Vol. 123, No. 36 | $1.50
September 7, 2023 - September 13, 2023
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By Hazel Trice Edney (TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM
Sierra Jenkins, a former news assistant for CNN and reporter with the Virginian Pilot newspaper, was headed for the peak of her career. Her colleagues praised her for her journalistic acumen and her respect for reporting excellence. But when her editor tried to call her to assign her to cover a shooting in Downtown Norfolk, Va. on March 19 last year, he could get no answer. Way out of character for this young journalist, known for her professionalism and accountability, there would be a reason for her
non-response that would shock the world. Sierra Jenkins, 25, was one of the victims of the very shooting that her editor sought her to cover. As her phone rang, she lay dead outside a popular pizza restaurant, felled by a bullet shot during an argument over a spilled drink. She was not involved in the dispute and the bullet was never intended for her. Nor was it intended for 25-year-old
former high school honor student and football linebacker Devon Harris, also killed in the gunfire that night. The news devastated the community; their co-workers, family and friends.
Fifteen months later, on June 6 this year, only about 90 miles away, 18-year-old Shawn Jackson was also a promising young AfricanAmerican. Having just graduated
from Huguenot High School 30 minutes earlier, he lay dead outside Richmond’s Altria Theatre alongside his stepfather, Renzo Smith, a U. S. Army veteran. Both were killed by bullets from a gun wielded by a 19-year-old man who targeted the two men, according to police.
Whether the shootings were unintended or criminally intended for their victims, across the nation
In a span of five years, after the U.S. Supreme Court declared racially segregated public education illegal, history was made when the first Black students enrolled in previously all-white schools.
Many southern states had written laws in their Constitutions outlawing school desegregation, but the Brown Decision in 1954 was designed to dismantle that system.
In Norfolk, the Norfolk 17 made history by entering six all-white schools in February of 1959.
Two years earlier, on September 25, 1957, the Little Rock 9 wrote a passage in the history books after challenging white resistance to enroll in Central High School.
But the very first Black students in America to break the Jim Crow barrier in a southern state occurred 67 years ago this month in 1956 with the “Clinton 12” in Clinton, Tennessee.
As in Norfolk and Little Rock. The Clinton 12 were
targets of discrimination and violence for attending the all-white Clinton High School, which caused some of them to leave the school and move to other states.
Out of the original 12, only two students graduated.
The twelve original students were Jo Ann Allen, Bobby Cain, Anna Theresser Caswell, Gail
The Congressional Black Caucus has denounced Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy for his repeated racist remarks that have furthered the racial divide and exposed even more hate in America’s political landscape. Though born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Ramaswamy is the child of Indian Hindu immigrant parents, which has left many questioning his controversial statements’ true intentions and motives as he seeks an unlikely bid for the GOP nomination.
The candidate’s recent town hall event in Pella, Iowa, garnered significant attention for his declaration that “our diversity is not our strength.”
Such a statement flies in the face of how Ramaswamy and the extreme right in his party have worked against calls for unity and inclusivity nationwide.
During the town hall, Ramaswamy made another alarming comparison, likening
The candidate’s recent town hall event in Pella, Iowa, garnered significant attention for his declaration that
a Black congresswoman to the Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. Ramaswamy, who has derided former Vice President Mike Pence for not helping Donald Trump illegally overturn the 2020 presidential election, compared Congresswoman Ayanna
Pressley (D-Mass.) to the Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. He also compared the existence of white supremacy in the United States to that of unicorns. see Candidate,
– coast to coast – Black people are disproportionately dying, being wounded by or mentally suffering from gun violence. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the leading cause of death [cdc.gov] among America’s Black children and young adults ages 1-44 is homicide by firearms. Amidst this crisis, sociologists, Black mental health experts and medical workers say one thing is certain: The travesty has taken its toll on Black mental health – largely through fear, stress and grief – while the gun industry is reaping billions of dollars.
see Guns, page 5A
New Journal and Guide
Across the nation, another school year has arrived, and many urban and rural public-school divisions are facing worrisome issues.
For many urban school divisions serving majority-minority student populations, one is finding enough qualified Black teachers, especially male.
This coincides with the data showing that Black male students from low income households are struggling in the publicschool setting, a factor that the presence of Black male teachers could help to alleviate, research reveals.
But all school divisions are hard-pressed to find enough Black instructors of either gender.
With the exception of a few divisions in Virginia, 85 percent of the teachers in the state are White and female.
This mirrors the trend nationally.
There are varying factors that contribute to this trend and for decades it has not gone unnoticed by Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) like Norfolk State University and others that historically have produced the majority of the nation’s African-American educators.
However, HBCUs are experiencing the same drop in enrollment in teacher preparation programs as their non-HBCU counterparts.
As the current teacher pool speeds toward retirement age, a Brookings
The issue at hand is a two-prong matter: locating and recruiting African-American males for teacher preparation programs.
Report recognizes 300,000 African-American teachers would need to enter the field to close the diversity gap as more than 1 million Caucasian teachers exit the report cited in a 2016 report. The issue at hand is a twoprong matter: locating and recruiting African-American males for teacher preparation programs. The second, equally pressing issue, is providing the support necessary for successful matriculation through a program that leads to becoming a fully licensed educator.
NSU is located in a city that serves a majority Black student population but employs more White than Black teachers in its classrooms.
see Teachers, page 2A
Although Virginia ranks No. 4 in violent road rage incidents, aggressive driving is a crime, not a game in Virginia.
In late August, for example, one man was arrested and another man ended up in the hospital following a road rage incident in Fairfax County, Va.
nlack Honda. Both cars soon pulled over to the side of the interstate near mile marker 50.
The road rage incident ended with one driver in handcuffs. The other driver was taken to an area hospital with a gunshot wound but was expected to survive.
In another recent road rage incident near Richmond County, Va., one person was shot and killed in midAugust.
The opening NSU-VSU football season marked the Spartans’ first loss to VSU since 2017. Norfolk State missed two opportunities late in the 4th quarter to take the lead in front of 21,640 fans at Price Stadium. see page 2B
U to e 2
The two men were driving a black Honda and a white Honda while going east on I-66. The driver in the black Honda reportedly threw something at the other car. The driver in the white Honda then began shooting at the
Both drivers were headed west on Route 360 near Sabine Hall Road when the shots were fired. The bullets killed an unidentified female passenger sitting in the back seat. see Road, page 8A
The gun violence crisis has taken its toll on Black mental health – largely through fear, stress and grief –while the gun industry is reaping billions of dollars.Ann Epps, Minnie Ann Dickey, Ronald Gordon Hayden, William Latham, Alvah Jay McSwain, Maurice Soles, Robert Thacker, Regina Turner, and Alfred Williams. see Clinton 12, page 5A page 7A Vivek Ramaswamy Photo: Courtesy
“our diversity is not our strength.”
As in Norfolk and Little Rock, the Clinton 12 were targets of discrimination and violence for attending the all-white Clinton High School.Black students returned to class in December 1956 after court ordered Clinton High’s reopening. Photo: NJGHistoricalPhotoCollection/InternationalNewsPhotos/1956 Dr. Denelle Walace-Alexander
Continued from page 1A
As the new school year opens at NSU, Dr. Denelle WallaceAlexander, Dean of the School of Education, and her colleagues said they are keeping a close eye on the number of Black male students majoring in the various disciplines under the NSU Education Department umbrella this fall.
Last year it was 12. With incoming freshman, Dr. Wallace hopes that number will jump to 20 or more this year.
Over the past decade, Dr. Wallace and her department, in collaboration with other schools, have conducted research on the shortage of Black males in public education and why the trend still exists decades after it was acknowledged.
In 2019, the research findings of Dr. WallaceAlexander and co-author Dr. Linda M. Gagen’s were published as an article titled “African-American Males’ Decisions to Teach: Barriers, Motivations, and Supports Necessary for Completing a Teacher Preparation Program.”
The purpose of the article was to explore two lines of inquiry related to African-American male educators. First, to examine the barriers, supports, and motivations related to K-12 AfricanAmerican male educators completing an accredited teacher education program at a 4-year historically Black university. Second, looking at the potential benefits and disadvantages of attending an HBCU from the perspective of an African-American male teacher.
That research has revealed some very troubling factors that contribute to recruiting, preparing, and supporting them to survive in a career dominated by Black and White females.
Research for the article was based on interviews with 12 unidentified African-American male educators employed at “elementary and secondary levels within a southeastern, urban school division which was also not revealed.”
The researchers highlighted factors leading to their successful matriculation through the
education program and the attainment of their teacher licensure credentials. It also cited the barriers that contribute to the shortage of Black male teachers in the public schools setting.
Wallace-Alexander noted that the cost of attending a public college for low-income students can be daunting, considering the fear they have of compiling debt from student loans.
Though, many male students access college with scholarships for participation in the band, athletics, or others because of stellar academics or other talents coming out of high school, the hidden costs of a teacher preparation program may exceed these grant and scholarship offerings.
Even if funding is not an issue, Wallace-Alexander noted in her research that a viable support and mentoring system must be in place to ensure that male students matriculate through the undergraduate rungs of the preparation for the classroom. see Teachers, page 5A
Despite taking the same risk of death and costly sacrifice to their mental well-being, Black Veterans continue to suffer as mental health services are statistically less accessible for the demographic than their white counterparts.
Institutional racism continues to persist through channels of assistance for Black Veterans as the Department of Veterans Affairs has acknowledged that discrimination has likely played a major role in major discrepancies in assistance.
“We recognize that in the past there has been institutional discrimination that may have played a role in the adjudication of benefits,” VA press secretary Terrence Hayes told Axios News last month following an announcement that the department has taken on an initiative to address disparities.
Documents released
through an open records request filed earlier this year by Black Veterans Project in Baltimore showed proof of racial discrimination in the accessibility of mental health/disability benefits offered to Veterans. Data retrieved from the fiscal year of 2023 showed that 15.52 percent of all Black Veterans who applied for physical or mental health benefits were denied assistance by the VA, compared to 10.6 percent of white Veterans. This is consistent with reports from 2017, showing that Black Veterans seeking disability benefits for PTSD were denied 57 percent of the time, compared to a 43 percent rate of denial for white counterparts.
