmer.

“We purchased seven acres of land in Asamakese Ghana (located near Krodua Village) in August 2022,” Danto said in a recent interview with The New Journal and Guide. The project still needs about $15,000.

The orphanage, which is expected to be completed in 2026, is located about one hour from Accra, the nation’s capital, Danso explained in a recent email. “I first went to Ghana in 2021. I went back in November 2022. see Ghana, page 8A

By Stacy M. Brown

NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia

In a heartfelt ceremony, officials unveiled a newly renovated skate park on the outskirts of Sacramento, dedicating it to Tyre Nichols, a young Black man who

Juneteenth,

Black Music Month Celebrated On White House Lawn

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

The Biden-Harris administration hosted a highly anticipated Juneteenth concert on the South Lawn of the White House on Tuesday, June 13.

The concert coincided with Black Music Month and showcased a star-studded lineup, including renowned artists such as Jennifer Hudson, Method Man, Audra McDonald, Step Afrika!, Colman Domingo, Ledisi, Patina Miller, and the Tennessee State University Marching Band, Aristocrat of Bands.

Juneteenth, a significant holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States, holds even greater importance this year after President Biden signed it into law in 2021, designating June 19 as National Independence Day.

“This is a day of profound weight and profound power, a day in which we remember the moral stain and the terrible

toll that slavery took on the country and continues to take,” President Biden remarked.

Earlier this month, the president issued a proclamation highlighting Black entertainers in the music industry.

“Much of Black music is rooted in African rhythms, coupled with the experience of slavery and struggle in America,” the president asserted.

“Barred from expressing themselves in their native tongues, enslaved people developed a language to articulate their hopes, dreams, sense of loss, and tenacity to overcome the harrowing nature of their lives.”

He concluded that all should celebrate the music and artists “that challenge us to think critically, stand up to injustice, and believe in ourselves.”

“We recommit to expanding the promise of dignity and opportunity for all Americans,” Biden insisted.

“And we revel in the sounds, spirit, and soul of some of the very best music ever created.”

NAVY VET IS AREA’S “FATHER OF THE YEAR”

By Leonard E. Colvin Chief Reporter New Journal and Guide

In 2009, Darrell Upshaw was serving in the Navy, working as an Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Tech, when he began experiencing difficulty standing and walking.

His career in the Navy ended but the disease which deterred him from walking continued to the point now where it prohibits him from walking without falling down.

Upshaw said he knew the door of his ability to be physically mobile, something we all take for granted, was closed.

But he said God opened another door – widely – that provided the ability him to concentrate on a very important purpose in life: being a strong and viable

Darrell Upshaw

husband and father.

“Being a good husband and father is a very important duty and responsibility,” said Upshaw who lives with his family in Newport News. “God took away my mobility. But I am here for my wife, children, and even their friends. That is my mission now.”

Upshaw, 46, and his wife Lakel have a family by

merger, for he had children, and she one offspring, and together, they produced one. Also, now the Upshaws have a two-yearold grandchild along with an extended family.

June 18 is Father’s Day, and Upshaw looks forward to being showered with varying tributes of love, material gifts and a special dinner.

But the day before, he will be honored as Hampton Roads’ Father of the Year. Since 2018, the organization, Fathers, Inc., founded by Ernest Woodson of Maryland, has organized an awards breakfast to honor its “Father of the Year” in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Prince George County, Maryland, and this year on June 17, starting at 9:30 a.m., at the Hampton Roads Convention Convention Center.

see Fathers, page 9A

JUNE IS BLACK MUSIC MONTH

see page 8A

TYRE NICHOLS PARK UNVEILED, HONORS HIS LIFE

tragically lost his life earlier this year to police violence.

Nichols, an ardent skateboarder who spent his youth frequenting the park, was killed during a fatal encounter with Tennessee police in January.

City representatives and a diverse group gathered to pay tribute to Nichols’ memory

and attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony. The park, once a cherished sanctuary for Nichols, will now bear his name as a testament to his passion for skateboarding and impact on the community.

Nichols, a resident of Memphis, Tennessee, relocated there with his mother and stepfather just

Negro League Baseball History

An Alliance is working to establish May as annual “Negro League Day” at America’s 30 ballparks to secure the rich history of Blacks in baseball under segregation. see page 6A

before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

An aspiring photographer, he found solace and inspiration in capturing the beauty of landscapes and sunsets through his lens.

According to a lawsuit his family filed against the Memphis Police Department, tragically, Nichols was the victim of a brutal assault by several police officers on January 7 while returning home after taking pictures of the sky.

The incident occurred a mere stone’s throw away from his mother’s residence.

After enduring the assault, Nichols was rushed to a hospital but succumbed to his injuries three days later.

As a result of extensive

investigations, five Memphis police officers, all of whom are Black, were terminated from their positions and now face charges including second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct, and official oppression.

Officials said the dedication of the skate park in Nichols’ name not only serves as a tribute to his love for skateboarding but also stands as a reminder of the ongoing struggle against racial injustice and police brutality.

They said it symbolizes a community’s commitment to ensuring that his untimely death does not fade into obscurity but fuels a movement for meaningful change and the pursuit of justice.

Serving Norfolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Suffolk & The Peninsula Publishing since 1900 ... that no good cause shall lack a champion and evil shall not thrive unopposed. www.thenewjournalandguide.com

Rev. Dr. Jacquelyn Hayes-Danto

Pastor Hayes-Danto with African children.

Photo: Courtesy

TEXT MESSAGE SCAMS RISING: PROTECT YOURSELF FROM FRAUD

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

In an age of advanced technology and widespread connectivity, text message scams, including in big cities, have become a big problem for people nationwide.

As these deceptive practices continue to grow, authorities have cautioned that it is vital for people to be aware, watchful, and cautious to protect their personal information.

From 2015 to 2022, the number of reports about possible text scams rose by 500 percent, according to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Also, officials said that more than 475 million robo-texts are sent every day, and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said that Americans had lost more than $231 million to text

Court

Continued from page 1A

In January 2022, a lower court agreed with the challengers, ruling that the plaintiffs had demonstrated, in line with Supreme Court precedent, that Alabama’s Black population was both sizable and compact enough to warrant a second majorityBlack district. The court ordered the redrawing of the map.

However, Alabama’s Republican attorney general, Steve Marshall, turned to the Supreme Court, which placed the litigation on hold and agreed to hear the case.

During the November election, the Supreme Court was split 5-4 in allowing the use of the new map. Chief Justice John Roberts, a conservative, dissented and joined the court’s three liberals.

In the election, Republicans secured six out of the seven seats, while Democrats won the majority-Black district. If a new map had been implemented, Democrats might have gained an additional seat.

The Supreme Court’s decisions in cases like the Alabama one have been seen as potentially contributing to Republicans’ slim majority in the House of Representatives.

Over the past decade, the Supreme Court has weakened the Voting Rights Act in two separate cases. In 2013, the court significantly limited a crucial provision of the law that allowed for federal oversight

message scams in the first three quarters of 2022.

Officials say that there are several reasons why text message scams are so common. One of them is that scammers can work on digital platforms without being caught, which makes it easier for them to start largescale fraud campaigns.

Also, the fast-paced nature of city life can make people more likely to make quick decisions, which makes them more likely to fall for these scams. Authorities warned that people should take specific steps to avoid falling for text message scams.

The FTC said that scams often promise to get you to click on links.

This could include offering gift cards, coupons, or a noninterest credit card. A scammer may also say they have information about you or may trick you by

of election law changes in specific states. In a 2021 ruling related to Arizona, the court made bringing cases under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act more challenging. This case is one of three that the court is currently hearing where conservative attorneys promote what they view as politically correct, raceneutral arguments to address racial discrimination. In other cases, the court may end affirmative action in college admissions and strike down parts of a law that provides preferences to Native Americans seeking to adopt Native American children.

The court is also deliberating another significant electionrelated dispute in the current term.

The ruling, expected before the end of June, will address a Republican initiative to limit state courts’ authority to enforce state constitutional provisions in federal elections.

claiming suspicious activity on your account, sending a false bill, or falsely informing you that your package has arrived. Here are some crucial things to do to reduce the risk: Check the source out: Be careful when you get unwanted text messages, especially ones that ask for personal or financial information. Always check the sender’s name before responding or giving out any private information. Don’t click on strange links: Don’t click on links in text messages, especially if they come from sources you don’t know or look sketchy. These links can lead to harmful websites or cause the download of dangerous

software.

Educate yourself: Keep up with the latest text message scams and hackers’ most common tricks. Get to know how they do things so you can better spot and avoid possible dangers. Beware of urgency and pressure. Scammers often make victims feel they must move quickly or use highpressure tactics to get what they want.

Be careful about messages that tell you to do something right away or offer deals that seem too good to be true. Enable two-factor authentication: Use twofactor authentication whenever you can to give your online accounts an extra layer of security.

Atlanta City Council Funds “Cop City” Despite Citizen Protests

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

In a highly debated decision, Atlanta lawmakers voted recently to allocate funds to construct a massive public safety training center known as “Cop City” by its opponents.

The controversial plan, which has faced years of opposition, received a significant boost when the Atlanta City Council agreed to provide $30 million to develop the $90 million, 85acre facility.

The decision has elicited outrage and jeers from dissenters within the chamber.

Civil

Rights Lawyer Arrested For Filming Miss. Traffic Stop

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire

Senior

National Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia

Mississippi civil rights lawyer Jill Collen Jefferson found herself on the wrong side of the law after recording a traffic stop involving officers from the very police department she is suing in federal court. The arrest has drawn attention to the ongoing struggle for justice and police reform in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests that have swept the nation.

Jefferson, president of JULIAN, a prominent civil rights organization, had filed a federal lawsuit against the Lexington Police Department on behalf of a group of city residents just last year.

Her attorney, Michael Carr, revealed that

Jefferson was apprehended late Saturday evening, June 10, while documenting officers’ actions during a routine traffic stop.

Despite numerous attempts to obtain comments from the Lexington Police Department, they have failed to respond to comment requests.

A lawsuit in which Jefferson is a plaintiff, alleges that Black residents in Lexington, a small Mississippi town about 63 miles north of Jackson, have been subjected to false arrests, excessive force, and intimidation, causing them to feel “terrorized” by the police.

Her attorney noted that the incident further underscores the urgent need for comprehensive police reform and the significance of the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests.

Despite more than 14 hours of testimony by hundreds of people opposing the project, the city council voted 11-4 to fund the facility around 5:30 a.m. local time.

Protesters and critics of the project have expressed concerns about its potential negative environmental impact and the perceived use of the training center for “urban warfare” exercises by the police.

