NJG-Volume-123_No-46_Nov_16_2023

NEWJOURNAL & GUIDE Serving Norfolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Suffolk & The Peninsula

Vol. 123, No. 46 | $1.50

November 16, 2023 - November 22, 2023

Publishing since 1900 ... that no good cause shall lack a champion and evil shall not thrive unopposed.

www.thenewjournalandguide.com

VA. DEMS’ VICTORY IN FALL ELECTION BLOCKS GOP AGENDA

By Leonard E. Colvin

Chief Reporter New Journal and Guide A decade ago, Republicans were quick to slam Democratic rivals over their support of abortion rights because they deemed it as an intrusion on a sensitive family issue.

With the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to strike down a woman’s protected right to the procedure, many southern states, notably, imposed restrictions on abortion or nullified the legality of the procedure.

But in last week’s General Elections, the tables turned Photo: Ernest Lowery against the Republicans on the Chesapeake City Mayor, City and State Officials, to include Councilwoman Ella P.Ward, break ground for city’s new Historical Village. issue.

Republican candidates in competitive races lost to Democrats who said Republicans were taking away a women’s right to choose. the Village will represent how

By New Journal The Republican-leaning generations of our region’s & Guide Staff state of Ohio turned back residents lived, learned, a Republican effort to worked, farmed, and played.”

CHESAPEAKE constitutionally restrict In addition to the Cornland A groundbreaking abortion rights in that state. ceremony in the city’s Dismal School Museum on the site, Virginia Republican Gov. Swamp region was held on other exhibits will highlight Glenn Youngkin and his November 9 highlighting the Indigenous groups who legislative allies had hinted at the rehabilitation of the first inhabited the Swamp, doing so if the GOP regained of Blacks historic Cornland School, experiences control of the General an early 1900s school for escaping slavery on the Assembly.

Black children. The event Underground Railroad, the But Virginia Democrats also kicked off the first phase Maroon communities who during the election reminded of the city’s new tourist lived in the Swamp, and the voters of the GOP pledge and attraction, The Historical importance of the Dismal the state’s unique status and Village of the Dismal Swamp as a significant regained control of the State crossroad for trade, Swamp.

The new Historical Village commerce and agriculture.

Photo: Ernest Lowery The developing Village is is expected to become a major visitors and tourist site located on a 12-acre site on The historic Cornland School in its new location on Glencoe with exhibits showcasing Glencoe Street (off Route Street ready for remodeling.

Chesapeake’s cultural 17), and once completed history and its connection to it will be the first Africanthe Great Dismal Swamp. American Historical District According to the Chesapeake in Chesapeake and the Historical Preservation Hampton Roads Region. ...see Cornland, page 3A Commission, “when finished,

CORNLAND SCHOOL AND DISMAL SWAMP LEGACIES UNFOLDING IN CHESAPEAKE

Chesapeake’s Historical Village is expected to become a major visitors and tourist site in Virginia.

Va. Gov. Glenn Youngkin, (R)

Democrats turned the tables on the abortion issue.

House and kept the Senate.

Virginia is the only southern state that has not imposed any abortion restrictions. And it is the destination for many women seeking the procedure from nearby states.

Democrats not only regained control over the state legislature, but they also threw a political monkey wrench in the now lameduck Governor’s machinery for a bid for the Republican presidential nomination.

Democrats are positioned now to block Youngkin and the state Republican party’s conservative agenda, including restrictions on abortion access. ...see Elections, page 6A

Lucas, Scott Assume Top Leadership Spots After Nov. 7 Elections

By Rosaland Tyler

GROUP SUPPORTING BEACH’S 10-1 ELECTION SYSTEM SOUNDS CONCERN

By Leonard E. Colvin

“Due the Right Things” group cautions that a faction may be trying to revert city to old elections system.

Chief Reporter New Journal and Guide When the Democrats take control of the Virginia General Assembly in January, Virginia Beach’s chance of having its charter changed to adopt its new 10-1 election system should be assured.

A federal court order two years ago forced the city to abolish its old hybrid district/at-large system because it deterred AfricanAmericans from selecting council members of their choice.

The city crafted 10 single districts to elect council members and elect the mayor

Rev. Gary McCollum at-large.

The city held a council election last year using the new system and this attributed to a historic four AfricanAmericans being elected to the 11-member governing

panel for the first time in the city’s history.

Recently after a series of city-sponsored meetings, a survey indicated that more than 75 percent of the city’s voters approved of the new 10-1 system.

But Black civic and religious leaders and allies in the white community, have been keeping a wary eye out for political forces who may be seeking to undermine the new system and revert back to the old one.

According to Rev. Gary McCollum, chairman of the advocacy group “Due the Right Things,” that effort is being led by former Virginia Beach City Treasurer John Atkinson.

In a late August and a recent edition of the “Princess Anne Independent News,” Atkinson noted in a paid ad that the council approved the new system without the consent of the voters via a referendum. ...see Beach, page 8A

Associate Editor New Journal and Guide

Democrat House Minority Leader Don Scott of Portsmouth was unanimously elected Speaker of the House by the House Democratic Caucus on Nov. 11, while Sen. Louise Lucas of Portsmouth is poised to chair the Senate Finance Committee.

These two historic appointments surfaced after Virginia voters recently went to the polls on Nov. 7 and not only flipped control of the House of Delegates but also enabled Democrats to hold their majority in the state Senate. The full House of Delegates will vote to officially confirm Scott on Jan. 10, the first day of the 2024 legislative session. Meanwhile, Lucas is expected to chair the Senate Finance Committee, due to

Del. Don Scott

Two historic appointments surfaced after Nov. 7. the fact that one of its cochairs Democratic Sen. Janet Howell, age 78, announced her retirement in February after serving 32 years. ...see Scott, page 7A

(ANOTHER) NEW STUDY SHOWS RACIAL BIAS IS UNHEALTHY

By Rosaland Tyler Associate Editor New Journal and Guide

A new Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) report has traced disproportionately high blood pressure and heart disease rates back to the stress that comes from living with

New report can be traced to what was said at 1st National Conference on Black Women’s Health Issues in 1983. discrimination--often in at-risk neighborhoods. Yet, the new report can actually be traced back to what happened after about 2,000 women showed up at the first National Conference

on Black Women’s Health Issues, which was held at Spellman College in Atlanta in 1983.

While the VCU report shows Black adults are more likely to have poorer

Sigma Gamma Rho Donates $1M To St. Jude MEMPHIS, TN – Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. is the first Divine 9 sorority to raise $1 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, as the organization marks its 101st anniversary. ...see ... see page 3A

cardiovascular health than White adults and other minority groups, it also suggests that Black adults are in a position to stave off heart disease, obesity and high blood pressure

by correcting these health problems at an earlier age.

The point is the new VCU report comes on the heels of a groundbreaking, three-day conference held at Spelman in 1983. There, Black women analyzed oppression’s impact on their health, as well as how they talked to doctors and nurses in the health system.

“More than half of the Black female adult population of the United States lives in a condition of psychological distress,” Byllye Avery, an organizer of Spellman’s historic 1983 three-day seminar, said at the

groundbreaking conference, as she welcomed women who had traveled from Mississippi, New York, Pennsylvania – even as far away as California – to the three-day event billed as the First National Conference on Black Women’s Health Issues. Avery organized the three-day Spellman conference with Lillie P. Allen, a public health activist.

At the time, Avery was a grad student at the University of Florida in 1970, and the mother of two small children, as well as a widow. ...see Study, page 6A

New Journal and Guide

2A | November 16, 2023 - November 22, 2023

DEMOCRATIC PARTY ACHIEVES MAJOR WINS NATIONWIDE

By Stacy M. Brown

Glenn Youngkin’s agenda, Senior National Correspondent specifically his hopes of passing a 15-week @StacyBrownMedia abortion ban.

Democrats also NNPA NEWSWIRE significant The Democratic Party celebrated scored victories in victories in states like Jersey, where Virginia on Tuesday (Nov. New 7) that not only saw them they will retain their maintain their narrow comfortable majorities in hold on the State Senate the state legislature, with candidates but secure control of the Republican House of Delegates. Since facing losses even in 2021, Republicans had traditionally conservative held a 48-to-46 majority in areas of the state.

In Pennsylvania, the House. The outcomes significantly impact the Democrats secured a seat future of Republican Gov. on the state Supreme

Court, strengthening their majority.

The court’s jurisdiction over lawsuits related to the 2024 election in a key swing state adds to the significance of this victory.

Nationally, Democrats continued to build on their recent electoral successes, which began with last year’s midterms and persisted through most of this year’s special elections, held to fill unexpectedly vacant posts.

In Kentucky, Governor Andy Beshear was re-

Nationally, Democrats continued to build on their recent electoral successes, which began with last year’s midterms and persisted through most of this year’s special elections, held to fill unexpectedly vacant posts. elected in a predominantly red state, emphasizing his support for abortion rights and the economic benefits

Overhaul Needed: Tackling Youth Incarceration & Racial Disparities

By Stacy M. Brown

To effectively reduce youth incarceration, the report authors NNPA NEWSWIRE emphasized the need for collaboration In its report, “System Reforms to Reduce Youth between justice systems, families, and Incarceration: Why We Must Explore Every Option Before community partners.

Senior National Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia

Removing Any Young Person from Home,” the Sentencing Project challenges the prevalent practice of youth incarceration. The study highlights the inefficacy of youth incarceration and underscores the urgent need for state and local youth justice systems to prioritize alternative-to-incarceration programs.

Research shows that it is rarely necessary or effective to incarcerate adolescent offenders, the authors concluded.

Instead, incarceration often heightens the likelihood of repeat offenses, impedes educational and employment prospects, and exposes youth to harmful environments.

Unsurprisingly, these negative impacts disproportionately affect youth of color, particularly African-Americans.

According to the Vera Institute of Justice, more than 80 percent of all arrests involve low-level, nonviolent offenses associated with poverty.

Further disconcerting, although Black males comprise just 13 percent of the total population, they represent an astounding 35 percent of those incarcerated.

Additionally, compared to their white counterparts, Black youth are over four times more likely to be detained or committed to juvenile facilities.