From 2017 to 2023, white Veterans enjoyed a consistently higher grant rate than Black Veterans every year. Despite seeking and applying for services at a higher rate (43 percent compared to 31.7 percent for white Veterans), Black
Veterans have received significantly less assistance than whites.
Even among those receiving services, Black Veterans often have worse outcomes, according to a study featured in Psychiatric Services, Volume 73 in 2022.
Of the 2,870 Veterans treated nationally in VA Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Programs in fiscal year 2017, Black Veterans receiving services from the VA experienced a higher rate of depression symptom recurrence 4 months after discharge compared to white Veterans. While services were proven to improve conditions across demographics, Black Veterans still experienced markedly poorer outcomes.
The effects of these institutional failures are apparent and run deep, contributing to the framework of larger social issues with devastating repercussions. According to a study by the National Center
September 7, 1940
Edition of the Guide
Citizens Draft Petitions of Protest; Injustices and Intimidations Are Deplored
PORTSMOUTH
Approximately 600 Portsmouth citizen homeowners met at Historic Emmanuel AME Church Monday night and endorsed petitions that called for “justice to Colored people in the current emergency housing programs” now in progress in this city.
These petitions directed to Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt, the United States Housing Authority, and the local housing authority were authored by the Rev. Charles E. Stewart and signed by a majority of those attending the meeting.
The petitions addressed to Mrs. Roosevelt “as a great humanitarian,” requested her to use her good offices to prevent intimidation of the Colored homeowners by persons seeking to rush people into selling property which they later would resell to the government for housing purposes at high profits.
The petitions which pointed to “injustice” suffered by Colored citizens in the promotions of Portsmouth’s current $3,000,000 emergency housing programs were read to the intensely interested audience by Rev. Mr. Stewart who referred to the announced decision of the local housing authority that since Colored people had entered strong objections to the procedure of the current housing programs, the remaining $840,000 of the allocation would be spent on emergency housing units for White workers instead of being used for slum clearance in Colored sections as originally planned.
“By that, it seems that the local housing authority is attempting to punish the Colored citizens for exercising their right to petition criteria rights that have been guaranteed them in the Constitution of the United States,” the crusading pastor of Emmanuel said.
about strong protests from the residents of the race, a majority of whom were opposed to selling their homes.
The local housing authority announced that the areas in question would abandon as a site for the protest but it was clear that members of the authority were incensed because of the use of the attitude taken by the citizens in general.
40 Families in Portsmouth To Keep Homes; Whites Demand Exclusive Section, Colored Object PORTSMOUTH
Caught in a storm of controversy for Colored and White residents, the Portsmouth Housing Authority announced it would abandon its plans to acquire the areas in the west section of Elm Ave and Gosport Roads as the site for two hundred housing for White occupancy thereby saving the present home of colored residents in those areas.
Under the original plan for the new building coming as an emergency housing project in the National Defense Act, nearly 40 Colored families would have been forced to move out of the area.
The plans were later revised to allow Colored families on Elm Ave. to retain their present homes.
The change of plans brought protests from White residents of the Prentis Park area who asked that the Colored families be moved elsewhere. The local authority heard the protests of the White group consisting of about 100 persons, including two city councilmen.
Colored homeowners and residents of the areas appeared before the local housing authority Friday afternoon and heard protests at the authority’s selection of the site and presentation made by a representative of the authority attempting to buy the homes of colored cities of the areas.
on Homelessness Among Veterans, Black Veterans are substantially prevalent in the homeless population compared to other Veterans, comprising 39 percent of the total homeless veteran population despite making up only 11 percent of the total veteran population. Outcomes in PTSD and depression are typically worse, and likewise, Black Veterans are more likely to fall into alcoholism even with similar levels of consumption to their white counterparts, according to the American Journal of Psychiatry.
Additionally, a study conducted by the nonprofit research group Rand Corp. showed there were 1.76 suicide attempts among Black troops for each by a white service member. As services falter, so does the quality of life for Black Veterans compared to white former service members, resulting in higher documented rates of homelessness, alcohol use disorder, and suicide.
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Earlier during the meeting, he described the situation brought about by the emergency housing programs in Portsmouth. He pointed out that the second project of the programs was supposed to be 200 new housing units for Colored occupancy but that the local authority had changed plans for the units would to be erected for White occupancy at the intersection of Elm Street and Gosport Road where about 40 colored families make their homes.
There were attempts to convince homeowners to sell their property, the speaker stated. This situation brought
Dr. Charles E. Stewart Pastor of Emmanuel AME Church Acting on behalf of some homeowners in the affected area presented the views of the residents in a stirring address before the authority. Robert E. McMurran, acting attorney for the homeowners, also argued for Colored citizens.
Dr. O.C. Jones, a member of the Colored Advisory Committee for the local authority, explained the standing of the committee on the matter.
Rev. Harvey N. Johnson, Chair of the committee, and Rev. A. S. Hoard, the third member of the committee, did not attend the hearing being at the time in Washington, attending the Lott Carey Baptist Convention.
President Kennedy met leaders of the March on Washington at the White House here following the day-long civil rights demonstrations. (L-R): Whitney Young, National Urban League; Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Southern Christians Leadership Conference (SCLC); Rabbi Joachim Prinz, Chairman of American Jewish Congress; A. Philip Randolph, March Director; President Kennedy; Walter Reuther, Vice President AFL-CIO; and Roy Wilkins, NAACP. Following the 75 minutes conference, the President issued a highly commendatory statement of history’s greatest civil rights demonstration involving 210,000 Negro and White citizens. The massive march was followed this week by other protest demonstrations in various sections of the nation. Leaders had warned that the Washington March was “Just a Beginning.”
September 7, 1963
Edition of the Guide
Alabama Gov. Wallace
Again Standing At The School Door
By Robert Gordon TUSKEGEE,ALA.
More than 200 state troopers turned back groups of teachers and students seeking to enter a high school closed this week by Gov. George Wallace to delay integration.
A member of the tight circle of troopers surrounding the block-square Tuskegee High School told the teachers, “We are under orders not to let anyone into this building.”
Wallace ordered the Troopers here after issuing a directive to close the school for opening week. The actions came shortly before 13 Negroes under federal court orders were scheduled to enroll at the school during its traditional Labor Day opening.
The troopers, however, began pulling out of Tuskegee shortly after. A spokesman said they were being transferred to Birmingham where white schools were scheduled to be integrated on Wednesday.
Additional state policemen rolled into this town 40 miles east of Montgomery early to meet the 170 already there. They remained on guard at the school all through the night.
S.C. Schools Quietly
Admit Negro Pupils
CHARLESTON, S.C.
Negro student attended public school classes with whites for the first time Monday in South Carolina.
Two high schools and two
elementary opened their doors to 11 Negroes and hundreds of Whites in a peaceful start of desegregation marred only by a few crank calls directed at the photographers covering the event.
WILLIAMSTON, N.C.
Students at the E. J. Hayes High School who staged a peaceful protest last Friday over discrimination and segregation action in Williamston and Martin County were beaten by police and treated as criminals. Friday was the first day of the 1963-64 school year. Over 400 students participated in the protests which began at the school and were headed downtown. The students gathered for the demonstration around noon. They had hardly gotten started before they were enthusiastically set upon by the police.
Soon after the students started their march they were blocked by police and pushed back as officers swung clubs and used profane language. One girl was hit on the head with a Blackjack. The wound required several stitches.
The students, surprised by the attack of the police, were forced to act themselves in self-defense. Some began to throw bottles at the officers.
The state police were called in to ease the highly tense situation. They delayed responding and instead, the Williamston Fire Department rushed to the scene and turned high-pressure hoses on the demonstrators.
The students spent three hours demonstrating.
A telegram was sent to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., president of the SCLC, requesting him to send in some members of his staff to conduct non-violent workshops.
Dr. Dubois’s “Last Message”
ACCRA, GHANA
The noted author-historian Dr. W. E. B. Dubois left a last message to the world before he died on August 27 in Accra at the age of 96.
The message was read at the late historian’s state funeral at the Precincts of the Castle, Ghana’s seat of government.
The message written by Dr. Dubois on June 26, 1957, stated: “It is much more difficult in theory than actuality to say the last goodbye to one’s loved ones and all the familiar things of this life. I am going to take a long, deep sleep and endless sleep. This is not a punishment but a privilege to which I looked forward for years.
“I have loved my work. I have loved people and my play, but always I have been uplifted by the thought that what I have thought will live long and justify my life. What I have done or never finished can now be handed on to others for endless days to be finished perhaps better than I could have done. And that pace will be my applause.”
“One thing alone I charge you as you live and believe in life. Always, human things will live and progress to a greater, broader, and fuller life. The only possible death is one to lose belief in this truth simply because the great end comes slowly because time is long.”
One of the continuing problems for AfricanAmericans is the racist practice of police of fi cers stopping Black drivers at excessive rates. This phenomenon is so wellknown that it is called “driving while Black” (DWB). DWB is racial pro fi ling.
Aside from their demeaning effects, these routine stops are a signi fi cant fi rst step in encounters between Blacks and police of fi cers, that sometimes lead to the of fi cers’ excessive use of force. Consequently, we must move to reduce, if not eliminate, this racist practice.
In 2020, to establish a means of addressing DWB, the Virginia State legislature passed the Community Policing Act, which, among other changes, mandated that “each time a lawenforcement of fi cer or State Police of fi cer stops a driver of a motor vehicle, stops and frisks a person based on reasonable suspicion, or temporarily detains a person during any other investigatory stop, such of fi cer shall collect speci fi ed information.”
This information includes the race, ethnicity, age, and gender of the person stopped, the location of the stop, whether a warning, written citation, or summons was issued or an arrest made, and whether the police searched the person or the vehicle.
Working with the Equitable Policing Coalition in Roanoke City, I analyzed the fi rst six months (July through December 2020) of this traf fi c stop data for Roanoke City. The analyses showed that the Roanoke City Police Department (RCPD) stopped Black-driven vehicles more often than White-driven vehicles. They stopped Blackdriven vehicles at one and one-half times the rate of Blacks in the Roanoke
In a 2020 column published in the Washington Informer and several other Black newspapers, my headline stated that Black folks should honor Brother Martin Luther King, Jr., as a warrior and master teacher; not a dreamer. At the risk of being repetitious, I am making that request again after seeing, hearing and reading commentary acknowledging the 60th Anniversary of the March on Washington.
