NJG | Vol. 124, No. 42 - October 24, 2024

Protecting Our Democracy Begins With Voting

By Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX)

Voting is one of our most fundamental rights. It’s not just about having a say in the future of our country, it’s about honoring the legacy of those who fought and sacrificed so that we could have a voice. As a voting rights lawyer, I’ve seen the impacts of voter suppression firsthand, and how deeply un-American it is when folks cannot vote because of arbitrary barriers put in place to make it harder.

I became a voting rights attorney because I believe the right to vote is preservative of all other rights. That’s why we cannot afford to sit on the

I became a voting rights attorney because I believe the right to vote is preservative of all other rights. That’s why we cannot afford to sit on the sidelines.”

sidelines. In Congress, I’ve been working to reinstate and modernize the Voting Rights Act to stop harmful voter suppression laws. I’ve introduced legislation that would ensure integrity in our elections and protect our election workers. I stand by the words of my hero, Congressman John Lewis who said “The vote is precious. It is almost sacred. It is the most powerful non-

violent tool we have in a democracy.”

I think about icons like the late, great Congresswoman Barbara Jordan of Texas, who fought fearlessly for our democracy. She never shied away from challenging those who wanted to silence our communities and take away folks’ voices in our democracy. She said it best: “What the people want is very simple, they want

an America as good as its promise.”

To live up to that promise, we must do better. History has shown us that elections can be decided by

BLACK CHURCHES WANT BLACK FOLKS TO GO TO

By Rosaland Tyler

Associate Editor New Journal and Guide

Kamala Harris’ recent visit to Atlanta’s New Birth Missionary Baptist Church caused the national spotlight to briefly shine on this popular Black mega church’s Souls to the Polls event; but the spotlight has already shifted, due to the fact that other Black denominations are urging its congregants to get out and vote. This means New Birth Pastor Jamal Bryant took Harris by the arm on her 60th birthday, ushered her down the aisle to the pulpit on Oct. 20. Harris addressed the congregation and then sped off in her motorcade to speak at Divine Faith Ministries International in Jonesboro,located just south of Atlanta. In other words, on Oct. 20, Harris addressed thousands of Black voters at two churches in Georgia. New

THE POLLS

On her birthday Oct. 20, V-P Kamala Harris addressed thousands of Black voters at two churches in Georgia.

Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest has more than 10,000 members.

Divine Faith Ministries has a 55,000 square foot worship center that seats thousands.

Many people lined up at dusk to grab a seat at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church including Kim Stevens of Lithonia who came with a group of friends.

“First of all, I’m gonna praise the Lord,” Stevens told WSB-TV reporters explaining that she came

”to be a part of history.” If elected, Harris would be the nation’s first female president. “First female, first Black female. She represents a lot of what I represent, so I had to be here,” Stevens said.

Inside the church, Harris walked to the pulpit at New Birth Missionary Baptist and said, “Our country is at a crossroads, and where we go from here is up to us as Americans and as people of faith.

see Churches, page 6A

V-P HARRIS SENDS HOMECOMING MESSAGE TO HOWARD U. FAMILY

By Jordyn Britton Howard University News Service

As students and alumni converged on the “Yard of Fame” to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Howard University’s homecoming, Vice President Kamala Harris shared a greeting with some of her own memories at The Mecca, emphasizing the profound role her HBCU has had on her journey and values.

“I have so many fond memories as a student at ‘The Mecca,’ and I recognize that my time at Howard shaped me into the person I am today,” wrote Harris, who was not attending homecoming this year. “At Howard, we learn that we have the capacity to be great and also that we have the responsibility to work hard to live up to that potential each day.”

I recognize that my time at Howard shaped me into the person I am today.”

– V-P Kamala Harris, Howard U. Alumna

The centennial occurs in conjunction with this historic election cycle and another milestone on the horizon as the Howard alumna sets her sights on becoming the first woman to serve as president of the United States with running mate Tim Walz at her side.

The Democratic nominee also used a portion of her Howard remarks to address the Biden-Harris administration’s

commitment to education and $17 billion investment in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

Harris also pointed out the administration’s increase in the size of Pell Grants and student loan forgiveness.

“We have taken historic actions to ensure all students have the resources they need to thrive,” she said. “We know more needs to be done, and we look forward to continuing to work alongside you as we build a brighter future for all.”

During recent homecoming activities, it was not unusual to see someone showcasing Harris-Walz something in support of the Howard alumna, who graduated in 1986 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and economics.

Jordyn Britton is a reporter for HUNewsService.com.

New Henrietta Lacks Statue Is Unveiled In South Boston

By Rosaland Tyler

Associate Editor

New Journal and Guide

South Boston community members, local businesses and organizations recently unfolded lawn chairs, sat down, and watched as a bronze statue of Henrietta Lacks was unveiled four years after her 100th birthday in Halifax County, where she grew up. Thanks to a two-year fundraising drive that raised $50,000 after the Lacks family and the Halifax

County-South Boston NAACP Chapter launched a partnership in 2022 to honor Lacks in her hometown, Lacks’ new bronze statue now rests at Constitution Square in South Boston. The lawn in front of the stage was packed full of attendees, according to news reports. “I look at her as this incredible woman, who unknowingly gave so much,” Regene Pleasants Coleman, Lacks’ cousin, told the audience that spilled all over the lawn.“I

look at her as this phoenix rising from the petri dish. I have all of these images in my mind of her greatness because of what she has done, not only locally, but to the world. We have all benefited from her in some capacity.”

Many at the recent South Boston unveiling ceremony were youngsters or not even born in 1951, when Lacks unknowingly made history after she received a cervical cancer diagnosis and samples of her cancerous cells were collected

without her knowledge at Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins Hospital. There, researchers used Lacks’ cells to create “HeLa” cells (named after the first two letters of Lacks’ first and last names). Later, HeLa cells were used to develop the polio vaccine, and have been involved in research on AIDS, cancer, COVID-19, HPV, and many other conditions, long after Lacks’ death occurred on Oct. 4, 1951, at the age of 31, eight months after her diagnosis. see Lacks, page 6A

a handful of

often say if you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu. Voting is our power and our voice. Let’s use it.

Colin Allred is a three

term Democratic

U.S.

Congressman from Texas running in the 2024 elections for the U.S. Senate against Republican Ted Cruz.

V-P Kamala Harris

Hampton NAACP President Gaylene Kanoyton and NJG Publisher Brenda Andrews making presentation.

Photo: RandySingleton

NORFOLK

The Norfolk Waterside Marriott was the site for the 10th Impacting Lives Breakfast on Oct. 19 hosted by the New Journal and Guide. Nearly 400 guests were present to celebrate with the newspaper as it marked its 124th Anniversary. Seven of the NAACP branches in Hampton Roads were honored for their impact in the area, as their presidents were saluted for their leadership. see INSIDE, page 7A

Photo: RandySingleton

Photo: mphillips007

BLACK RETIREES: GROWING OLDER & POORER

By Charlene Crowell

As Americans live longer, the

to remain fi nancially independent is an ongoing struggle. Especially for Black and other people of color whose lifetime incomes are often lower than that of other contemporaries, fi nding money to save for ‘old age’ is particularly daunting. According to the National Council on Aging, racial and ethnic minorities accounted for one in 4 adults aged 65 and older in 2022. In that same year, the average 65-year-old could expect to live another 18 years or longer, on a median income of $29,740. In 2022, the average yearly Social Security benefit for Black men ages 65 and older was $15,345, and for Black women was only $13,755. However, the average annual Social Security income for all 65 or older men was $18,910, and for all older women was $14,824.

In past generations retiring workers often received a gold watch, pension, and companysponsored health insurance. But today’s retirees face far different circumstances. With few remaining pensions available, most workers must look to themselves for financial security in their old age. And Social Security has become a financial lifeline.

When enacted in 1935 during the throes of the Great Depression, Social Security was a groundbreaking federal social safety net for retirees. Financed by payroll taxes that began in 1937, both employees and their employers paid into the program. A 1939 amendment to the law expanded the program to include survivor benefits for retirees’ widows and children, commonly known today as SSI. In 1956 disability benefits were added in a second expansion. To compensate beneficiaries for rises in cost of living, an annual

White households with a college degree had a median retirement wealth of $273,500, compared to $160,323 for Hispanic/Latino households, and $119,000 for Black households with a college degree

—Society of Actuaries Research Institute, 2024

Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) began in 1975. Prior to 1972, only special acts of Congress could increase benefits. Today, more than 80 years later, 68 million retirees and 4.5 million other program participants recently learned that a 2.5 percent COLA increase will be added to their monthly checks – even lower than the 2.6 percent decade-long average computed by Social Security. For retirees, the increase will begin in January. SSI beneficiaries will receive their increase with their December 31

October 20, 1945

Edition of the Guide

Negro Deckhands Placed “Before the Gun” During Strike

NEWPORT NEWS

A brand new angle for the undisclosed factors behind the strike of deckhands, oilers and firemen which tied up ferry service on the Norfolk-Newport News run of the Chesapeake Ferry Company over the past weekend, was brought out in the wake of a temporary settlement of the walkout.

As officials of the company announced a temporary truce in the strike, and ferry service restored, some (colored) deckhands charged that while they had walked out and tied up the ferry lines, the ferry captain, mates, and engineers, all of whom are white, stood to gain the most from the walkout.

At least two deckhands told a GUIDE reporter they were being “put before the Gun.” It was explained that all of the deckhands and firemen, and many of the oilers were colored.

They all have returned to work. Following a conference with the Seafarers International Union, the strikers were reported to be asking for 88 cents an hour raise and an eight-hour day.

One striker was asked what would happen if the negotiations do not go well, he said “then we’ll walk right back out again.”

The strike centered around the Colored Deckhands since the law requires that at least two of them must be aboard a ship on each trip.