The Sentencing Project said it wants youth justice leaders and legislators to recognize and fix the current failed strategy, and deal with the racial inequalities. The organization supports using alternatives to incarceration in most cases, except when there is a clear danger to public safety. The Sentencing Project’s report delineates a comprehensive agenda

NEW JOURNAL AND GUIDE P.O. Box 209, Norfolk,VA 23501 Phone: (757) 543-6531 Fax: (757) 543-7620 PUBLISHER AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Brenda H. Andrews CHIEF REPORTER: Leonard E. Colvin ASSISTANT TO THE PUBLISHER: Desmond Perkins ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Rosaland Tyler PRODUCTION: Tony Holobyte New Journal and Guide (USPS 0277560/ISSN 8096) is published weekly on Thursday for $50 per year, $30 per year for six months by New Journal and Guide Publishing, Incorporated,5127 East Va. Beach Blvd., Suite 100, Norfolk, VA 23510. Periodicals Postage Paid at Norfolk, VA 23501. Postmaster: Send address changes to New Journal and Guide, P.O. Box 209, Norfolk, VA 23501. The New Journal and Guide is not responsible for any unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or related materials.

of state and local reforms, drawing from successful implementations nationwide.

The authors note proposed changes that include not sending children to staterun youth prisons for certain crimes, providing incentives to local courts to avoid sending kids to state custody, and using the funds saved from releasing kids for other programs.

Officials at the Sentencing Project suggest making changes at the local level.

They recommend reducing the number of individuals

who are sent to prison early in the legal process. It also suggests changing the way probation is done so that it helps people succeed in the long term. Finally, the report recommends not putting young people in jail for breaking probation rules.

To effectively reduce youth incarceration, the report authors emphasized the need for collaboration between justice systems, families, and community partners.

The authors insists that staff members who are highly motivated and trained must

implement alternative-toincarceration programs per core principles. They argue that efforts should be made to address the biases causing racial and ethnic disparities in confinement in the American youth justice system.

“The research is clear that incarceration is not necessary or effective in the vast majority of delinquency cases,” said Richard Mendel, Senior Research Fellow at The Sentencing Project.

“Most state and local youth justice systems continue to employ problematic policies and practices that often lead to incarceration of youth who pose minimal or modest risk to public safety. It’s essential that state and local jurisdictions seize every opportunity to keep young people safely at home with their families, in their schools, and communities.”

of Biden administration policies. The election saw Beshear secure 53 percent of the vote against his Republican opponent, Daniel Cameron’s 48 percent. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and former President Donald Trump backed Cameron’s bid.

The Republican secretary of state easily won reelection in Kentucky after previously rejecting false claims of voter fraud from Trump. In Derby, Conn., a Republican facing trespassing charges at the U.S. Capitol on January 6 lost his bid for the mayoral office.

In Ohio, an increasingly conservative state, voters overwhelmingly

approved a constitutional amendment allowing abortion until roughly 23 weeks of pregnancy, with a 57 percent to 43 percent vote. Ohio also became the 24th state to legalize recreational marijuana.

Perhaps one of the most sensational electoral victories occurred in New York, where Yusef Salaam, one of the “Central Park Five,” secured a seat on the New York City Council. Salaam, wrongfully convicted for a 1989 attack on a jogger, won the election without opposition after easily winning the Democratic primary earlier this year.

Salaam, along with four other Black and Latino men, was wrongfully convicted for the 1989 rape and beating of a white jogger in Central Park, an incident that gained national attention, including the involvement of Trump, then a New Yorkbased real estate magnate, who had called for the reinstatement of the death penalty in response to the attack. DNA evidence later exonerated Salaam and his co-defendants.

From The Guide’s Archives

Archives taken from the pages of the (New) Journal and Guide November 17, 1934 Edition of the Guide Landslide Vote Puts AntiLynch Bill Up For FDR NEW YORK Officers of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) stated this week following receipt of complete reports of the Tuesday Democratic landslide, that responsibility for the fate of the CostiganWagner anti-lynching bill rests directly with President Roosevelt.

This statement is based on the fact that without the vote of a single senator or representative from the old South, the administration can muster 47 Democratic votes in the Senate and 222 Democratic votes in the House of Representatives in support of the bill if the president places it on his list of “must” legislation.

The Tuesday election gave the Democrats 69 senatorial seats and 322 Congressional seats. To pass the bill 49 votes are needed in the Senate and 218 in the House.

Colored Teachers Suffer Injustice In Salary Rates, Reports Disclose

By Thomas Dabney Journal and Guide

Six of the 25 Negroes who were members of the Constitutional Convention of Virginia which met in Richmond on December 3, 1867, and which among other things provided for the establishment of the free public schools of the state were from the Tidewater.

Dr. Thomas Payne who represented Norfolk, and George Teamoch who represented Norfolk County and Portsmouth, were the members of the General Assembly which carried out the mandates of the Constitutional Convention.

There were 27 Negroes in this Assembly.

Although Negroes have supported the establishment of the schools and by a

majority favored mixed schools rather than a more costly bi-racial system, a compilation of data on the development of the schools in the state shows that the advantages of education have been better four to one for white children than for colored children.

Back in 1910-11 the per capital cost of instruction for all colored children in Norfolk was $6.47 and for white children $18.07.

In 1930-31, the cost of instruction for colored children was $29.26 versus $53 for white children.

The disparity continues to this day. There is also a wild disparity in the expenditures for colored and white teachers.

In 1910-11 the average annual salary of all colored teachers was $286.97 in Norfolk and $330. In Portsmouth, comparing the 1932-33 figures for the colored and white teachers, we find the colored teachers in Norfolk received on average $839 and the whites $1,127. For Portsmouth, the figures were $897 for colored and $ 1,445 for the whites.

7:20 p.m. bus for Richmond.

I put my topcoat and bags on the bus and was standing beside it conversing with some of the passengers when a white lady and two white gentlemen came up to the parties with whom I was conversing and remarked that they were very sorry that the driver had spoken so insultingly to them.

“The two-colored passengers in question got on the bus at Greensboro with Atlantic City as their destination. As there were only a few white people on the bus they took the second seat from the rear.

Immediately after leaving Greensboro, the driver stopped the bus and told the colored passengers to take the backseat seat, because “This is where the niggers belong.”

They naturally followed his instructions as they did not want any trouble.

The driver said that his orders were to put colored passengers in the rear seat even though there were no white passengers on the bus, stating that this was because of the Virginia separation law.

“Since I did not care to Rider Protests Treatment get into any trouble with the of Business Passenger driver, I demanded a refund of the money I had paid for DANVILLE, VA my ticket and got it.

Even white people were “I am asking if the driver is indignant at the epithet correct as to the orders given “nigger” hurled at colored to him by the company?” passengers on a Greyhound Bus enroute from White Girls’ School Greensboro to Danville on Memorializes Maid October 25.

The case was brought STAUNTON to the attention of high Mary Baldwin College, officials of the Greyhound a noted Virginia school for Lines by W.B. Weaver, white girls, located here, has traveling representative of just issued “an appreciation” the Richmond Beneficial in memory of Mrs. Mary Insurance Company with Scott, a remarkable colored woman who in the capacity officers in Richmond.

In his letter of reply of a maid was for twentyto Weaver D. M. Amole, four years a valued member assistant traffic manager of the Institution’s staff.

The eight-page memorial of the company, failed to answer direct questions with a picture of Mrs. Scott put to him by Weaver but on the title page contains a promised such an occurrence brief story of her life and glowing tributes to her would not happen again.

In his letter to Amole, character and usefulness by Weaver wrote: “On the 25 the president, the dean, the (October) I purchased a registrar of the college, and ticket in Danville, Virginia the president of the student and had planned to catch the body.

OUR FIRST DEMOCRATIC NEGRO U.S. CONGRESSMAN

ILLINOIS Smiling and happy Arthur W. Mitchell and his wife graciously posed for photographers after his victory over Oscar Depriest as Representative in Congress from the First Illinois District. Mitchell is a Democrat, and Depriest is a Republican and had served in the national legislature since 1928.

Born in 1880 and brought up in one of the first Virginia families, of Dr. Robert E. Blackwell, President Randolph-Macon College at Ashland, Mrs. Scott came to Mary Baldwin College in 1910 and remained with the institution until shortly before her death which occurred in the University Hospital in Charlottesville August 31.

She was buried just across the road from Mary Baldwin College.

In his heartfelt tribute, Dr. Jarman, president of the institution, says, “There are many people in the world who are just people. Mary Scott was more; she was very genuinely a person. All who came to know Mary Scott were aware of her presence; all who felt her influence and loved her.”

Alumni of Norfolk Mission College Observe 50th Anniversary NORFOLK Alumni, former students, and friends of old Norfolk Mission College observed the jubilee anniversary of the founding of the historic

institution Friday night in brilliant scenes of pageantry amid the very surroundings where the school began fifty years ago.

The celebration in the form of a pageant participated in by graduates and former students also marked the climax to the two-day meeting of the Presbytery of Tennessee here at the First United Presbyterian Church which brought to the city persons high in the councils of the denomination.

The address was delivered by the Rev. R.W. McGranahan D.D. of Pittsburgh, Pa., secretary of the Presbyterian Church.

The pageant was directed by a committee headed by Mrs. Wanser Bagnall Webb.

History records that the first indication Norfolk citizens had that Norfolk Mission College would be established was in 1883. It was started during a conversation in a barbershop.

Thursday night that scene was played out on-stage by local alumni for the anniversary.

New Journal and Guide

November 16, 2023 - November 22, 2023 | 3A

SIGMA GAMMA RHO COMPLETES HISTORIC $1M PLEDGE TO ST. JUDE’S HOSPITAL MEMPHIS, TN Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. – a historically Black sorority – has completed a historic pledge made in 2021 to raise $1 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®. This achievement comes days before the international collegiate and nonprofit community service organization’s 101st anniversary, marking over a century of commitment to helping those in need.

At the time of the original announcement, Sigma Gamma Rho had already raised nearly $500,000 for St. Jude. As part of the push to reach $1 million, Sigma Gamma Rho pledged a three-year sponsorship for the annual St. Jude Walk/Run, held

during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month each September.

Since then, Sigma Gamma Rho has reached its goal in large part through its participation in the St. Jude Walk/Run. In 2023, the organization entered more than 200 Walk/Run teams in cities across the United States, helping it cross the fundraising finish line this year.

Rasheeda S. Liberty, International Grand Basileus of Sigma Gamma Rho stated, “Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Incorporated is grateful for the opportunity to support St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital’s work to find cures and help save the lives of children all over the world. I am proud of the mobilization of our global membership

Cornland

and Wanza Snead at 2315 Benefit Road to the Glencoe Street site.

