DNC Issues United Battle Cry For Democracy
By Stacy M. Brown Senior National Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia
NNPA NEWSWIRE
In an electrifying moment at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) that likely set the tone for the party’s campaign, Vice President Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance on the opening night, seizing the stage to the triumphant anthem of Beyoncé’s “Freedom.”
The crowd erupted with fire in her voice as Harris
Legendary Bob James Performs In Norfolk
Together, we will fight for the soul of
America and build a future where everyone has a fair shot. Our best days are still ahead, and we are ready to lead.”
– Vice President Kamala Harris on opening night
declared, “I want to kick us off by celebrating our incredible president, Joe Biden. Thank you for your historic leadership, for
your lifetime of service to our nation, and for all you will continue to do. We are forever grateful to you.”
The first night of the
1619 Landing of First Africans Commemoration
HAMPTON
Four hundred and five years ago in August 1619, a moment of profound consequence unfolded on the shores of what’s now Hampton, Virginia. It was here that the first Africans from present day Angola arrived in English North America, marking the beginning of more than 200 years of Black enslavement in America
For several years, the Fort Monroe Authority, National Park Service, Project 1619, Inc. and the City of Hampton have hosted commemorative events at Fort Monroe acknowledging the profound American history of the site. This year on August 23-25 these events will be held, remembering the first Africans brought here in 1619 and highlighting their legacy of culture, identity, resistance and triumph. see pages 1B & 2B
Text on the marker reads: W
96 FIRST AFRICANS IN VIRGINIA
The first documented Africans in Virginia arrived here in Aug. 1619 on the White Lion, an English privateer based in the Netherlands. Colonial officials traded food for these “20 and odd” Africans, who had been captured from a Portuguese slave ship. Among present-day Hampton’s earliest African residents were Antony and Isabella. Their son, William, was the first child of African ancestry known to have been born in Virginia (ca. 1624). Many of the earliest Africans were held as slaves, but some individuals became free. A legal framework for hereditary, lifelong slavery in Virginia evolved during the 1600s. The United States abolished slavery in 1865. Department of Historic Resources, 2015
TCC AND NSU PARTNERSHIP AIMS TO BOOST STUDENT GRADUATIONS
HAMPTON ROADS
Presidents Dr. Marcia Conston (Tidewater Community College) and Dr. Javaune Adams-Gaston (Norfolk State University), recently signed an agreement to create the Passport Program. This program will prepare TCC students for a seamless transition to NSU for the completion of a bachelor’s degree.
The Passport Program offers TCC students who need additional preparation prior to enrolling at NSU, the chance to excel at TCC and guarantees their admission to NSU once they have earned at least 16 credits at TCC with at least a 2.0 GPA Conston and AdamsGaston signed the agreement at NSU’s Wilder Center among members of both institutions who worked to make the partnership a reality.
“We are proud to continue our partnership with NSU. The Passport Program is an additional opportunity for
students in Hampton Roads to benefit from our shared interest of success in higher education throughout our region,” Conston said.
TCC has campuses in Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Virginia Beach. It is the second largest of the 23 Virginia community colleges, enrolling nearly 25,000
students.
“This partnership allows us to provide access, opportunity and a phenomenal education experience to students that is focused on their success and growth,” AdamsGaston said.
TCC students will receive a number of benefits through the Passport
Program to include coadvising through both TCC and NSU to better support preparation and transition and early access to NSU’s on-campus events.
“We look forward to welcoming TCC students into the NSU community,” Adams-Gaston said. ...for more Back-To-School News, see page 3B
DNC was more than a celebration; it was a battle cry. Democrats from all political backgrounds came together to honor President Biden’s legacy, which includes unwavering efforts to reduce costs for middleclass Americans, repair a deteriorating infrastructure, and defend democracy from unprecedented threats. The message was clear: Biden’s work is not done, and Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz are ready to continue that fight. Speakers who are most
familiar with Biden, such as Senators Raphael Warnock and Chris Coons, as well as Dr. Jill Biden and Ashley Biden, shared stories that painted a picture of a president who is unwaveringly dedicated to the American people. The emotional high point of the evening came when Biden, introduced by his daughter Ashley, took the stage to a thunderous ovation as “Your Love Has Lifted Me Higher” filled the arena. see DNC, page 2A
“First Africans In Virginia”
Illinois Sheriff Who Hired Killer of Sonya Massey Quits
From
TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM
The Sangamon County Sheriff, who hired Deputy Sean Grayson who killed a chronically mentally ill woman in her Springflield, Illinois home, announced his resignation after Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker pushed him to step down.
Sheriff Jack Campbell took a swipe at the system and the governor.
“It has become clear that the current political climate has made it nearly impossible for me to continue effectively in my role,” Campbell wrote in the statement. “Some individuals would rather see our community divided and in turmoil than allow me to continue serving as Sheriff. The health of me and my family, the Sheriff’s Office, and our community has to be my priority.” Campbell’s last day will be August 31.
Sonya Massey, 36, called
Sheriff Jack Campbell
the police, believing that a burglar had broken into her house. Grayson, who is now in jail, shot Massey in the face, killing her in a dispute over a pot of water boiling on her stove. Grayson has said he believed that she was planning to the throw the hot water on him and that is why he shot her although there was no evidence of that.
He is charged with firstdegree murder, aggravated battery, and official misconduct. see Sheriff, page 8A
Presidential Nominee Kamala Harris
The Commonwealth of Virginia placed the “First Africans in Virginia” marker in 1994. It stands on the seawall at Old Point Comfort (now Fort Monroe).
Photo: NewJournalandGuide
(L-R) Dr. Javaune Adams-Gaston (NSU President) and Dr. Marcia Conston (TCC President)
Photo: Courtesy
NORFOLK
The 41st Waterfront Jazz Festival brought thousands of jazz fans to the downtown area last weekend. Among a line up of jazz greats was the legendary Bob James. see page 8A
Photo: RandySingleton
Continued from page 1A
In a speech that was
as much a rallying cry as it was a reflection on his presidency, Biden delivered a stark reminder of what’s at stake. “Let me ask you ... Are you ready to vote for freedom? Are you ready to vote for democracy and America?
Are you ready to elect Kamala Harris and Tim Walz?”
Biden’s words resonated as he recalled the perilous moment of his inauguration, just weeks after supporters of the twice-impeached former president stormed the U.S. Capitol. “You cannot say I love my country only when you win,” Biden asserted.
“The winter of peril and possibility has passed, and with a grateful heart, I stand before you to report that democracy has prevailed. But now, democracy must be preserved.”
Biden highlighted the progress made under his administration, pointing to economic recovery, healthcare expansion, and the battle against corporate greed. He singled out Harris’s critical role in these achievements.
“We’ve gone from economic crisis to the strongest economy in the world ... more Americans have health insurance than at any time in American history. And we finally beat big pharma. Guess who cast the tie-breaking vote?
Vice President and soonto-be President Kamala Harris. Now it’s the law of the land – $35 a month for insulin.”
The evening was charged with passionate speeches that struck at the heart of the nation’s issues.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered a searing indictment of Donald Trump, contrasting Harris’s steadfast dedication to American values with Trump’s chaotic legacy. “Kamala won’t disrespect our military and our veterans,” Clinton declared to thunderous applause. “She will defend democracy and our Constitution and will protect America from enemies foreign and domestic. Donald Trump fell asleep at his own trial, and when he woke up, he made history as the first person to run for president with 34 felony convictions.” Representative Alexandria OcasioCortez delivered a fiery endorsement of Harris, framing her as the champion the middle-class needs. “In Kamala Harris, we have a chance to elect a president who is for the middle class
because she is from the middle class,” OcasioCortez proclaimed. “She understands the urgency of rent checks, groceries, and prescriptions. She is as committed to our reproductive and civil rights as she is to taking on corporate greed. She is working tirelessly to secure a cease-fire in Gaza and bring hostages home.” Ocasio-Cortez didn’t hold back in her critique of Trump, accusing him of being a self-serving demagogue.
“Donald Trump would sell this country for a dollar if it meant lining his own pockets and greasing the palms of his Wall Street friends,” she said. “I, for one, am tired of hearing about how a two-bit union buster thinks of himself as more of a patriot than the woman who fights every single day to lift working people out from under the boots of greed trampling on our way of life.”
The night was filled with moments that galvanized the crowd. Golden State Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr, invoking the words of Steph Curry, declared, “After the results are tallied that night, we can tell Donald Trump, ‘Night, night.’” UAW President Shawn Fain tore off his jacket to reveal a shirt emblazoned with the words “TRUMP IS A SCAB,” igniting the crowd into a fervent chant of “Trump’s a scab! Trump’s a scab!”
One of the night’s most pointed moments, Rep. Jasmine Crockett drew a stark contrast between
August 16, 1952
Edition of the Guide
Pending Moving Day
Disturbs Residents
NORFOLK
Crowds jammed the City Council chambers Wednesday buzzing excitedly about the proposed site for some 950 new additional public housing units, (Tidewater Park) slated to go up in the near future to complete Project I of the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority (NRHA). But as their names were called and they advanced to question Charles L. Hauffman, chairman of the NRHA, their main concern was, “When will our homes be taken?”
Residents of the proposed slum clearance site seem resigned to the fact that their homes and land would be taken for the forthcoming project which includes widening of Brambleton Avenue, possible land for the Titus school playground and other improvements.
They received assurance that the NRHA was sympathetic to their problems. The only difficulty was however that in some cases these residents will not be able to open rooming houses, or other businesses near their present sites.
Few people at the hearing were losing as many as five, six or seven pieces of property. But there were those who came to find that they were not to be affected at all by the future development. So, it went. A quiet hearing with little opposition recorded against “Operation Face lift” a program stated to beautify the city of Norfolk.
(EDITOR’s NOTE: The entire area stretches from Brambleton Avenue Southward to City Hall Avenue and is the site of Phase I of the current St. Paul’s Redevelopment project. The U.S. Post office also sits in the area.)
Poll Boycott Called Silly
NEW YORK
The suggestion that Negroes should boycott the
The night was filled with moments that galvanized the crowd.
Harris and Trump: “She became a career prosecutor while he became a career criminal. Who would you hire? Donald Trump or Kamala Harris? Kamala Harris has a resume, and Donald Trump has a rap sheet with 34 felonies, 2
impeachments, and 1 porn star to prove it.”
