Richmond Free Press March 28-30, 2024 edition

Baltimore bridge collapse and port closure send companies scrambling to reroute cargo

The stunning collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge is diverting shipping and trucking around one of the busiest ports on America’s East Coast, creating delays and raising costs in the latest disruption to global supply chains.

After the container ship Dali hit the bridge and brought it down early Tuesday, ship traffic entering and leaving the Port of

Baltimore was suspended indefinitely. That will require rerouting vessels or their cargo to other ports, potentially causing congestion and delays for importers, said Judah Levine, head of research for the global freight booking platform Freightos.

the bridge, are missing and presumed dead.

Investigation: The cargo ship, called Dali, lost power and issued a mayday call shortly before it rammed the bridge. The U.S. Coast Guard boarded the vessel Wednesday to collect evidence about the exact circumstances of the crash.

Impact: The collapse is diverting shipping and trucking around one of the busiest ports on America’s East Coast, creating delays and raising costs in the latest disruption to global supply chains. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says it’s too soon to say how long it will take to reopen the port or replace the bridge. The Associated Press

“People right now are figuring out where are they going and what are their options,’’ Ami Daniel, CEO of the maritime intelligence company Windward in Tel Aviv, Israel, said.

‘We are stronger than we’ve ever been’

In delivering his 2025 City of Richmond Budget speech yesterday, Mayor Levar M. Stoney praised his budget team for “working tirelessly year-round to ensure our financial house is in order.”

The mayor then laid out his $2.9 billion spending plan, with $1 billion of it in the general fund.

“That means our overall general fund revenues have grown by almost 40% since fiscal year 2017,” he said. “We certainly do not have every dollar we need to fix all of our problems. But there is no doubt we have grown as a city, we have persevered through crises, and we are stronger than we have ever been.” Reiterating many of the accomplishments cited in his Jan. 30 State of the City address, Mayor Stoney noted the city’s 22% reduction in poverty, 22% reduction in violent crime, nearly 50% increase in funding for

“Now,

The Dali was the only container vessel in the port at the time of the collision, but seven others had been scheduled to arrive in Baltimore through Saturday, Ms. Levine said. Six people, part of a crew that had been filling potholes on the bridge, were missing after the span came down, and their company said they were presumed dead.

“Aside from the obvious tragedy, this

The palms and remembrance

Palm Sunday, the first day of the Holy Week and the Sunday before Easter, commemorates the Christian belief in the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, when he was greeted by cheering crowds waving palm branches that they set on the ground along his path, according to the Bible. With Dr. Alonza L. Lawrence presiding over Holy Communion on Sunday, March 24, members of Moore Street Missionary Baptist Church in Richmond’s Carver community recognized the sacred occasion.

Youngkin acts on gun bills, vetoing dozens as expected

The Associated Press

Gov. Youngkin announced Tuesday, March 26, that he had vetoed 30 pieces of gun-related legislation, including measures that would

event in Alexandria on Dec. 13, 2023.

By Sarah Rankin The

Associated Press

Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Tuesday he had vetoed 30 pieces of gun-related legislation, including measures that would have halted the sale of certain semiautomatic firearms.

Gov. Youngkin’s vetoes, which drew criticism from Democrats, were not surprising. But the governor had been vague enough on the issue that he had left even gun rights groups with a degree of uncertainty about how he would act on the dozens of bills the Democratic-controlled General Assembly sent him during this year’s session.

Gov. Youngkin also announced Tuesday he was proposing amendments to six gun bills and signing two pairs of identical bills that passed with broad bipartisan support. One of those pairs would ban auto sears, which convert semi-automatic handguns into automatic weapons, and the other is intended to help keep guns out of the hands of juveniles who pose a risk to others.

In a news release and statement, Gov. Youngkin said the bills

Richmonders tend to procrastinate when filing taxes, study shows

By George Copeland Jr.

With Tax Day less than a month away, Richmonders are likely to be among residents in more than 100 cities throughout the country who wait until the last minute to file their taxes.

A recent study by ChamberofCommerce.org, based on sources that include the U.S. Census Bureau, the Internal Revenue Service and the Pew Research Center, found that Richmond residents are among the highest number of procrastinators when it comes to tax filing.

Their ranking? Tenth in the country. Among the 170 cities with a population of 150,000 or more that were researched for the study, Richmond had 2,790 online searches related to filing taxes late per 100,000 residents.

Ms. Bryan Mr. Harvey

For professionals who assist clients and prepare taxes, the study’s findings weren’t too surprising.

“Yes, this has some truth,” said Michael L. Harvey, founder and CEO of MLH Assets Management, when asked for his thoughts on the study. “I have several clients who are procrastinators when it comes to filing their income taxes.”

Mr. Harvey noted that about 50 to 75 of clients he works with each year file their taxes late. However, he said this propensity has not negatively affected his firm’s work flow.

Photos by Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

U.S. House Office of Diversity and Inclusion dissolved

Free Press staff report

Nearly two years ago, Sesha Joi Moon, a Richmond native and co-founder of a Richmond-based nonprofit, was named the U.S. House of Representatives director of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

Dr. Moon

But CNN and other news organizations last week announced that, as part of the government spending bill passed last Friday, her department will be dissolved.

Dr. Moon, a native of Richmond, said in a statement to CNN that her department will be replaced by the Office of Talent Management under the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer.

The Office of Diversity and Inclusion will close effective Monday, Dr. Moon said. The change comes as DEI programs and initiatives across the country are facing increasing attacks from critics and Republican lawmakers.

“On behalf of ODI, it has been an honor to help ensure that the United States Congress embodied a qualified and representative workforce that reflected the country’s vast tapestry,” Dr. Moon said. “We would like to thank the Office of the Speaker of the House, Office of the House Democratic Leader, and Committee on House Administration, as well as the entire House community for their support throughout the 116th, 117th, and 118th Congresses.”

Creighton Court groundbreaking announced

Richmonders are invited to celebrate the start of new construction in one of its oldest public housing communities 10 a.m. Thursday, April 4.

City and housing officials will help break ground for the development of new housing units in Creighton Court, according to the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority. The housing complex is located at 2120 Creighton Road.

The event will celebrate completion of the first phase of vertical construction for the new units in December last year, with 68 units set to be constructed as part of the first wave. Those interested in attending should RSVP at www.rrha.com/events/ creighton-court-groundbreaking-celebration.

Gov. Youngkin is VCU commencement speaker

Free Press staff report

Gov. Glenn Youngkin will be Virginia Commonwealth University’s spring commencement speaker on May 11.

“VCU welcomes the 74th governor of Virginia, Glenn Youngkin, to VCU to speak to our Class of 2024 graduates, who are the next generation of workers, creators and innovators,” said VCU President Dr. Michael Rao. “We appreciate Gov. Youngkin’s commitment to growing Virginia’s workforce and its connection with higher education. As the state’s university in our capital city, VCU is a vital part of Richmond and of Virginia, and we’re proud of our strong connection with the commonwealth, the support we receive from the commonwealth and its leadership.”

Before his inauguration as governor in January 2022, Gov. Youngkin served as co-CEO at The Carlyle Group for 25 years. He is the latest sitting governor to address VCU graduates at commencement. Past gubernatorial speakers include Terence R. McAuliffe in 2015, Timothy M. Kaine in 2008 and Mark R. Warner in 2004.

VCU’s universitywide commencement will be 10 a.m. Saturday, May 11, at the Greater Richmond Convention Center, 403 N. Third St. The event will be livestreamed at www.vcu.edu.

For more information, including department ceremonies and an RSVP link for new graduates, visit commencement.vcu.edu.

Regina H.

The first day of spring drew Margie and Raymond Robinson to Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden to enjoy a stroll amid an explosion of Cherry Blossoms on Wednesday, March 20. The couple said being retired allows them to enjoy their membership at Lewis Ginter, which they regularly frequent at its 1800 Lakeside Ave. location in Henrico County.

Gov. Youngkin requests to review course syllabi at two Virginia universities

By Andrew Kerley Capital News Service

Gov. Glenn Youngkin recently requested syllabi from two state universities, a move some faculty called “unprecedented” and reflective of a national trend to challenge academic freedom. Some appointed Board of Visitors members also have questioned mandates for students to take general education courses on diversity and racial literacy.

Gov. Youngkin wanted to review syllabi of courses that fulfill George Mason University’s upcoming Just Societies core curriculum requirement and Virginia Commonwealth University’s racial literacy requirement.

Christian Martinez, Gov. Youngkin’s spokesperson, called the curriculum mandates a “thinly veiled attempt to incorporate the progressive left’s groupthink on Virginia’s students,” in a statement released to several news organizations. Mr. Martinez did not respond to phone, email and text message interview requests from Capital News Service.

Just Societies at GMU

Development of the GMU Just Societies requirement began in 2018, was approved by the Faculty Senate and presented to the Board of Visitors in 2022, according to testimony shared during a February Board of Visitors meeting.

GMU students who begin enrollment in fall 2024 will be required to choose two courses from an approved list. The courses teach diversity, equity and inclusionrelated content. Many of the courses are not new, but the learning objectives were updated.

The university created the core requirement to meet accreditation standards, student needs and employer preferences, the senior associate provost for undergraduate education told the Board in February. The Just Societies framework also helps the university better align with its peer institutions, who all offer similar courses, he said.