The vote comes after a tragic incident in January, where officers fatally shot a 26-year-old environmental activist during an attempt to clear the proposed site.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation later revealed that the activist, Manuel Esteban Paez Terán, or Tortuguita, had fired at officers first, injuring a state trooper.

The incident led to property damage and multiple arrests during a subsequent vigil held in Atlanta.

More than 350 individuals signed up to deliver remarks during the public comment period ahead of the vote, with the majority expressing opposition to the development.

Many argued that the

training center would not enhance public safety but rather perpetuate militarized policing and encourage the use of force.

In preparation for the vote, several City Hall offices were closed, services were moved online, and a temporary ban was imposed on certain items due to heightened security concerns.

According to city officials, the approved legislation will reduce taxpayers’ costs compared to the city’s previous arrangements.

It allows the city to consolidate existing leases for suboptimal training facilities used separately by the police and fire rescue departments, resulting in estimated savings of $200,000 annually or $6 million over 30 years.

The Atlanta Police Foundation, an independent, nonprofit organization, will lead the effort to raise the remaining funds needed for construction through philanthropic and corporate donations.

The proposed training center includes creating a simulated city for police and firefighter trainees, a shooting range, and an emergency vehicle operations course, representing a significant upgrade for both departments.

Despite more than 14 hours of testimony by hundreds of people opposing the project, the city council voted 11-4 to fund the facility around 5:30 a.m. local time.

NEW FIRES, FAMILIAR INJUSTICE

PROFESSOR EMERITUS OF SOCIOLOGY VIRGINIA TECH

BLACK EXCESS COVID DEATHS

By Wornie Reed, Ph.D.

As expected, Blacks and other minorities have borne the brunt of the COVID pandemic.

The National Center for Health Statistics is releasing up-to-date death data for COVID-19-related deaths in response to the pandemic. These estimates of excess deaths – the number of deaths exceeding the normal average in recent years –include counts of deaths by race and Hispanic Origin.

The total number of excess COVID deaths in the United States from February 1, 2020, to May 27, 2023, was 1,349,559. NonHispanic Blacks accounted for 155,979 (14 percent) of these deaths. But these rates have been higher.

While disparities in cases and deaths have widened and narrowed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, data show that Asian, Black, and Hispanic people have had higher rates of cases and death compared with White people over most of the course of the pandemic and that they have experienced overall higher rates of infection, hospitalization, and death.

The use of the excess death measurement became prominent under Margaret Heckler during her short tenure as Secretary of Health and Human Services. Heckler was a Republican congressperson from Massachusetts until she lost her seat in 1982 because of redistricting.

President Ronald Reagan, perceiving a need to have high-ranking females in his administration and having very little interest in having an agency like the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) succeed in its work of “enhancing the heath and well-being of

Secretary Margaret Heckler

the

all Americans,” appointed her Secretary of HHS. She later admitted that she had known nothing about health and medicine.

However, she quickly took to the role, as she was astonished at the racial and ethnic health and medical care disparities in major reports produced by her department. The HHS annual report, Health, United States, 1983, documented racial health disparities, including life expectancy, which she called “an affront to our ideals and to the genius of American medicine.”

After meeting with various leaders and groups in health and medical care, she created the Task Force on Black and Minority Health in 1984 to address these disparities.

In 1985 Secretary Heckler released the landmark Report of the Secretary’s Task Force on Black and Minority Health, comprising seven volumes, which incidentally occupied a prominent space on my bookshelf and in my work for many years. This was the first time that the U.S. government had comprehensively studied the health status of racial and ethnic minorities and elevated minority health onto the national stage.

And for this, she was fired after only 31 months on the job. She was quickly forced out of that position and made ambassador to Ireland, a far less critical role than Secretary of HHS. The White House said

she was not working on Reagan’s agenda.

But her good deeds had already been done. The so-called Heckler Report concluded that health disparities accounted for 60,000 excess deaths each year. It also put forth several recommendations to reduce health disparities.

The Heckler Report led to the creation of the HHS Office of Minority Health in 1986. It influenced many issues in minority health and health equity. It led to the establishment of offices of minority health in NIH, CDC, and the Health Resources and Services Administration.

We still have racial and ethnic disparities in health and a related issue, medical care. And we use some of the terms that became more widely used under Secretary Margaret Heckler--“excess deaths” and “years of life loss.”

In one study, researchers concluded that the gap in health outcomes translated into 80 million years of life lost -- years of life that could have been preserved if the gap between Black and White Mortality rates had been eliminated. Blacks do not have a predisposition to die more often. They die more readily because of how society treats them, i.e., racism. Racism determines how well and how long one lives. Heckler started us in the right direction; however, her work just bit off a part of the “large elephant.”

WHO GOVERNS?

By Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq. (Ret.)

(TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM)

One of the most important questions a “thinking and responsible” citizen must ask is, “Who governs me?”

Active participation in the governance of others is a solemn responsibility of which only a few are worthy. Without question, to present oneself for such a position requires a welldeveloped sense of selfesteem AND the humility of acknowledging the great trust placed in her/his character. One of those traits without the other is a recipe for poor governance. Too many of our current “leaders” share that fault.

Several days ago, I watched a television program that listed numerous politicians and the institutions of higher learning they attended. Since most of the universities attached to the subjects of the program were considered the “cream of the crop” of higher learning, I only wondered, “If those schools are so good, how did some of these people get in, and more worrisome is, “How did they graduate?”

I judge the quality of formal education by the ability of the student to move with skill and alacrity in familiar circumstances and adaptively in those in which they lack familiarity or experience. This is essential for effective governance, especially in a nation as culturally and geographically diverse

By Ben Jealous (TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM)

A lightning strike and a small fire are all it took this weekend to remind residents in South Louisiana – across much of the Gulf Coast really – that some people consider them disposable.

A thunderbolt reportedly hit an oil refinery in Lake Charles, causing a fire that sent up a toxic, Black plume visible from 40 miles away, an evacuation nearby, and a shelter-in-place order with a three-mile radius. It’s not yet known what exactly was released into the air or how much of it.

Fifty miles south, a blaze in Cameron at an electric substation fueled by liquefied fossil gas prompted an evacuation as well, including residents of several RV parks who said they weren’t aware they were living across the street from explosive gas tanks. Substations like the one that caught fire dot that part of the state, remnants of a power grid never fully rebuilt after Hurricane Laura.

Reporters covered both fires, but they weren’t really news to residents. With dozens of oil, gas and petrochemical plants and pipes littering Cameron and Calcasieu parishes and dozens more planned, it would be notable if lightning didn’t hit something explosive or an industrial fire didn’t demand an evacuation. An explosion at one plant and a fire at another just last year caused major pollution events.

It’s story that’s familiar to many communities across the country – the ones in the cancer alleys along the Mississippi River, those that sit alongside coal-fired power plants that spew pollution that contributes to higher death rates. They are places

Ben Jealous

that carry a disproportionate burden when it comes to the byproducts of our gas and oil-fueled economy. It’s sad but apt that we frequently call places like this “frontline” communities as their residents are at risk like the soldiers and sailors who so frequently are recruited from the same places. What these communities have in common is that they are where people with the least economic and political power reside. They have people who have had to make an impossible choice between the air they breath, the land they inhabit, and the water they enjoy and putting food on the table. And they share the damaging consequences of bordering sites that spew pollutants as part of doing business.

“The stress these toxinreleasing events has on everyone living in this area causes mental and physical health problem,” Cynthia Robinson, a local faith leader who runs the Micah 6:8 Mission outside Lake Charles, said this weekend. “Those of us living here in an area where climate change has added to the magnitude and frequency of hurricanes add that burden also.”

The historic clean energy package passed by President Biden and Congress in 2022 includes $3 billion in

environmental justice grants for communities like these that have borne an unfair share of the damage caused by fossil fuels and other chemicals. It’s an unprecedented direct commitment to those places. More can be done even now. Louisiana residents have been pressing federal energy and pipeline regulators to do more to enforce regulations, starting with equipment and facilities being subject to more than self-inspection by the companies that own them.

As a nation, at moments when communities like Lake Charles and Cameron are on fire, we need to acknowledge that our continued reliance on fossil fuels is subsidized by the physical and mental health of other Americans. We have to ask ourselves why we let our neighbors make that kind of sacrifice when fossil fuel companies are making billions in record profits. We need to act on the reality that for them environmental damage isn’t a far-off threat. It’s a daily part of their lives.

Ben Jealous is executive director of the Sierra Club, the nation’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization. He is a professor of practice at the University of Pennsylvania and author of “Never Forget Our People Were Always Free,” published in January.

Celebrating 20 Years of Upholding A Tradition As “The Voice of Black America”

By Marc H. Morial (TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM)

“Show me a person who is full of prejudice, and I will show you a sick, unhappy, fearful individual who is not going anywhere and who is not growing. People don’t shut other people out; they fence themselves in.”

– Whitney M. Young, Jr.

It was 20 years ago this week that I humbly assumed the responsibilities of leadership of the National Urban League – one of which is the honor to author this very column, To Be Equal, established by the esteemed Whitney M. Young, Jr.

The first To Be Equal column to be published in New York’s Amsterdam News was headlined, “How Much Are Negroes Worth?”

as ours. It is more of a necessity for those whose formal education is limited in depth and detail.

Among those on the referenced program were Ted Cruz (R-TX), who attended Princeton University and received a law degree from Harvard; Josh Hawley (R-MO), who attended Stanford and received a law degree from Yale; John Kennedy (R-LA), who attended Vanderbilt and received his law degree from the University of Virginia; Tom Cotton (R-AR), who attended Harvard and Harvard Law School; Elise Stefanik (R-NY, attended Harvard; Matt Gaetz (RFL), attended the State University of Florida and the Law College of William and Mary. I must also mention Ron DeSantis, who attended Harvard, Yale, and the Naval Justice School.

Others among these “questionables” attended Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Princeton, and Dartmouth. Non-Ivy League graduates like Donald Trump (University

of Pennsylvania), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) (University of Georgia), and Josh Hawley (R-MO) (Stanford) and also besmirch the academic character of their alma maters.