City population, while they stopped Whitedriven vehicles at only 85 percent of the proportion of Whites in the city’s population. Further, Black-driven vehicles were more likely to be searched than White-driven vehicles. The police searched Black-driven vehicles at almost twice (1.7 times) their proportion of the population, while they stopped White-driven vehicles only 79 percent of the time. Blacks suffered adversely from the outcomes of the stops, as they were almost two and a half times as likely to be arrested as White Drivers.
The Roanoke City Police Department (RCPD) objected to the fi ndings of our data analysis, even though we used the data they had provided. To counter these factual fi ndings, the RCPD and its analysts decided to use a strange alternative measure rather than the city demographics as a benchmark.
They focused on “bad drivers” only, analyzing the proportion of traf fi c citations by race compared to all at-fault crash citations by race in the City. That analysis is of little use as it does not address the question of racial pro fi ling or, more simply, differential traf fi c stops by race.
I have worked with traf fi c stop data for over 20 years, analyzing all traf fi c stop data from 13 states and coauthoring a book on racial pro fi ling in 2011 using this data and traf fi c data we measured in street observations in one city. And I have
reviewed a report by the U.S. Department of Justice, “How to Correctly Collect and Analyze Racial Pro fi ling Data.” However, this is the fi rst time I have encountered such a limited statistic addressing the issues of racial disparities in traf fi c stops.
The Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services uses the state’s demographics to analyze the statewide data each year. While demographic data are estimates, they are much superior to a sample of bad drivers. I also obtained and analyzed traffic stop data for the first year of the Community Policing Act – July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021 – the last year that included only people stopped while driving in Roanoke City.
This later analysis had similar results to the study of the first six months mentioned above. I computed disparity indexes like DCJS. These indexes indicate the degree to which racial group members were stopped relative to the group’s prevalence in the driving-age population. For traffic stops, Blacks had a disparity index of 1.7, which DCJS calls moderate overrepresentation, while Whites, at 88 percent, were underrepresented. In searches, Blacks were 2.0, high overrepresentation, while Whites at 77 percent were underrepresented.
The Roanoke City Police Department should and must address the persistent issue of its racial disparities in traffic stops.
It was extremely annoying to hear way too many speakers and news organizations in 2023 repeatedly describing Brother Martin as a dreamer. For instance, in its August 27, 2023 issue, The Washington Post, one of the most influential newspapers in this country, included an article with the headline, “An oral history of the rally, 60 years after King’s dream.” Another article in the same issue
was entitled, “Thousands signal a rededication to civil rights on Mall: At anniversary of 1963 march, speakers voice threats to King’s dream.”
An article by President Joe Biden in the paper`s August 28, 2023 issue was entitled, “We must keep on marching towards Dr. King’s dream.”
This kind of treatment of Brother Martin, a warrior against White supremacy, is probably shared by most Whites in the country and, unfortunately way too many Black folks. My suggestion is that all of
them pay more attention to the Brother Martin who said the following about the absolute necessity for Black unity in the battle to promote and protect our human rights:
“A second important step that the Negro must take is to work passionately for group identity….Group unity can do infinitely more to liberate the Negro than any action of individuals. We have been oppressed as a group and we must overcome that oppression as a group.”
That’s a call for Black unity as strong as those by Brother Marcus Garvey and Brother Malcolm X. see MLK Jr, page 5A
Before Georgia’s Governor Brian Kemp became Georgia’s governor, he served as Secretary of State. At that time, Greg Palast told us the story of who Brian Kemp was at that time. The article Palast wrote was Voting Gangnam Style: The New Kim Crow in Georgia. We already knew about Jim Crow. The article did not show Mr. Kemp in a positive light. At that time, he noticed that Asian Americans had begun to register in big numbers and apparently, they were not expected to vote for Kemp’s Republicans. Palast’s investigation was on how Georgia’s Secretaries of State had increased the old Jim Crow tactics against Asian Americans. He called it the New Kim Crow. At the time, Asians were
the fastest-growing population in Georgia and had been voting for Republicans, but something caused them to change their minds.
Just a note of intrigue! Asians began doing a new thing. They were registering Asian voters big time. They turned in the registrations and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation raided their office. Their registrations were questioned.
Leaders of the voters registered was a woman who made copies of
the registrations as a backup to know who had registered. When she checked with the Office of the Secretary of State, the leaders were told there was no record of those registrations! When they were told they had copies of the registrations, they were told that making such a copy was illegal! see Kemp, page 5A
On Saturday, August 26, three AfricanAmericans were murdered by a 21-yearold white gunman at the Dollar General Store in Jacksonville, Florida, who then shot himself. The murderer was motivated, Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters reported, by an “ideology of hate.” The shooting took place 15 months after 10 AfricanAmericans were murdered in another racially motivated shooting at a grocery store in Buffalo.
Racial violence against Blacks has scarred America since the first slaves were forcibly shipped to America. The Jacksonville murders, for example, took place one day after the 63rd anniversary of Ax Handle Saturday, where 200 Ku Klux Klan members armed with ax handles attacked Blacks holding a peaceful sit-in to protest segregation in Jacksonville.
Sadly, the Jacksonville shooting occurred on the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington, when Martin Luther King summoned Americans to
his “dream” of a society of equal justice under the law, in which children would be judged “not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
This history – of hate and hope – continues to this day. Each movement toward racial equality in this country has been met with a fierce and violent reaction. After the bloody Civil War, the 13th Amendment was passed abolishing slavery, and America began a brief period of reconstruction for the defeated Confederate states.
Against great resistance, African-Americans gained not only their freedom, but the right to vote, to serve on juries, to own property and to retain their families. In some Southern states, multi-racial reform coalitions took power, redrafting state constitutions, providing for public education, and launching efforts to rebuild the economy. That progress was met with a reign of racial terror, including literally thousands of lynchings.
The Ku Klux Klan and other terrorist groups, often led by the plantation elite, murdered with impunity.
White sheriffs helped cover up the crimes; white juries and judges ensured that any accused would go free. When the federal government withdrew even the limited protection that had been offered the freed slaves, the holocaust spread. The Black vote was suppressed by violence, destroying the reform coalitions. Millions of Blacks fled north in a mass migration. The terror lynchings and violence enforced the imposition of segregation across the South. The reaction culminated in a reactionary Supreme Court ruling that segregation was constitutional, inventing the doctrine of “separate but equal.”
It took almost a century before the nonviolent civil rights movement roused the conscience of the country. Nonviolent demonstrators kept going, even in the face of beatings, murders, and police riots. Under Lyndon Johnson in the 1960s, the federal government stepped in, passing the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act, providing federal guarantees of equal rights. The Supreme Court ruled that American apartheid – segregation – was unconstitutional.
Once more progress was met by a fierce reaction. Republicans revived their party by appealing to the racial backlash and grounding their party in the white South.
Ronald Reagan opened his presidential campaign in Philadelphia, Mississippi, the infamous site of the 1964 murders of three civil rights organizers – Goodman, Schwerner and Chaney. Race-bait politics have been combined with systematic efforts to limit the right to vote, making voting harder in urban areas, purging voter lists, limiting early voting and banning sameday registration and more. A reactionary majority on the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act, opened the floodgates to secret corporate money in politics, and gave political gerrymandering a green light.
Once more, the reaction has been accompanied by violence – racially motivated killings, often
reinforced by racially biased policing. In Ron DeSantis’ Florida among others, politicians feed the hatred, fanning fears of “critical race theory,” censoring history courses, banning books, loosening gun control laws even as mass murders spread.
Yet when reaction seems on the march, remember that it is always darkest before the dawn. In 1955, 68 years before the Jacksonville shootings, a 14-year-old boy – Emmett Till – was abducted, tortured and lynched in Mississippi. Despite a national outcry, his murderers went free. Yet in December of that same year, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat in a Montgomery, Alabama, bus, launching the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the civil rights movement that transformed America.
Today’s reaction is brutal and ugly, but a new, more diverse generation promises a new time of organizing, movement and progress. History,” Maya Angelou wrote, “with its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.”
Each movement toward racial equality in this country has been met with a fierce and violent reaction. NAACP President Derrick Johnson said DeSantis deserves real blame for the shooting. “What Gov. DeSantis has done is created an atmosphere for such tragedies to take place,” Johnson said.
Meanwhile, let’s thank him (Gov. Kemp) for doing the right thing this time to allow District Attorney Fani Willis to continue the people’s case against Donald Trump and his unfortunate friends.
Aside from their demeaning effects, these routine stops are a significant first step in encounters between Blacks and police officers, that sometimes lead to the officers’ excessive use of force.Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq. Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr.
On the critical issue of economics, Brother Martin was also way more than a dreamer.
A. Peter Bailey
Continued from page 2A
She said a key factor is having enough male professors to mentor and encourage them in the university setting.
Once they leave the university classroom setting, there are factors related to securing and enduring educational internships or “practice teaching,” to firsthand experience.
Will they have the funding, personally, to acquire the proper attire, transportation, housing, and other resources to sustain their pre-teaching phase?
Dr. Wallace-Alexander said that while business sector internships are paid, most practice or teaching internships are not.
This places economic pressure on the students who need to work to feed and house themselves.
As they matriculate through a teacher preparation program, the cost of state-required examinations to secure their credentials and license to teach can be a challenge, Dr. WallaceAlexander said. This is another financial burden leading up to and during the “internship phase.”
For most students in a teacher preparation program, there are three such exams: The Virginia Communications Literacy Assessment (VCLA); Reading for Virginia Educators (RVE), (for Elementary and Special Education teachers); and the PRAXIS II content area exams, which measures their level of competence in their chosen educational field.
“These tests will cost $150 a pop,” said Dr. Wallace. “If they fail the first time, they have to take it again, and they do not get a discount on the cost.”
Progressive lawmakers and the Virginia Education Association (VEA) have complained about the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) abandoning the “diversity teaching grants” which were placed in the state budget to assist disadvantaged students in paying the cost of the examinations.