Approximately 40 people commented on the new requirement during the meeting, both for and against it. Comments ranged from calling the requirement “anything but just” and “anti-intellectual” to saying it was “key” to learning new perspectives, critical thinking and analytical skill sets.

Gov. Youngkin-appointed Board members questioned the requirement’s necessity during the meeting, with one saying he was “at a loss for how this should be mandatory.” They also asked if the requirement could be delayed while it was discussed and reviewed.

Rector Horace Blackman told the Board the requirement had previous approval and did not come out of “thin air.” He said it was important to get it right, and asked the committee to look at it again and have a discussion in May.

The GMU branch of the American Association for University Professors released a petition asking the Board to stop its 11th-hour inquiry, calling it an overreach of governance powers.

GMU did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Racial literacy at VCU

Meanwhile, VCU faculty and students

have fought for multiple years to instate a racial literacy core curriculum requirement.

Youngkin’s secretary of education requested to view syllabi for the courses last month. The provost shared 11 syllabi, for classes that “promote intellectual diversity and foster intellectual inquiry.” VCU spokesperson Michael Porter confirmed the syllabi were sent, and did not provide further comment.

The VCU Board of Visitors asked during a March 22 meeting for a future presentation on the requirement, according to the provost.

Virginia schools are typically given the space to operate quasi-independently, unlike other state-wide systems, according to Bob Spieldenner, spokesperson for the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. Lawmakers can, however, influence

liticizing education,” Ms. Edwards said.

“The truth is that they have politicized it by constantly bringing it up for scrutiny, as if it had not gone through all of the proper channels and procedures that the university has in place.”

Direct student involvement with the curriculum’s creation and development shows students see it as important to their education, according to Ms. Edwards.

The idea has gone through several phases and hit several roadblocks. It first began in 2020 as a student-led effort. VCU administrators delayed the requirement’s implementation weeks before it launched.

The provost cited a lack of courses and sections to seat what would be VCU’s largest class ever. Some students and faculty did not believe the reasoning, according to the university’s student newspaper The Commonwealth Times.

Faculty will continue the process to

decisions through funding and Board appointments. Gov. Youngkin appointees will hold the majority of VCU Board of Visitors seats starting in July.

A sitting governor does not usually review college curriculums, according to VCU assistant professor Kristin Reed. She has taught at VCU since 2009 and is a member of the United Campus Workers of Virginia at VCU. The union called the syllabi request unprecedented and “a form of attack on academic freedom and the First Amendment right to free speech on our college campuses,” in a statement released March 11. The review of college-level curriculum also “coincides with a national strategy to silence the teaching of racial justice and social inequalities,” the union stated.

“We have political officials who are kind of going outside the scope of their work, to launch what is basically a political attack,” Dr. Reed said. “Not conducting business as usual, but working specifically to advance political objectives.”

Ana Edwards is a member of the subcommittee working to develop the required curriculum. She also coordinates CSIJ 200: Introduction to Race and Racism, one of two courses already being taught, but not as a requirement.

“The development of this curriculum, by some folks, has been described as po-

implement the curriculum in the fall, despite the governor’s request for review, Ms. Edwards said.

“Having sort of observed all of the protocols, there isn’t any reason why this should be stopped suddenly, simply because the governor’s office decides to take a look at the courses,” Ms. Edwards said.

Faculty spoke out against the governor’s requests during the March 22 Board meeting. Education professor Gabriel Reich, Ph.D. said academic freedom in Virginia, and around the country, is being threatened.

“Truth does not have a political party, nor should it be subjected to orthodoxy; it emerges from the free exchange between scholars, students and members of the public,” Dr. Reich said.

He hopes Virginia will “steer the wiser course.”

“The public nature of this request, at a time when academic freedom is under attack, was calculated to instill fear, and fear is the enemy of truth,” Dr. Reich said.

Emily Richardson contributed to this article.

Capital News Service is a program of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Robertson School of Media and Culture. Students in the program provide state government coverage for various media outlets in Virginia.

Gov. Youngkin

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Bridge collapse and port closure send companies scrambling

Continued from A1

incident will have significant and long-lasting impacts on the region,” American Trucking Associations spokesperson Jessica Gail said, calling Key Bridge and Baltimore’s port ‘critical components’” of the nation’s infrastructure.

Ms. Gail noted that 1.3 million trucks cross the bridge every year — 3,600 a day. Trucks that carry hazardous materials will now have to make 30 miles of detours around Baltimore because they are prohibited from using the city’s tunnels, she said, adding to delays and increasing fuel costs.

“Timewise, it’s going to hurt us a lot,’’ said Russell Brehm, the terminal manager in Baltimore for Lee Transport, which trucks hazardous materials such as petroleum products and chemicals. The loss of the bridge will double to two hours the time it takes Lee to get loads from its terminal in Baltimore’s Curtis Bay to the BJ’s gasoline station in the waterfront neighborhood of Canton, he estimated.

The accident comes as global shipping has largely adjusted to disruptions from Houthi rebel attacks on vessels in the Red Sea. The attacks, which started amid the Israel-Hamas war, have forced ships to take the longer route around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa and required more ships to sail more often.

The diversions have pushed freight rates from Asia to the U.S. to roughly double what they were before the war, though they prices recently declined some to $5,284 per 40-foot container, Mr. Levine at Freightos said.

Baltimore’s port has become increasingly important to U.S. retailers and manufacturers seeking to diversify their supply networks and bring goods closer to customers, said Jonathan Gold, vice president of supply chain and customs policy at the National Retail Federation.

“Everybody is trying to figure out the impact of the supply chain” from the loss of the bridge, said Mr. Gold who spoke with big and small retailers Tuesday. “What they had going into the port or what is currently at the port destined for somewhere else.”

Mr. Gold added that it’s too early to tell how long shipments might be delayed.

Americans should expect shortages, said Ryan Petersen, CEO of the supply chain management company Flexport. He said the accident would have significant repercussions for ocean container shipping and East Coast trucking logistics.

“It’s not just the port of Baltimore that’s going to be impacted,” he said.

Mr. Petersen was working with his team Tuesday to reroute about 800 shipping containers currently making their way to the Port of Baltimore. Flexport had two containers onboard the Dali; one was filled with a donated playground headed to Zambia.

Mayor’s $2.9B budget

Continued from A1

• Access to affordable housing and support for our unhoused population;

• Investments in our dedicated city employees, including our first responders;

• Maintaining and improving quality streets, facilities, parks, and city services; and,

• Support services and resources for our neighborhoods.

Most of the auto imports to Baltimore come from Germany, Mexico, Japan and the United Kingdom, Miller said. About 20% of U.S. coal exports pass through Baltimore en route to India, the Netherlands, Japan and other countries; that is second only to Norfolk, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Responses

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Wednesday at a White House news briefing that it’s too soon to say if regulations would be waived to rebuild the bridge and reopen the port. But he said President Biden has said the federal government should “tear down any barriers, bureaucratic as well as financial” that could affect the timeline of any rebuild. Secretary Buttigieg also had a message for Republicans in Congress who might oppose having the federal government pay for the effort. Infrastructure should be a bipartisan issue, he said.

“Today this is happening in Baltimore, tomorrow it could be their districts,” he said. “We really need to stand together, red, blue and purple, to get these things done.”

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore

My office is in close communication with U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski, and the Baltimore Fire Department as emergency personnel are on the scene following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

“It’s a scramble because each of those containers has now a new journey to clear customs. You’ve got to get a different truck to pick it up at a different port. It creates a whole lot of downstream work,” he said.

Mr. Petersen said the attacks on cargo ships in the Red Sea already forced traffic away from the Suez Canal and increased congestion in the Panama Canal. With U.S. importers increasingly shifting to West Coast ports that in turn may experience their own backups, “you get this vicious feedback loop,” he said.

The use of trucks as an alternative to shipping goods will also cause traffic backups on U.S. thoroughfares, Mr. Petersen predicted. “The East Coast I-95 corridor is going to be a real disaster,” he said.

Still, Mr. Levine thinks the bridge collapse is unlikely to have a big impact on global trade, certainly nothing like the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. First, Baltimore is not a major port for container vessels. And second, shipping traffic from Asia is in the annual lull following China’s Lunar New Year holiday.

While shipments are pushed forward to get things out ahead of the holiday in early February, the period afterwards “is the slow season for ocean freight,” he said.

The Port of Baltimore is one of the largest vehicle handling ports in the U.S., and a lengthy closure could disrupt the supply of new vehicles. In 2022, Baltimore ranked No. 1 with more than 750,000 vehicles going through the port, 70% of them imports, according to the publication Automotive Logistics.

“I have declared a State of Emergency here in Maryland and we are working with an interagency team to quickly deploy federal resources from the Biden Administration. We are thankful for the brave men and women who are carrying out efforts to rescue those involved and pray for everyone’s safety.

“We will remain in close contact with federal, state, and local entities that are carrying out rescue efforts as we continue to assess and respond to this tragedy.

The Port of Virginia

The Port of Virginia is truly saddened by this morning’s news regarding the collision of the mv. Dali and the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. Our thoughts are with all those families directly impacted by this tragic event. The mv. Dali called at Virginia International Gateway (VIG) terminal and departed March 22 for Baltimore as its next scheduled port of call. The vessel’s call at VIG and its departure from the Norfolk Harbor were without incident.

Our operating team is already working with ocean carriers whose vessels were due to call Baltimore and offering the capability of our port to discharge cargoes as requested. The Port of Virginia has a significant amount of experience in handling surges of import and export cargo and is ready to provide whatever assistance we can to the team at the Port of Baltimore.