Two Colored Men Eligible NORFOLK

The two Negroes who have been found to be “eligible for appointment” as patrolmen on the Norfolk police force are William Lewis, 24, of 2604 Liberia Drive, and Thomas Weaver, 880 Memphis Street, Liberty Park, the Civil Service Commission reported last week. Lewis is currently a shore patrolman on duty in this city and Weaver is reported to be discharged from the United States Army.

The City Manager has confirmed his recent statement that when “acceptable” Negroes are available they will be appointed to the force.

Police Chief John F.

Portsmouth’s Missy Elliott Among Nat’l Medal of The Arts Recipients

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03) was in attendance at a White House celebration Oct. 21 honoring the 2022 and 2023 recipients of the National Medal of the Arts. Missy Elliott, a native of Portsmouth, VA, was one of the 2022 National Medal of Arts recipients.

payment.

Next year’s increase means the average retiree’s monthly $1,927 Social Security check will rise by $49. The monthly average for an elderly couple with both receiving benefits will be $3,089, from 2024s $3,014 – a $75 increase. It is important to note that individual benefit levels are determined by a formula that uses a worker’s highest earnings over a 34-year career. Should Medicare’s 2025 rates increase as expected, the net increase to retiree checks will be even less.

see Retirees, page 3A

“Missy Elliott is a legendary, trailblazing music artist. She is a global superstar as well as an immense source of pride for Virginia and the Hampton Roads region,” said Congressman Scott. “It was very fitting that she was among those honored by President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden, and I was proud to attend today’s celebration to honor her legacy. Some could say it would be a ‘Misdemeanor’ to not honor her life and career. I congratulate her, and all the other recipients for their creativity and important contributions to our country.”

The National Medal of Arts is the highest award given to artists and arts patrons by the federal government. It

is awarded by the President of the United States to individuals or groups who are deserving of special recognition by reason of their outstanding contributions to the excellence, growth, support, and availability of the

From The Guide’s Archives

Archives taken from the pages of the (New) Journal and Guide

Woods informed the GUIDE that it has been his hope to swear these two men in the first of this week, but because Lewis is still on active duty in the Navy, it will be impossible to administer the oath until he has received an honorary Navy discharge.

The Chief said while Weaver appears to be entirely eligible, the policy as stated, by City Manager Col. Charles B. Norland, and supported by the Chief himself, is not to experiment with Negro policemen until at least two qualified men were available.

Incidentally Chief Wood said that even the colored citizens would feel grievously disappointed should men below the caliber of making good policemen become he first to make the force.

The Chief said a third colored man who appears to be entirely acceptable as a Norfolk policeman is being considered for appointment and he feels that this man is almost certain to fully meet the requirements.

(Editor’s Note: According to the November 10, 1945 edition of the GUIDE, Horace C. Case, 27, and Thomas D. Weaver, both Army Veterans, were the first two Black men sworn in as NPD Officers. William Lewis had not been discharged from the Navy.)

Thrills And Educational Frills Billed For Tidewater Fair

SUFFOLK

The sixth annual Tidewater Fair, known as the Negro State Fair, will open here October 23- 26.

The board of directors has worked assiduously to bring to the public the very best in education, livestock, agriculture, entertainment and wholesome fun this year. H.C. Holman, secretary of the Tidewater Fair Association, announced the lineup for this year’s event.

Among the guest speakers will be John W. Mitchell, (Agri) field agent, who will speak on Farmers Day; A. Phillip Randolph, Imperial of the Mystic Soraine, Buffalo, N.Y. is the speaker for Homecoming Day, and Attorney Thomas W. Young, Business Manager of the Journal and Guide and GUIDE War Correspondent, will deliver an address on Education Day.

NAACP Lawyers Prepare For Court

24,

Piled upon the table are the results of the research of more than 60 lawyers, historians and social scientists who have collaborated with the NAACP legal staff in compiling information needed to answer the questions asked by the United States Supreme Court for rearguments of the (Brown) public-school segregation case in December. Studying those findings are (left to right): Oliver W. Hill and Spotswood W. Robinson III, both of Richmond, handling the Virginia cases; Robert L. Carter, NAACP assistant special counsel, who argued the Topeka, Kansas case; Thurgood Marshall, head of the NAACP Legal Staff; who opposes John W. Davis, in the Clarendon County, South Carolina Case; Jack Greenberg (standing behind Marshall), the Delaware case; George E. C. Hayes and James Nabrit, both of Washington, D.C. case.

October 24, 1953

Edition of the Guide

Delegates Ask Status of VSC Unit

NORFOLK

Five Norfolk members of the House of Delegates have added weight behind proposals for an early start to construction of Norfolk Division of Virginia State College this week.

In a letter addressed to Dr. Dowell J. Howard, of the State Department of Education, James W. Roberts, Walter A. Page, Theodore C. Pilcher, John F. Rixey, Troy D. Savage, Jr. and Delamater Savage inquired “why construction has not commenced” as funds have already been appropriated.

Their letter was released to the press following budget hearings here last week. Gov. John F. Battle has been advised to start on the new school plant (along Corprew Avenue in Central Brambleton).

At the hearing, Attorney A. H. Foreman, and P.B. Young Sr., members of the college advisory board, outlined the origin, growth, and present needs of the college, following which Dr. R.P. Daniel addressed the group. Other developments included a statement by Suffolk’s Mayor Richard L. Woodard, Jr. backed by his city Council, said he could

not endorse plans for a fouryear college in Norfolk while the needs of other Colored State supported institutions has not.

The Delegates noted that the lawmakers had made every effort to secure funds to build a plant to meet the needs of the new school.

Legislation was enacted in 1950 to enable the City of Norfolk to transfer the Memorial Park Golf Course (in Brambleton) to the State for this purpose. Along with the funding, securing of the land, they noted the college was experiencing overcrowding.

October 19, 1994

Edition of the Guide

Is Media Source of Teen Violence?

NORFOLK

American children spend most of their waking hours sitting before the television or listening to music.

Many hours are spent before a TV, hooked up to a myriad of action-oriented video games listening to music, or watching music videos on TV.

Come October 27, the Southside Boys and Girls Club is going to make an effort to alert the community it serves of these disturbing trends.

Parents will be asked to turn off the TVs, videos, and CD music players as part of the club’s “Turn Off the Violence Day” from 4-6 p.m.

“We want the community to turn off the violence,” said Girlie Lewis McCauley, the Girl’s Program Coordinator of the Club. “This is just a small gesture but we hope to repeat it many times over the coming months.”

Diana Chappell-Lewis of the Women Against Violence (WAV) coalition will give the keynote speech on the subject. The “Turn off the Violence Coalition,” effort, McCauley said, wants parents to turn off the TV, music, movies and videos and use that time for alternative activities for their children.”

“The impact the amount of violence (in the media) the entertainment industry has exposed our children to is hard to measure,” McCauley said. “But we know many kids use the messages in rap music and images in videos and movies as role models for negative behavior. This is not as life should be ... violence, disrespectful and valueless.”

American educators and social scientists fear too much of what the TV, videos, and music genre youths are digesting each day is laden too heavily with suggestive and explicit violence, sexual exploitation and messages promoting anti-social behavior. These messages and images are contributing to the growing amount of violence committed by youth, they say.

arts in the United States. Medals were presented to 2022 and 2023 recipients which included Ken Burns, documentary filmmaker; Spike Lee, filmmaker; Queen Latifah, artist and actress; and Steven Spielberg, filmmaker.

OCTOBER

1953 – EDITION OF THE GUIDE

Charlene Crowell

Missy Elliott and Congressman Bobby Scott

Photo: Courtesy

Politics Is Exhausting, But We Must Stay With It

By David W. Marshall (TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM)

The presidential election will be over in weeks, but it will not end the exhaustion people are having with politics. The November election is the third consecutive presidential election with Donald Trump on the ballot as his party’s nominee.

As people grew tired of the Clintons, they are now weary of the Trumpism political movement. “Clinton fatigue” was real. It was not only a political pull on Al Gore’s campaign against George W. Bush, it also became an issue during Hillary Clinton’s run for the White House. Political fatigue comes and goes with time, and we see it in various forms.

Even Trump’s political base supporters have grown tired of his longwinded and confusing speeches. During a typical rally in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, what started as a packed house of supporters ended with entire sections of the 8,000-seat arena nearly empty at the end of Trump’s one hour and 45-minute. A local business owner, when explaining why she left early, stated, “He reminded me why I’m not going to vote for him this time ... But after listening to that, I’m actually afraid of Trump being president again. I don’t know what he was talking about half the time. Perhaps he was always like that but he seems worse, more unstable.”

It remains to be seen if enough frustrated MAGA supporters and traditional Republicans will switch their votes, thereby swinging the outcome of the election toward Harris. People are tired because we can no longer assume there will be a smooth transition of power after what we experienced

Retirees

Continued from page 1A

As the nation still struggles to cope with rising prices, the agency’s statement and those of elder advocates were polar opposites.

“Social Security benefits and SSI payments will increase in 2025, helping tens of millions of people keep up with expenses even as inflation has started to cool,” said Martin O’Malley, Commissioner of Social Security.

But according to AARP, when the projected Medicare increase is announced, most retirees will receive a net gain of only $10.20 in 2025.

“[E]ven with the COLA, we know many older Americans who rely on Social Security may find it hard to pay their bills,” Jo Ann Jenkins, AARP’s chief executive officer, said in a statement.

“Social Security is the primary source of income for 40 percent of older Americans.”

AARP’s concerns are validated by findings in an April 2024 report from

David W. Marshall

during the 2020 election.

When the American people speak through the results of an election, candidates are now unwilling to acknowledge and accept the voice of the voters if the results are not to their liking. Most people simply want our elections and the subsequent governing process to be free of chaos and confusion.

Former Rep. Liz Cheney says she does not trust House Speaker Mike Johnson to certify the 2024 election if Vice President Harris wins the presidency.