Among “leaders” with no, limited, or questionable academic credentials are: Lauren Boebert (R-CO) (recently received her GED), Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) (homeschooled; mostly D grades before dropping out of Patrick Henry College); and Matthew Rosendale (R-Mt) who removed his ID as “Rancher” from his website when questioned about it. George Santos (RNY) – who knows anything about him? Although some completed some college, such as an associate degree or a training course at a specialized school, I must wonder how they convinced other citizens to give them such important jobs. see Williams, page 6A

The (To Be Equal) column shares its name and takes its inspiration from Young’s first full-length book, published on New Year’s Day, 1964, in the wake of what Young called “the year of the Negro Revolution,” a year that saw thousands of children, marching through Birmingham, Alabama, attacked by police dogs and blasted with firehoses; the Woolworth’s lunch counter sit-in in Jackson, Mississippi; Gov. George W. Wallace’s Stand in the Schoolhouse Door at the University of Alabama; the assassination of Medgar Evers; the March on Washington for Jobs and Justice; and the deadly bombing of Birmingham’s 16th Street Baptist Church. The first To Be Equal column to be published in New York’s Amsterdam News was headlined, “How Much Are Negroes Worth?” Young recounted his conversation with “a middleaged white housewife” who declared she harbored no prejudice against Black Americans but could not comprehend the push to desegregate schools.

“Her arguments against school integration, it turned out, were directed against sending her children to slum schools,” Young wrote. “But supposedly there is nothing wrong with sending Negro children to slum schools.”

The last To Be Equal column published under Young’s byline ran three weeks after his tragic March 11. 1971 drowning in Nigeria and consisted of excerpts of his various speeches. The last column he authored, also published after his death and headlined “Old Story, New Beginning,” concerned his efforts as part of a special commission tasked with updating the recommendations of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, also known as the Kerner Commission.

“The Kerner report’s sound recommendations have been ignored, and concerned citizens are going to have to put some muscle into their principles if this nation is to survive,” Young wrote. “The Kerner Commission recommended, among other things, greater concern by private citizens, and it’s good to note that at a time when many private groups are simply throwing up their hands and refusing to become involved, at least one national organization has devised an imaginative new

program.

That national organization was the National Conference of Christians and Jews, and the imaginative new program was the National Committee for Commitment to Brotherhood, formed to support the work of the National Urban League, NAACP, and Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

The first To Be Equal to be published after Young’s death was authored by Harold R. Sims, who served as the National Urban League’s acting executive director until the appointment of Vernon E. Jordan. Appropriately, it was a tribute to Young headlined “Nation Mourns A Great Leader.”

“Whitney Young was a man who transcended the boundaries of race, nationality, and ideology,” Sims wrote. “He was a man who formed a human bridge between the rich and the poor, the white and the Black, the conservative and the liberal. Labels simply don’t apply to such a universal man.”

Each of Young’s successors has continued to publish To Be Equal, and it has been my honor to uphold the tradition as he intended it to be, “the voice of Black America.”

Marc H. Morial

Dr. E. Faye

Williams, Esq.

I must wonder if any administrator or Board Member from these schools has ever called some of these people and said, “You are making our school look bad! Cut out the craziness!”

What these communities have in common is that they are where people with the least economic and political power reside.

HHS

created

Task Force on Black and Minority Health in 1984 to study the health status of racial and ethnic minorities; it elevated minority health onto the national stage.

COMMENTARY: SECURING THE NEGRO LEAGUES IN AMERICAN BASEBALL HISTORY

By Ralph E. Moore, Jr.

The Moore Report

AFRO American News

The families of Negro League baseball players are calling for a national day of recognition and attention for the Negro Leagues, the Black ballplayers who were excluded because of race from Major League Baseball teams. The descendants have come together to form the Negro Leagues Family Alliance (NLFA), established in February.

NLFA is calling on Major League Baseball (MLB) to establish May 2 as annual “Negro League Day” in all 30 Major League Baseball parks across the nation, marking the day the first Negro League game was played. The contest that spring day pitted the Indianapolis ABCs and the Chicago Giants against each other.

The family members that makeup NLFA represent ten Negro League players: Dennis Biddle, Bill Foster, Rube Foster, Josh Gibson, Pete Hill, Buck Leonard, Fran Matthews, Ted “Double Duty” Radcliffe, Norman Thomas “Turkey” Stearnes and Ron “Schoolboy” Teasley, who is 96 years old. Teasley was drafted by Major League Baseball’s Brooklyn Dodgers in 1948 after playing for the New York Cubans of the Negro League. His daughter, Lydia Teasley, is a member of NLFA.

Another member of the group is Sean Gibson, great-grandson of Josh Gibson, who lived from Dec. 21, 1911 to Jan. 20, 1947. Gibson was a phenomenal catcher, whose career was primarily in the Negro Leagues. Gibson is considered among the best power hitters and catchers in baseball history. In 1972, he became just the second Negro League player to be inducted in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.

The alliance’s reasons for organizing are “to preserve the legacy of the Negro League and help grow the game in America’s inner-cities.”

Vanessa Rose, granddaughter of Turkey Stearnes, who played

Continued from page 4A

Among those I have named there are two points of commonality – they are all Republicans and their words and actions demonstrate an intense hatred of all things different. I speak with authority when I say that none of the mentioned schools had courses labeled “Hate the Poor, Hate Black People, Hate the LGBTQs, Hate Anybody With Whom You Disagree.” You get the point! I must wonder if any administrator or Board Member from these schools has ever called some of these people and said, “You are making our school look bad! Cut out the craziness!”

outfield for several Negro League teams (starting with the Nashville Giants in 1920 and ending with the Chicago American Giants in 1938) is quoted as saying, “we aim to provide resources, education and opportunities to create a unified community through the beautiful game of baseball.

“Our distinct personal connections to the Negro Leagues allow us to offer a voice rooted in ancestry that will inspire others to strive to achieve and maximize their potential,” she said of the Family Alliance’s mission, a goal of wrapping education, advocacy and inspiration in a long-ignored history lesson.

Additional initiatives from the alliance are to set up a website of historical information on the Negro Leagues and to participate in the Reviving Baseball in the Inner City (RBI) program.

A side story, according to Bill Ladson of Major League Baseball: “The date was July 25, 1966.

[Ted] Williams [of the Boston Red Sox] entered the Hall of Fame. That day [he was inducted] and made a speech that still resonates around the baseball world. He used his induction speech as an opportunity to speak on behalf of Negro League players. He felt that stars like Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson had largely been overlooked and should be in Cooperstown. Williams knew about their talents, as he competed against Negro Leaguers during barnstorming games starting in the early ’40s, when Major League Baseball was still segregated.

“I hope that someday, the names of Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson can ... be added to the symbol of the great Negro League players that are not here only because they were not given a chance,” Williams told the crowd that day.

Finally, a new book has just been released with an intriguing title, “Pete Hill: Black Baseball’s First Superstar,” by Bob Luke. It comes highly recommended by Hill’s great-nephew, Ron Hill. He has written on the book’s back cover liner

I am not suggesting that these “leaders” should find agreement with every point of view, but, given the concept of personal freedom, their stated agendas uniformly reject uplifting all people, fair voting rights, women’s rights, peace, justice, or any of the myriad personal freedoms we have lived with for years. Their words and actions resurrect the hatred, unfairness, disrespect, and racism of history to another level. We must find and elect those who will govern for the benefit of our diverse communities – not just for a disgruntled minority.

Dr. E.

President

Hampton Roads’ Own

Norfolk’s Sam Allen, 87, is one of the few remaining Negro League Players still living. He played as a member of the Kansas City Monarchs and also a member of the Raleigh Tigers and the Memphis Red Sox before entering the U.S. Army to serve our country.

notes, “A forgotten ball player comes to life in Bob Luke’s book.”

Hill started playing at 17 and had a baseball career as an outfielder and manager that spanned 1889 to 1920. I strongly recommend the book.

The NLFA reports there were 130 Negro League teams, 3,500 players and of them, 50 players are still alive. Fans should call, write and nag owners of Major League Baseball

parks in their area to set up Negro League Baseball Day every May 2, starting in 2023.

The players changed America – we owe it to them to remember that. For further information about the Negro Leagues Family Alliance, contact Sean L. Gibson (Josh Gibson’s greatgrandson): negroleagues familyalliance.com (412) 589-1906

Faye Williams is

of The Dick Gregory Society (http:// thedickgregorysociety.org) and President Emerita of the National Congress of Black Women)

1948 Negro League East All Stars

Photo:Courtesy

Photo:NJGFiles

NATIONAL BLACK MUSIC MONTH 2023

PHIL NELSON: “MR. QUIET STORM” BLACK MUSIC RADIO PERSONALITY

By Rev. Dr. Glenda P. Murray Kelly, aka gparis Special to the New Journal and

Guide

In 1979, former President Jimmy Carter signed into proclamation that the month of June would be a national month of celebration for African-American Music. This year marks the 44th year of celebration. The Hampton Roads area has been blessed to have so many great artists. This year for “Black Music Month” in the Hampton Roads area, we would like to spotlight the work and the achievement of Mr. Phil Nelson, who served the Hampton Roads area from 1984-2004, as a radio personality/announcer.

“I can’t believe it’s been a 40-year journey, yet it’s been since I was 10 years of age about 50 plus years ago,” said Mr. Nelson. He is the owner and CEO of Nelson Media & Investments, LLC dba Mr. FM Productions. He attended Virginia State University, majoring in Mass Communications/English. He is a native son of Newport News, VA and at an early age he knew the desires of his heart would be in radio/ television.

Phil Nelson is known and recognized as the original Mr. Quiet Storm, host of WOWI 103 Jamz, Norfolk, Va., and, former The Quiet Storm Host/ Norfolk, VA at Vibe 105.3 when management shifted the show upon a merger. He has received numerous awards and recognitions.

In April 2023, The

Continued from page 1A

Both trips cost about $2,500. I visited Accra, Asamakese, and the Cape Coast. The trips were funded by family, friends and through fundraising efforts. During my second visit, the land that was purchased was finalized and the first phase of building was underway.”

This means her nightmares not only launched a bright brand-new orphanage. Her troubling dreams also launched a steady stream of income for local residents who are actually receiving paychecks while they build the new orphanage. The new facility will offer local residents an office, counseling department, cafeteria, nurses station, classrooms, a chapel, and dormitories for boys and girls. Meanwhile, streams of fresh distilled water will soon flow to local residents and a chicken farm will soon produce a new stream of income at the new orphanage, thanks to partnerships that Danso launched.

“We have connected with donors through social media, donation letters, word of mouth, and mission programs,” she said. “The three streams of income which have already been mentioned will bring employment into an area that is extremely povertystricken. The community will benefit from the clean water that will be produced and the local children will not have to go so far to attend school. I foresee better roads being built in the area as a result of our presence there.”

Danso said she attributes the gushing streams in her life to God. “I was led by God to establish and pastor a church, Standing on the Promises of God Worship Center in Newport News, Va., on April 16, 2005,” Danso explained.