Aubrey Layne, chairman of the board at the Port of Virginia, said the port in Hampton Roads would not be directly affected by the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge over the Patapsco River after it was struck by a freight ship early on Tuesday.

Mr. Layne, a former state transportation and finance secretary, said the Virginia port would assist the Port of Baltimore and shipping companies to divert cargo. “The bottom line is we’ll work with them to help them through this,” he said. “We have the capacity.”

However, supply chain experts say the Port of Los Angeles and others may have overtaken it last year based on the value of autos passing through.

And since most vehicles purchased in the U.S. are made in North America and don’t come by sea, experts do not expect big problems. Car dealers currently have sizable inventories, and ships carrying cars also can divert to other ports.

“Depending on the length of the disruption, we could see inventories drawn down,” Jason Miller, interim chair of the supply chain management department at Michigan State University. said. services for our children and families;

Mayor Stoney also detailed his plans to continue strengthening neighborhood and “critical city services.” His budget includes $500,000 to restructure the city’s Human Services Division into a Department of Neighborhood and Community Services. This department will be under the leadership of DCAO Traci DeShazor and emphasize three components, he said. Beginning with:

• Neighborhood Engagement – Focused outreach to neighborhoods and civic associations through newly appointed neighborhood specialists. This division will provide an enhanced link between our community and city services. This will also include a newly appointed Small Business Liaison to ensure smoother navigation of city services for small businesses.

• Neighborhood Services – Stronger alignment and collaboration between existing offices, such as the Office of Children and Families, the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Engagement and the Office of Aging.

• Homeless Services – Dedicating $200,000 to a new Office of Homeless Services with a fully dedicated team to support our unhoused population. Overall, this department creates a more comprehensive and coordinated service delivery model for our community with feedback from our new neighborhood specialists.

Other initiatives include:

• Dedicating $1 million toward modernizing our 311 Call Center.

• Directing $5.6 million in Department of Information and Technology enhancements, which includes RVA Pay.

• Proposing a $15.8 million increase to RPS’operating budget.

• $1.2 million to the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities to continue the activation of Southside, Powhatan, and Randolph community centers — and to support the expansion of their affordable afterschool program to every RPS elementary school.

• $888,000 to maintain and grow afterschool expanded learning programs at every middle school.

• $767,000 for staffing and operation of the new community centers, including Lucks Field, TB Smith and Southside.

• $1 million for our Positive Youth Development Fund to support community-based programs for youth ages 12 to 19.

• And $414,000 to the We Matter RVA youth violence prevention program.

The mayor also said that in working with Thrive Birth to Five, an independent entity designated by the Virginia Department of Education to administer a unified public-private early child care and education system for Richmond, “we are establishing Richmond’s first Child Care and Education Trust Fund, with an initial investment of $1 million from the City. With $500,000 in reallocated American Rescue Plan funds and a recurring investment of $500,000 in the FY25 budget.”

The mayor also is proposing $250,000 for the Pathways Program, $500,000 for the Richmond Resilience Initiative, and $1 million for the Family Crisis Fund in FY25. These investments will not only give hard-working residents room to breathe but also an opportunity to dream again.

“We are also investing another $5 million for the redevelopment of Creighton Court,” he said. “This project is managed by the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority and HUD and will result in a mixed-income, vibrant community of choice for our residents.

“When I ran for mayor, I committed to supporting RRHA with their redevelopment efforts because our residents deserve better housing conditions. Since 2017, we have invested over $25 million into RRHA projects through a combination of local and federal dollars.”

Virginia Department of Transportation

Virginia Secretary of Transportation Shep Miller said the Virginia Department of Transportation is using electronic message boards on the Capital Beltway and other major highways to warn motorists to divert their travel route away from Interstate 695, also known as the Baltimore Beltway, which includes the stricken bridge between Glen Burnie and Dundalk.

“I think Virginia’s whole story is we’re doing everything we can to help our folks and friends in Maryland,” he said.

Richmonders tend to procrastinate when filing taxes

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JB Bryan of the JB Bryan Financial Group, by contrast, hasn’t seen such issues as her firm helps clients prepare for their taxes throughout the year rather than at specific periods or months. She also acknowledged that there are those with more complicated returns that will need more dedicated assistance and preparation with their taxes.

However, Ms. Bryan still stressed the need for the average person to go through the filing process in a timely fashion, warning that failing to do so can incur unnecessary penalties and risk losing potential benefits

from tax returns. “If a person is a procrastinator in their tax preparation or in the presentation of it or the data entry of it or in the filing of it, then it is most likely they have overpaid in their taxes,” Ms. Bryan said. “They made a lot of mistakes and they’ve missed out on a lot of tax filing, tax planning and tax strategy opportunities that are there for them.”

When it came to why Americans procrastinate when it’s time to file taxes, 51% surveyed by ChamberofCommerce.org said it was because they find the process too complicated and stressful. By contrast, 47% cited a natural tendency to procrastinate as the cause, and

42% said the filing process is too timeconsuming, leading them to put it off until the last minute.

However, as Ms. Bryan noted, this fear and hesitation leaves tax filers seeking unneeded, costly tax assistance services, rather than taking advantage of the many free options available to those in need when tax season arrives.

Her best advice to clients and other is to “take your time and do it.”

The Tax Day deadline for submissions is on Monday, April 15. People who require help filing securely and with no additional cost or for other information can find resources at www.irs.gov

Youngkin acts on gun bills, vetoing dozens

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he signed would help protect public safety and the ones he amended have the potential to make it harder for criminals to use guns. The ones he vetoed would trample on citizens’ constitutional rights, he said. “I swore an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States of America and the Constitution of Virginia, and that absolutely includes protecting the right of law-abiding Virginians to keep and bear arms,” Gov. Youngkin said.

Gov. Youngkin generally toed the GOP party line on firearms rhetoric in his 2021 campaign. But he notably did not receive the endorsement of the National Rifle Association.

And he has largely avoided the issue during his first two years in office because divided control of the Legislature during that time meant gun bills died before they could reach his desk.

That changed after the House of Delegates flipped in November’s elections. Democrats back in full control of the statehouse sent him dozens of bills they said would improve public safety by tightening restrictions on firearms.

Among the measures Gov. Youngkin vetoed was a bill sponsored by Sen. Suhas Subramanyam of Loudoun County that would have implemented a five-day waiting period for gun purchases. Virginia currently imposes no such waiting period, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

Another vetoed bill would have prohibited the importation, sale, manufacture, purchase or transfer of an “assault firearm” made on or after July 1 of this year. Possession of such a weapon would be banned for those under 21, and the measure would also prohibit the sale of certain ammunition-feeding devices that can hold over 10 rounds.

Opponents have questioned the constitutionality of the measure, which would have affected the sale of new models of the popular AR-15, while proponents argued it would limit the number of “weapons of war” available for sale in the future, along with high-capacity magazines that have been used in mass shootings.

“Shameful and unthinking action!”

tweeted Sen. Creigh Deeds, a Democrat from Charlottesville, who noted Youngkin also vetoed a bill of his that would restrict guns at institutes of higher education.

Other bills that met Gov. Youngkin’s veto pen include measures that would have prohibited the open carrying of certain semi-automatic rifles and shotguns in certain public areas; established so-called safe storage requirements for guns in homes with minors or people not legally allowed to possess firearms; and created a civil penalty for people who leave a handgun visible in an unattended vehicle.

One of the pieces of legislation Gov. Youngkin signed would allow for parents to be charged with a felony under the state’s child abuse and neglect law if they allow a child to have access to a firearm after

being notified the child poses a threat of violence.

Democratic Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg, who sponsored the Senate version of the bill, has said he worked with the family of Lucia Bremer, a 13-year-old suburban Richmond girl who was shot nine times while she and a friend walked home from school in 2021. The then-14year-old who pleaded guilty last year to first degree murder and other charges in Miss Bremer’s killing had access to his guardian’s firearm even though, according to Sen. VanValkenburg’s office, he had been charged with felonies in the past and been the subject of a school-initiated threat assessment.

Lucia’s parents, Jonathan and Meredith Bremer, said in a statement provided by Sen. VanValkenburg’s office that the legislative change “was necessary and important.”

“We appreciate the wide bipartisan support it received, and we are grateful that the governor chose to sign Lucia’s Law on this, the third anniversary of her murder,” they said.

The law will go into effect July 1 of this year, like most legislation passed this year and approved by Gov. Youngkin.

Lawmakers will meet next in Richmond on April 17 for a one-day session where they will take up Gov. Youngkin’s proposed amendments to legislation and could attempt veto overrides. Democrats alone do not have the votes for an override, which requires a two-thirds vote by both chambers.

The Associated Press

From left, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Bill DelBagno, FBI special agent in charge of the Baltimore field office, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Paul J. Wiedefeld, Maryland’s transportation secretary, hold a news conference near the scene where a container ship collided with a support on the Francis Scott Key Bridge on Tuesday in Baltimore. The major bridge in Baltimore snapped and collapsed after a container ship rammed into it early Tuesday, and several vehicles fell into the river below.

SPCA’s 2024

Rock the Block Party

animal companions,” said Richmond SPCA Chief Executive Officer Tamsen Kingry. “We

on

ers, members of the

of course, their dogs.”

This year’s fundraising goal for the “Dog Jog, 5K and Block Party” was $207,000.

