NJG | Vol. 124, No. 11 March 14, 2024

NEW

MEAC Extends Partnership With Norfolk As Host City Thru 2027

The

this week that

Virginia, to remain as the host city for the 2025, 2026, and 2027 MEAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournament.

This year will mark the 12th occasion the tournament has been hosted in Norfolk, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with the city, showcasing

the excitement of the games, and highlighting the fan activities that make this tournament so special. We are grateful to Norfolk Mayor Kenneth Alexander, his staff, and City Council Members for providing an outstanding experience for the MEAC and our fans year in and year out.”

The City of Norfolk, also home to the MEAC’s headquarters and member institution Norfolk State University, has hosted the tournament since 2013. Norfolk served as the tournament’s host site from 1991-1993 and again in 1997. see MEAC, page 8A

NATION EXPERIENCING PATTERN OF VANDALISM TO BLACK MONUMENTS

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from BlackMansStreet.Today (TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM)

The recent vandalism of a statue of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other Black luminaries involved in the civil rights movement, is part of nationwide pattern of destroying monuments that honor Black leaders.

A Martin Luther King Jr. statue in Denver, Colorado’s City Park was found damaged recently after a gaping hole was cut out of the bronze plaque affixed to the statue.

The memorial is one of several Black monuments recently reported stolen or vandalized in the United States.

One of the largest targets is the Lincoln Memorial Park Cemetery in CarsonCompton, California.

More than 100 bronze nameplates and a 1944 bronze plaque honoring African-American veterans were stolen from the cemeteries. Police have not arrested anyone.

In February, Ricky Alderete,45, was arrested by Wichita Police for allegedly stealing Jackie Robinson’s

One of the largest targets is the Lincoln Memorial Park Cemetery in Carson-Compton, California.

statue and planning to sell it as scrap metal. Police took Alderete into custody, and he is being held on a $150,000 bond. Robinson’s statue was stolen from McAdams Park in Wichita, Kansas. On January 25, police received reports that the statue was cut off at the ankles. Days later, the statue was found burning in a trash can.

Alderete was charged with four counts, including felony theft and aggravated criminal damage to property, according to police.

Also in February, Laneisha Shantrice Henderson was arrested for attempting to burn down Martin Luther King Jr.’s childhood home in Atlanta. Henderson poured

gasoline over the home’s front porch and accent bushes before being stopped and detained by two offduty New York police officers who were visiting the home as tourists. “That action saved an important part of American history tonight,” Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said. see Vandalism, page 2A

Biden: “Strengthen Social Security; Lower Prescription Drug Costs”

By Stacy M. Brown Senior National Correspondent

@StacyBrownMedia

NNPA NEWSWIRE

President Joe Biden has revealed a comprehensive budget plan that the White House says prioritizes investment in the American people to build on the economic progress achieved over the past two years. The president’s approach emphasizes growing the economy from the bottom up and the middle out, as opposed to top-down strategies.

Administration of fi cials said under Biden’s leadership, the U.S. economy has experienced unprecedented growth, adding over 12 million jobs in just two years –

President Joe Biden

surpassing the job creation of any four-year term in history. The unemployment rate has dropped to an impressive 3.4 percent, the lowest in 54 years, with record-low Black and Hispanic unemployment rates. Additionally, the past two years witnessed

The White House says Biden’s fiscal responsibility is starkly contrasting to the previous administration.

the highest number of new small business applications. Of fi cials said Biden has tackled the economic challenges head-on by implementing measures to lower costs and ease fi nancial burdens on American families. Those actions include reducing prescription drug costs, health insurance premiums, and energy bills while simultaneously achieving historic lows in the uninsured rate. Furthermore, the president’s infrastructure

plan aims to make the economy more competitive, invest in American innovation, and foster a manufacturing boom to create jobs and revitalize neglected regions.

Crucially, the White House argued that Biden has remained committed to fiscal responsibility, starkly contrasting the previous administration’s approach. While the prior government passed an almost $2 trillion tax cut, contributing to a soaring deficit, Biden reduced the deficit. see Biden, page 8A

and Unbossed” she

that one of her handicaps being female put many more

in her way than her being Black. “Tremendous amounts of talent are lost to

society just because that talent wears a skirt,” said Chisholm. She was born Shirley Saint Hill in November of 1924 in New York City to parents Charles Saint Hill and Ruby Seal. Her father was a native of British Guyana and her

In 1968 Shirley Chisholm became the first Black woman to serve in Congress.

mother a native of Barbados. A young Shirley was educated in the British Schools of Barbados where she spent much of her childhood with her grandmother.

see Chisholm, page 2A

Photo: Courtesy Shirley Chisholm

Monument in Denver honoring Dr. Martin Luther Jr. has been vandalized.

Photo: Courtesy

Photo: Courtesy

COLO. JUDGE SENTENCES EX-PARAMEDIC IN ELIJAH MCCAIN’S DEATH

Special from BlackMansStreet.Today (TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM)

A judge sentenced a former Colorado paramedic to five years in prison for contributing to the 2019 death of Elijah McCain.

Peter Cichuniec, 51, a former lieutenant in Aurora Fire and Rescue was convicted Friday of criminally negligent homicide and second degree assault for the unlawful administer of drugs that eventually killed McCain.

Jeremy Cooper, the paramedic working with Cichuniec, is scheduled to be sentenced in April.

Supporters of Cichuniec packed the courtroom to tell Judge Marck Douglas Warner that Cichuniec was a caring person.

Speaking to supporters, Cichuniec said that he wished McCain was alive and that he wished that he had done things differently. He was dressed in a striped prison uniform.

Shenee McClain, Elijah McCain’s mother, said the paramedics murdered her son. She raised one of her hands in a closed fist in the air as she left the court.

McClain’s mother told the court that everyone who was involved in the death of her son on that night back in August of 2019 didn’t show any remorse.

“Our communities cannot know peace until we see the justice departments hold their enforcers accountable,” she said. “My son will never be a dad, an uncle, or a grandfather. Randy Roedema stole my son’s life. All the belated apologies in the world cannot remove my son’s blood from Randy’s hands.”

Vandalism

Continued from page 1A

Henderson was arrested by police officers and charged with attempted arson.

Black churches are not immune to vandalism.

Mother Bethel African Methodist Church, a Black Philadelphia church, designated a National Historic Landmark in 1974, recently had several windows broken, including three of the church’s historic stained-glass windows.

Philadelphia police arrested Haneef Cooper, 39. He was charged with criminal mischief for vandalizing Mother Bethel in the Society Hill neighborhood.

Pastor Rev. Mark Kelly Tyler estimated the damage at $30,000 because of the specialized craftsmanship needed to repair the historic stained glass.

Ed Dwight created the memorial in Colorado in 2002, honoring Dr. King and smaller statues of Mahatma Gandhi, Rosa Parks, Sojourner Truth, and Frederick Douglass.

The statue stands where the annual parade begins every year on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

The Denver police department’s bias-motivated crime unit is investigating.

A judge sentenced a former Colorado paramedic to five years in prison for contributing to the 2019 death of Elijah McCain.

A judge sentenced Roedema to 14 months in the Adams County Jail and four years probation.

Elijah McCain, a 23-year-old massage therapist, was walking from a convenience store after buying a soft drink and something to eat, when someone called police and telling cops he looked “sketchy” because he wore a mask to cover his face.

He wore a ski mask, which his mother said he wore because he was anemic and often cold. He was not suspected of committing a crime. “He wasn’t fighting,” his mother insists. “He was handcuffed and on the ground for fifteen minutes. He was begging for his life. The only moving he’s doing is vomiting, trying to breathe,” she said.

Paramedics injected McCain with 500 milligrams of ketamine. It was too much for McClain, who was 5’ 7” tall and weighed 140 pounds. He died later in a local hospital.

Interim Chief of Police Vanessa Wilson fired Randy Roedema, a lieutenant of the Aurora police department and three others officers for mocking McClain’s speaking pattern. A judge sentenced Roedema to 14 months in the county jail.

The City of Aurora paid McCain’s family $15 million dollars for the murder of their son.

Chisholm

Continued from page 1A

In March 1934 she and her siblings returned to Brooklyn. She would go on to graduate from Brooklyn College in 1946. In 1949 she married Conrad Chisholm and they would later divorce in 1977.

Chisholm earned a master’s degree in elementary education from Columbia University and started off her career as a teacher. From 1953 to 1959 she would serve as director of the Hamilton-Madison Childcare Center and an educational consultant to New York City’s Bureau of Child Welfare from 1959 to 1964.

It would be in 1968 when Chisholm became the first Black congresswoman. She would go on to serve seven terms. Other accomplishments include becoming one of the founding members of the Congressional Black Caucus in 1969. Chisholm was also one of the founders of the National Women’s Political

Chisholm published two books, one in 1970 entitled “Unbought and Unbossed,” and another in 1973 called “The Good Fight.”

Caucus. She was an avid supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment and legalized abortions during the course of her congressional career. She shared her thoughts on racism: “Racism is so universal in this country, so widespread and deep-seated, that it is invisible because it is so normal.”

Chisholm published two books, one in 1970 entitled “Unbought and Unbossed,” and another in 1973 called “The Good Fight.” A major pursuit Chisholm is known for is being the first AfricanAmerican woman to make a bid to serve as the president of the United States. In 1972 she ran for the Democratic nomination. In her book The Good Fight she says, “I ran for the presidency, despite hopeless odds, to demonstrate the sheer will and refusal to accept the status quo.” She championed many causes such as minority

If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.”

– Shirley Chisholm (1924-2005)

Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm was the first African-American woman elected to Congress and the first African-American to make a serious bid for the Presidency of the United States of America.

education and employment opportunities. When she left Congress in 1983, she taught at Mount Holyoke College. Chisholm is a shining example and inspiration for all women to not let a male dominated field stop you from playing the game, pursuing your goals, and creating change.

In her autobiography she wrote, “When I die, I want to be remembered as a woman who lived in the twentieth century and who dared to be a catalyst of change. I don’t want to be remembered as the first Black woman who went to Congress. And I don’t even want to be remembered as the first woman who happened to be Black to make a bid for the Presidency. I want to be remembered as a woman who fought for change in the twentieth century. That’s what I want.”

Chisholm died January 1, 2005.

March 14, 1936

Edition of the Guide

VA Tuition Bill Awaits

Signing By Governor RICHMOND

The Virginia Senate, in its closing session, passed by a wide margin the Stephens-Dovell Bill providing graduate tuition or professional education to Negroes when such courses are not offered at state-supported colleges open to them.

The measure, passed two weeks ago by the House of Delegates, where it originated, makes it mandatory for Virginia colleges or universities refusing admission to Negroes to withdraw scholarship funds from their appropriations to fi nance the banned students’ education in a northern or western school.

Governor George C. Peery, who favored the bill’s passage, is expected to sign the measure sometime next week. Under state statute, the bill becomes law thirty days after it is approved by the governor.

North Carolina

Scottsboro Case Flops AHOSKIE, N.C.

The dreary prospect of an inde fi nite number of years behind the walls of Cameron Morrison Industrial School for Colored Boys at Hoffman, N.C., was avoided here last week for four boys ranging in age from nine to eleven years who were accused of criminally assaulting a fi ve-year-old White girl. Its own version of the infamous Scottsboro case was literally blasted to bits as local authorities announced the release late Thursday of Jesse N. Vann, 9; Leslie Randolph, Jr., 10; William Washington, 11; and Hubert Raynor, 11. All of Ahoskie were relieved, and tensions apparently settled down. The tension that gripped the town with the arrest of the boys had disappeared when two representatives of the Journal and Guide visited the scene of the alleged

attack. Like the more celebrated Scottsboro Boys case, the North Carolina fi veyear-old had made her complaint. But unlike Scottsboro, only four were held, and their release, to all appearances, closed the unfortunate case.