“I am married to Edward Danso. We have three adult children (Gregory, Timothy and Charity). Approximately $25,000 has already been spent,” said the Newport News pastor. Please contact her at P.O. Box 15286. Newport News, Va. 23608. “Our presence there and the work that we are doing have

Presidential Volunteer Lifetime Achievement Award was bestowed upon him in Atlantic City, NJ during the celebration of the New Jersey Walk of Fame hosted by the National R&B Music Society. After leaving the Hampton Roads area, he became the

Announcer/Personality for Howard University’s Overnights-Quiet Storm at WHUR 96.3 Washington D.C. and former On-Air Personality/Radio One Washington DC at PRAISE 104.1 FM. He has hosted Stellar Award-winning radio stations.

“It’s has truly been a journey for me in the industry and I am so grateful for the opportunity that the Hampton Roads area offered me. I’m currently writing my book about my experience in the business, and on the airwaves in the Hampton Roads area and Washington, D.C.”

What better way to celebrate a legend than to bring him back home? He was able to be among his peers on Sunday, May 21, 2023, at the Chesapeake Conference Center. The Virginia Aires celebrated their 42nd Anniversary in music with performances by the Virginia Aires, Dr. Shirley Caesar Williams, the Gospel Sensations. Peggy Britt and a few other guest artists.

Special guests in attendance were Chesapeake Councilwoman, Ella Ward, Virginia State Senator Louise L. Lucas, radio announcers, promoters, managers, engineers, musicians, stage managers, production managers, coordinators, legislators, and fans who played a major role in the success.

proven to be an asset to the economy because we are utilizing workers from the local community.”

The gushing stream has not stopped since she had her first nightmare. In fact, it continues.

“The businesses that we are looking to create are chicken farming, vegetable farming, Tom Brown breakfast cereal (porridge), and Distilled Water business,” she said, in a recent email. “The (orphanage) will be built in stages and it is estimated that the completion will cost approximately $150,000,” she said.

“Our project completion date is January 2026. Academic classes will start upon completion of the temporary school building which is estimated mid2024,” Danso said. The facility is equipped to serve up to 50 children.

It is important to remember that US dollars stretch farther outside of the USA. Land, labor and supplies cost less, in other words. This means your donation may double and triple. “Monetary donations can help us achieve (our) goals and I am a believer in the power of united prayer,” she said.

While some may ask why she flew all the way to Ghana instead of opening an orphanage in the USA, the answer is she felt compelled “to go forward in this work,” she explained. “I am a firm believer that hand in hand we can turn dreams into realities.

Love, support, and mentoring of one child can positively affect generations. Some ask why I have to go all the way to Africa to be a help to children. My response is. ... ‘God chooses different people to do different things in different places.’”

Danto, a Newport News native, was born to Adron(Jack) and Cleo Joyner Hayes, who are deceased.

“My mother was a caregiver and my father was a locksmith

by trade,” she said. “He was also a well-known barber in the surrounding cities. I have four brothers; Adron, Dewayne, and Stephen, who are deceased, and a living brother Arnold. I’m also blessed with a twin sister, Jocelyn, and my youngest sister Kalandra.” She has two god daughters who live in Ghana.

“One was given my first name and the other has my maiden name, Jacquelyn Beryl Adomba Mensah and Esther Hayes Kwaom” the Newport News pastor explained..

“None of my family members went to church,” she said. “There didn’t seem to be much of an interest in God. I felt somewhat odd until one day my uncle gave me a very old Bible.”

The Bible changed her life. After she graduated from Ferguson High in Newport News, earned an undergraduate degree at Norfolk State University, as well as a undergraduate degree in theology at Christian Life School of Theology and a masters at International College of Bible Theology, she earned her doctoral degree at Midwest Seminary.

She believes her troubling dreams came from God. “None of my family members went to church,” she said. But she feels empowered when she looks at the worn Bible from her uncle.

“He told me, ‘I felt that you would appreciate this more than anyone else.’ “

He told her that he prayed for his descendants. Hearing these words “touched me so deeply,” she said. “Wow, the power of a great-grandfather’s prayers.”

To help build the orphanage, please scroll to Standing On The Promises of God Children’s Home Ghana or CASH APP $SPGWORSHIPCENTER or https://www. spgworshipcenter.com/ contact.

Ghana

Some ask why I have to go all the way to Africa to be a help to children. My response is ... ‘God chooses different people to do different things in different places.’”

– Pastor Jacquelyn Hayes-Danto

(L-R) Rev. Dr. Glenda P. Murray Kelly, Phil Nelson, and Doc Christian during recent event.

Photo: Courtesy

Hard at work

Photo: Courtesy

Continued from page 1A

Since January, Fathers, Inc., has been soliciting nominations from families and organizations for this year’s Father of the Year award.

“Since 1987, Fathers, Inc. has actively encouraged men and fathers to recognize and accept their ordained role in fostering the viability of their children, families, and communities for the better,” said Woodson. He said his organization and other communitybased organizations with similar visions have made substantial progress to inspire absentee and nonproductive fathers, especially those in the urban/inner city population, to return to their children and nurture them toward being upright and viable men, women, and citizens.

“Fathers, Inc. believes men who understand and accept the importance of family and community and actively seek to encourage and sustain it, know that it is a responsibility and calling from the highest authority,” Woodson said.

“It is for that reason that the Father of the Year Award Program was established,” he added.

Upshaw is an offspring of a military family. His father was serving in Germany when he was born. The family moved to Ft. Monroe in Hampton, Virginia, but shortly after, his parents divorced.

So, he and his sister moved into an apartment headed by his mom.

For two months in the summer, his mother dispatched the two to the North Carolina farm of his grandfather near Fayetteville.

“My grandfather, Noah

Jackson, would go to work a regular job all day and then come home to work in the fields of his farm,” recalled Upshaw. “We worked hard alongside him in the fields. He was a hardworking man who provided for his family. I watched him being a man and a father. He is my role model for being a man and father.”

Upshaw said that parenting is a complicated and demanding role that must be shared with his wife. They both have life experiences which provide a tool to their parenting tool kit. He said there a no perfect way of parenting.

Upshaw said he gives guidance to not only his children, but their friends or any one he encounters.

His ultimate goal of being a parent is to provide guidance, instruction and discipline to place a child on a strong and predictable path to stable

and productive adulthood.

“You have to be an understanding and openminded parent. A good father ... parent ... is able to give children guidance, because kids will make mistakes and they must learn from them” he said.

“My children understand I am not their friend, I am the adult and the father.”

He continued, “Each child has a different personality. I know I have to relate to my 22-year-old differently than one of my younger children.”

“More importantly,” said Upshaw, “you must love them for who they are and what they want to be in life and not what you want. You may want them to be a doctor. But they may want to be a hairdresser.”

“I also tell them to appreciate being a child,” he said. “Do not try to grow up too fast.”

He said he and his wife are an effective parenting

Ross-Hammond Receives 1st Darden Award For Outstanding Public Service

VIRGINIA BEACH

team.

“She is my partner and friend in life,” said Upshaw. “I met her after my last wife died. We have a friendship based on love and support. I came into this marriage with two children and they learned to love her just as much as I do.”

Lakel Upshaw nominated her husband for the honor. The reasons for doing so were the most compelling among the many other applications Fathers, Inc. received.

“He said he did not want to be honored,” said Lakel Upshaw. “He said he was just taking care of his family, that was enough for him. But I told him he was representative of what a ‘good’ African-American father should be. So many of them are not. I just wanted to acknowledge him and all Black men who are doing their job as father. He is an excellent example.”

City Councilwoman Dr. Amelia Ross-Hammond was presented the 2023 Christine Mann Darden Award in council chambers on June 6. This is the first year the award has been given by the Hampton Roads Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration to recognize outstanding persons in public service. The Dr. Christine Mann Darden Outstanding Public Employee in Hampton Roads is awarded to a minority Hampton Roads public sector employee. The award honors Dr. Christine Mann Darden, who is recognized for her groundbreaking achievement as the first African-American woman at NASA Langley to be appointed to the top management rank of Senior Executive Service. She is equally known for her efforts to inspire and educate generations of aerospace scientists and engineers.

Celeste Murphy Greene, Ph.D., MPA, Executive Director, Center for Environmental Justice and Resilience, said about Dr. Ross-Hammond, “We believe your strong record of public service to Hampton Roads in many different capacities proves you are well deserving of this award.”

Dr. Ross-Hammond, in addition to serving as a member of the Virginia Beach City Council, is the founder and chairman of the board of the Virginia AfricanAmerican Cultural Center (VAACC), a non-profit organization in partnership with the city of Virginia Beach which is building a multi-million dollar educational center focused on highlighting Virginia’s Black history. VAACC has awarded a number of grants to organizations in the Hampton Roads area to support Black historyrelated projects. She is a retired Norfolk State University professor.

City Councilwoman Dr. Amelia Ross-Hammond

Photo: Courtesy

Upshaw said he gives guidance to not only his children, but their friends or any one he encounters.

Darrell and Lakel Upshaw and their Family.

Photo: Courtesy

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!

Whatever Happened To The Kids of Famous Black Dads?

By Rosaland Tyler

Associate Editor New Journal and Guide

Whatever happened to the children of the late Rev. Dr. Martin L. King Jr. Frederick Douglass, Barack Obama, Booker T. Washington, Muhammad Ali, and JayZ?

Their high-profile children are living productive lives; but no word yet on their plans for Father’ s Day, which will fall on June 18.

Dr. King’s four children finished college and continue to advance his dream. Although King’s eldest daughter, Yolande collapsed and died from cardiopulmonary problems on May 15, 2007 at age 51, in Santa Monica at a friend’s home, King’s remaining children continue to walk in his footsteps.

For example, the Rev. Dr. Bernice King is a minister who has served as CEO of the King Center since 2012. Her older brother, Martin Luther King III, is a human rights and civil rights activist. Dexter Scott King, the third child of Martin and Coretta Scott King, is an actor, producer and vegan.

Meanwhile, Jay Z, another famous Black father who produced three children with his wife, Beyonce, has not announced plans for Father’s Day. Most recently their 11-year-old daughter, Blue Ivy, performed at a Paris concert during her mother’s Renaissance Tour. “Give it up for Blue,” Beyoncé, 41, told the crowd, who immediately broke into applause after her daughter performed.

Jay Z’s and Beyonce’s children range from 11 to 5. Currently, their three children are watching their high-profile parents strike billion dollar deals including the recent launch of Beyonce’s Renaissance Tour which is expected to sell $2.4 million tickets and generate about $500 million more than the ‘Eras Tour.’