On March 24, 2022, the late 4th District Congressman A. Donald McEachin presented a $3,000,000 check to the City of Chesapeake for the restoration of the Cornland School Museum and the completion of the Chesapeake Historical Village at the Great Dismal Swamp.

The Cornland School Project has also received funds from the Crestwood Alumni Association and Dominion Energy, among other supporters.

The 12-member Board of Directors had raised nearly $35,000 prior to the city’s approval in order to help make repairs to the

Continued from page 1A The Cornland School Museum which will be the first exhibit to inhabit the Village is projected to be completed in the spring of 2024. It was first presented to the city and championed

by Councilwoman Dr. Ella Ward, Cornland School Foundation Board Chair, after the foundation’s founding in 2011.

In 2020, Chesapeake City Council awarded $400,000 to the Cornland Project to support the relocation of the dilapidated school from the private property of Mr. and Mrs. Randolph

Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Incorporated is grateful for the opportunity to support St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital’s work to find cures and help save the lives of children all over the world.”

– Rasheeda S. Liberty, International Grand Basileus of Sigma Gamma Rho

Photo: Courtesy

to reach this $1,000,000 milestone, and to have done so just prior to our 101st Founders’ Day. This accomplishment aligns with our sorority’s motto, ‘Greater Service, Greater Progress’. We look

forward to continuing our partnership with St. Jude in the years to come.”

Support from organizations like Sigma Gamma Rho helps ensure that families never receive a bill from St. Jude for

treatment, travel, housing or food – so they can focus on helping their child live.

“We’re so grateful for and honored by the incredible heart and dedicated service shown by Sigma Gamma Rho,” said Richard C. Shadyac Jr., President and CEO of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness

organization for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. “This is a milestone accomplishment

by Sigma Gamma Rho and its members all over the world that will help St. Jude continue making progress in improving survival rates for children with cancer and other lifethreatening diseases.”

Photo: Courtesy Photo: Courtesy

NJG Publisher Brenda H. Andrews, Councilwoman Ella P.Ward, Mrs. Margie W. Coefield, Delegate Cliff Hayes building to prevent further The restoration of the deterioration and to help school as a museum will stabilize the then 117-year show residents , students, old structure. and visitors what it

Cornland School before its relocation. was like for AfricanAmericans to gain an education in grades 1-7, with all seven subjects taught by one teacher in one room in Norfolk County (Chesapeake).

The school served the Black community from 1902 to 1953 when it was closed and Crestwood High School was built along with Southeastern Elementary School.

DO YOU HAVE A STORY THAT NEEDS TO BE HEARD? CALL US AT (757) 543-6531 OR EMAIL US AT NJGUIDE@GMAIL.COM

New Journal and Guide

4A | November 16, 2023 - November 22, 2023

JUST WONDERING

By Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq. (Ret.) PROFESSOR EMERITUS OF SOCIOLOGY VIRGINIA TECH

OUR PROBLEMATIC INSTITUTIONS

Far from being perfect, as many Americans have long thought, our Far from being perfect, as many Americans institutions are critically imperfect. have long thought, our institutions are critically And they are supported by a imperfect. And they are supported by a constitution constitution that is also imperfect, that is also imperfect, as as Justice Thurgood Marshall Justice Thurgood Marshall proclaimed 34 years ago as proclaimed 34 years ago as he he argued for recognition of the need to improve it. argued for recognition of the need to The U.S. Constitution, so highly revered in American improve it.

By Wornie Reed, Ph.D.

society, is not the product of “founding fathers” who were perfect men. Rather, they were politicians with varying views, many of which had to be accommodated in compromises to create this nation. For instance, giving each state two Senators, thus creating a bias toward small states.

Yes, the U.S. Democracy is the world’s oldest written government framework today and has stood as a beacon for other countries.

Significantly, however, as Levitsky and Ziblatt illustrate, other countries have recognized some of the faults in their democracies and have changed their constitutions to address some of these issues.

Inspired by the ideals of the Enlightenment and the promise of self-government, Norway’s founders saw the American experience as the model to follow.

Consequently, Norway’s constitution, established in 1814, like America’s constitution established in 1789, included undemocratic features. However, Norway is an excellent example of a country that changed the anti-democratic aspects of its constitution.

Parliaments across Europe and South America established systems that had anti-majority features. These features tended to protect minority interests.

Like the United States, they featured bias toward rural states and indirect voting, which most eventually abandoned.

Later reforms in Norway included human and social rights protections, such that now Norway is one of only three countries with a perfect 100 score on the Global Freedom Index. You may recall the United States

scored an 83.

During the twentieth century, most countries now considered established democracies changed their anti-majority institutions and moved toward empowering majorities.

In the 19th century, they reformed their electoral systems. France and the Netherlands eliminated their systems of having local councils select members of parliament. Norway, Prussia, and Sweden did the same in the early twentieth century.

The popular form of indirect voting, electoral colleges, was eliminated across Latin America in the twentieth century – in Columbia, Chile, Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina.

By World War II, nearly all European democracies had implemented some proportional representation in their voting systems. I remember when Republican lawmakers pushed a cowardly President Clinton to withdraw the nomination of his friend, AfricanAmerican Lani Guinier, to be Attorney General because they disagreed so vehemently with her advocacy for proportional voting.

European countries reformed the undemocratic upper chambers in their parliaments early in the 20th century, starting with Britain’s House of Lords and then later New Zealand, Denmark, and Sweden.

Germany and Austria reformed the undemocratic upper chambers of their legislatures by making them more representative.

Most twentieth-century democracies also took steps to limit minority obstruction within legislatures, establishing

cloture procedures to enable majority votes to limit filibusters.

The United States, once a democratic pioneer and model for other nations, has now become a democratic laggard.

• America is the only presidential democracy in the world in which the president is elected via an Electoral College rather than directly by the voters.

• America is one of the few remaining democracies with a two-tier legislature with a powerful upper chamber (the Senate). It is one of an even smaller number of democracies in which a powerful upper chamber is severely malapportioned due to the “equal representation of unequal states.” And importantly, it is the world’s only democracy with a strong, malapportioned Senate and a legislative minority veto (the filibuster).

• America is one of the few established democracies with electoral rules that permit electoral pluralities to be collected into legislative majorities and, in some cases, allow parties that win fewer votes to win legislative majorities.

• America is the only democracy in the world with lifetime tenure for Supreme Court Justices.

• Among democracies, the U.S. Constitution is the hardest in the world to change.

If America is to survive – as a democracy – these anti-democratic features of our government must be changed. Currently, we are at a point where we can use our problematic electoral system to move in that direction, or we will slide – with eyes wide open – into totalitarianism.

Ms. Hector is a shero for (TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM) standing up as I have a lot of books in my home. They range from she proclaimed children’s books to Bibles, that honoring to right-wing writers, to Progressive writers, to comic the book writers to biographies. I read ban would as many of them as I can. I have too many to think I could effectively erase ever read everything in all of them. When people, including people of color children, come to my home, Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq. (Ret.) and marginalize their eyes are wide open with excitement as they walk LGBTQ people ... around my shelves. I never ask them which of the books they found exciting, sad, happy, or just curious.

I must admit, that I have not yet read half of them, but I aspire to do so. Today, I walked down an entire wall of my books that I had hardly had time to notice since I placed them on the shelves.

My eye fell on one book called We Charge Genocide edited by William L. Patterson with a preface by Ossie Davis.

I opened the book and the prologue by Jarvis Tyner read BLACK LIVES MATTER. As I read further, the statement made was “Black Lives Matter” is the rallying cry heard all across the country.

Hundreds of thousands have taken to the streets protesting police misconduct and murder.

Nationally African-Americans are disproportionally victims of police misconduct and murder.”

“Black Lives Matter” is a call to bring an end to this nationwide racist policy of systemic singling-out of African-Americans for the use of deadly force by police. The “Black Lives Matter” movement descends politically and is a continuation of the 1951 petition, “We Charge Genocide.”

Those who participated

(TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM) Our nation recognizes Veterans Day by honoring America’s service men and women for their courage, honor, patriotism, and sacrifice each year. As we do so, we cannot forget how national recognition and appreciation were not always free of deceit and hypocrisy.

In his book, Half American: The Epic Story of AfricanAmericans Fighting World War II at Home and Abroad, historian Matthew Delmont writes about the crucial contributions of more than one million Black Americans who served in WWII. He details the dual battle Black service members waged in fighting fascism overseas and racism at home, including how the Black press played a vital role in helping Black Americans understand the true threat of fascism and why something had to be done to stop its spread. Stories from the Black perspective are often omitted from school textbooks.

In 1940, Black Americans made up almost 10 percent

Too many voters are motivated (TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM) by feelings, and There is no question how I will vote in a contest they aren’t feeling between President Joe good about their Biden and the toxic prior President. Biden wins every own economic time. But I’m just me, I’m not the pollsters, the circumstances, young’uns, the rural votes, the uncertainty of and the disaffected. Listing Julianne Malveaux Biden’s accomplishments recession, about and comparing them to those of others might be economic circumstances, our international instructive if people paid the uncertainty of recession, involvement and attention to facts.

Too about our international many voters are motivated involvement, especially in even about his age by feelings, and they aren’t Ukraine, and even about his and his health. feeling good about their own age and his health.

By Julianne Malveaux

It takes a special person to love their country and fight for it when the love and appreciation are not always returned.

David W. Marshall of the total U.S. population – 12.6 million out of a total population of 131 million – and the Army became the nation’s largest minority employer. From the 2.5 million Black males who registered for the draft, more than one million joined the armed forces. In addition, thousands of Black women and these inductees served in all branches of service and operation areas during the war. The journey for these men and women was different from their white counterparts. On July 26, 1948, then-President Harry Truman signed the executive order abolishing segregation in the armed

forces and ordered the full integration of all branches.

As expected, Truman’s order received resistance from politicians, military officers, and all segments of the public who not only opposed integration in the military but everywhere. Regardless of the racial resistance, Black men and women continued to serve their nation with honor.

It takes a special person to love their country and fight for it when the love and appreciation are not always returned.

Matthew Delmont speaks about the Black newspapers of the 1930s and how they provided extensive coverage of the rise of fascism in Europe. They laid the groundwork for Black Americans to recognize and relate to the serious threat posed by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. Many of those who chose to enlist and serve in

Hector.

To me, Ms. Hector is a shero for standing up as she proclaimed that honoring the book ban would effectively erase people of color and marginalize LGBTQ people, and she refused to do that!