A statement by the examining physician in the case before Judge Alvah Early of the Hertford Juvenile Court last week that he found nothing seriously wrong with the little girl is believed to have been primarily responsible for the boys’ release after being held in the county jail at Winton for several days. While some reports claim the boys confessed to the crime, they later denied this, and there was a belief that nothing more serious occurred than a children’s fi ght.

March 14, 1942

Edition of the Guide

Mayor Heads List of Those Mourning Lawyer Newsome

By S. A. Haynes NEWPORT NEWS

J. Thomas Newsome, Virginia, and one of the nation’s most noted criminal lawyers, died at his home at 2803 Oake Avenue in the presence of his sister, Mrs. J. Wyche of Hampton, Sunday. The deceased was stricken two weeks ago and placed under the care of his family physician. His sudden passing shocked the community, many of his friends being unaware that

such a crisis was at hand. He was a native of Sussex Courthouse, Virginia, and, with his sister Lucy Wyche of Hampton, the last surviving member of the immediate family. They were the two youngest of 17 children born to the late Joseph H. and Martha Anne Newsome.

Newsome graduated from the state’s old Virginia Normal and Collegiate in 1894 and returned to Sussex, where he taught for three years. Finding the teaching profession uninviting, he enrolled at the Law School of Howard University Law School. He graduated with honors in 1899. He moved to the peninsula, residing in Phoebus and marrying his wife. The young couple moved to Newport News in 1901. Newsome reached the apex of his career as a lawyer during 40 years of practice shortly after he opened his office here, and his admission to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court received nationwide attention.

March 14, 1964

Edition of the Guide

No Wall Death Probe, City Manager Asserts NORFOLK

The city government anticipated changes in the building codes because of the death of Martha Lee Williams, 29, who was crushed when a section of the Downtown Plaza shopping center’s decorative masonry wall blew down on Wide Street Thomas F. Maxwell, the city manager said.

Maxwell added the city would not investigate to determine the quality of the workmanship of the 1800-foot wall, which the downtown Plaza Corporation has since torn down.

High winds brought down a 50-foot section of the checkered board-effect wall at the Wood Street entrance of the shopping center as Williams, a mother of eight and a friend of Arnell Lewis, 35, who both live in the 800 block of Virginia Beach Blvd., headed east on the sidewalk after making

purchases. Williams’ skull and body were crushed. She died instantly, and Lewis suffered an injury to her knees, bruises, and shock, although she said the concrete blocks “were all over us.”

Clay Vetoes Malcolm’s New Party

NEW YORK

Malcolm X, former No. 2 man in Elijah Muhammad’s Black Muslim Movement conference, was planning this week for a Negro Nationalist Party whose members would use force to defend themselves against segregationists employing violence.

However, Malcolm would have had to build his political organization without the blessing of major civil rights organizations and the support of his most prominent Muslim convert, Cassius Clay.

In Chicago, John Ali, Elijah Muhammad’s secretary, announced on Sunday that Clay had been given the Arabic name Muhammad Ali.

Talking with newsmen in Louisville this week, Clay gave indications that he would remain a member of the Elijah Muhammad group of Islam or Black Muslims rather than follow Malcolm X, who has broken off from the movement to espouse more militant tactics.

“I am a fighter and religious,” said Clay. “I am not going to do anything that is not right. I don’t know much about what Malcolm X is doing. But I know Muhammad is the wisest.”

March 14, 2001

Edition of the Guide

March Is Women’s History Month

Motherhood: Her Profession

By Leonard E. Colvin

Last week, local poet Barbara Marie Green was perusing her weekly issue of the New Journal and Guide when she came across an article detailing the Lives of Unsung Heroes in Women’s History.

The subjects detailed in the article “Remembering Some Unsung Women Heroes” were not well-known characters in the annals of American history books, and their deeds were cited by close relatives who knew them and deemed their contributions worthy of being recorded by the publication for public consumption.

Green retired 12 years ago in Hampton Roads after 30 years of teaching and administering in the public schools of New York City and had a hero of her own: her mother.

Mae McCarter Green was originally from the Akin, South Carolina community, which recently honored her contributions with a special tribute. Her family migrated to Harlem, New York, in the early 1900s, as did thousands of other African-Americans during the early part of the last century, for a better life. Many of the men migrated to New York and acquired jobs that helped build the city’s subway system.

Initially, they would work during the summer months and return during the fall. However, large numbers began to stay permanently during the Great Black Migration.

Barbara Marie Green who was born in Harlem says her mother became the first President of the ParentTeacher Association of St. Nicholas School or Public School 10 of Manhattan in 1936.

According to her daughter, Mae McCarter Green was a very strong-willed and caring woman who always “tried to make a difference in the lives of people no matter who they were.”

Green said that when her mother assumed her new role, the nation was in the midst of the Great Depression, and many of the children at St. Nicholas were without basic services and school materials due to the downturn in the economy.

“So, she went out and recruited an optometrist, physicians, and dentists to come to the school for free to see and treat the children,”

Barbara Marie Green said.

“This had never been done before, and the kids, even me, remembered needing the services because their parents could not feed them, let alone afford a doctor’s bill.”

J. Thomas Newsome

Two More Va. Prisons Open “Freedom Libraries”

RICHMOND National non-pro fi t Freedom Reads recently opened 32 “Freedom Libraries” at the Virginia Department of Corrections’ (VADOC) Dillwyn and Buckingham correctional centers.

Eighteen libraries will be placed in housing units at Buckingham and 14 libraries will be installed at Dillwyn, providing inmates access to the 500book collections.

This donation follows the 2023 opening of 12 “Freedom Libraries” at St. Brides and Indian Creek correctional centers, respectively, bringing the total number of donated “Freedom Libraries” to 56 in VADOC facilities.

Freedom Reads founder Reginald Dwayne Betts, a 2021 MacArthur Fellow and Yale Law

School graduate who was sentenced in Virginia to nine years in prison at age 16, established “Freedom Libraries” to create spaces to encourage community in

correctional facilities. These library openings also mark the 19th anniversary of Betts’ own release date. To commemorate the

—OBITUARY—

I grew up in Virginia prisons and it was in those cellblocks that I discovered a love for all that a good book can do for you.”

–

Reginald Dwayne

Betts, Freedom Reads founder, a 2021 MacArthur Fellow and Yale Law School graduate.

anniversary, Betts is performing his oneman show “FELON: An American Washi Tale,” in which he explores the lingering consequences of having a criminal record, fatherhood, the power of literature, and love, at both Dillwyn and Buckingham correctional centers today. The show is based on Betts’ 2019 poetry collection “FELON,” winner of the NAACP Image Award. Each bookcase is handcrafted out of maple, walnut, or cherry and is

Kwame O. Pierce, 49, Son of NJ Guide’s Associate Editor

By Rosaland Tyler NJG Associate Editor Special to

the New Journal and Guide

Kwame Oteke Pierce, age 49, died on March 6, 2024 at Sentara Norfolk General after experiencing a lengthy illness with double pneumonia and COVID.

He was the son of Milton E. Pierce and Rosaland Tyler of Virginia Beach. He was predeceased by his grandparents, the late James T. and Harriett Pierce of Norfolk, and Irene C. Fain of Morristown, Tenn. His grandfather, Robert H. Fain Jr. of Morristown, Tenn, is 98.

He taught at Bowie State University in Maryland, Virginia Union in Richmond, and Chowan

College in Murfreesboro, N. C. He earned a master’s degree in optical engineering at Norfolk State University. He earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering mathematics at St. Augustine’s University in Raleigh. He was the recipient of a summer fellowship at Jefferson Lab in Newport News. He received the Tom Joyner Morning Show Scholarship while enrolled at St. Augustine’s. He enjoyed tennis, documentaries, and delving into life’s mysteries. He was warm, outgoing and loved being around family and close friends. He will be dearly missed.

Survivors include one son, Isaac Pierce (Jessica) of Raleigh, N.C.; one sister Ivy Branch (Chloe) of

Baltimore; one brother Sekou Tyler (Kim and Kinsley) of Nashville, Tenn.; aunts, Saundra Pierce (his second mother) of Chesapeake, Dr. Althia Ali, Dr. Juanita Fain, Angelia Fain, Anna Fain, Loretta Hulin (Bernard); cousins, Robert Fain IV of Chicago, Derrick Graves of Detroit, Andrea Smith (Curtis, Samantha, Sloane), Harriett Shearin (Chris), Aleta Williams (Eric, Cari, Dorian, Levi); Reed Pierce (Airaine and Taylor), Rena Canty, (Aaron, Ahmaad and Ahmyah), Dr. Fatimah Bailey; Omar, Khadejah, Mariam, Jamelah, Patrick; Paul Pierce (Allison, Miles, Brandon); Adrian Johnson (Paul, Cameron, Casey, Chase); Lisa Morrison (William, Nicole); He had many nieces and nephews.

curved to contrast the straight lines and bars of prisons.

“These donations are so greatly appreciated by the Virginia Department of Corrections,” said VADOC Director Chad Dotson. “We all know the true inspiration books can bring to our lives, and I hope these libraries will bring messages of hope, inspiration, knowledge, and wisdom to the inmates at Buckingham and Dillwyn. Thank you to Mr. Betts and the Freedom Reads team for their donation, which will help to prepare inmates for successful reentry. That successful reentry in turn leads to longterm public safety in the Commonwealth.”

“I grew up in Virginia prisons and it was in those

cellblocks that I discovered a love for all that a good book can do for you,” said Freedom Reads Founder and CEO Reginald Dwayne Betts. “Bringing Freedom Libraries here, sharing my artistry with men I served time with, and hoping to be a part of this beacon of possibility we all need is a real honor. It was men in Virginia prisons that reminded me I mattered when I didn’t believe it to be true and this is something of a thank you.”

Books in the “Freedom Libraries” have been carefully curated through consultations with hundreds of poets, novelists, philosophers, teachers, friends, and voracious readers, and include works by contemporary poets, novelists, and essayists alongside classic works from Homer’s “The Odyssey” to the “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.”

For more information about Freedom Reads and the Freedom Libraries project, please visit https:// freedomreads.org.

WHM IN VA. BEACH BECKY LIVAS IS FEATURED VAACC ARTIST

VIRGINIA BEACH

In celebration of Women’s History Month, the Virginia AfricanAmerican Cultural Center (VAACC) will present its highly acclaimed Virtual Artist Masterpiece Series both virtually and in person on March 21 at 7 p.m.. The live event will take place at the Zeiders American Dream Theater. The featured artist is Ms. Becky Livas, the first

African-American, female TV and radio newscaster and TV show producer in Hampton Roads. Hosted by VAACC Director of Programming, Crystal Sessoms, the series focuses on the life and career of artists from the Hampton Roads area and beyond. The event ends with an audience Q&A.

To register, logo onto www.vaaccvb.org or call VAACC at (757) 707-8478.

Reginald Dwayne Betts

PROFESSOR EMERITUS OF SOCIOLOGY VIRGINIA TECH

Dr. Wornie Reed is away this week and will be returning at a later date.

By Marc H. Morial

To Be Equal (TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM)

“We’re building an America where we recognize the inherent dignity of every single person, and where every American has the chance to live a life of purpose and meaning. This is my vision for the future.”

– President Joe Biden, 2024 State of Black America

Before he was elected President of the United States, Joe Biden made history by becoming the first major-party general election candidate to develop an agenda for Black America:

Lift Every Voice,

On his first day in office, he made history again by signing Executive Order 13985, Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities, which declared “Equal opportunity is the bedrock of American democracy, and our diversity is one of our country’s greatest strengths.”