While Cheney served as a member of the House GOP leadership, Johnson was her onetime deputy.

“The claims of fraud Donald Trump was making [in 2020] ... he knew those to be false,” Cheney said in referring to Johnson.

“He was told that, not only in discussions with me, but also by the House Republican counsel.”

People are frustrated because they constantly feel they are forced to pick between the lesser of two evils when voting. This will likely be the case for some time now. Many people were willing to vote for Biden because he was seen as the lesser of two evils.

People have grown frustrated with the political partisanship and the ethics surrounding the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is no longer trusted as an independent group with integrity. Unfortunately,

the Society of Actuaries Research Institute, entitled, Retirement Wealth by Race and Ethnicity: Differences, Trends and Contributing Factors.

“Social Security provides a near-universal basic benefit, but many older adults, especially Black and Hispanic/Latino people and many people of other and multiple races and ethnicities, still struggle to meet the expenses they incur that are above those basic benefits because they have substantially fewer retirement savings, even after accounting for aspects such as education and income, than is the case for white households,” states the report.

Key findings from the report include:

• White households with a college degree had a median retirement wealth of $273,500, compared to $160,323 for Hispanic/ Latino households, and $119,000 for Black households with a college degree; and

• Over the past three decades, Black and Hispanic/Latino households, as well as households of other or multiple races or

We are given many reasons to walk away from being engaged in politics ... we can take a break, but still must be watchful and sound the alarm against lies and misinformation.

any attempt to pass legislation for term limits and an ethics code for the Supreme Court is unlikely in this political environment.

If Kamala Harris wins the presidency, a Republican-led House and Senate will undermine her every move. As a result, many who supported her candidacy will grow frustrated because of the political and sometimes racial resistance.

Can we ever escape the political fatigue?

We are given many reasons to walk away from being engaged in politics. While we do need a mental and emotional break at times, we cannot afford to walk away. We can take a break, but still must be watchful and sound the alarm against lies and misinformation. We can rest, but we must encourage and support a younger generation of candidates who can maintain the balance to break with the toxic environment as needed while still carrying out critical legacies from past movements.

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

ethnicities, owned on average between onethird and 60% of the retirement wealth of white households. There is no robust indication of those gaps becoming smaller. These retiree racial wealth gaps are framed as elder poverty in another report, “Who Counts as ‘Poor’ in America? from the New York-based Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis.

“[I]magine being over 65 years old and trying to survive on $15,060 a year,” states the report. “According to of fi cial U.S. government poverty levels in 2024, one is considered “poor” in America – and thus qualifying for certain assistance – if their annual income is $15,060 or less for a single person, $31,200 for a family of four.” The next Congress would be well-advised to get serious about the future solvency of Social Security. No one wants or should expect to become older and poorer. Charlene Crowell is a senior fellow with the Center for Responsible Lending. She can be reached at Charlene.crowell@ responsiblelending.org.

PROFESSOR EMERITUS OF SOCIOLOGY VIRGINIA

TECH

THE ROBUST ECONOMY

By Wornie Reed, Ph.D.

The Washington Post published an article earlier this month with title “This is a great economy. Why can’t we celebrate it?” The article starts with the following paragraph.

By just about every measure, the U.S. economy is in good shape. Growth is strong. Unemployment is low. Inflation is back down. More important, many Americans are getting sizable pay raises, and middle-class wealth has surged to record levels. We are living through one of the best economic years of many people’s lifetimes. Yet it’s barely mentioned in popular culture or on the campaign trail.

Why is it hardly mentioned – and widely assumed to not be the case? The author attempts to answer her own question with statement, “Polarization in the United States makes it difficult to talk about any truth, even about the economy.”

Yet the data say the economy is very good. The unemployment rate is down to 4.1 percent. The S&P 500 stock index is up over 20 percent this year. And the Gross National Product (GDP) has been growing at a robust 3 percent pace.

Middle class Americans are more optimistic about their financial future than they were a year ago. Gas prices have been falling, and the economy added a net 254,000 jobs in September –far higher than expectations.

The U.S. economy is so robust it is getting international attention. Last week the Economist magazine came out with a cover story declaring the American economy as the envy of the whole world.

Despite all this good news about the economy under Biden-Harris, a recent AP-

NORC national poll showed that most voters think the economy is poor, and they are split on whether Trump or Harris can fix it.

One poll respondent seemed to sum up the feelings of most respondents to the poll.

“It seems to me that in my lifetime, every time a Democrat holds office, the economy suffers,” she said.

“Prices go up, taxes go up and the national debt goes up. While I don’t approve of everything Donald Trump says and does, I do believe he is the better choice.”

This may be the situation of people not believing their “lying eyes.” What they recall is not what happened. They saw something but were told to believe something else.

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. After Trump’s last full fiscal year in office, the federal deficit was 14.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) – the biggest shortfall since World War II. In fiscal 2023, under Biden, the budget deficit was 6.2 percent of GDP. Apparently, most of the American electorate is unaware of the economy –and history.

Looking at the average number of jobs created each 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 (since Carter).

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.

Those of us who believe our eyes have a major task: to convince people that Democrats do better with the economy and that their favorite politicians and media sources may be lying to them.

Attacks On People’s Stories Are Attacks On People

By Ben Jealous (TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM)

Your traditions and place in the American storyline are not real or valid. The history of your people is fiction.

That is the message a Houston, Texas suburb is sending to Native American kids. Just three days after Indigenous People’s Day, October 17 was the deadline to move the book Colonization and the Wampanoag Story by Linda Coombs to the “Fiction” section in Montgomery County’s public libraries. The problem is the book is not fiction.

My white ancestors on my dad’s side of the family arrived at the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts 400 years ago this year. When they arrived, the Wampanoag people had already been there for 12,000 years.

The Wampanoag were the first tribe the Pilgrims encountered when they arrived on the Mayflower.

According to the book’s publisher, Colonization and the Wampanoag Story tells, from an Indigenous perspective, “the true story of the Indigenous Nations of the American Northeast, including the Wampanoag nation and others, and their history up to present day.”

The book’s author is a Wampanoag Tribe historian with 50 years of experience in her field. Colonization has been classified as a work of nonfiction by the

CARRTOON By Walt Carr

By Dr. E. Faye Williams (TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM)

As much as VicePresident Kamala Harris has shown us who she is in her lifetime through her work, some people are still saying, “I don’t know anything about her.”

Well, many of you know me! I have always been honest with you – even when I knew there were certain people out there calling themselves my friends while planning to try to destroy me. That knowledge never stopped me from doing my very best to help others, to engage in dangerous work on behalf of others. It never stopped me from engaging in civil and human rights work around the world. It never stopped me from going on dangerous missions to protest wrong. It never stopped me from giving my last dime to those in greater need. I’ve had tragedy in my life, but I’ve always made an effort to overcome and stay strong. I know what it’s like to be like Kamala Harris –giving your heart and soul to help others, and still have those you’ve often helped act like they don’t

know you. This isn’t a time for righteous people to say that about her. With your help, she’s destined to become President of the United States, and getting her there is up to us. This is a time when your vote really means something to not just us, but to all Americans.

Because of good faith people like you, because of people of all races and ethnic backgrounds, from all stations in life, we were able to make history by electing President Barack Obama – the most admired man in the world, and with him came the most admired woman in the world –Michelle Obama. We will always cherish them. They worked hard to preserve and improve

When I hear military leaders, as well as his own niece, say “No way am I voting for this weird man,” nor will I!

our democracy. They are still doing that – not just for Black people, but for people throughout the world. God has given us a chance to have the same kind of work Barack and Michelle gave to us. Yes, we love President Joe Biden and owe him a debt of gratitude for giving us another chance to make history by choosing Kamala Harris to step up and make history again. Kamala is by far the most educated person (no contest), most caring, most well prepared, most eloquent speaker, most experienced and successful person to handle the job. She’s the best of all the candidates vying for President now. see Kamala, page 5A

Library of Congress and major library systems across Texas. However, back in March, Montgomery County adopted a library materials policy that gives an unelected, uncredentialed Citizens Review Committee “sole authority” to review any challenges to children’s, young adult, and parenting books in public libraries, basing their assessment on undefined “standards and values” of the County. Virtually anyone can file a complaint about a book. There is not even a requirement for proof of local residency. The Committee then has the power to reassign the book to “a more restrictive portion of the library” or remove it altogether. And its determination cannot be appealed. Librarians can be involved in “an advisory capacity” at the discretion of the committee chairperson.

Terese Kenny, who owns Village Books in Montgomery County, told Lonestar Live in March, “A

The harmful reclassification of books is an extension of the recent wave of book bans and other authoritarian attacks on the freedom to learn across the country.

tsunami of complaints from one individual outside of our state or even our country could deplete the parenting, children’s and young adult shelves of books based on one person’s biases alone.”

American Library Association (ALA) president Cindy Hohl is a member of Santee Sioux Nation. She is the ALA’s second Indigenous president and a former head of the American Indian Library Association. She notes that Indigenous Americans – the first Americans – are still here by the millions and she laments the message this reclassification sends to Native kids.

Hohl told me, “This action by the citizen committee tells Indigenous kids that their ancestors are merely fictional characters, not actual human beings, and that their people’s experiences and history are simply false, or even fantasy.” see Attacks, page 5A

By Marc H. Morial (TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM)

“The history of the United States is a story about the disenfranchisement of millions based on their Blackness. More than a hundred years of violent voter suppression, poll taxes, literacy tests, and gerrymandering have created a climate that is nothing shy of hostile towards Black men that choose to stand up and be a part of the electoral process.”

– The Black Male Voter Project

In a presidential campaign that has been overwhelmingly centered on the issues of women’s reproductive rights, immigration, and taxation of the ultra-wealthy, it would be understandable if we –especially the younger ones among us – didn’t feel the same sense of urgency about voting as other groups.

