NJG | Vol. 124, No. 44 - November 7, 2024

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION 2024 TO BE ... OR NOT TO BE

By Brenda H. Andrews Publisher

and

“To be or not to be…that is the question.”

Shakespeare’s Hamlet popularized this phrase reflecting on the morality of life and death.

That was a question for me on Tuesday November 5 Election Day mid-day as I observed voting in America briskly proceeding. Would our country choose a way of

We must talk about the biggest elephant in the room as we begin to assess this fiasco - Kamala Harris herself.

Her race, gender, intelligence and audacious John Wayne fighting spirit contained in a beautiful female body.

voters, college students, Republicans voting Democratic, just as we saw early voting in big numbers. I voted early, for only the second time in my voting life, to ensure my vote for democracy could not be lost on November 5 by a personal

deterrent. I don’t mind standing in voting lines. I get a patriotic rush knowing I am striking a spiritual blow at an evil force that sought to keep my Black ancestors from reading and voting. I do know that people— Black activists and White sympathizers— died so that I can vote. It was an odd question to ask before the election results began to come in on Tuesday night. Life or death. The answer seemed obvious. see Election, page 6A

THERE’S A NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN!

CHESAPEAKE

Before a standing-room only crowd, Sheriff Dave Rosado was sworn in as the fourth sheriff in the City of Chesapeake on Nov. 1, 2024. He is a 23-year veteran of the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office and its first Hispanic Sheriff. He succeeds now retired former Sheriff Jim O’Sullivan. Well wishers included family, friends, city officials, and members of the Sheriff’s Department. State Sen. L. Louise Lucas and House Speaker Del. Don Scott were among special guests, as was former State Senator Lionell Spruill. Sheriff Rosado was given the oath of office by Dr. Alan Krasnoff, former mayor and current Clerk of the Circuit Court. State Sen. Christie

Craig served as the Master of Ceremonies.

Sheriff Rosado was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY and moved to Chesapeake

in 1999. He has served with distinction in various departments.

Sheriff Rosado was applauded for his

DORIS WILLIAMS, 91, VETERAN SHE’S STILL SERVING HER COUNTRY

By Leonard E. Colvin Chief Reporter Emeritus New Journal

and Guide

There are 365 days a year, and each is used to celebrate a particular facet of our culture, from New Year’s Day, January 1, to Bacon Day, December 30.

In between, there is Memorial Day, Girl or Boyfriend Day, Get Funky Day, and for dog lovers, Mutt Day. Doris Williams, 91, can claim Seniors’ Day, Mother’s Day, and Volunteers Day.

Her busiest days of the week are Sundays, when she worships at Mt. Olive Baptist Church in the

The NVDF, created in 1985, is an all-volunteer (veteran and citizen) reserve of the Virginia National Guard.

Lindenwood neighborhood of Norfolk.

The next day, she volunteers with the church’s Food Pantry Ministry, filling bags for “Customers.”

Williams can also claim Nurses Day and Veteran’s Day. For a good portion of her long life, she was a nurse. She worked at DePaul

and Norfolk Community Hospitals and the Department of Public Health and was a National Virginia Defense Force (NVDF) member.

She said the NVDF, created in 1985, is an all-volunteer (veteran and citizen) reserve of the Virginia National Guard that supports all Guard domestic operations during national and local crises.

Williams joined at age 52 in 1985 and served until she was 75 when she was forced to retire.

At one point before her retirement, she was the highest-ranking AfricanAmerican woman in the VDF and also the oldest.

see Veteran, page 6A

By Stacy M. Brown Senior National Correspondent

QUINCY JONES LEAVES MONUMENTAL

LEGACY

Photo: Courtesy

Jones transformed genres, introduced new styles, and championed Black artistry.

NNPA NEWSWIRE Quincy Jones, the record producer, arranger, and cultural trailblazer whose in fl uence spanned more than seven decades, has died at 91. His publicist, Arnold Robinson, con fi rmed his death in a statement, noting that Jones died peacefully at his home in Bel Air. The statement did not specify the cause.

Known for producing Michael Jackson’s landmark albums, “Thriller” and “Bad,” Jones’s career far exceeded even those iconic works. Jones transformed genres, introduced new styles, and championed Black artistry in a largely segregated industry. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which inducted him in 2013, called him a “Jack of All Trades” but noted that Jones “excelled

at every role he took on.”

FORMER KY. OFFICER GUILTY IN BREONNA TAYLOR DEATH

By Rosaland Tyler

Associate Editor New Journal and Guide

About four years after a Louisville officer opened fire on Breonna Taylor in her own Louisville apartment, jurors convicted the killer; but is it time to do better?

George Floyd’s killer, Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, was convicted in 2021, after he shot and killed Floyd in 2020. Chauvin, 45, was convicted of second-degree unintentional murder, thirddegree murder and seconddegree manslaughter. Jurors deliberated for more than 10 hours over two days before coming to their decision, according to news reports.

Earlier, James Earl Ray stood before a Memphis judge in March 1969 and pleaded guilty to the Rev. Dr. Martin L. King’s 1968 murder in order to avoid the electric chair. Ray was sentenced to 99 years in prison.

Why does it take so long to convict a White who kills a Black?

Consider the facts:

professional achievements and his active community involvement with Special Olympics, senior citizens, and youth. NEXT WEEK:

His contributions as a record producer, arranger, composer, and performer re fl ect a boundless curiosity that kept him at the cutting edge of music across generations. His presence shaped countless albums, fi lm scores, and even social movements, making him a bridge between jazz, R&B, pop, and hip-hop and between Black and white audiences. see Quincy, page 8A

ATLANTA

Miss Alexandra Gramby representing Louisiana was crowned National Miss Juneteenth 2025 in Atlanta, Ga., on October 19, 2024, during the 5th Annual Pageant of the National Miss Juneteenth Scholarship Program (NMJSP). see page 8A

Breonna Taylor was shot to death in her home when police broke into the wrong apartment.

About four years after Taylor’s shooting, in 2020, a 12-member, federal jury finally convicted a former Kentucky police detective of using excessive force on Taylor during a botched 2020 drug raid that left her dead.

NJG Publisher Brenda H. Andrews

Chesapeake Sheriff Dave Rosado takes the oath of office.

Photo: ErnestLowery

Breonna Taylor

RESTORATION OF 1760 WILLIAMSBURG BRAY SCHOOL FOR BLACKS NEARS COMPLETION

By Stacy M. Brown

Senior National Correspondent

NNPA NEWSWIRE

Colonial Williamsburg is nearing completion on the restoration of the Williamsburg Bray School, the oldest surviving schoolhouse for Black children in America.

Founded in 1760 by the Associates of Dr. Bray, a British Anglican charity, the school was established to teach enslaved and free Black children to read, albeit through a curriculum that promoted religious submission to slavery. Yet, for the hundreds of students who passed through its doors, literacy opened possibilities far beyond their assigned roles.

The school’s dedication on November 1 marked a milestone in the project’s meticulous restoration efforts, with public tours set to begin this spring. Located on the grounds of Colonial Williamsburg in partnership with William & Mary’s Bray School Lab, the Williamsburg Bray School stands as a testament to the oppression and resilience woven into early American history. The Smithsonian’s Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III, who served as the keynote speaker, emphasized the significance of the structure by saying that it has “extraordinary potential” to demonstrate how a small number of people’s dreams helped shape the values of many people. More than 80 former students, now identified through Colonial Williamsburg’s research, attended the Bray School in the 1760s. Among them was Isaac Bee, who later emancipated himself. His enslaver placed ads in the Virginia Gazette warning that Bee “can read.” Aberdeen, Bristol, and Phoebe – ages 5, 7, and 3 – were among other students taught by Ann Wager, the school’s only teacher, who instructed over 300 Black children in reading, Christianity, and obedience. Despite the proslavery curriculum, many students quietly resisted by sharing literacy with others in their communities.

“It’s a story of resilience and resistance,” Maureen Elgersman Lee, the Bray School Lab director, told the Associated Press. “The Bray School’s teachings may have been rooted in pro-slavery ideology, but education had a way of empowering these children.”

Lee and her team continue researching descendants, with several students tracing their ancestry to Black households such as the Jones and Ashby families. Janice Canaday, a descendant of former students

Elisha and Mary Jones, is now Colonial Williamsburg’s African-American community engagement manager. Reflecting on her heritage, Canaday shared, “To know what your family has come through – that’s where your power is.”

The Bray School was an exception in a time when most colonies prohibited educating Black people.

Though Virginia imposed anti-literacy laws later in the 1800s, Colonial Williamsburg has uncovered evidence suggesting Bray students went on to influence their communities. Jody Allen, director of the Lemon Project, noted that the students likely taught siblings and others what they learned, enabling literacy as an act of defiance. Since its rediscovery, the Bray School has undergone extensive preservation efforts overseen by Colonial Williamsburg. The team restored historically accurate wooden sills and brickwork, maintaining nearly 75% of the original structure. Officials said the preserved building will anchor research on the intersections of race,

November 3, 1934

Edition of the Guide

Moton Resigns From Tuskegee Presidency TUSKEGEE, ALA

Dr. Robert Russa Morton is to retire on May 31, 1935 as president of Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.

The internationally famous leader will be 67 years of age and will have rounded out 45 years of working for the education and advancements of his race and country. He announced his forthcoming retirement after submitting his resignation to the board of trustees.

Moton said he was already two years over the age limit for retirement, and will for the good of the Institute, insist on the acceptance of his resignation.

Another factor he said was his health, which has not been good lately.

Lynching Stirs Nation

(Special to the Guide)

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Calls for Federal actions to bring to justice the kid nap-lynchers of Claude Neal have been made, since he was seized from an Alabama jail, rushed by a mob over the Florida state line and publicly lynched before a crowd of 5,000.

Communications have been sent to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Attorney General Homer S. Cummings since the lynching to prosecute the matter.

religion, and education, shedding light on a part of America’s past often overlooked. “This is an incredibly important opportunity both to understand the Bray School and to understand Williamsburg in the 18th century,” Webster stated.

The school, originally recommended by Benjamin Franklin as a site for Black education, also illuminates the lives of early Black educators in Virginia. William & Mary Professor Emeritus Terry

Meyers said the Bray School likely fostered Virginia’s first Black teachers.

Colonial Williamsburg

President Cliff Fleet also stressed the educational significance of the school’s story. William & Mary President Katherine Rowe noted that the restored building will serve as a “living testament to the resilience and strength of the Black students who defied their roles by embracing literacy.”

The research will continue as scholars, descendants,

and visitors explore the Bray School’s historical role.

Researchers hope to relocate the building to Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Area, preserving the space where generations of Black children gained the knowledge that helped shape their futures.

“This project honors not just the children who learned here, but their courage to transcend the limitations set before them,” said Bunch, “a resilience that endures in the story of our nation.”

From The Guide’s Archives

to invoke the Lindbergh Kidnapping Law.