The NAACP President Derrick Johnson and Melanie Campbell, the President and CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, led a standing ovation
for civil rights icon Rev. Jesse Jackson during the celebration.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson also delivered a powerful message that resonated deeply with the audience. “I know that my daughter will see not only a reflection of herself in the White House, but she will experience the deepest part of American values ... Kamala Harris – she’s got
us.”
Harris’s words from earlier in the night echoed as the event ended: “We are at a pivotal moment. The choices we make now will determine the future of our nation. Together, we will fight for the soul of America and build a future where everyone has a fair shot. Our best days are still ahead, and we are ready to lead.”
Howard University Student Journalists On-Site Covering DNC In Chicago
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Howard University student journalists are among reporters at this year’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Vice President and Howard alumna Kamala Harris (B.A.’86) is set to make history as the first Black woman to receive a major party presidential nomination.
Journalists from The Hilltop, the nation’s oldest collegiate Black newspaper, and from the Howard University News Service (HUNS) are interviewing delegates, alumni and local Chicago residents. They will document events alongside thousands of fellow credentialed media professionals from across the country and around the world.
Associate professor Jennifer Thomas and assistant professor Christine McWhorter, Ph.D., from the Department of Media, Journalism and Film at the Cathy Hughes School of Communications are supervising the coverage.
Student journalists said they planned to use the opportunity to learn more about how the Democratic Party plans to confront and resolve its internal division, learn more about the party’s
position on the situation in the Middle East and document the groundbreaking nature of the occasion.
The student journalists are:
• Skyler Winston, a journalism senior from Brentwood, California, is completing a summer internship with KTVU Fox 2 in the Bay Area, and serves as the News & Politics editor at The Hilltop.
• Trinity Webster-Bass, a senior in the Annenberg Honors Program from Jacksonville, Florida, is completing a summer internship with The Washington Post, where she produces episodes for The Post’s daily podcast, “Post Reports.”
• Trinity Kinslow, journalism senior from Nashville, recently completed a summer internship at Howard University’s Center for Journalism & Democracy.
Students say they are eager to report firsthand on convention issues, with a focus on those affecting the AfricanAmerican community and young people. Participating in convention coverage represents a full-circle moment for Thomas, who covered the 1996 DNC in Chicago as a network producer.
Department chair and associate professor Ingrid Sturgis says that student media coverage at Howard University is part of the Election Project series, which has trained journalists through realworld election coverage.
“As a professional journalism program, we have covered national, regional and local elections every election cycle,” Sturgis said. “We previously have led our students in the coverage of the 2016 Republican and Democratic national conventions.
“This year, we are among other university journalism programs who are doing the same thing. Students learn about the civic process, learn how to cover important issues on deadline and gain confidence in reporting and writing alongside other professional journalists.”
The Howard University journalism program receives regular recognition as a top program by USA Today, College Factual, U.S. News & World Report and the National Association of Black Journalists, among others. Journalism alumni include Pulitzer, Peabody, Emmy, Hearst, Society of Professional Journalists and National Association of Black Journalists award winners.
From The Guide’s Archives
Archives taken from the pages of the (New) Journal and Guide
polls during the forthcoming presidential election is “as silly as it is irresponsible,” a labor leader declared at an interracial gathering here last weekend.
Addressing a forum of Catholic Interracial Council, Benjamin L. McLaurin, Field Organizer of the International Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, decried the publicity accorded a recent suggestion that Negroes withhold exercise of their franchise on the grounds that the major (political) party’s tickets and platforms are unsatisfactory on the issue civil rights.
“Two wrongs will not make a right,” McLaurin said. “As Americans we are concerned with the overall destiny of America; and as Americans, our right to vote is one of our most prized possessions.
“We are not going to withhold our franchise simply because somebody displeases us.”
Confederate Army To Be Formed
RICHMOND
Having dropped plans for the reactivation of the Klan in Virginia, Bill Hendrix, Klan Organizer, came up this week with an idea of organizing a new “American Confederate Army.”
Hendrix, a resident of Tallahassee, Fla., said that he had given up his idea of a Klan revival in Virginia because “the Klan’s got too bad a name ... All that trouble in North Carolina hurt. People want to forget all that beating and bloodiness.”
The “North Carolina trouble” referred to by the former Klan leaders was the arrest and sentencing of 62 North Carolina Klansmen led to Thomas L. Hamilton, imperial wizard of the Carolina Klans.
His cohorts drew a fouryear sentence for the beating of a White woman who has been accused of “going around with Negro men.”
The purpose of the Confederate Army Hendrix said, will be to fight against communism, socialism and the welfare state.
Some of the membership of the Army will be drawn
from the Klan ranks, he said, but the wearing of hoods or robes is not planned. Instead, they will wear Confederate caps and neckties, although some hoods and robes will be kept around.
Asked whether or not the Army would invade Virginia, Hendrix said that it would and that 60 or 70 colonels have been appointed to the state.
August 21, 1971
Edition of the Guide
Three Portsmouth School Plans Accepted By Judge PORTSMOUTH
“I will not order busing,” U.S. District Judge Walter E. Hoffman, said Tuesday, after approving Portsmouth’s school plans that will require about 11,500 students to be bused.
Under Judge Hoffman’s ruling, the Portsmouth School Board can now adopt either of the proposed high school plans, including a revised elementary school plan and its junior high school plan.
This means the eventual phasing-out of I.C. Norcom High School which seems destined to become a “technical” school. The proposal to abandon Norcom has been bitterly opposed by groups of Black residents who feel that the school should be retained as a high school with its present high scholastic ranking.
Massive busing is necessary to implement the plans and the Board says that it does not have the money or the buses. Judge Hoffman said the Supreme Court emphasized desegregation must be accomplished even if “Under Bizarre arrangements are imposed and told the Board that it will have to stagger times so that more buses can be used.”
The board presented a revised Elementary Plan I, which Judge Hoffman ruled acceptable, as opposed to the original one which called for Thomas Jefferson, Robert
E. Lee and Emily Sponge Elementary schools to remain all-Negro.
Under the revised plan, Lee and Jefferson will be used only for kindergarten classes. Some Negro students from these two schools will be assigned to several other schools
“You may have to start some elementary schools at 11,” he said “Either do that or close the schools down.”
A school for students with learning disabilities – Riddick-Weaver, 1,075 students and 325 white students and a school for special education at Mt. Hermon with 331 Negro students and 113 white students will enroll students from throughout the city.
Promising Black Students Find Media Doors Open
HAMPTON
“More areas of mass communications are opening doors to promising Blacks students,” professed Dr. William Kearney, department chairman, of the Mass Media Arts Department of Hampton Institute (H.I.), during a recent interview with the GUIDE.
He pointed out that H.I. was the only college in Virginia offering a degree granting program in the field of Mass Media arts which includes radio, television, and journalism.
Dr. Kearney said “from the beginning of the program, we decided that in order for it to be meaningful and effective, there would have to be a marriage between our educational programs and the practicing industry.”
He was referring to H.I.’s internship program, the practical method of combined study and onthe-job-training, Dr. Kearney said. “Initially we were able to get several companies involved at WINS radio in New York, KPW in Philadelphia, Public Relations Communications at U.S. Steel in Pittsburgh and IBM.
“During our first year we had one student who interned at CBS who was assigned to the Walter Cronkite News team.”
August 21, 1976 Edition of the Guide Man Mauled By Cops By Marti Germann
NORFOLK
Annie Daniels, mother of 22-year-old Michael Daniels, filed a complaint with the Norfolk Police Department charging that three police officers in plainclothes severely beat her son Sunday evening during a confrontation in the 800 Block of Virginia Beach Blvd. According to Lt. V. L. Simmons, Commanding Officer, Internal Affairs, an official complaint was filed at the First Precinct. Daniels has been charged with two counts of disorderly conduct and two counts of assault on an officer. Daniels was treated at Central State Hospital and is under treatment by Community Mental health.
Norfolkian Selected As National Soror Of Year DENVER, COLO.
During the 47th anniversary Convention of Iota Phi Lambda Sorority, Inc. which convened in Denver August 5-12, Mrs. Evelyn Sears-Peevy of Norfolk was honored as the “National Outstanding Soror of the Year.” A plaque was presented to Peevy by Miss A. Lucille Reynolds, of Los Angeles, national president of the Business and Professional Women’s Sorority. The national Lambda organization presented the Honoree with one dozen white roses, the sorority flower. Peevy, Guidance Department Chairman at Jacox Junior High School, is active in local, state and national guidance activities as well as sorority business at all activities. She is an active member of the First Baptist Church Bute Street.
PRESIDENT BIDEN ESTABLISHES NATIONAL MONUMENT FOR 1908 SPRINGFIELD RACE RIOT
By Asia Alexander Howard University News Service
WASHINGTON, D.C.
To commemorate a dark chapter in American history, President Joe Biden signed a proclamation recently in the Oval Office marking the 116th anniversary of the Springfield Race Riot and approving a new national monument.
The Springfield Race Riot was a brutal assault by a white mob on the Black community of Springfield, Illinois, resulting in the town being burned down and lives lost in 1908. The monument commemorates this violence and highlights the pervasive racism, intimidation and brutality faced by Black Americans nationwide.
Before signing the proclamation President Biden made remarks about the attempt to erase Black History.
Biden said he never thought he would “have to worry about people wanting to erase history – to literally erase history: what we can’t read, what we can’t write.”
“We’re allowing history to be written – what happened – so our children, our grandchildren, everybody understands what happened and what could still happen,” he added.
In August of 1908, Joe James, 17, and George Richardson, 36, were jailed in Springfield on accusations of rape. On Aug. 14, a mob of 5,000 young white men gathered demanding their release for lynching. The sheriff and a white business owner moved the men to a Bloomington jail 60 miles away to avoid violence.
Angered by the relocation, the mob turned violent, looting and burning Black-owned homes and businesses and attacking residents. Despite efforts
The national outrage that followed the Springfield riot played a pivotal role in propelling the Civil Rights Movement, including the formation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
by the governor, state militia, Black firefighters and community members, the violence continued throughout the weekend. According to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, the two men were later lynched, and seven others lost their lives in the ensuing riot.
The Springfield massacre is not unique in American history; other towns like Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1921 and Wilmington, North Carolina, in 1898 also faced similar fates. These thriving Black communities were destroyed due to racial violence, leading to loss of life and property. The national outrage that followed the Springfield riot played a pivotal role in propelling the Civil Rights Movement, including the
formation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
In attendance at the Oval Office signing were members of Congress, NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson, and Austin Randolph, president of the NAACP Springfield chapter. Randolph noted that this proclamation would bring healing and hope for the future generations of Springfield.