Frederick Douglass’ two grandchildren have not yet released an itinerary for Father’s Day events that they may hold at the newly established Frederick Douglass Park on The Tuckahoe. But last year, his descendants, Nettie Washington Douglass of Atlanta and one of her sons,’ Kenneth B. Morris, Jr., of California held a groundbreaking ceremony at the 107-acre park located just upstream from the farm where Douglass was born in 1818.

So how will Douglass’ descendants honor the renowned abolitionist, who married Anna Murray Douglass, a free Black

NEVADA GOP GOVERNOR SIGNS JUNETEENTH BILL

Parkinson’s for a long time.

I’m happy knowing that he’s no longer struggling, and that’s what gives me comfort.”

Frederick Douglass

woman on September 15, 1838? They birthed three sons and two daughters, one of whom died at age 10.

All of his sons fought in the Civil War.

After a fire destroyed Douglass’ Rochester home, Douglass moved in 1872 to Washington, D.C., where he launched a newspaper (New National Era), which closed in 1874. Later, Douglass’ fi rst wife died on Aug. 4, 1882 after suffering a stroke.

Two years later, Douglass married Helen Pitts, his White secretary, who was about 20 years younger than her husband. The interracial marriage was controversial and resulted in Douglass’s temporary estrangement from some friends and family.

◆◆◆

Barack and Michelle Obama have not released press reports that explain how they will celebrate Father’s Day.

Expect cakes, candles and hugs since Barack and Michelle wore proud expressions at their youngest daughter’s recent University of California commencement on May 12. Sasha Obama is now a college graduate like her sister, Malia.

Malia and Sasha grew up in the White House from 2009 to 2017. Obama’s oldest daughter, Malia, graduated from Harvard in 2021. Now, she’s working as a scriptwriter for Donald Glover’s new Amazon project. Obama was elected as the nation’s first Black president on Nov. 4, 2008.

◆◆◆

But before Obama was elected to the presidency in 2000, Muhammad Ali was a high-profile boxer who fathered nine children by six women.

Ali announced his retirement from boxing in 1981, at age 39. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1984. He died on June 3, 2016. His cause of death was septic shock, a condition characterized by a sudden drop in blood pressure.

Ali’s daughter, Laila, a professional boxer, told CBS News after her father’s 2016 death, “I’ve been sad for a long time because my father’s been struggling with

She added, “My dad was not only the best fighter ever, but also such a great man, and there will never be anyone else like him. I think that anywhere you go in the world, people not only recognize him but also love him because of the man that he is. Because he stood up for his beliefs. He fought for those that couldn’t speak up for themselves, and he’ll truly be missed by all of us.”

Ali’s remaining children work in diverse fields including author, manicurist, baseball coach, comedian, entrepreneur, and rapper.

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

Nevada has officially declared Juneteenth a state holiday, joining a growing list of states commemorating the last enslaved individuals in the United States learned of their freedom.

The state’s Republican Governor, Joe Lombardo, signed the bill into law on Thursday, June 8, elevating June 19 from a day of observance to a full-fledged state holiday.

The legislation means that many state employees can now take the day off to celebrate the holiday.

Juneteenth now stands alongside other recognized holidays in Nevada, such as New Year’s Day, Veterans Day, July 4, Labor Day, Nevada Day, and Christmas.

The bill received overwhelming support in the state Assembly and Senate, with votes of 40-to-1 and 19to-2, respectively.

Democratic Assemblywoman Claire Thomas, one of the bill’s sponsors, highlighted Nevada’s historic commitment

to civil rights as the first state to ratify the 15th Amendment, granting African-Americans the right to vote.

“By designating Juneteenth as a state holiday, Nevada continues to honor that legacy and celebrate the progress that has been made in the fight for equality,” she expressed.

The federal recognition of Juneteenth as a national holiday came in 2021 when President Joe Biden signed a bill that Congress had passed.

Sydney Poitier’s two marriages produced six daughters. He shared four daughters – Beverly, Pamela, Sherri and Gina – with his fi rst wife, Juanita Hardy, whom he was married to from 1950 to 1965. He had two daughters – Anika and Sydney – with his second wife, Joanna Shimkus, whom he was married to from 1976 until his death in 2022.

Richard Pryor’s seven children have not announced Father Day’s plans. Pryor won five Primetime Emmy Award nomination before he died of multiple sclerosis at age 65 in 2005. Pryor’s will left $40 million to his seven children.

One of Pryor’s children, Elizabeth Pryor is a professor at Smith College, where she teaches about race relations in America. Rain Pryor, perhaps, the best known of all of Pryor’s children, is an accomplished actress who has starred on such shows as “Head of the Class” and “Rude Awakening.”

Franklin Matthew Pryor is Richard Pryor’s youngest son. He is a stand-up comedian like his father. Professionally, he goes by the name Mason Pryor.

From 1975 to 2006, Pryor received many awards. In 2017, Rolling Stone ranked him first on its list of the 50 best stand-up comics of all time.

The bill received overwhelming support in the state Assembly and Senate, with votes of 40-to-1 and 19to-2, respectively.

Muhammad Ali

Photo: People.com

& MORE ...

Juneteenth Event To Honor History of Virginia’s Segregated Lakes

FARMVILLE Twin Lakes Park in Central Virginia will come alive for Juneteenth on Saturday, June 17th (10 a.m.-3 p.m.) with music, food, guest speakers and more to celebrate freedom.

Twin Lakes Park is the site of historic Prince Edward Lake and Goodwin Lake (near Farmville) which was once segregated during the “Jim Crow” era.

Both Prince Edward and Goodwin Lake dams were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the late 1930s. The CCC company that built the dams employed only young Black men aged 17-28.

At first, each lake

operated as a segregated State Recreation Area –Prince Edward served Black visitors while Goodwin Lake served Whites. Eventually, each

lake graduated to Virginia State Park status.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 legally ended segregation, but visitors continued to frequent whichever park was familiar to them.

In 1976, Prince Edward State Park and Goodwin Lake State Park merged to become Prince EdwardGoodwin Lake State Park.

In 1986, the park was renamed Twin Lakes.

Photos from the park’s heyday will be on display, and those who have memories of the lake are invited to share the occasion.

Events scheduled include the following:

AFRICAN-AMERICAN MUSIC

• A ceremony honoring 98-year-old CCC 1390th member Rev. John Henry Brown (Charlotte County)

• Documentary premiere spotlighting the lake’s facility Company 1390 at Camp Gallion, one of only a few Black Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in Virginia

• “Forever Free” –Presentation by Virginia State University professor, L. Roi Boyd, lll

The “Juba Juba Jubilee, We are Now Free!” theme has an outstanding line-up of performers in entertainment scheduled with music, delicious food and a host of churches and community organizations.

MONTH CELEBRATES JUNETEENTH IN VIRGINIA BEACH, JUNE 18

VIRGINIA BEACH

To close out Juneteenth weekend, the Virginia Beach History Museums and Princess Anne Country Training School/ Union Kempsville High School Alumni & Friends Association will host a free musical performance to celebrate African-

American Music Month and Juneteenth!

“African-American Music Month Celebrating Juneteenth” will be held from 3-5 p.m. on June 18. The Fuzz Band will take the stage outside of the Princess Anne County Training School/Union Kempsville High School Museum for a

soulful celebration of music and history. Be among the first to view new and refreshed exhibits in the museum, as well as the unveiling of the original 1937 Princess Anne County Training School property deed. Seating opens at 2:30 p.m. The Princess Anne

County Training School/ Union Kempsville High School Museum, located inside the Renaissance Academy, will be open during the show, allowing audiences to learn about the first high school in Virginia Beach for Black students. Advanced registration is not required for this event.

Rev. Henry Brown …helped to build the lakes in 1930’s

Norfolk Law Enforcement Agencies Run For Special Olympics

NORFOLK

On Wednesday, June 7, 2023, personnel from the Norfolk Sheriff’s Office, Norfolk Police Department, and Old Dominion University Police Department came together for the Norfolk leg of the Law Enforcement Torch Run® for Special Olympics.

They were met by runners from the Virginia Beach Police Department and Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office at the Norfolk/Virginia Beach city line where Virginia Beach “passed the torch” to Norfolk.

The Law Enforcement Torch Run® is the largest public awareness and

Free Film Explores High Prostate Cancer Disparity & Black Men

HAMPTON ROADS

In observance of National Men’s Health Month, The Black Walnut, an award-winning, featurelength film exploring the African American prostate cancer disparity, will be screened at Portsmouth’s The Commodore Theatre, 421 High Street, Portsmouth, VA 23704, on Saturday morning, June 24, 2023, at 10 a.m.

Admission is FREE and the first 50 men, age 40 and over, who register and attend the event will receive a $35 gas card!

Registration is available online at Eventbrite.

Having won the “Grand Jury Prize Gold Award” in 3 different categories of the Los Angeles Motion Picture Festival, an “Award of Merit” in the United Kingdom’s Docs Without Borders Film Festival, and a “Bronze” Telly Award, The Black Walnut has been previously screened to rave reviews in Atlanta, Orlando, Detroit, Cleveland, Austin, Washington, DC, Minneapolis, Bay St. Louis, MS, Baltimore, and Norfolk’s own Naro Theater. The film features ten prostate cancer survivors in dramatic roles, chiefly portraying themselves. This Portsmouth premiere is particularly noteworthy, as Portsmouth, a majority African American city, has historically had amongst the highest prostate cancer diagnosis and mortality rates in Virginia.

This very special screening of The Black Walnut is being offered as the centerpiece of a community event entitled Illuminating the Invisible Man, presented

with support from the Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center, the Greater Norfolk Medical Society of South Hampton Roads, Portsmouth Health Department, Norfolk State University Center for Health Disparities, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Urology of Virginia, and The New Journal and Guide.

The event will also feature a panel discussion following screening of the film, with topics addressing health disparities, health equity, health diversity and inclusion, and the importance of AfricanAmerican participation in clinical trials.

The panelists include Terrance Afer-Anderson, Writer-Producer-Director, The Black Walnut; Oncologist Lloyd A. Shabazz, MD, FACP; and Mekbib Gemeda, Vice President, Diversity and Inclusion, Eastern Virginia Medical School. The panel will be moderated by former WAVY-TV News 10 Anchor Don Roberts. Popular local vocalist Delores Pruitt-Polite will also be featured.

For more information, call (757) 839-7963 or visit www.terravizioninc.com.

grassroots fundraiser for the Special Olympics. Each year, members of law enforcement, known as Guardians of the Flame, participate in the Law Enforcement Torch Run and carry the ‘Flame of Hope’ to celebrate Special Olympics athletes around the world. Norfolk’s runners began their run from the Harrison Opera House, down Boush Street to Town Point Park and completed the Norfolk portion of the run behind Waterside.