In response to Hoover’s letter, scores of leading lawyers answered: “Kidnapping is Kidnapping and the Lindbergh Law, is the Lindbergh Law.”

The Attorney General opposes a federal antilynching law and has been very much disinclined to take any step to bring the power of the federal government to the task of stamping out the lynching evil. He nor the President has taken any known step as a result of the demands for action.

(Editor’s Note: The U.S. Department of Justice’s Investigation Division was the forerunner of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Hoover headed that agency until his death in 1972)

Community Hospital Seeks $2500

NORFOLK

The Norfolk Community Hospital, one of the most valuable institutions in this city, is in the midst of preparations for a membership drive November 18-19.

The hospital is seeking 2,500 members on the basis of a membership fee of $1 to $5 in order to provide new equipment needed for standardization. This equipment will include an X-ray machine, additional laboratory supplies and instruments.

John C. Brown of Jackson Road. They were standing in front of the hall when the shooting occurred.

They were among 5,000 Negroes at a rally in support of Lt. Gov. Mills Godwin who is running for governor. Their wounds were not life threatening.

Suffolk’s Chief of Police Jesse A Harrell said that detectives were investigating the case. He said the incident “was uncalled for and that there is no excuse for such a thing.”

He said the victims reported that the gun blasts were fi red from a blue Ford car, but they could not identify the passengers.

Hoover Takes Another Swipe At King

WASHINGTON, D.C.

FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover indirectly took another verbal swipe at Civil Rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. recently.

Writing in the November issue of the FBI’s Law Enforcement Bulletin, Hoover said civil disobedience, the favorite weapon of civil rights activists, will make the nation’s crime problem worse and lead to anarchy.

Hoover did not mention him directly, but King is the chief exponent of civil disobedience to protest what he considers unjust laws.

various meetings for three days before he decided to speak out that night.

The intruder is identi fi ed as Douglas Linberg Niles, 26, of Arlington. He was arrested by Roanoke police after NAACP members hustled him out of the meeting hall at the Roanoke Hotel where the Convention was held.

Niles wore a sports coat and leaped to the podium as Wiley Branton, a special assistant to the U.S. Attorney, was being introduced.

“If Rockwell is elected governor there will never be another NAACP meeting in Virginia and all of you will be sent back to Africa,” he said.

Rockwell is the White Constitutional Party’s candidate for Governor of Virginia in Tuesday’s general elections. His followers are former Nazis.

After the blast at the NAACP members, Niles threw out a handful of lea fl ets which read: “Coonard Lines – Boat Ticket to Africa.”

November 1, 1989

Edition of the Guide

City Treasurer Goes After Delinquent Taxes

By Vernon Kitabu Turner

PORTSMOUTH

If you are dodging taxes in Portsmouth soon there may not be a place left for you to hide.

portion of het salary as a custodian to purchase a headstone for her loved one. Instead of paying the bill in installments, she paid $616 in cash to representatives of Roosevelt Memorial Cemetery for the headstone. It was to be placed on a grave adjacent to that of her stepfather who had died 10 months earlier. Yet, after almost two years her mother’s grave still has no headstone despite demands to the management of the Cemetery.

“They kept telling me that it would soon be placed on there, but somehow I knew they were not telling the truth,” said Stensel. On July 13 during a public hearing at a local church, Stensel and hundreds of other African-Americans were told by the cemetery’s owners that Roosevelt was filing for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.

The announcement by acting President C. Roy Kelly brought to light the poor maintenance of the cemetery and its inability to provide service and material the loved ones of the interred have paid thousands of dollars for over the years.

November 6, 1991 Edition of the Guide

“Men’s Cookfest” To Debut November 10

ASSOCIATE

It was contended in the message that the members of the mob which seized Neal and transported him across interstate lines are guilty of kidnapping under the Lindbergh Law, and on conviction, face the death penalty

J. Edgar Hoover, Director of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Investigation Division, asserted his department is not concerned about the kidnap-lynching. “Murder is Murder, and Kidnapping is Kidnapping,” said Hoover. “The federal government cannot take part in the investigation of all state murder cases – even though as in this case, the victims were taken over a state line.”

It is held in some quarters that a ransom must have been involved in order

The campaign director is P.B. Young, Sr., President of the Hospital Association. W. T. Mason, Secretary of the Association, is assistant director of the committee, and committee members are Rev. B.W. Harris, Dr. S. F. Coppage and Mrs. A. M. Ward.

November 6, 1965

Edition of the Guide

Suffolk Police Probing Gun Blast At Voter Rally

SUFFOLK

No arrests have been made in connection with the shooting of two Negro Suffolk men following a get out the vote rally at Union Hall sponsored by the Virginia Independent Voters League and the Local Chapter of AFLCIO’s Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Workers Union.

The men injured were identi fi ed as Alfonzo Artis of 104 Reid Street and

“This doctrine is based on the startling theory that if one does not agree with a law and believes it to be morally unjust, he may disregard it to achieve a particular objective,” Hoover wrote.

Hoover clashed with King earlier this year over FBI activities in the South and called the Atlanta civil rights leader “the most notorious liar in the country.”

NAZI Shakes Up NAACP Meeting ROANOKE

The annual state convention of the NAACP was thrown into an uproar last weekend when a supporter of the Nazi George Lincoln Rockwell jumped onto the platform hurled racial insults and hate literature.

The intruder, registered as a “guest” of the convention, sat through

Portsmouth City Treasurer Charles B. Whitehurst has a plan he believes will help the city collect as much as $8 million it has in uncollected taxes.

As Whitehurst explained it, this amount has been delinquent after five years.

The office of the City Treasurer is mandated by the state to collect taxes assessed by the Commissioner of Revenue. Whitehurst takes the job seriously as anyone who knows him will attest.

Whitehurst voluntarily assumed greater duties by becoming the supervisor of the delinquent tax office.

Families May Never Recover Money Invested In Roosevelt Cemetery By

Leonard E. Colvin

Weeks after the death of her mother Sarah Pegram, in November 1987, Maxine Stensel sacrificed a great

Men who cook have a long tradition of displaying their culinary skills. Whether as professional chefs, short order cooks, or weekend dabblers, who “can burn” in the kitchen, men have been known to produce some tasty and pleasing meals. This Sunday, men of Hampton Roads will be cooking up a variety of dishes and serving them to the public during the first Safire Men’s Cookfest at the Norfolk Scope Exhibition Hall. The event is organized by the New Journal and Guide Participating men come from cities throughout Hampton Roads. They represent all walks of life and careers. A few are retired military chefs who are accustomed to serving up large batches of food; others have prepared only small family dinners; a few have earned for themselves reputations as people to be reckoned with when it comes to cooking.

The Bray School

Photo: Courtesy

Black General, Black Astronaut Among 8 US Veterans Hall of Fame Inductees

By Rosaland Tyler Associate Editor New Journal and Guide

Benjamin Earl Davis, Jr., the Air Force’s first Black general, is among eight veterans who will be inducted into the U.S. Veterans Hall of Fame on Nov. 16, at the firstever Veterans Convention, which will be held at the Hampton Roads Convention Center.

Event organizers aim to not only provide funds to veterans with proceeds from the event, which has a fundraising target of $100,000, they also plan to honor Davis, a trailblazing Black general, and seven more male and female veterans. The first event is free and open to veterans and includes lunch (9 a.m.- 1 p.m.). Later that evening, the ticketed 5th annual hall of fame induction gala ceremony (6 p.m.-8:30 p.m.) will be held. Both of these events will take place at the Hampton Roads Convention Center located at 1610 Coliseum Dr., Hampton.

Organization founder and chaplain Curtis Drafton said, “A lot of people don’t know the name (Benjamin Earl Davis).”

But Davis’s image will soon grace the U.S. Veterans Hall of Fame. Davis was born on Dec. 18, 1912 in Washington, D.C. and grew up in a military family. He graduated with honors from West Point in 1936 during the Jim Crow era. Although Davis endured indignities such as living without a roommate and eating his meals alone at West Point because of his race, he rose through the ranks after he became a second lieutenant in the infantry and was assigned to the 24th Regiment at

Among other inductees is LTC Charity E. Adams, the first Black woman officer in the Women’s Army Auxillary Corps.

Fort Benning, Georgia (now Fort Moore). Davis not only earned his wings, within a year, he commanded 1,000 Black pilots who came to be known as the Tuskegee Airmen.

This means veterans at the upcoming convention will posthumously honor Davis’ trailblazing military record, which included his split from the U.S. Army to the U.S. Air Force in September 1947, when it split from the Army. President Bill Clinton promoted Davis to a four-star general in 1998. Davis retired after serving as deputy commander in chief of the U.S. Strike Command in 1970 (now U.S. Special Operations Command). He died on July 4, 2002, at 89, and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery next

to his wife

Agatha, just a few yards from where his mother and father (Elnora and Benjamin O. Davis Sr.) are buried. Throughout his historic military career, Davis fought for the rights of Black Soldiers and changed the nature of the military forever.

In 1991, Davis released his autobiography, “Benjamin O. Davis Jr.: American: An Autobiography.” In 2017, West Point renamed its 55-year-old Robert E. Lee Cadet Barracks at West Point after Davis.

“We’ll be inducting this year, a general who is now posthumous,” Drafton said, of the upcoming veterans event in Hampton. “A lot of people don’t know the name, but General Davis is the reason why we have our

speed limits on highways. You know, we’ll (also) be inducting General [Charles F.] Bolden. General Bolden worked hand in hand with NASA for the very first cosmonaut mission to bring Russia and America together in space. Those kinds of stories are the ones that we look for.”

This means the second image that will appear on the Hall of Fame belongs to Bolden.

Gen. Charles F. Bolden is a 1968 graduate of the United States Naval Academy. Bolden was commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps following graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1968.

Bolden is a 78-year-old trailblazing marine aviator, test pilot and an astronaut, who lives in Alexandria with his wife, Alexis. They have two adult children.

Bolden was the first Black to head NASA on a permanent basis, after he was appointed by former President Barack Obama and served from 2009 to 2017. Bolden assumed the NASA post after he retired from the military in August 2004. On Aug. 28, 2012, he was the first human being to have his voice broadcast on the surface of Mars.

Here is a list of the remaining veterans who will be inducted into the Veterans Hall of Fame at the upcoming convention on Nov. 16: BG Anna Mae Hays, BG Albert K.B. Lyman, LTC Charity E Adams, BG Anna Mae Hays, LTC Amy McGrath, MAJ Evan R. Seamone, CPL Robert C Andry.

Two emcees will serve at the event: Gen. William “Kip” Ward and CMSGT David Nordel.

For more information or tickets to the induction ceremony, visit www. usvetshalloffame.org.

Area Veterans To Be Honored At Parade & Ceremony Nov. 11

VIRGINIA BEACH

The men and women who have served and protected our country and fought for our freedom will be honored on Nov. 11 in Virginia Beach with the annual Tidewater Veterans Day Parade and Ceremony.