“This will help Springfield and also the students who come behind us,” Randolph said. “This is history. This is life. We are trying to make sure this event of the riot, the evil, the unjust will never happen again. We are taking the opportunity to make sure we can move forward and heal.”
Biden’s proclamation follows the murder of Sonya Massey, who was killed just 8.2 miles from Springfield in Woodside Township, Illinois. Massey, a Black woman, was shot in her home after calling 911 for help. The incident, which quickly garnered national attention, highlights ongoing concerns about safety in the community.
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois addressed these concerns by highlighting recent legislative efforts aimed at enhancing security and ensuring the safety of the Black community in Springfield.
“I introduced the Police Independent Review and Training Act in response to the Laquan McDonald shootings in Chicago,” Duckworth said. “I’m proud
that Illinois has enacted a law requiring such independent investigations, as seen in the Sonya Massey case. Within 48 hours, state police took over the investigation to avoid conflicts of interest and ensure a more impartial process.”
This monument marks President Biden’s 11th designation under the Antiquities Act of 1906 and the second national monument dedicated to the civil rights struggle. Throughout his presidency, he has also established the Blackwell School National Historic Site, the Amache National Historic Site, the Brown v. Board National Historic Park, and the Emmett Till and Mamie TillMobley National Monument.
The new national monument encompasses
1.57 acres of federal land in Springfield and will be managed by the National Park Service under the Department of the Interior. The monument has not been designed yet.
National Park Service Director Chuck Sams echoed Randolph’s sentiments, stating that this monument will offer future generations a chance to reflect on the past.
“This national monument will allow both current and future generations to reflect on these tragic events and be inspired by the resilience of the Black community and the national leaders who fought for social change and civil rights in America,” Sams said.
Asia Alexander is a reporter for HUNewsService. com.
President Joe Biden approves a new monument to commemorate the 1908 Springfield Race Riot in Illinois.
Photo: StacyBrown/WashingtonInformer Black massacres from the 1800s to the present.
Photo: JordanEngel/DecolonialAtlas
PROFESSOR EMERITUS OF SOCIOLOGY VIRGINIA TECH
KAMALA’S ECONOMY PROBLEM
By Wornie Reed, Ph.D.
Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for the presidency, has an economy problem.
Voters overwhelmingly expect the economy to be a top issue in November and, by a 7-point margin, trust Republicans more than Democrats to handle the issue.
This is a problem, but it is a perception problem, not a true problem. People proceed as they perceive, so this false notion is real in its consequences and, therefore, a problem for VP Harris’ campaign.
The data say that Democrats are better than Republicans for the U.S. economy. The problem is this misperception.
The problem for Harris and democracy-loving citizens is a problematic quirk of the Democratic party. Democratic party leaders tend not to tell citizens what they have done and what they are doing for the country, except maybe in elections, while Republicans tend to talk about their positions and their triumphs all along. Sometimes, they lie, like with the economy. But who can blame them? They are just filling in the blanks the Democrats leave.
Take, for example, Medicare. There is the familiar quote from all too many senior citizens, “Keep government hands off my Medicare!” Many do not know that Medicare is a government program created in 1965 by President Lyndon Johnson and the Democrats in Congress. The majority of Congressional Republicans voted against the bill.
First, the data. The economy has boomed under Biden. During Trump’s first three years (before COVID), the economy created only 6.5 million jobs. During Biden’s first three years (2021-2023), the economy created 14.5 million jobs.
Looking at the average number of jobs created each
Meanwhile, the standard view of Democratic policies is that they favor regulation and higher taxes, which are bad for the economy. But the data say otherwise. Democrats are consistently better for the economy.
year of a presidential term, Biden has created more than twice the number of jobs created by any president since and including Jimmy Carter. Perhaps surprising to many citizens, Biden is continuing the record of previous Democratic presidents. Democratic presidents Biden, Clinton, Carter, and Obama created many more jobs per month than any of the four Republican presidents during that period.
Let’s look at a broad range of data from a more extended period.
In 2016, two economists showed the same trend in an article in the American Economic Review, one of the nation’s oldest and most respected scholarly journals in economics:
“The U.S. economy has performed better when the president of the United States is a Democrat rather than a Republican, almost regardless of how one measures performance. For many measures, including real GDP growth (our focus), the performance gap is large and significant.”
This past April, the Economic Policy Institute issued a report comparing the economy’s performance during Democratic and Republican presidential administrations. The report showed that the economy performed much better during Democratic administrations than during Republican ones. They summarized their key findings:
• “Since 1949, there has been a Democratic advantage in the average performance of key macroeconomic indicators measuring economic health, including:
• Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth
• Job growth
• Unemployment rate
• Growth in inflationadjusted wages
• Growth of market-based incomes per capita
• Inflation
• Interest rates
• This Democratic advantage is across all variables we measure but strongest in privatesector outcomes – notably, business investment, job growth, and the growth of market-based incomes.
• Household income growth (adjusted for inflation) was faster on average and far more equal during Democratic administrations, and the Democratic advantage shows up for every group.”
But the public thinks Republicans do better with the economy. The common viewpoint is that Republicans are good for business, which is good for the economy. Republican policies are expected to create a robust, healthy, growing economy. Meanwhile, the standard view of Democratic policies is that they favor regulation and higher taxes, which are bad for the economy. But the data say otherwise. Democrats are consistently better for the economy.
The main problem here is that the Democrats do not seem to understand that establishing a fact before a campaign season if there is such a thing, is better than trying to introduce it during campaigns. People are less likely to believe you if you introduce a fact during election time. If you want people to know something, you must tell them all along.
PLAN DEFEATED THAT THREATENED TO DEVASTATE BLACK HISTORIC SITE
By Marc H. Morial CEO, National Urban League
(TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM)
“This proposed structure will be as tall as the Statue of Liberty. It is a major threat to the slave-descendant community of Wallace. This grain elevator would take up hundreds of acres of the fields around you that once formed Whitney Plantation, potentially destroying unknown burial sites. It will contribute to the existing toxic burden with grain dust pollution, and permanently change the landscape of West St. John Parish.”
– Whitney Plantation Museum
The cancellation of plans for a sprawling grain export facility in Louisiana is a victory for community activism, historic preservation, and environmental equity.
Following a three-year campaign by the Descendants Project, Greenfield LLC this month announced that it was “ceasing all plans” to build what would have been one of the country’s largest grain facilities just footsteps from the Whitney Plantation, a historic site dedicated to the memory of those who were enslaved there.
CARRTOON By Walt Carr
Biggest Step Toward Brighter Future For Our Children
By Ben Jealous (TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM)
I often think about a factory hallway in Dalton, Georgia that is filled with pictures drawn by children. It is a reminder of what can be, what will be, thanks to the historic Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which celebrates its second anniversary this month.
The drawings capture how these children see their parents who work at this solar manufacturing plant. There are pictures of beautiful sunny days, of the earth with pristine water. Of their parents saving the world. These children see their parents as superheroes.
As I remember these pictures, I wonder: how can anyone not be inspired by these children to fight every day for a better, liveable future? For more clean energy jobs, in big cities and rural communities across the country, that will power our economy – and our homes – for generations to come?
Around this anniversary, the news has been filled with reflection on what the IRA has achieved and what still needs to be done. It is – as it should be – a major focal point at the Democratic National Convention happening
Need a reminder of the urgency and necessity of this investment in combating the climate crisis ... step outside. We are experiencing the hottest summer on record ... in the hottest year on record.
now in Chicago. You do not have to look hard to find examples of its success. More than 334,000 new clean energy jobs have been created across the country. More than 3 million U.S. households have collectively saved over $8 billion on upgrades that will save them money and make their homes more energy efficient. In Illinois alone, for example, nearly 140,000 residents claimed more than $260 million in tax credits on their 2023 tax returns for installing solar or making other energy efficiency improvements on their homes. One fact should loom larger than most: the IRA is still this nation’s biggest single step ever toward securing a healthy and liveable planet for all. No other single piece of legislation has done more to address our climate goals and support the clean energy revolution already underway. Through the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program, the IRA is projected to reduce greenhouse gas pollution by as much as 971 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2050. That’s equivalent to the emissions from about 5 million homes’ energy use every year for more than 25 years. Need a reminder of the urgency and necessity of this investment in combating the climate crisis? Just turn on the news. Or step outside. We are experiencing the hottest summer on record ... in the hottest year on record. see Children, page 5A
America Needs Kamala Harris to Win
That includes my own ancestors; my great-greatgrandparents, Victor Theophile Haydel and Marie Celeste Becnel, were born on the Whitney Plantation. When the last Haydel to own the plantation died in 1860, Victor and Anna were listed as part of the estate’s inventory, valued at 800 and 100 “piastres” –the Cajun word for dollars –respectively.
I was proud to join the fight, chiding the company financing the project as insensitive to the historic, treasured, and sacred site of an essential element of African-American history, and outlining the adverse health and environmental impacts and the destruction of the surrounding landscape.
Egregiously, the developers altered a report on the project’s impact to erase
I was proud to join the fight, chiding the company financing the project as insensitive to the historic, treasured, and sacred site ... of AfricanAmerican history ...”
a historian’s conclusion that the grain elevator would have “an adverse effect on historic properties” and that the entirety of proposed site should be in the National Register of Historic Places, “Thus far, no enslaved cemeteries have been found for either Whitney or Evergreen Plantations despite hundreds of enslaved people being kept there for over 155 years,” Erin Edwards and a co-author wrote in the report they submitted to her employer, Gulf South Research Corporation. see Plan, page 5A
By Michael A. Grant, J.D. (TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM)
Vice President Kamala
Harris has the vision, the intellect and the heart to lead a conversation about how to preserve American democracy. As a country, we are still struggling to make this “A more perfect union.” We are an incredibly unique and beautifully diverse nation, blessed in so many ways. However, our history of cultural cleavage and racial unrest still plagues us.
At times, the ideological divide seems to be an unbridgeable chasm. There are those who would use political power to exploit our differences and undermine the very democratic institutions that have held us together as a nation.
So, America is at the crossroads. What we choose to do between now and election day will determine our destiny. Will we work hard to keep our democracy, or will we be seduced to accept authoritarian rule? Let there be no doubt about it: The choice is upon us, and we will have to live with the consequences of our collective decision for years to come.
As providence would have it, the American people are now being offered two very different candidates for president: one who is the embodiment of democratic
norms, individual liberty and a respect for the rule of law.
