NJG | Vol. 123, No. 27 - July 6, 2023

NewJourNal & Guide New JourNal & Guide

‘AMERICA HAS NEVER BEEN COLORBLIND’

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

As she watched her conservative majority colleagues on the high court issue the death knell to affirmative action on Thursday, June 29, Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote another masterpiece to express her dissent.

Jackson’s disapproval could easily be summed up in a single and precise sentence: “Our country has never been colorblind.”

“The best that can be said of the majority’s perspective is that it proceeds (ostrichlike) from the hope that preventing consideration of race will end racism,”

Jackson wrote in blasting the six-member majority. “But if that is its motivation, the majority proceeds in vain. If the colleges of this country are required to ignore a thing that matters, it will not just go away. It will take longer for racism to leave us.”

In the majority ruling, the conservative justices declared that the admissions policies of Harvard University and the University of North Carolina, which consider race a factor, were unconstitutional.

Students for Fair Admissions had presented two cases for consideration against Harvard and UNC, representing private and public universities.

They argued that the practice violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment and put white and AsianAmerican applicants at a disadvantage.

Harvard and UNC maintained that affirmative action should be upheld, contending that their

admissions policies align with previous court decisions.

They argued that considering race ensures a diverse student body. They denied any discrimination in their practices.

However, the Court ruled that affirmative action violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

The justices stated that the universities’ policies do not conform to the limited exceptions for equal rights without regard to race, color, or nationality.

The Court noted that affirmative action resulted in a lower acceptance rate for Asian American applicants at Harvard.

Photo: Courtesy

Keynotes NNPA Convention

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison proved a crowd pleaser with his topic, “Ending the Cycle of Police Violence in America.” Ellison, who also signed copies of his newly released book on that topic, shared how he succeeded in getting the jury to convict former policeman Derrick Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd.

see INSIDE, page 8A

REACTION IN VIRGINIA TO COURT’S RULING

By Leonard E. Colvin Chief Reporter New

Journal and Guide

The power of the super conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court was in full display last week with decisions on five key cases relating to Civil Rights and Diversity.

The conservatives voted in unison 6-3 to reject affirmative action in college admissions; favor the speech of the religious over antidiscrimination laws; and

torpedo President Biden’s plan to forgive student loan debt.

The one which revealed the most cultural and political division was on Affirmative Action. The court barred universities from using racebased affirmative action in admissions, overturning decades of precedence that had allowed the policy to be used by many majority White Colleges seeking to diversify their student populations.

Dr. Eric Claville, a

ANTI-VIOLENCE ACTIVIST’S SON KILLED

NJG Staff Report

NORFOLK

On Friday, July 1, loved ones, concerned citizens and police gathered at the spot where Ali Muhammad died two days earlier. Norfolk Police Chief Mark Talbot joined the family and offered his condolences and support.

Ali Muhammad was the son of Bilal Muhammad, one of Norfolk’s most well-known anti-gun violence advocates and community activists.

Bilal Muhammad says he won’t rest until justice is served. Chief Talbot said NPD has every intention of solving this case and putting handcuffs on the person responsible as soon as possible.

Ali K. Muhammed was shot to death on the evening of June 29, in the Ocean View area.

Around 10:35 p.m., the Norfolk Police Department received a report of a gunshot victim and dispatched officers to the 9600 block of 1st Bay Street, according to an NPD press release.

Upon arrival, officers found the 33-year-old Ali Muhammad suffering

Documentary Spotlights Negro Leagues

The film illuminates that baseball was integrated in its earliest days, but changed in the late 1800s. As Jim Crow laws engulfed the nation, Black players were banned from the game entirely. see page 6B

from a life-threatening gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Muhammed’s father, Bilal Muhammed, told 13News that he was on the phone with his son at the time of the shooting. He said Ali was getting into his car to go to work at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital when someone pulled up, blocked him in and then approached him. Over the phone, Bilal Muhammad said he heard someone confront Ali and then he heard his son shout at the person to “put down the gun.” Then he heard gunshots. see Muhammad, page 2A

Pleasant Grove Marker Unveiled

VIRGINIA BEACH

The 153-year-old Pleasant Grove Baptist Church is the city’s first African-American Baptist Church to have a state highway historic marker, according to Virginia Beach Historian Edna Hawkins Hendrix, who worked with the Historical Society to apply for it back in 2017 see INSIDE, page 1B

political and legal analyst and professor of politics and law at Norfolk State University, characterized the Supreme Court’s ruling on Affirmative Action as both expected and regressive.

“Higher education leaders have known for a long time that this challenge [to affirmative action] would come,” he said. “We need these policies to advance diversity and equity on campuses, and the law is the incentive to make and enforce those changes.”

see Reaction, page 3A

The Court further stated that basing admissions on race leads to stereotyping and assumes that individuals of a particular race think alike, which it said it found offensive and demeaning.

The justices did acknowledge that race can still be considered if it is directly tied to an applicant’s character or unique abilities that they can contribute to the university.

Chief Justice John Roberts, in the majority opinion, criticized universities that he said had wrongly prioritized skin color, stating that America’s constitutional history does not support such a choice.

see Justice, page 2A

Local Artist Honors Historic Figures

With Illustrated Booklet

By Leonard E. Colvin Chief Reporter New

Journal and Guide

June 30 marked the 100th birthday of Joseph A. Jordan, a disabled WWII Vet, who distinguished himself as an activist-attorney, Norfolk city council member, jurist, and visionary.

Thanks to his nephew Rodney A. Jordan, and a Virginia Beach artist, Phil Miles, Jordan’s legacy is detailed in a 22-page booklet of black and white images of his life.

The younger Jordan is a member of the Norfolk school board and other states’ education panels and is a strong advocate of literacy.

In 2019, he was a member of the Commission on AfricanAmerican History Education in the Commonwealth which was established by former Governor Ralph Northam that year. The Commission was co-chaired by Dr. Cassandra Newby-Alexander, Endowed Professor of Virginia Black History and Culture at Norfolk State University.

Joseph Jordan ... featured in “Ourstory”

Thanks to his nephew Rodney A. Jordan, and a Virginia Beach artist, Phil Miles, Jordan’s legacy is detailed in a 22page booklet of images of his life.

called “Ourstory.”

Photo: Courtesy

The commission, according to the Governor’s Executive Order, was designed “to examine the current ways that African-American history is described in the standards of learning and curriculum framework, and how that content is taught in classrooms.”

Two years ago, Jordan received a letter from Miles introducing himself as a graphic illustrator and creator of a graphic book series, he

In his letter Miles wrote that “Ourstory Book of Amazing African-Americans” is a comprehensive series of biographies of little-known and well-known figures of Black History. Targeted to youth but valuable to all ages, the mini-biography is an important resource to advance one’s knowledge and appreciation of history and contributions of AfricanAmericans to the growth and development of America.” see Jordan, page 3A

Justice Ketanji Jackson

Bilal Muhammad says he won’t rest until justice is served.

By Rosaland Tyler

Associate Editor New Journal and Guide

Much has changed since New York police officers shoved a 15-year-old Yusef Salaam into the back of a police car and told him to shut up and sit still.

Recently, voters elected Salaam to a Harlem City Council seat during the city’s recent June 27 Democratic primary elections. Records show Harlem’s Democratic primary voters overwhelmingly elected Yusef Salaam as its next city councilman. In November, voters will decide if Salaam will represent them on city council. Fifty percent of recent primary voters recently pulled

Justice

Continued from page 1A

Jackson lambasted that opinion, “…deeming race irrelevant in law does not make it so in life.”

She continued, “And having so detached itself from this country’s actual past and present experiences, the Court has now been lured into interfering with the crucial work that UNC and other institutions of higher learning are doing to solve America’s real-world problems.”

“No one benefits from ignorance. Race matters in the lived experience of Americans, even if legal barriers are gone.”

Casting aside decades of precedent, the Court’s “anti-opportunity majority further undermines its own legitimacy by gutting race-conscious university admissions, which will benefit the wealthy and wellconnected most,” the Chairs of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.), Congressional Black Caucus Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nevada), and Congressional Hispanic Caucus Rep. Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.) offered in a joint statement.

“We know that not all students are afforded equal opportunity in our education systems, and we know that diversity on college campuses benefits the entire student body by enriching

Muhammad

Continued from page 1A

Muhammad said he immediately called police and then his family. He says Ali leaves behind young children.

NPD are still investigating the shooting. No motive has yet been detected.

“Know their names because he leaves behind three beautiful daughters that we will now have to raise,” said the senior Muhammad. “Now they will be raised without the father they should have had.”

Bilal Muhammad is the leader of Stop the Violence Team. It advocates for violence prevention and gun violence awareness in Hampton Roads. The group organizes seminars, rallies and workshops to help community members and local leaders prevent violence in their neighborhoods.

A spokesperson for Sentara confirmed Ali was an employee at Norfolk General Hospital.

“We offer our deepest condolences to Ali Muhammad’s family following the news of his death,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

Sentara’s statement also said the company’s

the lever for Salaam, who was arrested at age 15, convicted, and sentenced to a 5-10 year jail term in the 1989 Central Park Jogger’s case. He was a teenager when he was arrested, wrongfully convicted of rape and attempted murder in 1990. He spent six years and eight months behind bars for a crime he did not commit. He was released on Dec. 19, 2002, and the city awarded an historic $41 million settlement in 2014 to Salaam and the four other defendants whose convictions were also overturned.