If a student should survive the academic, preparatory, and credentialing phases of the
Continued from page 4A
On the critical issue of economics, Brother Martin was also way more than a dreamer. “Black power is a call for pooling of Black financial resources to achieve economic security ...
Although the Negro is still at the bottom of the economy, his collective
Continued from page 4A
Well, along the way, Asians had fallen in love with a Democrat and they voted 73 percent for Barack Obama! The influx of Asians suddenly voting for Democrats became a problem for Republicans. Stacey Abrams was running a great race, and she appeared to be well on her way to possibly becoming Governor. Now, guess who Secretary of State was and also hoping to become Governor – so Stacey’s candidacy would have been a problem. Yes, the Secretary of State at the time was Brian Kemp! Let’s move all the way up to August 31, 2023. Governor Brian Kemp suddenly became the sensible, logical politician
Guns
Continued from page 1A
passage to the classroom, retaining enthusiasm and interest in the field is the next hurdle for retaining Black male teachers.
For three years newly minted teachers work on a probationary status.
But Dr. WallaceAlexander’s report identifies a number of factors that may discourage Black male teachers.
Dr. Wallace-Alexander said the subjects who participated in her research said they “grew tired” of having to be cautious to avoid making their mostly White female peers feel “uncomfortable.”
“They said they got tired of avoiding raising their voice or appearing angry,” said WallaceAlexander. “Black males appear to be angry and thus scary to their White counterparts. Then there are the microaggressions or having their knowledge on their subject area questioned and challenged.
“They also get tired of being the disciplinarian among the teachers in the schools,” WallaceAlexander said, “or having the magic potion for dealing with disruptive students.”
Dr. Wallace-Alexander said, “We need better training for administrators in our schools to address this issue and a better retention program.”
“The level of support is pitiful at times from the administrators and the parents,” said Wallace-Alexander. “Parents especially need to be cooperative and collaborative to establish strong teacher-parent partnerships to support Black male teachers in the classroom.”
annual income is upwards of $30 billion. This gives him a considerable buying power that can make the difference between profit and loss in many businesses. Through the pooling of such resources and the development of habits of thrift and techniques of wise investments, the Negro will be doing his share to grapple with his problems of economic deprivation.
If Black Power means the development of this kind of strength within the
(and we are glad he did), but his new position gave us pause when he sat at his desk, seemingly looking over a proposed bill from his legislature that would’ve attempted to remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from overseeing the prosecution of Donald Trump! Shocking to many of us, it didn’t work. The same Brian Kemp who is now Governor of Georgia went on television and called the attempt to silence District Attorney Fani Willis POLITICAL THEATER! He is correct, but the question is why? He was certainly firm in his statement and appeared to be sincere. Just maybe, Governor Kemp has other ambitions, and he will need not only the Black vote but also the Asian-American vote. After all, they are the fastestgrowing number of voters in Georgia. It’s quite possible he will need all their votes for his next move whether
“The volumes of guns are now so high that many people just use a gun to solve conflict when even that person might have tried something different in the past,” says psychiatrist Rahn Kennedy Bailey –chairman of the department of psychiatry at Louisiana State University in New Orleans. “Our streets have been flooded with guns, a lot of guns. Where people have always had conflicts and had to resolve it in different ways, now they might grab you and shoot you ... The sheer volume of guns are so high, a lot more violence happens.”
In the year 2022 alone 4.2 million people in America became new gun owners, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation [nssf.org] (NSSF), the firearm industry’s trade association. In a report [nssf.org], the NSSF estimates “in 2022 the firearm and ammunition industry was responsible for as much as $80.73 billion in total economic activity” in America. This does not count the thousands of so-called “ghost guns,” weapons not traceable because they are purchased secretly online or even made at home.
The compilations of resulting deaths have come from multiple directions. An NBC News analysis of data [cdc.gov]from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [cdc.gov] says, “More Americans have died from gunshots in the last 50 years than in all of the wars in American history.”
Everytown.org, a gun violence prevention organization, reports that Black people “experience 12 times the gun homicides, 18 times the gun assault injuries, and nearly 3 times the fatal shootings by police of White Americans.”
But, the disparate impact on the Black community is not new. It has been long known by experts that African-Americans – just as in the cases of most other tragic social statistics – bear the brunt of the pain of gun violence physically, mentally and emotionally; even indicating that gun
Negro community, then it is a request for basic, necessary, legitimate power.”
As far as I know, very few, if any, speaker at the 60th Anniversary event or journalists covering it dealt with brother Martin’s strong positions on the importance of Black unity and collective economics. If we had done so, we would be in a much stronger position to promote and protect our basic interests in 2023 and beyond.
it’s for the United States Senate or even President of the United States. We don’t know what the Governor’s next move is, but we need to keep our eye on whatever it is.
Meanwhile, let’s thank him for doing the right thing this time to allow District Attorney Fani Willis to continue the people’s case against Donald Trump and his unfortunate friends who followed him to break the law so many times to help Trump. Governor Kemp has done his part by refusing to cooperate in allowing the Georgia legislature to unfairly and without cause to relieve Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis of heading up the work that would send what should soon be a convicted criminal back to the White House.
Dr. E. Faye Williams, President of The Dick Gregory Society ( and United Nations Peace Ambassador.
violence dramatically affects educational outcomes such as test scores. A study led 20 years ago by Hampton University Endowed Professor Zina T. Mcgee, concluded that “Studies based on children raised in communities in which violence occurs have shown that direct encounters with violence (either as a victim or witness) increase the likelihood of experiencing anxieties, depression, social withdrawal, and difficulties in concentrating.”
Based on information collected from AfricanAmerican youth “residing in areas plagued with violence and crime,” Mcgee’s 2003 study [academia.edu] states that “With regard to social class, research indicates that low socio-economic status serves as one of the many environmental factors that can contribute to the use of violence to resolve conflicts.” ◆◆◆
Dr. Valda Crowder, director of Emergency Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania witnesses the carnage up close on a regular basis. And it’s gotten so bad that while treating victims; she and other medical professionals must also protect themselves.
“Many emergency departments now have armed guards because there have been threats against emergency medicine physicians, nurses, and hospitals. There have been actual shootings where emergency medical physicians were killed,” Crowder said in an interview.
Crowder is among those struggling to end the carnage. Among a list of unique initiatives to end gun violence include the following:
Continued from page 1A
The story of the Clinton 12 included five years of legal and civic confrontation between the Black community and the forces that sought to avoid compliance with the Brown Decision.
The news was recorded by the majority press and the Black Press, at that time, including the Norfolk Journal and Guide.
Over the years, the story has been depicted in several books and the most recent is “A Most Tolerant Little Town: The Explosive Beginning of School Desegregation” by Rachel Louise Martin.
In 2017 the Tennessee Historical Society released an online article on the issue.
A series of events from 1947 to 1958 placed the Civil Rights story of Clinton, the seat of Anderson County, near Knoxville, on the national stage as one of the starting points in the modern Civil Rights movement.
In August 1950, four Black youths who were eligible to attend the all-white Clinton High School attempted to enroll but were rejected by school officials.
In 1950 a group of citizens filed a lawsuit, McSwain et al. v. County Board of Education of Anderson County, Tennessee. It was heard in February 1952, in the U.S. District Court of Knoxville. Carl A. Cowan of Knoxville,
Crowder recalls how the historic photo of the mutilated body of Emmett Till, published in JET magazine, stunned the world and has been credited with sparking the modern day civil rights movement. Crowder believes that same kind of stunning moment could work again by placing on display bodies that have been mutilated by gun violence.
◆◆◆
U. S. Rep. Bobby Scott, who held a “Gun Violence Prevention Roundtable,” in 2019 following an incident in which 13 people were killed in a mass shooting, listed a string of Virginia killings and gun injuries near the area where Sierra Jenkins and Devon Harris were killed.
“We have evidence available to show that affective policies can reduce these shootings,” Scott says. “When they are implemented, background checks work. Every day, background checks stop nearly 250 dangerous individuals from being handed a firearm. However, these same people can go to a gun show and purchase a firearm without any background check. Virginia laws are among the worst in the country,” he said, describing the commonwealth as the “gun-running capital of the world.”
Scott says an assault weapons ban must be instituted because “the only thing that assault weapons are good for is killing many people quickly.” He said there is also need for sizeable gun magazine limitations. There are actually limitations on the size of a gun magazine to protect ducks but no limits on the size of gun magazines to protect people, he said.
◆◆◆
Still, good old fashioned
a respected Black attorney, and Thurgood Marshall of the NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund led the legal team.
In his ruling of April 1952, Judge Taylor denied the lawsuit and upheld the position of the county school board.
Two years later the Brown decision declared segregation unequal.
Local government officials moved to upgrade all-Black schools, to placate Black parents and avoid compliance.
An integration plan was developed, too, to delay compliance.
Then, in January 1956, Federal Judge Taylor ordered the school board to end segregation by the fall term of 1956.
According to the online article, there was no white resistance that summer.
Registration of the 12 African-American students took place without incident on August 20.
But days later, segregationists began to rally many white citizens to resist the court order.
Two days before classes, John Kasper, executive secretary of the Seaboard White Citizens Council, arrived and organized it.
On Monday, August 26, 1956, the “Clinton 12” made history by walking down Foley Hill where they lived to desegregate a statesupported in Tennessee and the South. The first day was without incident, but the very next day crowds, threats, and violence, led by Kasper, exemplified white resistance.
home training that instills non-violent morals and values is the best way to deter violence, says Bailey.
“The respect for life, how your parents raised you matter. If you believe human beings are valuable you wouldn’t shoot someone at all let alone shoot them for a nonviolent offense.”
Parents, teachers and school officials could be in on this training in conflict resolution, Bailey says. “Children are on the playground bumping into each other all the time. How teachers and counselors handle it goes a long way in teaching a little kid that it’s normative to jump around and bump into each other. But it’s not normative to bump into each other and knock them down and not try to help them or try to offer them assistance. Those are the kinds of things that start the process.