The other, a candidate who has not sought to hide his vision for America: a welcoming of authoritarian rule. He and his cohorts will work through a master plan (Project 2025) for gutting the federal bureaucracy with its system of meritocracy, replacing it with one that favors cronyism and dictatorial decision-making.
For an example of how Trumpism would fundamentally change the American political system (with its checks and balances), one need only to observe how he has already transformed the Supreme Court into a vehicle of his power-grabbing.
In its recent ruling on presidential immunity, six of the justices, disregarding precedent, placed the president above the law. These political hacks – parading as jurists sitting on the highest court of the land – broke with 250
She knows hers is the herculean struggle to protect the soul of the country she loves ... and, yes, she is endowed with true grit.
years of jurisprudence to give the president powers reserved for a king. So why did we fight the American Revolutionary War?
Donald Trump is working in concert with many others who are prepared to destabilize our sacred democracy in favor of a system that is anathema to what has made America the envy of the world: A system that celebrates the consent of the governed and the rule of law. Yes, we are at a critical moment in American history not witnessed since the Civil War. The forces of retrenchment are highly organized, well-funded and prepared to do whatever is necessary to impose their minority will on the will of the majority. Donald Trump has publicly stated that he doesn’t need the votes. Is that so? Then, tell us, Mr. Trump, how do you intend to come back into power?
see America, page 5A
Ben Jealous
Marc H. Morial
Michael A. Grant, J.D.
The Critical Importance of Black Men’s Health
By Kenny Hampton
President of The AfricanAmerican Male Wellness Agency
The health and wellbeing of Black men is a topic of paramount importance that demands our collective attention and action. Black men face significant health disparities that not only affect their individual lives but also have profound impacts on their families, communities, and the broader society.
Addressing these disparities and promoting the health of Black men is not merely a matter of individual well-being; it is a crucial step toward fostering stronger, more resilient communities.
The health disparities faced by Black men are well-documented.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Black men have higher rates of chronic illnesses such as hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease compared to their white counterparts. They are also more likely to die from these conditions.
Additionally, Black men experience higher rates of certain cancers, including prostate and colorectal cancer, and have lower survival rates for these diseases.
These disparities are not solely due to genetic factors but are deeply rooted in social determinants of health, including access to healthcare, socioeconomic status, education, and environmental factors.
One of the most striking health disparities is the significantly shorter life expectancy of Black men.
On average, Black men
live about six years less than white men. This gap is a stark reminder of the systemic inequities that continue to plague our healthcare system.
These inequities are compounded by factors such as racial bias in medical treatment, lack of access to preventive care, and socioeconomic challenges that limit opportunities for healthy lifestyles.
The impact of poor health on Black men extends beyond the individual to the entire community. When Black men are healthy and thriving, their families are stronger and more stable. Children benefit from having healthy, active fathers and role models who can fully participate in their lives. Healthy Black men contribute to the economic stability of their families and communities, as they are better able to work, provide, and participate in community activities.
Moreover, the health of Black men is inextricably linked to the overall health and well-being of the Black community. When Black men face significant health challenges, it places a strain on community resources and social
Black men need safe spaces where they can discuss their health concerns, share experiences, and receive support.
structures. Healthcare costs rise, and the burden of care often falls on family members, who may themselves face health challenges and economic hardships.
By contrast, when Black men are healthy, they can contribute to community resilience, leadership, and economic prosperity.
Promoting the health of Black men requires a multifaceted approach that addresses both individual and systemic factors. It begins with raising awareness about the importance of preventive care and encouraging regular health screenings.
Education and outreach efforts must be culturally tailored and accessible, addressing the unique needs and concerns of Black men. This includes dispelling myths and misconceptions about healthcare and promoting positive health behaviors.
Access to quality healthcare is another critical component. This means not only increasing the availability of healthcare services in underserved communities but also ensuring that these services are culturally competent and responsive to the needs of Black men.
Healthcare providers must be trained to recognize and address implicit biases that can affect the quality of care. Policies that expand healthcare coverage and
reduce economic barriers to accessing care are essential.
Community engagement and support are also vital. Black men need safe spaces where they can discuss their health concerns, share experiences, and receive support.
Community organizations, faithbased groups, and social networks play a crucial role in providing this support and fostering a culture of health.
Initiatives such as the African-American Male Wellness Walk, which our agency proudly sponsors, create opportunities for Black men to come together, get active, and access health resources in a supportive and empowering environment.
At the African-American Male Wellness Agency, we are dedicated to saving Black men’s lives and
Plan
Continued from page 4A
When the company submitted the report to the state three months later, “The determination of the historic district, the findings about the impact on Whitney and the community around it, and the lone sentence about
Children
Continued from page 4A
Supercharged storms and wildfires from all that heat are impacting more and more Americans.
Hurricane Ernesto is just the latest storm to batter homes and businesses and leave hundreds of thousands of Americans without power. With so many people hurting and at risk, the IRA remains one of our most powerful tools to mitigate climate change’s harm.
We must continue to learn from our experience implementing it, fill gaps where we see them, and double down on our efforts to protect people, places and the planet we call home. And we must remember that throwing everything we have at combating the
America
Continued from page 4A
Thankfully, Vice President Kamala Harris has prepared herself for this moment in our nation’s history. Like Joan of Arc, she has donned her suit of armor and is prepared to confront the enemies of America’s democracy! While she has announced her policy positions on a number of issues: favoring a women’s right to control her own body; protecting the healthcare of millions of Americans; calling major businesses for a summit to discuss price gouging; continuing her decades-long fight for equality for all Americans; continuing to address global warming; and protecting her fellow Americans from the insane proliferation of senseless gun violence, she knows that this election is about more than a civil debate about policy differences. She knows that this election is about protecting our most
promoting their health through comprehensive programs and initiatives. Our mission is to eliminate health disparities and improve the quality of life for Black men. Through our annual Wellness Walks, health fairs, and community outreach events, we provide free health screenings, educational workshops, and resources to thousands of men. Our programs focus on prevention, early detection, and management of chronic diseases, as well as mental health support and wellness education.
We also advocate for policies that address the social determinants of health and promote equity. By partnering with healthcare providers, policymakers, and community organizations, we work to create systemic change that benefits not only Black men but also their families and communities.
Our efforts are driven by the belief that when Black men are healthy, our entire community thrives.
Finally, addressing the social determinants of health is essential for creating lasting change.
unknown graves had all been removed.”
The Army Corps of Engineers ordered a new study after the deception came to light. The Corps also rejected the second report, criticizing the developers for “failing to meaningfully consult with people whose lives would be impacted by the dozens of looming grain silos, new rail, truck and shipping traffic and pollutants from the facility,” or “to
climate crisis is also the way America wins in the next economy.
In the decades since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the shipping of U.S. jobs overseas has helped destroy towns and cities across America. Now, the IRA is fueling a manufacturing rebirth that is creating good-paying jobs while bringing our energy economy into the 21st century. Plans to build a new solar cell factory near Minneapolis, Minnesota are currently underway. This factory will create more clean energy jobs in the Midwest while addressing the need for more American-made solar cells. The solar company Heliene, which co-owns the project, publicly credits the IRA’s tax credits for inspiring its decision to invest in U.S. solar manufacturing.
cherished freedoms as Americans.
We, the people, are being given the choice to continue our march towards a more perfect union, or to accept a new model of governance where some are considered above the law and the masses are subjugated to an injudicious system where revenge, retribution and cronyism are tolerated with impunity.
I think it is interesting that when the American family has become so dysfunctional, a house divided again, that Almighty God would send us a leader who has shown herself to be a proven guardian of what we hold as sacred: Democracy buttressed by the rule of law. Kamala Harris has been groomed for this moment of greatness. She has walked through the burning sands of a determined opposition for years. She knows the road ahead will be filled with landmines and treachery. She knows hers is the herculean struggle to protect the soul of the country she loves. But she is ready to accept the challenges that lie before her
This includes efforts to improve education, economic opportunities, and housing conditions in Black communities. It also means advocating for policies that address systemic racism and promote equity in all areas of society. When we address these root causes, we create conditions where Black men can achieve optimal health and wellbeing. In conclusion, the health of Black men is a critical issue that has far-reaching implications for individuals, families, and communities. By addressing health disparities and promoting the well-being of Black men, we can build stronger, more resilient communities where everyone has the opportunity to thrive. It is a collective responsibility that requires commitment, action, and a vision for a healthier future for all.
Kenny Hampton is the President of The AfricanAmerican Male Wellness Agency, an organization dedicated to promoting the health and well-being of Black men through education, advocacy, and community engagement.
account for the ways that the development project might harm communities of color.”
Descendants Project co-founder Joy Banner was among the crowd that “burst into jubilant cheers” when the developers made the announcement at a local church. “It shows what happens when communities fight,” she said. “The erasure of the Black communities didn’t work.”
Just an hour drive away from Minneapolis is the town of Becker. It is the home to one of the largest coal-burning power plants in the country. Yet Becker will soon be known for something else: being a national leader in the transition to clean, renewable energy. Xcel Energy is fully retiring the Sherco coal-burning power plant by 2030. The IRA was always designed to set us up for long-term economic success. Part of how it achieves this is by putting money back into Americans’ pockets and ensuring that no community is left out of the transition to cleaner, safer, and more affordable clean energy.
Ben Jealous is the Executive Director of the Sierra Club and a Professor of Practice at the University of Pennsylvania.
and, yes, she is endowed with true grit.
I believe that those who have observed Harris prosecuting serious criminals, grilling unscrupulous public officials or consoling the families of children murdered by gun violence would agree with this characterization of Kamala Harris: (paraphrasing William Shakespeare) Her life is so gentle and the elements so mixed in her that nature might stand and say to all the world: This is a woman! Yes, America, if we are willing to follow, Kamala Harris is ready to lead. And if we do, one day, history will record that America survived another existential threat to the republic because we, the people, were able to join in one grand chorus of “Hail to the Chief.” And that chief was President Kamala Harris. Michael A Grant, J.D., president emeritus of the National Bankers Association and former assistant professor of political science at Morgan State University, is a contributor to the Trice Edney News Wire.
Kenny Hampton
AFRO-CENTRIC COMICS FAN FEST CONVENES IN NORFOLK
By Glen Mason
New Journal and Guide Arts and Culture Correspondent
NORFOLK
The superheroes that descended upon downtown town Norfolk’s Sheraton Waterside Hotel last Saturday and Sunday were not the superheroes of our fathers.
No Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Invisible Woman or Cyborg. There was an appearance by an intriguing Thor from a Marvel Comics multiverse. He had bronze skin and long golden tresses. Perched on his shoulder was his battleaxe, Stormbringer.
Highlighting the comic book fan fest were African-American creatives: writers, artists, and publishers. Blacks in Technology: The Foundation had a popular booth there.
The first Atlantic Comicon was created and developed by Derron Flood, a local business man and entrepreneur lauded by vendors and fans alike for hosting a family event that “filled a void” according to one attendee. There are few comic book conventions sponsored by African-American event producers. The one in Hampton Roads mirrors the popular conventions that bring thousands to convention centers throughout the country that celebrates the comic book industry and its properties.
“The Atlantic Comicon will continue to grow. It fills a need for representation for the many Afro-centric literary creations, characters, and genres it promotes,” said John Craft, a vendor who, with his business partner, owns a comic book shop in New Jersey.
“We knew the organizers, and they were nice enough to invite us to partner with them to put on
Highlighting the comic book fan fest were African-American creatives: writers, artists and publishers.
a fantastic new comic book convention, a comicon,” said an excited Rossi Brown, whose popular stand with Craft greeted patrons center ballroom.
“We will definitely be coming back!” Olympic gold medalist quarter-miler Wadeline Venlogh was asked why she invested in the Atlantic Comicon.
“The great Derron invited me, and I’m more than happy to be here,” said Venlogh, while signing copies of her science fiction novel. She drove up from South Carolina.
“I’ve always had a crazy imagination in a good way. It would be difficult to do a movie out there, so I decided a book would live forever. Even after I’m long gone. And maybe one day my books will be on the big screen. Because my mind wants me to be great!” said the aspiring novelist.
“I enjoy being able to attend a comic book convention that’s targeted at African-American people so we have representation for areas
that don’t always have us presented. It’s a great way to meet like-minded kin folk,” said Antoniah Brown of Virginia Beach, a writer who attended with a family friend and her parents. “They got drafted because of me.”
“I started cosplay in 2023 at my daughter’s request. The first con was GalaxyCon in Raleigh NC. And I still love to dress as a Dora Milaji,” said her mother, Valerie.
The cosplay contest at the first Atlantic Comicon last weekend at the Sheraton Waterside in Norfolk was a cornucopia comic book and science fiction characters reimagined.
“The Atlantic Comicon will continue to grow. It fills a need for representation as well as the many Afro-centric fictional creations, characters and genres it promotes,” said John Craft, a vendor whom along with his business partner owns a comic book shop in New Jersey.
COACH
WOULD HAVE MADE A GREAT V.P. TOO
By Dennis Edwards Columnist
I called my Suffolk High School Football Coach the other day. Left a message for Dr. Mike Debranski, who coached us in the falls of 1973 and 1974 and was my Gym Teacher. Just wanted the Former Suffolk School Board Chairman to know how every time I see the soon to be Democrat Vice Presidential Nominee and Governor of Minnesota Tim Walz, I think of him. Both have the same up beat personalities as well as optimistic and go get em personae. Like Coach Waltz, Coach Debranski challenged, pushed and inspired us with an ever present enthusiasm that always had our best interests at heart.
He produced some really good players like former Virginia Union University Quarterback Garfield Mizelle, VUU Linebacker Calvin Young and the Suffolk’s Circuit Court Clerk Randy Carter.
Perhaps my fondest memory of Coach Debranski was when we unexpectedly beat Franklin High Schools Football team one year. Coach was beside himself. On that occasion, or after another victory, Coach was so excited he kind of stepped outside himself in candor, gratitude and joy. Said something like “I’m so proud of you guys. I could take any one of you home with me as my son.” He then followed the statement up with a hilarious reference to his attempts to have one. “I don’t know guys, I keep
Dennis Edwards
trying but I just keep coming up with girls!”
I was laughing and listening pretty intensely that night. Stood there dumb founded, actually wondering what it would look and be like to have Coach Debranski as a dad.
Then I thought “I wouldn’t have a problem with that.”
It would have been quite the adventure.
To be sure, the thought was simply a notion, a “flight of fancy,” so to speak, emerging from a moment of extreme excitement. No reflection on my mom or step dad.
Just the idea Coach thought that much of us made me feel great. A feeling I never forgot and will always remember.
Of course, I told my mom about Coach’s statement. She just smiled in the way mothers do at the more odd ideas their children share with a look on her face that said “wouldn’t be long before he brought you back!” He probably would have. But the thought was more than a humorous diversion. I considered it a very nice compliment. So while watching
Like Coach Waltz, Coach Debranski challenged, pushed and inspired us with an ever present enthusiasm that always had our best interests at heart.
Coach and Governor Walz on the campaign trail, seeing and hearing his kindness, optimism, my mind goes back to Coach Debranski. I remember the things he said and how I always liked the way he pronounced my name. Coach Debranski was and still is what the Latin describes as “sui generous,” one of a kind. In my mind’s eye I can see him always doing the same thing Walz is doing. Leading with joy, determination as well as vision. Pointing the way to excellence and making all of us want to follow him home. Even, if just for a little while.
Dennis Edwards is a Major Market Emmy and Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Award Winning T.V. And WRVA Radio News Anchor, Investigative Reporter, Newspaper Columnist and Pastor. He Is a graduate of Virginia Union University, its Samuel Dewitt Proctor School of Theology and Suffolk High School.
Glen Mason
William Beal as King T’ Challa aka Black Panther
Photo: Courtesy
Antoniah Brown (at right), as Kida, the Disney princess of Atlantis, Ladale Austin (centered) as Milo, with Valerie Brown, protecting them as a Dora Milaje, a personal body guard from Marvel Comics’ fictional African Kingdom of Wakanda.
Photo: Courtesy
Tony Stark’s assistant Lance Taylor, Sr. played sidekick to his son, Lance, Jr.’s Ironman
Photo: Courtesy Darrell Lyles of Virginia Beach based Midnight Riders as Deadpool
Photo: Courtesy
New Column: “Planted In Black Norfolk Soil”
By Terrance Afer-Anderson
How do you seed and nurture resplendent African-American spirit?
I was blessed that my courageous Creole father and exquisite Norfolk mother were wholly committed to finding and enrichening a local cultural soil, wherein they could plant and nourish their children, blessed with a capacity to weather the tempest of growing up Black. My arrival occurred at home on Corprew Avenue in the old Liberty Park community, just one block from the old Norfolk Community Hospital, and two blocks from the Norfolk Division of Virginia State College, now Norfolk State University.
I remember attending daycare at the Liberty Park Nursery School, in the community’s older section, across Ballentine
Boulevard. After my family moved to an end unit on Pioneer Avenue, my father used to show nighttime home movies on the side of our humble home. Many neighbors would gather in the adjacent field to watch.
I also remember one day, around age 5, when Vanda Cameron, a little girl one year my senior and whom I had a heck of a crush on, got hold of a pair
of scissors and cut each other’s hair.
While I had countless, wonderful memories at my grandparents’ Huntersville home, my earliest memory was at their previous Reilly Street address. It was nighttime and I was standing in a basinet in their kitchen, looking out onto the alley behind their house. I can’t recall though what I saw that makes for
New Column: “All About Me” What we remember about gro wing up after we’re all grown up often reminds us of how blessed we were then – and are now.
such a distinctive memory. My grandparents’ Huntersville home was on the corner of C Avenue and O’Keefe Street. Many years later, I learned the latter street was named for a priest, Father Matthew O’Keefe. Having once served as a Confederate chaplain, he was also known for his dogged efforts to integrate Masses at what is now the Basilica of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, though Black congregants were relegated to sitting in the choir loft. Ironically, St. Mary’s is now the only African-American basilica
in the nation. Fond memories of Huntersville include the hordes of youth who would roller-skate down C Avenue every Christmas, early walks down the railroad tracks that my brother Karl and I took with our grandfather “Big John Jenry” Harrison, Frog’s convenience store at the corner of B Avenue and O’Keefe, the dearly loved “Jew Mary” store at the corner of C Avenue and Church Street, and Bonnie McEachin’s celebrated Plaza Hotel, at the corner of Church and 18th Streets. The Plaza hosted countless AfricanAmerican celebrities not allowed to stay in Norfolk hotels exclusively for White guests. My father worked at the Norfolk Naval Air Station and my mother at the Norfolk Naval Base. Each had to be at work at 7 a.m. I remember having to get up at 5:30 a.m. each workday morning to get ready for them to drop my siblings and I off at our grandparents. My grandmother would feed us breakfast and we’d make final preparations to walk to school.
After nursery school in Liberty Park, I attended kindergarten at Mt. Olive Baptist Church in Lindenwood. Later, when I began attending
elementary school, my siblings and I walked to St. Joseph’s Catholic School. My family also attended St. Joseph’s Catholic Church. Then, after St. Joseph’s was closed, a few of us briefly attended St. Mary’s Catholic School, while the family began attending the church. After all these Black families migrated to St. Mary’s, there was a massive White exodus of congregants and students. Walking down Church Street to go to school was a wondrous experience, forever etched into my memory. Known as the “Harlem of the South,” I understand there were 80 Black businesses that once populated Church Street. There was the Attucks Theater, of course, built exclusively by AfricanAmericans in 1919, and the place where, years later, my parents first laid eyes on one another. There were the Regal, Dunbar, Lenox, and Carver movie theaters. I also remember Simpkins store, the Regent Brewery, Metropolitan Drug Store, Goldberg Hardware, and the legendary Queen’s Lounge. I remember the everpopular “Wild Bill” would walk down Church Street, proudly packing a pair of toy guns, anxiously waiting for passersby to dare him to draw. There was also the lady who was a fixture on Church Street, sitting at a window in a darkened room, her face fully-painted in haunting white make-up. I don’t know how true it was, but rumor had it she had lost a son and lost her mind afterwards. I always felt more compassion for her than fear.
Along with my siblings, I was well-planted in Norfolk. see Planted, page 8A
Terrance Afer-Anderson Now ... and Then.
Planted
Continued from page 7A
So much so that, when the family moved to Portsmouth’s Victory Manor community in 1959, I continued going to school in Norfolk until 1966. And still today, though I lived in metropolitan Washington, D.C. for some two decades, I am the only member of my immediate family that calls Norfolk home. The city is in my DNA!