“I’m here because Harlem you believed in me. Harlem has spoken,” Salaam said during his recent victory speech, after the primary council race ended. Salaam ran

against Democratic Assemblywoman Inez Dickens, who claimed she earned degrees at Howard University and The University of Chicago but records show she did not graduate from either school. Her staff chalked up the educational discrepancies to “simple errors.” She is still a state congresswoman, Salaam, who recently won the Harlem’s Council District 9 Democratic primary, has 10 children. He recently told The Associated Press, “People are so thankful that I’m running for office. They’re telling me that I provide that hope that they’ve been looking for.” On Nov. 7, voters will decide if he will become a city councilman.

equal opportunity because our starting line is miles behind that of our white peers. It’s obvious that social inequities and systematic discrimination create a more difficult and treacherous path for Black and Brown people to achieve stability and success, blocking their ability to accumulate generational wealth and get their families to a place of financial security. “Affirmative action opened doors for bright, young people that were closed to them for generations.”

CENTRAL PARK 5 DEFENDANT WINS PRIMARY SEAT FOR NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL From The

their college experiences and better preparing them to enter our workforce,” the statement continued.

President Biden, former President Barack Obama, and a host of civil rights activists also condemned the Court’s decision.

Civil Rights Attorney Ben Crump said the ruling “reeks of the intellectual justification of discrimination.”

“As we have recently witnessed in politics, this is a coordinated effort to undo much of the progress made to turn America into a land of equal opportunity,” Crump stated.

“The truth is, Black Americans do not have

employee assistance program was being provided for any of Ali Muhammad’s colleagues who need support in the wake of his passing.

Lynchings Climb In First Six Months of 1925

According to Statistics just released by the Department of Records and Research, of Tuskegee Institute, the number of lynchings for the first six months of 1925 almost doubled the number for the same period in 1924.

From January to June of last year only four lynchings were recorded. For a similar period, this year there were nine lynchings, an increase of five.

These nine lynchings, however, were six less than the 15 recorded in the first six months of 1923; 21 less than the number recorded for the first six months of 1922.

The states in which lynchings occurred and the number in each state are as follows: Arkansas, 1; Florida, 1; Georgia, 1; Louisiana, 1; Mississippi, 3; Utah, 1 and Virginia, 1.

Resignation of Colonel Causey May Affect Park Plans

NORFOLK

The announcement of the resignation of City Manager Colonel Causey has provoked considerable speculations among the colored citizens as to the final outcome of the proposal now before the city council authorities for the establishment of public recreation facilities for their group. It is not believed by those who have commented on the situation that his resignation will have the effect of burying the proposal, inasmuch as Col. Causey’s tender to be relieved of his duties asked that it become effective September 1, and they are of the opinions that should

he remain in office two months longer he will still have ample time to make definite recommendations regarding the project.

Those who have been most active in trying to secure the park and playgrounds fear that should Causey allow the matter to wait for the consideration of getting recreational facilities for the colored people it will not be worked out before the end of the summer and the benefit these facilities will be a decided loss to those who need them most during the hot weather.

This is based on the belief that should the council refer the matter to a new city manager, he would not be able to take definite actions on it until he has been in office long enough to familiarize himself with every section of the city as well as the duties of his positions.

Such a delay caused by the outlined possibilities would be regarded by the colored people as almost calamitous, according to opinions being freely expressed by those best informed on the playground situations as it now exists in this city.

Race Physicians And Interns In Harlem Hospital

What is regarded by the immense Negro population of New York’s Harlem as marking a most important event in gaining civic recognition in the past few years is the announcement Tuesday last that Harlem Hospital opened its doors to Negro physicians and interns.

For some years along with Harlem’s rapid growth there has been the insistence that this hospital situation in the mindset of the district, takes in a more Negro complex in its official staff.

As far as concerned its patients, more than 60 percent of those receiving treatment there are colored people. A few weeks ago, the determination to have colored doctors and interns at the institutions grew into a real fight that carried to Mayor Hylan, the hospital being one of the allied hospitals of Bellevue, a city institution.

The First Woman To Get A Doctor of Divinity Degree

Indianapolis, Ind.-

- Miss Ida Mae Myller, a nationally known evangelist of the AME Church, received from Wilberforce University the degree of Doctor of Divinity on June 18. So far as is known, Dr. Myller has the distinction of being the first woman of the country regardless of race, to finish a regular course in theology in a registered Theological Seminary embracing an exhaustive study of the Bible on the original language –Hebrew and Greek – and to receive the Degree Bachelor Divinity.

She is a member of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority of Wilberforce and the Chi Chapter of Indianapolis, holding the office of Presbyterial.

She is quite well known in Norfolk, having appeared here in evangelical services a few years ago.

June 3, 1965

Edition of the Guide

Dr. Vernon Johns Dies Suddenly In Washington PETERSBURG

Dr. Vernon Johns, renowned religious leader and former president of Virginia Theological Seminary, was buried in his native Prince Edward County near Farmville, Va. last week.

Johns died suddenly in Washington, D.C. A funeral service was held at Tabernacle Baptist Chich in Petersburg. Dr. Samuel F. Gandy, dean of the Howard University School of Religion officiated at the service.

Johns studied at Boydton Institute Virginia Seminary, Virginia Union University, Oberlin Graduate School of Theology, and the University of Chicago.

Elijah Muhammad To Blame For Split, Claims Mrs. Clay CHICAGO

Sonji Roi Clay, wife of heavyweight boxing champion Cassius Clay, blamed Muslim leader Elijah Muhammad for her husband’s decision to call their marriage quits. She vowed she would fight an annulment suit filed by Clay yesterday in Miami, Fla “because I love him – I’ll do anything I can to save my marriage.”

Clay, 23, who likes to be known as “Muhammad Ali” sought an annulment on the grounds that Sonji would not abide by the demands of his faith.

He charged that she walked out on him the night after his latest victory when he admonished her for not acting like a Muslim. Mrs. Clay, 26, said she had not been living with her husband since he defended his crown against Sonny Liston in Lewiston, Maine.

She said Elijah Muhammad, leader of the Black supremacist sect, told Clay that “I embarrassed the entire Muslim nation so he had to choose between him and them.”

Mrs. Clay said she had complied with her husband’s request to stop smoking, change her diet and wear Muslim garb to the sect’s temples and religious conventions.

The truth is, Black Americans do not have equal opportunity because our starting line is miles behind that of our white peers ... Affirmative action opened doors for bright, young people that were closed to them for generations.”

– Attorney Ben Crump

Miles said he was inspired to contact Jordan, after attending a Commission “listening session” in March 2020 on the importance of Black history and the governor’s plan to introduce more of it into the school system.

“I wanted to offer my series for consideration,” Miles wrote to Jordan.

Recently, Jordan said he commissioned Miles to create a special edition of his “Uncle Joe” to honor Jordan’s legacy and contributions under the umbrella of his company “Gateway.”

On the opening page, the character “Oneil” welcomes the reader and introduces his other friends Sakuru, Kioteh, D.J. Ernesto, Luani, and Otis, a frisky canine.

Oneil then introduces the readers to the lobby and main check-out desk of a Norfolk library named for Jordan and members of the Newby Family: Physicians

Dr. J.E. Newby, Sr., and his son, Dr. J.E. Newby, Jr., and his brother, Educator Dr. Thomas Newby.

In the following pages, the life of Jordan is unveiled from his birth in Norfolk in 1923, graduating from Booker T. Washington High School, joining the Army and his injury during the waning days of WWII when a jeep he was driving hit a land mine.

Jordan survived but he was paralyzed from the waist down. He spent four years in a veteran’s hospital rehabilitating.

Despite being bound to a wheelchair, he secured an undergraduate degree

from Virginia Union, a Law Degree, and established a law firm in Norfolk.

He used the law firm to fight against Jim Crow, joining forces with community activist Evelyn Butts.

Butts loaned her name to the suit to end the state’s poll tax, which deterred Black people from voting. She then helped to direct his successful campaign to be the first Black person elected

to the Norfolk city council since Reconstruction.

He was then appointed to the Norfolk General District Court Bench.

Jordan said that Miles has done other books of this nature but none of such a local historic figure as his uncle.

After contacting Norfolk Public Library, Jordan is donating two copies for each branch and additional copies to the Jordan-Newby

Branch for the branch to distribute as part of their programming. “To me, it fits with the Believe in Learning Norfolk Summer of Learning initiative

Councilwoman Mamie Johnson is championing his cause which kicked off at the Jordan-Newby Library in June.

He plans to send copies to the Governor’s office, members of the Legislative Black Caucus, members of the Historic Commission, Norfolk City Council, local community groups focused on early childhood literacy such as Clever Communities in Action, and elders in the community who often share history with him.

The publication is available on AMAZON from Paul Miles Jr.’s Ourstory Books page for $10.95 plus the cost of shipping. Miles said the Jordan Edition is the 47th book of its kind and he has completed 10 volumes of the publications.

He said he was inspired in 1987 when he and his daughter were thumbing through a historic picture book and she eyed the Image of Dorie Miller, the famous Black sailor who was a messman, but managed to shoot down several Japanese planes that attacked the Pearl Harbor in December 1941.

Jordan said this storybook should be an enticing instrument not only for children but adults to consume and hone their knowledge of Hampton Roads’ Black history and culture.