From The Guide’s Archives

Archives

June 14, 1924

Edition of the Guide

B.T. (Washington) Grads

Told “Service”

Is A Great Need

NORFOLK

Bank Street Church was crowded to its utmost capacity at 11 a.m. Sunday on the Baccalaureate sermon to the graduating class of the Booker T. Washington High School by Pastor Rev. C. M. Young.

The services were unusually impressionable and the solemnity was calculated to inspire the members of the class with high ideals and worthy ambition. Everything connected with the delivery of the sermon to those who were assembled to listen to words of encouragement and advice was of a nature to heighten the effect of the services and to give great vivid reality to the utterances of the speaker. Deacon Johnson of the Bute Street Baptist Church offered prayer. The Bank Street Choir rendered appropriate selections with sympathetic sweetness.

Young men and women who for a term of four years have pursued a course of fruitful and persistent study sat with bright looks and happy faces glowing with marked attention to the discourse that was being delivered in honor of the close of their high school careers.

“A worthy admonition” was the subject to Rev. Long’s address, taken from Matthew 5:46: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. “

Huntington High Issues

Handsome Souvenir Booklet

NEWPORT NEWS

The most handsome class souvenir gotten up by a graduation class in Virginia and beyond a doubt, by any school for Colored students anywhere in the country is the 1924 Huntington issue by the senior class of Huntington high school of Newport News.

It is a 112-page book bound on mahogany imitation leather with the name artistically worked in raised letters. The pages are heavily enameled paper

and from the front piece to the last one are profusely illustrated with expansible photo-engravings of faculty and class members also numerous witty etchings.

From an editorial viewpoint, it is a marvel for a high school and would do any college credit. The material is all composed, the serious part of it being literary excellence and the wit and humor is not only original but really clean and entertaining.

Segregation Covenants Are Declared Legal

WASHINGTON, D.C.

The “Colored Line” may be drawn in restricting the sale of property here, according to an opinion handed down last Monday by the District of Columbia Court of Appeal, for White property owners in any neighborhood who fear an invasion of Colored residents.

This might take place unless they bind themselves not to sell, rent, or give away in any manner transfer any property to Colored persons.

The appellate court held such a document or covenant is binding and cannot be held for naught by one of the signers who takes a notion to disregard it.

The decision arose in the case of John J. Buckley who sued Irene Hand Corrigan (White) to prevent the latter from selling a house on S. Street northwest between New Hampshire Avenue and Eighteenth Streets to Helen Curtis, a Colored woman. The lower court issued an injunction preventing the sale signed by 30 owners of nearby property. Curtis appealed to the appellate court which now holds that their restriction was valid.

The court noted that it was lawful for Colored people to exclude Whites from their localities, businesses, and places of pleasure. So, it was lawful for Whites to do the same.

Dr. Emmett J. Scott, Treasurer of Howard University Recorder of Deeds, and Arthur G. Frome have purchased properties close to the enjoined residence, and Washington, D.C. folks are wondering whether the decision will be far-reaching in its effect.

It is believed, however, that attorneys for Curtis will carry the matter to the U.S.

Supreme Court.

M.M. Walker Company Offers Prizes To NAACP Branches For Services

NEW YORK

The Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company of Indianapolis is offering prizes to be awarded annually to two branches of the NAACP and to one individual for excellence in services rendered to the NAACP and to Colored Americans.

These prizes are in the form of two scholarships and a gold medal as follows:

One scholarship of $100 to the branch that makes the greatest progress in the contest year in raising money for the National NAACP office. This scholarship is to be awarded by a majority vote of the branch members to any person who is a student at any recognized college or secondary school.

The second scholarship will go to the NAACP branch excelling in a proportionate increase of its members. No branch may receive more than one of these scholarships in the same year and a branch may not be awarded the same scholarship within less than three years after the award. The second scholarship will be called the Madam A’Lelia Walker Scholarship and like the first may be awarded by a vote of branch members or by a vote of branch members of the community where it is located.

The third award will be a gold medal costing not less than $50 to be given to any individual member or officer of the NAACP not connected with the National office for rendering in the opinion of judges the greatest possible service to the Colored people.

June 16, 1951

Edition of the Guide

Police Question Story of Clergy, Torch Victim

By Thomas Dabney

NORFOLK

Investigating police officials have grave doubts about any connection of “two white men” with the gasoline-burning of the Rev. J. H. Mann on May 26, the Journal and Guide has learned. Officers are still probing the mysterious fire

death of the minister, a police official said.

Detective Sergeant L.L. Jones, when he went to the scene of the fire soon after its occurrence, told the GUIDE that several statements made by Mann have been contradicted by witnesses in the community or are without supporting evidence. He said he was “suspicious” of one of the statements the minister made before he was taken to Norfolk Community Hospital.

Although the Minister is alleged to have ridden in a car with his “kidnappers” to the scene of the fire, he never did give Sgt. Jones any descriptions of the car.

Sergeant Jones pointed out to the GUIDE that people who may have valuable information in the circumstances surrounding the burning of the minister “won’t talk.”

Somebody knows more than what happened May 26 than is being told, he said. Sgt. Jones added that “all of the Police department is interested in seeing that justice is done.”

On one of the reporters’ visits to police headquarters, Sgt. Jones asserted that a police department can do more than the cities of the city will help it to do. He said the police department would appreciate any information which might lead to the apprehension of the person or persons responsible for setting the fire to the house at 739 Roswell Avenue and fatally burning Rev. Mann.

There seems to be no racial angle to the burning of Mann. White people contacted in the Brambleton community said nothing but good words for their colored neighbors.

Luther Fletcher whose room is next to the window where the gasoline fire was started, told the GUIDE he was not at 749 (Roswell) where he resides when Mann was burned.

Fletcher said he knew Mann a long time and lived with him at 948 East Princess Anne Road before moving to his Roswell Avenue address about a year and a half ago. He is a member of the Union Congregation Church where the mister preachers and sings in the choir.

He said he never heard Fletcher preach against racial segregation.

About 2,000 people gathered at Union Congregational Church Christians Church on June 4 for Mann’s funeral.

Photo: Courtesy

Norfolk Sheriff Joe Baron (left) holds the torch alongside runners.

Photo: Courtesy

Terrance Afer-Anderson

LOCAL VOICES

‘TIS SUMMER TIME

By Sean C. Bowers

With summer’s official 2023 arrival, we can take solace in the age-old sharing of good times, visits, laughter, and love. We can revisit old friends, teammates, and relatives from those long-ago trails of our youth. Why is it so important to time-stamp mark these passages of time on our life’s calendar?

By recognizing where we’ve come from and knowing our history, we can have a better perspective on our unfolding journey. We are celebrating the fact we are still here, still alive, still hanging on after COVID-19. We can rejoice with all those with whom we may not have been able to see or connect with for a very long time. We are ear-marking memories at family reunions that serve to re-charge our spiritual batteries for the coming required tests.

The cookouts, foods, drinks, and camaraderie tap into the depths of our shared human experience. We are buoyed by “our” own people – those who love us and whom we love. The past matters not as it was. In this present moment, as we fall back into comfortable homespun golden glory of family and shared traditions.

Closure is not always possible, achieved, or ordained. There are those in our lives who are struggling with life’s difficulties: debt, underemployment, school, health and family issues, including divorce, death and depression. The challenge we each face is to say and be the positive uplifting person around. To bring a smile to other’s faces instead of that

Sean C. Bowers

low-hanging, put-down, one-ups-man-ship, is the truest test of our possible meaningful shared expression.

“Mending fences” is an old cowboy term for securing the perimeter that contains the livestock and keeping danger out. By mending our own family and friend “fences,” we can shore up our relationships that may not be as strong as they should and could be. We can look that person in the eye and let them know that we love them, no matter what. We can be the bigger person and not keep holding (ourselves) back with petty (old or new) grudges. For many, that could be just the inspiration they did not know they needed and therefore could not verbally express.

We only have to be true to ourselves, true to our ideals, morals, values, and our forebears’ legacies who provided us these growth opportunities. In the end, we are only responsible for ourselves, our actions, words, thoughts, and interactions. We have the choice to choose right speech, right thought, and right actions in all our encounters.

Not letting ourselves fall into old selfsabotaging patterns of fly-off-the-handle

retaliatory reactionaryism is perhaps the biggest test of self-aware growth and a mature evolution. Passing on those tools of meditation and self -control to the next generation makes perfect practice for those grown “issued” folk yet to come. Practicing does indeed, make perfect. I am helping my two seven and nineyear-old grandson learn to control themselves and to best channel their anger in positive ways. Their anger management now will be my precursor training for later maintaining my cool under pressure.

We all have “troubled waters” in our past and present lives that we must try and navigate or at least build bridges over. With the boys, I will always revert to my own examples of anger management issues and subpar grades holding me back from my upbringing. Showing them the ways I also struggled, until I learned how to center myself. This process allowed me to have all the peace and success in life. I owe all I am and have accomplished in life to thoughtful daily meditation and inner peacefulness, first shown to me at an early age by my (then single) Mother. In the quiet comes all that is needed. “Way will open.”

Seize the day. Prioritize, visualize, and actualize the bringing of peace into our relationships.

Thank God it’s’ summer time. Don’t forget the ice.

Sean C. Bowers has written the last twentyfive 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 email V1ZUAL1ZE@aol. com NNPA 2019 Publisher of the Year, Brenda H. Andrews (NJ&G 35 years) has always been his publisher.

With summer’s official 2023 arrival, we can take solace in the age-old sharing of good times, visits, laughter, and love.

We already know that Jesus is the resurrection and the life! On a second thought, the devastating thought of losing a loved one is not new to anyone. John highlights the power of God through His Son, Jesus Christ. Could those sisters have planned a more fruitful day for our Lord? Certainly they did their best to show love and appreciation for such a noble friend. Jesus, during that time, stayed focused on His mission to pay a debt that He did not owe for everyone’s salvation rather than being honored. Agonizing over details for a home visit Jesus made did not interest Him as He continued to minister to Mary who listened attentively. Martha stressed herself in an unusual manner when Jesus came to the home. He wants us to make Him our first priority in our lives. The truth that was being taught in this situation

centers on the importance of spending time with God rather than doing things for Him.

The physical plans for a delicious meal did not impress Jesus. It was to Martha that Jesus announced the victory over death. Mary was busy anointing His feet. Did Mary display evidence of knowing more of His secret power and wisdom than His disciples?

Because of this, she rose up as one of the most spiritually active women in the New Testament. Perhaps Jesus was more interested in food for the soul than in food for the body. Jesus understood the differences between the character traits of Mary and Martha and loved them both unconditionally.