The book I mentioned I’m currently reading would be banned in that Arkansas town. If I were a child, would that stop me from reading my book or would I find a way to read it anyway? As responsible adults, don’t allow anyone to prevent our children from reading books some ignorant, insecure person wants to prevent them from reading. We must show them our children will have an opportunity to read books – even if we have to buy them and put them on our bookshelves at home!

Let’s purchase them for our children, enroll them in afterschool programs that teach them the truths they have a right to know, and not allow them to grow up believing a sterilized version of history that pleases narrow-minded, insecure people who can’t handle the truth.

Dr. E. Faye Williams is President of The Dick Gregory Society.

Biden Beware, Young Folks Don’t Care

THE G.I. BILL’S EFFECT ON BLACK VETERANS

By David W. Marshall

in putting this book together researched, circulated, and signed the petition. They said things that were welldocumented evidence and showed that well-documented evidence proved that racism in the US was not simply individual acts by racists but by a system of oppression.

They showed that racism, terror, beatings, lynching, and discrimination were systemic.

This was mainly expressed within the U.S., but ultimately proof of racism was taken to an international arena.

As I read on, I thought about Ronald DeSantis and Greg Abbott and their efforts to block the reading of things about this country they don’t like and should just be buried.

As I was thinking about that, I ran across an article about an Arkansas librarian who was recently fired for upholding her First Amendment right to provide truths. As sad as it is for a country that proclaims the right to own a firearm under all circumstances, the right to enjoy free speech, freedom of religion, the press, to assemble, to petition. This librarian said, “I would rather be fired for upholding the First Amendment instead of sued for violating it.” She was fired for refusing to enforce book bans. Her name is Patty

the military saw how Hitler identified with Jim Crow laws in the U.S. South to justify his treatment of European Jews. When we continue to recognize Veterans Day, we should honor the untold stories of Blacks who enlisted from northern cities like Chicago, Cleveland, and New York and would have to travel to military bases in the Jim Crow South for training. Based on the letters written to the NAACP, Black soldiers explained how they would be safe once deployed to war in Europe compared to the danger they faced while being trained on military bases in Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. Each year we recognize Veterans Day, we should remember how a million Black World War veterans were denied the benefits associated with the GI Bill. ...see G.I. Bill, page 5A

Now, for a month Israel has been brutally bombing Gaza, bombing hospitals, refugee camps, schools and more. They say it is retaliation for the brutal Hamas on Israel on October 7, which no one condones, and most have repudiated in strong terms. But an eye for an eye leaves everyone blind, and in their bloodlust to retaliate against Hamas, Israel has slaughtered nearly ten thousand innocent Palestinians including thousands of children.

They have denied the Gazan population the mere basics, like drinking water, electricity, fuel and health care, reducing doctors to performing surgery in the dark and without anesthesia.

They have denied requests for a cease fire or even a humanitarian break, leaving as many as two million people stuck in Gaza without border openings. Whatever inhumanity Hamas perpetrated on October 7, Israel has increased it exponentially.

Saturday was a balmy pleasant day in my DC neighborhood.

A friend and I were walking toward a local restaurant when we encountered group of young people who had just come from the Palestinian March to the White House.

There were six or seven of them, diverse, a couple of Black folks, a white guy, and two women wearing

the keffiyeh, the checkered Black and white scarf that Yasir Arafat wore, a symbol of Palestinian solidarity. Another carried the Palestinian flag, the Black, white, green stripes with a red triangle at the left. I asked them how the march went, and they were exuberant. But one woman, then another, then another said harshly, I will never vote for Joe Biden. I voted for him before, and I won’t do it again. What about the alternative, I asked.

Would you rather have the Republican alternative. One young woman lowered her head and her voice. “I don’t care,” she said. “Biden has betrayed us.”

Congresswoman Rashida Talib (D-MI) has said much the same thing, accusing President Biden of supporting the genocide of Palestinians.

The first Palestinian to serve in Congress, Talib’s principled outspokenness has attracted the ire of her colleagues.

Republicans have attempted to censure her for her pro-Palestinian comments.

Meanwhile, Palestinians are dying, and our nation’s rabid support of Israel seems to sideline concerns about innocent Palestinian civilians who have been victims of the extreme Israeli response to the Hamas provocation. ...see Biden, page 5A

New Journal and Guide

November 16, 2023 - November 22, 2023 | 5A

President Biden is walking on a tightrope, and his balancing act isn’t’ working well, especially for young Palestinians and other young people of color. He must, and he has, condemn the Hamas attack. But many think he has bent too far backward to mollify Israel while minimizing Palestinian civilian losses. Given who he is, and how he is, he has, perhaps, done his best. But his best is not enough for those who cringe at Israel’s aggression, which did not start with the response to the Hamas

October 7 attack. Between 2008 and September 2023, more than 6400 Palestinians were killed by Israelis. You can push people so hard for so long before they respond.

Secretary of State Anthony Blinkin, while necessarily singing from the Biden hymnbook, offers a measured attempt to broker a peace, a cease fire, a time out. His very careful comments are a credit to the Biden-Harris administration, but they aren’t enough to quell the anger that many young people feel about the administration’s failure to call for a cease fire. How many Palestinians must die in hospitals, refugee camps, and in their homes to satisfy Netanyahu’s bloodthirsty quest for revenge?

President Biden beware.

Many young people don’t care about all the good you’ve done it doesn’t matter when you turn your back on people who are being decimated by the bloodthirsty despot Netanyahu. In the midst of a cordial impromptu sidewalk conversation, I saw an angry determination in the eyes of the young people, who’d driven from New York to participate in the protest on November 4. I will never vote for Biden, one of them said, with an edge to her voice missing from our prior cordial conversation.

President Biden, what will you do about that. You need these young people to win in 2024. Don’t ignore them.

Dr. Julianne Malveaux is an economist and author. Reach her at juliannemalveaux.com

pursue a college education.

When the original G.I. Bill ended in 1956, nearly 8 million World War II veterans had received education or training, and 4.3 million home loans worth $33 billion had been provided.

However, these same benefits were regularly denied to Black World War II veterans and their families, thus denying Black families

for widening an already huge racial gap in postwar America than the G.I. Bill.”

“The quickest ways to overcome poverty in this country are through education and homeownership. The denial of these benefits to Black veterans returning from service has impacted the accumulation of generational wealth for Black families across the

we celebrate Veterans Day, we should also remember the hundreds of Black veterans who were attacked and lynched upon returning home.

David W. Marshall is the founder of the faithbased organization TRB: The Reconciled Body and author of the book God Bless Our Divided America.

He can be reached at www. davidwmarshallauthor.com

Biden Continued from page 4A

OP-ED

HONORING OUR PROMISE TO OUR BLACK VETERANS

By James E. Clyburn

The G.I. Bill Restoration The original governmentAct in the issued posters publicizing the G.I. Bill of 1944 U.S. House of were designed to inspire.

Representatives Oversized red and white letters urged, “Veterans and the U.S. – prepare for your future through EDUCATIONAL Senate would TRAINING. Consult James E. Clyburn your nearest Office provide critical of the VETERANS A D M I N I S T R AT I O N . ” housing and Another read, “VETERANS stood at 74.50 percent and – if buying a farm, home, 44.10 percent respectively education and their descendants the country,” said Rep. James or business, learn about in 2020, and 65 percent opportunity to build prosperity Clyburn. As a result, Reps. GUARANTEED LOANS.” and 38 percent in 1960. benefits to G.I. Bill and generational wealth. Clyburn and Seth Moulton A third showed a young This homeownership employment, college earlier this year introduced man with his hand on his disparity helps explain the Black World Continued from page 4A As attendance, and wealth surged the Sgt. Isaac Woodard, Jr. chin, deep in thought, with difference in net worth for for whites, disparities for their and Sgt. Joseph H. Maddox the following text above: white families ($171,000) War II veterans Black counterparts continued G.I. Bill Restoration Act. “Shall I go back to school?” compared to that of Black and their The original G.I. Bill to widen. While the GI Bill’s The legislation, which is What’s notable about families ($17,150). After lifted a generation into the language did not specifically intended to address the deceit these posters is that every signing the G.I. Bill into ranks of the middle class exclude Black veterans, it and hypocrisy surrounding person pictured is white. law in June 1944, President descendants, by providing a wide range was structured in a way that the implementation of the These posters sent a Truman remarked that honoring our of benefits to World War ultimately closed the doors original G.I. Bill, will extend message to Black veterans it would give “emphatic II veterans, including low- for 1.2 million Black veterans access to VA loans and that they need not apply notice to the men and long overdue cost mortgages, low-interest who bravely served and educational assistance to the – that these life-changing women in our armed forces loans to start a business sacrificed for their nation. surviving spouse and certain programs were not meant that the American people promise to the or farm, unemployment Historian Ira Katznelson direct descendants of Black for them. This message was do not intend to let them nation’s heroes. compensation, and funds to wrote, “No greater instrument World War II veterans. As reinforced by the blatant down.”

Assistant Democratic Leader

discrimination perpetrated

by Veterans Affairs (VA) offices around the country and the abysmal benefits provided to veterans of color. In 1947, only two of more than 3,200 home loans administered by the VA in Mississippi cities went to Black borrowers. Similarly, less than 1 percent of VA mortgages went to Black borrowers in New York and New Jersey suburbs.

These disparities in homeownership opportunities have grown with time. The Consumer Federation of America estimates that homeownership rates for white and Black Americans

Nearly 80 years later, I’ve teamed up with Congressman Seth Moulton (MA-06) and U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) to ensure President Truman’s words ring true.

We have reintroduced Sgt. Isaac Woodard, Jr. and Sgt. Joseph H. Maddox G.I. Bill Restoration Act in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. It would provide critical housing and education benefits to Black World War II veterans and their descendants, honoring our long overdue promise to the nation’s heroes. It would also require that the Government Accountability Office establish a panel

of independent experts to assess inequities in how benefits are distributed to minority and female service members.

The bill’s name pays homage to two admirable and unsung World War II veterans. In February 1946, decorated World War II veteran Sgt. Isaac Woodard, Jr. was traveling home on a Greyhound bus to Winnsboro, South Carolina when a local police chief forcibly removed him from the bus. Still in his uniform after being honorably discharged, the officer beat him mercilessly. ...see Veterans, page 6A

UNLOCK FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR FARMERS, RANCHERS, AND FOREST LANDOWNERS USDA EXTENDS DEADLINE FOR DFAP TO JANUARY 13, 2024 Are you a farmer, rancher, or forest landowner who has faced discrimination in USDA farm lending prior to January 2021? You may be eligible for financial assistance through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Discrimination Financial Assistance Program (DFAP).