The parade begins at 9 a.m. at 16th Street and Atlantic Avenue and concludes with the formal ceremony at the Tidewater Veterans Memorial, across from the Virginia Beach Convention Center, 1000 19th St. It is free and open to the public.

Designated as a regional event, the parade will include a flyover by the Military Aviation Museum and more than 100 units including military units from the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Forces and Coast Guard that represent the military installations across the region.

Veterans from World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, Desert Shield, and Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom will participate, as well as

several Tidewater municipal and veterans support organizations, including local high school bands and Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops.

The formal ceremony featuring military, federal, state and local dignitaries will take place immediately following the parade at the Tidewater Veterans Memorial. Immediately following the ceremony, veterans will be honored with a luncheon at the Double Tree Hotel near the convention center. The event is sanctioned by the National Veterans Day Committee and presented by the Hampton Roads Council of Veterans Organizations and co-sponsored by the United States Submarine Veterans.

For more information on the parade and ceremony, contact Daniel Doyle, president of the Hampton Roads Council of Veterans Organizations, (757) 3480884, dandoyle615@gmail. com or visit www.HRCVO. org.

Norfolk Honors Veterans With Annual Ceremony At MacArthur Memorial

NORFOLK

The City of Norfolk will honor the service and sacrifice of our nation’s veterans with the annual Veterans Day Ceremony on Monday, Nov. 11, at 2 p.m. at MacArthur Memorial. A wreath-laying ceremony will take place at the memorial rotunda.

Mayor Kenneth Cooper Alexander, Ph.D., will provide remarks. The featured speaker is Vice Adm.

Doug G. Perry, Commander, Joint Force Command Norfolk; Commander, U.S. Second Fleet and Director, Combined Joint Operations from the Sea Centre of Excellence. In honor of our veterans and to support the City of Norfolk’s Veterans Day Ceremony, the MacArthur Memorial will be open on Monday, Nov. 11, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free.

USAF Gen. Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. Gen. Charles F. Bolden

PROFESSOR

EMERITUS OF SOCIOLOGY

VIRGINIA TECH

MYTH OF THE STUDENT-ATHLETE

By Wornie Reed, Ph.D.

While some of us argued that football and basketball players at bigtime programs should be paid, universities and the NCAA were continually hiding behind the studentathlete myth. We kept saying that the players were generating millions of dollars, while the NCAA and the universities kept saying these athletes were students and amateurs and should not be paid.

Walter Byers, the longtime head of the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association), coined the idea of “student-athlete.”

He was the first executive director, a post he held for 37 years – from 1951 to 1988. He developed the NCAA into the powerhouse of college sports.

Byers came up with the term “student-athlete” as the NCAA defended itself in a workers’ compensation claim by the widow of Ray Dennison, who had died in 1954 while playing football for Fort Lewis A&M in Colorado. His widow argued that college football was a full-time job and that state labor laws should cover her husband’s death.

Thinking the college amateur system would fall apart if schools were forced to pay workers’ compensation claims for athletes, Byers devised a strategy.

Byers and the NCAA lawyers argued that Dennison was a “studentathlete” participating in an extracurricular activity that just happened to be more dangerous than singing in the college glee club. The courts agreed with that argument, and the widow lost her suit.

Byers established the

After 2025, the television contracts – just for the NCAA tournament –will exceed $1.1 billion a year.

NCAA’s enforcement division and, in the name of amateurism, went after schools and coaches caught breaking the rules. All the while, the term “student-athlete” enabled the NCAA and the universities that were exploiting these athletes to receive significant sums of money.

In the 1940s, the NIT (National Invitation Tournament) was the preferred post-season tournament of college basketball teams. It was always held at Madison Square Garden in New York City, and participating schools liked the attendant publicity for their schools and athletic programs.

However, in the 1950s, under the steady hand of Walter Byers, the NCAA tournament began to be more appealing. The NCAA invited more teams to its tournament and paid their expenses. The NCAA was getting broadcasting revenue from college football, and the NIT could not compete, leading to March Madness’s development. The NCAA football contracts ended in 1985; however, the March Madness television revenue fi lled the gap.

The annual NCAA basketball tournament currently provides the NCAA with about $900 million per year from television contracts. The NCAA uses these funds to run the organization, pay conferences, and subsidize nonrevenue sports championships. After 2025, the television

contracts – just for the tournament – will exceed $1.1 billion a year.

While still director of the NCAA, Walter Byers began acknowledging the need to pay players.

In an interview in 1984, Byers shocked the reporter by expressing a loosening hold on amateurism. He said, “You know, I’ve reached the point where I’ve started thinking about an open division [in college sports] to make it more, for want of a better word, professional.” After 30 years of defending amateurism, he was changing his mind.

• In 1997, Walter Byers published his autobiography, Unsportsmanlike Conduct: Exploiting College Athletes. As the title indicates, Byers admitted the problems he had helped create, expressing regret that modern college sports had become a bountiful commercial enterprise. He argued that the athletes should have the same rights as coaches and be able to sell their skills to the highest bidder.

• Strangely, Myers’s autobiography received very little publicity. Although the title was very provocative in 1997, national media outlets did not interview him.

• Nevertheless, Byers’ wish has come true. Athletes are now offering the services – above board – to the highest NIL bidder, causing problems in the administration of college sports. In future discussions, I will address some of these problems and the race effect.

Three Areas Where Biden Must Now Act To Cement His Legacy On The Environment

By Ben Jealous (TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM)

Now in its final months, the Biden-Harris administration has a chance to cement its powerful legacy on the environment. Congress returns for its so-called lame duck session on November 12. The administration should pull out all the stops to work with Congress and use the powers of the presidency to get some more big things done.

First, the administration must continue its historic work to address the climate crisis and further push the United States economy away from the burning of fossil fuels. The Inflation Reduction Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the other major policy initiatives championed by this administration are some of the most effective tools we have ever had to combat climate change, create good American jobs, and ensure the US leads in the next economy. The investments in clean energy and manufacturing must continue. But while that happens, we also need to stop bad policies that threaten reckless fossil fuel expansion – the opposite of the direction in which we need to move. There are two critical actions the federal government can take right now to combat fossil fueldriven climate change. One is stopping the buildout of

massive liquified natural gas (LNG) export terminals like the proposed CP2 facility in Louisiana. Approving more fracked gas infrastructure only will serve to lock us into a fossil fuel future neither country or the world can afford. Increasing fracked gas extraction and processing for export is a bad choice all around. We do not need to be burning more fossil fuels for energy.

The second area in which the Biden-Harris administration needs to continue its historic leadership is in the protection of public lands. The administration’s America the Beautiful initiative aims to protect and preserve at least 30 percent of our lands and waters by 2030. President Biden can go out with a bang by using the Antiquities Act to create several more national monuments.

This administration’s record in this area is stellar. The administration protected over

THE REAL VICTORY!

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

My article won’t tell you today how political races across the country will turn out on November 5th because I am required to turn it in the Friday before the big day. As I write, we are still waiting for the victory, but I will tell you how it should come out at the top of the ticket.

There can be no doubt that Vice-President Kamala Harris should be President of the United States as you read this later or as you hear who the winner is on November 5, 2024! The real victory should go to the best candidate!

Whatever you learn once the election is over, I am going to tell you who and why Kamala should win the race for President because she was the only person who should even have been a candidate in the race!

I don’t know about others, but every single person of color, every woman, every person of goodwill, every working person, every person with good sense (without regard to Party), every person who supports our democracy, every person who cares what their children’s future will look like, every person who knows there was no comparison between the two candidates, every honest person, every non-racist person, every nonsexist person, every person who has knowledge of the

race knows Kamala Harris should be called Madam President when it’s over.

Kamala ran a flawless race. She offered a program to heal many of our problems in the coming days. She promised to already have her “To Do List” when she walks into the Oval Office of the White House. Her opponent had already told us he would have his “Hit List” of those he considered his enemies.

One would think that those who couldn’t see and support the far superior candidate had on blinders, and because of their own inability to discern the candidate best prepared, best educated, best experienced, and greatest concerned about the people than about herself, should be President of the United States today. No matter how this race turns out, every little girl can grow up knowing she has a shot at becoming President because the leading women who dared to run for President, Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, former

This president deserves our gratitude for how he has prioritized the climate, fighting pollution, and land conservation.

12.5 million acres of public lands just in 2023 alone.

Now President Biden has a chance to create national monument at Sáttítla highlands in Northern California. The monument would protect over 206,000 acres of land that hosts unique ecosystems and has deep cultural importance to Indigenous tribes in the area.

He should also create the Chuckwalla National Monument, which would protect roughly 660,000 acres of the California Desert south of Joshua Tree National Park.

And, at long last, the president should designate the site of Black Wall Street in Tulsa, Oklahoma a national monument to recognize the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921, one of our country’s most horrific and largest incidents of racial violence. see Legacy, page 5A

By David W. Marshall (TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM)

As owner of the Washington Post, one has to wonder if Jeff Bezos reads his own newspaper with any sense of appreciation or concern.

For the first time in over 30 years the Washington Post announced its editorial board will not endorse a candidate in the 2024 presidential election. The Post has regularly endorsed presidential candidates since 1976 starting with Democrat Jimmy Carter.

As a nation we have a free press. As responsible journalists, newspapers have a professional obligation to state the facts and the truth to the public, but newspapers are also allowed to express their opinions. In addition, the owner of any newspaper has the right to weigh in on decisions made by its editorial board.

But this election cycle is different. This presidential election is unlike any from previous years. The surprising non-endorsement ignores the paper’s own factual reporting which, for years, outlined in specific details Donald Trump’s threat to the future of American democracy.

Politically, the Washington Post is a center left newspaper

First Lady and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and VicePresident Kamala Harris, made us proud. Donald Trump has been going after things over his head all of his life by lying, cheating and bullying people far smarter than he would ever be. Whatever the results are the day after election day, we will be convinced that we’ve seen a woman coming out of the race showing the world who deserved to win, who worked hardest and I pray it’s obvious that Kamala Harris is the victor, while her opponent is still vowing that he wants to say and do whatever he wants to say and do about women whether we like it or not! We can’t say he didn’t tell us that women should be punished for having control of our bodies and our lives! He wants to be our protector now as we look back at the vulgar things he has said and been convicted of doing to so many women! see Victory, page 5A

Democracy Dies In Darkness

I wonder if Trump even knows he in no way came close to being the superior candidate in the race. That was always Kamala Harris. By failing to provide its customary presidential endorsement, the Washington Post’s silence became itself an endorsement.

which is highly respected for its accuracy and direct presentation of events in this toxic environment of “fake news.” It has always fulfilled its role in sustaining democracy by being a reliable and consistent source of information. The non-endorsement comes off as unfinished business. Similar to a court case, the newspaper endorsement would have served as the final argument presented to the jury of voters. By failing to provide a much needed summation, the silence resulting from a non-endorsement has become itself an endorsement. The non-endorsement was a one man decision, according to a statement from the Washington Post Guild. It states, “According to our own reporters and Guild members, an endorsement for Harris was already drafted, and the decision not to publish was made by the Post’s owner, Jeff Bezos.” Columnist Karen Attiah wrote that “today has been an absolute stab in the back.” Attiah is not alone in feeling betrayed. Readers of the paper also feel betrayed. The Post is already seeing subscription cancellations from loyal readers. Current and former staff members feel betrayed. Robert Kagan – a former advisor to Republican John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign, who last year warned that a ”Trump dictatorship is increasingly inevitable” resigned from his position as the Post’s editor at large in response to the paper’s decision. see Democracy, page 5A

Dr. E. Faye Williams

David W. Marshall

Ben Jealous

It Won’t Just Be Haitians Who Suffer From Anti-Immigrant Lies

By Chisom Okorafor

For weeks now, right-wing pundits and politicians have spread baseless claims about Haitian immigrants.