“This area is so rich in historic figures and events that could be used as relevant content and material,” said Jordan. “We could produce one periodically. I think it would also encourage people to read and build their knowledge of history.”

PRES. BIDEN AMPLIFIES IMPORTANCE OF BLACK PRESS DURING NNPA CONVENTION

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

This week, during the NNPA’s Annual Convention, which celebrated 196 years of the Black Press of America, Biden appeared via video to salute the NNPA and its member publishers on the occasion.

“Congratulations to the Black Press of America for celebrating 196 years of serving communities across our nation,” Biden stated in the address which aired on July 1.

“Ida B. Wells once said, the way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon the wrong. That’s the sacred charge of a free press. That’s the charge African-American publishers have pursued for nearly two centuries,” Biden continued.

“With every story you publish, you make our democracy stronger. Thank you for what you do to turn the light of truth wherever your work leads you. Thank you.”

President Joe Biden has always maintained that the Black vote pushed him over the top in his 2020

To hear the President’s message to the Black Press of America, go to www.thenewjournalandguide.com

election victory over Donald Trump. And it’s never been lost on the president that the pivotal day in his campaign occurred in Charleston, South Carolina, on Feb. 26, when he sat down for a live roundtable interview with Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., the president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), the trade association of the more than 200 African-American-owned newspapers and media companies.

Joining Chavis at that campaignturning event were dozens of Black Press publishers and media company owners, and the livestream of that event, followed later in the day by an endorsement from Democratic South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn, catapulted the once slumbering candidacy all the way to the White House.

“The NNPA is especially honored

to hear directly from President Joe Biden for his continued support and advocacy of the importance of the Black Press of America,” Chavis stated. “It’s always gratifying and encouraging to have the support of the President of the United States. In the wake of the recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions on civil rights, the Black Press rededicates our journalism to be a clarion voice for freedom, justice, equality, and equity.”

Richards who is the publisher of the Houston Forward Times, also thanked the President.

Newly elected board chair Bobby Henry, publisher of the Westside Gazette in Florida, added, “Further, acknowledging the role that the Black press plays in reaching our people and those sympathetic to our plight remains a critical component of the 2024 electoral strategy.”

Continued from page 1A

He continued, “Without that, we will not have the same protections for promoting diverse, inclusive, equitable student bodies in Virginia and elsewhere.”

Claville said the high court’s decision “will have far-reaching implications beyond limiting race-based admissions in colleges.”

“I believe that here in Virginia, we will see ripple effects – perhaps in the way we hire for jobs, in the ways we support our communities, in the work across many sectors – that could basically roll back advancement opportunities for non-white people,” he said.

The court’s decision centered on Harvard and the University of North Carolina. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion.

“Eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it,” Roberts wrote in his opinion, which was joined by conservative Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Samuel Alito, Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch, and Clarence Thomas.

“The student must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual – not on the basis of race,” Roberts wrote. “Many universities have for too long done just the opposite.

And in doing so, they have concluded, wrongly, that the touchstone of an individual’s identity is not challenges bested, skills built, or lessons learned but the color of their skin. Our constitutional history does not tolerate that choice.”

The three Liberal Justices dissented.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor said, “Ignoring race will not equalize a society that is racially unequal. What was true in the 1860s, and again in 1954, is true today: Equality requires acknowledgment of inequality.”

The court cited the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, which Congress proposed and the states ratified after the Civil War.

The clause provides that no state shall “deny to any person ... the equal protection of the laws.”

The amendment has been cited for decades in efforts to end racial discrimination.

Roberts’s opinion noted the 14th Amendment’s role in that fight, but he ultimately relied on it to end policies the universities said were crucial to boost the racial diversity of the student body.

The dissenting justices said the ruling would deepen racial inequality on campuses.

“The Equal Protection

Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment enshrines a guarantee of racial equality. The Court long ago concluded that this guarantee can be enforced through race-conscious means in a society that is not, and has never been, colorblind,” Justice Sotomayor wrote in a dissent.

In Virginia

Several public Virginia schools – including Virginia Commonwealth University, the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech – issued statements saying they plan to review their admission policies following the ruling.

While each noted change could be required, the universities also reaffirmed their commitment to educating students from historically underrepresented groups.

“We will, of course, continue to follow the law,” wrote UVA President Jim Ryan and Provost Ian Baucom in a statement. “We will also continue to do everything within our legal authority to recruit and admit a class of students who are diverse across every possible dimension and to make every student feel welcome and included.”

VCU President Michael Rao cited enrollment statistics as evidence for the university’s commitment to diversity in a statement.

“A third of our freshmen class are first-generation students and nearly a third of our undergraduate students are Pell-eligible,” Rao said.

“We are proud that our student body reflects such a diverse array of experiences.”

Christopher Newport University law professor Linda Ficht told Ryan Murphy, a reporter with partner station WHRO News, that schools will have to find other ways to ensure they’re maintaining a diverse student body following the ruling.

“For example, a student would be able to say how their race has impacted their journey to college,” Ficht said. “That will still be a discussion that students can have in letters, interest statements, diversity statements and things like that.” see Reaction, page 7A

The dissenting justices said the ruling would deepen racial inequality on campuses.

Book Cover

Photo: Courtesy

Jordan said this storybook should be an enticing instrument not only for children but adults to consume and hone their knowledge of Hampton Roads’ Black history and culture.

Higher education leaders have known for a long time that this challenge [to affirmative action] would come.”

– Dr. Eric Claville

PROFESSOR EMERITUS OF SOCIOLOGY VIRGINIA TECH

White Supremacy In Action On The Court

By Wornie Reed, Ph.D.

The six right-wing Justices on the U.S. Supreme Court have continued their rampage with the gutting of Affirmative Action. Last week they ruled that considering race in the college admissions process was unconstitutional, effectively ending the practice of affirmative action. This Court decision is white supremacy in action, as the six justices carry out the objectives of the White nationalists who placed them there. How so? Some readers may ask.

First, White Supremacists deny the existence of systemic racism, and second, they stand against efforts to minimize, if not eliminate, racist practices (since they argue that none exist).

This is what the Supreme Court just did in the rulings against affirmative action. They denied the effects of race-based disparities in American society and abolished affirmative action, a modest means of addressing them.

By declaring that it was time to end the affirmative action permitted by the Gutter decision two decades earlier, Justice Roberts and the other five right-wing justices argue that racial discrimination and its effects no longer exist.

Chief Justice Roberts has long opposed two major race-based remedies –affirmative action and the Voting Rights Act. He led the mostly gutting of VRA and now the elimination of affirmative action.

In 1965, in a commencement speech at Howard University – which I attended – President Johnson laid out his ideas

for what became Affirmative Action. He said, “If two men are running a race and one of them has a ball and chain around his ankle, and he is there at the starting line fussing with that ball and chain while his opponent is halfway around the track running like mad, you can’t cut those chains off and say, ‘now you’re free, you’re free and equal, run the race.’ That’s not fair,” said Johnson. “That’s not fair; the other man’s halfway around the track. So, somehow, we got to start them at the same place or get this fellow up where he can catch up with the other man (emphasis added), then say run the race as equals.”

This idea, of course, was disputed by Robertswritten decision. In her dissent, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson attacked the whitewashing of racism in that decision. She wrote: “History speaks. In some form, it can be heard forever. The race-based gaps that first developed centuries ago are echoes from the past that still exist today. By all accounts, they are still stark.”

My discipline issued a strong and appropriate statement against the Court’s decision: “The American Sociological Association disagrees vigorously with the majority opinion and the reasoning behind it given that the accumulation of disadvantages based on race throughout American history

AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM EXCLUDES WOMEN

By Julianne Malveaux (TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM)

cannot be undone without proactive policies and practices aimed at rectifying past discrimination and exclusion.”

Justice Clarence Thomas expressed one of the longheld problematic ideas against affirmative action in his concurring opinion.

“This is not 1958 or 1968,” he said. “Today’s youth do not shoulder the moral debts of their ancestors.” I beg to differ.

In the 1980s, an African-American lawyer sued the city of Milton, Massachusetts, after being harassed by police officers as he sat in his car in a primarily upscale White neighborhood waiting for his daughter, who was visiting a White friend.

My family and I arrived in Milton just in time to have our city taxes contribute to the $400,000 judgment the African-American Lawyer won from the city. By Justice Thomas’ figuring, my family should not have to contribute to the payment of the money owed because we were not there when the incident occurred. But that is not the way these things work.

Further, proof of the White Supremacist AntiBlack action is the grotesque part of the Court ruling that exempts military academies from this ban on Affirmative Action. Apparently, it is okay to have an affirmative action “leg up” to die for the Country but not to live and work in the Country.

Good Jobs Will Come From A Cleaner Economy

By Ben Jealous

(TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM)

I traveled recently from Baltimore, the city where my mother grew up, to Portland, Maine, where my dad did.

It’s easy for many to see differences between one of the Blackest cities in America and largest city in one of the whitest states in the country.

What always hits me is what unites the two places is the suffering they’ve felt as a consequence of the decline of American industry in the 50 years of my life.

My father’s family once operated woolen mills in New England. Those factories no longer exist, across America like 63,000 factories that have shuttered since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was passed three decades ago.

As a result, millions of American families of every color have been locked in a downward spiral of economic mobility for too long driven by the greed of multinational corporations and facilitated over decades by government policies like NAFTA.