Former President Barack Obama last week drew criticism for pointing out, “we have not yet seen the same kinds of energy and turnout in all quarters of our neighborhoods and communities as we saw when I was running.” But a poll released this week backed him up: only 64 percent of Black voters and 49 percent of voters under 34 are enthusiastic about the election. Compare that with 93 percent of Black voters

and 83 percent of young voters who said they were enthusiastic when Obama first ran for the office in 2008. But apathy is not what I’m seeing among the young Black men I’ve met as I travel the nation as part of the National Urban League’s Reclaim Your Vote initiative. I see thoughtfulness. I see concern. I see pride. And I do see some skepticism. It’s not only fair, but imperative to wonder whether the candidates will live up to their promises. It’s fair to weigh their past actions against their words. That’s what it means to be a responsible citizen. What’s neither fair nor responsible is to fall for misinformation or divisive rhetoric and to a let your voice be silenced.

Vice President Kamala Harris this week unveiled an economic agenda aimed at creating opportunity for Black men. It includes forgivable small business loans to boost entrepreneurship, job training and mentorship, and

the legalization of marijuana with a focus on opportunities to succeed in the recreational marijuana industry.

Donald Trump has not issued a policy proposal aimed specifically at Black men. He has claimed that immigrants are taking Black jobs, and that his criminal indictments have boosted his appeal to Black men victimized by an unjust legal system.

The Vice President told the National Association of Black Journalists in September, “It’s very important to not operate from the assumption that Black men are in anybody’s pocket. Black men are like any other voting group: You gotta earn their vote.”

Speaking to the same group in July, Trump touted his support for opportunity zones and funding for HBCUs while suggesting the Vice President is not authentically Black. As my fellow New Orleanian Wendell Pierce said in his own message to Black men, “Vote for what you want. Declare what your values are then go out and make the choice on that.”

Dr. E. Faye Williams

Ben Jealous Marc H. Morial

Congratulations To The Guide

Publisher: New Journal and Guide

Congratulations on the 124th anniversary of the New Journal & Guide. The Journal & Guide is not only one of the best Black weeklies in America, but is also one of the oldest in the South. As many of your readers know, I published the history of P.B. Young and the Norfolk Journal & Guide in 1986.

The Journal & Guide is more than a weekly newspaper, it is an almanac and an archival and historical document of 124 years of Black history and achievement. The Journal & Guide has changed the course of history and has sown new seeds

for a new leadership, a new society and a new people. The Journal & Guide touched every academic discipline in America and is a weekly inspiration and guide to weekly readers. The 2024 presidential election is the most important one in modern times and, at this time, the divisiveness in America is close to the cataclysmic events of the 1850s decade. The forthcoming volume on The Right Man: James Edward Shepard, is a history of NCCU. Look for it.

Henry Lewis Suggs, PhD (UVA, 1976)

Professor Emeritus of American History, Clemson

Norfolk’s Ward 7 Election

Editor: New Journal and Guide:

Ward 7? When you think about Ward Seven, it sounds like the title of an old James Bond mystery. It’s actually a lot more complicated. It comes at a time that the city of Norfolk is at a crossroads. Norfolk is faced with many important decisions: Military Circle, the repurposing of MacArthur Center: the building of the proposed Casino; and the reduction of flooding.

In addition to those important items, Norfolk is faced with the demolition

of Young and Calvert public housing communities.

I’m supporting Phillip Hawkins, Jr. He is the only candidate committed to making sure that the residents of these communities will have safe, sanitary housing before the first brick is moved. He is not controlled by the “shadow government “ or any sitting council member. He is our voice that is committed to the betterment of Norfolk and all of its residents.

Councilman Paul R. Riddick. Paul R. Riddick Jr

Some Norfolk Schools Desegregation History

Editor: New Journal and Guide:

In your August 29th publication, the “This Week In Black History” segment in Section B highlighted September 4. 1962 as the date New Orleans Catholic schools integrated. In Norfolk the public schools desegregated in 1959 after having been closed by the then powers to be, preventing Black students from attending

classes with white students. However, before the “Norfolk 17” desegregated Norfolk Public Schools in 1959, there was the “Saint Joseph 12” who integrated Norfolk Catholic School in 1955, four years prior. Of the initial 12, six graduated in 1959.

Edward P. Williams NJG Subscriber

A REVIEW OF “THE FAIRNESS DOCTRINE”

The Fairness Doctrine was a U.S. communications policy (1949-87) formulated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that required licensed radio and television broadcasters to present fair and balanced coverage of controversial issues of interest to their communities, including by granting equal airtime to opposing candidates for public office.

The origins of the fairness doctrine lay in the Radio Act (1927), which limited radio broadcasting to licensed broadcasters but mandated that the licensees serve the public interest. The Federal Communications Act (1934) supplanted the Radio Act and created the FCC, the chief regulatory body governing the U.S. airwaves, with a mission to “encourage the larger and more effective use of radio in the public interest.”

In 1949 the commission promulgated a report, In the Matter of Editorializing by Broadcast Licensees, that interpreted the public interest provisions of the Radio Act and the Communications Act as a mandate to promote “a basic standard of fairness” in broadcasting. Licensees had the duty to devote airtime to fair and balanced coverage of controversial issues that were of interest to their home communities. Individuals who were the subject of editorials or who perceived themselves to be the subject of unfair attacks in news programming were to be granted an opportunity to reply. Also, candidates for public office were entitled to equal airtime.

In 1959 a portion of the fairness doctrine became U.S. law when Congress amended the Communications Act with the doctrine’s mandate of equal airtime for office seekers. The revised law recognized some exceptions to the equal

Attacks

Continued from page 4A

The harmful reclassification of books is an extension of the recent wave of book bans and other authoritarian attacks on the freedom to learn across the country. PEN America has tracked close to 10,000 book bans from July 2021 through the end of the 2023 school year. Among the banned books, 37 percent “had characters of color or themes of race and racism. 36 percent had LGBTQ+ characters or themes.”

According to PEN’s count, the bans have happened in 41 states and at least 247 school districts. In addition to burying Black, Indigenous, and LGBTQ+ perspectives and history, the censorship brigade is also targeting texts that tell the truth about climate change.

Even children’s classics, like Where the Wild Things Are and The Lorax, are not safe.

Last year, Illinois became the first state in the nation to

Continued from page 4A

You know Donald Trump. He’s the man with too many charges to name, being a convicted felon with some charges still to be litigated, the one who goes on stage calling Kamala names more fi tting of him, the one responsible for charging taxpaying citizens multi-millions of dollars when his supporters crashed into the U. S. Capitol, his supporters

IN MEDIA COVERAGE

airtime mandate but held that such exceptions did not annul licensees’ obligation to provide equal airtime and balanced coverage of “conflicting views on issues of public importance.”

The fairness doctrine was never without its opponents, however, many of whom perceived the equal airtime requirement as an infringement of the right to freedom of speech enshrined in the First Amendment to the Constitution. In 1969 the doctrine survived a challenge in the Supreme Court case Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. Federal Communications Commission, in which the court found that the FCC had acted within its jurisdiction in ruling that a Pennsylvania radio station had violated the fairness doctrine by denying response time to a writer who had been characterized in a broadcast as a communist sympathizer.

In 1985, however, the FCC decided that the doctrine had a “chilling effect” upon freedom of speech. At about that time, representatives of cable and satellite television networks challenged the applicability of the doctrine to their industries.

In 1987 the FCC formally repealed the fairness doctrine but maintained both the editorial and personal-attack provisions, which remained in effect until 2000. In addition, until they were finally repealed

ban book banning. Maryland and Minnesota have since followed suit. More states should. And they should also include protections against the kind of book reclassification happening now in Texas.

Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, who initiated the bill in his state, said, “What this law does is it says, let’s trust our experience and education of our librarians to decide what books should be in circulation.”

On that point, the ALA’s Hohl was crystal clear:

“We as Library and Information professionals are credentialed to do this work. We went to school and earned the Masters of Library and Information Science degree. And we should be trusted to do the work in our communities.”

She says we are seeing a consequence of not allowing librarians to do the job for which they were trained.

“It brings harm to a child to hear that no longer is the history of their people deemed valid.”

The fact that Murdoch’s Fox News and Newsmax defamation settlement was reached over airing election lies to undermine American democracy, has not prevented the propaganda outlets from still peddling

Donald J. Trump’s baseless claim of a fraudulent presidential election, according to a brief filed by Dominion Voting Systems.

by the commission in 2011, more than 80 media rules maintained language that implemented the doctrine.

In 1974, Keith Rupert Murdoch a right wing media mogul being in the United States about 11 years, President Ronald Wilson Reagan made this Australian born immigrant a U.S. Citizen on September 4, 1985. Murdoch had to give up his Australian citizenship, which allowed him to circumvent national security laws and FCC laws of the Communications Act prohibiting foreigners from owning American broadcast networks. see Fairness, page 6A

“We are often quiet people but we stand up for justice and serve on the frontlines of democracy each and every day. Every day a library is open should be an opportunity for an American to access accurate information and we are the protectors of that access.”

“Libraries are supposed to be safe spaces for everyone,” Hohl says.

“Strong communities have strong libraries, and it should be clear that all are welcome, that everyone belongs in a library.”

Attacks on books like the Colonization and the Wampanoag Story send the opposite message.

Marginalized groups should find safe haven in public libraries. But how can they if libraries become one more place where their stories, perspectives, and histories are erased and invalidated?