As the sisters glanced at their brother, they remembered the promise that they would “see the glory of God” (John 11:40) and they did. It is extremely amazing to us today to realize

how He who had brought back their brother, Lazarus, from the grave would not willfully try to grasp at any opportunity to save His earthly life!

We know that Jesus was on a mission to save the world by becoming the living sacrifice for our sins. The sisters joyfully ministered of their substance helped to spread the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This story explains startling facts that Jesus’ power over death is always a possibility. Jesus shows us that death isn’t always final and can be and will be defeated! Death –defying miracles happen to us during accidents and illnesses when we are given another chance to live.

Because of who He is, our Lord Jesus deserves our best. We cannot thank Him, love Him, or serve and honor Him enough. Jesus could have saved Lazarus from four days in the grave, but He wanted the sisters and us to see the glory of God. This situation became the first time women in the New Testament witnessed Jesus’ expression of grief for a well-loved friend. Jesus was grieved not only at Lazarus’ death, but this included the indignation and unbelief of observers who stood nearby. How can we decide when to render service or time for God’s sake? God wants us to consider Him special. We are not to get so caught up in service that we forget to spend time with the Savior.

Hopefully, the things that matter most will surface clearly to us as we see the joy of interpretation of the character traits of those two sisters. We can readily agree that THE MASTER IS COME, so let us continue to prepare for our eternal life with Him!

JESUS IS COMING AGAIN PT. 2

“Coming again. Coming Again. My .heart is so Happy. My soul is so glad. Jesus is coming again.”

(James H. Gray) “Better be ready to put on your long white robe. Jordan River is chilly and cold. Better be ready to put on your long white robe. Chills the body but not the soul. Better be ready to put on your long white robe. Better be ready. Better be ready. Better be ready to put on your long white robe.”

(Author unknown) It is a fact that Jesus is corning again. There are over 300 scriptures pointing to Jesus’ Second Coming to the earth. These scriptures are written in parables and warnings. Jesus wants us to know and understand these warnings. A few of these follow: (1) “Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.” (Mt. 24:42

(2) “But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore, be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh.” (Mt. 24: 4344 ) (Lk 12:9-40)

(3) Ten virgins took their lamps to meet the Bridegroom. Five virgins had oil in their lamps. Five did not There was a Midnight Cry. The Bridegroom cometh. The

five wise virgins had oil to see Him and they went in. When the five foolish virgins came from buying oil, the door was shut. They cried, Lord, Lord, open the door to us. But He said, I know you not “Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man cometh.” (Mt. 25:1-13) (Oil is the symbol of the Holy Spirit; and “if any man have not the Holy Spirit of Christ, he or she is none of His.”) (Romans

8:9)

(4) “Watch and pray.”

(Mt. 26:41) The Gospels of Mark and Luke continue in watchfulness in view of the Lord’s return. “Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is ... (Mark 13:33) “For the Son of Man is as a man taking a far journey ... and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the

cockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly He find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say to all, WATCH.” (Mk. 13:34-37)

(5) The Gospel of Luke reminds us further that careful watching for the eternal over the temporal, the spiritual over the physical, will reap for us the Kingdom. “Let your loins be girded about and your lights burning; And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their Lord, when He will return from the wedding; that when He cometh and knocketh, they may open unto Him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord when He cometh shall find watching: Verily I say unto you, that He shall gird Himself, and make them sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. And if He shall come in the second watch or in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.” (Lk 12:35-38)

(6) “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things ... signs in the sun and the moon and stars and upon the earth, distress of nations ... Men’s hearts failing them for fear ... and the powers of Heaven shall be shaken ... behold the fig tree and all the trees when they now shoot forth, know that summer is now nigh at hand and the Kingdom of God. see Rivka, page 8B

REBECCA’S WELL BY REV. DR. REBECCA R. RIVKA

Rev. Dr. Rebecca R. Rivka

Free Juneteenth Event In Chesapeake

CHESAPEAKE

The Chesapeake NAACP will host its First JUNETEENTH Community Cookout on Sunday, June 18 at the Elizabeth River Park from 12-6 p.m. A special event starts at 2 p.m.

There will be live music, games, face painting, and a local vendor and artist market with plenty of entertainment for everyone to enjoy, as well as free food

served up fresh from the grill.

This event is a collaborative effort between NAACP Chesapeake, Utopia Feni, Where The Heart Is, and the city of Chesapeake. ACT-SO Youth Students will have the opportunity to perform and raise funds for their NAACP National Convention trip in July. Register at Eventbrite in advance for free food and entertainment tickets.

Juneteenth Parade In Berkley

NORFOLK

A “Celebration of Freedom” Juneteenth Parade will be held June 17 starting at 10:25 a.m. in the Berkley section of Norfolk. It is being sponsored by the STOP the Violence Team, Inc., and the Norfolk Public Library.

The parade will assemble at the Diggs Town Rental Office at 1918 Vernon Avenue. For more information, call (757) 309-0911 or (757) 823-4200.

MOMENTS of MEDITATION

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

FRONT AND CENTER

Read: 1 Thessalonians 2:8-12

Sigma Gamma Rho Sorors Bid Best Wishes

NORFOLK

As Dr. Tarin Hampton prepares to relocate from Hampton Roads to Atlanta at the end of the month, some of her Sigma Gamma Rho sisters were on hand Sunday, June 11 at Shiloh Baptist Church to bid her a hearty farewell. During the morning worship service, her Shiloh Family celebrated her service to the church as the founder and director of the Praise Dancers by presenting a special praise dance performance in her honor. Dr. Hampton recently retired from Norfolk State University where she directed the NSU Dance Department.

FAITH WITH WORKS SCHOOL OF DANCE HOLDS NINTH RECITAL AT THE HUB 757

By Glen Mason New Journal and Guide Arts and Culture Correspondent

SUFFOLK

It’s dance recital season.

Take an evening out and support the stars and entertainers of the future at your nearest dance school or academy.

Faith With Works School of Dance held its ninth annual recital this past Sunday at the Hub 757 in Suffolk, VA. The school is under the direction of its CEO and owner Jasmine M. Perkins.

The dancers, ages 4 to 18, and a few older ones, are serious about their art. After school is not enough. It would help if you respected the school-age participants for sacrificing playtime to do their due diligence.

After a robust, attention-getting opener to a rendition of Team Love’s

“Broadway.” Team Dream followed that routine with good, defined lines during their ballet to “Can’t Help Falling In Love With You.”

Team Hope moved the house’s audience to the beat of “How Will I Know.” They put forth a spirited number. They set the evening’s tempo.

The tap routine to Annie’s “Hard Luck Life” was choreographed to prepare the troupe for regional performances at the Attucks Theatre and Broadway auditions. The audio had worked out so you could hear the rhythmic drumming of tap shoes. Tap has recently grown in popularity with dance schools and companies this year.

For their second number Team Dream took the stage in yellow, shimmering, roaring 20s flapper costumes that allowed them to “Ease On Down the Road,” which would

make Richmond’s “William. “Bo Jangles and the late Norfolk dancer and choreographer Jean Whidbee proud.

The older dancers of Team Grace used folding chairs as an intriguing prop to a very stylish and graceful number to Love “Don’t Live Here Any More” before intermission.

Every year the production quality of the Faith Works School of Dance recital reflects the hard work of the dance students, parents, and staff commit themselves to. To say it’s a team effort would be disingenuous. Judging from the audience’s encouraging applause, it is a growing dance community.

The company’s “One Night Only” finale was a peek at future entertainment and professional entertainers in the making and to come.

In his book, Promises to Peter, Charlie Shedd tells how the title of his message on parenting changed with his experience of fatherhood. In his early years on the speaking circuit, before he was a father, he called it “How to Raise Your Children.” People came in droves to hear it. Then Charlie had a child, and it was a while before he gave that message again. When he did, it had a new name: “some suggestions to Parents.”

Two more children and a number of years later, he was calling it “Feeble Hints to Fellow Strugglers.” Several years and children later, he seldom gave that talk. But when he did, his theme was “Anyone here got a few words of wisdom?”

It’s tough being a dad. It’s almost impossible to live up to your own standards, to say nothing of God’s. And the toughest thing of all is that, deep inside, every father knows he is leaving an indelible thumbprint on the life of each of his children.

Whether he’s nuts-andbolts, practical or scrapes the Milky Way with his visionary ideas; whether he’s strong and aggressive or weak and passive; whether he’s a work alcoholic or an alcoholic – there’s not a dad who doesn’t know that his fingerprints are all over his children as he molds and shapes them into the adults they will become.

How can fathers do this carefully and wisely? In this meditation we will take a few tips on parenting from the Apostle Paul. We don’t know if Paul was ever a father in the literal sense; but in his first letter to the Thessalonians, we see some fatherly characteristics that are well worth emulating.

The first quality we see is affection: Having thus a fond affection for you ( (see 1 Thessalonians 2: v. 8a).

Paul had at his fingertips half-a-dozen Greek terms he could have used, but he picked a term found only this once in all the New Testament – a term that means “to feel oneself drawn to something or

someone.” It’s a term of endearment taken from the nursery – a term both masculine and tender ... the picture of a father gently cradling his tiny child.

How often do we really express this kind of “fond affection”? It’s easy to hug and kiss a baby, even a small child. But as that child grows up, physical affection is often replaced with physical aloofness – which can have some disastrous results. Research shows that sexual promiscuity in a woman can often be traced to a lack of fatherly affection in her childhood and adolescence. So fathers, demonstrate your love – now, before your child starts looking for it elsewhere.

From the rest of verse 8 we can glean the second guideline; a transplanted life.

“Having thus a fond affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us.”

Isn’t the gospel important? Absolutely! And isn’t it enough? Absolutely not!

It’s essential that your children hear the gospel if they are to come to know the Savior you love; and it’s even better if the Good News come from your own lips. But they need more than that. They need instruction about life, and they need a father who lets them watch him live it, mistakes and all.

They need to see you handle your finances, how you make decisions, what your values are, and what makes you laugh. They need to hear you admit when you’re wrong and see you stand up for your faith.

They need to know you inside out – and to feel your interest and belief in them. The word impart means “to convey, to contribute, to share fully” ... with children who know without a doubt that are “very dear” to you.

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

Team Love huffs it to “Hard Luck Life” from the Broadway hit Annie.Their routine was a hit at the Hub 757 in Suffolk.