WHAT IS DFAP?

assumed USDA farm loan debt that was the subject of USDA discrimination that occurred prior to $2.2 Billion in Financial Assistance: Thanks January 1, 2021, are eligible for this program. to Section 22007 of the Inflation Reduction Act, USDA is allocating $2.2 billion in financial HOW DOES IT WORK? assistance to eligible farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners who experienced discrimination in Multiple Ways to Apply: Producers have the option to apply via the e-filing portal at 22007apply.

USDA farm lending programs.

Eligibility: Farmers, ranchers, and forest gov or by submitting paper-based forms via mail or landowners who experienced discrimination by in-person delivery to the program’s local offices.

USDA in its farm loan programs prior to January 1, Free Technical Assistance: Technical assistance 2021, and/or are currently debtors with assigned or is available for potential applicants through four regional hubs working closely with communitybased organizations.

Local Resources: Local brick-and-mortar offices are being opened across the country to ensure easy access and personalized assistance. In-person and virtual events are also being held weekly, with state-by-state information on the website.

Important Deadline: Don’t miss out! The deadline for eligible farmers, ranchers, or forest landowners to complete their application is January 13, 2024.

LEARN MORE: Website: For detailed information about DFAP, please visit our official website at 22007apply.gov.

Our website provides comprehensive information on obtaining in-person or virtual technical assistance, supplementary program resources, and detailed program guidelines.

Call Center: Our call center, available at 1-800721-0970, operates from 8 a.m. ET to 8 p.m. PT, seven days a week, except for Federal holidays.

English and Spanish-speaking agents are available, ensuring you get the assistance you need, when you need it.

Newsletter: Information about the program, resources, recent office openings, and local events across the country is also available through a weekly e-newsletter, which you can sign up for on the program site.

DFAP is all about giving you the support you deserve. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by!

Apply now to secure this financial assistance.

New Journal and Guide

6A | November 16, 2023 - November 22, 2023

Elections Continued from page 1A In a press conference on the steps of the state capital a day after the election, the Governor squashed any presidential plans and noted his interest in working with Democrats during the last two years of his administration.

Democrats had majorities of 21-19 in the Senate and 52-49 in the House of Delegates. All 140 legislative seats were on the ballot.

With a full statehouse majority, Democrats will have even greater leeway to thwart Youngkin’s policy agenda, although they will have to work with him to advance their own.

Many of the most competitive seats were in Hampton Roads and the suburbs of Richmond and Northern Virginia.

In the only southern state not to restrict abortion after the court’s action, Democrats made their case to voters this cycle on the economy, protecting Gay rights, voting rights, the environment, public safety, and schools.

“It’s official: there will be absolutely no abortion ban legislation sent to

Glenn Youngkin’s desk for the duration of his term in office, period, as we have thwarted MAGA Republicans’ attempt to take total control of our government and our bodies,” Virginia Senate Democratic Caucus Chair Mamie Locke said in a statement referencing Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.

Black voter turnout, according to political analysts, enabled the Democrats to secure their victories, especially with the election of 13 AfricanAmerican lawmakers in Hampton Roads.

The Republican party failed to attract more young people, minorities, and independent white women who were especially turned off by the GOP’s stand on abortion.

Only a handful of competitive districts determined which party would seize control of the legislature, but turnout among African-Americans and young voters made the difference. More than 700 William and Mary students turned out to vote.

At one time, early voting was denounced by the Republican party at all levels. But Governor Youngkin, in reverse, urged his party base to do so and in some areas, the GOP

With Scott wielding the gavel in the House and Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears at the dais in the state Senate, that means both chambers will be presided over by Black politicians – another first for Virginia. outpaced the Democrats using the strategy.

Both parties spent a combined $150 million for the fight for the State Legislature. There was $80 million spent by both parties for Senate and $77 million was spent by House candidates.

Democrats outraised the GOP in securing money and in urban Hampton Roads, voters responded well and shifted regional power away from Northern Virginia to the Hampton Roads area.

In Hampton Roads, alone, more than 13 African-American lawmakers were elected, increasing the number of Black Caucus members statewide.

There are four AfricanAmerican state Senators from the area: L. Louise Lucas, Mamie Locke, Aaron Rouse, and the newest ones, Angelia Williams Graves.

Senator Locke of Hampton, who led the Senate Caucus, could be elected the Majority Leader in the Senate. She raised several million dollars for the party war

chest.

Senator Lucas will return to the Senate as President Pro Tempore.

She will also be chair of the Senate Finance Committee, the most powerful money panel in the Legislature.

House Minority Leader Don Scott of Portsmouth got a big promotion. For his work leading his party to victory, Scott was nominated by his caucus last weekend to be the next speaker. With Scott wielding the gavel in the House and Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears at the dais in the state Senate, that means both chambers will be presided over by Black politicians – another first for Virginia.

House Democrats also elected Delegate Charniele Herring of Alexandria as majority leader again. She became the first Black woman to hold the position in 2020. Delegate Kathy Tran of Fairfax County will serve as caucus chair. Tran will be the first member of the Asian-American and Pacific Islander community to serve in the role, the caucus said.

From Norfolk Jackie Glass and Bonita Anthony, two Black women, will join the youngest Hispanic male to be elected to the House Phil Hernandez.

In Virginia Beach, Michael Feggans and Alex Askew won seats in the House for the first time in that city.

Nadarius Clark won a representing part of Suffolk. Democrats Jeion Ward and Marcia Price were reelected in Hampton and Newport News.

Despite the contention that Scott could not be effective at helping to raise money to bolster party efforts this cycle, he raised more than $3 million.

But voters and Democratic party operatives are complaining about the number and depth of the negative advertisements on YouTube and traditional TV targeting Black male candidates to paint them as criminals.

Democrat Clinton Jenkins lost his bid for a Senate seat and was targeted by old stories about allegations of domestic abuse.

His residency and old traffic violations were hurled at Nadarius Clark in his race for the Democratic leaning 84th House District.

Also, Feggans was targeted as well. He and Rouse had their names and images cut out of large yard signs in areas of Virginia Beach.

One of the earliest races called by the media was for Senate District 21, between Democrat Delegate Angelia Graves and Independent Giovanni G. “Gio” Dolmo.

Graves won the contest almost three to one.

She said that abortion was the key issue that powered the Democrats’ wins.

“I think men and women do not want elected officials in their personal business,” said Graves, who is leaving a House seat for the Senate. “Democrats had the best issues, the best candidates who ran disciplined and wellcoordinated campaigns.”

But pundits and politicians like Graves believe that despite the best message, issues, and organization, “you need money.”

Veterans

Sgt. Joseph Maddox, another World War II veteran, applied and was accepted to a master’s degree program at Harvard University. His local Veterans Affairs office denied him the tuition assistance he was rightfully due under the G.I. Bill to “avoid setting a precedent.” After seeking assistance from the NAACP, the VA in Washington, D.C., ultimately promised to get Sgt. Maddox the educational benefits he deserved.

These are just two of the countless service members who were treated unfairly after sacrificing on behalf of

their country. Black soldiers returning home from World War II found themselves facing the same socioeconomic and racial discrimination they had faced before. Instead of being welcomed with open arms, they struggled to find jobs, get educated, and purchase homes.

We cannot undo the injustices of our past. But we can begin to restore the possibility of full economic mobility for those that the original G.I. Bill left behind.

The G.I. Bill Restoration Act would bring us one step closer to that goal.

VIRGINIA BEACH NAACP Continued from page 5A HOSTING COLOR PURPLE MOVIE FUNDRAISER VIRGINIA BEACH The Virginia Beach NAACP is hosting a private advanced movie screening of The Color Purple on December 9 at the Regal Columbus Theater, 104 Constitution Dr., in Virginia Beach. The movie starts at 4 p.m. and the ticket purchase includes a meal. Doors will open at 3 p.m.

This is a fundraiser for the branch and all proceeds will support the work of the NAACP Virginia Beach Branch. Dr. Eric

Majorette is the President.

Tickets are $25 and available now through eventbrite. All sales are nonrefundable.

This movie version of the Color Purple is a musical adaptation of Alice Walker’s novel about the life-long struggles of an African-American woman living in the South during the early 1900s. It is scheduled to be released in theaters nationwide on December 25, 2023.

Study Continued from page 1A She helped organize the groundbreaking three-day seminar at Spellman after her husband, Wesley, died suddenly from a heart attack.

His doctors had told him he had hypertension, but had not explained the potential consequences. He was just 33 years old.

You can either sort through the new VCU report, or realize it is similar to personal anecdotes that 2,000 or more Black women shared in Spellman classrooms in 1983, in spaces so crowded that the attendees began to remove conference room doors from their hinges and camp out in a concourse to participate. Allen actually had to take off her high-heeled shoes and stand on a platform to address the crowd, according to a recent New York Times report on the historic 1983 Spellman conference.

The good news is after the 1983 conference ended, the National Black Women’s Health Project was launched.

About five years later, in the late 80s, the organization established more than 96 chapters. Women gathered in private homes in small groups and compared notes, much like VCU researchers are now doing after they interviewed more than 7,500 respondents before they released their new study.

“Our goal was to understand what types of factors contribute to the stress experiences of Black people,” said Dr. Anika Hines, the lead author and VCU professor who recently released (another) groundbreaking study on how racial discrimination impacts health outcomes.

Hines is a Norfolk native.

She grew up in a Norfolk suburban neighborhood where her family was the only Black family on the block. She joined the

Dr. Anika Hines faculty at VCU School of Medicine in 2018. She runs the Equity in Cardiovascular Health Outcomes Lab, where she and a cadre of students investigate how psychological stressors related to race and other social determinants of health affect cardiovascular health.

Hines said in a March 2022 interview in VCU News, “From a pretty young age I made observations about the fact that African-Americans lived shorter, sicker lives. At least, that was the case due to premature death and illness in my family,” Hines said. “I wondered if other people saw things the way that I did, but I didn’t know if it was a thing I should talk about.”

In plain terms, the new VCU report says the solution is to mitigate (lessen) risk factors for heart disease by managing stress, obesity and high blood pressure, at an earlier age.

“If we can identify certain stressors to target in our mitigation strategies, we can hopefully improve cardiovascular health outcomes and reduce disparities in heart disease,” Hines said.