In part because of the pandemic and in part because of narrow cushion that’s left before our climate is beyond repair, we’re at a moment when we can turn that around. Over the last three years, we committed as a nation to an unprecedented private and public investment in clean energy and infrastructure in ways that promises to reverse this dream-killing trajectory.

We’re in a moment when we can finally shift from an economy defined by consumption back to one

A CBS News poll

Our United States of America loves to brag about our advancements. We are the biggest, the best the most progressive and the most democratic. We believe that people, no matter who they are, deserve a voice. We have invaded other people’s countries to make that point. We beat ourselves against our chests to talk about our democracy, our exceptionalism. The data don’t bear us out. The World Economic Forum says it will take 131 years. Internationally, to close the gender gap with economics, politics, STEM engagement and more. It ranks the so called exceptional united states as 46th in gender parity, behind Norway and Iceland (1 and 2), the United Kingdom (15), France, Columbia, Switzerland, the Philippines, and South Africa. These countries do better than ours because they have policies that support families, instead of penalizing them for simply existing. Our country took a step in the right direction after COVID when we chose to provide unemployment benefits, child services, and more for challenged families. Now, we have leaders who would punish those who want to uphold families. The gender pay gap bleeds over to the life gap. Women who don’t earn enough can’t contribute enough to the candidates of their choice. No matter what they think or feel, they can’t support at the level of the predatory capitalist men who have attempted to craft a world that allows them to rule. At the root of the gender pay gap, there is an oppression that sidelines women’s voices. And some of the strange fruit of the root is the way many

women buy into our own oppression.

As long as the American economy is introducing great results, the inequity in these results is hidden. GDP growth is robust, unemployment rates are low, at the macro level all is good. Down here on the ground, not so much. Down here on the ground too many are wondering what will happen next. Down here on the ground, low unemployment rates, coupled with low wages, mean that a robust labor market is not a robust pay check.

Thus, the myth of American exceptionalism is a story of illusion and delusion. Where is the exceptionalism for women, when a world body ranks us as 46th, not in the top 3? When our wealth gap is greater than that in developing countries? When it is not just our economics but also our politics that sidelines women? When we are content to accept a century before we can effect change? Our nation truly cannot tout exceptionalism if it does not trickle down to women. We can’t talk about how great we are unless our greatness is gender neutral. American exceptionalism is a lie if it does not lift all of us up.

Exceptional for women? For women of color, especially Black women? Exceptional for other Black people?

Exceptional means special, outrageous, amazing. There

is nothing about these United States that is exceptional, except our rhetoric. Can we, somehow, get over ourselves? Can we shrug off the constraints of American exceptionalism to speak candidly about our flaws?

Can we embrace our flaws and manage them? Can we decide that American exceptionalism does not serve women, Black folks, other marginalize people and then some.

There is an African saying that “women hold up half the sky.” Without they ways we hold it up, the sky would come crashing down on us. We hold up the sky but we are marginalized and it will take more than a century for us holding up half the sky, to get the equality we deserve. As long as women are marginalized, our nation misses out on it’s purpose. And it’s not just women, general, it’s Black women, Latinx women, Indigenous women. It’s those who are marginalized by class. American exceptionalism is a bold faced lie, a horrible illusion, when those who hold up the sky are systemically ignored.

Dr. Julianne Malveaux is an economist, author and Dean of the College of Ethnic Studies at Cal State LA. juliannemalveaux.com

Have You No Sense of Decency, Sir?

By Jesse Jackson (TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM)

defined by working people making and using things they can be proud of again from electric school buses to solar panels.

You’d think that opportunity would be welcomed by all. But the self-interested like Big Oil and Gas companies that are grabbing billions in historic profits and the politicians they support are doing all they can to roll back the commitments made since 2021. They even tied up the recent debate over a U.S. default on its loans to advance their opposition.

That’s an odd political play. A CBS News poll last month found more than half of Americans want the climate crisis addressed right now and more than two-thirds want it tackled within a few years.

That includes 44 percent of Republicans. Given every congressional Republican voted against the clean energy package last year, that large plurality is significant. It’s also a sign that many GOP leaders in Washington are increasingly out of step with their own constituents and districts.

When the group Climate Power looked at the nearly 200 clean energy projects

launched since Congress and the President approved the federal spending package last summer, nearly six in 10 of them are in districts represented by Republicans who voted against the package. Those projects mean at least 77,000 new jobs for electricians, mechanics, technicians, support staff, and others.

Not since the days of FDR have we seen this kind of national investment. Back then, building American industry was vital to winning a war against genocide across Europe. Today, our investment to turn our economy away from destruction and toward good jobs in a cleaner economy that sustains our planet is a fight to protect all of humanity.

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

Texas is suffering from record high temperatures, with heat indexes topping a staggering 120 degrees. 40 million people are at risk from what scientists call a “heat dome,” and storm chasers call a “death ridge.” Texas already is the state that suffers the highest number of deaths from heat exposure, And the National Weather Service warns that the “extreme heat and humidity will significantly increase the potential for heat-related illnesses, particularly for those working or participating in outdoor activities.” Officials warn Texans to stay cool and hydrated.

In response, the Republican Texas State legislature and Republican Governor Greg Abbott passed and signed into law a bill that voids any city law that requires water breaks for employees.

You read that right. At the midst of a deadly heat wave, Republican officials passed a law to revoke city laws – such as one passed in Austin in 2010 and Dallas in 2015 – that require water breaks for workers. The law takes effect in September, but next summer, this will end up killing people. “Construction is a deadly industry.

Whatever the minimum protection is, it can save a life. We are talking about a human right,” said Ana Gonzalez, deputy director of policy and politics at the Texas AFL-CIO. “We will see more deaths, especially in Texas’ high temperatures.”

The threadbare excuse for the law is that companies don’t want to deal with a confusing patchwork of local regulations. Of course, the governor could have removed that irritation by supporting a state law to mandate sensible water breaks rather than one banning them.

In reality, this legislation essentially treats workers as property – without human rights, even the right to life – to be used as their employers deem fit.

The extreme expression of this, of course, was slavery, in which slaves literally were valued and sold as property. The 13th Amendment, passed after the Civil War, outlawed slavery – but it did not enshrine basic human rights or economic rights.

The majority of construction workers in Texas are Latinos, many undocumented, and relatively easy for employers to abuse and legislatures to oppress, as Blacks were under slavery. Linking a fake populism with appeals on conservative social issues like abortion, Republicans have been gaining ground

among Latino voters –African-American but apparently not enough to begin to respect their basic human right to survival.

In any case, this is less about race than about workers of all races. Under Donald Trump, Republicans have offered workers heated rhetoric about nativism, about crime, even about mythical Democratic pedophiles, using populist rhetoric as a cover for relentlessly anti-worker policies. Republican legislatures in Iowa and Ohio have weakened child labor laws, allowing children as young as 14 to be employed on evening shifts using caustic chemicals in meat coolers and industrial cleaners. Republican justices have rolled back the right to organize, and disemboweled the powers of existing unions. Republicans oppose raising the minimum wage, enforcing workplace safety, and seek to weaken unemployment support for those who are laid off. see Decency, page 5A

Ben Jealous

Jesse Jackson

Julianne Malveaux

last month found more than half of Americans want the climate crisis addressed right now and more than two-thirds want it tackled within a few years.

In reality, this legislation essentially treats workers as property –without human rights, even the right to life – to be used as their employers deem fit.

Exceptional means special, outrageous, amazing. There is nothing about these United States that is exceptional, except our rhetoric.

By declaring that it was time to end the affirmative action permitted by the Gutter decision two decades earlier, Justice Roberts and the other five right-wing justices argue that racial discrimination and its effects no longer exist.

SUPREME COURT ERRED IN KILLING AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

By John L. Horton

Being an 82-year-old Black male, I was somewhat shocked, but not too overly surprised, by the Supreme Court’s decision (June 29, 2023) to overturn affirmative action in regards to college admissions. Basically, the Supreme Court decided that race cannot be a factor and colleges must look for new ways to achieve diverse student bodies.

In its decision, the Supreme Court upheld claims that Harvard University (nation’s oldest private college) and the University of North Carolina (nation’s oldest public college) discriminated against white and Asian American applicants in their admission policies and practices. Moreover, the vote was a conservative-liberal split with the Supreme Court voting 6-3 in the North Carolina case and 6-2 in the Harvard case. (Justice Jackson sat out the Harvard case, because

Decency

Continued from page 4A

Passing a law to ban local protection of water breaks in the midst of a record and deadly heat wave speaks for itself. It reminds me of the famous moment in the McCarthy hearings at the height of the ’50s Red Scare. Wisconsin Senator Joe McCarthy, after feeding the Red Scare with repeated screeds about communists subverting the government, convened hearings on whether the US Army was soft on communism.

she had been a member of the advisory governing board.) In summary, the split vote was decided by the conservative Justices (Roberts, Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett) vs. the liberal Justices (Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson). For background information: Affirmative action was initiated in 1965 by then President Lyndon Baines Johnson as a means “to level the playing field” and give an (equal) opportunity to those minorities, Blacks, Latinos, and women so they could gain access to the economic marketplace and political arena. Affirmative action was never meant to favor Blacks and other minorities over whites or anyone else. Affirmative action was meant to be inclusive and to take full advantage of all America’s people.