“The other thing is you can also do role play of arguments so that young people can recognize what you should and should not say in the middle of a really big argument. Young men are often 18, 19, 20 years old; so they can drive and move around. They just may not know how to handle conflict. We should be very involved in this process.”
When Federal Judge Taylor issued a temporary restraining order, forbidding Kasper and his followers from interfering with school integration, they ignored the order. The judge then ordered federal marshals to arrest Kasper for criminal contempt of court. On August 30, he gave Kasper a one-year sentence.
Taylor’s decision was the first to implement the Brown decision.
Kasper was replaced by another white resister, Asa Carter, a White Citizens Council leader from Birmingham, who kept the tension high among the resisters.
On Labor Day Weekend, September 1-2, 1956, riots broke out, with cars overturned, and windows smashed. see Clinton 12, page 8A
If a student should survive the academic, preparatory, and credentialing phases of the passage to the classroom, retaining enthusiasm and interest in the field is the next hurdle for retaining Black male teachers.
It has been long known by experts that AfricanAmericans – just as in the cases of most other tragic social statistics – bear the brunt of the pain of gun violence physically, mentally and emotionally; even indicating that gun violence dramatically affects educational outcomes such as test scores.
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional.
“There were no red flags,” said Jacksonville Sherriff TK Waters during a news conference about a mass shooting in which a White gunman killed three Black people and himself in a Dollar General store.
With the facts that we know now, it is worth counting the number of warning signs. Hopefully, we can learn by examining missed indicators that the shooter was a danger to himself or others.
The first red flag is the definition of a warning. In 2017, the gunman had been declared a danger to himself and/or others and held for 72 hours. According to Sherriff Waters, the shooter had a Baker’s Act Petition, the involuntary commitment law in Florida. This law is one of many state statutes that allow police, social workers, and family members to require a person to receive emergency mental health services on a temporary and involuntary basis for 72 hours.
In many cases, people come to an emergency department where they are evaluated at all times of the day and night. As an emergency medicine physician, I examine the mental and physical health of these patients. My colleagues and I determine patients’ risk of potential harm to themselves and others. If a patient is deemed a risk, our signatures uphold or enforce the 72-hour involuntary detentions. It also may extend the detention for multiple 72hour periods that last weeks.
A second red flag and a good question for the next news conference held by Sheriff Waters is: What happened to the shooter after his 72-hour hold? To prevent the next shooting, journalists and officials need to ask: How does the mental health system in the Jacksonville community provide follow-up care to someone who has just been released from an involuntary commitment?
Is it possible that a person be involuntarily committed for 72 hours and in the 73rd hour buy a lethal weapon? The answer is yes in Florida. A person who has been declared dangerous in one hour can buy a gun in the next hour. How does this make sense?
At the opposite end of the spectrum from Florida is Pennsylvania. In the Keystone State, a patient who has an involuntary 72-hour commitment is subject to a lifetime ban on possessing firearms. Does this state law discourage people from seeking emergency mental health services? That is possible. There is no nationwide standard.
Having signed hundreds
of involuntary emergency mental health petitions during my 30-year medical career, I have not seen any meaningful mental health care in 72 hours. Extensions of these commitments are common. Frequently the first petition is the start of lengthy inpatient psychiatric admissions that permit mental health teams to properly diagnose, treat and stabilize patients. Mental illness is more common than diabetes in the US. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, serious mental illness is defined as patients who because of their mental illness have difficulty completing daily activities, such as self-care, keeping employment or housing. When these commitments abruptly end after only 72 hours, these individuals are at high risk to themselves and others. Among the 10.4 million Americans who have serious mental illness, 35 percent of these patients or 3.6 million Americans have not received any mental health treatment in the last year. These patients are 3 times more likely to be a perpetrator of violence and they are 11 times more likely to be a victim of violence. With mental health treatment, the risks go away completely. Problem solved. Not so fast. Our mental health system is difficult to navigate, poorly staffed and poorly funded. In the U.S., 60 percent of counties lack a single psychiatrist. In rural areas, 80 percent of U.S. counties do not have a single psychiatrist. In Clay County – home of the Dollar Store gunman, the mental health system is worse and the third red flag. According to a county report, there are 22 percent fewer licensed clinical social workers, 71 percent fewer marriage and family therapists and 58 percent fewer licensed psychologists compared to the average in Florida. In addition to the challenge of finding a therapist, people have trouble finding inpatient beds for patients who are seriously mentally ill. Clay County has 45% few adult inpatient beds than the rest of State of Florida.
To paraphrase Fannie Lou Hammer, whether you are a medical doctor or not you ought to know that we are all in the same bag. Gun violence is a
threat to anyone’s family or community. We need to stop making excuses that there were no red flags, or that the gun was purchased legally. Let us look at the red flags that are staring us in the face. Let us create a meaningful national standard for the various involuntary commitment rules.
Valda Crowder, MD, MBA, is a board-certified emergency medicine physician who serves as medical director of emergency medicine at UPMC Community Hospital in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and is director of the Health Committee for Black Women for Positive Change.
SILVER SPRINGS, M.D.
Dr. Yolanda M. Lawson was installed as the 124th president of the National Medical Association at the organization’s annual meeting in New Orleans on July 29-Aug. 2 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel.
Lawson is an associate at Baylor University Medical Center, as well as the founder of MadeWell OBGYN in Dallas. Lawson succeeds outgoing NMA President Garfield Clunie, M.D.
“Lawson is deeply committed to the issue of health disparities of Black women and common issues faced by Black physicians,” according to a recent NMA press release.
“In her work with women, she addresses maternal health, cardiovascular issues, and HIV/AIDS.”
She earned her medical degree at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. She performed her internship at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta and completed her residency
at St. John Hospital and Medical Center in Detroit.
The National Medical Association (NMA) is the largest and oldest national organization representing AfricanAmerican physicians and their patients in the United States. It is headquartered in Silver Springs, Md.
According to its website, “It serves as the conscience of the medical profession in the ongoing fight to eliminate health disparities in the nation’s health care delivery system.”
By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia
Amidst a news cycle that now routinely features wildfires, former president indictments, and extreme weather events, the world is grappling with the resurgence of COVID-19 as a new and concerning variant, BA.2.86, emerges. This variant, informally dubbed “Pirola,” has ignited alarm among public health experts due to its substantial spike protein mutations.
Dr. Scott Roberts, an infectious diseases specialist at Yale Medicine, warned that Pirola exhibits over 30 spike protein mutations compared to the previously dominant XBB.1.5 variant in the United States. The spike protein is critical for the virus’s entry into human cells, and such a high number of mutations raises red flags.
In an online Yale Medicine article, Dr. Roberts compared the mutation count to the shift from the Delta to the Omicron variant in 2021, which caused a significant surge in cases due to its immune evasion capabilities.
What’s particularly concerning is that Pirola has been detected in at least six countries, and these cases appear unrelated. Experts said that suggests undetected community transmission and international spread, sparking concerns of a potential resurgence.
According to medical experts, BA.2.86 is a designated variant of Omicron, a variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for COVID-19. BA.2.86 stems from BA.2, a previously circulating Omicron subvariant. The variant was first identified in Denmark in late July and made its way to the United States in August. Knowing that cases aren’t linked indicates broader circulation, significantly as COVID-19 surveillance has waned, medical experts asserted.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) reported that current COVID-19 tests and medications, such as Paxlovid, Veklury, and Lagevrio, seem effective against Pirola. However, Pirola may be more adept at infecting individuals who have had COVID-19 or have been vaccinated. There isn’t any current evidence that it causes more severe illness.
The increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations in the U.S. is attributed to XBB lineage viruses rather than Pirola. The multitude of mutations in Pirola raises concerns about its potential to bypass immunity from natural infection or vaccination.
Dr. Roberts emphasized that ongoing studies would reveal the true nature of Pirola’s threat. The unprecedented number of mutations in Pirola is reminiscent of significant shifts seen in other respiratory viruses, such as the 2009 swine flu. However, he noted that these variants sometimes fade away without causing a significant impact.
The critical question now is whether Pirola will follow the explosive growth pattern of Omicron or fade away, as everyone hopes. As of August 30, the CDC has identified Pirola in at least four U.S. states through samples from individuals or wastewater.
Some regions have reinstated mask mandates in response to the spike in COVID-19 cases. Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York, is among the institutions requiring masks in clinical areas to protect patients and staff.
The CDC reports a nearly 19 percent increase in weekly new COVID-19 hospitalizations in the U.S., marking the sixth consecutive week of rising admissions.
The arrival of new COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna, and Novavax in mid-September is expected to offer robust protection against variants. Until then, experts stress that masking remains a crucial tool for safeguarding against COVID-19, even for individuals with normal risk levels, depending on their location and contacts.
it
that a person be involuntarily committed for 72 hours and in the
hour buy a lethal weapon? The answer is yes in Florida. A person who has been declared dangerous in one hour can buy a gun in the next hour.
Valda CrowderDr. Yolanda M. Lawson
Continued from page 1A
“I’m sure the boogeyman white supremacist exists somewhere in America. I’ve just never met him,” Ramaswamy stated. “Never seen one, never met one in my life, right? Maybe I’ll meet a unicorn sooner. And maybe those exist, too.”
Within 24 hours, a racist white gunman shot and killed three African-Americans at a Dollar General in
Jacksonville, Florida. Indeed, Ramaswamy’s provocative analogy, which is deeply offensive and historically charged, raised questions about his understanding of racial dynamics and his willingness to engage in divisive rhetoric.
Of the Black race.”
Ramaswamy also defended comparing Pressley, who is Black, and author, Ibram Kendi to the leaders of the Ku Klux Klan.
In 2019, Pressley remarked, “We don’t need any more brown faces that don’t want to be a brown voice” and “we don’t need any more Black
faces that don’t want to be a Black voice.” She explained that she attempted to express a desire for leaders to use their lived experiences to inform their decisions and policies and not ignore the realities of race. However, Ramaswamy argued that Pressley was the modern version of the grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, an organization that terrorized, lynched, and killed Black Americans for decades.
“I stand by what I said to provoke an open and honest discussion in this country,” Ramaswamy said, doubling down.