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

Hohl also stressed the pride librarians take in helping their communities rise above the misinformation and disinformation spreading across America.

threatening to kill his own Vice-President, shutting down the Congress, causing the death of one of his supporters, killing and seriously harming police of fi cers and his response was, “So what?” He just watched the chaos without a care. He then wants them to go free with no penalty! Does this sound like a person you want to put back in the White House? He’s already called for a bloodbath if he’s not elected; he’s promised to call up the U.S. Military to go against U.S. citizens while the military’s purpose is to protect our citizens from destruction by foreign powers? He has said he’ll be a dictator on day one in of fi ce. He wants to use the position as President to punish all who’ve been against his craziness. I don’t know about you, but when I hear military leaders, as well as his own niece, say “No way am I voting for this weird man, nor will I!” November 5th is a few days away. Vote early. Vote for Kamala Harris for President.

Dr. E. Faye Williams, President of the Dick Gregory Society.

Roy Perry-Bey

Stevie Wonder’s Tour For V-P Harris Calls For “Joy Over Anger”

GREENSBORO, NC

Stevie Wonder made Greensboro, North Carolina the fi fth stop in his fast-paced and highly anticipated “Sing Your Song! As We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart” Tour. Starting Oct. 6 in Pittsburgh, Pa., and concluding Oct. 30 in Grand Rapids,. Mich., the 25-time Grammy Award-winning musician scheduled 10 shows in battle fi eld election states to support V-P Kamala Harris in her bid for the presidency.

Wonder’s recently released single titled “Can We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart” served as the theme of his tour to promote unity and address social issues. He was quoted calling the tour a call for “joy over anger, kindness over recrimination, peace over war.” The series of

Lacks

Continued from page 1A

Mattie Cowan, who wore a “Thank You Henrietta” T-shirt, to the recent unveiling ceremony said it felt “like a dream come true.” Cowan said, “The family has fought many years to try to get her recognized. This is just wonderful.”

Churches

Continued from page 1A

We face this question: What kind of country do we want to live in?” she asked. “A country of chaos, fear and hate, or a country of freedom, compassion and justice?”

Apparently, Harris’ sermon raised a question that is gaining traction in the Black church.

The Conference of National Black Churches, for example, has designed a website that features a voter toolkit, sermon starters on the election, as well as tips on how churches can launch phone banks, door-todoor canvassers, and motivate college voters.

Here is another example.

A lot of Blacks belong to the Conference of National Black Churches. It has more than 25 million members from 31 congregations that include AME, AMEZ, CME, COGIC, and Baptist members.

“In the 2024 election cycle, we seek to leverage the influence of the AfricanAmerican church to turn out 70 percent of the Black voting-age population across the country through voter education, registration, and mobilization,” the Conference of National Black Churches noted in a statement on its website: (CONFERENCE OF NATIONAL BLACK

Fairness

Continued from page 5A

These laws, effectively barred significant foreign control over American networks capital stock, to satisfy the legal requirement for U.S. television network ownership.

Reagan then had his FCC Chairman scrap the Fairness Doctrine which kept newspapers and television programs from lying to the American people. Ever since then, Keith Rupert Murdoch has been brainwashing and radicalizing Americans into believing our legitimate press is lying like he lies. Murdoch through his more than 800 companies in more than 50 countries – News Corp, Fox Corp, Fox News, Fox Business, Fox Sports, Tubi, The Sun, The Times, The Daily Telegraph, Herald

10 shows was produced by Wonder Productions and promoted by AEG Presents in partnership with Free Lunch.

In addition to Greensboro, N.C., Pittsburgh, Pa, and Grand Rapids, Mich., the tour was scheduled for New York, N.Y., Philadelphia, Pa., Baltimore, Md., Atlanta, Ga., Detroit, Mich., Milwaukee, Wis., and Minneapolis, Minn.

Speaking of the injustice that was done to his grandmother, Lacks’ grandson told the audience that his grandmother’s impact “transcends time.” Alfred Carter Lacks Jr., grandson of Henrietta Lacks, peered into the sun-drenched audience and said, “On a joyous occasion like today, we cannot forget the injustice that was done back then because she wasn’t afforded healthcare as an African-American woman,” he said.

Meanwhile, some Black denominations are looking past the election and hosting wellness conferences. For example, the Healthy Churches 2030 Conference will be held online on Nov. 13-16.

CHURCHES)

Its website also includes a downloadable brochure titled, “10 Black Faith and Justice Ideas.”

Meanwhile, Harris’ question is clearly gaining traction with the AME Church, which has more than 2.5 million members, 3,817 pastors, 21 bishops and 7,000 congregations. It has designed a website that offers information about voter registration, education, and voter registration deadlines.

Meanwhile, some Black denominations are looking past the election and hosting wellness conferences.

For example, the Healthy Churches 2030 Conference will be held online on Nov. 13-16.

This four-day event will be held about a week after the Nov. 6 election. It will offer dozens of expert presentations and educational sessions for faith and community members, pastors, deacons, missionaries, elders, public health and medical professionals, caregivers, advocates, and more. Register

Sun, The Australian, The Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, book publisher Harper Collins, the defunct News of the World, television broadcasting channels Sky News Australian – are not news. They are political propaganda that the Oligarchs and Fascists use to control the markets, subvert federal and state elections and poison the minds of Americans, UK, and Australian nationals. It is time we treated as such.

In 2011, Rupert Murdoch and News Corporation faced police and government investigations into bribery, corruption and phone hacking of celebrities, public figures and victims of crimes by the British government and FBI investigations in the U.S., stretching back nearly two decades. All the corruption exposed in England, hacking, political payoffs, dirty cops, hush money settlements without the billionaire facing any criminal prosecution is also

at www.HC2030.org.

Dr. Pernessa C. Seele, the founder and CEO of the Healthy Churches 2030 Conference, said in a recent statement, “Faith communities are the oldest, most important, and most ubiquitous institutions that Black people own, lead, and fund. Their potential and influence to lessen the impact of systemic disparities and improve the health status of AfricanAmericans is unmatched.”

This wellness event is sponsored by The Balm In Gilead, Inc., a 35-year-old organization that mobilizes faith communities to respond to health crises in Black communities. Balm of Gilead aims to eliminate health disparities and create equitable opportunities for people to live healthy lives.

Registration for Healthy Churches 2030 is required and costs $50 per person, covering all four days of the conference. Special rates of $35 per person are available for groups of 20 or more.

For more information, visit www.healthychurches2030. org.

happening here. Murdoch is the most dangerous immigrant in America.

The fact that Murdoch’s Fox News and Newsmax defamation settlement was reached over airing election lies to undermine American democracy, has not prevented the propaganda outlets from still peddling Donald J. Trump’s baseless claim of a fraudulent presidential election, according to a brief filed by Dominion Voting Systems. The Company Fox News and its parent Fox Corporation settled with for $800 million and Newsmax with Smartmatic confidential settlement.

In 2025 the 119th Congress must enact a “necessary and proper” 21st Century U.S. Communications law, that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) must carry out and legally obey.

ROY L. PERRY-BEY Director United Front For Justice

Henrietta Lacks “Mother of Modern Medicine”

Photo @1945-1951

Photo: Courtesy

Photo: WandaF.Camm

Photo: WandaF.Camm

Scenes From The 124th Anniversary & 10th Annual Impacting Lives Ceremony

New Journal and Guide Honors Seven

Hampton Roads NAACP Branches

NORFOLK

On Saturday, October 19, the New Journal and Guide marked its 124th anniversary by hosting the 10th Annual Impacting Lives Breakfast Ceremony at the Norfolk Waterside Marriott.

Over the past decade of Impacting Lives ceremonies, many wellknown and unsung heroes have received the Impacting Lives Medallion for their contribution to the Hampton Roads community.

This year’s honorees received Impacting Lives Plaques and a donation to support their missions. They were the seven branches of the NAACP in the cities served by the New Journal and Guide – Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Virginia Beach., Suffolk, Hampton and Newport News. The presentations were made by

Publisher Brenda Andrews, assisted by her son, Oronde Andrews, who is the Booker T. Washington High School Athletic Director, and Ms. Lisa Godley. Mistress of Ceremonies and WHRO Executive.

The branches of the 115-year-old National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) were chosen for their advocacy on behalf of Black Americans for justice, freedom, equity toward the manifestation of the American Dream for all people regardless of race, creed or color.

Nearly 400 breakfast guests enjoyed the music of international gospel violinist Eric Taylor, the oratorical performance of Nathan Richardson as abolitionist Frederick Douglass, and the poetry of NJG columnist Sean Bowers.

2024 HONOREES: NORFOLK NAACP President: Ms. Stacie Armstead

PORTSMOUTH NAACP President: Mr. James Boyd

CHESAPEAKE NAACP President: Dr. Shirley Auguste

VIRGINIA BEACH

NAACP Rev. Dr. Eric Majette

NANSEMONDSUFFOLK NAACP Rev. Dr. Anita Lewis

HAMPTON NAACP President: Ms. Gaylene Kanoyton

NEWPORT NEWS

NAACP President: Ms. Jennifer Brooks

(L-R): Councilwoman Ella Ward, State Senator L. Louise Lucas, New Journal and Guide

Publisher Brenda H. Andrews, State Senator Aaron Rouse, Congressman Bobby Scott, Norfolk Mayor Kenny Alexander, Delegate Cliff Hayes, Councilman J.P. Paige, Delegate Bonita Anthony, Virginia Beach Councilwoman Jennifer Rouse, and Virginia Beach Councilwoman Dr. Amelia Ross-Hammond

(L-R): Mrs.Margie W. Coefield, Cong. Bobby Scott, Bonita Billingsley Harris, Publisher Andrews, Elisha “Cadillac” Harris

Norfolk NAACP President Stacie Armstead

Portsmouth NAACP President James BoydNansemond-Suffolk

NAACP President Rev. Dr. Anita Lewis M.C. Lisa Godley

Chesapeake NAACP President Dr. Shirley Auguste

Violinist Eric Taylor

(L-R): Rev. James Edwards III, Gaylene Kanoyton,Virginia Beach NAACP President Eric Majette and Newport News NAACP President Jennifer Brooks

Congressman Bobby Scott’s table

TowneBank table

Hampton NAACP President Gaylene Kanoyton

Nathan Richardson as Frederick Douglass

Publisher Andrews receives bouquet from her staff

All photos by Randy Singleton

VOTER ALERTS

Important Dates For The November 5 Election Cycle:

• Sept. 20-Nov. 2 – Early voting at all general registrar’s offices. Dates and times vary by jurisdiction.