For those of us, who disagree with this decision and its ramifications, we should take the upcoming general elections very

Frustrated by the Army’s defense attorney, Joseph N. Welch, McCarthy slurred a young associate in Welch’s firm as linked to communists. Flabbergasted, Welch responded: “Until this moment, senator, I think I never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness. Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last?” That moment marked the effective end of McCarthy’s reign of terror.

Now in the wake of the cruel law passed by the Republican legislature and signed by its governor, surely it is time to ask each of them, “Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last?”

seriously. Winners of the local, state, Presidential and Congressional races, needless to say, will shape a host of policies pertaining to public education, public health, public safety, affordable housing, affirmative action, equal opportunity, welfare reform, economic empowerment, immigration expenditures, the budget deficit, and the like ...

Many of these “causes and contests” are intermingled and involved with affirmative action (policies, practices and programs), by critics and foes, alike. But, I, for one, think that affirmation action (policies, practices and programs) are still needed. Yes, admittedly, some of them need rethinking and retooling, however, this does not mean they should be scrapped and/ or terminated.

My primary reason for saying this is that today’s playing field is not yet level for all of America’s citizens. Today, as in generations past, there is an “invisible” barrier preventing many qualified Americans from fully enjoying the fruits of their labors and skills.

My personal perspective on this is relevant. I grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee in the 1940s and 1950s when Blacks were not allowed to become policemen, firefighters, lawyers, doctors,

politicians, contractors, suppliers, lobbyists, teachers, journalists, executives, or entrepreneurs for the public at large, regardless of their skills or qualifications. For instance, I joined the Marine Corps in October 1958, ending in a 30 year career, as a sergeant major (E9), with a masters degree, after joining at 17 years old, with a 10th grade education, not attaining my high school GED, until I was 20 years old. We must remember that the Marine Corps was not allowed to join African-American/Black men until June 1, 1942, and African-American/Black women until 1949. These were some of the noteworthy results of affirmative action (policies, practices and programs).

While things have greatly improved over the years/ decades, there are still many obstacles and barriers to overcome. Take a good look at most communities and cities today, particularly large urban centers and inner cities, and you will find that, notwithstanding affirmation action, and the like, not much has changed for many of America’s minorities and disadvantaged others.

Moreover, the reality of today’s America proves that affirmative action has not resulted – as is sometimes claimed by critics – in reverse discrimination and undue hardship on white

males and privileged others. Has anyone recently checked out who truly runs this great nation?

Accordingly, it is important to note that affirmative action has been a necessary means of facilitation for certain previously overlooked groups of people to get a “fair” and “legal” opportunity to be included in the overall composition of American society. As a result, more diverse groups of Americans have been able to utilize their skills, talents, expertise and knowledge to go as far as they can and be as successful as they can in the overall society. In effect, they have been given an “equal opportunity” to gain access to the employment, entrepreneurial, educational and political arenas.

Some critics have falsely blamed affirmative action for many of America’s social, economic and political shortcomings. In reality, America’s decreased earning power in some industries is due in large part to the highly competitive world marketplace and changing technology of the 21st century. Too often, unfairly and undeservingly, corporate earnings and executive salaries go up, while workers’ wages go down or remain stagnant; jobs are being exported to foreign (cheaper) markets, thereby causing economic pain and a feeling

of inward alienation. And, for a change, some “privileged” segments of the population are hurting along with the rest of American society. While some have demonized and stereotyped affirmative action (policies, practices and programs), they have yet to come up with a positive option and/ or meaningful alternative that would include America’s “melting pot” of people. To remain the world’s leader and continue to have an economic advantage, we must include all Americans with their diverse skills and talents. In short, we need a mutually inclusive remedy to unite all of American society as we go forward into the remainder of the 21st century. Most of all we cannot continue to divide and disenfranchise Americans along social, economic and political lines. All in all, I firmly agree that some affirmative action (policies, practices and programs) is in need of revision and modification. Some aspects and components have significant imperfections that need to be mended and/or corrected. However, the “baby should not be thrown out with the bath water.”

In conclusion, the future of affirmative action and other related issues should be among the most important considerations during the upcoming campaigns for local, state and national elections. Notwithstanding this particular Supreme Court’s decision, I agree with Justice Jackson’s dissent statement: “Colorblindness for all is not legal fiat…and deeming race irrelevant in law does not make it so in life ...”

John L. Horton is a resident of Norfolk and a frequent contributor to this newspaper.

John L. Horton

While some have demonized and stereotyped affirmative action (policies, practices and programs), they have yet to come up with a positive option and/or meaningful alternative that would include America’s “melting pot” of people.



Couple Opens Tiny Cottages For Vacationers On The Eastern Shore

By Leonard E. Colvin Chief Reporter New Journal and Guide

There are residents still living in Cape Charles, Virginia who are old enough to remember the Green Book, a travel guide used by African-Americans during the days of Jim Crow segregation to determine the hotels, shops, and other attractions they could use while traveling.

Until civil rights safeguards were put in place in the late 1960s, Black families motoring about the South could not stay in hotels, shop at some stores, or eat inside diners owned by whites.

It is unclear if Blacks driving along Interstate-13 along the Virginia part of the Del-Mar-Va Peninsula could stop and buy gas or use the restrooms at Cape Charles Esso Service station on that route.

But it is clear, according to old timers, that the Esso station’s Auto Motel Court was off-limits for Black travelers.

The auto court consisted of 10 small cottages that white travelers could rent for overnight stays or for days while on vacation.

These motor courts pre-dated what are today called motels. They were conceived in the 1930s and were fashioned to serve as overnight or long-term lodging for travelers motoring through the area.

Motels did not come into vogue until after WWII, according to the National Travel Association.

Now, in an interesting twist of history and economic initiative, Eric and Sylvia Hawkins, who are AfricanAmericans, now own the old Esso site.

And now it’s a travel destination for anyone visiting the Eastern Shore.

The couple named the site “Cape Charles Tiny Livin’ on the Eastern Shore,” and is located 45 miles from Norfolk.

It is about a mile off Interstate 13 North in Cape Charles.

According to Eric Hawkins, the site had been abandoned for 45 years.

They have renovated at least eight

old and abandoned cottages for use by vacationers.

The couple will eventually restore up to 25 of the units. They will range from 150 to 515 feet in size.

According to Eric Hawkins, each of the cottages is outfitted with a small sitting area, bedroom, kitchenette, and modern bathroom.

Also, each one of them is outfitted to represent a theme. The smallest is the Red House; the Vintage Cottage is filled with antiques; the Mermaid gives the residents the impression the occupants are submerged in water; the Fisherman honors the local watermen; and a much larger one is called the Barn.

“The Barn” once housed the boiler plant that heated the cottages back in the day, Hawkins said.

The couple hails from Virginia Beach. Eric Hawkins once ran an HVAC service company and his wife; Sylvia is a Master Hair Colorist and Stylist.

He uses his HVAC skills to install

Continued from page 3A

William & Mary’s spokesperson Erin Jay, said, “The university will take time thoughtfully to review (the ruling) and understand if there are implications to William & Mary’s comprehensive review process for admissions.”

The university reported that 32 percent of its students “identify as people of color” and on its website has said it is “committed to affirmative action, equal opportunity/ equity, and diversity.”

Black and Latino residents make up 34 percent of the college-age population in the state, far fewer are enrolled in Virginia’s public colleges, according to a report by Education Reform Now, a Washington-based think tank.

– Virginia’s 4th District Congressperson Jennifer McClellan

future opportunities are unlocked based on the trajectory of their potential, their aspirations, and the quality of their capabilities as opposed to simply on their race.”

Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears concurred, saying the decision “gives our children a hope and a future.”

and repair cooling and heating systems in the cottages. The couple also has invested in a number of AIR BNB properties.

Recently such small units, as the cottages, have become fashionable and practical economic housing choices for couples or individuals in urban and rural locals.

Cape Charles Tiny Livin’ on the Eastern Shore, Hawkins said, was opened last year and this summer is their first full vacation season. So far, the patronage has been steady, he said.

Most of the cottages are pet friendly. Honeymooners and people needing a “hideaway” are welcome, Hawkins said.

“This is a nice quiet vacation spot for individuals or families,” he said.

“It is nestled between the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean and a threeminute drive to a beach.”

For more information about the site, go to Listings from Cape Charles Tiny Livin’ (airbnb.com)

Only three public universities in the state enroll Black and Latino students at a rate equal to the state population: Norfolk State University, Virginia State University and Old Dominion University. Norfolk State and VSU are historically Black universities.

George Mason University said flatly the decision will have no impact on the school, because it doesn’t consider race in its admissions process and admits more than 90% of undergraduate applicants. In August, GMU said, the school will “once again welcome the largest and most diverse student body in the history of the Commonwealth of Virginia.”

While we the court ruled along ideological lines, so was the response from state politicians.

Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin said, “…we are closer than ever before to ensuring that an individual’s

Virginia’s 3rd District Congressman Democrat Bobby Scott said “race-conscious admissions policies provided a counterbalance to discriminatory factors and the new ruling invalidates the balances.”

He is calling on the U.S. Attorney General to start filing cases now against any current school practices that violate the Equal Protection Clause and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. Virginia’s Fourth District Congressperson Jennifer McClellan, a Democrat, called the ruling “disappointing”

“This holistic approach to college admissions was integral to creating opportunity for disadvantaged Black and Brown communities. The impact of 246 years of slavery and 100 years of Jim Crow on our communities and institutions did not go away with a magic wand.”