The problem is women at the 1983 Spellman conference came to similar conclusions. Avery, one of the organizers is now 86.

She lives in Provincetown, Mass., with her wife, Ngina Lythcott. She is retired.

However, her efforts at Spellman helped launch Atlanta’s Center for Black Women’s Wellness. It still provides programs for

women and teen girls on maternal health and economic self-sufficiency. It also offers care for men and children of all ages. It expanded last year to accommodate 2,600 clients.

Research that dates back to Spellman’s 1983 seminar also launched new research that shows Black women today are living about two years longer.

Her efforts actually launched new ongoing studies on Black health. For example, there is an ongoing, nationwide longitudinal health study of 59,000 Black women. Another ongoing research effort is called the Sista Midwife Productions.

Meanwhile, the National Association to Advance Black Birth helps Black women navigate the medical system during pregnancy.

Another recent initiative, the Tufts University Center for Black Maternal Health and Reproductive Justice researches and supports Black women’s health.

Most recently, the newly-released VCU study showed how stress from discrimination explains 11 percent of the racial difference in cardiovascular health between Black and White participants. Ongoing research continues on stress factors in high-risk neighborhoods.

Of the latest study, VCU researchers said discrimination explained 14 percent of the racial differences in cardiovascular health among women, while neighborhood safety studies are clarifying racial differences, which amounted to 12 percent among men in the VCU study.

“This study shows the importance of intersectional experiences when considering solutions for health disparities,” Hines said. “Marginalized groups aren’t monoliths. Even in the umbrella of marginalization related to race, there can be differential experiences based on gender, socioeconomic status, and other factors.”

Woodard was cruelly thrown in jail rather than given the necessary medical treatment, leading to his blindness. The police chief was ultimately acquitted of the crime by an all-white jury. President Truman was so moved by Sgt. Woodard’s horrific abuse that he signed an Executive Order integrating the armed services.

New Journal and Guide

November 16, 2023 - November 22, 2023 | 7A

To see that this would be the first time that a Black person would hold Continued from page 1A the gavel in the House of Delegates ... it’s an honor and I think all of the Lucas, a Democrat, joined the state Senate in 1992.

Commonwealth of Virginia, whether In the recent election, Lucas earned at least 59 percent of the you’re Republican or Democrat, can vote, compared to 41 percent for her opponent, Republican be proud of this day.”

Scott

Anthony “Tony” Goodwin.

Lucas focused on abortion rights and increased funding for public schools.

With her recent reelection, Lucas is now slated to become the most senior committee member and is expected to chair the Senate Finance Committee.

Championing her recent victory at the polls, Lucas said in a video posted on X, “We are making history in the Commonwealth.”

Lucas, who has served as a state lawmaker in Richmond for more than three decades, said that never before has an African-American served on the Senate Finance Committee and also served as president pro tempore of the Senate of Virginia.

“You all kept me there long enough that I got both seats,” she said in her recent post on X. “I know I stand on the shoulders of my ancestors who built that Capitol,” Scott told reporters in an interview ahead of the recent historic vote.

“I just wake up with so much gratitude to be in this position. . . I know there are so many people who are a lot smarter than me who are Black who never got this chance,” said Scott, who said his election as speaker would show the progress made in Virginia and Richmond – the former capital

– Del. Don Scott

of the Confederacy – over their long history.

This means two Blacks will head proceeedings at the state level in 2024. Scott is a 1994 Louisiana Law School graduate and Portsmouth attorney, who has served in the House since 2020. Scott will join Lt. Gov. Winsome EarleSears, who leads proceedings in the state Senate. EarleSears is a Republican and the first Black woman elected to statewide office in Virginia.

Scott said after Virginia voters recently gave control to Democrats in the state Senate and the House of Delegates, “The people of the Commonwealth of Virginia have spoken. And what they said was we won’t go backward.”

Scott’s fellow Democrats recently described him as a sharp and authentic voice who not only helped the caucus rebuild from last year’s losses, which led to a slim, 52-48 Republican majority in the chamber but Scott also puts a human face on some of the unique problems voters faced before they went to the polls and recently shifted power at the state level.

For example, Del. Dan Helmer, D-Fairfax, who was

elected the caucus’s vice chair of outreach, recently told reporters that Scott shares the experiences of Virginians struggling to make ends meet.

“We now have a leader who has the lived experience of knowing what it’s like to … work up, to have made a mistake in life,” Helmer said.

Del. Shelly Simonds, D-Newport News, told reporters, “The road back to the majority leads through Hampton Roads.

He understands the complicated political landscape of the Hampton Roads region. So I think he’s the right person to move us forward.”

Scott characterized the recent political shift at the state level by saying, to Blacks, “I think this is a day of pride for them to see somebody like me being in this position. To see that this would be the first time that a Black person would hold the gavel in the House of Delegates and it would be me, it’s an honor and I think all of the Commonwealth of Virginia, whether you’re Republican or Democrat, can be proud of this day.”

The House Democratic Caucus elected Scott as minority leader in 2022 after it ousted former House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn, D-Fairfax, as its leader, which occurred after Democrats lost control of the House in November 2021.

“Richmond was the cradle of the Confederacy and Virginia was one of the leading areas of where the Civil War was fought,” Scott said at the time. “I think (Virginia) is a lab testing about where we’ve come from as a country and as a Commonwealth.”

According to news reports, more than half of the Democratic candidates who ran for the House of Delegates and Senate this year are women, and about half of the Democratic candidates are people of color. About 17 percent of the Republican legislative candidates are women, and about 10 percent of its candidates are people of color.

Scott, a 53-year-old lawyer who grew up in a poor, femaleheaded household in Texas and served time in prison on drug charges, told reporters (after he was elected House Minority Leader) that he did not “want to fight the culture wars.” Scott made his comments months after Virginians elected Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who has two years left in office.

Youngkin defeated Gov. Terry McAuliffe.

After election results were announced, Youngkin’s political director, Dave Rexrode, said in a tweet, “We had hoped for a stronger outcome this evening but are proud of the effort all of our candidates put in to these extremely competitive districts.”

New Journal and Guide

8A | November 16, 2023 - November 22, 2023

IN MEMORIAM: Bertie Bowman, Longest Serving Black Staffer In Congressional History, Dies At 81

By Lauren Victoria Burke

Bowman encountered everyone on Capitol Hill from southern segregationists to future presidents of the United States.

NNPA Newswire Contributor Herbert “Bertie” Bowman arrived in Washington, D.C. in 1944. He took a job sweeping the steps at the U.S. Capitol at 13 to become a well-known and very well regarded staff member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Bowman died at 81 after heart surgery on October 25.

“Bertie Bowman was a trailblazing South Carolinian and the longest-serving Black staffer on Capitol Hill. His dedication to public service is an inspiration to us all. May he Rest in Power,” wrote Assistant Democratic Leader Jim Clyburn in tribute.

Bowman encountered everyone on Capitol Hill from southern segregationists to future presidents of the United States from Bill Clinton as a 20-year-old intern to Senator Joe Biden who would become a future Vice President and President.

Former President Clinton called Bowman, “a firstrate example of the men and women who love our country and work hard every day with little fanfare to keep it running.

I’ll always be grateful for every encounter I had with him over the years.”

Bowman was the fifth of 14 children and his parents were sharecroppers in South Carolina. In 2008, he wrote his autobiography “Step by Step.” His book detailed an incredible personal story about a man who navigated racial segregation in the Jim

Beach Continued from page 1A Atkins’ ad said “The Charter of Virginia Beach controls the makeup of the City Council and requires a Citizen Referendum before it can be changed. So, where was the referendum when the Council took away 9 of our votes and gave us a 9-11 WARD system for the last election?”

His 9-1-1 reference is that two of the districts are designed to elect a council member-at-large.

“Our original 1962 City Charter called for a 7-4 City Council, each member having a four-year term ... this process lasted through our fast growth years.”

McCollum said Atkins is coordinating with groups of powerful political donors, developers, and other elements of “the city’s shadow government” to pressure the city council to reverse its stand on the 10-1 elections system.

McCollum said the same “Shadow Government” alliance worked to pressure the city council to abandon its support for connecting the Light Rail line from Norfolk to the resort city.

“The council was poised to approve funding to build Light Rail to Virginia Beach,” said McCollom. “It was a very racist campaign. This is why we do not have light rail in the Beach now.”

McCollum wrote an editorial highlighting his talking points in a recent issue of the New Journal and Guide headlined “Virginia Beach’s New 10-1 Election System Promotes Fairness, Trust, and Accountability.”

McCollum said the new district system proved that voters know what’s best and that common citizens have the power to directly elect their representatives.

“However, there is an effort to back a referendum to go back to the old system. Those who supported the old at-large election system led by former Virginia Beach Treasurer John Atkinson who has taken an ad in support of this effort and helped to lead the effort to kill the city’s previous attempt at establishing rail options, claim that the new system limits voters to one vote for or against. However, this is the case in most cities and in state district elections. Further, the one person-one vote doctrine is the main basis of the Voting

Crow South to become a respected confidant in the corridors of power.

Before his retirement in 1990, Bertie Bowman had worked for the Foreign Relations Committee for 25 years, first as committee clerk and then as assistant hearing coordinator. Bowman then operated a limousine service for Washington VIPs. In 2000, Bowman returned to federal service at the Foreign Relations Committee after the committee chairman, Senator Jesse Helms, hired him back to the Senate after a 10-year hiatus.

“For 57 years – 57 years! – if you served on or appeared in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, you knew the big smile, the booming laugh, and the bear hug of Bertie Bowman. His title may have been “hearing coordinator” but it could’ve just as easily been “heart and soul.” I first met him when I came to testify at 27 and was still lucky to be in his presence when I left as Chairman 42

years later. Bertie was an institution – an inspiration of a man who started in the Senate sweeping floors at 13 and made the place both his career and his home – but more than that, he was a great human and I’ll miss him,” wrote former Senator John Kerry.

“To remember the life of Bertie Bowman is to remember his integrity and his steadfast dedication to public service. Throughout his life, Bertie overcame adversity, broke down barriers, and forged an inspiring future that led him from sweeping the halls of the U.S. Congress to working under 16 Chairs of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. He imprinted himself on the work and lives of every member that had the privilege to serve on our Committee across both sides of the aisle, and did so with honor, decency, and kindness. Bertie was the very embodiment of the American Dream,” wrote Maryland Senator Ben Cardin, then current Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Bowman’s career in Washington started after South Carolina Senator Burnet Maybank told him, “if you all ever get up to Washington, D.C., drop by and see me!” Bowman took

Rights Act.” Another supporter of the new system, who spoke off the record on the issue, said if the city asked the Legislature to change its charter to approve the new system, could it be assured?