• Oct. 16 – Same-day registration begins. Anyone registering and voting at the same time will have to cast a provisional ballot.

• Oct. 25 – Last day to request an absentee ballot by mail or online

• Nov. 2 – Last day of early voting

• Nov. 5 – ELECTION DAY

REGISTER TO VOTE

MORE THAN 20,000 ALUMNI, FRIENDS & FAMILY ARRIVING ON NSU CAMPUS FOR HOMECOMING

NORFOLK

Norfolk State University kicked off its annual Alumni Homecoming 2024 celebration with an encore performance of A Musical Tribute to Luther Vandross on Sun., Oct. 20. The annual NSU Homecoming Parade, a rain or shine event, will take place Sat., Oct. 26, with the Honorable Senator L. Louise Lucas serving as the Grand Marshal.

Each year, more than 20,000 alumni, family, friends and community come together on the campus of NSU to celebrate not only the legacy of the university, but the history and achievement of HBCUs across the Commonwealth

and the United States.

Although homecoming traditions have their roots in alumni football games, the term homecoming takes on a more poignant meaning at Norfolk State.

Alumni Relations and Annual Giving staff, Alumni Association members and departments across the university have created a series of special homecoming events that honors the university’s roots and traditions that provide opportunities for alumni to celebrate, reconnect and to make new connections . Highlights of NSU Homecoming 2024 include a host of activities and events including the NSUAA 29th Annual Alumni Classic Golf Tournament on Thursday at the Bide-A-Wee Golf Course in Portsmouth; Spartan SpiritFest on Friday at noon on the

NSU campus; the NSU Homecoming Parade on Saturday at 8 a.m., at Park Avenue & Virginia Beach Blvd.; and the Homecoming Football Game – NSU vs. Howard University, on Saturday at William ‘Dick’ Price Stadium. For the complete list of events including academic schools’ social gatherings and after-game activities, visit www.nsu. edu/homecoming. Contact Alumni Relations and Annual Giving at (757) 823-8135.

You can also receive more information about current student homecoming events by calling Student Activities at (757) 823-8200.

SECTION B SMALL BUSINESS DIRECTORY

Sen. L. Louise Lucas

THE GOP NO LONGER EXISTS

By Shedrick Byrd

Vote for Vice President Kamala Harris!

The Republican Party, known as the Grand Old Party (GOP), no longer exists. It is now the Trump Party. It was one of the two major parties in America for many years, at least all of my voting life. The two-party system worked well until Donald Trump emerged on the scene and quickly killed the GOP. The GOP was once the main rival of the Democratic Party. Now it’s the Trump and MAGAs against the Democrats.

Since my voting years I never cared for the Republican party because I saw them and their policies as more racist than the Democrats and less in my favor. I always looked at the GOP as being rich upper-class people who cared nothing about the wellbeing of the less than they or poor people. So therefore, I never gave much thought to their policies and programs because my mind was already set that their platforms would not fit my needs.

In my wildest imagination I never dreamed that a character like Trump would appear and, not only be accepted but, become the leader of the GOP and change its goals. It surprised me because I have never heard him state anything intelligently and he has never had the sophistication the Republican Party had. He put the fear of God in most of the Republicans in Congress and that shut the door on the party. He even scared the daylights out of GOP Minority Leader Mitch McConnell who had until then been known to put the fear of God in other Republicans. Trump put the fear of God in some of the Senators who were highly educated members. It appears they feared him more than feared the Lord! The loss of the Republican Party put the country in a tail spend like never before. Some of the leaders in the Republican Party have come to realize the shape that Trump has put the party in and are speaking out against Trump and the MAGAs. They have endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as their candidate for President. I

In my wildest imagination I never dreamed that a character like Trump would appear and, not only be accepted but, become the leader of the GOP and change its goals.

think their decision is a good one and would bring the two-party system back into existence. Harris’ programs are what America needs. We need to get rid of Trump’s shrewdness, selfishness and the scaring of people with his nasty and racist remarks about immigrants and Black people that are sweeping the country. America is tired of him making nasty and racist remarks. His insecurities make him a danger to himself and the American people. He is so insecure he has to stage his TV interviews with his trusted cult members so that he is asked softball questions and doesn’t have to give a true and intelligent answer to questions.

There are a number of Republicans led by Liz Chaney who are interested in restoring the GOP. She is joined by her father and it is said to be more than 200 Republicans who want the GOP restored. These, 200 plus are all endorsing Harris because she favors restoration of the Grand Old Party.

VOTE KAMALA HARRIS FOR PRESIDENT! Shedrick Byrd is a contributor to the New Journal and Guide.

Trailblazing Black Va. Tech Grad & Black Student Recruitment Offi

By Rosaland Tyler Associate Editor New Journal and Guide

Glenn Wilbert Valentine passed away on Oct. 3, at age 69, decades after he became one of the first Black Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), graduates to land a job there after he graduated from the school in 1977.

On Oct. 13, his funeral was held in Christiansburg, Va., at Christian Growth Center, where he was a member and played the saxophone plus ran the sound department. Declining health forced him to step down in 2017.

During his tenure at Virginia Tech, the total number of Black students at the university more than quadrupled, increasing from 234 to 969, during a period when overall enrollment rose by 8 percent, Virginia Tech noted in a recent statement on its website.

“He enrolled at Virginia Tech in 1973 and became a leader in the university’s chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha, a historically African-American fraternity, before graduating in 1977 with a bachelor’s degree in public administration,” Virginia Tech noted.

He and another new Virginia Tech graduate, Calvin Jamison, who now serves as vice president for facilities and economic development at the University of Texas at Dallas, worked in recruitment.

Jamison said he and Valentine focused on recruiting Black students to a town nicknamed “Blackless-burg” by some at the time. “Glenn was one of the most caring and compassionate colleagues that I’ve ever worked with,” Jamison said, in a statement on Virginia Tech’s website. “With a lot of positive energy, we were always committed to helping create the best climate possible for students to be successful – we cared.”

According to Virginia Tech, “The pair traveled throughout the commonwealth and into nearby states as part of their work, sometimes using Jamison’s blue Volkswagen Super Beetle because of a rule that prohibited driving state vehicles out of Virginia. On their initial trip out of state, after a rainy night, the car failed to start right before their first meeting with a guidance counselor in Greensboro, North Carolina. They took a taxi to the appointment.”

The recent Virginia Tech statement added, “Efforts like that made a difference. From fall 1977 to fall 1987, the total number of Black students at the university more than

Clarity Hosts Fundraiser To Support

Asheville After Hurricane Helene

VIENNA, VA

In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, the Asheville community is facing severe hardships due to widespread water shortages, which have brought local restaurants to a standstill. Katie Button Restaurants, a cherished independent business, has been at the forefront of relief efforts through World Central Kitchen. However, with their own operations halted for weeks, the restaurant and its 130 hourly employees, along with salaried staff, are in need of financial support to weather this crisis.

In response, Clarity Restaurant will be hosting a special cocktail and hors d’oeuvres reception on

Tuesday, October 29th, from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., to raise funds for Katie Button Restaurants and their employees. All proceeds from the event will be donated directly to help the staff recover and rebuild in the wake of the hurricane’s destruction.

To attend, guests are asked to bring a check for a minimum donation of $100 made out to Katie Button Restaurants. 100% of the proceeds will go directly to the restaurant to help support their staff through this challenging time.

Guests will enjoy a variety of light hors d’oeuvres and cocktails crafted by Clarity’s team and renowned local chefs Patrick & Julie Basin, Kate

Jasen, Oksana Chepoy, and Tracy O’Grady. The chefs are coming together to lend their skills and show their support for a fellow restaurateur in need.

Reservations are not required, though RSVP’s are appreciated to help Clarity prepare for the number of guests attending.

Clarity located at 442 Maple Ave E, Vienna, VA 22180 is an acclaimed dining establishment known for its chef-driven, seasonal menu and warm hospitality.

For more information about the event, to make a donation, or to RSVP, please contact Clarity at (703) 539-8400 or managers@clarityvienna. com.

quadrupled, increasing from

234 to 969, during a period when overall enrollment rose by 8 percent.

According to Valentine’s obituary in New River Valley News, “Over the years, he held many positions, making the Southwest Virginia area a “safe space” for students of color.”

Born in Bracey, Va., to Robert Allen Valentine Sr. (Nov. 14, 1911-Jan. 8, 1999) and Lorraine Mayo Valentine (Jan. 8, 1919Oct. 12, 2016), he lived in Christiansburg with his wife,

Bridgett Valentine, of 43 years. Other survivors include two daughters: Maichal, Meschel, and Moriah; siblings Wayne Valentine (Denise), Brenda Valentine, Cynthia Jones (Joe), Winona Green (Priest, d.), Brenda Burford (Robert Sr.), mother-in-law Jeanette Burford (C.E., “Papa,” d.), and multiple nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Glenn Valentine’s honor.

Hello and welcome to The Bridge Corner. When an opponent opens the bidding, you may compete by overcalling if your hand meets the requirements. Requirements for an overcall in a suit:

• A five card or longer suit

• At least 8 High Card Points (HCP) overcalling at the one level; at least 10 HCP to overcall at the two level requirements for a 1 No Trump Overcall:

• 15 to 18 HCP

• Balanced hand

• Some strength/stoppers in the opponent’s suit

This is an overcall. South passes. East’s bid did not affect South’s response. West, with 12 total points, bids 2 Diamond, a cuebid (when you bid a suit that an opponent has already bid to tell partner that you have at least 10 HCP points and at least 3-card support in partner’s suit). North, with a minimum-strength hand, passes. West’s response is invitational or better in support of Spades. East bids game, since East has 15 total points and West has shown at least 10 HCP points.