The couple named the site “Cape Charles Tiny Livin’ on the Eastern Shore,” which is located 45 miles from Norfolk.

Eric and Sylvia Hawkins

Photo: Courtesy

This holistic approach to college admissions was integral to creating opportunity for disadvantaged Black and Brown communities.”

VWU Tackles Student Debt With New Program

VIRGINIA BEACH

In their ongoing effort to address the hardship of student debt, leaders at Virginia Wesleyan University have launched Coastal Advantage, a program that virtually eliminates tuition for qualified students. The new program makes college affordable – without the burden of loans – for accepted commuter students from families with household incomes under $60,000.

For the first-year students who qualify, Coastal Advantage covers all but $2,500 of VWU tuition. To pay the $2,500, students can participate in VWU’s Work and Learn Program or apply for variety of financial aid options, which can also cover university fees. Coastal Advantage students can remain in the program until they graduate if they stay in good academic standing and continue to meet the financial and commuting qualifications.

“Coastal Advantage can make a Virginia Wesleyan education affordable to college

students from low-income families,” said Heather Campbell, VWU’s vice president for enrollment. “So far we’ve offered this to 21 students for the fall semester, and we’re hoping to expand that number to 50.”

Coastal Advantage joins other VWU programs aimed at making higher education accessible to everyone. For example, earlier this year VWU established Tidewater Promise, which enables first-year students who aren’t accepted by VWU to automatically enter Tidewater Community College.

About Virginia Wesleyan University

Virginia Wesleyan University (vwu.edu) is Coastal Virginia’s premier university of the liberal arts and sciences. Situated on a 300-acre park-like campus in Virginia Beach, VWU annually enrolls approximately 3,200 learners in all programs in all locations, including 1,500 students in undergraduate, graduate and online programs.

NEW BOOK FOCUSES ON WORKING CLASS BLACKS

By Rosaland Tyler

Associate Editor New Journal and Guide

University of North Carolina professor Blair

Kelley recently released a book that focuses on the African-American working class, at a time when many Blacks are seeking reparations, unemployed, or holding multiple jobs in order to make ends meet.

Her book examines 200 years of Black labor stretching from slavery to essential workers who were forced to work during the COVID-19 pandemic. The new book titled, “Black Folk: The Roots of The Black Working Class,” examines laundresses, Pullman porters, domestic maids, postal workers, and Blacks who refused to work for free during slavery.

“Generations of people who toiled for others to make the country wealthy

walked away with the clothes on their back,” Kelley said.

“The anger that so many people had toward them was profound. And yet they pushed toward their own freedom, their own voices, their own policies, their own politics,” the author said.

While some Blacks bought their own freedom or held down multiple jobs in order to buy a relative’s freedom,

others simply refused to work for plantation owners who only cared about White financial gain. For example, a female slave who did not want to be sold or traded, chopped off her hand at the wrist because she knew that she would no longer be valued as a prime female hand. Without her right hand, she would remain with her children.

Working class Blacks tended to feel angry. Yet, they continued to work for free or work for miniscule wages after slavery ended.

Many arose at dawn, worked all day and sometimes late into the night if the family hosted or attended a dinner party. Many working-class Blacks lived in basements, hallways or closets. They really had very little privacy, and oftentimes were targeted by men in the household for sexual assault, the author said.

New Journal and Guide Publisher Elected To National NNPA Board

NASHVILLE

During its recent summer convention in Nashville, Tenn., the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) elected a new slate of officers and directors to

head the association (20232025) that represents over 200 Black-owned media businesses across the nation. New Journal and Guide Publisher Brenda H. Andrews was elected to represent Region 2

Publishers at the National level. Region 2 includes Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. Dr. Benjamin Chavis is President and CEO of NNPA.

Above 2023-2025 NNPA Board of Directors (L-R) Director Rod Doss , New Pittsburgh Courier, (PA); Director Karen Carter Richards, Houston Forward, (TX); Director Calvin Anderson; Director Sonny Messiah, (TX); Director Brenda H. Andrews, New Journal and Guide, (VA); Chairman Bobby Henry, Westside Gazette, (FL); Officiating Judge; Second Vice Chairman Jackie Hampton, Mississippi Link, (MS).; Treasurer Cheryl Smith; Secretary Fran Farrar, County News, (NC); Director Janis Ware, Atlanta Voice, (GA); 1st Vice Chairman Dr. Frances Draper, Baltimore Afro, (MD)

Black-Owned Media CEOs

Hear Powerful Messages At

Annual NNPA Convention

Staff Report

New Journal and Guide

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison was among powerful presenters speaking to publishers/ CEOs of Black-owned newspapers and media companies at the recent summer convention of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) in Nashville.

The NNPA representing more than 200 Black print and digital news services around the country met June 28-July 1 with Publisher Rosetta Perry, owner of the Tennessee Tribune, as the convention host.

Ellison, a former U.S. Congressman, is best noted for successfully leading the state’s prosecution case against former Minneapolis police officer Derrick Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd in April 2020. The murder created an international wave of protests against police brutality.

Ellison began his speech with the 1946 chilling historical account of Issac Woodward, a 26-yearold Black army sergeant just returning home after serving in WWII, who was viciously beaten and had his eyes gauged out by a white police chief acquitted by an all-white jury. “We must break the wheel on this police violence,” Ellison said, calling police violence against civilians “fundamental human rights abuse”.

“Break the Wheel” is the title of Ellison’s newly released book, with the subtitle, “Ending the Cycle of Police Violence”.

When he first saw the cell phone video taken at the crime scene by a teenage witness, Ellison said, “I could not believe it…and yet I could…and yet I couldn’t.” The video later would become a damning piece of evidence against Chauvin for Ellison and the prosecution team.

He recalled repeatedly watching the video the morning after the crime and counting the minutes Derrick Chauvin had Floyd pinned to the ground under his knee before releasing his lifeless body.

The first police report said the encounter was 8:46 minutes, This later was changed to 9:29 minutes.

Ellison said there are “some great cops” who are upholding their badges and earning the community’s trust, a critical value to ensure that police can work effectively.

“When there is loss of trust, 911 calls are down…

people don’t talk and report crimes,” he said.

Chauvin was sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison. Three other officers at the scene of the crime were each sentenced to several years in prison.

The county medical examiner ruled Floyd’s death a homicide caused by a combination of the officers’ use of force, the presence of drugs in Floyd’s system and his underlying health conditions. Ellison said he brought in his own medical examiner to reinforce his case that the fatality stemmed from Chauvin’s use of excessive force as opposed to Floyd’s health which carried a lighter sentence.

“Keep your eye on the Medical Examiner,” he warned, Workshops were held on transitioning from print to digital news, cybersecurity awareness

for businesses, trends in Black homeownership, hazards of banning menthol cigarettes, and the urgency of engaging the next generation through culture and education.

The NNPA Fund handed out its Messenger Awards, honoring the best entries submitted by Black member newspapers. The Sacramento Observer won 16 awards, including Publisher of the Year for Larry Lee.

Bobby Henry, the publisher of the Westside Gazette in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., won election as NNPA Chairman.

The organization also honored Attorney General Ellison along with Tennessee State Representatives Justin Jones and Justin Pearson during its Legacy Awards and Gala Dinner Grammy winner Keith Washington closed the gala with a mini-concert.

Photo: MarkMahoney

(L-R) Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison displays his new book after signing a copy for New Journal and Guide Publisher Brenda H. Andrews.

Tennessee Representative Justin Jones speaks after receiving the NNPA Legacy Award.

Pleasant Grove Baptist Church Marker Tells Legacy Of Church’s 153 Years

Special to the New Journal & Guide

On June 24, members of the Pleasant Grove Baptist Church, unveiled a marker noting the historic legacy of the 153-year-old Virginia Beach church.

The marker, sponsored by the Church’s Historic Society, was approved by The Virginia Department of Historic Resources.

Pleasant Grove is the first African-American Baptist Church in Virginia Beach to have a state highway historic marker, according to Virginia Beach Historian Edna Hawkins Hendrix, who worked with the Historical Society to apply for it back in 2017.

The marker is located in front of the original site of the church at the Corner of Centerville Turnpike and Kempsville Road.

The new church, Tabernacle Worship Center at Pleasant Grove, is about a mile from the old sanctuary.

According to Hendrix, along with the century-and-a half-old church, it has a historic cemetery nearby.

Hendrix said about 100 graves have been identified with the existing markers or death certificates at the site at 1925 Kempsville Rd.

“We should never forget

the history of what happened in the lives of people who accomplished and survived such an arduous journey,” noted the church’s historical society.

The Centerville Historical Society was organized on July 13, 2017, with a group of families and Pleasant Grove Baptist Church members who came together in prayer

and faith in God to preserve the legacy and spiritual belief of a historic AfricanAmerican community.

“Pleasant Grove Baptist Church began in 1870,” according to notes on the history of the church written by the Historical Society in its unveiling program booklet. “Our ancestors came from different places to Princess Anne County, now Virginia Beach, Virginia. They also came out of slavery, wanted a place to worship and praise God for uplifting his Kingdom, and decided to purchase this land.”

“Our ancestors were farmers working from sunup

to sundown,” according to the Historical Society. “Some served in the armed forces of World War I and II. Birth dates of some of the graves date back as far as 1862. Their struggles remind us that we are here today because of their faith in God during their difficult journey.”