Acknowledging “the unbearable human costs of systemic racism,” the order made an unprecedented commitment to tackle inequality: “Affirmatively advancing equity, civil rights, racial justice, and equal opportunity is the responsibility of the whole of our Government.”

More than three years into his presidency, as he asks voters to elect him to another term, the National Urban League developed a special section of the 2024 State of Black America®, “Evaluation for Progress: Report on the Biden Harris Administration.”

In doing so, we honor the legacy of the man who

originated The State of Black America, Vernon Jordan, who passed away three years ago this week. The 1976 report was a scathing response to President Gerald Ford’s State of The Union Address, which failed to make a single mention of the plight of African-Americans.

“The slow but steady decline in racial cooperation and in the Black condition became, in 1975, a headlong rush into the deep pit of depression and hardship,” Jordan wrote. “The condition of Black Americans, once the benchmark of America’s commitment to equality in justice, is now the object of malign neglect and hostile disregard.”

In contrast, President Biden placed racial equity at the center of his Administration, committing that it would shape the legislation, regulations, federal investments, and agency actions his Administration championed. As our report makes clear, that commitment has resulted in meaningful policy changes for Black Americans across economic opportunity, education, health care, criminal justice, housing, the environment, and civil rights protections.

Candidate Biden promised to invest in Black America and improve the economy.

When President Biden took office, the unemployment rate was 6.3 percent. Today, it’s 3.7 percent. The Black unemployment rate was 9.2 percent. Today, it’s 5.3 percent.

Candidate Biden promised a cabinet and senior staff that reflects the soul of America. The Biden White House is the most diverse in American history, with nearly 50 percent of current appointees identifying as people of color. Most notably, his Vice President is the first Black woman in history to hold the office, and he appointed – as promised – the first Black woman Supreme Court Justice.

Candidate Biden promised to expand health care access. Under the Biden Administration, the Affordable Care Act has flourished. In the most recent enrollment period, more than 20 million Americans have signed up for plans, a recordbreaking eight million more enrollments than previously recorded. see Equity, page 5A

By Ben Jealous (TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM)

Imagine the neighborhood your family has lived in for more than 150 years being turned into a deteriorating flood zone. Now imagine the flooding was caused by the state. That is what is happening to the people of Elba, Alabama’s historic Black Shiloh community.

Thanks to the construction of an elevated highway through the community in 2018, residents are watching their homes be destroyed by flooding caused by the highway project.

“My house has already sunk two feet into the mud. I see my inheritance and my children’s American Dream being washed away and stolen,” says Pastor Timothy Williams.

Pastor Williams is a reverend and the owner of a restaurant and cleaning business. Like many other Shiloh residents, his family has been on this land dating back to Reconstruction. Now he and others in the community see their generational wealth disappearing before their eyes from property devaluation as well as the physical destruction of their homes.

Just eight feet away from Pastor Williams’ home, in the direction it is sinking, is a Southeast Gas Company natural gas pipeline. He has been told there is a possibility the sinking house could hit the gas line and blow the house up.

Pastor Williams’ story offers but a glimpse

In

Walt Carr

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

(TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM)

To add insult to injury, I heard a MAGA man say America is a joke after he had one time served as America’s President and could have fixed whatever he thought was wrong! Instead, he created a lot of problems! Wasn’t he the man who claims to have done so much for Americans? To his credit he didn’t say what he did was good or bad – but we Black people know the answer and would not be moved to his corner for a pair of strange gold sneakers with a big “T” on them –not when we Black people have the best sneakers with names like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, LaBron James and many others. We are so proud of the other names on sneakers, and it’s not just Black people’s names are on them!

At any rate, when I heard Charles Barkely’s statement about Black people wearing Trump’s mug shot merchandise as “freaking idiots,” and he should punch them. I am not a violent person, but I sure could understand what he meant. He admittedly clarified that what he meant when he said that he was not happy when Trump compares his plight with that of Black people. He said that is what he had a problem with. I did, too, and so did a lot of other Black people. Sneakers nor Trump

tee shirts will get a vote from Black people I know! The good part about the State of the Union speech of President Joe Biden is that he clarified why sensible people of all races should be supporting him even with the mistakes he’s made. President Biden gave a master class in reasons the MAGA folk don’t stand a chance when it comes to positive accomplishments for all the people.

To mention a few things, he truthfully told us that since he’s been President inflation has gone down. The price of gasoline has gone down. He supports the right of women to control our own body. He has forgiven student loans. He respects the rights of minorities. He placed women in numerous high-level positions.

He selected the first woman and first Black person to become Vice-President of our country. He kept Obama Care alive and is working to improve it. He stood up for Ukraine. He promised

President Biden gave a master class in reasons the MAGA folk don’t stand a chance when it comes to positive accomplishments for all the people.

success on the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. He hasn’t raped any women. He hasn’t tried to take more money from us by trying to sell us tacky sneakers claiming we’ll vote for him because Black people love sneakers! He doesn’t have 90+ charges that keep him going to Court more often than he spends time working for the people. He’s made health care cheaper. He’s bringing down the high cost of late fees on credit cards. He supports Unions and is the fi rst President to go on a picket line to support hard working people. He’s far from an angry old man like the MAGA guy. He’s opening an of fi ce to work against gun violence. He works to make America better and his term is not over yet! He proved that age ain’t nothing but a number!

Amb. Dr. E. Faye Williams, President of “The DickGregorySociety.Org.”

By Julianne Malveaux (TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM)

Remember the parable of the blind men and the elephant? As each approached an elephant and tried to describe it, they came up with wildly disparate answers. One thought it a snake, another a tree, another a trunk. Because they were blind, they could not see the big picture; they described the part of the elephant they could touch.

Inflation is something like that. People describe it based on the way it hits them, and it hits each family differently. Those with incomes below the median salary of $56,420 per year are hit hardest and most likely counting their pennies. Those with higher incomes shrug off some of the ways inflation hurts. But make no mistake, it hurts. Grocery prices are up by 25 percent in the past four years, so you are now spending $125 for food you paid $100 for four years ago. To be sure, inflation is waning.

Groceries increased by 2.6 percent between January 2023 and January 2024, compared to 10 percent the year before. The Federal Reserve has been grappling with ways to lower inflation, but they need help fixing supply chain issues and corporate greed. Still, inflation reminds us how disparate our lives are. Some chafe at inflation, while others shrug it off. Then, a corporate CEO, Gary Pilnick, who earns at least $4.9 million a year as CEO of Kellogg, offered a novel solution for families fighting inflation. Let

them eat cereal, he says. Really? Cereal, he says, is nutritious and delicious. And it’s also relatively cheap. A bowl of cereal and milk is not an adequate replacement for a protein, vegetable, and starch (say chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans), nor is it quite as rib-sticking. But Pilnick arrogantly and glibly dared offer a Marie Antoinette-like solution to family meal planning. Let them eat flakes. see Inflation, page 5A

Equity

Continued from page 4A

Parts of President Biden’s equity agenda, unfortunately, have been blocked by Congress and an ultraconservative Supreme Court. The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would have restored antidiscrimination protections in the Voting Rights Act that were gutted by the Supreme Court. The Freedom to Vote Act would have expanded opportunities to register to vote and cast a ballot, and it would have prevented voter suppression through partisan gerrymandering and unlawful voter purges. President Biden

Alabama

Continued from page 4A

Residents of the Shiloh community are educated … they are business owners … many of them are veterans. They have advantages that people in some other neighborhoods sacrificed to development do not have. But simply by speaking up and advocating for themselves, Shiloh residents have become targets of racist hate. There have been incidents of racial harassment ever since the community started receiving news coverage of their plight. A chilling reminder of what white supremacy looks like in the deep South.

Pastor Williams has seen it firsthand. His restaurant’s clientele is mostly white. One customer told him that he and others had been told to boycott the eatery because Williams had been vocal about the crisis facing the Shiloh community.

Elba, Alabama also happens to be the hometown of Dr. Robert Bullard. Dr. Bullard is known as the “Father of Environmental Justice.” He literally wrote the book – actually many books, including one titled “Highway Robbery” – on environmental racism. And his extensive scholarship has earned him a spot on the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council.

Now, Elba has become a textbook example of the

Inflation

Continued from page 4A

A 13-serving box of Kellogg’s Sugar Frosted Flakes costs $18.70, or about $1.45 a serving. Six ounces of milk costs about 40 cents. So a bowl of cereal costs $1.85, maybe more depending on the kind of milk you use (lowfat, almond, skim).

In contrast, a chicken leg, mashed potatoes, and green beans will run you about $2.50 a serving, and it has more protein than the cereal dinner, which may have as few as two grams of protein. I am trying to fi gure out what Pilnick was thinking or if he has any children. His rather glib response to many working families’ daily challenges was out of line, out of order, and highly self-serving.

Sure, some families occasionally do breakfast for dinner and even have fun with it. But offering fl akes is no solution for families who are fi ghting in fl ation. Pilnick has received appropriate fl ack for his careless remarks, but those remarks re fl ect how divided our nation is.

Some say, “Let them eat fl akes,” while others may not even be able to afford the fl akes the $4.9 million dollar-earning CEO so glibly offers. Cereal prices have risen 27 percent in the last four years, faster than other grocery prices. Flakes are not a nutritious substitute for a balanced meal; some are so laden with sugar that they are a health risk. Frosted fl akes, for example, have 13 grams

gave a landmark address in January 2022 in Georgia, ground zero for voting rights, where he called for an end to the Senate filibuster to prevent a minority of Senators from blocking these bills. Filibuster reform can be accomplished by a simple majority in the Senate, which Democrats had. Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona refused to change the filibuster rule for voting rights, however, blocking both bills. Please visit StateOfBlackAmerica.org to read the full evaluation of the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to racial justice, and follow our livestream on Tuesday, March 5, at 9 a.m. Eastern Time for a presentation of the entire report.

environmental harm of racist zoning and transportation policies Dr. Bullard has taught so many of us about. More than a mere twist of cosmic irony, it shows how pervasive the problem of environmental racism is –that the hometown of our nation’s great warrior for Environmental Justice, who has helped countless people and communities, is still vulnerable to its impacts.

Ultimately, the Alabama Department of Transportation and Governor Kay Ivey are the ones who have the ability and responsibility to fix it and compensate the community’s residents for all they have lost. So far all they have done is deny wrongdoing and dupe Shiloh residents into signing away their rights.

An ABC News investigation found the state “used an aggressive legal tool to prevent the residents – and future owners of their land – from the possibility of holding the state government accountable through the court system.” Pastor Williams and several other residents received settlements of $5,000 or less that the governor herself signed off on. Dr. Bullard has said he hopes 2024 will be the year for justice for Shiloh. As Pastor Williams and others from the community continue to sound the alarm and raise awareness, all of us should be joining them.

Ben Jealous is the Executive Director of the Sierra Club and a Professor of Practice at the University of Pennsylvania.

of sugar per serving. Healthy? Hardly. The COVID pandemic sparked in fl ationrelated challenges, and those challenges, while decreasing, continue. Wages have not risen as quickly as in fl ation has, and those on the bottom are encountering signi fi cant dif fi culties. Hunger is a national problem that requires income supplements for people experiencing poverty, like the child tax credit. It certainly doesn’t need the glib myopia of an intellectually challenged CEO who perhaps thought he was being cute. His solution, let them eat fl akes, is no solution for the already nutritionally threatened folk on the bottom, especially those with children.