Funds raised will benefit more than 18,000 animals served by the Richmond SPCA this year, including approximately 4,000 homeless dogs and cats that the organization shelters and rehabilitates before adoption. The nonprofit provides lifesaving services for pets and people, including low-cost veterinary care, a free

On

required permits are applied for as required by City and State codes for the Gilpin Early Action Activity project. 2.) PRCF and RRHA will ensure that the project complies with the Historic Preservation mitigation measures. 3.) PRCF and RRHA will ensure that the project complies with the Endangered Species Act mitigation measures.

SIGNIFICANT IMPACT

FINDING OF NO

on the human environment. Therefore, an Environmental Impact Statement under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) is not required. Additional project Housing and Community Development, City of Richmond, 1500 E Main Street, Suite 400, Richmond, Virginia 23219, phone: 804-646-0361, facsimile: 804-646-6793, electronic mail: WILKEN. FERNANDEZ@RVA.GOV. and may be examined or copied weekdays 8:30 A.M to 5:00 P.M.

PUBLIC COMMENTS

Any individual, group, or agency may submit written comments on the ERR to WILKEN FERNANDEZ, Project Development Manager of the Division of Housing and Community Development, City of Richmond, 1500 E Main Street, Suite 400, Richmond, Virginia 23219, phone: 804-646-0361,

“Baby

Photos by Regina H. Boone/Richmond

Easter like Sunday morning

As we approach the second quarter of the year, kudos to those of you who adhered to Jan. 1 vows to lose weight, eat healthier meals and exercise more regularly.

Same goes for some folks who decided to spend less time on social media or watching reality TV in favor of reading books or watching thought-provoking films and documentaries.

If you, perhaps, failed miserably in achieving your New Year’s goals to rekindle your spirituality by attending worship services more often, you’re not alone.

Let’s be real. Many of us have been remiss in attending a house of worship since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. We used a global pandemic as an excuse to no longer attend church and to feel not the least bit guilty.

Not true, you say?

A Pew Research Center survey released a year ago showed that when asked directly whether they now attend religious services more or less often than they did before the pandemic, more Americans said their attendance habits declined.

But it’s a complicated picture, the Pew survey added. “As of November 2022, 20% say they are attending in person less often (while 7% say they are going in person more often). On the other hand, 15% say they are participating in services virtually more often (while 5% say they are watching services online or on TV less often).

Other studies have sown similar results.

Church attendance has declined in most U.S. religious groups, according a 2024 Gallup poll.

Just three in 10 U.S. adults attend religious services regularly, led by Mormons at 67%.

“As Americans observe Ramadan and prepare to celebrate Easter and Passover, the percentage of adults who report regularly attending religious services remains low, the Gallup poll stated. “Three in 10 Americans say they attend religious services every week (21%) or almost every week (9%), while 11% report attending about once a month and 56% seldom (25%) or never (31%) attend.”

Among major U.S. religious groups, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also widely known as the Mormon Church, are the most observant, with two-thirds attending church weekly or nearly weekly. Protestants (including nondenominational Christians) rank second, with 44% attending services regularly, followed by Muslims (38%) and Catholics (33%).

Back to the 2023 Pew report.

“Throughout the pandemic, White evangelical Protestants consistently have been the most likely of the country’s major religious groups to attend services in person. The portion of White evangelicals who report that they physically went to church in the past month has not dropped below 30% at any point since July 2020. In the most recent survey, fully half of White evangelicals (52%) say they attended in person.

“Black Protestants have experienced a substantial bounce in physical attendance, from a low of 14% in July 2020 to 41% in the recent survey. But Black Americans also have suffered a disproportionately high share of COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths relative to White Americans, and Black Protestants remain the U.S. religious group most likely to be viewing services virtually. In the most recent survey, about half of Black Protestants (54%) say they participated in services online or on TV in the last month, compared with 46% of White evangelical Protestants and smaller shares of Catholics (20%), White nonevangelical Protestants (19%) and Jews (16%).

(The report could not analyze the attendance patterns of Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and other smaller non-Christian religious groups due to sample size limitations.)

In terms of party affiliation, Pew reports that Republicans and Republican-leaning independents are more likely than Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents to attend religious services in person – as well as somewhat more likely to participate virtually – throughout the pandemic.

(Ah! That explains Donald Trump’s Bible-selling strategy this week!)

What about younger Americans? Are they more inclined to attend church than older folks?

They are not, according to Pew.

“Older Americans tend to be more religious than young adults, and despite being at greater risk of hospitalization and death from COVID-19, Americans age 65 and older have generally been somewhat more inclined than young adults (ages 18 to 29) to go to religious services in person. Older Americans also report participating in religious services virtually at higher rates than the youngest adults.”

Once upon a time, Easter Sunday was guaranteed to pack a house of worship with faithful members young, old and in between. Also in the house and dressed to the nines would be lost and wayward souls who forsook sleeping late to make it to church on Easter Sunday.

Given the world’s constant hate crimes, religious wars, violence and unending crises, we need those days now more than ever.

Last month, as we commemorated another year of Black history, I found myself reflecting on two prominent themes in the life and legacy of Carter Godwin Woodson, pioneer of Black History Month, who was born in Buckingham County, Va. As a renowned historian and faculty member of two HBCUs, Mr. Woodson ardently supported both the humanities and HBCUs. In fact, the humanities and HBCUs are deeply connected and hold special value in the lives of many of our distinguished Black leaders over the past 150 years.

Tuskegee Normal School for Colored Teachers. As a result, he became a transformational national leader and activist.

The humanities, as defined by the National Humanities Center, help us understand and interpret the human experience, as individuals and societies. Accordingly, the humanities have helped many AfricanAmericans contextualize the oppressive environment they lived in and provided a framework for how to express and revolutionize their condition. For Booker T. Washington, it was the combination of his education at Hampton Institute (now University) and theological training at seminary that equipped him with the tools to become the inaugural principal at the

The ridiculous retiring Republicans The

Republican House Speaker

Mike Johnson needed Democrats to narrowly avert the government shutdown that loomed if Congressional budget legislation was not passed by Saturday, March 23. Many Republicans did not vote for the budget legislation; Democrats saved the day.

HBCUs enabled AfricanAmericans to pursue higher learning and advance their position in a society that otherwise prohibited them. They created places of refuge and sanctuary, where one could learn, think and teach freely. Virginia Union University, the first of six HBCUs

in the Commonwealth, although only five are operational today, was established in 1865 for the expressed purpose of educating newly liberated African-Americans. To date, VUU is widely known for its divinity program, and religious studies, and has many notable alumni, including the first Black governor in Virginia and the United States, L. Douglas Wilder. Although certain progress has been achieved over the past century, many people find themselves in similar predicaments today. That is, seeking outlets and safe spaces to learn their history, express their culture, find their faith, and improve their position in society.

In the fall of 2021, the Hunt Institute released a Federal and State Policy Scan Brief on HBCUs. Its sample concluded some of the principal reasons

bring congressional activities to such a screeching halt, that the body could even pass gas without drama.

for Black students attending HBCUs were to experience less racism and explore their cultural roots. Sadly, racialization in the United States continues to demonstrate that if Black Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) do not protect and preserve their history and culture, it will be altered, if not erased. In the poignant words of Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, “The negro digs up his past.” This persistent threat to Black related studies necessitates a greater responsibility for the BIPOC community to be familiar with our history and stewards of our traditions.

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences recently conducted research on Americans and their engagement with and perception of the humanities, titled “The Survey of the Humanities in American Life.” The study revealed that due to higher rates of religious study, literary and poetry event attendance, and online sharing of humanities content, Black Americans are more engaged with the humanities than the general public. That fervor directly translates to campus life in HBCUs and places a premium on cultural capital. As a result, the humanities and HBCUs maintain a symbiotic relationship whereby a student does not need to be formally in the classroom to be enriched by

the humanities. Notwithstanding, HBCUs mostly maintain a strong Liberal Arts curriculum and have seen significant growth in certain liberal studies and interdisciplinary humanities programming.

Ultimately, HBCUs, despite their underfunding and underappreciation, overperform and continue evolving to better serve their students. As we reflect on the history and contributions of African-descended people throughout the entire year, let us apply Mr. Woodson’s words, “real education means to inspire people to live more abundantly, to learn to begin with life as they find it and make it better.” The intersection of the humanities and HBCUs is a place where that education thrives. The writer is the director of community initiatives and the HBCU Scholars Fellowship at Virginia Humanities.

Some Republicans would rather shut government down, inconveniencing if not disabling millions of people, than to do their job and work with their colleagues across the aisle to pass legislation. What is wrong with these ridiculous Republicans? Why are they so opposed to doing their work?

Republican dysfunction has been a byproduct of the 45th president’s confusion. He still insists that he won the 2020 election, when it is clear that he did not. His intransience led to the violent insurrection of Jan. 6, and has apparently split the Republican Party. Some believe in the Constitution and compromise, and others believe in disruption.

The worse of that pack is Marjorie Taylor Green, the Georgia Republican who seems better suited for a circus than the halls of Congress. She is loud, rude, and out of control. Yet, with the support of a handful of her colleagues, she can

Republican dysfunction has become so challenging that dozens of members say they won’t run for another term. Others are leaving, retiring, in the middle of their term because so little is getting done. While I acknowledge their right to resign whenever they want to, I

Julianne Malveaux

think they are cheating their constituents. They ran for two-year terms. They accepted salaries, staffed offices and met with constituents. Stepping down in the middle of their two-year term is disruptive and costly, and it leaves their constituents without representation.