Along with the church and the graveyard, the church was at the center of desegregating the public schools in Princess Anne County (now Virginia Beach) in September of 1962, according to the Guide. see Pleasant, page 3B

Dedication service for Church Marker which is located at the Corner of Centerville Turnpike and Kempsville Road.

Photo:Courtesy

Pleasant Grove is the first AfricanAmerican Baptist Church in Virginia Beach to have a state highway historic marker, according to Virginia Beach Historian Edna Hawkins Hendrix, who worked with the Historical Society to apply for it back in 2017.

Chesapeake Juneteenth Foundation Awards 3 Scholarships During Juneteenth Luncheon

By Ernest Lowery Chairman, CJF Special to the Guide

The Chesapeake Juneteenth Foundation, Inc. (CJF) has been working hard to provide our young Black males with an extra boost towards their goal of going to college. We delivered again this year to three students during our annual Juneteenth event at the Greenbrier Country Club on June 17, where ou eye speak was former Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax

Our $1,000.00

Scholarship Recipient is Maceson Anthony Smith of Hampton who graduated from Hampton High School. His current concentration is General Studies. Maceson has a 4.11 GPA and ranks 30th of 267 in his class. He will be attending North Carolina A&T University as his HBCU College of choice.

He spends time working in the community supporting a variety of organizations and his favorite is Feeding America. While working in the community, Maceson leadership skills helped him transfer that gift on the field as captain of the football and soccer team to his school work and volunteerism. His goal is to become financially sound while finding peace.

Our new partners, Kings Point Enterprises serving Federal, State and Local Governments and Corporations for more than 25 years, supplied two $500.00 scholarships to help our students.

Scholarship recipient

Jaylin Noah Manns is a graduate with an Advanced Studies Diploma from Western Branch High School. He served on WBHS Varsity Basketball Team (Team Captain), Fly High AAU Basketball and

Pleasant

Continued from page 1B

Several Black organizations in the county joined forces to orchestrate the entrance of 37 Black students “without fuss” to all-white

Distributive Education Club of America (DECA). He has also earned certification in the Culinary Arts. Kyle will be attending Norfolk State University, majoring in Sports/Business. Although Kyle was graduating on the morning of June 17, he managed to get by the Golf Club early to pick up his certificate, presented by Mrs. Jean DeLong representing Kings Point Enterprises. Kyle was most grateful and said with a huge grin “every donation, towards his education is a benefit.”

schools: 31 at Woodstock Elementary; two at Kempsville Elementary; and four at Kempsville Junior High.

Leading the effort was Junius L. Gills, President of the Centerville League and Ingentor W. L. McCoy, Vice President. Both were members of the church.

The Virginia Board

Our second $500.00 Scholarship Recipient is Kristopher Dion Goodman, a graduate with an Advanced Studies Diploma from Indian River High School. He is a member of the National Honor Society; Student Council Association; president of Brave for Progress; Veteran’s Homefront volunteer; IRHS Class council, and junior NAACP. Kristopher served on IRHS Varsity football and Tracks. Kristopher will be attending Virginia State University majoring in

of Historic Resources approved the Pleasant Grove Baptist Church and Cemetery highway marker at its meeting on March 17, 2022.

The text on the Marker is as follows: “Pleasant Grove Baptist Church and Cemetery Pleasant Grove Baptist Church, constituted by 1882, was built here on land

“Finding Freedom” Is Genealogy Meeting Topic

The Middle Peninsula African-American Genealogical and Historical Society (MPAAGHS) will hold its monthly meeting virtually on Saturday, July 8, 2023, at 11 a.m.

Eastern Time. The meeting will feature a talk entitled “Finding Freedom: Exploring the stories of African-American men and women in war-torn Virginia.” The talk will be given by Adrienne G. Whaley, the Director of Education and Community Engagement at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia.

In this session, attendees will discover the stories of Andrew Ferguson, Deborah, Eve, Jack, and London, five people of African descent who lived in Virginia in 1781 during the Revolutionary War. Their experiences will be placed into the larger context of the American Revolution and people of African descent within it. Attendees will see examples of the primary source documents that were used to piece together their

stories – from Botetourt and Fairfax Counties in Virginia to Monroe County, Indiana and New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, Canada – and will also get a sneak peek at exciting new documents in the Museum of the American Revolution Museum’s collection that lift up the stories of Black and Native American Revolutionaries up the coast in Connecticut and Rhode Island.

Adrienne G. Whaley is an educator and history-lover who earned her Bachelor’s degree in African-American Studies from Harvard University and her Master’s in Education from the University of Pennsylvania. She has worked in both art and history museums, including the Museum of Modern Art (New York), the African-American Museum in Philadelphia, and the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum.

To receive an invitation for this virtual meeting or for further information about MPAAGHS, email mpaaghs.va@gmail.com or call (804) 651-8753.

Intelligence Analysis. In addition to each student’s hard work and scholarship monies, our Gold Sponsor Chesapeake Regional Medical Center provided a little something extra. The young men were presented a large carrying bag stuffed with an Innovative for Life ink pen, tee-shirt, chapstick, icepack, and a student diary booklet. Everyone felt a little more prepared for their college journey. Feel free to contact us chesapeakejuneteenth@ gmail.com or call.

purchased in 1888. The congregation, organized by African-Americans who had settled in the Centerville community after Emancipation, belonged to the Norfolk, Virginia Union Baptist Association, one of the earliest associations of Black Baptists in the South. In 1962, Pleasant

NORFOLK POLICE SEEK NATIONAL NIGHT OUT PARTNERS, VENDORS

NORFOLK

The Norfolk Police Department is seeking community/non-profit vendors, and returning vendor participation for this year’s National Night to be held on Tuesday, August 1. The event will take place at Berkley Park, in the historic Berkley community, 701 Berkley Avenue Ext., 5-8 p.m.

Registration as an official National Night

Grove member Junius Gills led a successful effort to desegregate area public schools; organizational meetings were held here, and members of the church were among the first Black children to integrate the schools. Buried in the cemetery are many community members, including persons formerly enslaved

Out vendor or guest must be made no later than July 21, 2023 COB. This will be a rain or shine event. Should there be inclement weather, staging will be hosted inside the Berkley Recreation Center, adjacent to the park. Each organization is responsible to bring their own table, chairs, outreach literature, games, etc. Visit www.norfolk.gov/ police

and veterans of World Wars I and II.”

The Centerville Historical Society organized the marker unveiling. Larnell Smith, Marcellus Barnard, Rev. Ervin Vaughan, and Edna Hawkins Hendrix initially spearheaded the project to research the content for the historical marker and attain state approval.

(L-R:) Jean DeLong, Kristopher Dion Goodman, Ernest Lowery, and Jaylin Noah Manns.

Photo:Courtesy

(L-R:) Tamika Quinn, Ernest Lowery, Maceson Smith, Keith Crowe, and Dr. George Reed.

Photo:Courtesy

MOMENTS of MEDITATION

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

A REVOLUTIONARY FREEDOM

Read: Romans 8:1-4

Several years ago, an issue of The New York Times featured a story about a 51-year-old ex-convict named Robert Salzman. After a horrific childhood, Salzman spent most of his adult life in prison. When he was released from prison in 2001, he found it very difficult to enjoy his freedom. He didn’t have any money, he couldn’t pay his rent, and he didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know how to live outside of prison.

Eventually Salman got work playing rough looking convicts in movies. On one occasion while he was filming on location in a Long Island penitentiary, an exhausted Salzman fell asleep on a cot in a prison cell.

When he woke up he became very confused and thought he was still a prisoner. Salzman started crying in despair until it slowly dawned on him that he was now a free man.

In an imperfect way, Salzman’s story is reminiscent of many of us who have been set free by the Gospel. If we are not careful, we can act like it hasn’t even happened. We are free. We wake up out of our sleep

and can’t figure out why the burden still seems so heavy upon us.

Paul announces that if we are in Christ, then something is true about us. If you have been born again, if you are saved, if you are in Christ Jesus, then you are free from the penalty of sin! That is so significant because the Bible makes it clear that sin is a destructive and deadly force. King David said in Psalm 51:5, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity and in sin my mother conceived me.” We have literally been marked by sin since the beginning of our lives!

And Paul tells us earlier in Romans that sin is universal:

“For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Sin began before we were ever born, and it is universal – there is no escaping it –“all have sinned.” And in Mark 16:16, Jesus declares that the end result of sin is condemnation. In other words, this is the most serious problem that any of us will ever face. Against that backdrop, Paul’s words in Romans 8:1 are totally

astonishing to us. If all have sinned and all have fallen short of the glory of God, how could it ever be said that there is “no condemnation” to those who are in Jesus Christ?

In the first few chapters of the book off Romans, Paul extrapolates all of the details of salvation. When we were without any strength or hope, Christ died for us. By that death we have been justified freely by the grace of God.

So by the time we get to Romans 8:1 and Paul writes, “therefore,” he is indicating that because of all of these things that Christ has done, we are now set free.

The next phrase – “no condemnation” – indicates the reality of our freedom from sin. Condemnation means “to be pronounced guilty and sentenced to punishment.” Paul is not saying that we don’t have some condemnation. He is saying we have no condemnation.

It is important to receive that message today because so many people still live like that man who was still in prison in his mind you are not condemned. If you are a Christian, your sins have been covered, by the blood of Jesus Christ. You are forgiven, you are free, and you are not under condemnation. According to Paul, everything we have is because we are in Christ Jesus. We are not only set free from the penalty of sin, we are also set free from its power.