Virginia Beach now has three African-American lawmakers (a Senator and two Delegates) in the Legislature.

Virginia Beach State Delegate Kelly ConvirsFowler, sponsored a bill two years ago that blocked the city from using the at-large system to elect council and school board.

All support the new system and may block any efforts to sabotage approval of the city’s request to change the city charter and adopt the new system during the upcoming legislative session, according to McCollum.

McCollum said that not only is the system more politically fair for the

minorities in Virginia Beach, but it also reduces the cost for politicians.

He explained in the past, candidates in at-large/district, races had to spend money across the city to gather voter support.

“Now all they have to do is run their respective districts,” he said.

McCollum said many supporters of the 10-1 system also do not care for the council’s system of naming “interim” council members when elected ones leave their seats.

Rocky Holcomb left the council to run for Sheriff and the District 1 seat is still vacant until a special election is held in January.

An interim replacement has not been selected by the council for the seat yet. But McCollum said that interim council members may not be the choice of the district voters.

Photo: Bill Clark/Roll Call, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

Herbert “Bertie” Bowman

the Senator up on the offer, traveled to the U.S. Capitol, and stayed.

Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent investigative journalist and the publisher of Black Virginia News.

She is a political analyst who appears regularly on #RolandMartinUnfiltered.

She can be contacted at LBurke007@gmail. com and on twitter at @ LVBurke

New Journal and Guide

November 16, 2023 - November 22, 2023 | Section B

SECTION B

COMMUNITY & MORE ...

COL. WILLIAM BENNETT RETIRES FROM THE CHESAPEAKE’S SHERIFF OFFICE AFTER 41 YEARS ...see page 3B

SEATACK SEEKS HISTORIC COMMUNITY DESIGNATION VIRGINIA BEACH Grammy Award-winning singer Pharrell Williams and newly elected State Senator Aaron Rouse were among those who attended the recent Seatack meeting in Virginia Beach that convened in an effort to obtain a historic district designation for the neighborhood that dates back to the end of the Civil War. The historic Black community has already been nominated for a historic district designation by the Virginia Board of Historic Resources. The next step will be to present the nomination to the Virginia Board of Historic Resources on Dec. 14.

“This community wasn’t a plan or a laid out community, but it was hued out. Street by street, home by home, road by road, and we evolved,” said Sharon Felton, a fifth generation Seatack resident.

Seatack resident Barbara Olds said, “As a community, we’re excited. I’m excited.

I think it’s a great idea and opportunity.”

Seatack launched the nation’s first Black volunteer fire department, the Seatack Fire Station after World War II, because the Black neighborhood was not

Photo: Courtesy

serviced by the Princess Anne County fire and rescue department at the time. In 2012, the site of the old Seatack Fire Station became the Joseph V. Grimstead, Sr. Seatack Community Recreation Center, the city’s first city building named after an African-American man.

Black Americans who settled in the area developed it into a highly populated and economically strong neighborhood.

They made many historical accomplishments in the segregated county of Princess Anne, that included raising money to build schools for their children

(namely, the Princess Anne County Training School – 1938, among other schools).

The Seatack Civic League held its 200th Annual Birthday Celebration in 2011 and in 2019, Seatack received its official Historic Landmark placard, recognizing that Seatack has been a model for growth within the AfricanAmerican community.

This historic recognition led to the honor of Seatack being showcased in the construction of the AfricanAmerican Cultural Center of Virginia Beach, where 14 historic African-American neighborhoods in Virginia Beach, Virginia will be recognized and experienced.

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HRT Adds 12 New 757 Express Buses NORFOLK Hampton Roads Transit recently announced the addition of 12 new lowemission buses to its 757 Express fleet. The new buses rolled into service this week in conjunction with the launch of 15-minute peak period service on the Route 20 in Norfolk and Virginia Beach.

“These new buses will allow Hampton Roads Transit to provide a higher quality experience to our riders,” said William Harrell, President and CEO at Hampton Roads Transit.

“We plan to add more buses in the future as we continue to expand the 757 Express program.”

The 757 Express is envisioned as a regional transit system including a mix of high-frequency, express, and limited-stop bus service connecting commuters to major employment destinations.

High frequency routes run every 15 minutes during the weekday peak hours of 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

HRT launched the 757 Express regional transit service in October 2022.

2B | November 16, 2023 - November 22, 2023

New Journal and Guide

New Journal and Guide

November 16, 2023 - November 22, 2023 | 3B

SHERYL LEE RALPH TO DELIVER NSU COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS NSU NEWSROOM Emmy Award-winning actor, producer, best-selling author and philanthropist Sheryl Lee Ralph will deliver the keynote address to nearly 500 graduating students at Norfolk State University’s Commencement Ceremony.

The 111th Commencement will take place at 9 a.m., Saturday, December 9, 2023, at Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall, located on the campus of Norfolk State University.

Ralph, a versatile actor, has performed on Broadway, in films and on television. She can currently be seen on ABC’s awardwinning smash-hit Abbott Elementary. Ralph shines in her role as Barbara Howard,

Sheryl Lee Ralph a longtime, respected teacher. The show opened to critical acclaim during its first season, winning three Emmys, with Ralph earning the statue for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.

Her additional television credits include Moesha, Nickelodeon’s hit series Instant Mom, Ray Donovan, and appearances on Barbershop, ER, It’s a Living, New Attitude, George, Designing Women, Two Broke Girls, Smash, Criminal Minds, MacGyver, One Mississippi, and Claws.

Ralph recurred as President Kelly Wade, on Freeform’s supernatural drama series Motherland.

On the big screen, Ralph has worked with some of Hollywood’s leading and award-winning men, such as Denzel Washington, Robert de Niro, Danny Glover and Eddie Murphy. She also appeared opposite Whoopi Goldberg in Sister Act II.

Ralph picked up a win for Best Supporting Actress at the Independent Spirit Awards for her performance in To Sleep with Anger, starring Danny Glover.

On stage, Ralph created the role of Deena Jones in the original cast of the Broadway musical Dreamgirls, nods for Tony and Drama Desk Awards. Ralph most recently appeared on Broadway as Madame Morrible in Wicked, becoming the first African-American actress to take on the classic role.

She also holds the title of producer on Broadway’s “Thoughts of a Colored Man. She has authored the best-selling book Redefining Diva: Life Lessons from the Original Dreamgirl.

Ralph, a passionate health advocate and honored AIDS activist, is the founder of the non-profit DIVA (Divinely Inspired Victoriously Anointed) Foundation, which she created in memory of the many friends she had lost to HIV/AIDS. She also created the critically acclaimed Divas Simply Singing!, an evening of song and entertainment that is the longest consecutive-running musical AIDS benefit in the country. Because of her unique use of the arts in HIV/AIDS activism, she was bestowed the first Red Ribbon Award at the United Nations and appointed as an AIDS Ambassador for Jamaica’s Ministry of Health.

Photo: Courtesy

Sheriff Jim O’Sullivan (L) congratulates Col.William C. Bennett on his retirement from the Chesapeake’s Sheriff Office after 41 years of service.

Retiring after 41 years Congratulations to Colonel William “Clayton” Bennett Jr. on his retirement from the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office. Colonel Bennett served the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office and the residents of Chesapeake with dedication, wisdom, and a passion for public service for 41 years.

A Hampton Roads native, Col. Bennett graduated from Norfolk Catholic High School in 1978. While earning his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Ohio Dominican University, Colonel Bennett decided to pursue a career in public safety. Directly following his graduation from Ohio Dominican University, Colonel Bennett joined the office in 1982.

During his career at the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office, he graduated from

both the Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office Law Enforcement Academy and the Portsmouth Police Department’s SWAT & K-9 Patrol Academy. He then served as a member of the Chesapeake Police Department’s SWAT team from 1983 to 1988.

Most notably amongst Colonel Bennett’s many achievements throughout his career was his historical promotion as the first African-American Undersheriff on September 11, 2017.

Colonel Bennett is the son of William Clayton Bennett Sr. and Joan Bennett who helped guide him to his years of success. He is joined in celebrating his retirement with his wife Maria, Daughter and Sonin-Law Lisette and Cody, and granddaughter Violet.

New Journal and Guide

4B | November 16, 2023 - November 22, 2023

MOMENTS of MEDITATION

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

DOING WHAT IS RIGHT Read: 1 John 3:1-10 The new birth, about which Jesus spoke and John wrote so eloquently in his Gospel (John 3:1-21), leads to a new relationship between Christians and their Heavenly Father. This relationship is the basis for everything John writes about the way believers are to conduct themselves.

The apostle approaches this matter by pointing to that glorious future time at the return of Christ when God’s children are going to be like Him (1 John 3:13). Then he returns to the present in order to be fine clearly the nature of sin and assert that God’s children keep on doing what is right (vv. 4-7). Finally, recognizing the reality of these forces that set themselves in opposition to the family of God, he says that God’s children are different from the devil’s children (vv. 8-10).

God’s Children Are Going To Be Like Him. God has a great future in store for His children, most of which has not yet been revealed to us (v. 29). We know that, through faith in Jesus Christ, we have been born from above and are now His children. We know that He is preparing a place

for us (John 14:2) where we will spend a glorious eternity. And we know that the most wonderful thing about Heaven will be the unbroken relationship with Jesus that we will experience there. John says that when Jesus appears (at His second coming), “we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2b).

To be made like Christ is the ultimate goal of human redemption. It will complete the work of sanctification, which began at the moment of conversion and which continues throughout our lives.

God’s Children Keep On Doing What Is Right. Next, John deals with another notion (vv. 4-7) that was being advocated by the false teachers:that sin was of no consequence. This idea sprang from two popular misconceptions. One was that salvation was obtained by knowledge (hence the term “Ghosticism” from the Greek word for knowledge – therefore, how you behaved did not matter as long as you know the “inner secrets” of religion. A second misconception was that the only really important thing was your sailor spirit),

and that whatever you did with your body made no difference. John responds to both of these ideas by insisting on the reality and the significance of sin.