Of course, I first performed on stage at the old Norfolk Arena. A quarter century later, I helped found the Generic Theater, at that same site. More than three decades later, I retired from the Norfolk Department of Public Health. In 2008, I had the honor of meeting Barack Obama, the first AfricanAmerican U.S. President, at Norfolk’s Harbor Park. In 2010, the City of Norfolk commissioned me to write and stage a drama chronicling our grand
Sheriff
Continued from page 1A
Gordon Robertson of the Christian Broadcasting Networks and the 700 Club, said some people are fearful of calling the police for help because they might get shot.
Robertson also urged government of fi cials to make a list of police of fi cers who move from one job to another. Grayson had six jobs in four years at various police departments.
The governor called the shooting of Massey, a Black woman in her
African-American history, presented at the Attucks Theater as “Cast in History.” In 2019, I was engaged by the Virginia Arts Festival to write, produce and direct a film, entitled “The Phoenix & The Ashes,” in the centennial celebration of the Attucks, “the Apollo Theater of the South.” Surely, it’s not been all roses and rainbows, but I am forever indebted to my late, beautiful parents for the sacrifices they made to plant me in such fertile, gilded Black Norfolk soil, blessing me with an abundance of resplendent African-American spirit.
So humbled by the city’s proud Black history, I’ve decided recently that, when the curtain closes on my final walk across Earth’s proscenium stage, I want to be planted, via “green” internment, in Norfolk’s West Point Cemetery, a once segregated section of the city’s Elmwood Cemetery. I want to literally nourish the verdant Black Norfolk soil that had been so good to me.
Terrance Afer-Anderson is a writer, actor, director and producer. He is also President/CEO, TerraVizion Entertainment Network.
home, by a White deputy “horri fi c.” At the time of the shooting, Grayson was employed by the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Of fi ce.
The governor turned his attention again to Sheriff Campbell.
“He failed to put forward reforms that need to be made ... training and other reforms. And he still has failed to meet with the Massey family. That seems outrageous to me. At a minimum, listen to them, hear them, and then hopefully take action,” Pritzker said.
Last week, Ryan M. Cadagin, presiding circuit judge of Sangamon County, ordered Grayson to remain locked up.
41st Annual Norfolk Waterfront Jazz Festival Brings Summertime Fun To Hampton Roads
By Randy Singleton Community Affairs Correspondent NORFOLK
The Norfolk Waterfront Jazz Festival celebrated its 41st year with a smooth jazz lineup and a packed audience on the grounds of Town Point Park in downtown Norfolk. The Norfolk Waterfront Jazz Festival is the region’s longest-running outdoor jazz festival.
This year’s two-day festival featured Kirk Whalum, Norman Brown, and Rebecca Jade on Friday night (Aug. 16) and smooth jazz legends Larry Carlton, Bob James, and Four80East with Jeff Kashiwa closing out the festival on Saturday.
Festival attendees brought lawn chairs and sat on the park grounds and enjoyed food and merchandise vendors, and a meet-and-greet tent where artists autographed CDs and took pictures with fans. The weather cooperated with this year’s event, keeping the skies sunny and the temperature moderate, with a cool breeze from the Elizabeth River blowing over the festival. The New Journal and Guide sponsored the special reserved seating area near the stage, which sold out for both nights of the festival. Fans enjoyed the relaxed environment and eagerly look forward to next year’s Norfolk Waterfront Jazz Festival.
Photosby RandySingleton
(L-R): Loretta Allen and Publisher Brenda H. Andrews
Four80East
Larry Carlton
Kirk Whalum
Norman Brown
(L-R): Betty Harris and Yolaine Singleton
EVENTS IN HAMPTON AUG. 23-25 COMMEMORATION OF 1619 ARRIVAL OF FIRST AFRICANS
HAMPTON
On a hot summer day in August 1619, a moment of profound consequence unfolded on the shores of what’s now Hampton, Virginia. It was here that the fi rst Africans from present day Angola arrived in English North America, marking the beginning of a harrowing chapter in history.
On August 23-25
commemoration events will be held to honor the fi rst Africans brought here in 1619 and to highlight their legacy of culture, identity, resistance and triumph.
The Annual African Landing Day Commemoration is hosted by the Fort Monroe Authority, National Park Service, Project 1619, Inc. and the City of Hampton and held at Fort Monroe
on Saturday and Sunday August 24 and 25. On Friday, August 23, The William Tucker 1624 Society’s Annual African Landing Event will be held from 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. at the Hampton Roads Convention Center.
The William Tucker 1624 Society will present Filipe Silvino de Pina Zau, Angola’s Minister of Culture as the keynote speaker for this event and in attendance will be a large delegation of Angolans to accompany the Minister.
The theme this year is “We Are Better Together.”
This year’s program demonstrates bridging the gaps of 405 years of history between the continents. Ric Murphy, author of “Arrival of the First Africans,” will be the master of ceremony. In addition, this year there will be an art exhibit
presentation from Angola by the Embassy of the Republic of Angola to the United States. New for 2024 will be a Soil Blending Ceremony during the day-long event at Fort Monroe on August 24 from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Soil from Angola will be blended with soil from Fort Monroe and other Virginia locations to mark the site of the African Landing Memorial, which is slated to be completed in 2026.
Other activities during Saturday will include cultural honors and recognitions plus youth activities, a Parade of Nations, a Flower Petal Ceremony, a drum call and a bell ringing ceremony.
There will be special guest performances by Sheila Arnold, storyteller; Leah Glenn Dance Theatre; KAM Kelly & The DAY Program and Tidewater African Cultural Alliance. There will be special remarks from Hampton Mayor Donnie Tuck, the Tucker Family, Senator Maime Locke and others.
On Sunday, August 25, 6-8 a.m. a Healing Day Ceremony will be held at Outlook Beach, Fort Monroe. This ceremony provides attendees with a unique opportunity for healing and cleansing of the soul. Attendees are encouraged to wear all white.
page 2B
3B
NEW $9M AFRICAN LANDING MEMORIAL
AT FORT MONROE TO OPEN IN 2025
By Rosaland Tyler
Associate Editor New Journal and Guide
An African Landing Memorial at Old Point Comfort in Hampton (today’s Fort Monroe) is expected to open in 2025, due to the fact that organizers have secured most of the funds needed to finance the estimated $9 million project. Following a 2018 visit, then Gov. Ralph Northam earmarked $500,000 for the proposed project, which is located at Fort Monroe, a decommissioned Army installation that was transferred to the state in 2011. Next, the American Rescue Plan Act, which bolstered the tourism industry during the pandemic, provided $6 million. The final $2.5 million was added into the state budget under Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
The movement to construct the memorial, however, dates back to the 1990s and efforts by Project 1619, Inc., a non-profit organization founded by Calvin Pearson of Hampton. Project 1619 was created in 1994 with a mission to tell the true history about the first African people taken to Virginia – and their true point of arrival at what is now Hampton.
In 2012, the founding board members of the organization, and others from the project met with Fort Monroe Authority CEO Glenn Oder. The decommissioned Army installation was transferred to the state authority in 2011,
An ark, bronze statues and a relief wall will grace the memorial site where enslaved Africans first set foot on Virginia soil in 1619.
and Oder was hired that same year.
Oder liked the idea, and Founding Member Bill Wiggins said Project 1619 began seeking donations to fund the memorial. “It was a very, very far-fetched goal, as we found out,” Wiggins said. “You needed millions of dollars, and the grassroots community, of course, did not have millions of dollars to contribute.”
The Fort Monroe Authority is in charge of the landing site. After the memorial opens, tourists will stroll through the memorial and glimpse a reconstructed version of the land that was brutally real to Isabella, Anthony and baby William, the first identified captured Africans to land at the site in 1619.
An ark, bronze statues and a relief wall will grace the memorial site where enslaved Africans first set foot on Virginia soil in 1619.
Organizers said each piece is “loaded with information” about the history of those first Africans, who were forcibly shipped from Africa to the landing site in Virginia.
In short, the memorial is a storyline, but the story actually starts in Africa, moves to Hampton and spreads throughout the USA.
This point is underscored by historians, journalists and genealogists who have contributed research to the memorial, including retired Hampton University historian Bill Wiggins, who called the point of arrival “ground zero” for what the United States would become.
“This is where it all began, so-called American civilization,” Wiggins said in a recent WHRO interview. “For better or worse.”
This means what began as “a very, very far-fetched goal,” (The African Landing Memorial project) according to Wiggins, will become a true reality next year.
“You needed millions of dollars,” Wiggins said, explaining the twists and turns that the memorial project has taken in the past three decades. “The grassroots community, of course, did not have millions of dollars to contribute.” Still, the envisioned memorial is set to open next year.
Fort Monroe Authority CEO Glenn Oder, who has held the post since 2011 and worked with memorial organizers, said, “It became very important to us that we would design a memorial that would tell the truth,” Oder said. “Where people could come and have solemn
Includes Reception
remembrance, or groups could gather and have a commemoration.
The project will wrap in 2025 and the installation of the first statue will begin. Organizers hope the memorial will spark reflection and a deeper understanding of the story of the United States.
“The memorial is a storyline, and the storyline actually starts in Africa,” Oder explained. “It tells about their life in Africa. We talk about the Middle Passage. We talk about resistance.”
Florida-based sculptor Brian Owens is currently carving clay designs that will be transformed into bronze.
“It’s taken quite a while, but it’s also given us time to be reflective in the extreme and thoughtful,” Owens said, describing the 35-plus years effort to construct The African Landing Memorial that is scheduled to open in Hampton, in 2025.
For Calvin Pearson
HAMPTON
This year’s African Landing Day Commemoration will be held August 24 at Fort Monroe. Of special interest is a reception and honorary tribute to Mr. Calvin Pearson, founder of Project 1619, Inc. and organizer of the annual Commemoration, who is retiring. The reception will be held Aug. 24 at Queen Street Baptist Worship Center. Tickets are $50.
Pearson founded the annual Commemoration to bring attention to the landing in 1619 of the first enslaved Africans to the shores that are now Fort Monroe, Va. in Hampton. Events during the four days are designed to highlight reconciliation and healing from the legacy of slavery.
Activities on African Landing Day, Saturday, Aug. 24 begin at 10 a.m. at Fort Monroe to include a bell
ringing ceremony. It is free and open to the public. Other events are: The William Tucker 1624 Society Commemoration at the Hampton Roads Convention Center from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 23; and on Sunday morning, Aug. 25 from 6-8 a.m., a Cleansing and Healing Ceremony will be held. For more information, visit project1619.org.