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

I am old school. (smile) I grew up with the Old Scofield KJV Bible which was most prevalent and popular with pastors and preachers in that era. Consequently, The First Scofield Study Bible KJV is my anchor and recently I purchased The Scofield Study Bible III NKJV, which to my great surprise and delight, contains C. I. Scofield’s Bible helps found in Scofield II. To no avail, I had been searching for Scofield II for many years. Now my Scofield Study System Is complete. Hallelujah!

My First Scofield Study Bible maintains that the true church of Jesus Christ is composed of – “Jew and Gentile one body in Christ.” (pg. 1251) Observe: “For He is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in His flesh the enmity even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in Himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that He might reconcile both

unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.” (Ephesians 2: 14-18)

To test the Scofield’s point of reference, I have researched many Bibles that offer interesting and creative renderings to Scofield’s ... “of twain one new man ...” found in Eph 2:15. It is upon this phrase that Scofield asserts the premise –“Jew and Gentile one body in Christ.” Hence the true church. However,

before we proceed further, it is necessary to set forth several definitions for clarification and understanding of the text.

First Mention of Church In Scripture. “And I say unto thee that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Mt 16:18)

Rock In Scripture. In the Greek, there is a play upon the words, “thou art Peter” (Petros-literally, a little rock), and “upon this Rock” (Petra) meaning Jesus Himself “I will build My Church.” (Scofield note pg. 1021)

Jesus does not promise to build His church upon Peter as the foundation ( as taught by the Catholic Church), but upon Himself. Jesus is “that Spiritual Rock” (I Corinthians 10:14), smitten, crucified, risen and coming again Lord. “Jesus is the Chief Cornerstone of the church, a Stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to them which stumble at the Word of God. ” (I Peter 2:7-8) ... To Be Continued Blessings and Shalom

“UPON THIS ROCK I BUILD MY CHURCH ...” (Matthew 16:18) PT. I

Rev. Dr. Rebecca R. Rivka

Jehovah’s Witnesses Return to Philadelphia, Marking 100 Years of Conventions in the City

Special to the NNPA Newswire

After a three-year break due to the pandemic, Jehovah’s Witnesses from Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey and Delaware returned to Philadelphia on June 30, 2023, at the Liacouras Center for their 2023 global convention series, “Exercise Patience!”

This marked a historic milestone for conventions of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the city: 100 years.

Thousands of families

filled hotels and restaurants over three weekends while attending these events.

“We are proud to mark our 100-year-long history of conventions in Philadelphia,” said Justin Burd, local spokesman for Jehovah’s

Witnesses.

“We were all set to have our 2020 convention at Liacouras, and then COVID happened. We held virtual conventions around the world, but we are so happy to be back in person.”

The tradition of Witnesses holding major conventions in the City of Brotherly Love began in 1922, when a speech given by J..F. Rutherford at the Metropolitan Opera House was broadcast by radio, a relatively new communications medium at the time.

In the 1950s, their conventions were held at Connie Mack Stadium. The Christian group then used Veterans Stadium from the 1970s to 2002 and the Liacouras Center at Temple University for the past 20

years. According to Burd, the Philadelphia conventions are three of the some 6,000 threeday events held Friday through Sunday around the world in 2023 by the international Christian organization. The programs will explore the quality of patience and how it relates to Christian life, highlighting Scriptural examples and modern-day applications of wise principles by means of videos and Bible talks.

A baptism ceremony will take place after the Saturday morning session, and a twopart video drama based on Bible narratives will be presented during the Saturday and Sunday afternoon sessions.

“Patience is a beautiful

quality that all Christians desire to display in their daily lives,” said Burd.

“Despite our good intentions, however, maintaining patience in the face of life’s many challenges can be a daily struggle. Spending three days exploring aspects of this quality will be very timely for all of us.”

After resuming smaller in-person meetings and their public ministry during 2022, the summer of 2023 marks the first time that Jehovah’s Witnesses have gathered at much larger regional events around the world since the lifting of pandemic restrictions.

For more information on the program or to find other convention locations and dates, visit jw.org.

Christine King Ferris: Last Sibling of MLK Passes At Age 95

Special to the New Journal & Guide

Christine King Farris, Martin Luther King Jr.’s sister, has died, her family and the Martin Luther King Jr. Center recently announced. She was 95.

“As the eldest sibling of my father, Martin Luther King, Jr., Aunt Christine embodied what it meant to be a public servant,” Martin Luther King III wrote on Twitter. “Like my dad, she spent her life fighting for equality and against racism in America.”

Farris died the morning of June 29, 55 years after her brother, one of the leaders of the modern Civil Rights movement died, the King Center said. She was a founding board member of the nonprofit that Coretta Scott King started in 1968 in the wake of her husband’s assassination, and she served in other roles at the center.

“I love you and will miss you, Aunt Christine,” Bernice King, Martin Luther King Jr.’s daughter and the King Center’s CEO, wrote on Twitter.

President Biden said Thursday evening, “She lived as an example of America’s promise.”

“Shaping the history of the journey of America in the 20th and 21st centuries, she stood for peace, freedom, and justicevirtues that reflect the best of our nation,” Mr. Biden said.

Born Willie Christine King on Sept. 11, 1927, in

Atlanta, she was the first child of Martin Luther King Sr. and Alberta Williams King. Her brothers Martin and Alfred Daniel King were born in 1929 and 1930 respectively.

According to the Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University, Farris was the inspiration for a significant moment in the future civil rights leader’s life.

In an essay, King wrote about a guest evangelist speaking at their Sunday School and inviting children to join the church.

“My sister was the first one to join the church that morning, and after seeing her join I decided that I would not let her get ahead of me, so I was the next,” King wrote. “I had never given this matter a thought, and even at the time of {my} baptism, I was unaware of what was taking place. From this it seems quite clear that I joined the church not out of any dynamic conviction, but out of a childhood desire to keep up with my sister.”

Christine King Farris

Photo: Courtesy

Sam Pollard’s Documentary Shines Light On The Rich Legacy of The Negro Baseball Leagues

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

On the Black Press of America’s “Let It Be Known” show, renowned filmmaker Sam Pollard took center stage in an exclusive interview about his new film that shines a spotlight on the fabled Negro Leagues.

Pollard’s latest documentary, “The League,” will make its world premiere at the Tribeca Festival before a theatrical release in July.

Based on the book “The Negro Baseball Leagues” by Bob Motley and Byron Motley, the film counts as another triumph for Pollard, whose past directorial works include the critically acclaimed “Mr. Soul!,” “Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Got to Be Me,” and “MLK/FBI.”

The documentary also boasts Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, the executive producer responsible for the Oscar-winning “Summer of Soul.”

The film illuminates that the sport was integrated in its earliest days, albeit with Black players forming only a minority of team members.

That changed in the late 1800s, as racist white players like Pop Anson of the Chicago White Stockings, who infamously refused to take the field with Black athletes, sparked a shift.

However, as Jim Crow laws engulfed the nation, Black players were banned from the game.

In 1920, Rube Foster, a

trailblazing Black baseball pioneer who excelled as a pitcher, manager, and owner, founded the Negro National League.

Inspired by Frederick Douglass’ words, the league adopted the motto “We Are the Ship, All Else the Sea.”

Three years later, the Eastern Colored League emerged as a competitor, culminating in the inaugural Colored World Series in 1924. Foster, hailed as the “father of Black baseball,” serves as one of the documentary’s most compelling subjects.

Noteworthy for pitching seven no-hitters and inventing the screwball, Foster even taught the pitch to white player Christy Mathewson of the New York Giants, who popularized it. Tragically, Foster met a grim fate, succumbing to the effects of a gas leak in a hotel room. He suffered from delusions and spent several years institutionalized in an asylum before passing away at 51 in 1930.

Although the Negro National League eventually succumbed to the economic pressures of the Great Depression, other leagues emerged, serving as a springboard for numerous Black players who would later achieve legendary status.

Several of these players, including Ernie Banks, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, and Satchel Paige, would eventually join Major League Baseball (MLB). The documentary

features captivating archival interviews with these players and more.

The film poignantly chronicles the immense challenges faced by Black players as they traversed the country, often denied accommodation in hotels and meals in restaurants.

Additionally, the Negro Leagues provided a home for many talented Latino players from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and other parts of Latin America.

Following World War II, with many Black service members having bravely fought for their country, pressure began mounting for the integration of MLB.

Notably, Paul Robeson became a prominent advocate for this cause. Despite years of resistance from MLB Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, who evoked comparisons to a character from “Birth of a Nation,” progress emerged.

Landis died in 1944, and three years later, Branch Rickey recruited Jackie Robinson as the first Black player to join the Brooklyn

Dodgers. Robinson’s entry opened the door for other Black players such as Roy Campanella, Don Newcombe, and Jim Gilliam, all of whom had roots in the Negro leagues.

Effa Manley, a formidable businesswoman, also features prominently in the documentary.

Known as the “First Lady of Negro Baseball,” she coowned the Newark Eagles and became the only woman inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Manley fiercely advocated for fair compensation for Negro league teams when MLB began recruiting their players.

The integration of baseball eventually led to the decline of the Negro Leagues, which ceased operations by the late 1940s.

Through masterful use of vintage footage, interviews, oral histories, and contributions from modern-day historians and scholars, the documentary makes a case for the enduring significance of the Negro Baseball Leagues.