3) The contract is 4 Spades and East is the declarer.

4) South makes the opening lead with the 10 Diamond

5) Declarer needs ten tricks; Declarer has ten sure tricks. Declarer draws the trumps first since Declarer does not have to give up the lead to do this.

6) The two low Hearts in Declarer’s hand will be discarded on the Clubs in dummy.

7) Declarer should make his 4 Spade contract.

– Elva Taylor

TIDEWATER

BRIDGE CLUB: Richard A. Tucker Memorial Library 2350 Berkley Ave., Extension –Norfolk, VA 23523.

The dates for the next four games are:

1) Wednesday, Oct. 30 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.

2)

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. Contact Lawrence Owes at l.a.owes1@gmail.com for additional information. Dealer: North

1) North opens the bidding with 1 Diamond. 2) East bids 1 Spade.

Tidewater Bridge Club’s winning players in the October 16, 2024 game: Gloria Brown – Lawrence

Owes - Rose Ward Elizabeth Lyons – Lillye Holley - Wilma Horne

Marshall Hutto – Leon Ragland – Larry Caplan Sandra Starkey – Gene Payne

Shedrick Byrd

Glenn Wilbert Valentine

Sister, Brother Lead

VSU’s Homecoming Parade

By Rosaland Tyler Associate Editor New Journal and Guide

Norfolk Treasurer Daun

Sessoms Hester and her brother, retired Federal Express Vice President Glenn D. Sessoms, recently visited Virginia State University to serve as grand marshals at the school’s Homecoming parade; but, it was not their first visit to the historic Petersburg campus.

Hester and Sessoms are not only Virginia State graduates, their parents also earned degrees at the land-grant college, which was founded in 1882 after state legislators passed a bill to charter what was then called Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute. At the school’s recent Oct. 12 Homecoming Parade, balloons floated in the air. Spectators cheered as Hester and Sessoms waved at the crowd. This year’s parade featured 20 high-stepping bands, including the Trojan

Explosion Marching Band, and 41 parade units. The parade returned to its usual route this year after being scaled down due to the closure of the Appomattox River Canal Bridge last year. “The parade is a time-honored event in the University’s annual Homecoming celebration,” Virginia State officials said in a recent statement on the school’s website.”

Hester and Sessoms have deep ties to VSU, both holding degrees from the University and following

in the footsteps of their parents, who were also VSU alums.”

Since 2018, Hester has served as the treasurer of the City of Norfolk. She is the first female to lead the office. Hester also represented the 89th House District as a former member of the Virginia General Assembly. During her tenure, she served on the Appropriations, Education, and General Laws Committees.

Prior to holding state office, Hester served on the Norfolk City Council and was also the city’s vice mayor. She worked for Norfolk Public Schools for 22 years.

Sessoms retired from Federal Express in 2009. At Federal Express, Sessoms held multiple management positions, overseeing a wide range of operations and strategic areas. Sessoms managed approximately 39 locations and hubs in more than 14 states with approximately 5,600 employees.

An active member of the community, Sessoms also served on multiple boards, including Leadership Memphis 2008 and the Boy Scouts Chickasaw Council.

Records show Virginia State University was founded on March 6, 1882, when the legislature passed a bill to charter the Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute.

The bill was sponsored by Delegate Alfred W. Harris, a Black attorney whose offices were in Petersburg, but who lived in and represented Dinwiddie County in the General Assembly. A hostile lawsuit delayed opening day for 19 months, until Oct. 1, 1883. In 1902, the legislature revised the charter act to curtail the collegiate program and to change the name to Virginia Normal and Industrial Institute.

Two years ago, Virginia State was ranked in the top 15 percent of the Best Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

LAST CHANCE FOR STUDENTS TO APPLY FOR 4-DAY ACADEMY AT DISNEY WORLD

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FL.

Time is running out for high school students with big dreams to take the next step toward their future, as the Oct. 31 application deadline for the Disney Dreamers Academy is fast approaching. Disney Dreamers Academy, in its 18th year, is an educational mentorship program that is fostering the career dreams of high school students from culturally diverse communities nationwide.

Well-known celebrities, educators, business executives, community leaders and Disney cast members lead various in-depth workshops designed for the 100 students who are selected for the program. These workshops introduce Disney Dreamers to diverse career paths in business, entertainment, STEM, and more, including career opportunities at The Walt Disney Company. They also provide students with valuable life tools, leadership skills, effective communication techniques, and networking strategies.

Applications are open to U.S. high school students, ages 13 to 19. A distinguished panel of leaders will evaluate the applications, and selected participants will be announced in early 2025. The 100 selected students will receive an all-expense-paid trip along with one parent or guardian to Walt Disney World Resort in Florida to experience a combination of inspiration, education, and fun at The Most Magical Place On Earth. Anyone interested can apply or nominate a student at www. DisneyDreamersAcademy.com

Applications are open to U.S. high school students, ages 13 to 19 to October 31, 2024.

These poems were delivered at the 2024 Impacting Lives Ceremony

By Sean C. Bowers

WE ARE, leaning into and following our history’s freedom’s, NORTH STAR, We Sojourn with Fredrick Douglass, and Harriet, all our lives, we carry it.

Ida Wells, William Wilburforce, Author Ashe, and PB Young, Wrote, standing against evil with their lives, minds, fortunes, and tongue

WE ARE Lincoln, Grant, Mandela, JFK, OBAMA, Biden and RFK, WE ARE LBJ and MLK’s CIVIL RIGHT’S MARCHING AND OVERCOMING JIM CROW in their day

Fighters paved the way Jack Johnson, the Brown Bomber, the Sugar Ray’s through Tyson and Ali, Starting and promoting peaceful worldwide movements like Clemente, Marley, and Ghandi

About Disney Dreamers Academy: Established at Walt Disney World in 2008, Disney Dreamers Academy’s mission is to inspire teens from culturally diverse communities nationwide to dream beyond imagination by providing life-long access to personalized support for the Disney Dreamers, their caregivers, and the community through insightful content and uplifting experts, mentors, and sponsors. Each year, 100 high school students are awarded a trip to Walt Disney World Resort in Florida to experience this four-day immersive and transformational program. Sean

Russell, Jabbar, Walton, lead us to Shaq & Kobe, Labron, through Jordan, Dr. J and DJ magically delivered the 10 commandments of God, through Moses

WE ARE Brenda Andrews and Leonard Colvin of the 124-year-old New Journal & Guide,

WE ARE here to represent BLACK LOVE authentically, on your side

These past 28 years writing for the Guide has been my greatest team honor and longest stint, The BLACK PRESS birthed and helped heal me, with a heart splint

We are all King’s, Queen’s and we even brought the world our purple, PRINCE, Sam Cooke, Donnie Hathaway, Aretha, Marvin, Mavis and Phoebe Snowed us all living Jimi’s Experience

WE ARE ALL our own NORTH STARS, Creating Change Requires DEEP spiritual pockets

Forever BLACK sets the tone and the pace, in this place BY Leading, at the head of the table, with grace

Yet again, Black saves me, and America, from going too far

To the rescue always raising our social moral consciousness’ bar

Please Join Me in a Moment of Silence for those at Charlottesville, The Jan 6th Insurrection, all those lost to gun violence, over-policing, and COVID-19.

By Sean C. Bowers

Michael, Row your boat, Row your Vote, Ashore,

Your VOTE

Squelch’s HATE’S toxic pyro spore, Vote and BECOME your own “JUSTICE” hammer, THOR

Lean into your freedom’s core, Assuring ALL American’s Right’s Endor

Creating equitable equality that None Remain banished to serve life-sentences from the floor, Is only done, by clean sweeping OUT the Criminal Republican revolving MAGA door

Pregnant women’s own bodily RIGHTS, NEVER MAKES THEM A WHORE, Vote, for MORE, for the NATION’S CONSTITUTION, TO WHICH AN OATH, WE ALL SWORE

Put your minds, hearts, souls, and backs to your Vote, OAR Healing our humanities species’ empathic jeans, that the pathetic and apathetic, tore

DON’T BRAG TO ONLY FOR SOME TO “Make America Great Again,” STANDING still, a Status Quo Bore Dare to Care to be Christian enough to others to “Keep Making America Better, Than Ever Before!”

White America, It won’t hurt to vote for a strong Black woman, Especially, when the ALTERNATIVE IS, “THE OMEN!”

LEAN INTO YOUR VOTE FOR OUR FIRST BLACK WOMAN, NORTH STAR, Let freedom forever ring, as we sing, WE ARE, WE CAN, WE WILL, WE ARE.

C. Bowers has

Daun Hester

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

SUBMISSION IN CHRIST MOMENTS of MEDITATION

Ephesians 6:1-9

The world of the 2000s faces many dilemmas –economic, social, political and technological – that are complex and difficult to solve. At the heart of them, however, lies the most basic of all human problems

–

flawed interpersonal relationships because of a flawed relationship with God.

The Bible remains relevant to our condition because it deals with these flawed relationships and tells us how they can be mended. At the close of Ephesians 5, Paul described the relationship between a Christian husband and wife in terms of the relationship between Christ and His church.

Growing out of mutual submission (5:21), wives are to accept their husbands headship just as the church accepts the headship of Christ (vv. 22-24), and husbands are to love their wives with the same kind of self-giving love that Christ

has for the church (vv. 2533). Married couples who consistently practice these principles will avoid many of the pitfalls that plague so many marriages today. In Ephesians 6, Paul turns to human relationships in two more areas: the family (parent-child) and the workplace (servant-master).