These lies have caused immense fear among the community, leading to bomb threats, harassment, and vandalism. The Haitian community in Springfield, Ohio – the first but not the last to be targeted – reported being “scared for their lives.”

I’m not Haitian. I’m an American-born citizen who’s never set foot in Ohio. But as the daughter of a Black immigrant family, these lies worry me, too.

I know personally how easily identifiable we are. Even though my Nigerian parents were both naturalized over 20 years ago, they still have strong accents. We have distinctive names. To someone who was radicalized by the hateful rhetoric flying around, my family and I are obvious targets.

Just like how Donald Trump’s earlier comments targeting Mexican or Chinese people spawned a wave of hate against all Latin Americans, Asians, or others thought to “look” Mexican or Chinese, the baseless accusations about Haitians will rebound to all Black immigrants – and the Black community as a whole.

Growing up, I’ve seen firsthand how Black immigrants are some of our most vulnerable community members. For one, many of these immigrants come from

largely Black countries and are unprepared for the experience of confronting racism in a way they never had to before.

Black immigrant communities live all across the country. While states like New York have long had Black immigrant communities, a Pew Research study in 2022 showed that a plurality – 42 percent – of Black immigrants now live in the South. My parents are among them.

Texas’s Black immigrant population has shot up in the last decade, and the state now houses the third biggest Black immigrant population. Other states are seeing similarly big increases. In Colorado, the Black immigrant population grew over fourfold during that period.

Though politicians increasingly characterize immigration as a problem, immigrants have always been – and are still – a massive benefit to our society. For one, both documented and undocumented

immigrants provide more to our economy than they take out. Far from being burdens, immigrants actually create economic growth in the places they arrive in. The Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio helped fill jobs that were abandoned due to the town’s shrinking population, leading to a boost in wages for the whole community.

Moreover, far from bringing in “drugs and crime,” as some politicians claim, studies have shown that having more immigrants in a community actually tends to reduce crime rates. Both undocumented and documented immigrants commit crime at a lower rate than U.S.-born citizens.

And in regards to drugs, it’s not immigrants who are smuggling illicit substances into our country – by an enormous margin, it’s U.S. citizens. Federal authorities recently charged dozens of members of a neo-Nazi group with trafficking fentanyl in California, for example.

Instead, immigrants like my parents bring in culture, innovation, and diversity – all good things that make this country what it is. We should be supporting immigrants more, not slandering them on the national stage.

But for some, sowing division is more attractive than actually finding solutions to the problems we face. The attacks on Haitian immigrants is more than a disgusting lie – it’s an attempt to redefine who counts as an “American,” with my family

Continued from page 4A

and people like us on the outside.

Our leaders need to have the courage to defend immigrants when these baseless claims are spread. They owe it to all Americans, both citizens and immigrants.

Chisom Okorafor is a Henry A. Wallace fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies. This op-ed was distributed by OtherWords.org.

Victory

Continued from page 4A

For those who didn’t see and support the genius of Kamala Harris, I wonder if Trump even knows he was never fit to lead this nation. It was never more obvious who the superior candidate was for President. There were voters who didn’t have the courage to support the very best candidate for the country they claim to love! I wonder if Trump was even capable of knowing some people voted for him only because they were intimidated by him while being embarrassed by his behavior. I wonder if he even knows he in no way came close to being the superior candidate in the race. That was always Kamala Harris.

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

Legacy

Continued from page 4A

The other action the administration should take to protect lands is to finalize protections, under the US Forest Service, for America’s remaining mature and old growth forests. Mature trees are especially effective at removing carbon from the air and are one of Earth’s most important natural defenses against the climate crisis.

Breonna

Continued from page 1A

Former Louisville police officer Brett Hankinson, 48, fired 10 shots into Taylor’s glass door and windows during the raid. The conviction against Hankison carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. He will be sentenced on March 12 by U.S. District Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings.

“We hope the jury’s verdict recognizing this violation of Ms. Taylor’s civil and constitutional rights brings some small measure of comfort to her family and loved ones who have suffered so deeply from the tragic events of March 2020,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

Hankison “violated one of the most fundamental rules of deadly force: If they cannot see the person they’re shooting at, they cannot pull the trigger.”

In 2022, the federal government filed civil rights charges against four Louisville police officers over the drug raid that led to Taylor’s death in 2020.

The charges – most of which stem from the faulty drug warrant used to search Taylor’s home – are an effort to hold law enforcement accountable for the killing of the 26-year-old medical worker.

Apparently, Jeff Bezos didn’t heed the warning. Michele Norris followed Kagan by also resigning as opinion columnist, a position she held since 2019.

After multi-billionaire dollar Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos bought The Washington Post in 2013, the Post’s news operation used its abundant resources to thoroughly investigate the danger of a second Trump presidency. “Democracy Dies in Darkness” became the newspaper’s official slogan in 2017.

It illustrates how good journalism is essential to democracy. When journalism is at its best, it helps citizens to hold those in power accountable, uncovers corruption and ensures transparency. If the press is silenced, democracy will suffer. Darkness represents ignorance, lack of knowledge and oppression.

The phrase “Democracy Dies in Darkness” is a warning to us all. If people are kept in the dark, their ignorance could lead to oppression.

The press is the light that illuminates the darkness. It ensures that people are aware of what is going on around them and empowered to make necessary changes. The phrase acknowledges the fact that the free press is under threat from those in power who prefer to operate in the dark.

The Washington Post is making a powerful and defiant statement that they will not be intimidated or

Lastly, the Biden-Harris administration should work with Congress to expand access to the outdoors for all Americans. That means doing what it takes to pass the EXPLORE Act and sign it into law.

The bipartisan bill is a wide ranging package of policies including the Outdoors for All Act and expansion of the Every Kid Outdoors program to make national parks and public lands accessible to more of America’s youth.

The EXPLORE Act would help close the nature equity gap and help kids, families, veterans, and millions of

silenced while continuing to keep those with power accountable for their actions. Unfortunately, Jeff Bezos didn’t hold up to the test when submitting to the political and economic pressures. He may have turned a defiant statement of truth into harsh reality which is about to come true. Amazon holds contracts with the government worth billions. Amazon and the space exploration company Blue Origin are among Bezos-owned businesses that still compete for lucrative federal government contracts. Executives from Bezos’ aerospace company met with Donald Trump on the same day the newspaper prevented its editorial team from publishing an endorsement for Kamala Harris.

A retired Washington Post metro reporter, Robert McCartney, wrote on social media that there is “speculation in the newsroom that owner Jeff Bezos may want to avoid risk of endangering Amazon’s government contracts if Trump wins.” Regardless, of who wins or loses the election, the Washington Post, as a strong pillar in the free press, took a major credibility hit. The Washington Post reporters and editors who remain the light that illuminates the darkness may not be able to overcome its owner who places the business interest of Amazon and Blue Origin ahead of American democracy. David W. Marshall, a columnist for the Trice Edney News Wire, is the founder of the faithbased organization, TRB: The Reconciled Body, and author of the book God Bless Our Divided America.

others enjoy the gifts of nature. This president deserves our gratitude for how he has prioritized the climate, fighting pollution, and land conservation. President Biden now has a little under three months to keep doing big things. We should push both his administration and Congress to keep doing big things. These times call for bold action. And the planet, places, and people we love deserve nothing less. Ben Jealous is the Executive Director of the Sierra Club and a Professor of Practice at the University of Pennsylvania.

Chisom Okorafor

WHO FORMALLY DECLARES US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION WINNER?

By Amy Dacey

Unlike many other countries, where the president or prime minister is chosen by direct popular vote, in the United States a candidate may win the popular vote and still not be elected to the nation’s highest office. The U.S. also differs from most other democracies in that it has no independent electoral commission to certify the final vote count. So who actually confirms the winner?

STEP 1: BEFORE ELECTION DAY

American democracy has many elected officials – state, local and national – and many processes for getting into office.

I have been working on election campaigns since I was 8 years old, when my dad ran for school board and I went door to door asking people to vote for him. I’ve also worked on local, congressional, senate and presidential races and now direct an academic research center on politics.

What’s striking is that every race is different, from deadlines and filing process to certification. Here, I’ll focus on the presidential race.

The unusual and complicated presidential election certification process in the U.S. entwines all 50 states and the District of Columbia, the Senate, House of Representatives, the

Veteran

Continued from page 1A

She was born Doris McLaurin on Washington Ave. in Norfolk.

At age 9, while tending to her mother who was dying of pneumonia, she was inspired to become a nurse.

“I recall wiping her brow when she had a fever and feeding her bits of ice or a glass of water,” Williams said. “When she died, it was painful, but I knew then I wanted to care for people.”

She attended John T. West Elementary School and then two years at Booker T. Washington High School before her father remarried, moved to Aberdeen, North Carolina, and started a new family with his new bride.

“People who live in a city are different from ones who live in rural areas,” she recalled. “I hated it. I could not wait to get back to Norfolk.”

So, at 17, she moved back, married her first spouse, Joseph Spratley, and had two children.

She was busy and content as a homemaker, so she thought. One day, a neighbor asked if she would tend to her ailing mother while she worked.

Williams was happy to do so, and this request re-lit her interest in nursing.

At one point, she was told that DePaul Hospital, in 1960, was offering a training program for Nurses Aides.

National Archives and the Office of the Federal Register. It also involves the Electoral College – a uniquely American institution that convenes in 51 separate locations once every four years to pick the president.

Certified presidential election results are stored in perpetuity at the National Archives.

This months long process was custom designed as a compromise by the Founding Fathers, who did not believe the American people should directly choose the president and vice president but did not want to give Congress the power of selection, either.

The Constitution declares that American presidential elections occur on the fi rst Tuesday in November, every four years. But the federal election process actually begins in October, when the Archivist of the United States – a presidential appointee responsible for maintaining the government’s most important of fi cial

documents – sends a letter to the governor of each state.

The document outlines their responsibilities regarding the Electoral College, which is not a place but a process by which electors – people who are chosen by their party – vote for their party’s presidential candidate.