He does this first by defining sin; whenever you break God’s law, you sin; beyond that, sin is rebellion against the law (v. 4). John has in view not only specific acts of law breaking, but also the attitude of lawlessness that brings about such acts. John also makes the point that sin is so serious a matter that Jesus Himself had to enter human history in order to deal with it. He was able to do this because He Himself was sinless, both in His nature and in His actions (v. 5). Until the incarnation. Except for the temporary provision God made for covering sin through the animal sacrifices offered by the priests of Israel, there was no way in which human sin could be removed (see Hebrews 8-10).

Because Jesus was sinless redemption was possible. “The wages of sin is death” (Roman 6:23).

Since Jesus had no sin of His own for which He had to die, His death was a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice for the sins of the whole world (see Hebrews 7:27). The fact that God Himself had to intervene in human history in order to deal with sin testifies to its seriousness. Those who have new life in Christ simply do not keep on sinning, and anyone who does so shows that he does not belong to Christ (1 John 3:6). ...see Edwards, page 6B

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

MAJOR BIBLE PRAYER TITLES FROM GENESIS TO REVELATION PT. 5 Continued from last week 54. Habakkuk 3:1-19 “The Prayer of Habakkuk” NEW TESTAMENT BIBLE PRAYER TITLES 1. Matt. 6:9-13 The New Revelation Concerning Prayer Luke 11:1-4 2. Matt 8:2-4 Jesus Heals A Leper Who Prayed Mark 1:40-45 Luke 5:12-16 3. Matt 8:23-27 When The Disciples Pray, Jesus Stills The Waves Mark 4:36-41 Luke 8:22-25 4. Matt 9:18-26 Jesus Heals The Woman With An Issue Of Blood And Raises Jairus’ Daughter Mark 5:22-43 Luke 8:41-56 5. Matt 9:27-31 Two Blind Men Pray For Healing 6. Matt 11:25-26 Wisdom Is Justified Of Her Children 7. Matt 15:22-28 The Syrophenician Woman’s Daughter Is Healed Mark 7:24-30 8. Matt 26:39 Jesus’ Agony In The Garden: The First Prayer Mark 14:39 Luke 22:41-45 9. Matt 26:42 Jesus’ Agony In The Garden: The Second Prayer Mark 14:39 Luke 22:44 10. Matt 26:44 Jesus’ Agony In The Garden: The Third Prayer Mark 14:41

Rev. Dr. Rebecca R. Rivka 11. Matt 27:46 Jesus Prays- “My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?” Mark 15:34 12. Mark 10:46-52 Bartimaeous Receives His Sight By Prayer Luke 18:35-43 13. Mark 11:23-24 Jesus’ Instruction On The Prayer Of Faith Cf. Jas 5:13-15 14. Luke 15:18-19 The Prodigal Son Rehearses His Prayer To His Father 15. Luke 17:5-6 Faith Is Increased By Prayer 16. Luke 17:13 Ten Lepers Prayed and Were Healed 17. Luke 18:11-13 Parable Of The Pharisees And The Publican Praying 18. Luke 23:34 Jesus Prays To The Father To Forgive His Murderers 19. Luke 23:42 The Repentant Thief Prays 20. Luke 23:46 Dying On The Cross, Jesus Dismisses His Spirit 21. John 4:15 The Women At The Well Asks Jesus For The Living Water 22. John 4:49 Jesus Spoke And The Nobleman’s

Son Lived 23. John 11:41-42 Jesus Prays At Lazarus’ Grave 24. John 12:27-28 Although Troubled In Spirit, Jesus Glorifies The Father In Prayer 25. John 17 Jesus’ Divine Intercessory Prayer For His Own 26. Acts 1:24-45 Matthias Chosen By Prayer 27. Acts 4:24-30 The Prayer Power Of A Holy Church Cf. Acts 2:104 28. Acts 7:59-60 Stephens’ Prayer At His Death (By Stoning) 29. Acts 9:6 Saul’s Conversion Prayer Cf. Acts 22:1-16 Acts 26:9-18 30. Eph 1:17-20 Paul’s Prayer For Knowledge And Power 31. Eph 3:14-21 Paul’s Prayer For Inner Fullness And Knowledge 32. Phil 1:9-11 Joyful Praying Triumphs Over Suffering 33. Col 1: 9-14 The Apostolic Prayer 34.

I Thess 3:10-13 Prayer For The Believer’s Santification 35.

II Thess 1:11-12 Prayer For Comfort In Persecution 36. II Thess 2:16-17 Prayer For Consolation And Hope 37. II Thess 3:5 Prayer For God’s Love And The Waiting For Jesus Christ 38. Heb 13:20-21 The Apostolic Benediction 39. Rev 22:20 The Last Prayer Of The Bible

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New Journal and Guide

November 16, 2023 - November 22, 2023 | 5B

New Journal and Guide

6B | November 16, 2023 - November 22, 2023

BOOKWORM REVIEW Film Review: Going To Mars:

By Terri Schlichenmeyer

LAWS OF ANNIHILATION

O

ne thing or another.

You have to choose, you can’t have both. This one or that one, that or the other, think about it and then pick a side.

Or maybe you don’t even have to think about it. Maybe, as in the new novel “Laws of Annihilation” by Eriq La Salle, the decision was made decades ago.

Agent Janet Maclin wasn’t entirely unprepared for the news but still, it’s tough to learn that you have incurable cancer and that death is near.

The diagnosis explained her constant pain and the ravaging of her entire body on a daily basis but it didn’t explain how she was going to break the news to her two partners in the department.

Detective Phee Freeman and Detective Quincy Cavanaugh were not just partners, but friends – maybe the only friends Maclin had anymore – and she was reluctant to share her news.

She was not going to survive this, so why would it matter?

They were busy enough on a huge case; there was no need to add anything else.

A young Black man had been caught spray-painting hate symbols on a Jewish synagogue and the mob that witnessed his deed chased the young man to his death.

Did this lead to the bloody, gruesome murders of Jewish rabbis who had called for peace in the community?

Were those deaths connected to the disappearance of a man named Spider, who

The Nikki Giovanni Project

By Dwight Brown

NNPA Newswire Film Critic ★ ★ ★ (3 Stars)

Eriq La Salle “Laws of Annihilation”

By Eriq La Salle, ©2023, Lavette Books, Poisoned Pen Press $16.99, 413 pages was heavily involved in an Islamic group in Harlem and who was the young man’s uncle? And where was Ezra Pearl, an influential man in the Jewish community who’d been filmed leading the chase that caused the young man’s death?

The Mayor of New York was calling for calm but with both sides demanding revenge, two people missing, and a killer (or two) on the loose, Maclin knew that calm wouldn’t be that easy. Neither would solving what was a growing list of violent crimes.

As New York City seethed, she hoped she’d live long enough to see this end.

Crack open “Laws of Annihilation” and you might think you’d stepped onto a random sidewalk in a major city somewhere in America.

The events in the book are entirely plausible, given current events in the world today and last summer’s heatwave. You can almost feel the tension. You can almost smell it.

That realism sharpens the vicious gruesomeness of the murders that pepper this story, as does the authenticism in the details pertaining to religions.

The latter is subtle, as author Eriq La Salle leads readers to understand without detracting from the story itself.

And that story ...? Well, let’s just say that if you plan on sharing this book, you might want to get someone their own copy. Yours will be ripped from ferocious, eager page-turning ...

It may go without saying that this thriller contains violence, profanity, and a relatively quick, relatively chaste bedroom scene, but a warning bears repeating. Still, if you love a good thriller with a decent cliffhanger, “Laws of Annihilation” is one thing you should read.

FUN PUZZLE FOR YOUR LEISURE

“A lot of things I don’t remember, I choose not to remember. I make up the rest.

That’s what storytelling is all about,” says poet/writer/ activist/educator Nikki Giovanni.

In this very enlightening homage, by documentarians Joe Brewster and Michéle Stephenson, the icon and intellectual gets the respect she deserves. Years of speaking truths, reflecting on her life and discussing racism, sexism, classism and other social issues, with the intelligence of a scholar and the wit of a genius, brought her to this place.

Clips, interviews and photos are well assembled and paced (editor Terry Long). The low-key format doesn’t expand the doc genre on any level, but that’s a good thing in this case.

The filmmaking is never a distraction. Everything the directors do supports and surrounds Giovanni with the tools she needs to tell her life story. A portrait painted in words that are as evocative as those in any Toni Morrison or Bernice McFadden novel.

The characters that revolve around her seem larger than life, though they may just be family, friends or colleagues to her. The issues she discusses seem monumental, as if told from a pulpit. They crescendo in moments like the footage

Nikki Giovanni that captures James Baldwin and her exchanging tales and opinions like riots preserving history. As Giovanni reflects on her time on this earth, she expresses her experience in cadences, sermons and anecdotes that seem almost biblical. Or newsworthy. Or reverent. Or all of that.

When she gets personal.

When she recollects her abusive dad and tough times the outer world seems in the distance and the inner Giovanni comes into view. Deep in thought and expressing hurt. She’s learned to persevere or at least cope and has lived to tell the tale: “You have to love people who say to themselves I’m going to find a way to smile.” She’s woefully truthful about her challenges raising her son. Alarmed about Martin Luther King’s assassination:

Edwards Continued from page 4B God’s Children Are Different From The Devil’s Children. John now identifies two spiritual families, their parentage, and the fundamental difference between them (vv. 8-10. He has already spoken of God’s family, the result of His love, followers of Christ who are now called “children of God.” Ongoing sin is impossible for one born of God, however, because “God’s seed remains in Him” (v. 9). The Greek word for ‘seed” refers to that which contains the essence of life, as

“An act of war.” A resigned mother. A prophet too.

Then there are the precious times when the Fisk University graduate and American Book Awardwinner shows why she’s a world-famous poet. Someone with the keen ability to distill the most complicated thoughts down to simple, winsome proclamations: “I believe the most beautiful poem ever heard is your heart racing.”

In Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project, the spotlight shines magnificently on Giovanni. This perceptive doc makes that so as its brilliant archivists give Black America’s poet laureate her flowers, now. While she is still here. Still able to smell, hold and see them.

A complete treasure.

Precious and profound. Both the doc and Nikki Giovanni. well as the hereditary characteristics of the Father. Those who have been born of God have new life within them. As that new life develops, they will become more and more like their spiritual Father. This will make it impossible for them to continue a life of sin, for God and sin are totally incompatible.

The conclusion of this line of thought is that doing what is right is the acid test of whether one is a child of God or a child of the devil (v. 10). Doing what is right means avoiding acts of sin – and it also means loving the other members of our spiritual family.

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

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