Gary Pilnick earns more than $94,000 a week. He could donate some of that to a food bank. Letting them eat flakes is no solution to our nation’s hunger situation. Forty-four million of us, including one in five children, experience hunger. While we brag about our international prowess, the reality is that 12 countries – Finland, Ireland, Norway, France, the Netherlands, Japan, Sweden, Canada, the UK, Portugal, Switzerland, and Austria do better at providing citizens with nutritious meals. Instead of offering flakes, Pilnick should offer policy solutions. Or he should just shut up.

Dr. Julianne Malveaux is an economist and author based in Washington, DC. Contact her through juliannemalveaux.com.

TRUMP BELITTLED BLACK VOTERS IN SOUTH CAROLINA

By Shedrick Byrd

The New Journal and Guide published an article written by Stacy M. Brown a Senior National Correspondent for the National News Publishers Association. The article was about how Trump tried to woo Black people in South Carolina for their votes. The incident happened at the Black Conservatives Federation Gala in South Carolina.

After reading the article I was disturbed about Trump relegating all Black people as criminals like he is alleged to be. I took excerpts from Brown’s story to highlight some of what Trump said and the reaction he got from the Black people in the audience.

In his presentation to the audience he stated that the Black community supports him because they identify with the discrimination he claims he faces. He also said he got indicted a second time, a third time and more. That’s why the Black people like him because they share having been hurt so badly and discriminated against so much.

What disturbed me most was when I read

that Trump drew applause from the audience after he made those remarks. Brown wrote that Trump was attempting to equate his privileged legal battles with the systemic oppression endured by Black Americans throughout history. The article also stated that Trump, at one instance, pointing to his mugshot from the Fulton County election interference case, said his mugshot was a symbol embraced by the Black population implying they had a familiarity with such images. Brown wrote that in a tasteless attempt at humor, Trump made racially insensitive comments about the brightness of the lights on stage, stating that the lights were so bright in

As a Black man who has suffered discrimination and racism all my life, it affected me deeply to have three Black “leaders” hear Trump make all those degrading remarks and they did nothing.

his eyes that he couldn’t see too many people in the audience. He said that he could only see the Black people. He couldn’t see any white ones. He made the statement, “You see that’s how far I’ve come.”

In my view it should have been a statement of how far he hasn’t come. Republican Representatives, Byron Donald and Wesley Hunt and former Housing and Urban Secretary Ben Carson were there on stage with Trump also clapped at his remarks. As a Black man who has suffered discrimination and racism all my life, it affected me deeply to have three Black “leaders” hear Trump make all those degrading remarks and they did nothing. Trump was wrong and his remarks belittled all Black people including the three on stage with him. It doesn’t

matter whether you are a Black Democrat or Black Republican the racism in those remarks should have been addressed. I hope that Donald, Hunt, and Carson know that those belittling remarks were meant for them also.

I wrote this article hoping that the Black media will highlight and publish Brown’s article over and over so that as many Black people as possible can be made aware of who Trump really is. Trump, like his father has a history of discrimination against Black people from years ago. We certainly don’t want him in the White House again! The least we can do is not applaud him for his racist and slanderous remarks.

Shedrick Byrd is the author of the book The Mississippi Byrd, from Rural to Urban to Suburban and Beyond.

14TH AMENDMENT STILL BARS TRUMP

By Roy Perry-Bey VIRGINIA (UFJ)

In the aftermath of the events of January 6, 2021, in and around the U.S. Capitol, there have been calls for accountability for those who participated, as well as for those who may have helped instigate it. The breach of the U.S. Capitol resulted in numerous injuries, multiple deaths, and significant property damage.

It also delayed Congress’s constitutional duty of certifying electoral votes for President-elect Joseph Biden, the peaceful transfer of power and caused Capitol Police and other law enforcement personnel to evacuate the Vice President, his family and Members of Congress from the House and Senate floors to safer locations.

The criminally indicted, insurrectionist and Chief Confederate disgraced former secessionist President Donald John Trump must be stripped of

18 U.S.C. 2383 provides for 10 years in prison for anyone who “incites ... any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States.

his pension, perks, secret service protection, and disqualified from holding a security clearance and the office of President under Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Because Trump is disqualified, it would be a wrongful act under the Virginia Constitution and Election Code for the Secretary of Elections to list him as a candidate on the presidential primary ballot. A vast majority of Americans reject

the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling, and still believe that special prosecutor Jack Smith must file charges against treasonous and fraudster Trump under Federal, D.C. and State law or violating 18 U.S.C. 2383, which prohibits incitement of rebellion or insurrection. It provides for 10 years in prison for anyone who “incites ... any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof, or gives aid or comfort thereto; and 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2383, seditious conspiracy by conspiring “to oppose by force the authority [of the government],” and “by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States.”

Seditious conspiracy carries a 20year prison sentence. If convicted, Donald John Trump shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.

The 14th Amendment Insurrection clause still Bars Trump from Appearing on Ballots.

Relationships: Thoughts On “Books Before Boys” & Vice Versa

By Dennis Edwards News Anchor/Columnist

I responded recently to a young father on Facebook urging his very young daughter to get the books before getting involved with boys. To stay away from them. Decided to post my reaction here. I wonder what you think. Now, this is NOT an attempt to start a battle of the sexes or give voice to hating the opposite sex. It is an honest attempt to start a productive dialogue among fathers and mothers. Here goes!

Hello Leonard, Amused by your “Books Before Boys” post. A necessary to a degree I agree with. But you might want to think more deeply about the subject and its nuances. Consider this.

There’s a reason brothers on their way somewhere are opting for women not of color as well as women of color whose parents have strong relationships.

They appear to be taught from day one to adore their dads as well as how to maintain appropriate friendships with boys while growing up. Consequently, they grow up together with and develop healthy and

Please don’t fool yourself into believing your daughters will develop healthy relationships with the opposite sex when you tell them to stay away from all boys.

loving partnerships with promising boys as they grow academically and professionally.

From what I’ve seen, couples on the right track tend to pair up and settle into good and serious relationships by the 2nd yr in college. They hold onto and develop a trust and love relationship with each other through graduation and then marry.

Seems there may be some understanding culturally that the best time to find and stabilize a relationship long term with a guy going somewhere is on the way up. If, like many Black girls whose fathers tell them to stay away from boys like you just did, they do wait till graduation, getting a master’s degree or post graduate degree, etc., then the pool of eligible young men diminishes drastically each year. The good guys are gotten long before they

graduate.

It seems young Black women who finish college, go on to graduate school, and into the work force have a lower percentage or likelihood of finding a suitable mate.

Consequently, they’ll more than likely wind up alone for much of their lives since the pool of young men diminishes rapidly after graduation. Or they’ll wind up with a mismatched relationship with someone who’s not “equally yoked” that cannot last. (equally yoke figuratively meaning they are equally matched spiritually, socially and academically).

Think about what that will mean to your desire to have grandchildren and to have them brought up in the right kind of parental environment. Please don’t fool yourself into believing your daughters will develop

healthy relationships with the opposite sex when you tell them to stay away from all boys. Teach her the right kind of boys to get close to and how to appropriately manage their relationships. Teach her how to be a friend first and a helping partner by developing a trust relationship on the way to becoming a good wife. Do the same for your sons.

If your wife had listened to you now she might never have seen the man you would become. Fathers of daughters need to think before saying such things. Your statement demonizes innocent young boys and is counter to your own best interest.

Children, daughters included, come to go. Make it easier for them and better for your family’s future by teaching sons and daughter what to look for in a mate and how to foster, build and maintain a lasting relationship with a young man or woman.

Dennis Edwards is the Father of an adult son he’s immeasurably proud of; as well as, a multi-Virginia AP Broadcasters and Emmy Award Winning Radio and T.V. New Anchor/Producer/ Analyst with Richmond’s NewsRadio 1140 WRVA.

Shedrick Byrd

VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS GOES ONE-ON-ONE WITH NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

By Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer

Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris, spent about 10 minutes on Tuesday, Feb. 20, speaking to supporters at the Kingsley Association in East Liberty, adamant about replacing lead pipes in Pittsburgh, the state of Pennsylvania, and all around the country, in the fight for clean water, free of toxins.

To a hail of applause, Harris announced that $5.8 billion in funding, including more than $200 million specifically for Pennsylvania, was being allotted for clean water infrastructure from President Joe Biden’s Investing in America agenda. The announcement brought the total amount of clean water funding announced by the Environmental Protection Agency from President Biden’s Infrastructure Law to $22 billion. Overall, the Infrastructure Law will invest over $50 billion in total to upgrade America’s water infrastructure, the largest investment in clean water in American history.

But then, the U.S.’ s first woman vice president, and first Black woman vice president, made her way to the second floor of the Kingsley Association building to speak exclusively with the New Pittsburgh Courier.

“Hello Mr. Doss, how are you?” Harris said. “It’s good to be with you.”

Rod Doss, the longtime executive editor and publisher of The Courier, greeted Harris and told her, “I’m staring at history. This is truly a moment for me.”

Harris told Doss that she was glad to have some time to talk, “because your paper, and what you do in terms of the voice that it represents, and a trusted voice, is so important.”

For more than 100 years,

Pittsburgh’s AfricanAmerican community has counted on The Courier to cover the most important stories that affect the Black community, and it was obvious that fact wasn’t lost on the vice president.

No questions were outof-bounds. No questions were shared with Harris beforehand. Courier managing editor Rob Taylor Jr., who was also part of the exclusive interview, told Harris she seemed passionate and driven to tackle the lead pipes and clean water issue head-on, particularly in Black communities.

Speaking specifically to the Infrastructure Law, officially signed into law by President Biden in November 2021, Harris said that the funding to fix sidewalks or replace lead pipes not only creates jobs, or in her words, “an economy around the upgrades,” but the “other piece of the lead pipes issue is absolutely about public health. It’s about the physical well-being, about the well-being of families and we have to take that seriously.”

Doss then addressed the issue that has been permeating throughout the nation, brought more to light by a popular Black radio personality, Charlamagne Tha God. The radio personality said on Feb. 18 on ABC News’

100+ Black Women Call For End To Fani Willis Witch Hunt

(From www.dogonvillage. com)

More than 100 women have signed on to a statement in support of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. Signers include Shirley Franklin, former Atlanta Mayor, and civil rights leader, Helen Butler. The statement reads in part as follows:

“We, the undersigned women, fully support Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and call for an immediate end to the unwarranted investigations into her personal life, as it bears no relevance to her professional responsibilities.

“We are currently witnessing a concerted effort to scrutinize and attack Black women in positions of power, finding any issue or flaw, no matter how small, to use against them. In Charles M. Blow’s New York Times column, “The Persecution of Harvard’s Claudine Gay,’ he refers to this phenomenon as the “Wonder Woman requirement” – the relentless pursuit of the slightest imperfections to persecute Black women who rise to high positions.

“We knew that the first Black woman to become the

district attorney in Fulton County, Georgia would face challenges, especially when prosecuting powerful men. We simply request that DA Fani Willis be afforded the same dignity and respect as her peers, or merely treated with the same level of respect as previously shown to her. There was no scrutiny of her personal life when she prosecuted and locked up Black teachers, or when she indicted Black gang members.

“Black women have endured centuries of oppression, from slavery and Jim Crow to various forms of bias. We’ve been the backbone of the fight for civil rights and women’s rights. We’ve shouldered the burden of holding families together amidst the fallout from a welfare system that divided us, the scourge of drugs, and mass incarceration that took our fathers, husbands, and sons away. We continue the tireless battle against police brutality, inequality, and voter suppression.

“As the brave freedom fighter, Fannie Lou Hamer declared, “we are sick and tired of being sick and tired.” Let Fani Willis’ private life remain exactly that – private. Stop the witch hunt.” For a list of signers visit www.dogonvillage.com.