The machinery of the Electoral College is complicated, but in short, Americans vote for electors and the electors vote for the president. Then, the winner is declared – right?

STEP 2: AFTER ELECTION DAY

Not quite.

Once a final tally of voters’ in-person, mailin and provisional ballots has been concluded, all 50 governors prepare their state’s Certificate of Ascertainment, a document listing their electors for the competing candidates.

Each state completes that process at its own rate. This year, because of all the lawsuits disputing the results of the 2020 election, there are new procedures in place to expedite challenges to a state’s Certificate of Ascertainment by an aggrieved candidate.

Once completed, copies of the Certificate of Ascertainment are submitted to the U.S. Archivist.

After the governor submits names to the Archivist, each state’s Electoral College electors

Doris Williams was the first AfricanAmerican to be promoted from Intern to Lieutenant, Captain, Major, and finally Lieutenant Colonel in the National Virginia Defense Force.

meet in the state capital – D.C.’s meet in D.C. – to formally cast their votes for president and vice president on the first Tuesday after the second Wednesday in December. This year, that’s Dec. 17, 2024.

In ways that vary state by state, each state’s electors prepare six Certificates of Vote. One of them is sent by registered mail to the president of the U.S. Senate and another to the Archivist of the United States. The remaining four certificates are sent to state officials.

That fulfills the Electoral College’s duties until the next presidential election.

STEP 3: CONGRESS MEETS

On Jan. 6, Congress convenes to count the electoral votes and certify the winner of the election.

Because the sitting vice president also serves as president of the Senate, Kamala Harris will preside over this count in 2025, just as Vice President Mike Pence did in January 2021 when Joe Biden officially became president-elect. Each state, called upon in alphabetical order, files its votes.

This process is normally ceremonial, because by January the media has declared a winner and usually a concession speech has been given. But, officially, it is the moment of truth.

On Jan. 6, 2021, an armed pro-Trump mob

classified intern in 1985. Her children were nearly grown up, her first husband had died, and she married her second one, Walter Williams.

She said the NVDF had various units or “programs” from A to D, and she started with A.

She was Unit A’s Nurse.

She was also tasked with supplying uniforms for personnel and medical supplies for unit personnel to use in the field.

She was the first AfricanAmerican to be promoted from Intern to Lieutenant, Captain, Major, and finally Lieutenant Colonel. She said, no one has been promoted to that high rank since she retired.

She was the Norfolk unit’s Second in Command or Executive Officer and the first African-American woman to do so.

stormed the Capitol in an attempt to stop Congress from certifying Biden’s victory. Both chambers of Congress were evacuated during the attack, and five people were killed.

Lawmakers reconvened a few hours later. It is the vice president’s job to announce the results and ask whether there are any objections. After the violent assault on the Capitol, most Senate Republicans abandoned their plans to dispute Biden’s win in 2021, but six still objected.

Objections are not unprecedented. In 2001 Democratic House representatives tried for 20 minutes to block Florida’s highly contested electoral votes for George W. Bush. Both of those efforts failed because objections had to be signed by both a member of the House and the Senate before being voted on by both chambers of Congress.

Lodging challenges got harder following legislation passed in 2022. Now, 20 senators and 87 House members must back any challenge to the certification of a state’s Electoral College results.

In 2021, it fell to Pence, as president of the Senate, to declare Biden – not Trump – the next president of the United States. He fulfilled his constitutional duty despite immense pressure from Trump to subvert democracy.

After the Senate certifies the election

Election

Continued from page 1A

Life: Democracy. Life: Freedom. Life: Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness for all.

Isn’t that what we profess in America?

Yet, I as I went too bed after midnight, it was apparent Donald Trump— increasingly unhinged, uncouth, and uncivil— would be returning to the White House, as the next leader of the “Free World”, but this time with his “todo” hit list that includes freedom of the press I represent.

Many questions beg to be answered this postelection day.

results, all the Certificates of Ascertainment and Certificates of Vote become available for public review at the Office of the Federal Registrar for one year, then transferred to the National Archives for the permanent record. Those who question the outcome of a U.S. election, in other words, can doublecheck the tabulations themselves.

WHAT HAPPENS IN A TIE?

In the extraordinary event that no candidate wins in the Electoral College, the House of Representatives meets to elect the next president. This is how John Quincy Adams became president in 1824.

Established almost 250 years ago, this complex process is a foundation of American democracy. Many have questioned whether this antiquated system truly represents the will of the people in modern America. But for 2024, with a few tweaks, it remains the process that will decide the presidential race. This article was originally published during the 2020 presidential election. It was updated on Nov. 1, 2024. It was reprinted from The Conversation U.S. Amy Dacey is the Executive Director of the Sine Institute of Policy and Politics, American University

ease the unrelenting stress this election cycle has produced.

She worked at DePaul, the Norfolk Department of Health, and began her studies at Norfolk State in Nursing in 1971.

“I have never been lazy,” she said. “I could work, raise my children, support my husband, and attend college. I would go home, get my family straight, and go to bed reading and studying. I would wake up early the following day to start it over again with a book on my chest. All of that is with God’s help.”

She graduated from the NSU Nursing School in 1975.

“I had a job waiting for me at Norfolk Community Hospital,” she said. “I was a nurse in the Labor and

“When I graduated, I was offered a job,” Williams recalled. “I worked in the Nurses’ Supply Office. I distributed the supplies to home healthcare nurses for two years, who monitored and treated surgical wounds and other needs.” By that time, her family had increased by four children. But Williams said she could “juggle.”

Delivery Department. I was assisting women to go to the bathroom one minute, then getting them ready for labor and then being called to help the doctor deliver a baby.”

“We did it all,” she said. “There was no nursing specialization except for being ready to do what was needed.”

But at one point, after 40, the burden of family and work was taking a toll. She opted for one job: a home healthcare nurse for the Norfolk Department of Health.

“It was a job I hoped to do until I retired,” she recalled. “Then, I heard of nursing positions with the new National Virginia Defense Force (NVDF). People like me with no military experience – civilians –could apply. I got the job.” She started as a non-

“I was also the counselor for the unit,” she said. “When younger personnel got into trouble, I sat them down and got them straight. The commanding officer was amazed at my skills in helping them.”

She recalls one challenging time when the Norfolk unit was activated in April 2008, when a PreHurricane season storm hit the region.

“No one in Norfolk had electricity, water, or food for days,” she recalled. “So, I stayed at the headquarters instead of going to the field. The whole-time doing paperwork and whatever I could to support my unit.”

“According to the law, I had to retire at 75,” she recalled. “I was reluctant, but they let me stay until the end of the year. It was just like leaving my family. I understand how military people can get so close ... support each other, and serve their country. I loved it, and I miss it.”

I did believe our country would choose life and democracy over death at the hands of Trump. I did believe our country was big enough to finally elect its first woman president. I had to. I’ve spent my entire life in belief and pursuit of the American Dream.

I also believed Harris’ opposition would use everything in their power to delay and deny the results and abuse the democratic system in their doings, even calling on our biased one-sided U.S. Supreme Court whenever possible.

Now I know we face more and younger Trump court appointees who will affect policies for the next several generations.

The good news I must hold onto is they will ultimately lose, for as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., often said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.”

This offers us hope that the progress we’ve made toward freedom, equality, and justice will win out.

Many of us, including myself, scheduled election watch parties for local and state candidates, hoping the best for the candidates of our choice. We also knew we’d be watching the returns from those battleground states and counting up the electoral votes to 270 needed for a presidential win, hoping for an early night for freedom and democracy to

What happened? How could the hopeful predictions for victory in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia have gone so awry? Who were those masses of people of good cheer packing the rallies for Kamala? How could Black and Hispanic voters excuse the racist and hateful vitriol spewed by Trump and J.D. Vance on women, on V-P Harris, immigrants, and even, the entire island of Puerto Rico?

How did we get here? We must talk about the biggest elephant in the room as we begin to assess this fiasco. Kamala Harris herself. Her race, gender, intelligence and audacious John Wayne fighting spirit contained in a beautiful female body. Why are we not “ready” to elect a strong woman president in the United States of America?

It’s not too early to talk about the whys and the lessons learned in the 2024 election cycle, and there is great need to do so. Something clandestine and evil entombed people of seeming good will who could have made a positive difference in the outcome when they entered the voting booths. I have many questions that beg to be answered. But for this moment, I end where I started. To be or not to be… that is the question to be answered first. America has spoken. What is she saying?

Amy Dacey

Doris Williams in service to her country.

Photo: Courtesy

It’s Jazz Legacy Foundation Weekend At The Hampton Convention Center

By Glen Mason New Journal and Guide Arts and Culture Correspondent

The Jazz Legacy Foundation’s jazz concert experience is not just another jazz concert. It’s a unique and distinguished event that many of its supporters will say is unlike any other.

The 12th Annual Jazz Legacy Foundation experience starts Wednesday at Roger Browns Sports Bar in Portsmouth before crossing the harbor. The official JLF concert pre-party starts with Althea Rene and JJ Sansaverino.

The Hampton Convention Center becomes the nexus for jazz Nov. 7th-10th. Jazz, the only art form that originated in America, is celebrated here. The Jazz Legacy Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports jazz and music education, invites you to be part of this unique experience.

The 12th annual Jazz

Photo: Courtesy

Jazz, the only art form that originated in America, is celebrated here.

NPS’s $150,000 GRANT WILL IMPACT HAMPTON HISTORY, TOURISM APPEAL

ANNAPOLIS, MD

Chesapeake

Conservancy has received a 2024 Chesapeake Gateways grant to support, protect and showcase the natural, cultural, recreational and historical significance of the Phoebus Main Street District, Fort Monroe and the City of Hampton.

Phoebus-Fort Monroe Coalition will unite stakeholders across the locality to capture and celebrate this area’s rich cultural history, ensure the community’s heritage is preserved and provide positive impacts to the local community.

Legacy Foundation Gala Weekend will feature the following artists Thursday with Victor Wooten and the Wooten Brothers, Lakeside, Acoustic Alchemy, Paul Taylor, Jackiem Joyner and Adam Hawley. Friday’s marquee has Damien Escobar, Con Funk Shun, Will Downing, Avery Sunshine, The Fellas: Marcus Anderson, Julian Vaughn, Lin Rountree, Nicholas Cole and Nathan Mitchell. On Saturday, November 9th

is Patrice Rushen, Richard Elliott, Walter Beasley, Zapp Band featuring bassist Bootsy Collins.

Sunday’s JLF grand finale presents Brian Culbertson, Lindsey Webster, Marion Meadows, Jazmin Ghent, Lori Williams, Leon Timbo and Ashling Cole.

The jazz journey continues in the region with the Virginia Arts Festival hosting Steve Nelson at the “pinnacle of the art form November16 at Norfolk’s Attuck’s Theatre.

The rhythm of jazz never stops, and we invite you to be part of this ongoing celebration.