(L-R) Soror Christi Johnson, Soror Dr.Yvette Williams, Soror Dr.Tarin Hampton, Soror Rhonda Lambert, Soror Brenda H. Andrews, Soror Chloe Jones

Photo: RomeoLambert

Renowned Economist & Former Norfolk State Professor,William E. Spriggs, Dies

By Rosaland Tyler

Associate Editor New Journal and Guide

Dr. William E. Spriggs, who once taught at Norfolk State University – where his father, a former Tuskegee Airman taught physics – recently died from a stroke at age 68 in Reston, Va.

The prominent Black economist taught six years at Norfolk State University, two years at North Carolina A&T State University, and also served as a professor and mentor at Howard University.

LYNCHBURG STATUE TO HONOR CITY’S 1ST BLACK MAYOR

NJG NEWSWIRE/ LYNCHBURG, VA

In a few months, Lynchburg residents will drive past a new monument that honors the city’s first African American mayor, M.W. “Teedy” Thornhill, who was elected in 1990, and died at age 95 in 2016

Construction on the new monument began June 12 and is expected to end in about two months, according to news reports. Thornhill was first elected to Lynchburg City Council in 1972 as the Ward II representative. He was elected mayor in 1990. He worked with several well-known political leaders including the Rev. Dr. Martin L. King Jr., Congressman John Lewis, and Virginia Gov. Doug Wilder. Thornhill owned

and operated Community Funeral home on 5th Street.

He ran the funeral home with his family including his son, M.W. Thornhill, III “Butch,” and his granddaughter, Chonda L. Thornhill.

As construction workers erect the statue at Fifth and Federal Streets, expect delays and lane closures.

The City of Lynchburg, the 5th Street Community Development Corp., Wiley|Wilson and Hill Studio are funding the project.

Carolina Bronze of Seagrove, N.C., designed the statue. The artist is Ed Walker, according to news reports. The statue is expected to be unveiled Aug. 19, the weekend of the old Dunbar High School reunion.

From 2009-2012, Spriggs served as an assistant secretary of labor in the Obama administration. He also accepted a series of jobs in government and left-leaning think tanks.

The A.F.L.-C.I.O., for which Dr. Spriggs had been chief economist for more than a decade, announced his death. Survivors include his wife of 38 years, Jennifer Spriggs, as well as a son, William; and

two sisters, Patricia Spriggs and Karen Baldwin. His parents had the greatest impact on his life. “I remember studying history together,” Spriggs said of his parents, Thurman and Julienne (Henderson) Spriggs. His World War II veteran father relocated from Norfolk to Washington, D.C., and later taught at Howard University. His mother, also a veteran, was a public-school teacher in Norfolk.

As a Black economist,

Spriggs’ research tended to focus on racial disparities in the labor market, due to the fact that African-Americans consistently experience unemployment at double the rate of Whites. While this troubling fact receives little attention from economists, a field that employs only a handful of African Americans, Spriggs’ research zeroed in on it.

“Economists have tried to rationalize this disparity by saying it merely reflects differences in skill levels,” Dr. Spriggs wrote in a 2021 opinion article in The New York Times.

“But the skills hypothesis is too strained at this point to be believable: The unemployment rate for White high school dropouts is almost always below that of Black unemployment over all, across all education levels. Why would White people who did not finish high school always have lower unemployment rates than Black people, even

as Black people increased their levels of educational attainment?”

Spriggs said, “The misdiagnosis of the past few decades is a dangerous one that we ought not repeat.”

Of his death, President Joe Biden said in a recent statement, “Bill was a towering figure in his field, a trailblazer who challenged the field’s basic assumptions about racial discrimination in labor markets, pay equity and worker empowerment.”

Spriggs was born on April 8, 1955, in Washington and reared there and in Virginia. He earned his undergraduate degrees at Williams College in Massachusetts. He earned a masters in 1979 and a doctorate in 1984 at the University of Wisconsin. During his lifetime, Spriggs said he taught more than 2,000 African American students economics and statistics at North Carolina A&T State University, Norfolk State University, and Howard.

CENSUS SURVEY OF U.S. BLACKS AIMS TO REACH 200K PEOPLE

CHICAGO, IL

The largest survey of Black people in the U.S. in history is aiming to attain its goal of reaching 200k people.

The Black Census Project will use the responses from across all 50 states to identify the issues, needs, and ideas that must be addressed for Black communities to thrive.

“If you want to take a pulse on what is happening with the country at large, listen and be responsive to Black communities,” said Alicia Garza, principal and founder of Black Futures Lab. The Lab is conducting the survey and is engaging Virginia communities to get involved.

“As we head into 2024, it is critical that we engage Black communities early and often,” she said. “Every day, policy is being made about us, without us. This survey will help change that.”

The Black Census is a survey-style questionnaire that can be quickly and easily completed online at Blackcensus.org. Through October, Black Futures Lab is conducting outreach by phone and text, placing digital ads on social media, and doorknocking in communities across the nation.

Results from the Black Census will inform the Black agenda 2024, a

legislative roadmap for how to make Black lives matter in public policy. According t Garza, the data from the Black Census will be used to influence and impact all institutions and decisionmakers who are or should be engaging Black people. The data will also inform the priority issues highlighted by candidates and their campaigns in the upcoming 2024 general elections.

“We are our best messengers on what we want, experience, and need,” said Garza. “The Black Census is historic and important – join us and participate so that your voice can be heard, your experience seen, and your

needs counted.”

The Black Census Project, first launched in 2018 and then again in 2022, has engaged communities that are typically underrepresented in traditional surveys and policy making. In 2022 and 2023, Black Futures Lab has collaborated with more than 40 Black-led grassroots organizations, over a dozen national media partners and Black influencers to survey LGBT+ communities, trans communities, incarcerated Black people, Black immigrant communities, and Black people in rural areas.

For more information: www.Blackfutureslab.org

The late Mayor M.W.Thornhill

Photo: Courtesy

William E. Spriggs

Rivka

Continued from page 4B

Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall never pass away. And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged and surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a Cloud with Power and Great Glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads: for your redemption drawneth nigh.” (Lk 21:25-36 )

(7) “And, behold I come quickly; and My Reward is with Me, to give to every man or woman according as their work may be. I AM Alpha and Omega The Beginning and The End, The First and The Last. I Jesus have sent Mine Angel to testify unto you these things in the Churches. I AM The Root and The Offspring of David, and The Bright and Morning Star.” (Revelation 22:12-16) “He which testifieth these things saith, SURELY I COME QUICKLY. AMEN. EVENSO, COME, LORD JESUS. The GRACE of OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST BE WITH YOU ALL. AMEN. (REV 22:20-2l) Blessings and Shalom Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

INVITATION FOR BIDS

INVITATION FOR BIDS PR2061-061-23

The Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority will receive bids for the “NRHA-Complete Boiler Retube & Misc. Upgrades and New Domestic Hot Water Heaters.”

The scope of work includes all supervision, labor, material, and equipment necessary to complete the Boiler Retube & Misc. Upgrades and New Domestic Hot Water Heaters at Young Terrace- 816 Whitaker Lane, Norfolk VA 23510, Diggs Town1619 Vernon Drive, Norfolk VA 23523 and Calvert Square- 900 Bagnall Road, Norfolk VA 23504. The work for this project includes but not limited to retubing existing Hurst Boilers and domestic hot water heater replacements. Also including items listed in the project scope of work section.

A pre-bid meeting will be conducted on July 6, 2023 at 10:00 AM starting at Diggs Town1619 Vernon Drive, Norfolk VA 23523 (in front of 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 11:00 AM July 14, 2023.

Sealed Bids will be received, publicly opened and read aloud on July 20, 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.

FUN PUZZLE FOR YOUR LEISURE

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS

CONTRACT ID #: C00118288DB124

FREDERICKSBURG DISTRICT BRIDGE BUNDLE

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is seeking Statements of Qualifications for the Fredericksburg District Bridge Bundle design-build project from qualified and experienced respondents with design and construction experience of bridges. The project has multiple bridges located in the Fredericksburg District. Proposed improvements include complete replacement of the following bridges: Route 17 NB bridge over Dragon Run in Middlesex County, Route 695 bridge over Oyster Creek in Lancaster County, and the Route 614 bridge over Exol Swamp in King and Queen County. The project also includes the superstructure replacement of the Route 207 NB bridge over Mattaponi River in Caroline County. Limited roadway approach work for the Route 695, Route 614, and Route 207 NB bridges, but Route 17 NB will require additional approach work as the bridge elevations will be raised to alleviate bridge flooding issues. The project does not increase the capacity of current roads and bridges. 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 Daniel McBride, P.E. (daniel.mcbride@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.

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS CRHA 23-RQ-002

The Chesapeake Redevelopment and Housing Authority is soliciting qualifications proposals from qualified and licensed firms to provide Professional Services for Mixed Finance Development Partner Services for the Peaceful Village and MacDonald Manor Community Redevelopment in Chesapeake, VA. RFQ document download and Submittal Return: may be downloaded from the CRHA website under the Procurement Section at crhava. org. RFQ documents will be ready for download Friday, May 26, 2023, at 8:00 am local prevailing time. The qualifications proposal submittal must be received in-hand and time-stamped in the CRHA Central Office, 1468 South Military Highway, Chesapeake, VA 23320. Solicitation no later than Friday, June 30, 2023, by 4:00 p.m. prevailing local time. CRHA contact person: Art Harbin, Procurement Officer, 757-233-6412 fax: 757-523-1601, art_harbin@ crhava.org. Minority and/or women-owned businesses are encouraged to submit proposals.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

Hampton Redevelopment and Housing Authority (HRHA) will accept proposals (Solicitation No. HRHA/FIN-23-001-01) from qualified firms to provide auditing services. The deadline for submission of proposals is by 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 12, 2023. Proposals must be mailed, or hand delivered, to the Hampton Redevelopment and Housing Authorityʼ s Administration Office located at 1 Franklin Street, Suite 603, Hampton, VA 23669 and marked “Auditing Services Proposal.”

For a copy of the RFP, contact HRHA, by calling 757-727-6382 or emailing nburleson@hamptonrha.com. A copy may also be obtained from our office at the address listed above or on our website at www.hamptonrha.com.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

RFP NO. WR-RFP-2023-02

ENGINEERING SERVICES FOR THE BUCKEYE LIVING SHORELINE PROJECT

The Hampton Roads Planning District Commission (the “Organization”) is soliciting proposals for the procurement of “Engineering Services: Buckeye Living Shoreline Project.” Interested parties should refer to the full request for proposal (RFP) posted at https://www.hrpdcva.gov/page/procurement and https://www.hrtpo.org/page/procurement/. Submit proposals by 2:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time on Tuesday, July 18, 2023.

... answers to this week’s puzzle.