“This Week” that he felt there was a general apathy from younger voters about either of the presidential candidates, Donald Trump or President Biden.

Moreover, Charlamagne Tha God called President Biden “an uninspiring candidate.”

Doss pressed Harris on that perceived growing lack of enthusiasm from young voters as it relates to supporting the Democratic Party and the Biden/Harris ticket.

Harris prefaced her response by saying she hadn’t seen the Charlamagne Tha God interview on ABC News.

But in general terms, “we are up for re-election, and any candidate up for election or re-election has to earn the votes, and I’m very clear about that.

Which is why I’m here in Pittsburgh, which is why I’m traveling around the country to make sure that people know what we have accomplished in response to what they asked us to do in 2020, because people turned out in record numbers, young

voters turned out in record numbers ... and they said,

‘fix the lead pipes.’

“They said in the Black community, ‘we are 60 percent more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes, bring down the cost of insulin for our seniors,’ and we’ve now capped the cost of insulin at $35 dollars a month. Folks said deal with the fact that HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) are centers of academic excellence, but don’t necessarily have the kind of endowments that other universities do ... we have now dedicated over $7 billion to HBCUs.”

Harris continued: “People said deal with Black unemployment; we now have the lowest Black unemployment in the history because of the work that we have done. That’s about building jobs and creating opportunities for not only employment, but for wealth building. People said deal with the fact that Black businesses don’t get federal contracts in the same way that other businesses do. We have made a pledge which we are on track now to achieving, increasing federal contracts by 50 percent to minority-owned businesses.

FROMPART-TIMETELLER TOBRANCHMANAGER

Shelby Tolliver At United Bank Has History

Special to the New Journal and Guide

For Shelby Tolliver, each day of work is a new adventure. Just a few months shy of 30 years on the job, there isn’t much by way of banking experience that Tolliver hasn’t seen. However, that doesn’t mean she plans to stop learning and growing anytime soon.

Banking is the only job Tolliver has ever had, and the only one she’s ever wanted. She began her career fresh out of high school as a part-time teller at Essex Bank while studying business at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College. However, when a full-time role became available, Tolliver knew it would be a mistake not to take the opportunity. She concluded her studies and jumped in feet first to the world of banking.

Over the past three decades, she’s had her pick of branch roles, including working as a customer service representative, head teller, bank trainer, assistant branch manager, and branch administration officer. She has also held roles on the Retail Management team including managing the credit card program and supporting retail operations.

Her career with Essex spanned 27 years until she joined United through the banks’ 2021 merger. Today, Tolliver is a Branch Manager, AVP at United’s Virginia Center location in Glen Allen, Va. In this role, she is responsible for managing the functions of a full-service branch including maintaining existing – and developing new – customer relationships, both personal and business, for the Bank. And while she takes great care to ensure her branch

is staying on track with sales performance objectives, she also makes a point to focus on the coaching and development of her branch team, and ensuring the communication of, and adherence to, best practices, policies, procedures, and regulation for bank success.

Outside of work, Tolliver looks for enrichment opportunities to better herself and her community. In 2009, she graduated from the Virginia Bankers School of Bank Management, which is held in cooperation with the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. She also enjoys participating in community events hosted by United Bank and local non-profits, most recently volunteering with Caring Closet in Richmond.

SHELBY’S EXPERIENCE AS A BLACK LEADER

Are there any leaders who inspired you to lead?

There were not many women of color in management roles when I first started in banking. However, I do remember four women in supervisory positions within the company that I looked

Outside of work, Tolliver looks for enrichment opportunities to better herself and her community.

up to. They were extremely knowledgeable and exemplified absolute professionalism. They were the very personification of leading with integrity in their areas of expertise and I’ll always attribute watching them as what inspired me to want to go even further in the banking industry!

What has your experience been like as a Black leader? It has not been without challenges but overall, it has been highly rewarding. I am very fortunate to be in a position where I can give back and help others in meaningful ways. I enjoy mentoring my team and helping them to reach their individual professional goals, and helping customers find solutions to their banking needs and forming lasting relationships. I also enjoy my interactions with the community we serve.

What advice do you have for young people of color just starting their careers?

My advice would be to continue to challenge yourself. It may feel uncomfortable at first, but challenging yourself promotes professional growth. Set meaningful and impactful goals, and then do the work to reach them. But overall, just continue to work hard, because in the end it will 100 percent pay off.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks with Courier editor and publisher Rod Doss, Feb. 20, 2024.

Photo: RobTaylorJr.

MARCH IS WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH Black Lady Beekeepers & Pollinator Educators Prepare For The Annual Honeybee Season

By Melissa Spellman Staff Reporter New Journal and Guide

As the season begins to shift to the warmth of spring Black lady beekeepers and bee enthusiasts Carrie “Honeybee” Brown and Brittany McCoy are preparing for bee season.

The most prevalent species of bees in Virginia is the honeybee. A fascinating fact, on average a hive will have about 60,000 bees with almost 99 percent being female. March is Woman’s History Month, so it is fitting to highlight two local Black women beekeepers, their work as pollinator educators, and the matriarchal community of bees.

Carrie “Honeybee” Brown works as a Success Coach at Norfolk State University’s Spartan Success Center. However, her passion lies with plants, insects, nature, more specifically honeybees.

“I am a lover of the bees,” said Brown. She continued, “I have been keeping bees for over 15 years and a pollinator educator for over 15 years.”

Brown was first introduced to bees while spending the summer with her young niece who became fascinated with the buzzing creatures. “I got into bees because my niece at that time was 5 years old and her neighbor had bees and she was hypnotized by them,” said Brown.

Astonished at her niece’s interest in the bees, Brown decided when her niece came to visit, she would have a surprise for her. “The surprise was a hive and a garden in my backyard.

When she lifted the lid, I saw the bees and I heard them make this humming noise; it sounded like a thunderstorm, and I fell in love with it.”

I knew that through the beekeeping that would be something that we would share – just the two of us because everyone else was afraid, but she was not,” said Brown.

Brittany McCoy is an Operation Specialist II in NSU’s Writing Center. McCoy and Brown are colleagues who met while working at NSU’s Library. McCoy says that coming over to help a friend is how she got into beekeeping. One day Brown asked McCoy to

come over to her house to help her with something. McCoy agreed, only to find out once she arrived, that it was a beehive.

“When she lifted the lid, I saw the bees and I heard them make this humming noise; it sounded like a thunderstorm, and I fell in love with it,” said McCoy. The coworkers bonded over the honeybees and all things nature. Thus, the mentor-mentee friendship blossomed.

“It started with bees. I

I am a lover of the bees. I have been keeping bees for over 15 years and a pollinator educator for over 15 years.”

Everybody has their role to do and no one has anything that’s more important.”

am in a course now to be a pollinator stewardess and learn about different pollinators but I’m more fascinated with working with honeybees,” said McCoy.

Brown and McCoy are pollinator educators which is someone who educates others about the power of pollination. A pollinator stewardess is a certification received stating one’s knowledge about pollination and pollinators. A pollinator stewardess educates anybody who’s interested in how different insects pollinate and how important pollination is.

Once bee season begins, “That’s when they really begin forging, and start pollinating and bringing it back home to the hive, and they have new babies,” said McCoy.

Brown detailed what happens during the start of bee season. “In the beekeeping world the beekeepers are ready to open their hive and make sure that the queen made it through the winter,” said Brown. In the winter the bees keep the queen warm. Most hives have only one queen bee. “All the bees in the hive sacrifice their life to keep the queen warm. They ball themselves up surrounding her to keep her warm all winter so that when spring comes, she can start her job. Her job is to begin laying eggs,” Brown explained. She went on to say, “It’s the baby bees that make the wax to make more combs. The hive turns into a nursery jammed full of baby bees and eggs. It’s the forger bees that go outside of the hive. They go out collecting pollen and nectar to help support the hive. It’s all hands-on deck. It’s just like a company starting up everybody already knows their assignment and they get to it,” said Brown. Ever wonder how the combs in a beehive are formed? McCoy explained, “It’s the baby bees that produce wax to make the hive or hexagon shapes we see in the beehive. The honeycomb starts off as circle shapes, the heat of the bees causes the circles to melt and merge together and you get the hexagon shape.”

Brown describes the work of the bees as “The joy of seeing God’s best example of a highly functioning team.

She broke down some of the duties in the hive, “The forgers have to forge the food to give to the nurse bees to feed the baby bees. The queen has to lay her eggs. The undertaker bees have to keep the hive clean and take the dead bees out. The male bees get to mate with the queen,” said Brown. The work of this highly functioning team is essential to nature and human survival.

Bees are vital to our sustainability. Brown and McCoy shared that if we lose the bees, humans will die three to four years after.

“That’s how important they are. They pollinate and that’s how we grow our vegetables and our food. Without bees doing what they need to do as far as pollinating we will lose our natural resources, vegetation, flowers, and we lose grass,” said McCoy. Livestock eat grass and without grass livestock will die off. There won’t be any food left.

Brown noted several bee facts, “Bees are not out to sting you. Bees have a full-time job of supporting the hive. Other bees are pollinators that really don’t sting such as the carpenter bee and the mason bee. The mason bee all she does is pollinate.”

Brown says there are over 17,000 species of bees. “There are so many different types of bees now that are almost extinct or becoming extinct. We are not only trying to save the honeybee but the other pollinators that are having a tough time due to habitat destruction, different diseases they come in contact with, pesticides, and humans,” declared Brown.

The pollinator educators noted that since what used to happen naturally has changed, pollinators now may be trucked to the bee hives do their jobs. “It’s kind of scary if you think about it. People aren’t really paying attention to it, and they don’t realize how things have become,” said McCoy.

“It’s a billion-dollar industry where they have trucks full of honeybees that they take from orchard to field to make sure that the pollination happens,” said Brown.

She continued, “It’s a huge almond crop in California and most of the almond crop is pollinated by honeybees brought into California.”

She noted that cranberry farms up the East Coast also have honeybees brought in to pollinate their crops. In Japan hand pollination goes on where they take a feather and pollinate the different fruit trees.

There are simple ways we all can contribute

– Carrie “Honeybee” Brown

to pollination and bee livelihood. McCoy said we all can help just by, “Planting more wildflowers. Weeds in the grass are OK. Don’t be so urgent to rake up leaves because ground bees like to sit up under leaves that are on the ground.”

There are local beekeeping clubs for people who want to be beekeepers and handle the bees. There are also programs where people talk about plants and pollination and they just want to do the pollination habitat, the flower part of it.

Brown and McCoy will be hosting a Hive Raising. They need volunteers to come out and put the six hives together. Brown explained where the concept of hive raising comes from. “In the Amish and the Pennsylvania Dutch community, they have barn raisings where everyone in the community gets together whenever someone gets a new barn. Everyone comes together and they eat, and they raise the barn,” said Brown.

It’s a community project that benefits that farming community. “It goes back to a passage about with many hands it makes light work. It’s about the blessing of having people come together and fellowship. It’s really for the good of the community. We want to do the same thing but fashion it around putting together a hive,” said Brown.

On Earth Day, Monday, April 22, they will be giving out seeds on Norfolk State’s Campus. Brown and McCoy will also host a Bee Meet and Greet where the public can bring their bee questions.

To get involved or participate in the Hive Raising contact Carrie “Honeybee” Brown or Brittany McCoy on Instagram @ pollinatoreducator.

Bees are not out to sting you. Bees have a full-time job of supporting the hive. Other bees are pollinators that really don’t sting such as the carpenter bee and the mason bee. The mason bee –all she does is pollinate.”