While the Republican resignations of Kevin McCarty (RCalif.), Bill Johnson (R-Ohio), Ken Buck (R-Col.) and Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) narrow the dominant party’s majority, it is selfish and in bad form because these representatives don’t like the way Congress works anymore and are tired of the far right and their shenanigans.

Why not stay, call it out, and change it? The ridiculous Republicans are more afraid of the former president than they are of their own shadows. Yet if they called him out, perhaps others would notice that the emperor is not wearing clothes, and indeed is naked beneath the cloak that is woven from lies, bombast,

vitriol, and absurdity. Special elections are costly, with some estimates that each one can cost at least $1 million. Other estimates (depending on the congressional district) say the tab can be much more.

If Republican dysfunction were simply a Republican problem, I’d gleefully lick my chops and make fun of them. But this Republican problem is an American problem as evidenced by the number of times we have avoided a government shutdown in the last several months.

House Minority Leader Hakim Jeffries deserves credit for choosing government efficiency over partisan bickering as he led his caucus to vote for the compromise. But Speaker Johnson is skating on thin ice.

With the Republican margin shrinking, we can likely count on several weeks of drama before there is a new speaker. The only thing that might save Republicans is the fact that their dysfunction might become an electoral issue.

In the interest of bipartisanship, let me say that Democrats have their own brand of dysfunction, which manifests in vocal opposition to President Biden over Gaza (although I agree with the Squad, Sen. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and others on this one. Democrats have wings, but we aren’t throwing flames. And the only losers in this Republican farce are the American people.

The writer is an economist and author.

A tone-deaf attack on diversity at a university first built by the enslaved

Posts began popping up in my social media feeds a couple of weeks ago from friends in my demographic: white, male and old enough to know better.

They linked back to stories in the Washington Examiner or the Washington Times about a report by the nonprofit group OpenTheBooks.com, asserting the University of Virginia spends about $20 million a year on diversity, equity and inclusion staff.

If spotlighting non-essential, non-academic spending is the point, compare it to what UVA spends on its big-time sports programs. Data gathered by USA Today show that UVA spent about $150 million on intercollegiate athletics last year. About $46 million of it went to pay coaches and another $22 million went to scholarships for Wahoo student-athletes. That ranks Virginia 17th nationally in athletics spending and 14th in gross revenue among college sports programs.

Also contrast it to the value of the land and centuries-old structures and underlying

infrastructure that are the centerpiece of the campus designed and founded by Virginia’s second governor, the nation’s third president and the author of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson. Good luck finding a definitive dollar-amount valuation for the Lawn, the Rotunda and the Academical Village built from 1819 to 1825, the year the university opened. University spokesman Brian Coy said he had never seen one. Who built much of that priceless repository of history, architecture and higher learning? Enslaved people. Lots of them — including some owned by Mr. Jefferson — doing backbreaking, uncompensated, dawn-to-dusk labor for years on end. There is no mention of the human bondage that was essential to UVA’s origins in the piece done by Open-

TheBooks. It extols Mr. Jefferson and — Jeffersonian principles — without noting that this founding father owned slaves and fathered six children with one of them, Sally Hemings.

Bob Lewis

Here, some personal disclosure is due. My ancestors in the 18th and early 19th centuries also were slaveholders who lived and owned farms over that time in Gloucester, Goochland and Albemarle counties — the latter along the Rivanna River abutting Mr. Jefferson’s estate. The dark and tormented history is detailed in “Jefferson’s Nephews: A Frontier Tragedy” (1976) by Boynton Merrill Jr. The passage of more than 150 years until my birth makes that inescapable fact of my heritage no less shameful to me.

Whether UVA spent $20 million on DEI salaries or just under $6 million, as the university contends, is not something I can independently ascertain. What is clear, as

OpenTheBooks asserts, is that UVA has a robust DEI program.

Mr. Coy said the university’s accounting found that OpenTheBooks had inflated the cost by more than three times its actual amount partly by counting each of the 235 employees it identified as full time DEI staff when, in most cases, it was only a portion of their duties.

For example,Mr. Coy said in an email, Martin Davidson — listed by OpenTheBooks as UVA’s highest-paid DEI official at $587,340 in 2023 — spends most of his time as a tenured full professor in the Darden School of Business and executive director of the Contemplative Sciences Center.

“Dr. Tracy Downs is a board-certified urologist who has a urological surgical practice and teaches in the School of Medicine as well as engaging in community and diversity work for the Health System,” Mr. Coy wrote of another faculty member identified in the report. (Spoiler alert: surgeons make good money.)

Mr. Coy further noted that OpenTheBooks erred by extrapolating the hourly wages paid to part-time employees into full time annual salary estimates significantly greater than their actual pay. Also, he wrote, more than 100 positions identified as faculty are actually student workers, “the majority of whom serve as tutors primarily in K-12 educational settings as part of a broadly available educational opportunity program.”

OpenTheBooks did not seek an explanation of its findings from UVA or offer it a chance for balancing comment before the piece was published, Mr. Coy said. I contacted OpenTheBooks last week offering it a chance to comment for this column but received no reply by week’s end. The D.C. newspapers’ accounts of the study, to their credit, independently sought and included comment from the university. The OpenTheBooks’ piece makes no pretense of balance. Its objective is plain from the start: setting the stage for doing at UVA what Florida and Republican Gov. Ron

DeSantis recently did at the University of Florida, where all its DEI programs were dismantled.

“Reform or abolition [of DEI at UVA] must await this summer’s anticipated changes in the school’s Board of Visitors,” says the fourth paragraph, noting Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s summer appointments to UVA’s governing body, putting a majority of his designees in control. Youngkin’s belief that his boards of visitors appointees have a duty to do his wil l plus his antipathy toward DEI programs — especially the “E”part is well chronicled.

Are there problems, inefficiencies or even abuses with DEI programs? I’ve never seen an initiative administered by the bureaucracies of government and/or academia that didn’t have at least some. Those things are reparable. Ill intent isn’t. Bob Lewis covered Virginia government and politics for 20 years for The Associated Press. He is a columnist for the Virginia Mercury.

Stories by Fred Jeter

Owens left mark on campus and above the rim at H-SC

Former basketball star Ed Owens is now Mayor Owens.

Remembered as one of Hampden-Sydney College’s all-time greats, Owens has served as mayor of South Boston since 2012.

He also is the owner of Ed Owens Insurance Agency in Halifax.

Despite a hectic schedule, the now 66-yearold saved time this past winter to follow his H-SC Tigers’ drive to the NCAA Division III championship game and a 31-3 record.

“I didn’t go to any games, but I kept up with it on the news on the Lynchburg stations – I saw the highlights,” he said.

“There wasn’t much coverage at first … but as the team took off, the coverage took off with it.”

Known for his tremendous leaping, soft touch around the rim and scholarly ways, the 6-foot-6 Owens’ name remains all over the H-SC record book.

The psychology major was a three-time AllODAC (1978-80) performer under Coach Don Thompson, accumulating 1,160 career rebounds — including 464 as a senior. He had an oh-mygosh rebounding average of 15.1 per outing.

Operating mostly in the shadows of the backboard, Owens led Division III in shooting percentage (.729) in 1979. The Tigers were 6538 in his three varsity seasons.

A member of H-SC’s Athletic Hall of Fame, he played on the school’s JV team during the winter semester as a freshman.

Mayor Owens

Owens also left his mark on campus at H-SC, becoming the first president of the campus chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, the oldest collegiate African-American fraternity. So how did a Black kid from Southside Virginia get to almost all-white H-SC in the 1970s? This wasn’t too far removed from Prince Edward County’s disgraceful decision in 1959 to close its schools rather than integrate. That continued until 1964 as white children went to private schools (mostly Prince Edward Academy, now Fuqua), leaving Black students to fend for themselves.

“At the time I don’t think I knew a lot about that,” Owens said. “But there was a funny incident on my first day on campus.

“Two of the white guys on the team were helping me move in … and then my roommate showed up … he asked which one of you (meaning the white players) were his roommate.

“It started off a little awkward – I think I slept with one eye open the first month, but we went on to become very close friends,”

Are we there yet? VCU’s road trips

From Brooklyn to Philadelphia to Tampa to Salt Lake City.

No, this isn’t a connecting flight schedule at Richmond International, it’s Virginia Commonwealth University’s postseason travel itinerary.

And don’t put away the suitcase …. they may not be done.

Coach Ryan Odom’s Rams kept their season kicking March 24 with a 70-65 win at South Florida in Tampa in the NIT second round.

With the tense victory before a full house and national TV audience, VCU advanced to face Utah late Wednesday night in Salt Lake City.

If the Rams are able to defeat Utah, they would fly to Indianapolis for the NIT semifinalsApril 2 at famed Hinkle Fieldhouse (where the final scene of “Hoosiers” was shot).

The NIT championship will be April 4.

The road trip all started at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, where VCU won three games before bowing to Duquesne in the title match.

Silas Barksdale was named Class 5 State Player of Year after leading Woodside High of Newport News to the state title with a 53-33 win over L.C. Bird in the finals.

Barksdale’s star is rising

Some of history’s most prominent big men have made their mark in the Virginia High School League basketball tournament.

While he has a way to go, Silas Barksdale is on a path to join a list featuring Ralph Sampson (Harrisonburg), Moses Malone (Petersburg), Alonzo Mourning (Indian River) and J.R. Reid (Kempsville).