Commentators like Washington Post columnist Philip Bump have noted that Ramaswamy’s discourse encapsulates a distilled form of Republican race rhetoric. For example, Bump noted that when Ramaswamy announced his candidacy earlier this year, he invoked Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech during the March on Washington in 1963.
“That was the speech where he said, ‘I hope my four children grow up in a country where they are judged not on the color of their skin, but on the content of their character,’” Ramaswamy declared his candidacy in a video.
In that video, and since then, Bump noted how Ramaswamy explained what that quote meant to him. “In keeping with an inordinate amount of Republican rhetoric in recent years, the candidate sees King’s words not in the broader context of his full speech or the historic moment in which it was given but as a sort of Uno-reverse for the race card: that any recognition of racial disparities is at odds with King’s vision,” Bump wrote.
Ramaswamy’s assertion that “reverse racism is racism” echoes sentiments that have resonated within segments of the Republican Party in recent years. The notion, a cornerstone of Trump’s appeal, positions white individuals as victims of discrimination, often sidelining the historical context of systemic racism faced by Black and Hispanic Americans.
Such statements continue to raise alarm bells about the candidate’s commitment to addressing issues of racial injustice.
CBC Chair Steven Horsford of Nevada said Ramaswamy’s words are not merely the ramblings of a deeply unserious person but count as “part of a dark and calculated attempt to obfuscate the truth about racism in America.”
“Vivek Ramaswamy understands that there is an appetite for racism and bigotry within the base of the extreme MAGA Republican party and he is opting to shamelessly carry the water of white supremacy for his own political gain.
“The Republican Party cannot be silent. If this does not speak to their values, leaders within the Party have an obligation to say so. This rhetoric is beyond dangerous and deserves nothing short of full condemnation.”
Continued from page 5A
Whites took over the town, threatening to dynamite the mayor’s house, the newspaper, and the courthouse.
Dynamite was thrown about in the Black neighborhoods.
The police force was overwhelmed, and city officials asked Governor Frank G. Clement for help.
Residents formed a “Home Guard” to protect property and lives from the white mob until state assistance could arrive. Six hundred guardsmen arrived, and the worst of the violence ended.
The use of the National Guard by Governor Clement was another first in the Civil Rights movement and remained until the end of September.
Would the governor continue to use the Guard or refuse to activate the Guard (the situation that occurred in Little Rock, Arkansas, the following year)? He did activate highway patrolmen and National Guard forces to maintain the peace and keep the roads open in Clinton.
Segregationists across Tennessee decried Clement’s decision, but as the news from Clinton received national and international attention, other Tennesseans praised the governor’s decision to intervene.
But segregationists continued burning crosses on the lawns of some high-school faculty and civic leaders who supported integration.
As the intimidation escalated, shots were fired at the home of two Black students attending Clinton High School, and dynamite blasts punctuated the peace of the county.
Tensions continued in spite of the state’s intervention, especially once a slate of prosegregationists challenged city incumbents in municipal
elections.
The segregation of the schools was the only issue.
Harassment and threats escalated against the Black children, property, and their institutions to the point that the Black parents met at Green McAdoo School and decided they could no longer send their children to the white school.
Then, in an amazing turn of events, a white Baptist minister, Reverend Paul Turner, pastor of the First Baptist Church, and others escorted Black students to Clinton High School on December 4, 1956, the day of municipal elections.
Reverend Turner and others
escorted them down Foley Hill to the white high school, creating in effect a white human shield to protect and reassure the Black students.
Once the three white leaders left the students, a white mob severely beat Reverend Turner on his way to First Baptist Church. In reaction to the attack on Turner, and other threatened violence, Principal David J. Brittain closed the high school and did not reopen it until December 10.
In December 1956 and January 1957, the media converged on Clinton.
CBS TV’s Edward R. Murrow produced one of his famous “See It Now”
programs on Clinton, titled “Clinton and the Law.” The process of desegregation in Clinton became national and international news throughout the spring of 1957.
The following spring, Gail Ann Epps became the first African-American female to graduate from a publicly
Continued from page 1A
Police described the suspects as “young adults” who had just graduated high school and said the deceased victim was about the same age.
In other words, road rage is not rare, according to a newly released Forbes Advisor report which showed about 50 percent of the Virginia drivers (who participated in the study), said they have experienced another driver exiting a vehicle to yell or fight (50.5 percent). They have also experienced drivers honking at them in frustration (78.5 percent) or experienced drivers who
integrated high school in Tennessee. On Sunday morning, October 5, 1958, Clinton High School was bombed and was destroyed. But with the assistance of evangelist Billy Graham, columnist Drew Pearson, and a host of local citizens, the school was rebuilt.
were yelling, insulting, cursing or making threats (89.5 percent).
Forbes researchers surveyed 10,000 licensed drivers and compared all 50 states across nine key metrics. They found that five of the top 10 states with the most confrontational drivers are in the South, including West Virginia, Virginia, Oklahoma, Alabama and Texas.
The problem is 554 people were shot in road rage incidents across the U.S. last year, and 141 of these gunshot victims died, according to a recent AAA Mid-Atlantic report.
Every 16 hours, someone is either hurt or killed by road rage violence, the AAA Mid-Atlantic report noted.
Officials say ignore
The desegregation of Clinton High School in 1956-58 was not replicated at the city’s primary grammar school for AfricanAmericans. However, not until 1965 would the ten-year struggle to desegregate public education in Clinton and Anderson County end.
someone tailing your car, weaving in and out of lanes recklessly, shouting and flashing obscene gestures. Try to disengage. Don’t make eye contact. Let the driver pass you. If the situation escalates, call 911. If you’re close to home, it’s best to take a detour to the nearest fire or police station; you don’t want the driver following you home and seeing where you live.
Finally, remember aggressive driving is a crime in Virginia. Aggressive driving is a Class 2 misdemeanor that carries a fine of up to $1000 and up to 6 months in jail. However, aggressive driving with the intent to injure another person is a Class 1 misdemeanor, according to state code § 46.2-868.1.
Attention often focused on Bobby Cain, a senior, who would be the first African-American graduate of a white public high school in the South on May 17, 1957, three years after the Brown decision.
NORFOLK STATE DROPS LABOR DAY CLASSIC TO VIRGINIA STATE, 33-24
NORFOLK
Norfolk Botanical Garden
(NBG) will host its 15th annual (WPA) Garden Heritage Celebration on Sunday, September 17, 2023, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. The annual event honors the 220 African-American women and men who first planted the Garden 85 years ago and recognizes their hard work and dedication.
Admission to the Garden is free from 1 to 5 p.m. Nicole Livas, WVEC-13 News reporter, will serve as Mistress of Ceremonies.
This event will feature a reading of the 74 known WPA worker names, including a new addition this year, with a reception to follow.
This year’s keynote speaker is international author and horiculturist, Abra Lee, the current Director of Horticulture at Oakland
Cemetery in Atlanta. She will receive the NBG Groundbreaker award, along with three other individuals, including Dr. Rex Ellis, Founding Associate Director for Curatorial Affairs at the National Museum of African-American History and Culture; Becky Livas, the first African-American TV Newscaster in Hampton Roads; and Thomas Ransom, Virginia Region President of Truist.
On this anniversary year, the President’s Council on Inclusion and Diversity committee created a scholarship, funded in part by Truist. This Scholarship is to be awarded for educational pursuits of underrepresented minority students in green industry or related fields.
The WPA Garden Heritage Day began in 2008. If you have a family member that
you believe is one of the 220 WPA workers, please visit the Garden’s website.
Free admission tickets should be reserved on the Garden’s website.
NORFOLK A health equity symposium under the title, “Research To Practice: Exploring Epilepsy/Seizures
Through the Lens of Health Equity” will be held on September 16 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Norfolk State University.
The event will take place in the Nursing and General Education Building, Room 101, and includes a continental breakfast.
Four plenary sessions conducted by health professionals will address
the topic.
Also, there will be a roundtable discussion moderated by D.L. Seneca Bock, Founder and Chief Strategist Community Capacity Builders, LLC, featuring representatives from the Epilepsy Foundation of Va. and other health groups.
The symposium is being presented by WTTS 4Epilepsy in partnership with the NSU Center of Excellence In Minority Health Disparities, directed by Dr. Cynthia Burrell.
New Journal and
NORFOLK
Norfolk State missed two opportunities late in the 4th quarter to take the lead and allowed Virginia State to escape with a 33-24 victory in front of 21,640 fans at Price Stadium.
Virginia State running back Upton Bailey rushed for 184 yards on 18 carries and VSU quarterback Steve Williams threw for 133 yards and completed 13 of 19 passes.
VSU led 20-17 at halftime.
NSU rallied to take a 2420 lead in the 3rd quarter, but the Trojans shut down the Spartan offense in the 4th quarter and outscored them 13-0. NSU had an opportunity to send the game into overtime but an errant snap on a field goal attempt and subsequent fumble recovery and return for a 77 yard score by VSU as the game clock expired sealed the win for the Trojans.
NSU QB Otto Kuhns completed 10 passes for 166 yards and 1 interception. Lex Henry led NSU in rushing with 71 yards on 20 carries.
The game marked the Spartans first loss to VSU since 2017.
VSU leads the series 31-22-2 all time. The NSU Spartans (0-1) travel across the bridge-tunnel next Saturday to face the Hampton Pirates (1-0) in The Battle of the Bay at Armstrong Stadium at 6 p.m.
Several days ago, as we have come to know, a hate filled gunman to the world did show his level of idiocy and ignorance in his racial ideology against BLACK ELOQUENCE,
For to him BLACKS were people of no decent worth, and so they needed to be taken from
off the EARTH; therefore, he developed his sin, sinful,and sinister plan to kill many a BLACK boy, girl, woman or man because he thought,” Since the Blacks are not great, I will hunt them down and exterminate,”
And in his mind, what gave him that right? Only because he was WHITE, just only because he was White!
So, he decided to go out that day looking for many a BLACK person to slay,
So, first he went to the historic EDWARD WATERS UNIVERSITY, looking to spot a Black person to see and to quickly get his gun out and to shoot the Black person dead,
But he encountered campus police instead, so he left, coward as he was, and drove ahead.