On Dec. 6, jazz for the holidays starts with Dave Koz’s 27th annual holiday gig with his friends: Jonathan Butler, saxophonist Vincent Ingala, guitarist Adam Hawley, and vocalist Rebecca Jade.

Sunday, December 9, Maysa will be appearing at Brothers Restaurant in downtown Norfolk.

600+ BLACK WOMEN CANDIDATES ON ELECTION 2024 DATABASE

By Aprill O. Turner

As Election Day approached, Higher Heights for America, which works to expand Black women’s elected representation and voting participation, reported more than 600 Black women candidates in the 2024 general election – from local city councils to the U.S. presidency.

The non-profit noted their #BlackWomenRun Database is a testament to the transformative impact of Black women stepping into leadership across all levels of government.

“This election year, Black women are stepping up in record numbers, determined to reshape policies and prioritize community-centered progress nationwide,” Higher Heights noted in its press release.’

“The #BlackWomenRun Database empowers voters with the information they need to support candidates who are driving transformative change,” says Glynda Carr, President and CEO of Higher Heights. “This election cycle has shown us that when Black women win, their communities thrive. Their victories represent victories for all of us.”

Highlights from the Database include:

• 1 Black Woman running for President of the United States in the general election

• 3 Black Women running for U.S. Senate in the general election

• 45 Black Women running for U.S. House of Representatives in the general election

• 3 Black Women running for

Statewide Office in the general election

• 401 Black Women running for State Legislative Offices in the general election

• 12 Black Women running for Mayor in the general election, including 6 Black Women running for mayor in top 100 cities by population.

By elevating Black women leaders, Higher Heights for America says it is empowering voters to be part of a movement that will drive change well beyond this election cycle.

The database can be found at www. higherheightsforamerica.org

Aprill O. Turner is the Executive Vice President of Communications External Affairs for Higher Heights for America, a 501(c)(4) organization. Learn more at https://www.higherheightsforamerica. org.

The $150,000 in grant funding, made possible by National Park Service Chesapeake Gateways, will be used to establish the Phoebus-Fort Monroe Coalition and craft a strategic framework to guide the coalition.

The land that is now present-day Phoebus, Fort Monroe and Hampton, Virginia has always been interconnected. Indigenous People for time immemorial dwelled in the expanse while farming and hunting. The area’s strategic advantage at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, with its many tributaries, made the waterways valuable for travel, trade and war.

With the arrival of the Europeans and Africans in the early 1600s, the area has undergone numerous name changes: Tsenacomoco, Point Comfort and Elizabeth City to name a few. Nevertheless, the area’s many neighborhoods and landmarks are intertwined with centuries of history and culture.

Over the past several years, the Phoebus Partnership, Fort Monroe Authority and the City of Hampton have worked informally to capture the rich history, culture and attractions of Phoebus and Fort Monroe. With support from a Chesapeake Gateways grant, the creation of the

“The City of Hampton is proud to support the creation of the PhoebusFort Monroe Coalition, a testament to the power of local partnerships,” said Jonathan McBride, housing and neighborhood services division manager for the City of Hampton.” He continued, “This coalition will foster deeper understanding, stronger connections and lasting outcomes that will benefit Hampton, the region and generations to come.”

“Chesapeake Conservancy is eager to help explore, preserve and showcase the vast historical, cultural and natural resources of Phoebus and Fort Monroe,” said Michael Augustin, communications and outreach specialist for Chesapeake Conservancy.

The National Park Service Chesapeake Gateways Office (NPS Chesapeake Gateways) offers competitive grant opportunities to advance the Chesapeake Bay Initiative Act of 1998 within the full 41-million-acre Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Chesapeake Gateways grants bring out familiar, untold, under-appreciated, or yet-to-be uncovered narratives and promote resilient communities and landscapes through tourism, sustainability, conservation and local economies throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Jazz pianist, record producer, songwriter, and gifted music director Patrice Rushen headlines Saturday’s 12th Annual Jazz Legacy Foundation concert with Richard Elliott, Walter Beasley, and the Zapp Band, featuring bassist Bootsy Collins.

NATIONAL MISS JUNETEENTH 2025 CROWNED IN ATLANTA

ATLANTA, GA

Miss Alexandra Gramby of Louisiana was crowned National Miss Juneteenth 2025 in Atlanta, GA on October 19, 2024, when the National Miss Juneteenth Scholarship Program (NMJSP) held its 5th Annual Pageant. The other two finalists were Liana Murphy of Kansas, the first runnerup, and Charlee Ann Hadley of Nevada, the second runner-up.

Miss Alexandra Gramby is the daughter of Stacie and Frankie Brooks. She is an honor student, an officer in the student council, and a Parliamentarian for her senior class. She serves on the leadership committee of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and is a vocalist with the Louisiana All-State Choir. The Official Creole Culture Instagram page says, “Alexandra Gramby –Highlighted Artist, “Voicing Brilliance: A Rising Star Shining Through Music, Art, and Leadership.”

One of Alex’s passions is addressing bullying issues she believes significantly impacts youth today. She advocates for the importance of being seen and heard, emphasizing that no one should be judged or mistreated.

NMJSP is a year-round program that empowers young women by providing opportunities for higher education, leadership

Quincy

Continued from page 1A

Jones began as a jazz trumpeter, arranging for bands like Count Basie’s and becoming a respected composer in his own right. His compositions for films, including The Pawnbroker and The Color Purple, displayed his extraordinary range, mixing classical, jazz, funk, and AfroCuban influences. His television scores, such as those for Sanford and Son and Ironside, brought Black music to mainstream audiences, shaping a generation’s auditory landscape.

The three Jackson albums Jones produced – Off the Wall, Thriller, and Bad – stand among his most famous works. The albums broke sales records and redefined the global pop music industry, bridging racial divides and setting new standards for production. But Jones’s career had already reached milestones before those records. He had become the first Black vice president at Mercury Records in 1964 and had garnered critical acclaim for his arrangement of Count Basie’s “I Can’t Stop Loving You.” Over time, he received 28 Grammy Awards from 80 nominations, a record surpassed only by a few. Born in Chicago on March 14, 1933, Quincy Delight Jones Jr. faced a childhood filled with challenges and resilience. According to his official biography, Jones was primarily raised by his father, a carpenter, after his mother was diagnosed with schizophrenic disorder. Moving to Seattle in his early teens, he honed his craft in a music scene as diverse as his musical inclinations. By 15, Jones had already earned a spot

development, and community engagement. The queen and the youth delegates serve as national youth ambassadors of Juneteenth, celebrating freedom, unity, and the pursuit of liberty. Through NMJSP scholarships, mentorship programs, and transformative experiences, they are prepared for tomorrow and equipped to make a positive impact on their families, communities,

and the world.

The National Miss Juneteenth Scholarship Program is endorsed by the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation (NJOF), founded by Rev. Ronald V. Myers, Sr. MD, and successfully advocated for the passage of the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act.

#Juneteenth160 #NMJSP #NJOF

in Lionel Hampton’s band, launching a career that would take him across the globe and into the company of jazz greats like Dizzy Gillespie and Ray Charles, who would become a lifelong friend and collaborator.

Jones’s time as a jazz bandleader and arranger in the 1950s established his name in elite music circles, but his ambitions led him into film and television scoring, where he created iconic soundtracks. Throughout the 1960s and 70s, Jones’s music could be heard in theaters and living rooms, with scores for films like In Cold Blood and The Deadly Affair and contributions to Alex Haley’s Roots, the celebrated mini-series. His soundtrack for The Color Purple in 1985, adapted from Alice Walker’s novel, remains a cultural milestone.

In 1985, Jones united more than 40 of the world’s biggest music stars for the charity single “We Are the World,” raising awareness and funds for famine relief in Africa. The project’s success further cemented his reputation as a visionary capable of bridging divides for a greater cause. His

label, Qwest, produced a roster as diverse as his interests, featuring artists from George Benson to the experimental jazz saxophonist Sonny Simmons.

Through the 1990s and 2000s, Jones expanded his reach beyond music, producing television hits like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and the magazine Vibe. In his later years, he remained active, working on projects that celebrated his love for jazz and hip-hop alike. In 2022, he collaborated with The Weeknd on Dawn FM, delivering a spoken monologue reflecting his decades of life and artistry. His work became a rich tapestry, woven with threads from every major genre and cultural moment in modern American history.

“He always is soaring ahead and doesn’t like to look backwards,” Oprah Winfrey said of him during his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction.

Jones leaves behind seven children: Jolie, Kidada, Kenya, Martina, Rachel, Rashida, and Quincy III in addition to his brother Richard, sisters Margie Jay and Theresa Frank.

(L-R): Liana Murphy of Kansas, the first runner-up; Alexandra Gramby of Louisiana, National Miss Juneteenth 2025l and Charlee Ann Hadley of Nevada, second runner up.

Photo: Courtesy

Quincy Jones

NEW CASINO IN NORFOLK TAKES ROOT WITH CEREMONY

NORFOLK

Norfolk soon will be home to Hampton Roads’ second casino, competing with Portsmouth’s existing Rivers Casino.

While the new casino is scheduled to open in late 2027, plans call for a transitional casino facility to open in late 2025.

The casino operation which is owed by Boyd Gaming Corporation and the Pamunkey Indian Tribe broke ground recently. It will be located on the north bank of the Elizabeth River, just east of Harbor Park. The $750 million waterfront resort will feature a 200room hotel, eight food and beverage outlets, and a casino with 1,500 slot machines and 50 table games.

The Norfolk State University Spartan “Legion” Marching Band provided a boost of excitement as more than 200 community and business leaders from

across the Hampton Roads area joined members of the Boyd Gaming team, Pamunkey Indian Tribe citizens and City of Norfolk officials were on hand to celebrate the start of the project.

Citizens of the Pamunkey Indian Tribe performed a traditional Blessing of the Land before the first shovels of dirt were turned by Boyd Gaming President and Chief Executive Officer Keith Smith, Chief Robert Gray of the Pamunkey Indian Tribe, and Mayor Kenny Alexander of the City of Norfolk.

Pamunkey Chief Gray told the attendees, “Today isn’t just about breaking ground on a casino; it’s the next step in providing an opportunity for our Tribe. We pursued opening a casino as a way to take control of our destiny and to provide our own opportunities while also lifting up the community around us. And that’s

exactly what we intend to do. And we could not be more excited to have Boyd Gaming as our partner.”

Boyd CEO Smith announced two major donations to local non-profits at the ceremony – a $100,000 donation to Norfolk State University, and a $50,000 donation to the USO MidAtlantic.

He said, “Boyd has long believed that we are only successful as a company if our communities are successful. This is why we are committed to making our communities better places to live and work through good-paying jobs, opportunities for local businesses and support for local non-profits..”

“This project will not only enhance our tourism efforts, but will also allow us to invest in key priorities that will benefit our community for years to come,” said Norfolk Mayor Kenny Alexander.