Listed at anywhere from 6-foot-9 to 6-foot-11, Barksdale was named Class 5 State Player of Year after leading Woodside of Newport News to the state title with a 53-33 win over L.C. Bird in the finals.

The junior averaged 19 points and 16 rebounds for the season. That included 17 points and 14 boards in the grand finale against Bird. Woodside finished 27-1.

He is rated a Five-Star prospect (on scale of 1 to 5) by Rivals and a Four-Star prospect by 247Sports. Scholarship offers are coming from all over. That includes Virginia Tech, Old Dominion, Richmond, Hampton and Norfolk State in-state — and Iowa, Maryland, Illinois, Pittsburgh and Mississippi State.

If fans missed seeing him this year, they might have a second chance. Silas & Co. will likely return to the Siegel Center next year for an encore in 2025.

On the girls side, Armstrong junior Cherish Daily was named to the second team of the Class 3 All-State Team. Daily averaged 25.1 points while leading the Wildcats to a 12-10 record and the second round of the region playoffs.

Owens said.

This all happened a bit by chance.

“Coming out of Halifax (High) I didn’t want to play any more basketball … I wanted to become an M.D., a psychiatrist, and went to Old Dominion on an academic scholarship,” he said.

During a holiday trip home, he ran into Coach Thompson, who had been the coach at Halifax before taking the H-SC job.

“If I was interested in playing for HampdenSydney, Coach Thompson asked me to send a letter … I did … he sent a letter straight back,” Owens said.

H-SC plays in Division III, meaning no athletic scholarships, but Owens’ sparkling transcript, and the fact he came from a “challenging background,” as he put it, made it work.

“They found some money,” he said.

Before long, Owens was wearing a Tigers uniform and playing above the rim at cramped Gammon Gym, long-ago replaced by the more spacious Fleet Gym.

Among the tallest men on campus, as well as being much involved academically and with the fraternity, Owens was always an easy man to find at H-SC.

He’s easy to catch up with now, too.

If you’re ever around South Boston, just ask for the mayor.

Panthers prepare for an encore

Virginia Union University’s winding road back to the football playoffs will start with a trip to Frankfort, Ky.

On Aug. 31, Coach Alvin Parker’s 2023 CIAA champions will travel some 515 miles to Kentucky’s capital to face the Kentucky State Thorobreds.

High on momentum, VUU is coming off a 10-2 season in which it won the CIAA title, defeating Fayetteville State, and advanced to the NCAA Division II tournament, losing to Kutztown University, 38-14.

Along the way, the Panthers outscored their opposition, 425166. It was their first CIAA crown since 2001.

VUU features one of the more dynamic players in all of college football in All-American running back Jada Byers. The New Jersey native has 4,016 yards and 47 rushing touchdowns through three seasons, despite missing two games last season with an injury.

“We are excited and eager to start the 2024 season,” Coach Parker said. “Coming off a championship campaign, we definitely have higher expectations.”

That shows in VUU’s official schedule.

Not only are the dates listed for 10 regular season games, but also for the CIAA championship Nov. 16 in Salem, and for a possible five NCAA playoff games. VUU is a likely favorite at Kentucky State, which is coming off a 3-7 season in the Division II SIAC. Following the long bus trip to the Bluegrass State, VUU will stay on the road for games at Hampton on Sept. 7 and Johnson C. Smith on Sept. 21.

Hampton, of the NCAA/FCS Coastal Athletic Association, was 5-6 a year ago.

The home opener at Hovey Field will be Sept. 28 against CIAA rival Shaw at 1 p.m. in the Willard Bailey Classic.

Homecoming will be Nov. 2 against Bluefield State, the last of just four home games.

Pac-12’s final chapter not over yet; conference has 5 teams in women’s Sweet 16

in 2013, said she is not surprised with the showing because everyone in the conference knew what one another was capable of doing.

making the Sweet 16.

The Pac-12 is one of five conferences to have multiple teams get to the regional semifinals. The ACC has three, with the SEC, Big Ten and Big 12 placing two apiece.

The Pac-12 also had five teams get to the second weekend of tournament play in 2017 and 2019.

The conference has had at least one team reach seven of the last 10 women’s Final Fours. That includes an all-Pac-12 final in 2021 when Stanford defeated Arizona.

“Every coach is campaigning that their conference is the best in the country. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard that. Well, I’m going to say it, and I’m going to say our numbers are backing it up,” UCLA Coach Cori Close said after the Bruins defeated Creighton 67-63 on Monday night.

Southern California Coach Lindsay Gottlieb, who led California to the women’s Final Four

“It was such a good league top to bottom. I’ve said the whole time I think even the teams in the middle were better than people realized,” Coach Gottlieb said after USC beat Kansas 73-55 on Monday night to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1994.

als and drew great crowds despite the games going up against each other — UCLA’s game tipped off at 5:30 p.m. PDT while USC began 90 minutes later.

UCLA had 7,839 at Pauley Pavilion while USC drew 8,941 at the Galen Center.

“It’s a Monday night in LA. We have students who probably have homework and school in the morning, so just to know that people really support us throughout their busy schedule,”

Crump impresses in loss to UConn

Miya Crump earned her big March Madness moment even in defeat for Jackson State’s women’s basketball team.

While goaltending is common in men’s hoops, it is very rare on the ladies’ side.

The 6-foot-1 graduate student from Houston had the partisan University of Connecticut crowd in Storrs wiping their eyes in disbelief during the Huskies’ 86-64 win over the Tigers in the NCAA opening round.

“We knew that we were playing Sweet 16, Elite 8, quality games, Final Four-quality games, night in and night out and sometimes three and four times in a row.”

USC, the top seed in the Portland 3 Regional, last made it this far when USC great Cheryl Miller was the coach.

All-American JuJu Watkins, who has the third-most points by a freshman in NCAA history, will lead the Trojans against Baylor on Saturday night.

The Trojans and Bruins both hosted region-

Running down All-American Paige Bueckers from behind, Crump rose to get her hand over the rim and block the layup – resulting in a goaltending call but earning plenty of admiration for her athleticism.

The goaltending rule differs slightly for women.

On the men’s side, any ball touched on its downward trajectory is a violation. For women, the ball must be struck clearly above the rim for the call to be made.

Crump’s rejection, while impressive, resulted in two of Buecker’s 28 points.

SWAC champion Jackson State finished 26-7 and had 21 straight victories before falling to the Huskies.

This marks VCUs second trip to the NIT quarterfinals. In 1988 the Rams defeated Marshall and Southern Mississippi before losing to Connecticut in the quarterfinals.

Photo courtesy VCU

Joe Bamisile unloads a shot in the Rams’

win at South Florida in the NIT second round.

The

Press Iowa guard Caitlin Clark celebrates with teammates Monday after a second-round college basketball game against West Virginia in the NCAA Tournament in Iowa City, Iowa. Iowa won 64-54.

Linwood “Shawn” Nelson, a product of rural Virginia, was no stranger to poverty while growing up. As a youth, he witnessed the hardships of his community, where the basics of life—food, clothing, and health care—were heartbreaking. This firsthand experience of hardship, though not immediately apparent to him, would later shape his mission to bring about health care equity.

Mr. Nelson’s family was steeped in the tradition of tobacco farming and both sets of his grandparents tended the crop. However, his mother, driven by a strong desire to break free from this tradition, steered Mr. Nelson toward a different path. She worked in textile mills, and his father, a truck driver, paved the way for his son to become the first in his family to attend college. He seized this opportunity and graduated from William & Mary with a bachelor’s degree in busines and an MBA.

“My parents decided I’d be the first to go to college,” Mr. Nelson said. “It was never an option not to go to college,”

Thus, it’s no surprise Mr. Nelson is using his experience and education to chip away at the health care inequities he sees in Virginia. He’s working within the health care system to make incremental changes to help those whose health is at risk because they’re either uninsured or underinsured.

Through his work with Rx Partnership, Mr. Nelson is helping the organization increase medication access for the vulnerable in Virginia and strengthen the health safety net. He wants to ensure that assetlimited, income-constrained employed (ALICE) people have access to the medications they need.

“Many people in Virginia can’t afford the medications they need,” Mr. Nelson explains. “It’s that single mother who works two jobs and barely

Personality: Linwood ‘Shawn’ Nelson

Spotlight on board chairman of Rx Partnership

makes ends meet. If she gets a diabetes diagnosis, she’ll have to choose between feeding and clothing her kids and her medication.”

Raising awareness for Rx Partnership is central to helping the people it serves. Mr. Nelson believes the health care system can work for everyone, and he’s committed to changing it by working within it. Understanding that health equity has a socioeconomic component, he believes everyone deserves not to worry about getting the medications they need.

“I jokingly tell my wife that I’ll either change the system or the system will kill me,” he says.

Meet someone who is focused on health care equity and this week’s Personality, Linwood “Shawn” Nelson:

Volunteer position: Board chairman, Rx Partnership.

Occupation: Vice presidentfinance and chief financial officer, Lifelong Health at Riverside Health System.

Date and place of birth: May 7 in South Boston.

Where I live now: Willamsburg.

Education: MBA, College of William & Mary.

Family: Wife, Andrea Nelson, children, Grayson Nelson, 18, and Charlotte Nelson, 11.

RxP is: A critical part of the health care safety net that provides affordable brand and generic medications to lowincome, uninsured Virginians through its statewide network of partner clinics. The organization exists because no matter what a person’s financial situation is, they shouldn’t have to go without the medications they need!