Yet, because he was a WHITE supremacist, an extremist and a hellish, SATAN filled soul, He kept traveling to he spotted a DOLLAR GENERAL STORE, bright and definitely bold,
And on its grounds, he decided to get out and to kill as many BLACKS randomly at will,
But again, I do question,”What gave him the right?” And his sick soul did answer,
“Because I am WHITE” So he yelled out racial slurs, I think to get a sense at that hour,
HAMPTON ROADS
The Virginia Symphony Orchestra, in partnership with the City of Norfolk, will host its fifth annual CommUNITY Play-In and Sing-Along concert.
Members of the community who play any instrument and are at any experience level are invited to play and sing alongside the VSO’s musicians and chorus on Sunday, Sept. 10 at the Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall on the Norfolk State University campus. This year’s CommUNITY concert embraces our community’s cultural richness and diversity, by uniting people of all ages, faiths, and backgrounds through participation in music, dance, and spoken word.
The event, which is FREE and OPEN to the public, will begin at 4:30 p.m., with doors opening at 3:30 p.m.
All kinds of music will be featured in this year’s CommUNITY concert including Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy,” Vivaldi’s “Gloria,” “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” and the exhilarating “Raiders March,” conducted by VSO Music Director Eric Jacobsen, Director of Education, Helen Martell, and NSU Assistant Director of Bands, Stephanie Sanders and more.
There will also be appearances by the Fleet Forces Band and Norfolk
Scheduled For Sept. 22-24
State University’s Chorus and Vocal Jazz.
Residents of Hampton Roads are invited to play, sing, volunteer, or simply enjoy the festivities as we come together to celebrate our unique and diverse communities. Last year, more than 1,000 people aged 5 to 85 joined together to make music. With a bigger venue this year, space is available for even more area music lovers to come and experience the magic of CommUNITY. Registration is required for all participants and encouraged for audience members to guarantee seating for everyone who would like to attend.
Partner organizations featured in this event also include Teens With a Purpose, churches that are part of the VSO’s Harmony project, and MixMo, as well as faith leaders Rev. Geoffrey Guns, and Rabbi Michael Panitz. There will also be various community organizations from across Hampton Roads in attendance with informational tables about their upcoming events and services.
For more information about the CommUNITY Play-In and Sing-Along, to register to play and download music, or to volunteer, visit the VSO’s CommUNITY page at www. virginiasymphony.org
And as he shot Angela, Anotl, and Jerrald, he had the nerve to think that he acted in WHITE POWER, And after he had killed all three with his hand gun or AR-15 style rifle by his side,
He shot and killed himself by suicide,
HAMPTON ROADS
The International Black Women’s Congress (IBWC) will host its 39th Annual Conference September 22 to September 24 at the Wyndham Oceanfront in Virginia Beach, Virginia. This year’s theme is “The Time For Reframing Is Now.”
For 40 years, Dr. La Francis Rodgers-Rose, founder and President of IBWC, has led the African centered organization for Black women.
IBWC’s mission is to build bridges that unite women of African descent, while combating the growing challenges of poverty and negative stereotypes in the 21st century. The stated vision revolves around creating an Africancentered model of womanhood, one that embraces and uplifts the multifaceted roles Black women play in their families, communities, and societies.
Conference information can be found on IBWCs Facebook page.
You may register at www.ibwc.us/annualconference.
Now I ask you,” Was he truly the wisest and strongest and most intelligent man that he declared that he was, or was he the most unintelligent and in all ways weakest man alive?”
“O” my GOD, how insane are you when you think that you are superior just because of your skin color which is defined as your HUE!
And for all of us who bear Black faces, isnʼt it time for all of us to claim our rightful places?
Our ancestors built this country, and those facts lie in our history,
For though often in chains, GOD allowed them to have strong brains, and in CHRIST then and now, we deserve love and liberty! And if all of us are willing, with GODʼS faithfulness, We can stop the killing!
HAMPTON ROADS
Vivian Green and Malcolm “Zeke” Avery will be the honorees of the Old School Legends (OSL) Hall of Fame Class of 2023 September 16, at 12 noon at the Marriott’s Delta Ballroom on Woodlake Drive in Chesapeake.
Vivian Green is being honored for her outstanding achievements as a pioneer in women’s basketball in the region. Green was the first Black woman to play women’s pro basketball and first female college player in Virginia history to score 2,000 points while playing for Norfolk State University (NSU).
She holds the NSU career records for total points 2,386 and scoring an average of 25.1 points per game. She was two time all-conference in the CIAA. She led the Spartanettes to two
Vivian Green Malcolm Averyconference championships. Green is currently coaching Smithfield H.S. varsity boys’ basketball team.
Malcolm “Zeke” Avery is being recognized for his impressive coaching career while at Norfolk’s Booker T. Washington High School. Avery became JV and later the varsity basketball head coach, winning two
AAA State Basketball Championships. Avery was Head Men’s Coach at Hampton University.
After 500 plus season games and several championships, Avery became Assistant Director of Athletics to Director of Athletics at Hampton University.
With twenty years at Hampton University and twenty years with Norfolk
City Public Schools, Avery retired. Mr. Avery is still working part-time at Virginia Peninsula Community College’s Department of Athletics.
The Old School Legends organization has been honoring outstanding high school players and coaches in the region since its first class of 2019, according to the founder of the organization, John F. Speller.
The organization donates to a number of organizations, including the Children’s Hospital and the King’s Daughters and the Union Mission Ministries of Norfolk.
For more information about the event, call (757) 266-0242.
We MARCH,
On and on, until dawn,
From the trees, through Texas heat, to Tennessee, that all will see, Overcoming, so much more than just wind, rain, sleet, and snow, don’t ya know Obtuse-isms, Karen-isms K to the third reich’d hitch-hiked power, Openly, Orderly Orally, Opera-phra-phetically
We must MARCH past golden-calf-ed arches, To the high heavens, WE MARCH,
To MARCH, you have to be on the bus, NO Fuss, NO Muss, No Cuss, Gus. Freedom fighters knew the meaning of ALL-nighters The MARCH’s movement ends, when you do! Equitable, equality, peacefully, amazingly, gracefulness UNTIL THEN, WE MARCH!
Are we the things we are given, buy, finance, have, and own? Or are we the accumulated grace and goodness radiated forth that positively impacts all we come in contact with?
Are we the life-lessons we slept through, paid no attention to at the time, ignored because we thought we already knew it all? Or are we the sum total of all those great people, parents, coaches, teachers, mentors, friends, and leadership examples whom we were most blessed and highly favored to have had in our lives? You know the ones who repeated it enough hundred times, until it finally penetrated our thick heads to become a life-long work-ethic learned – always be early, never late. Do we extend to others the helping hand of hope, love, assistance, kindness, and equitable equality? Or are we selective in these areas of who, when and if we choose to be a positive difference-maker?
Will I uplift more than I deride? Am I able to objectively evaluate my own role in the world, without self-beneficial, lessthan-honest judgments and conclusions, like charges, being drawn?
Is my impact limited to my immediate sphere-ofinfluence and the circleof-people I know, met, or will meet? Or through various digital means can I reach everyone, anyone, and all who are openly hoping, while others are down-mopen, barelycopen, lost- ... ism-tropen, just-sayin-nopen, othersgropen, dead-end-dopen, and over-zealous-religiousprolitizing – Popen?
Is my ability to be of positive impact only limited by the limitations I place upon myself? Or do I allow others to also “pile on,“ with
Will I uplift more than I deride?
their dispirited lower-gonad fear-based fictions, causing my own premature spiritual frictions and fractures because I remained silent, or I did not speak up for myself or others? Did I speak my self-known truths to any and all who sold me short or down the river?
Do I know “others can never define me,” unless I choose to allow them that power?
Am I the product of my environment? Or, do my decisions, goals, dreams, ideals, and aspirations when applied directly to my environment through strict disciplined work-ethic and relentless pursuit of perfection, yield amazingly graceful and breathtaking results which are limitless in the infinity of eternity?
Do the paths I take intersect with who and what I was, what I am, and who I will become only once?
Or do we repeatedly face daily ritual opportunities and spiritual on-ramps to do right, be better, and continue to progress along the path to becoming the “best” version of ourselves that we can be most proud of representing our emitted historical legacy?
Do we see the off-ramp distractions, dead-end cul-de-sacs, and suckerbranches for exactly what they are- time, energy, and resource-wasters?
Is my downstream family legacy one of over-coming or coming over? One
of over-doing or doingovers? One of beautiful simplicity or of simple beauties? One of natural historic feats, or one of feats honoring and defending (s)heroes, naturally. One of perpetuating meaning, healing, and mending our shared common fabric of this societal existence in our Divine Providence?
Are we our own North star? Or, do we allow ourselves to be blown off-course by the prevailing trade-winds of transactionalism and the … isms of nihilism?
Can we be the best answers to our own questions? Or, do we choose not to listen to that inner voice of true peace?
We are; therefore the world “IS” our oyster. Hot sauce optional. Results may vary, based on each individual’s love, will, and commitment to themselves, God, and the world. Because, that is what we are and what can be, when we liberally apply grace, belief-in, and forgiveness with each other.
Sean C. Bowers has written the last 25 years, as a WhiteQuaker Southern man, for the nation’s third oldest Black Newspaper, The New Journal and Guide, of Norfolk, Virginia, about overcoming racism, sexism, classism, and religious persecution. Some of his latest NJ&G articles detailing the issues can found by searching “Sean C. Bowers” on the NJ&G website. Contact him directly on social media at Linkedin.com or by email V1ZUAL1ZE@aol. com NNPA 2019 Publisher of the Year, Brenda H. Andrews (NJ&G 35 years) has always been his publisher.
Down through the centuries, many religious groups and denominations have attempted to define the image of a practical Christian with different lists of dos and don’ts, taboos, bans, and prohibitions. With such a variety of conflicting information, how can we know which lists to go by? Psalm 15 is a concise compendium of the practical characteristics that should adorn our lives as believers. It reads like a dress code of behavior, one that we should all be able to agree upon.
David’s Query. David opens Psalm 15 with two questions that ask basically the same thing (v.1). What kind of person dwells in God’s holy presence? Who can maintain intimate fellowship with the Lord? In essence, what does a godly person look life?