Hello and welcome to The Bridge Corner. Drawing Trumps with the Help of a Finesse. When you don’t have enough tricks to make your contract, you have to analyze your options. Sometimes, you can try to win a trick with one of your high cards even if the opponents have a higherranking card. In order to do this, you will need a little luck. The higher-ranking card must be favorably placed in an opponent’s hand. If it is, a finesse will let you develop an extra trick.
1) East opens the bidding with 1 Spade. East is the describer and West is the responder and the captain.
2) West, the responder, can support opener’s suit. The hand is worth 8 total points, so responder would bid 2 Spades. This bid is invitational, meaning the opener doesn’t have to bid again. Opener, having a minimal hand (12 to 14 High Card Points) would pass.
3) The final contract would
be 2 Spades. East would be the declarer.
4) South makes the opening lead with the Q Diamonds.
5) Declarer needs eight tricks but only has five sure tricks. Declarer’s best chance for developing the extra trick is in the Spade suit.
6) After taking the lead, declarer should play the Ace Spade and then a low Spade toward the Queen Spade –the card declarer hopes will take a trick.
7) Declarer should make
Game fee is $6 (paid BEFORE the game thru our voucher system. Contact L. Owes at email below). Light snacks and water provided; bring your lunch. Any questions, concerns, or comments, please feel free to contact Lawrence Owes, President Tidewater Bridge Club at l.a.owes1@ gmail.com
Calvin Pearson
HAMPTON & NEWPORT NEWS JOIN FORCES IN SEEKING MALE MENTORS FOR
By Rosaland Tyler
Associate Editor New Journal and Guide
When Hampton Mayor
Donnie Tuck and Newport News Mayor Phillip Jones recently urged Peninsula residents to serve as mentors in the two cities’ public school systems, they did not whip out scholarly reports, posters and flow charts that show mentoring works at their press conference. Instead, both of the mayors who head majority
Black cities in Virginia, sat before cameras at the press conference and urged male mentors to volunteer, especially “Black males in the business community – who will serve as role models for students in single-parent homes.”
While online records show mentors must undergo a background check that Hampton City Schools will pay for its mentors, this minor inconvenience does not overshadow the impact that thousands of male mentors have already had on the lives of millions
CHRYSLER EXHIBITION CELEBRATES JAMES BALDWIN’S LEGACY
NORFOLK
The Chrysler Museum of Art recently opened James Baldwin: Celebrating a Legacy, an exhibition to celebrate Baldwin’s 100th Birthday, which just occurred on August 2.
The exhibition, on view in the Margaret Shepherd Ray Family and Student Gallery until September 8, invites viewers to contemplate two portraits of this inspiring individual, design a birthday card or thank you note, create a portrait, or flip through beautiful books in the reading nook.
James Baldwin (19241987), “Jimmy” to his friends, was a creative force whose legacy continues to influence, encourage, and inspire. To celebrate what would have been his 100th birthday on August 2, this exhibition invites visitors to connect with Baldwin through two portraits.
Beauford Delaney (American, 1901–1979), Portrait of James Baldwin, 1965, Oil on canvas, Museum purchase, 2015.28
Both Beauford Delaney (1901-1979) and Carl Van Vechten (1880-1964) were friends with Baldwin, and although they were each from different backgrounds and utilized different mediums, they found commonality in their appreciation for the
arts. All three men shared unique, intergenerational perspectives that contributed to a deepened understanding of the hopes and struggles all Americans and the global community faced.
In the works by these two artists, Baldwin’s beauty serves as an invitation to learn more about this dynamic man. He spent much of his life writing plays, essays, novels, and more that related to his identity as a Black, queer man. Rather than consider Baldwin as a stoic symbol of resistance through his life’s works, these two works show his vitality, energy, and emotion.
As Baldwin poetically states in Notes of a Native Son, “I am what time, circumstance, history, have made of me, certainly, but I am also, much more than that. So are we all.”
of young Black males, including former President Barack Obama.
Obama said his father’s absence caused a “hole” in his heart, which caused him to launch a 2014 mentoring program called My Brother’s Keeper. The initiative aimed to increase opportunities for boys and young men of color in underserved communities and focused on providing education, reading, job training and mentoring.
Describing a male mentor’s impact when he launched My Brother’s Keeper, Obama said, “I believe the continuing struggles of so many boys and young men –the fact that too many of them are falling by the wayside, dropping out, unemployed, involved in negative behavior, going to jail, being profiled –this is a moral issue for our country.”
Tuck and Jones aim to address this problem in Hampton and Newport News. Records show about 65 percent of students qualified for free or reduced lunches in Newport News, which means many students live around or below the poverty line. More records show some schools, such as Newport News, Norfolk and Virginia Beach, offer their students free breakfast regardless of whether their families qualify for economic hardship under the United States Department of Agriculture’s Community Eligibility Provisions program.
“Through this provision, the majority of our schools, 39 school sites, offer free breakfast and lunch for all students without collecting applications,” Michelle Price, spokeswoman for Newport News Public Schools, said in a recent report.
Mentors who sign up this year in Newport News and Hampton will participate in an array of activities including reading, participating in the mayor’s book club, and coaching. Many mentors will also serve as guest speakers for males ages 14-24.
“The fact is,” Mayor Tuck said at the recent press conference, “many
VOICES
By Sean C. Bowers
Tallying all of 45’s infinite lies while in office (over 21 per day documented by the Washington Post) seems like an impossible task, yet it must be done to come to a fair assessment of his lengthy lying legacy, broken record.
The nation faces a clear choice. We’re asked to trust 45 only, over all others, current, past, and future, to yield all common sense, decency, and empathic reasonableness, to yield the nation’s reputation, rules, and laws to the one man who ONLY supports, obeys, and respects, the laws, legal system, and the government’s three existing co-equal branches when they serve his ambition to be cruel to those who oppose him, are different from him, and those whom “he” deems as less than, and beneath him.
History shows us that yielding in the face of over-amplified, provenly false hooded Neo-Nazi repackaged WHITE (self) hate, has never worked, to stop it, to reduce it, or to make it go away.
The Project 2025 Republican Right’s platform from the Heritage Think Tank calls for women to lose their right to vote! Nationwide abortion bans are next.
The 975-page-document was created by over 140 former members of 45’s earlier Administration. 45 leaves no doubt where he stands while trying to distance himself from the boat-anchor Project 2025 beliefs/agenda. He does so while standing on the necks of those who oppose and seek to defeat him. The Right wants to destroy and eliminate their opposition by lying harder for their lies and lying leaders, while the Democrats’ passion is to protect and defend the truth.
Those who question the difference between the two candidates make it a zero-sum-gain choice of EQUALLY dangerous
young Black boys have no male role models unless they are involved in athletics. We’ve seen progress in reducing youth violence in Hampton and Newport News, especially among Black males aged 14 to 24. To sustain this, we need mentors ready to commit an hour a week or every two weeks, helping these boys forge productive futures. I urge the men in our community to come forward and make a profound impact that will shape lives for years to come.”
Mayor Jones added: “By joining forces, our cities are taking a significant step toward a critical need. Let’s be clear: This is just the beginning. For this to work, we need the community to step up.” This means while numerous national organizations such as 100 Black Men of America, Concerned Black Men, The Boys Club, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America work to address some of these issues, concerned residents can step up right now and address this issue this school year in Hampton and Newport News. For information on how to be a mentor or volunteer in Hampton City Schools.or in Newport News Schools, visit their city schools websites.
options. It clearly is NOT that kind of choice.
The world is united in its disgust for 45. The lack of appetite for 45 to rule again, (he hopes permanently,) is easily larger than the minority of MAGA TOTAL Cray Crays.
In his 2017 book, “The American Spirit,” author David McCoullough, details what Congress has accomplished in one paragraph. “It was Congress after all that provided the Homestead Act, ended slavery, ended child labor, built the railroads, built the Panama Canal, the interstate highway system. It was Congress that paid Lewis and Clark, and for our own travels to the moon. It was Congress that changed the course of history with the Lend lease and Marshall Plan. Congress created Social Security, TVA, The G.I. Bill, the Voting Rights Act and the incomparable Library Of Congress.”
We are the sum of those Bi-partisan legislative accomplishments where the Right and Left were forced to the Middle (AMERICA) for the betterment of the whole nation.
The Right can’t make points, spend, and profit as much and as fast as they would like. The Left still awaits equal pay for women. We are the sum of standing up against bullies for the little guys, we are part of the 75-year-old NATO because of the last century’s NAZI Hitler threat. Now we face an
We are the sum of those Bi-partisan legislative accomplishments where the Right and Left were forced to the Middle (AMERICA) for the betterment of the whole nation.
internal authoritarian, with a fetish/desire/(OUR death wish) for unchecked unfettered power, one who broke countless norms, traditions, laws, holy commandments, and government institutional pillars in his total scorched-earth revenge/ retribution, rerun 2024. In the last 10 years of 45, (which feels like 70 in dog years to the rest of us,) we have witnessed this evil WHITE COWARD criminal try to steal America right in front of us, right under our noses, telegraphing his warped scheme with the complicit Republicans who crave power, position, profits, and control over all others. The time is now for the sum of who we are and what we stand for to out fight and finally knock out the clownish imposter, O’range John Trump-ster Fire, forever!
Sean C. Bowers writes 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 at V1ZUAL1ZE@ aol.com NNPA 2019 Publisher of the Year, Brenda H. Andrews (NJ&G 37 years) has always been his publisher.
Sean C. Bowers
Mayor Donnie Tuck
Mayor Phillip Jones
By Rev. Dr. Archie L. Edwards, Sr.
WISDOM IN CHRIST MOMENTS of MEDITATION
Ephesians 1:15-23
Having told the Ephesian believers that they were chosen “in Christ,” Paul prays that they might be given the wisdom to understand what this means. He shares with them something of the occasion and content of his prayer, along with his expectations for their spiritual development as they gain wisdom “in Christ.” THE OCCASION FOR
PAUL’S PRAYER. The reason for Paul’s constant prayers for the Ephesians was twofold: (1) they had been chosen in Christ; (2) encouraging reports about their growth in grace had reached him. This led Paul to give unceasing thanks for them and to mention them by name in his prayers.(Do we pray faithfully for other
believers?)
THE CONTENT OF PAUL’S PRAYER. The heart of Paul’s prayer is “that you may know Him better” (1:17) – i.e., come to a better understanding of who God is by entering into a vital personal relationship with Him. This happens only as the Spirit of God imparts the divine gifts of “wisdom and revelation.”