– Carrie “Honeybee” Brown

Beekeepers Carrie “Honeybee” Brown and Brittany McCoy

Photo: Courtesy

Photo: Courtesy

Photo: Courtesy

– Brittany McCoy

Ches. Sheriff’s Office Raises $26,000 For Special Olympics

Special to the New Journal and Guide

CHESAPEAKE

The results are in! The Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office’s 8th Annual “Dancing With The Athletes” fundraiser raised over $26,000 for Special Olympics Virginia (SOVA)! The glittering dance

competition took over the Chesapeake Conference Center on March 2, 2024; and what a show it was!

Undersheriff Dave Rosado and Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Pascal emceed the event as 12 first responders and 12 SOVA athletes teamed up to compete in a “Dancing With the Stars”-like

competition. This year’s competition featured first responders from the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office, Chesapeake Fire Department, Norfolk Sheriff’s Office, Virginia Beach Police Department, and the Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office.

Nyelly Rivera and Deputy

J. Johnson (CSO) had the crowd roaring as they danced to “Single Ladies.” For their performance, they took home the coveted Mirrorball Trophy. Congratulations to our top fundraisers Mary Miller and Deputy T. Kirkpatrick (CSO) who raised more than $3,500 for Special Olympics Virginia!

MEAC

Continued from page 1A

Mayor Kenneth Cooper Alexander, Ph.D. expressed his enthusiasm for the extended partnership, “Norfolk has proudly served as the host city for the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference since 2013 and we look forward to continuing that partnership for the next three years. As home to both MEAC and Norfolk State University, Norfolk is the ideal location for this tournament as a distinct and dynamic destination offering a unique experience for the alumni, student athletes, and fans.”

The MEAC Basketball Tournament has been held in various cities, including in WinstonSalem, N.C., Durham, N.C., Greensboro, N.C., Charlotte, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Tallahassee, Fla., Richmond, Va., and Raleigh, N.C.

The MEAC Basketball Tournament, featuring eight Division I historically Black colleges and universities, is a singleelimination championship, will have its quarterfinal and semifinal games streamed live on ESPN+. The men’s championship will be broadcast live on ESPN2, and the women’s finale will be live on ESPN+ and air on ESPNU the following day. Both the men’s and women’s champions will secure an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Tournament.

MEAC is in its 53rd year of intercollegiate competition with the 2023-

24 academic school year. Located in Norfolk, Va., the MEAC is comprised of eight outstanding historically Black institutions across the Atlantic coastline: Coppin State University, Delaware State University, Howard University, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Morgan State University, Norfolk State University, North Carolina Central University and South Carolina State University.

Biden

Continued from page 1A

Biden reduced the deficit by more than $1.7 trillion – the most substantial decline in American history. “His reforms targeting Big Pharma and corporations are projected to further reduce the deficit by

hundreds of billions over the next decade,” the White House stated. The president’s budget provides a comprehensive blueprint to continue the upward trajectory, addressing critical issues highlighted in his State of the Union address. The agenda includes:

President Biden Unveils

Ambitious Budget Focused on Investing in America, Cutting Costs,

and Strengthening Social ProgramsGrowing the economy.

Lowering costs for families.

Protecting and strengthening Medicare and Social Security.

Reducing the deficit by nearly $3 trillion over the next decade. Importantly, no individual earning less than $400,000 a year will face new taxes. In contrast,

Republican-led Congress has proposed policies that would threaten the advancements made by President Biden’s administration by adding $3 trillion to the national debt over the next ten years. The president has called on Republicans to provide a detailed plan outlining how they intend to cover the costs of their proposals without burdening working families.

All In A Day’s Work!

Photo: Courtesy

Undersheriff Dave Rosado and Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Pascal

Photo: Courtesy

SECTION B

MEAC KICKS OFF CONFERENCE WEEK WITH 10TH BASKETBALL YOUTH CLINIC

NORFOLK

The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference kicked off a week of festivities surrounding the conference’s men’s and women’s basketball tournaments in Norfolk with a youth basketball clinic on Monday, March 11.

Now in its 12th year in Norfolk, Virginia, the MEAC Basketball Tournament extends beyond the court, offering a diverse range of

activities throughout the city. These events include youth initiatives, student development opportunities, engaging fun activities, and a special screening of Spike Lee’s classic 1988 film School Daze.

The MEAC Basketball Youth Clinic featured the head coaches from the eight member institutions who provided tips and tricks of the game, while also running participants through various

developmental drills. This year, the MEAC partnered with Grand Furniture, which gave away a sleeping mattress to one lucky participant.

The Youth Clinic is one of the many tournamentweek events being put on by the MEAC this year, in conjunction with its Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournament, taking place from March 13-16 at the Norfolk Scope Arena.

“We take pride not only in how we celebrate and lift up the achievements of our student-athletes, but also the communities we cultivate,” said MEAC Commissioner Sonja Stills. “The activities we’ve launched around this year’s basketball tournament provide more opportunities for MEAC fans to unite as one MEAC Nation while we crown our men’s and women’s basketball champions.”

CITY OF NEWPORT NEWS RENAMES STREET FOR NBA GIANT ALLEN IVERSON

By Rosaland Tyler

Associate Editor

New Journal and Guide

NEWPORT NEWS

The section of 16th Street that stretches from Wickham Avenue to Walnut Avenue in Newport News was recently renamed “Allen Iverson Way,” at a ceremony that was attended by Newport News Mayor Phillip Jones, Gov. Glen Youngkin, Congressman Bobby Scott, local public officials and celebrities.

Iverson, an NBA player excelled for 14 seasons as

a shooting guard and point guard. In 1997, he was named NBA Rookie of the year and was an 11-time NBA All-Star.

“Y’all should feel good about this accomplishment too because y’all molded me,” Iverson said at the recent ceremony, explaining the significance of the street’s new name.

Jones said, “He’s one of our native sons and we’re proud to honor him today.”

Iverson, who has ties growing up in the Southeast community of Newport News where the street is located, attended

high school in Hampton. He played at Georgetown University before becoming the No. 1 pick in the 1996 NBA draft joining the Philadelphia 76ers.

Youngkin proclaimed March 5 as “Allen Iverson Day.”

“Doing it your way. Doing it the right way and understanding that there are going to be some stumbling blocks in life,” he explained. “Be better than Allen Iverson, try your hardest not to make the same mistakes that I made.”

During the ceremony, Iverson tearfully expressed

his gratitude to his family.

“My mom told me when I was 8 that I could be anything I wanted to be, and I actually believed her,” said Iverson. “And I know a lot of times we’re taught about being role models and it’s always about the kids, but it’s for every age group. You can be whatever you want to be. It’s going to happen when God wants it to happen. Your dream can come true when you’re over 50.”

Iverson plans to unveil a namesake sculpture on April 12.

VIETNAM VETERANS RECOGNITION DAY AT NSU

NORFOLK

On March 29, 2024, a recognition and pinning ceremony honoring Veterans of the Vietnam War will take place at NSU in the Student Center Room 138AB at 9 a.m. The program is sponsored by the NSU Office of Alumni Relations and

Annual Giving, the Military Services & Veterans Affairs Office and the NSUAA-Military Alumni Chapter Foundation, Inc. Veterans must have served on active duty during Nov. 1, 1965 to May 15, 1975, regardless of locations. Those who have received

a label pin in the past are invited; however, veterans are authorized only one pin.

RSVP by March 22, 2024 to alumnirelations.nsu.edu/ VietnamWar-RecognitionPinning For more information, email smithsonya@gmail.com

SMALL BUSINESS DIRECTORY

GET NOTICED AND PLACE A SMALL BUSINESS AD IN THE GUIDE.

RATES STARTING AS LOW AS $155 PER MONTH

COLORISM

BY DELORES DUDLEY HAMPTON ROADS ʼ POET,

“Colorism” is a term that is used to discern an individual personʼs skin tone, And it would not carry a stigma if its literal meaning was but an enigma, instead of being a label of the best or worst of which person can sit at the table of those noted as the elite or cornerstone.

For “HUE” seems to be taught to children as some colors being nicer than others, and unfortunately a dialogue will begin, and colors and features in media all around us display only colors that some say are those that in life will help one to be accepted and to “WIN”

Now, in BLACK HISTORY, when some wanted to keep slaves divided, “HUE” was used as a tool, for the mix raced and white skinned Black was seen by some as socially acceptable more than the dark browned or ebony Blacks as a rule.

“O,” of course, this was just a cruel way of a “divide and fall” tactic that some slave owners decided to play, for in so doing, some Blacks began to dislike one another instead of uniting and fighting their real enemy every day.

And now, after all these years, though millions of Blacks and others too do understand that a personʼs entire being is so much more than only hue,

Yet we still hear children and many teens put down others with color comments like you are too Black, too white, too red and too yellowish or too tan and yet still also too pale too, and then they so mockingly ask that person, “Man, Are you a JEW?”

Some day, I hope that we will end COLORISMʼS humiliation and see ourselves as FATHER, GODʼS MOST BEAUTIFUL CREATION who though we are many are defined as HUMANKINDʼS GREAT MULTI-COLORED NATION and realize that from only dust came every last one of us, and open our eyes that in love we shall see kindness, decency, and integrity, And if we judge another person on his or her every part, Let us see the depth of oneʼs being and the color of each personʼs HEART.

Sometimes

your

mission

the financial support your nonprofit

Sometimes you might feel despondent or

angry about a lack of

You’re

right, but not

Such is

sometimes you’re up, sometimes you’re down.

offer suggestions for what you can do when you feel nothing is going your way. We believe there’s always something you can do to advance your fundraising.

Here are 12 suggestions to consider: find one to try today and save the others for another day. First, know your fundraising priorities and how much you need to raise. Knowing one without the other isn’t very helpful, and planning to do what you can with what you get is not a proactive solution.

Second, know the impact your organization will make when fundraising goals are met. Knowing what your destination looks like can motivate how you communicate,

and which actions you take. Third, know where you are today. Do this by reviewing fundraising progress reports. Fourth, share those progress reports with your team, both staff and volunteers. The fifth action you can take is to meet with prospective major donors to share information about your nonprofit, encourage their support, and, at the right time, ask for financial support. Notice that this is number five and not number one: get grounded in your work, vision, and team before you start talking with people. Actions onethrough-four are your warmup program.

Here are seven more actions – these can become part of who you are as a leader and can change the culture of your nonprofit. Number six - create a climate of openness, accountability, and transparency. These are to fundraising what water is to a fish – you cannot function without them. Suggestion number eight pays long-term dividends: communicate regularly with your board chair and board members. This can jump start you out of a slump. Have something good

Dominion Energy and Library of Virginia Honor Four Leaders

RICHMOND Dominion Energy

throughout the program’s history.

share stories they feel may be missing from the mainstream narrative.

to share and a question to ask. Getting ideas and suggestions – along with engagement – from your board can recharge what is possible. Here’s number eight – increase your energy by reaching out to current donors to express your gratitude and share an update. You don’t need a special occasion – just reach out. Number nine, reach out to your staff as well. Say “thank you” and say it often. Number ten takes things a step farther: host an awareness and appreciation event to inform and thank supporters. When you’re feeling optimistic try our eleventh suggestion: host a “How well am I doing” session where staff and volunteers can share their feedback and suggestions. Finally, you can always take to social media and share a story or two about the impact your nonprofit makes. What’s most important is to do something. Take action when you feel confident and take action when you don’t. There’s always something you can do.

Copyright 2024 – Mel and Pearl Shaw of Saad&Shaw

Charitable Foundation and the Library of Virginia recently hosted their 2024 Strong Men & Women in Virginia History program. The 12th annual program recognized four African-American leaders and their contributions to the Commonwealth. Also, four high school students were recognized as finalists in the Student Creative Expressions Contest finalists.

