Inside
Powhatan, Virginia
A6 Powhatan Anti-Racism Coalition holds virtual Unity Walk B1 Powhatan youth basketball camp makes return
Vol. XXXIV No. o. 52
June 30, 2021
Critical race theory dominates joint meeting By Roslyn Ryan Richmond Suburban News
The Powhatan County Board of Supervisors and School Board addressed the lightning rod topic of Critical Race Theory (CRT) in education during a joint meeting on June 22, offering residents another opportunity to share their views on just what should and shouldn’t be taught in local schools. The subject of CRT has created a firestorm in recent weeks as school boards across the nation wrestle with how to teach topics such as racism and social justice in public schools. The area of
study has proven difficult to define, but is widely accepted as the idea that racism is a social construct with wide-ranging— and often unseen—impacts. Before last week’s meeting, Powhatan leaders had already heard from residents concerned that certain teachers have been bringing CRT into the classroom, despite repeated assurances from school division leaders that CRT is not a part of any curriculum in Powhatan County. At the outset of the meeting, nearly 40 speakers addressed the two boards. The vast majority of them spoke passionately against CRT, lambasting board members
for what many of them described as both boards’ negligence in letting liberalminded educational theories infiltrate local classrooms. They called CRT divisive and discriminatory, were insistent it is already in Powhatan schools, and also raised concerns about the school division’s efforts in the areas of social emotional learning. While few speakers appeared in favor of CRT, several teachers told those in attendance that it is not in their classrooms, and a few other citizens spoke about the need to support inclusivity and make sure people have all the facts so they can then make an informed decision.
After more than two hours of public comments, the two boards decided unanimously to focus their time together solely on the CRT issue and move their other agenda items — including discussions on the American Rescue Plan, salary and insurance issues, and the joint transportation facility— to another joint meeting that will be added in the coming weeks. District 3 supervisor Mike Byerly, who during a budget meeting last month had spoken at length about his concerns about CRT, likened the discipline to “a cancer” and called for school board members to follow Chesterfield Counsee CRT, pg. 6
Batteau festival draws crowds to James River By Laura McFarland Editor
PHOTOS BY LAURA McFARLAND
Crew members bring the Morning Dew through Goosby’s Falls during the James River Batteau Festival.
POWHATAN – The James River Batteau Festival was back in the public eye for its 36th year as hundreds of people participated in the eight-day event as participants or spectators. After having a smaller, mostly unadvertised event in 2020, the festival welcomed the public back in 2021 at its many stops between the kick off on Saturday, June 19 in Lynchburg and the finish on Saturday, June 26 in Powhatan. With hundreds of people showsee BATTEAU, pg. 3
Food and fun abound at annual Steer Roast PHOTOS BY ANJIE KAY
Prsrt. Standard U.S. POSTAGE PAID Powhatan, VA Permit No.19
Food, drinks, music and camaraderie were enjoyed by many at the Powhatan Rescue Squad Grounds, where the Powhatan Lions Club held its 45th annual Steer Roast. See more photos inside on page 8A.
First Juneteenth Powhatan event illuminates past, present and future Special to the Powhatan Today
Contributed Report
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Grace Hawkins, left, oversees a booth sharing the history of the Pocahontas School in Powhatan during Juneteenth Powhatan.
By Susan Winiecki
Caitlin Coakley running for House of Delegates seat Chesterfield activist Caitlin Coakley has launched a campaign to unseat 23year incumbent Lee Ware, running for the House of Delegates in Virginia’s 65th district. Coakley, a former newspaper reporter turned political advocate, is running on a platform that includes support for working families, environmental justice, support for small businesses, and government accountability and transparency. “Virginia is at a crossroads right now. This past year has tested our resolve, our unity, and our resilience in a way that disproportionately affected working-class families and local businesses,” Coakley said. “Now, as we come out of this crisis, we must decide the direction that our recovery will take, and who we will prioritize. I want to make sure that this recovery is directed at the people who have struggled the most.” Coakley started her career in 2009 as a reporter for a local newspaper, covering state and local government as they grappled with the fallout from the 2008 financial crisis. She became a staple of committee hearings, floor sessions, commission meetings, and all the other places where changes are made. The experience taught her firsthand what good governance looks like, as well as how political mudslinging - or worse, complacency - could derail it. “There’s a lot of rhetoric in politics rhetoric like ‘job creation’ as code for tax giveaways and incentives for corporations that are already thriving,” she said. “Too often, those incentives come at the
PHOTO BY SUSAN WINIECKI
COAKLEY expense of our communities. My priority is to ensure that working families and vulnerable communities are at the forefront of every decision made at the General Assembly.” Coakley’s policy proposals include expansion of Medicare to offer coverage to small businesses and entrepreneurs, broadband access to all families across the Commonwealth, criminal justice reform, tuition-free preschool and community college, and environmental protections. More about her background and policy ideas can be found at her website, www.coakleyfordelegate.com. “It’s time for the voters in this district to have an elected representative who works as hard as they do every day,” Coakley said. “We have better ideas, we have more at stake, and there’s more of us than the old guard.”
Michele Bolling and Claudia Farr both ventured to Juneteenth Powhatan to get books signed by Sandra Rose Morris Kemp, author of “The Journey for Justice” and to continue their own journey on filling in their history gaps. Powhatan native Diane Evans attended because it was new. “It was the first Juneteenth celebration that we’ve had and I wanted to participate.” Cumberland resident Mary Irving came to honor her Powhatan family members, including William Sturdivant, who was a trades teacher at the former St. Emma’s, founded by Col. Edward and Louise Drexel Morrell. Louise was the sister of Mother Katharine Drexel, who founded St. Francis de Sales in the 1890s. “I’m here because it’s our American history, it’s our story, and it’s finally being told in a way that’s meaningful,” Irving said. Powhatan High School student Sydney Gaskin, 15, manned the welcome booth with her grandmother, Geneva Coleman, both in new Juneteenth Tshirts designed by Coleman’s niece. “I came because I wanted to know more about the history of Juneteenth,” she said. Juneteenth — the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States — became a federal holiday this month. Juneteenth Powhatan, hosted by Habitat for Humanity-Powhatan on Saturday, June 19 on the lawn next to its ReStore, gave visitors the opportunity to learn about the Black hamlet of Mohemenco, off Bell Road, north of Powhatan Lakes Road, and to meet county historians and alumni such as Grace Hawkins, who had attended the former Pocahontas School, as well alumni from St. Francis de Sales and St. Emma’s schools on the former Belmead plantation. Guests heard about plans for the new Drexel-Morrell Center at Rosemont and had the opportunity to meet artisans and business owners from throughout the see JUNETEENTH, pg. 5