D. GREEN STORYTELLING & MOCA PARTNER FOR BOARDWALK ART SHOW

Special to the Guide

VIRGINIA BEACH

On October 1, D. Green Storytelling Board members Eureka Collins and Darlene Green attended the Virginia Beach City Council meeting where Mayor Bobby Dyer proclaimed October as National Arts & Humanities Month in Virginia Beach. D. Green Storytelling supported the celebrations by partnering with the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) for the 68th Annual Virginia MOCA Boardwalk Art Show, which was presented by PNC during the weekend of October 4-6, 2024. Each year, only the best of the best artists are selected to be in this event. This long-standing Virginia Beach tradition began in the 1950s to raise money for a local artist. The show is now a local favorite that has been described as the Super Bowl game and festivities all in just one weekend.

The Virginia MOCA Boardwalk Art Show has been ranked among the Top 15 fi ne art shows of the decade by Sunshine Artist Magazine. Participants in Virginia Beach’s longestrunning oceanfront event included more than 175 artists from around the country who showcased their creations, which spanned 13 mediums and ranged from classic and contemporary art to unconventional and eccentric art.

The event also featured the Art Park with face painting and live entertainment provided by amazing performers. D. Green Storytelling was proud to be included in the stellar lineup. Its performance was held on October 5, at the 31st Street Park Stage in Neptune’s Park on the Virginia Beach Boardwalk.

On a beautiful sunny afternoon, The Storytelling and Puppet Show had a unique introduction by Eureka Collins, the director of public relations for D. Green Storytelling.

Ms. Collins engaged the audience by inviting a girl to the stage to answer some story prediction questions. This provided the perfect

hook, as it was evident that the audience wanted to learn more about the storyline and were excited when the show began.

The title of the original children’s stage play presented on the Boardwalk was “The Sweetest Color: A Candy Corn Story.” D. Green Storytelling likes to make connections to reallife events and informed the crowd that National Candy Corn Day is celebrated annually on October 30.

The play started when the lead performer, Darlene Green, also known in the community as “The Storytelling Queen,” introduced her puppet friends to the audience. Ms. Green told the crowd that the Boardwalk had been magically transformed into “Candy Cornville, USA,” which is the proud home of the world’s largest pieces of candy corn.

The Storytelling Queen and her puppet friends took the crowd on an enchanted journey that included rhymes and audience predictions about which color would be selected as the sweetest color as well as their favorite colors. The storyline was vividly brought to life through skillful puppetry and the use of jumbo brightly

colored candy corn friends. The play had a surprise ending that included a meaningful lesson.

D. Green Storytelling enjoys performing shows coordinated with the current season and holidays.

Based on the audience’s enthusiastic response, the candy corn play is destined to be a highly requested seasonal favorite.

The Virginia MOCA Education Team expressed its appreciation of D. Green Storytelling for its performance and partnership in the event: “Thank you for your incredible contributions in making the Art Park at the Boardwalk Art Show a success. Your talent and energy brought the event to life fostering creativity, crafting a vibrant atmosphere that captivated attendees.”

D. Green Storytelling is a non-profit organization and has served the Hampton Roads community since 2011 with presentations in schools, summer programs, daycare centers, churches, girl and boy scout troops, festivals, and seasonal events.

To learn more about and donate to D. Green Storytelling, please go to www.dgreenstorytelling. com.

Genealogy Society Topic: Slave Quarters & Free Blacks

MIDDLE PENINSULA Middle Peninsula African-American Genealogical and Historical Society (MPAAGHS) will hold its monthly meeting virtually on Saturday, November 9, 2024, at 11 a.m. The meeting will feature a talk by Dr. Douglas W. Sanford entitled “Interpreting the Evidence for African-American History: Virginia’s Slave Quarters and Free Blacks on the Middle Peninsula in 1860.”

CONGRESSMAN SCOTT HONORED FOR PROTECTING CHILD LABOR

NEWPORT NEWS Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03), the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, was named a 2024 Congressional Champion of Child Labor Protections by the Child Labor Coalition. This honor was given to Congressman Scott for his stand against child labor exploitation and his sponsorship of H.R. 4440, the Protecting Children Act, legislation that calls for innovative and sweeping strategies to combat child labor.

“Children should be learning and

growing in schools, not risking their safety and lives in dangerous workplaces,” said Congressman Scott.

“The scourge of child labor that Congress sought to eliminate 85 years ago with the passage of Fair Labor Standards Act is back, and it has returned at time when the agencies we expect to provide timely data and aggressive enforcement lack the resources they need.

“I am proud to receive this honor, and I will remain steadfast in this fi ght to enact my Protecting Children Act and end abusive child labor.”

Spade, forcing, since East is too strong to bid 3 Hearts.

3) The contract is 4 Hearts. West is the declarer.

4) North makes the opening lead with the 8 Diamond, top of a doubleton, the suit his partner bid.

5) Declarer, West, needs ten tricks but only has three sure tricks. However, Declarer also has four losers – one in Hearts, two in Diamonds, and one in Clubs. Declarer can avoid losing one Diamond trick by discarding a Diamond on the extra Spade winner in dummy.

Another Fast Discard.

1) South opens the bidding with 1 Diamond.

2) West overcalls 1 Heart. North passes, because West can no longer bid 1 No Trump (N/T). North passes. East has 12 HCP plus 3 distribution points – 15 points in total. East begins with ad of 2 Diamonds followed by 4 Hearts, if partner has not already bid it. If West had opened the bidding, East would bid a new suit, 1

6) After winning the first trick, declarer should play the Spades in order to discard one Diamond right away. Declarer can then draw trumps.

7) Declarer should make his 4 Hearts contract.

Tidewater Bridge Club’s Winning players in the October 30, 2024 game: Jennifer Douglas - Rose Ward - Wilma Horne

Sandra Starkey –

The dates for the next four games are:

p.m.

Game fee is $6 (paid BEFORE the game thru our voucher system. Contact L. Owes at email below). Light snacks and water provided; bring your lunch. Contact Lawrence Owes at l.a.owes1@gmail.com for additional information.

In contrast, information from the U.S. Census of 1860 offers valuable insights for portraying free Blacks in selected counties of the Middle Peninsula region. Notable topics include age, gender, occupation, family names, and indications of free Black neighborhoods. While facing an environment of legal restrictions and continued racism on the eve of the Civil War, free AfricanAmericans found the means to support families, community, and culture.

Dr. Douglas W. Sanford has more than forty years in historical archaeology and historic preservation, and more than twenty years in higher education.

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

The presentation will address the study of housing associated with enslaved Blacks and the nature of free Black communities on the Middle Peninsula. Surviving slave quarters across the state offer a means to characterize both the management practices of white enslavers and the living conditions for enslaved people in rural and urban settings. The talk will highlight results from the Virginia Slave Housing Project, a longterm research effort to document, interpret, and help preserve these critical resources of African-American heritage.

Hello and welcome to The Bridge Corner.

Gillis Watson – Lillye Holley

Elizabeth Lyons –Larry Caplan

A. Tucker Memorial Library 2350 Berkley Ave., Extension –Norfolk, VA 23523.

Dealer: South

The Stage

Photo: Courtesy

Darlene Green Storytelling Queen

Photo: Courtesy

OLD SCHOOL LEGENDS WALK FOR BREAST CANCER AWARENESS

CHESAPEAKE

Mr. John Speller, Old School Legends Founder and the Old School Legends, gave back to the community on Saturday November 2nd by sponsoring a Walk for Breast Cancer Awareness. The event took place at the Priority Toyota Cancer Center in Chesapeake, Va. Old School Legends who came out to support the walk included Mr. & Mrs. Gordon, Coach Johnny Pep Morris, Mr. & Mrs. Joe Whitfield, Mr.

& Mrs. Teko Wynder, Mr. & Mrs. Sean Bell, Mr. Vic Jones, Ms. Robinson, Raynell Jones, Mr. Larry Stepto, Ms. Gail Brown, Mrs. Love, Mache Speller, Corey Smith, Jr., Shareeta Glasco, Gavin Glasco, Grant Glasco, Ms. Lovely and 4 elderly citizens. Mr. Larry Donnell, guest speaker, also spoke on getting early detection for both breast cancer as well as prostrate cancer.

Other Old School Legends who were unable to attend but gave their

generous donations included Coach Hampton Anderson, Mr. Larry Rubama, Mr. Cleatis Trotter, Mrs. Ashley Mason Springer, Mr. Darnay Ward, Mr. Horace Lambert, Ms. Tanha Perry, Ms. Hazel Moore, and Ms. Katrice Turner.

Mr. & Mrs. Speller issued thanks to everyone for their support and donations. A heartfelt thanks went out to Ms. Noel & Elise, with Priority Toyota Cancer Center for making this day memorable and a success.

Newport

News

Seeks

Scenes From The Day’s Event.

Photos: Courtesy

Residents’ Input To Identify City’s Priorities

By Rosaland Tyler Associate Editor New Journal and Guide

City of Newport News leaders are actively seeking public input during the budget-planning process by inviting residents to

complete an online survey and weigh-in on city services and programs they value.

City leaders aim to foster transparency and inclusivity. So they are encouraging residents to provide feedback that

will be used to identify key areas that will ensure resources are allocated to specific areas.

“This effort offers residents the opportunity to identify clear priorities for strategic planning, services delivery improvements

LOCAL VOICES

By Sean C. Bowers

From our distressings, Come our life’s blessings

From our obstacles, Come our triumphant spectacles

From our loneliness, Comes our one and only-ness

and allocation of budget resources utilizing an online survey,” city leaders noted in a recent press release.

Newport News Mayor Phillip Jones said in a recent statement on the city’s website, “As your Mayor, I believe that a genuinely effective budget should reflect the priorities and aspirations of our entire community.”

Jones, the 27th and youngest directly elected mayor of the Virginia city, was sworn into office in January 2023. He was invited to the White House as part of a bi-partisan group of newly elected mayors.

“This initiative is a unique opportunity for each resident to share their vision, helping us direct our resources where they’re needed most,” Jones continued in the statement on the city’s website.

Census data shows that Newport News has a population of 183,118. It is a Black majority city. Forty one percent of the population is Black while 38 percent of the population is White. Its high school graduation rate is 92.3 percent (about the same as the rate in the Virginia BeachChesapeake-Norfolk, VANC Metro Area). College grads comprise 30.5 percent of Newport News’ population.

To weigh-in on the city budget, go online and complete the survey. Indicate all city services and programs that are important to you. The survey will remain open through Jan. 15, 2025, and all responses will be confidential. The survey link can be found here: https:// communityfeedback. opengov.com/14116.

For more information about the initiative or to stay updated on budgetrelated events, please visit https://www.nnva.gov/149/ Budget-Evaluation or call (757) 926-8733.