The Lord Jesus Christ “has become for us wisdom from God” (1 Corinthians 1:30), and only through Him can we gain the wisdom to understand what God has revealed (see John 16:13-14).
Paul prays that through the power of the Holy Spirit “the eyes of your heart may be enlightened (Ephesians 1:18a). This interesting phrase reminds us that Christian maturity is not to be found
in intellectual or even theological sophistication, but through the response of one’s entire being to God.
We have been called to a hope in Christ (v. 18b). This is not the kind of wishful thinking that we so often mean when we say, “I hope so.” Rather, this is the “hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time” (Titus 1:2). This is that “blessed hope – the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13), for which believers are waiting as we come to know God better, we will become increasingly assured of the reality of this hope.
God also has a glorious inheritance in store for us (Ephesians 1:18c).
Israel of old was promised an earthly inheritance; believers in Christ are promised a heavenly inheritance that will far surpass anything that this world could give. There is another way of understanding the phrase, “the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints” (v. 18c). It may be intended to convey the fact that God regards his people as a rich and cherished inheritance (see Deuteronomy 32:9). Our awareness of our weaknesses makes
us hesitate to think of ourselves as persons whom God would value as his “inheritance.” But perhaps if we were more aware that He does indeed regard us in this way, we would be more careful to maintain our integrity as His people. Finally, Paul prays that the Ephesian believers may come to know the greatness of the power that God exercises on behalf of His people (Ephesians 1: 19a).
THE EXTENT OF GOD’S POWER. Paul asserts (vv. 19b-21) that the power that God has placed at the disposal of believers is the same power that brought about the resurrection, ascension and enthronement of Christ. The power of the risen, glorified Christ far exceeds that of any other existing or future authority. The church operates under the power and authority of Christ. There is a special relationship between them and Paul turns to this in the closing phrases of his prayer.
THE RELATIONSHIP OF CHRIST AND THE CHURCH. As Paul further elaborates on the supremacy of Christ, he uses words reminiscent of Psalm 8 (see Hebrew 2:89). The one who became obedient to death has been exalted to the highest
place and everything in the universe will one day confess that He is Lord (Philippians 2:8-11).
While this grand realization of the universal reign of Christ is yet future, God has given Christ to believers to be “head over everything” (Ephesians 1:22). Nothing that affects the lives of Christians is outside the rule of the risen Christ, He is also the head of the church which is His body (Colossians 1:18).
We sometimes think of the church as an organization of human beings working together for God. In reality, the true church is an organism established by God through which Christ lives in the world. Organization is inevitable and necessary, but if it is an end in itself Christ is no longer the head of that church, which then becomes just one more human agency –doing some good, perhaps, but not functioning in response to His direction.
Paul speaks of the church as “the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way” (Ephesians 1:23). Does this mean that the church contains the fullness of Christ’s being as well as His gifts and blessings? Or does it mean that the church in some way makes Christ full and
complete?
There is certainly a sense in which Christ’s glory is enhanced through the church, as the praise songs in the Book of Revelation make clear. But we cannot think that Christ would be in some way incomplete apart from the church. This makes it probable that Paul was referring to Christ’s fullness and blessings as God’s gracious gift to the church With these words Paul concludes his prayer for the Ephesians (though he will again open a prayer in their behalf at the close of chapter 3). He has prayed that in Christ they will find the wisdom and understanding needed in order to know God better. He has written of great spiritual truths, which require spiritual discernment. Through the power of the Holy Spirit – and only through His power – can we like the Ephesians become wise in the things of God and come to know Him better. This should be our goal as we seek to become more mature in the Christian faith and life. As Paul continues his letter, he discusses some things that are involved in our new life in Christ. This topic will occupy our attention in the next lesson.
CHURCH ADs & DIRECTORY
FILM REVIEW: DAUGHTERS
By Dwight Brown Film Critic
(4 Stars)
When you start with a humanizing premise, there’s nowhere to go but up. Documentaries that present solutions, not just observations, should be lauded and rewarded. That’s why praise has been bestowed on this heartwarming film and its mission to reunite daughters and their incarcerated dads. Bring a tissue when you see it. Maybe a whole box.
“My dad can’t come to the father/daughter dance because he’s in jail,” said one disappointed young girl at the Girls for Change Leadership Academy in Virginia. But she had a suggestion, “What if we had the dance in the jail.” And so, it began. A sheriff was asked to let a daughter/dad dance take place in his prison. He approved, it happened and that auspicious event in 2013 blossomed into the “Date with Dad” prison rehabilitation program.
First-time doc director Angela Patton, CEO of Girls for Change, teamed with video music director Natalie Rae (Leon Bridges: Bad Bad News) and they documented the journey of four young girls looking forward to attending a prom in a Washington D.C. prison. Aubrey, Santana, Raziah, and Ja’Ana are anxious as they prepare for the event.
Their dads, Keith, Mark, Alonzo and Frank, are twice as nervous.
The men attend educational and consciousness-raising therapy sessions for 10 weeks to prepare for the big reunion. They confess their apprehensions, hopes and ambitions as they study fatherhood and look back on their own lives. One laments that he isn’t present in his tween daughter’s life. As a 16-year-old, he’d impregnated her 14-yearold mother whose own dad was not around. He thinks if her father had been home policing her potential boyfriends, they might not have become teen parents. The dangers that lurk when fathers are absent are real to him. Another wishes he could witness his daughter’s growth: “Everything I wanted to do she’s doing. Everything I wanted to be, she is.” Another confesses, he doesn’t know how to dance.
The girls express, anger, fear, envy and sadness as they yearn for their
Photo: CourtesyofNetflix
dads’ presence. Despair pushes one youngster into wanting to jump off a roof. The parents and children all need understanding, forgiveness and healing. Fortunately, they have a guardian angel, an auntie. The shaman-like Angela Patton encourages the children, counsels the weary mothers and assures the men that they’re needed: “Our daddies are our mirrors that we reflect back on when we decide about what type of man we deserve.”
Cinematographer Michael “Cambio” Fernandez’s invisible camerawork puts you in the center of the men’s discussion groups, on the collect calls from prison and in homes where kids reveal their deepest secrets. A group shot of the fathers in orange jumpsuits is sobering. A group shot of them in suits and ties, like they’re at an HBCU fraternity reunion, is humanizing. You’re watching their rehabilitation in real time. These precious moments are judiciously assembled
and clipped together by the filmmakers and editor Troy Josiah Lewis. Their only questionable creative decision is not cutting more of the post event footage.
During sensitive moments, sweet cello music (composer Kelsey Lu) plays. During reflective scenes, songs like “Happen,” by British singer/songwriter Sampha, fill the air with their deeply felt lyrics. In a haunting tenor voice, he croons: “You’re too scared to show me love. ‘Cause you’re too fresh with the scars ... I can’t let this happen again. I found my love and I don’t wanna lose it again.”
Audiences will love all the girls, especially the extremely bright Aubrey who was around five years old during the filming. All the dads become leading men in their own movies and their metamorphoses are on view. That big day, when the daughters and fathers meet, hug, dance and exchange feelings is when viewers who’d previously dabbed their eyes with a few tissues will grab a bunch.
Daughters puts a face on those affected by incarceration. Children, parents and families all trying to find their way back to the center of life. People learning lessons and gaining wisdom. When one father says, “The streets don’t love us. Our kids love us,” you know that they’re all headed in the right direction.
HOLLYWOOD, CA IN THE BLACK NETWORK (ITBN), a premier, free streaming service that highlights Black voices and original stories that are culturally significant and relatable for all audiences, announces new partnerships with Black Enterprise, African Diaspora Network TV, REVOLT Mixtape, HomesteadPlus, Shades of Black, World One TV, One Culture, as well as the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) and BlackPressUSA News Service; adding new FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television) channels to their growing library of content from Black creators. The new partnerships enrich the ITBN platform with a diverse array of multi-genre programming from Black creators. Viewers can look forward to an expanded selection of titles, from action-packed adventures and laugh-outloud comedies to culturally significant content like faith-based storytelling and compelling documentaries.
ITBN is also enhancing its global offerings with selections from Nollywood and other Black independent films from Africa, further connecting an already established global viewership of over 25 countries. This vibrant mix not only broadens the platform’s appeal but also reinforces ITBN’s mission to celebrate and amplify Black voices, bringing the best of Black culture to a centralized, subscription-free place. “The mission with ITBN has always been to bring quality Black content under one roof,” said James DuBose, CEO and Founder. “With these FAST channels and our platform, we aim to be the best part of Black culture in a centralized, subscription-free home. Plus outside of these exciting offerings, ITBN will announce some key original scripted productions in the coming months.”
ITBN continues to draw the attention of familiar favorites in celebrity Black culture, and recently added an exciting new dating reality series, Finding My Romeo, aligning with the growing trend among streaming platforms. Hosted by
charismatic Hip Hop royalty, Romeo Miller, the show features a bachelor on a quest for true love among a group of lucky singles. Dr. Holly Carter’s brainchild series arrives on ITBN through MergeTV, her family, faith, and lifestyle network. Finding My Romeo joins a lineup of captivating original programming featuring celebrities, including Food for Thought with the inspirational DeVon Franklin, showcasing the exceptional talent and compelling content that ITBN offers. The introduction of new FAST channels on ITBN coincides with National Black Business Month this August, a time to celebrate Black-owned businesses and their vital contributions. Building on the addition of FAST channels earlier this year, these new partnerships bring the total ITBN FAST channels to 93, encompassing a wide array of topics such as music, sports, mental health, wellness, food, and interior design. IN THE BLACK NETWORK is available for download on iOS and Android devices, Apple TV, YouTube, Roku, LG, and Samsung media players.
About In The Black Network IN THE BLACK NETWORK (ITBN) is an AVOD-FREE streaming service that highlights Black voices and original stories that are culturally significant and relatable for all audiences. With an expansive collection of Black-focused entertainment, viewers can access multigenre content from Black creators, including sports, music, scripted, faith, talk, kids/family, feature films, and more. The platform contains over 93 LIVE CHANNELS as well as an extended list of fan favorites from established studios and distributors. In addition, ITBN produces original entertainment that further uplifts Black culture and pride. The premiere-free network streams directly on www.intheBlacknetwork.tv or on a dedicated app that is available for download on iOS and Android devices, Apple TV, YouTube, ROKU, LG, and Samsung media players.