“We are proud to honor changemakers whose efforts have strengthened their communities for generations to come,” said Bill Murray, Senior Vice President for Corporate Affairs and Communications at Dominion Energy. “The Strong Men & Women in Virginia History honorees serve as role models for helping every community to thrive.” Members of the armed forces, engineers, medical professionals, community leaders, educators, writers, judges, and elected officials have been celebrated

The 2024 honorees were Captain Janet H.

Days, Navy Commanding Officer, Norfolk; R. Tyrone Foster, Sheriff, Bristol; Dr. Erma L. Freeman, Dentist, Mecklenburg; Gregory L. Robinson, NASA Project Director, Manassas The leaders were celebrated at a reception and private dinner in Richmond. Each honoree was provided the opportunity to choose a nonprofit to receive a $5,000 grant from the Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation. Along with the event, the Library of Virginia will host a traveling exhibition featuring each of the honorees and their biographical information. The exhibition will be on display at various community, business, and educational institutions throughout the year.

As part of the initiative, Virginia high school students can participate in a creative contest to honor outstanding African-Americans and

The 2024 Student Creative Expressions Contest finalists were Bezawit Abate, Potomac Senior HS, Prince William County; Justin Kidd Jones, Richmond Community HS, Richmond: Katelyn Luu, Cosby HS, Chesterfield County; and, Angelina Nair, Grafton HS, York County.

The winner of the student creative contest was Katelyn Luu from Cosby HS who wrote about Udine Smith Moore, known as “Dean of Black Women Composers.” In honor of her efforts, Katelyn’s school received $2,000. Each student received an Apple MacBook Air laptop and money for their school.

For more information on Strong Men & Women in Virginia History, photos and full honoree biographical information, go to: Strong Men & Women in Virginia History - Library of Virginia Education.

Hello and welcome to The Bridge Corner. Let’s review the bridge information we have covered since January, 2024.

First, two important concepts:

1) EVERY bid asks a question and 2) During the bidding, you ARE NOT playing your hand, you must discipline yourself to ANSWER your partner’s question(s). in order to “open” the auction for bidding, a player (the opener) must have at least 12 points. In order for the partner of the opening bidder to respond, this player (the responder) must have at least 5 points. The point system: Ace = 4 points; King = 3 points; Queen = 2 points; Jack = 1 point.

Next, the four (4) things

EVERY one-level (1) OPENING bid says:

1) Point count.

A. If opening 1 Club ©, 1 Diamond (D), 1 Heart (H), or 1 Spade (S), then opener is showing AT LEAST 12 points..

B. If opening 1 No Trump (N/T), opener is showing exactly 15 to 17 points.

2) The opening bid MUST show whether or not there is AT LEAST a five card Major suit (Spades or Hearts) in the hand.

3) The opener must ask his partner (the responder) for information about responder’s hand:

A. If opener bids 1 Club, 1 Diamond, or 1 No Trump, then opener is asking his partner if he has AT LEAST a four-card Spade or Heart suit (a four-card Major suit).

B. If opener bids 1 Spade or 1 Heart, then opener is asking his partner if partner has at least 3 cards in the opening Major suit

4) If opener bids 1 Club, 1 Diamond, 1 Heart, or 1 Spade, then opener is

asking partner if partner has AT LEAST 5 points in order to respond to opener’s bid. If opener bids 1 No Trump, then opener is asking partner if partner has AT LEAST 8 points in order to respond to opener’s bid. We then explained that the responder uses his hand to answer opener’s questions. In today’s session, we will cover the RANKING of the suits, the bid that declares GAME, and the number of POINTS needed for game.

RANKING: No Trump > Spade > Heart > Diamond > Cl ub 1 N/T can be bid OVER 1 Spade; 1 Spade can be bid OVER 1 Heart; 1 Heart can be bid OVER 1 Diamond; 1 Diamond can be bid OVER 1 Club. HOWEVER, a club is lower ranking than a Diamond, a Diamond is lower ranking than a Heart, a Heart is lower ranking than a Spade, and a Spade is lower ranking than No Trump. In order to bid Clubs over 1 Diamond, you MUST bid 2 Clubs; in order to bid Diamonds over 1 Heart, you MUST bid 2 Diamonds, etc.

GAME: 3 No Trump 4 Spades 4 Hearts 5 Diamonds 5 Clubs In order to make GAME, there must be AT LEAST 100 points in the Strain (suit) being bid. In No Trump, the first trick is worth 40 points and all other tricks in No Trump are worth 30 points; so, 40 (1st trick) + 30 (second trick) + 30 (third trick) = 100. It takes three tricks in No Trump to make GAME. In Spades & Hearts, each trick is worth 30 points; 4 X 30 = 120. In Diamonds & Clubs, each trick is worth 20 points; 5 X 20 = 100.

PLEASE NOTE: The partnership that gets the contract (the pair that makes

the highest bid) must win six tricks BEFORE they get to count the number of tricks they declared they would make. Example: North and South bid 3 Spades (part score because they do not have enough High Card Points for GAME which is 4 Spades); North & South must make 6 tricks ( these 6 tricks are called BOOK) + the 3 tricks they declared in their bid = total of 9 tricks.

POINTS:

25 to 26 - 3 No Trump

25 to 26 - 4 Spades

25 to 26 - 4 Hearts

28 to 29 - 5 Diamonds

28 to 29 - 5 Clubs

TIDEWATER BRIDGE CLUB

The Banks at Berkley 701 South Main Street, Norfolk, VA 23523

WEDNESDAYS

10:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

This is a locked building. An assigned person will be at the door to let you in until 11 a.m. Take the elevator up to the second floor Community Room. The game fee is $4 for 2 ½ or more tables. Bring your lunch. Light packaged snacks/water will be provided.

Winning Pairs from the March 6, 2024, Bridge Game

Lillye Holley –Leon Ragland (1)

Sandra Starkey –Gillis Watson (3)

Elva Taylor –Jennifer Douglas (2) Barbara Whitfield –Gloria Brown

Rose Ward – Wilma Horne

Any question, concerns, or comments, please feel free to contact Lawrence Owes, President, Tidewater Bridge Club at l.a.owes1@gmail. com.

Delores Dudley

Honorees R. Tyrone Foster, Capt. Janet H. Days, Dr. Erma L. Freeman and Gregory L. Robinson with Dominion Energy and Library of Virginia Representatives.

Photo: Courtesy

NORFOLK NAACP PLANS 2-DAY WOMEN & TEENS’ CONFERENCE

NORFOLK

The Norfolk Branch NAACP # 7098 is planning its first 3E: Engage, Embrace, Empower Women and Teen Conference on April 26-27, 2024.

Friday evening will be highlighted through artistic expressions and fellowship with the branch’s “Wine Down with my Sistas” Paint Night.

That will be followed on Saturday with an all day schedule of events, to include a “Sista Circle” facilitated by Honorable Senator Angelia WilliamsGraves, Juanita Jones, Sandra Little and Rev. Cherease Parker. Other activities include line dancing, the launch of W.I.N. (Women in the NAACP), and a salute to three community “Strong Black Woman Leadership” Awardees.

The event will take place at the Doubletree by Hilton Norfolk Airport located at 1500 N. Military Highway, Norfolk at 6:30 p.m. on Friday and breakfast begins at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, followed by a day of power packed affirmations, information and

empowerment sessions.

In an effort to bring this pilot conference to fruition, the donation for Friday is $75 (includes 16x20 canvas, heavy hors d’oeuvres, supplies, vendors, door prizes and more).

Saturday’s donation is $99 (includes buffet breakfast and buffet lunch, sista circles, line dance, swag bags, vendors, door prizes and more) or $149 entire weekend (all inclusive).

Any proceeds that may be garnered from this pilot project will be donated to the NAACP Youth Council to enhance and expand current leadership projects.

Please respond if you are able to attend so the committee can gladly reserve your seat(s). If you are unable to attend but would like to make a donation or sponsor a youth, senior or other, please feel free by making your check payable to NAACP #7098 and send to P.O. Box 7881, Norfolk 23509.

Stacie L. Armstead is the NAACP President and Jan Wynn House is the Committee Chair.

LOCAL VOICES

The 2024 Fight of Democracy’s Life

By Sean C. Bowers

Not facing forward, front, head-on, the surround sound music of the coming 2024 election is not an option for even the most tone deaf. We ignore the flashing “def-con 5” warning signs at our own peril.

The opposition to progress and demonizing progressivism is re-gressivism dragging America B(L) ACK again, making it all about the racial “others” offering continued chaos to our already beleaguered nation (in their version, of insanity.)

One party has collapsed under the weight of their own voters’ vengeance, because it turns out the steady stream of unrelenting lies, they

The New Journal and Guide’s Youth Citizen of the Month is a new initiative to acknowledge young citizens in the areas of education, leadership, compassion, and empathy for other people. This award is offered monthly to young citizens 12 to 18 years old who are thriving in their education, have shown improvement in their educational pursuits, exhibit leadership ability, and have demonstrated kindness to others.

Why do you think this young citizen deserves to be NJG Youth Citizen of the Month?

Tell us anything significant we should know about this nominee.

submissions to njguide@gmail.com

continue to feed their own voters has boomeranged on them in ironic twister clusters’ of fate. They have unleashed on themselves and the world this storm-booted torrential potential second coming of the dreaded door knock, crystal-night.

This group prefers violence, practicing the deceptive deepest dark thinking arts that brought us “3/5’s of a man.” You can see and hear the desire of this group to completely allow anything their former leaderless “Orange One” wantsunchecked, unbalanced, and unrestrained. Crazy only grows worse with practice.

Ineptitude is this guy’s main attribute, along with race-baiting and lying.

His followers blindly and obediently pay for his $50-million-in-legal-fees, defending the charges for the crimes he committed and has been charged with, never once asking, “Couldn’t we do better with a more bi-partisan approach instead of the scorched-earth-retributioncollision-course with disaster that is, 45?”

They want to overthrow democracy for this complete REJECT? NOPE, not on our American watch!

The rest of us may not have attended an Ivy League school and then felt the need to have all our records sealed. We may not have squandered half a billion dollars our daddy gave us, under (forced) duress. We may not have used 5 deferments for BONE(HEADED) SPURS to avoid serving our country, in Vietnam.

We may not have imported three immigrant wives and over 20 more sexual harassment “me-too” type cases, charges, allegations, decisions and convictions.

Americans have been described as many things, but there is one thing Americans are not. That is flat-out braindead, dumb, and gullible, with no memory of what transpired during the past ten years with the “Bellowing Inferno” on the American political landscape/ (45’s wanna-be-hell-scape.)

Waking up in their desired “Retribution America,” the Right comprises a wild-wildWest born-again, ReligiousRight family-style in the worst white-marish ways possible.

Our nation is made up of good people who have to NOW stand up and be counted, or you won’t get another vote that ever

There will NEVER be a king of America! It is not an option, unless we check out, don’t vote, or believe their mis-directive and the great-whitehype-machine, FOX NEWS, and the propaganda on the Right.

matters being counted, again. Dictators don’t count votes. They publish phony results like the 60, 45 LOST court cases in the 2020-2021 election. They amass 91 court cases against them. You really have to be trying to get that many charges in four different courts.

The guy is out-of-hismind, off-the-deep-end, out-of-bounds, a lifetime supply of late-hit-penalties, a completely delusionaryaggressive-smack-talker, all with-out backing any of it up factually or with any shreds of evidence. He blames the world, taking zero responsibility and accountability.

We will not let 45 bankrupt American values, corrupt morals, defy decency, humiliate honor, or make light of Gold-Star family’s pain EVER AGAIN. We will not surrender our valued traditions, our humanity, empathy and justice to serve him on bended knee. There will NEVER be a king of America! It is not an option, unless we check out, don’t vote, or believe their misdirective and the great-whitehype-machine, FOX NEWS, and the propaganda on the Right.