From our sadness, Come our ability to get past our madness

From our depression, Comes the antidote for repression

From our solitude embrace, Comes a state of grace

From our disappointment, Comes atonement’s anointment

From our solace, Comes Heaven’s palace

From Quiet, Comes peace, though we may want or try to deny it

From our lack of command, Comes no need to demand

From our family, Comes understanding of our family tree

From the dawn, Comes our impetus to go on

From those who we are loved by, Comes our ability to touch the sky

From our laughter, Comes our inspiration for the ever after

From our lovers, Our soul connectedness hovers

From our experiences of injustices and unfairness, Comes our solutions to repair this

From tragedies temporary, Comes freedom’s victory

From depression, Comes exhilaration

From every insurmountable odd, Comes divine paths of God

From redemption, Comes emancipation

From candlelight Christmas vigils, Comes better understanding of ourselves as individuals

From majestic mountain views, Comes the realization of how minute we all are in the small print news

From old preelectric days, Comes conversation’s lost art form like sun rays

From to another giving, Comes the real meaning of living

From each kiss, Comes another pain we can dismiss

From every stereotype broken, Comes needles scratching documenting histories choking

From every poem, Comes and omen and an amen

Bowers

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

CHRISTIAN STEWARDSHIP MOMENTS of MEDITATION

Selected Scriptures

When you hear the word “stewardship,” what comes to mind? If you hear it in church, you probably think immediately of money, of the collection plate and of tithing. That is understandable, for most Sunday school lessons and sermons on stewardship focus primarily on our responsibility to give generously and faithfully to the church and the Lord’s work.

This is not an incorrect view, for stewardship does include money and the way we manage it. However, it is an incomplete view, for Christian stewardship means much more than the management of money.

Furthermore, a steward’s responsibility extends well beyond the simple act of dropping something in a collection plate. It includes the attitude of the person who gives. Still further, authentic stewardship reaches into a steward’s behavior in every area of life, not just in church

during the offertory. In this lesson, we shall look at the ways in which the Bible describes stewards and their responsibilities, including every passage that uses this term or its equivalent. We shall first discuss the meaning of “stewardship.” Then we shall see what the Bible says about the mission of a steward, the manner of a steward and the motivation of a steward. We shall also seek to apply this biblical picture of good stewardship to our own attitudes and behaviors as God’s stewards in our own day. THE MEANING OF STEWARDSHIP. In scripture, a steward is a person who has been made responsible for the oversight of the property or affairs of someone else – e.g., Joseph’s steward (Genesis: 43-44). In today’s society, obedience to a master is seen as an antiquated idea belonging to an outmoded past. For a committed believer, however, God is indeed Lord and Master. Obedience to

Him and fulfillment of the responsibilities.

THE MISSION OF A STEWARD. A steward is most frequently put in charge of his master’s possessions (see Luke 16:1-12; Romans 16: 23). A second area of responsibility for a steward is to supervise the welfare of other people. We see this in Jesus’ story of the workers in the vineyard (Matthew 20:116). The owner’s steward (“foreman,” v.8) gave the workers their wages. In another instance, Jesus spoke of the steward as a “manager” (Luke 12:42) who was to give the household servant their food allowance.

The third area for which a steward is responsible is to execute the plans and purposes of his master. In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he made several references to God’s plan of redemption, which he and other believers were helping administer (see 1:0; 3:2, 9).

The mission of a steward, then, is to carry out his master’s will as to possessions, people and plans. Faithfulness in fulfilling God’s purposes in each of these areas is the responsibility of every believer in Jesus Christ.

THE MANNER OF A STEWARD. The biblical picture of a good steward portrays a person who is characterized by intensity, integrity and intelligence.

To carry out stewardship with intensity means that a steward fulfills

his master’s desires and instructions regardless of other considerations. Joseph gave his steward specific instructions about how his brothers were to be treated (Genesis: 44:1-6) and the steward obeyed without question, regardless of his personal thoughts about the matter. He performed his task with undeviating intensity and devotion to his master’s will.

A good steward is also characterized by integrity. Regardless of the value of any material goods entrusted to him or possible problems in the execution of strange or difficult instructions, he will resist any temptation to make a personal profit or to curry favor with others for his own advantage.

Jesus spoke of such a steward in terms of his being “faithful” (Luke 12:42), or trustworthy, in managing servants and issuing their food allowance. Being trustworthy is essential for a steward. Paul stressed this for himself and others who had been entrusted with the secret things of God (1 Corinthians 4:1-20; 9: 17).

A third characteristic of a good steward is intelligence. Jesus described a “faithful and wise” steward (Luke 12:42). Wisdom, in the Bible, does not refer to having the intelligence quotient of a genius. Rather, it means recognizing that God and His plans are to take precedence over our own thoughts and plans.

In his letter to Titus, Paul

wrote of an overseer as being a steward of God – one who “is entrusted with God’s work” – and then went on to his way of life (Titus 1:7-9).

Such behaviors mark the life of a steward who is not only faithful but wise – not with the intelligence of the world, which is blind to the things of God, but with the intelligence that comes from God (1 Corinthians 1:30; 2:6-7). THE MOTIVATION OF A STEWARD. Finally, we need to inquire about the motivation of a good steward. Why should anyone circumscribe his behavior in the ways the Bible describes and surrender his personal autonomy to the will of another?

First, Christians acknowledge the lordship of Christ and have surrendered themselves to His will. We are accountable to God for our stewardship and we know that He will judge us for our stewardship and we know that He will judge us for our faithfulness to Him. Our lives are not our own, but are a gift of God and are to be devoted to the fulfillment of His will on this earth.

Second, we have been entrusted by God with a responsibility of eternal significance – the propagation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. As His trustees, we have the obligation and the privilege of representing Him to a lost world.

Third, we should be moved to serve God faithfully out of gratitude for the grace

that He has extended to us. The Thanksgiving season is an especially appropriated time for us to “count our blessings”—past, present and future – and determine anew to be good stewards for the Lord.

Stewardship means a recognition of God as the maker, Owner and Master of everything that exists coupled with an acceptance of His Lordship over everything that we are and have. Our money, property, career and everything else that we call “ours” are actually things that have been entrusted to us by our Maker. As good stewards, let us gladly acknowledge reality of our lives – and under our behavior accordingly. “You are not your own; you were bought with a price. Therefore, honor your God with your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19b-20). Let this realization transform your outlook and attitude in daily life.

This will make it possible for you, like Paul, to look forward with confidence, rather than apprehension, to the day when all believers will appear before the Lord to give an account of their stewardship. “So we make it our goal to please Him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad” (1 Corinthians 5: 9-10).

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

FAITH LEADERS SERVED AS “PEACEKEEPERS” AT ELECTION POLLING SITES

WASHINGTON, D.C.

An Election Day command center reported in advance of Tuesday’s election it was deploying over 1,000 faith leaders across battleground states, including Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin.

Identifying as “peacekeepers,” Faiths United to Save Democracy (FUSD), a nonpartisan, multi-racial, multi-faith, and multi-generational voter protection campaign set up operations during the hours of 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day to promote peace and safety.

FUSD’s command center located at 700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, in Washington, DC,, facilitated virtual check-ins with poll chaplains and state leaders, monitored polling sites, and addressed challenges as they arose. The poll chaplains represented diverse communities of faith leaders – including Christian clergy, Rabbis, Imams, Quakers, and others who were on call to offer a calming presence and assist with

any voter concerns.

“For the past two presidential election cycles, our focus has been on voter education, protection, and mobilization,”

said Dr. Barbara Williams Skinner, Coconvener of FUSD and Co-founder of the Skinner Leadership Institute. “With the threat of disruptions and violence at polling sites, we are excited that 1,400 faith leaders have joined the Poll Chaplain and Peacekeeper deployment.”

Organizers said the need for this initiative has grown in recent years as restrictive voting laws have proliferated.

Since 2020, 49 states have introduced over 400 restrictive voting bills, with 19 states enacting 33 laws, including measures criminalizing assistance for voters waiting in line. This trend prompted the formation of FUSD in 2021 to protect voter rights and promote nonpartisan peacekeeping efforts.

“We’re at a pivotal moment, with key freedoms and rights at risk – such as the freedom to vote without intimidation and the right to equitable healthcare for

all,” added Rev. Jim Wallis, FUSD Coconvener and Director of Georgetown University’s Center on Faith & Justice.

The FUSD group included Dr. Barbara Williams Skinner, FUSD Co-convener and co-founder of the Skinner Leadership Institute; Rev. Jim Wallis, FUSD Co-convenor and Georgetown Center on Faith and Justice; Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie, President and General Secretary, National Council of Churches;

Rev. Shavon Arline Bradley, President & CEO, National Council of Negro Women; Rabbi Jonah Pesner, Director, Religious Action of Reformed Judaism; and. Imam Talib Shareef, President and Imam of Masjid Muhammad of DC. Rev. Hyepin Im, President & CEO, Faith and Community Empowerment (FACE)

Dr. Cynthia Hale, Ray of Hope Christian Church.

FILM REVIEW: LUTHER: NEVER TOO MUCH Dawn Porter Brings Luther Vandross To Life In New Doc

By Nsenga K. Burton, PhD NNPA Culture and Entertainment Editor

“Ain’t nothing perfect in this world other than Jesus and Luther Vandross’s first album.” – Ruby (Jenifer Lewis), Black-ish

In the world of documentary fi lmmaking, few names shine as brightly as Dawn Porter. Known for her poignant explorations of political and social issues (Good Trouble, Power of the Dream, Gideon’s Army), Porter has taken a bold step into the realm of music documentaries with her latest fi lm, Luther: Never Too Much, which celebrates the life and legacy of legendary singer Luther Vandross. In a recent interview, Porter discussed her motivations for choosing Vandross as her subject, the emotional journey of making the documentary, and her hopes for what audiences will take away from the fi lm. When asked why she chose to focus on Luther Vandross, Porter explained her passion for telling stories that resonate with themes of joy and creativity. “I do a lot of political fi lms and fi lms about injustice,” she noted. “But with Luther, he seems joyous. I wanted to stretch myself and explore a music documentary for the fi rst time.” The abundance of archival materials available through

Sony made the project irresistible. “We had so many different materials to work with; it was heavenly for a documentary person,” she said, emphasizing her desire to let Vandross tell his own story. While there are countless narratives surrounding Vandross’s upbringing, Porter chose to concentrate primarily on his illustrious career. “His siblings and mother have passed, so there wasn’t a lot we could authentically explore,” she explained. “I thought about the audience and what they want to know. The origins of his songs are what truly matters.”

With Vandross’s roots in New York City, Porter felt that focusing on his professional journey would best serve his legacy. Porter set out to tell a story about Vandross that would satisfy fans and teach those who may not know the artist the signi fi cance of his role in Black music. Vandross was a workhorse from writing and producing the music, handling all business dealings, and being the creative lead on the shows, including the costumes. “He wrote music, composed music, arranged music, directed, sketched costumes,” says Porter. “I want viewers to think about his brain – I want people to see the work and his work ethic and how much he cared about his fans. He was doing this work because he was appreciating the audience,” the Sundance Film Festival winner adds.