Two parts to the Christian Life. When we acknowledge Jesus Christ as our Savior, several things become true in our lives some related to our eternal inheritance and some related to our temporal experience. Eternal Inheritance. Once
we are in Christ, this new inheritance carries with it some important characteristics.
First, it is given at salvation for all time and eternity.
Second, it never changes; those adjectives will always apply. Third, the truths of the inheritance are not necessarily experienced emotionally.
Fourth, this inheritance is established by God alone; it requires no amount of work on our part. And fifth, it is visible only to God, not to us Temporal Experience. At the moment of salvation, our temporal experience of Christianity also begins, with Christ in us, dwelling in our hearts through the Holy Spirit.
As we give Christ control over our lives, we begin to experience power in prayer, the fruits of the Spirit, hunger for the Word of God, true worship, obedience to God, spiritual growth, witnessing, and practical insight.
Like our eternal inheritance, our temporal experience also has five important characteristics.
First, each of these experiences relate to our earthly walk and determine the depth of our fellowship with God. Second, these things develop and grow as
we
mature. Third, although sin has no effect on our eternal inheritance, it can hinder the development of His image in us in our temporal experience. Fourth, growth in each area of our temporal experience will come only as we depend on the Holy Spirit. And fifth, all characteristics in this realm are visible to both God and to us. David’s Answer. Now let’s peek over David’s shoulder to watch and learn as he creates a composite picture of a godly person (vv. 2 -5).
They Walk With Integrity (v. 2). The Hebrew term translated integrity means “complete innocent, or morally whole.” Those who enjoy intimate fellowship with God have no hidden areas of shame in their lives. Their “walk,” or way of life, is in harmony with God’s standards.
They Work Righteousness (v. 2). Those who dwell in the Lord’s presence have made a habit of being ethical, honest, and straight forward in their daily conduct.
They Speak Truth in Their Hearts (v. 2). It is the heart, not the mouth, that dictates what we say – “for as [a man] thinks within himself, so he is” (Proverbs 23: 7).
They Do Not Slander (v. 3). Slander is not simply telling a lie; it is distorting the truth about another person. To avoid this, we must choose our words so carefully, that if the people were talking about were present, they would say, “exactly right. Those are the facts.”
They Do No Evil to Their Neighbors (v. 3).
They Do Not Take Up A Reproach Against Their Friends (v. 3).
They Despise A Reprobate
(v. 4). The individual who draws near to God will find it impossible to have an intimate relationship with those who despise all that Christians love.
They Honor Those Who Fear The Lord (v. 4). One of the obvious marks of practical Christians is the respect, support, and appreciation given to those who fear God – regardless of background, position or race.
They Swear To Their Own Hurt and Do Not Change (v. 4). Simply put, practicing Christians keep their promises. When they give their word to do something, they do it – no matter how difficult it may be.
They Do Not Loan Money at Interest To A Brother Or A Close Friend (v. 5).
They Do Not Take A Bribe Against An Innocent Person (v. 5). A practicing believer cannot be bought, whether on a jury, in a business, or in matters of trust in relationships.
David’s Promise. For the one who practices these traits, Psalm 15 closes with a word of promise: “He… will never be shaken” (v. 5). In the experience of intimacy with God, we can exchange our own frailties and weaknesses for His stability and strength.
What kind of people can have their lives pinched, poked and probed, and still be found blameless? Only those who abide in God’s tent, who dwell on His Holy Hill through living the very real, the very practical life of faith described in Psalm 15. Rev. Dr. Archie L. Edwards, Sr., is an Associate Minister at Second Calvary Baptist Church in Norfolk.
By Rosaland Tyler Associate Editor New Journal and Guide
Lawrence Lacks Sr., the oldest living son of Henrietta Lacks, died at age 88 of complications from liver disease on Aug. 26 at the Baltimore VA Medical Center.
Born on Feb. 6, 1935 in Clover, Va., he was one of five children born to Henrietta and David Lacks, who relocated to Baltimore County in 1941. When their mother died at Johns Hopkins hospital in 1951 at age 31 in a segregated ward from cervical cancer, he was only 16. But he stepped in and helped raise his siblings. At one point, his brothers and sisters all lived together with him, his wife Bobette and their children in Baltimore.
“I remember she told me to take care of my brothers and sisters,” he said, recalling how he and his siblings gathered around their mother’s hospital bed for the final time in August 1951. She died on Oct. 4, 1951.
Lack’s cells were discovered to have the miraculous ability to divide and replicate indefinitely outside the body. Today, 72 years later, Lack’s cells are still reproducing themselves.
Called the HeLa Cells, scientists all over the world have used her cells to pursue and secure medical breakthroughs in the polio vaccine and treatments for cancer, HIV, and Parkinson’s disease.
Lawrence Lacks, Sr. retired as an Amtrak engineer after working 30 years as a locomotive engineer for various companies, according to new reports. He and his sister, Bobbette, wrote a 2010 book titled, “HeLa Family Stories.”
He lived to see his family’s first legal settlement, on Aug. 1, with a biotechnology company that had allegedly profited over the use of the “HeLa” cell line, so called for the first two letters of her first and last names. The settlement amount was not disclosed.
His mother had five children: Lawrence, Elsie, David, Deborah and Joseph (Zakariyya), with her husband, David ‘Day’ Lacks. His wife, Bobbette Cooper, a registered nurse and homemaker, died in 2022. In addition to his son Ron, of Rosedale, Md., survivors include two other children, Lawrence Lacks Jr. of Rosedale and Ladonna Lacks of Baltimore; five grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
Sean “Diddy” Combs has gifted his Bad Boy family with life-changing anniversary gifts. According to Billboard, the music mogul has decided to return the publishing rights of his label’s artists and songwriters to their rightful owners.
The move resulted in Bad Boy Entertainment’s host of creatives quickly signing agreements to regain control of their intellectual property.
Ma$e, Faith Evans, The LOX, 112, and the Estate of the Notorious B.I.G. are among those who have already inked deals to reclaim their rights, as per Billboard. Combs started the process in May 2021 to sell the catalog, but the details of the arrangements are still unknown.
For years, the administration of publishing on behalf of Bad Boy was entrusted to EMI, a subsidiary of Sony Music Publishing/Sony Corporation of America. Notably, EMI still handles Combs’ publishing.
Providing artists with publishing rights could mean tens of millions of dollars for their bottom line, as sales of publishing have steadily increased over the years. For
example, Dr. Dre recently sold his catalog for more than $300 million, and Justin Bieber netted north of $200 million. This generous move by Combs coincides with the 30th anniversary celebration of Bad Boy Entertainment this year.
The decision follows a long-standing public feud between Combs and Ma$e, one of Bad Boy’s hitmakers.
The rift arose when Combs criticized the Recording Academy during his 2020 Industry Icon Award acceptance speech for undervaluing Black artists in R&B and rap. Ma$e confronted his former label boss in an Instagram post. He revealed that he offered $2 million to buy back his publishing, but Combs said no. Ma$e further alleged, “Your past business
practices knowingly have continued to starve your artist purposely and have been extremely unfair to the very same artist that helped you obtain that Icon Award on the iconic Bad Boy label.” The post shed light on long-standing grievances, including Combs retaining Ma$e’s publishing rights from 24 years ago in exchange for a mere $20,000. In a later interview with The Breakfast Club in 2022, Combs stated that Ma$e owed him $3 million for an album advance that was never received.
Bad Boy Entertainment, founded by Combs in 1993, has enjoyed a storied history in the music industry. The label quickly became successful, with many albums and singles that went gold, platinum,
or multiplatinum. The artists included Craig Mack, the Notorious B.I.G., Faith Evans, Ma$e, Total, 112, The LOX, and Diddy himself. Over the years, the label’s illustrious roster has also featured talents like Carl Thomas, Shyne, Dream, Danity Kane, and French Montana. Additionally, it housed an in-house writer/producer collective known as The Hitmen, which included notable fi gures like the late Chucky Thompson, Stevie J, Deric “D-Dot” Angelettie, and Mario Winans. Recent releases under the Bad Boy banner include Machine Gun Kelly’s 2022 album “Mainstream Sellout” and Janelle Monae’s latest offering, “The Age of Pleasure.”
CONTRACT ID #C00118875DB127
STATE PROJECT NOS. 0020-002-011; 0631-002-012; 0631-002-013; 0631002-036; 0250-002-957
ALBEMARLE INTERSECTION BUNDLING #2
DESIGN-BUILD PROJECT
The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is seeking Statements of Qualifications for the Albemarle Intersection Bundling #2 Design-Build Project from qualified and experienced respondents with design and construction experience of highway facilities. The project includes five intersection improvement projects (elements) in Albemarle County, Virginia. These five elements will be included in a single procurement and will be awarded as a single contract. The elements are: (1) Route 20 (Scottsville Road)/Route 53 (Thomas Jefferson Parkway) Roundabout; (2) Route 631 (Rio Road East)/ John Warner Parkway Roundabout; (3) Route 631 (Rio Road East)/Route 1920 (Belvedere Boulevard) Continuous Green-T; (4) Route 631 (5th Street)/ Old Lynchburg Road Roundabout; (5) Route 250 (Ivy Road/Rockfish Gap Turnpike)/Route 240 (Three Notched Road)/Route 680 (Browns Gap Turnpike) Roundabout. The scope includes all work required to support the design and construction including, but not limited to: roadway; survey; environmental; geotechnical; hydraulics and stormwater management; floodplain studies; traffic control devices; signal coordination; transportation management plan; right-of-way; utilities; public involvement/relations; quality assurance and quality control; box culvert; railroad coordination; construction engineering and inspection; and overall Project management.
Questions/clarifications regarding the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) should be submitted to Md Atiquzzaman (md.atiquzzaman@vdot.virginia. gov).
Copies of the RFQ and additional submittal requirements can be found at http://www.virginiadot.org/business/request-for-qualifications.asp The Department assures compliance with Title VI requirements of nondiscrimination in all activities pursuant to this advertisement.
Ma$e, Faith Evans, The LOX, 112, and the Estate of the Notorious B.I.G. are among those who have already inked deals to reclaim their rights, as per Billboard.