In these, as in marriage, consistent application of the principles described here would greatly reduce the tensions that often develop between people. To be sure, the social and economic environment that impinges upon the home and the workplace today is vastly different from that of the first-century Rome, but the principles governing the attitudes of Christians as they relate to one another remain the same.

As we examine these areas, we shall try to look behind the surface differences between that era and ours and discern the enduring principles that Paul sets forth. We shall learn how they apply to our needs

today, just as they did to those of the Ephesians.

OBEDIENCE IN THE FAMILY. In a Christian family, children are not to submit to their parents in the same way that wives submit to their husbands – i.e., by being willing to give up some of their own rightful autonomy because they recognize their parents’ leadership role. They are to obey because God has ordained that children should be subject to their parents – simply because “this is right” (v. 1).

To authenticate this point, Paul refers to the fifth commandment, with a slightly modified quotation of either Exodus 20:12 or Deuteronomy 5:16. He observes that this is “the first commandment with a promise” (Ephesians 6:2): “that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth” (v. 3).

In the Decalogue it says, “so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the Lord your God is giving you” (Deuteronomy 5:16). Here it is very specific, referring to the Promised Land, which the Israelites would conquer and occupy after their wilderness wandering. Paul’s quotation generalizes this to refer to “long life on the earth” without reference to location.

The reason for this is almost certainly that in writing to Ephesus, a Gentile church, it would not have

relevance to them to speak of a promised long life in the land of Palestine. At the same time, the basic intent of the promise – that God would bless those who honored their parent – was a valid and appropriate application of this Old Testament passage to the life of the church.

So within a Christian family, children are to obey their parents. But parents are also under divine orders. They are not to “exasperate” their children (Ephesians 6:4a) by being unreasonable or unfeeling.

What parents are to do is to bring their children up “in the training and instruction of the Lord” (v. 4b). They are to nourish their children both physically and spiritually. This takes two forms, training” and “instruction.” “Training refers primarily to the kind of discipline that is required for the proper nurturing of children. “Instructional” means admonition, usually oral but sometimes written, which may include both correction and encouragement. By these means Christian parents are to bring up their children so that when they reach maturity they will continue to walk in the ways of the Lord (Proverbs 22:6).

OBEDIENCE IN THE WORKPLACE. In addressing slaves (Ephesians 5:8) and their masters (v. 9), Paul was confronting a reality of life in that day.

Out of perhaps 200 million people in the Roman Empire,

more than 60 million were slaves. Many slaves had become Christians and so had some slave-owners.

Even though slavery is, thankfully, no longer a part of our society, Paul’s words should not be regarded simply as a set of outmoded regulations. They should instead, be taken as relevant guidelines for Christian employers and employees, for they deal with the attitudes that each should cultivate in the modern workplace.

First of all, slaves were to obey their masters. This was to be the case even if the master was not a Christian. They were to do so “with fear and trembling” (lit.) and with single-mindedness – not just because their master might punish them for disobedience, but in the same spirit that they would obey Christ (v. 5).

Furthermore, as “slaves of Christ” (v. 6), when they served their earthly masters faithfully they were doing the will of God. Christian slaves were to serve their earthly masters with undiluted good will (v. 7), remembering that in the end, everyone – whether slaves or master, bond or free – will stand before the Lord to be rewarded in accord with the good he has done (v. 8). This does not refer to salvation by good works, which Paul categorically rejects elsewhere, but to that time when all believers will be judged by the risen Lord

on the basis of their behavior as Christians and rewards distributed accordingly (1 Corinthians 3:10-15). When applied to the modern world, these verses speak powerfully to the responsibility of Christian employees to work faithfully and diligently in their places of employment. To do so is to do the will of God and create an eloquent, even if unspoken, testimony to our Christian commitment.

Finally, Paul has a word for masters (Ephesians 6:9). Though they were probably few in number, there must have been some in the Ephesian church, or Paul would not have written as he did. His instruction for them is simple but pointed: they are to treat their slaves with consideration rather than threats, remembering that both masters and slaves will be accountable to the Lord, who does not play favorites. In today’s world, this translated into a requirement that Christian employers treat their employee with kindness and respect. With this, Paul comes to the conclusion of these principles governing basic human relationships. He goes on to end his letter with one of the greatest sources of strength and encouragement to be found in scripture, as he tells us how to be victorious over the attacks of the devil, which are certain to come to all believers. This will be the theme of the next and final lesson in this series.

CHURCH ADs & DIRECTORY

Welcoming all to join us in our Bible-based service!

Film Review: Piece By Piece

By Dwight Brown Film Critic

★

★ (3 Stars)

“It might seem crazy what I’m about to say.” But this fun-to-watch bio/mus/doc should’ve been titled Happy, and not Piece by Piece. That’s the vibe. That’s the depth. Certainly, Pharrell Williams is worthy of a movie about his musical feats. He’s won 13 Grammy Awards; an Academy Award nomination (Happy for Despicable Me 2) and his productions have sold around 100M copies worldwide. Certainly, if Sean Combs could produce a film about himself, (Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: A Bad Boy Story), Williams is entitled too. Right?

Once upon a time, a precocious young kid from the projects of Virginia Beach, dreamed big and out of the box. “I knew I was different. People would say, ‘Oh that’s an odd child.’ But I loved music. Music would come out of me,” recalls Williams. Almost predestined, he teamed up with his pal Chad Hugo, whom he’d known since 7th grade, and they formed the production duo The Neptunes. The rest is modern music history. A redacted version.

The idea of interviewing fellow musicians and important people in Williams’ life, is standard. What’s not so standard is having the Oscarwinning documentarian Morgan Neville (20 Feet FromStardom) add those voices to LEGO figures. Like

he was actually doing a Q&A with cartoon characters. LEGOs. Superstar musicians. That weird juxtaposition doesn’t get old for 93 fascinating minutes. It’s odd and charming to see cartoon versions of Williams, Neville, Kendrick Lamar, Gwen Stefani, Jay-Z, Pusha T, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake and Busta Rhymes. The coolest one has to be Snoop Dogg. Hearing his smooth-talking voice, with that urban cadence and those rhyming words, but not seeing the real Snoop emphasizes his charm-anddisarm speaking skills. It all proves that animating this doc is a very effective gimmick. Neville also uses archival footage and shoots new scenes with Williams in his old neighborhood. It’s all transferred to a LEGO motif. The colors, figures and cartoony movement are eye catching. The more you watch, the more playful the footage becomes. It’s all so novel and cool, it almost makes up for the lack of depth and soul-searching that

fuels strong non-fiction films.

This is not an expository doc that has a central thesis and builds to its theory. Or an observational flyon-the-wall doc. Closer to a performative doc that embraces the filmmakers’ point of view and emotions in a very subjective way. If you’re expecting objectivity, find another film. If you’re looking for Williams to reveal some of the tougher parts of his career, it isn’t that kind of party.

Williams was entangled in a lawsuit over his writing and production work on Robin Thick’s chart-topping summer 2013 hit Blurred Lines. He’s also involved in a recent lawsuit with Chad Hugo over naming rights connected to the name The Neptunes. Neville doesn’t ask the producer extraordinaire the toughest questions. Which is a pity, as both these career challenges could be enlightening, cautionary tales for those contemplating a music industry career. Particularly as a producer. If you can scream from the rafters, “I firmly believe

FUN PUZZLE FOR YOUR LEISURE

that everyone has talent, beauty and potential.” You can scream from the rafters, “Don’t fall into this trap. Here’s what I learned. Be careful.”

Some of the comradery is heartwarming. Pusha T had lost his record deal when Williams approached him with a new beat that reignited his career. “Hot in Herre” brought Nelly good fortune. As did “I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)” for Jay-Z, “Hollaback Girl” for Gwen Stefani and “Drop It Like It’s Hot” for Snoop Dogg. Looking for depressing songs? Stop looking, Williams doesn’t write ‘em. Looking for complex music? None. Catchy, simple brainworm pop/soul/hip-hop confections are his thing. And those are the tunes audiences will hum when they leave the theater or click off the remote.

Neville was greatly aided by writers/editors Oscar Vazquez and Aaron Wickenden along with editor Jason Zeldes. Howard Baker, the film’s animation director, and the animation studios Tongal, Pure Imagination and Zebu did their part. On view is a unique blend of animation and music doc sensibilities that almost create a new genre.

This ditty may not be the insightful, revealing doc some theater audiences seek. Instead, it’s a light, cartoony confection aimed at those who love music, like being happy and can relate to a nerdy kid who made good. “Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof.”

DRPT FY26 PUBLIC NOTICE

The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) is accepting applications from qualified eligible applicants for transit, rail, and commuter assistance program (CAP) grants for the 2026 fiscal year. The stateʼs annual grant application period is open from December 1, 2024, through February 1, 2025. Transit and CAP funds are available through multiple state and federal funding sources to support transit service, human service transportation, and commuter assistance programs in Virginia. Eligible project categories include capital purchases, administrative and operating costs, technical assistance, demonstration grants, and commuter assistance program costs. Funds are available for rail initiatives through the Freight and Rail Preservation program. In addition, funding to provide access to freight rail shipping for Virginia businesses is available year-round through the Rail Industrial Access program. Complete details on eligibility and the application procedures for DRPT grant programs are available online. To learn more about transit, rail, and transportation demand management funding in Virginia, visit www.drpt. virginia.gov. Applications can be submitted online at https://grants.drpt. virginia.gov/ beginning December 1, 2024. DRPT is committed to ensuring that no person is excluded from participation in or denied the benefits of its services on the basis of race, color, or national origin, as protected by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. DRPT will also provide reasonable accommodations and interpretive services for persons who require special assistance to participate in the grant application process as required by the ADA. For accommodations, additional information on how to file a complaint, please contact our Title VI Compliance Officer, (804) 786-4440, or 600 E. Main Street, Suite 2102, Richmond, VA 23219, or visit our website at www.drpt.virginia.gov.