The Right and the Republican Party started the internal dumpster fire that is now demolishing their (own) party. They are on the wrong side of the issues, are not governing, and are attempting to unnecessarily break or shut down the country for good. Their antics and desire for total control may now burn them all out. Retardant, blindfold, anyone on the Right?

Sean C. Bowers has written the last 27 years for The New Journal and Guide, CHAMPIONING overcoming racism, sexism, classism, and religious persecution. More of his work can found by searching “Sean C. Bowers” on the NJ&G website, on social media at Linkedin.com or by email V1ZUAL1ZE@ aol.com NNPA 2019 Publisher of the Year, Brenda H. Andrews (NJ&G 37 years) has always been his publisher.

Sean C. Bowers

MOMENTS of MEDITATION

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

ONLY ONE PAUL!

Galatians 1:11-24. “God who set me apart from birth and called me by His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me.” Galatians 1:15-16a.

Paul’s personal witness was unique because he himself was “one of a kind.” God chose and used him in a very special way and for a ministry whose thrust was different from that of any of the other apostles, or any believer since.

Paul tells the Galatians a number of things about his call and ministry, designed to remind them of the special mission that God had entrusted to him, to which they had earlier responded. This portion of Galatians is autobiographical, as Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, cited facts that would reinforce his apostolic authority.

Paul’s Divine Revelation.

Paul tells of the Galatians not only that the Gospel he preached is unique, but that he received it in a unique way – by divine revelation.

First, he states that the Gospel is “not something that man made up” (Galatians 1:11). In other words, it did not have a human origin. Indeed. It is not something that people would be likely to originate even if they could, for the Gospel totally denies to human beings any merit for which salvation would be

their reward (Romans 8:23).

Second, Paul says that he did not receive the Gospel from any human being (Galatians 1:12a). Third, he did not receive the Gospel through instruction (v. 12b). He did not spend time with the disciples or other believers, studying doctrine and being taught what to believe.

Finally, Paul asserts that the Gospel that he preaches came to him “by revelation from Jesus Christ (v. 12c). This suggests something beyond his initial conversion experience on the Damascus road, fundamental and lifechanging though that was. It implies that there were

later occasions on which the risen Lord appeared to him, either in a vision or through a special work of the Holy Spirit in his heart and mind, revealing to him the Gospel that he was to proclaim. No other apostle could make this claim.

Paul’s Life In Judaism. Of all the people who might have been regarded as a potential preacher of the Gospel, Paul was the least likely candidate. He was a fanatical zealot for Judaism. He despised the gentile world and viewed faith in Jesus as a heresy that must be stamped out at any cost (v. 13; Acts 8:1-3; 9:12). No human being could have changed him into a loyal apostle of Jesus Christ, who loved Jesus supremely and whose primary mission for the rest of his life was to reach gentiles for Him. This was not man’s doing, but God’s.

Paul’s Conversion and Flight Into Arabia. Paul’s particular mission and special calling were to

preach the Gospel to the gentiles (Galatians 1:16a), which, of course, included the Galatians. It is striking that Paul, the most Jewish of men, should be the person divinely chosen to make this breakthrough. Paul sees this as yet another demonstration of the fact that his apostleship is not the result of human counsel, but of divine appointment (v. 16b).

Following his conversion, Paul left Damascus and headed for Arabia (v. 17). He had many things to think through, many ideas to revise, and many attitudes to change. Such changes, especially in a brilliant and intense personality like Paul’s cannot be expected to occur over-night. It was probably during this time that he received many of those additional revelations from the risen Christ that molded and shaped his outlook on time and eternity.

Paul’s Visit To Jerusalem. Paul tells of his initial contact with the other apostles,

Comedy Event At Open Altar Worship Center

VIRGINIA BEACH

As Women’s History

Month is being celebrated with various events, get ready to “Spring into Laughter” with Comedian ROSTA “REXY”

COLLINS on March 23, 2024 at 5 p.m. at the Open Altar Worship Center, 4992 Euclid Rd. #6, in Virginia Beach, VA. Collins is noted as the 2020 Hampton Roads Encore Awards-Nominated for Best Comedian.

Not only is Rosta “Rexy” Collins an Award Nominated Comedian, she’s also the owner of

Pop-of-Rexy, creating and customizing unique items for all occasions. She has appeared at The Funny Bone in Virginia Beach, and has served as co-host with some of the area’s funniest comedians.

Opening for Rosta “Rexy” Collins is none other than Hampton Roads’ own native-born Comedian Antonio A. Kelly. Save the Date and Plan to be in the house for an evening of good, clean laughter, fun, and more!

According to Collins, ”As long as God continues

to bless me with the ability to make others laugh, I’ll keep on doing it. So, when you’re looking for good clean Comedy, Rosta “Rexy” Collins ... yep, I’m your girl.” Rosta “Rexy” Collins was raised up in the Church, and has served in various capacities at Church, but mainly as a Choir Member, and Worship Leader. She is a woman of Faith, Service in the Community, and a loving wife and mother.

In Recognition of Women’s History Month this will be a FREE EVENT!

specifically Peter and James. The “three years” (v. 18) could be the time that had elapsed since his conversion, or since his departure into Arabia, or since his return to Damascus.

Paul further says that his visit with Peter was a short one only 15 days. This was hardly a long enough period for him to receive “in depth” instruction in the Gospel, but it would have provided an excellent opportunity for them to share their experiences and come to a

mutual understanding of one another and their missions. Paul makes the point that he “saw none of the other apostles” (v. 19) except James, the Lord’s half-brother. He wants to make it clear that he was dependent on no one not even the apostles – for the Gospel that he proclaimed. He regards this as of such great importance in his dealings with the Galatians that he takes a solemn oath before God that he is writing the truth (v. 20). see Paul, page 6B

– Publisher Brenda H. Andrews

FILM REVIEW: THE GREATEST NIGHT IN POP 2024 Sundance Film Festival

By Dwight Brown NNPA Newswire Film Critic

★ ★ ★ ★ (3 1/2 Stars)

How many music stars (45) were in the A&M studio on January 28, 1985, and what was that wattage like the night “We Are the World” was recorded? As one wag put it: “If a bomb lands on this place, John Denver is back on top!”

When Harry Belafonte beseeched Lionel Ritchie to help him raise money for hunger in Africa, he had no idea what would come. To his great surprise, Michael Jackson and Ritchie wrote the inspiring and very spiritual, pop gospel song “We are the World.” Then artists from around the country showed up to record their tune, which won a 1986 Grammy for “Song of the Year.”

Director/ cinematographer Bao Nyguyen expertly conducts new interviews with the recording session’s veterans (Dionne Warwick, Bruce Springsteen, Cyndi Lauper), displays precious glimpses of legends (Ray Charles, Bette Midler) and captures others in the depths of expressing their vocal insecurities. Huey Lewis confesses: “I was nervous out of my brain.”

Clips of Diana Ross and

Legendary artists. Legendary moment. Legendary song. For a certain generation, 1980s lovers and music fans, this is the show of shows. A pop music, pop culture milestone. You get what you’re looking for. You hear what you wanna hear. This nostalgic musical doc rocks as much as a live concert, but in the most divine, communal way.

Paul Simon singing around a piano as Stevie Wonder plays are priceless. And who knew that the vocal arranger Tom Bahler chose the singers who did solos based on voice textures, shifting between gritty raspy ones and soft ones for variety?

The communal singing that brings all the artists together is heartwarming. The gossip that’s revealed is still juicy: Sheila E swears she was only invited so they could snare Prince. And he

ghosted them! It’s also fascinating to learn that some of the recorded vocals weren’t perfect, or the singers at their best. Yet three months later, when the song premiered simultaneously on radio stations around the world, everything was flawless. Proving that studio engineers are magicians.

Recollecting how hot studio lights made everyone sweat and the room smell provides a nice dose of reality. And watching producer Quincy

FUN PUZZLE FOR YOUR LEISURE

Jones nurture and herd the musicians reveals both his artistry and diplomacy.

Every cherished moment is here. The emotions, creativity and magnitude of the all-night session are still a wonder. No superfluous footage (editor David Brodie) is shown over the film’s consistently entertaining 96-minute running time. None.

Legendary artists. Legendary moment. Legendary song. For a certain generation, 1980s lovers and music fans, this is the show of shows. A pop music, pop culture milestone. You get what you’re looking for. You hear what you wanna hear. This nostalgic musical doc rocks as much as a live concert, but in the most divine, communal way.

For more information about the Sundance Film Festival go to: https:// festival.sundance.org. Visit Film Critic Dwight Brown at DwightBrownInk.com

Paul

Continued from page 4B

Paul’s Ministry In Syria And Cilicia. Finally, before moving on in his reminiscences to a significant visit to Jerusalem, Paul remembers a time of ministry in Syria and Cilicia (v. 21). This is probably a reference to the time he spent in Antioch (in Syria) and in Tarsus, his hometown (in Cilicia). During this time, though he had a few brief encounters with people in Jerusalem, to which we

have already referred. Paul was not personality known to the Christians of Judea (v. 22). His lasting influence on the church did not begin until the Jerusalem council which Luke describes in Acts 15, as Paul does in Galatians 2. Paul spent many years ministering, growing, learning, and receiving truth from the risen Lord. Later, under the Holy Spirit’s direction, he communicated what he had learned to the New Testament church – and to the church through all the centuries since. He was a unique man, whom God used in a unique way.

Whoopi Goldberg Pioneering Change With Blkfam, A Ground-breaking, Black-Focused Streaming Platform

By Stacy M. Brown Senior Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia

NNPA NEWSWIRE

Television history, marred by a narrow portrayal of nonwhite characters, witnessed a transformative journey from caricatures and racist depictions to the evolution of influential, Black-centered shows like the influential and ground-breaking “The Cosby Show,” in the 1980s, “A Different World,” “Living Single,” in the 1990s, and later “Black-ish.” The television landscape shifted as those shows emerged, challenging stereotypes, and showcasing diverse Black experiences.

-Today, streaming is the biggest game in Hollywood and Academy Award®winning actress and co-host of “The View,” Whoopi Goldberg, is stepping into this legacy, aiming to redefine the narrative of Black representation in family-friendly streaming by investing in Blkfam. The outlet is already being hailed as the first-ever Blackowned and Black-focused family streaming platform. Launched on February 26 across multiple platforms, Blkfam could be a significant stride toward addressing underrepresented Black families in the streaming market.

At its inception, Blkfam boasted a content library featuring more than 20 syndicated series, encompassing over 1,000 hours of animation titles and dozens of animated characters of color with diverse gender experiences. The platform also offers hundreds of hours of original music-driven content, signaling a commitment to fostering an authentic and inclusive narrative.

Goldberg, an equity investor in Blkfam, sits at

The outlet is alread y being hailed as the first-ever Blackowned and Black-focused family streaming platform. Launched on February 26 across multiple platforms, Blkfam could be a significant stride toward addressing underrepresented Black families in the streaming market.

the forefront of the groundbreaking initiative alongside Larry Adams, a digital media veteran and CEO of the platform. Goldberg, known for her roles in iconic films like “The Color Purple” and “Sister Act,” has been a vocal advocate for positive representation.

“I like the idea of being part of something that will grow,” Goldberg declared. “As I get older, I say, ‘Wow, things will outlast me.’ This is one of the things I hope outlasts me – I could be the Black woman Walt Disney!” Blkfam will stream over various platforms, including iOS, Android, and Amazon Prime Video Channels.

Every cherished moment is here. The emotions, creativity and magnitude of the all-night session are still a wonder.