When and why founded: Founded in 2003, Rx Partnership (RxP) was established to coordinate the donation of bulk brand medications from brand pharmaceutical manufacturers to clinics with licensed pharmacies. The organization started providing medication in 2004 and is celebrating its 20th anniversary with numerous events and special activities throughout 2024.

Founders: RxP was founded by a dedicated group of individuals who worked closely with health care foundations, clinics and hospitals. They knew there “had to be a better way” of getting free medication for low-income, uninsured patients in need. At the time (and even today) many individual patient assistance programs from pharmaceutical companies required lengthy applications for each medication and could take many weeks to arrive. Rx Partnership’s founders created a new, innovative

model that was low-cost, efficient and effective in providing medications simply and reliably.

Location: While RxP is headquartered in Richmond, its operations span the entire state of Virginia. To accomplish this, RxP works through a network of 30 clinic partners, with and without pharmacies, across 86 Virginia localities, to supply brand and generic medications to low-income, uninsured Virginians.

How RxP works in a nutshell: RxP secures both donated medications and leverages purchasing power to buy critically needed medications for clinic partners across the state. These programs are designed to ensure vulnerable Virginians have access to the medications they need to manage their chronic conditions, continue working and live healthy and productive lives.

I initially got involved with

RxP: Several years ago, a former boss was rotating off the board and reached out to me to ask if I would be interested in replacing her on the board. After researching the organization, learning about

the mission, and seeing what all RxP had accomplished, it was a no-brainer for me.

When elected board president: 2023.

No. 1 goal and strategy as board chairman: RxP has served the uninsured for 20 years, and I am working to help expand that mission both geographically to portions of the state that we do not serve and socioeconomically to the underinsured as well.

Biggest challenge: Our biggest challenge is the reduction in free medications that the big pharmaceutical companies are willing to distribute. A growing number of medications we distribute are now generics, which we have to pay for, due to patents ending and an overall reduction in the number of drugs pharmaceutical companies are willing to distribute free of charge.

No. 1 joy I have witnessed through working with RxP: Watching the team come together to resolve very complex issues, very quickly in order to make sure patients have the medications they need. The best example involves our team developing and implementing

mail order pharmacy in a matter of days instead of months at the beginning of the pandemic. This ensured that even though our patients may not be able to make it to the clinics to receive their medications, they still had them in hand when they needed them.

The three words that best describe me: Honest, perseverant, dedicated.

Best late-night snack: Pizza.

My music playlist: My first cassette I ever owned was Michael Jackson’s Thriller, and I would say my playlist begins there also. From there, it is quite varied and includes hard rock, country, classic rock, hip hop, and lots of blues. My latest addition to my playlist is Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, he is amazing!

I love to: Hike, backpack, camp and travel in general.

A quote that inspires me: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.”

The best thing my parents ever taught me: My mother constantly reminded me growing up that there was no one in the world that was better than me and I was not better than anyone else in the world, so never be intimidated by anyone and always treat others as equals.

The person who influenced me the most: My father was always steadfast, in control of his emotions, and extremely thoughtful. I strive to live up to the example he set but have a bit of my mother’s temper.

Book that influenced me the most: “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership” by John C. Maxwell

Next goal: RxP is wrapping up the development of our next three-year Strategic Plan. Our next goal will be implementation!

Black stereotypes in ceramic art at BHMCC

By Jennifer Robinson

Exploring Black stereotypes in ceramic works may seem like a new trend but it’s not.

With two exhibits in Richmond this spring, ceramic art lovers can explore what’s left behind when physical structures are left behind in “Like the Dust Settles, So Does The Story,” which runs through Aug. 17 at the Black History Museum & Cultural Center of Virginia. Patrice Renee Washington’s solo exhibit “Tendril,” which investigates structures of race, class, and gender, will run through June 9 at ICA at VCU.

Both exhibits offer a thought-provoking and captivating exploration of the African-American experience through the permanence of clay.

Lydia C. Thompson organized “Like the Dust Settles,” which was curated to complement the Multicultural Fellowship Exhibition at the 58th National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) convention last week at the Richmond Convention Center. The exhibit invites viewers to challenge stereotypes related to communities, environments, race, economics, and societal roles, focusing on self-reflection, strength, and the beauty of resilience during challenging times.

Ms. Thompson, a professor of art and former department chair at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, received a 2024 NCECA Honorary Member Award at the convention.

She also has held positions as the Director of the School of Art at Texas Tech University, Department Head at Mississippi State University, and Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University

Her work has been included in galleries, art centers, and museums such as the Society for Contemporary Crafts in Pennsylvania; Baltimore Clayworks; the Ohr O’Keefe Museum in Biloxi, Miss.; the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft; The Temauta Gallery in New Zealand; and Guldegaard in Denmark.

Ms. Thompson’s art explores what’s left behind in dwellings when people move on. She focuses on forced displacement, whether it’s migration or gentrification.

“Like the Dust Settles” is a group exhibit featuring artists who share a common language of manipulating clay to illustrate the changing conditions of moments passing through time. It captures moments of intentional and unintentional inflictions within communities.

I spoke with her about the group exhibit and her work to un-

“Like the Dust Settles in Layers, So Does the Story” is a ceramics exhibition organized and curated by University of North Carolina Charlotte professor and renowned ceramics artist Lydia C. Thompson. At left is Ms. Thompson’s work, “Daydreams: Releasing the Shackles.” Adero Willard’s “Umbraphage” is right, and the wall piece (rear) is “Wild Notions” by lo Palmer. The exhibit at the Black History Museum & Cultural Center of Virginia ends Aug. 17.

derstand what’s left behind when people leave structures like their homes. Ms. Thompson describes it as the physical ruins, accumulation of personal belongings, and remaining structures that become the histories of people and their physical environment.

Free Press: Why do you refer to the necessity for ruins to describe the theme of this exhibit?

Ms. Thompson: I don’t see ruins. I wonder about the stories behind abandoned buildings. In his book, “The Necessity for Ruins and Other Topics,” J.B. Jackson discusses the interval of neglect and the need for discontinuity as religiously and artistically essential.

Ruins provide the incentive for restoration and a return to origins. However, the works by the artists in “Like the Dust Settles” invite audiences to reconsider stereotypes, whether they are physical objects or a mental state — race and racial identities, economics, and one’s place in society.

Free Press: What provokes your curiosity about what’s left behind?

Ms. Thompson: I felt the swell with ceramics years ago. It’s such a friendly form, but all art forms make spiritual connections

Authorities search Diddy’s properties as part of a sex trafficking probe

The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES

In the first nine months of 2023, Sean “Diddy” Combs triumphantly performed at the MTV VMAs, released an R&B album that garnered a Grammy nomination and was a suitor to buy the BET network.

But several lawsuits filed late last year raised allegations of sexual assault and rape against Mr. Combs — one of hip-hop’s most recognizable names as a performer and producer.

The music mogul’s homes in Los Angeles and Miami were searched Monday by federal agents with Homeland Security Investigators and other law enforcement. Officials said the searches were connected to an investigation by federal authorities in New York.

The officials spoke to The Associated Press on conditions of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss details of the investigation. Mr. Combs’ attorney and other representatives didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, and his whereabouts are unknown.

Although Mr. Combs was embroiled in a high-profile business dispute for part of 2023, it was a case filed by his former girlfriend and R&B singer Cassie that opened the door to other claims of sexual violence. Mr. Combs has vehemently denied the allegations.

It is not clear whether the search is related to any of the allegations raised in the lawsuits, which include one from a woman who claims Mr. Combs raped her when she was 17.

Here are some things to know about Mr. Combs and the investigation.

Mr. Combs is among the most influential hip-hop producers and executives of the past three decades. He built one

EXHIBITION- RELATED talk

The Associated Press

Law enforcement agents ride a vehicle Monday near a property belonging to Sean “Diddy” Combs on Star Island in Miami Beach, Fla. Two properties belonging to Mr. Combs in Los Angeles and Miami were searched Monday by federal Homeland Security Investigations agents and other law enforcement as part of an ongoing sex trafficking investigation by federal authorities in New York, two law enforcement officials told The Associated Press.

of music’s biggest empires, blazing a trail with several entities attached to his famous name. He is the founder of Bad Boy Records and a three-time Grammy winner who has worked with a slew of top-tier artists including Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, Usher, Lil Kim, Faith Evans and 112.

The music mogul created the fashion clothing line called Sean John, was associated with a well-known vodka brand and launched Revolt TV network, which focuses on music and social justice issues targeting African-Americans. He also produced the reality show “Making the Band” for MTV.

In 2022, BET honored Mr. Combs with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his ability to shape culture through

Pamunkey Indians and

Join us for a talk from anthropologist Ashley Spivey, a citizen of the Pamunkey Indian Tribe, about how the Pamunkey engaged in the Civil War as Union veterans and supporters. This event complements the Library of Virginia’s current exhibition, Indigenous Perspectives

his career.

Mr. Combs won Grammys for his platinum-selling 1997 album “No Way Out” and the single “I’ll Be Missing You,” a song dedicated to the late Notorious B.I.G. who was killed earlier that year. He won another Grammy for “Shake Ya Tailfeather” with Nelly and Murphy Lee. Last year, Mr. Combs released his fifth studio album “The Love Album: Off the Grid,” which was nominated for best progressive R&B album at February’s Grammy Awards, which he did not attend. The album was his first solo project since his 2006 chart-topping “Press Play,” which had two top 10 hit singles: “Last Night” with Keyshia Cole and “Come to Me” featuring Nicole Scherzinger.

Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

based on the experience of what I may be reading and learning.

I’m inspired by writers such as Isabel Wilkerson, the best-selling Pulitzer Prize-winning author, who wrote about Black migration in the “Warmth of Other Suns.” Octavia Butler, Zora Neale Hurston, and Toni Morrison also have inspired me with their stories of the African-American experience.

Free Press: Why this exhibit, and why now?

Ms. Thompson: I had an inspiring conversation with Jstn Clmn, one of the artists in the exhibit. He works with handmade ceramics and found object ceramic materials—plates and bowls, infusing shards. We began creating a list of artists with similar ceramic works. The objects, containers, and structures produced by the artist in the exhibit resonate and capture the physical presence left behind by communities in cycles of urbanization and gentrification. The work references personal or shared histories, daily rituals, and practices of a culture.

Free Press: What can we expect from “Like the Dust Settles?”

Ms. Thompson: It’s a combination of very diverse, colorful, muted, monotone, linear and mixed media. Each artist has different interpretations of ruins and approaches to how they see the structures. There’s some interesting work about urban decay. In it, there’s something beautiful about holding on to what’s left behind. It’s about wondering what the furniture and walls would say if they could talk.

The art in the exhibit infuses and merges ideas of suppression, composition, possession, and rebirth through the physical act of working with clay. It also depicts clay’s properties of fragility, hardness, and strength, permanency, and demonstrates the cycles of life.

Free Press: What’s next for you?

Ms. Thompson: I would love to travel the exhibit, but it will most likely end in August. I’m currently prepping for another exhibit in Portchester, N.Y., and I’m very excited about showing my work there.

Black History Museum receives $300,000 grant

Free Press staff report

The Black History Museum & Cultural Center of Virginia has received a two-year, $300,000 grant from The Anne Mullen Orrell Charitable Trust, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee. The award is to support the BHMCC’s general operating expenses, enabling the museum to continue its mission to preserve and promote the rich history and cultural heritage of African-Americans in Virginia, according to a museum news release.

“We are deeply honored to receive this prestigious grant from the Anne Mullen Orrell Charitable Trust, facilitated by Bank of America. This grant underscores the importance of the museum’s mission to collect, interpret, and celebrate the inspirational stories of Virginia’s Black history & culture,” said Shakia Gullette Warren, BHMCC executive director.

“Through education and storytelling, we demonstrate that Black history is part of our collective American story,” she added. “By providing support for the museum’s overall operations, the Trust allows us to continue our work through our exhibitions, educational and community programs, events, and other initiatives.”

To learn more about the BHMCC, please visit https://blackhistorymuseum.org/.

Branch Museum to host free open house

Free Press staff report

The Branch Museum will host a free open house Easter Sunday, March 31, from noon to 5 p.m. for the Monument Avenue Easter on Parade. The parade starts at 1 p.m. in front of the museum, 2501 Monument Ave. No tickets or reservations are required.

There will be an egg hunt for kids and My Alternative Hats will have a booth with hats for sale. There also will be hourly tours of the museum.

Enjoy music from Rhythm of Love from 1 to 2:30 p.m. and JTucker & The Krewe from 3 to 5 p.m. There also will be an Easter Bonnet Contest where the most creative designs can win prizes.

The Monument Avenue Easter on Parade is a pet-friendly event for the whole family. The event is rain or shine and guests are encouraged to wear Easter attire.

Ms. Warren

Religious affairs expert Thomas Bowen moves from city of Washington to White House

By Adelle M. Banks Religious News Service

WASHINGTON

In the month since moving from Mayor Muriel Bowser’s administration to the White House, the Rev. Thomas L. Bowen keeps encountering familiar faces.

“It’s kind of funny, because there hasn’t been a meeting yet that I have not walked into a room and known somebody from previous interaction, be it through the mayor’s office or years gone by with the Children’s Defense Fund,” said Rev. Bowen, who was recently appointed a senior White House adviser charged with keeping faith leaders informed about national policy.

There’s an old adage that our nation’s capital is a small town, but in Rev. Bowen’s case, the phenomenon may have as much to do with his previous interactions: A graduate of Morehouse College who studied at the University of Chicago Divinity School, the Ohio native worked in religious advocacy alongside now-Sen. Raphael Warnock and Chicago Pastor Otis Moss III before moving to the Children’s Defense Fund, a nonprofit championed by First Lady Hillary Clinton and founded by Marian Wright Edelman.

In 2002, he joined the staff at Shiloh Baptist Church, a historic Black congregation, where he is minister of social justice. There he became known as a voice for the faith community in the district, and in 2016, Mayor Bowser made it official by naming him director of religious affairs.

At both the local and national level, Rev. Bowen’s portfolio has gone beyond the realm of faith. He also was the director of African American affairs for the District of Columbia and led its Office on Fathers, Men and Boys. At the White House, his responsibilities in the Office of Public Engagement also include outreach to “the diaspora of white,

the White House. ethnic countries in Europe, such as Ireland, Italy, Greece.”

Rev. Bowen already has been in touch with the Rev. Barbara Williams-Skinner, a Washingtonarea faith leader and coordinator of Faiths United to Save Democracy, who describes Rev. Bowen as “the consummate example of faith in action.”

Rev. Williams-Skinner said she hopes one of his primary aims will be to arrange a meeting, something the Black faith community has long sought, between their leaders and President Biden. After years of seeking to advocate with the president about antipoverty legislation and raising the minimum wage, more recently Black church leaders have joined ardent cries for cease-fire in the Hamas-Israel war.

“Black clergy are the most consistent, faithful messengers of hope for vulnerable people, for reluctant voters, particularly younger voters,” said Rev. Williams-Skinner, who also co-chairs the National African American Clergy Network. “And it is a little bit shortsighted not to close the gap in that communication.”

Rev. Bowen is now in the position of mediating with his former colleagues on these issues. “We always try to share with them how we are leading the humanitarian efforts in Gaza,

and how we continue to try to negotiate, broker with both sides,” he said.

While shifting to national domestic and international issues, he will still be acting as a clergyperson in the city that he has long served. “Whenever there is a funeral of an unhoused person, and the pastor is unable to do it, Rev. Bowen is always our go-to person,” said the Rev. George Mensah, executive minister at Shiloh Baptist, in an email to RNS.

Rev. Bowen said he conducted a funeral at Shiloh for “a beloved church member who unfortunately was experiencing homelessness” three weeks after starting his White House job. “One of my commitments in ministry is I believe that everyone deserves a proper homegoing,” said Rev. Bowen, who also leads the church’s 7 a.m. prayer service via conference call on weekdays.

Rev. Bowen also takes part in the celebrations of different religious groups, including iftars, the meals when Muslims break their fasts during Ramadan, and Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights.

“I think that we all can be better if we can learn from our neighbors and co-workers, how they celebrate their faith, and how it informs their life,” said the minister, who is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA and the Progressive National Baptist Convention.

Muslim and Christian clergy spoke of his concern for the safety of their houses of worship amid

threats and violence.

Imam Talib M. Shareef, president of Masjid Muhammad, also known as The Nation’s Mosque, in Washington, described Rev. Bowen as “very responsive” when religious communities had been targeted with hatred.

“Any time an incident has occurred where a faith community was the target of violence, he would always check on us, and most of the time with a physical visit,” the imam said in an email message about Rev. Bowen, who he said has regularly visited the mosque.

The Rev. William H. Lamar IV, pastor of Washington’s Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church and co-chair of the Washington Interfaith Network, also spoke of Rev. Bowen’s “very pastoral presence,’’ recalling how he supported the congregation “when the Proud Boys desecrated our congregation” by tearing down and destroying its Black Lives Matter sign.

Rev. Bowen expects to continue his public engagement work with people of no faith, including “nones,” or those with no particular affiliation, as well as atheists and humanists.

“I know that there are people who have something to offer in this space, who may not be associated with any organized religion,” he said.

Rev. Bowen said he also hopes to continue to address issues of security for houses of worship in his new role that interacts with the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships. He has long collaborated with the Department of Homeland Security office that administers the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, which provides funding to congregations at risk of attack.

“I don’t think that houses of worship can be told too much,” he said about the need for protection and planning to shore up their buildings, “because there are a lot of vulnerable congregations out there.”

Remembering an icon

The esteemed civil rights leader, Dr. Dorothy Irene Height, a native of Richmond, would have celebrated her 112th birthday on Sunday, March 24. Although she died April 20, 2010, at age 98 in Washington, D.C., her legacy remains strong, especially in Richmond’s Blackwell neighborhood where she was born.

The Richmond Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and the National Council of Negro Women, Richmond Section hosted their annual Dorothy I. Height Day on Friday, March 22, at the Richmond Public Library’s Hull Street Branch. In honoring Dr. Height’s birthday, the sorority also recognized the importance of voting.

Both groups have annually gathered at the library since the installation of two markers in 2019 to honor Dr. Height and what she stood for—racial justice and gender equality.

As local and national political campaigns gear up for November’s elections, various speakers, including Tyee Davenport Mallory, National Council of Negro Women, Richmond Section president, and Vanessa Evans, president of the Richmond Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, spoke about Dr. Height’s beliefs and her fight for voting rights, equality and justice.

Dr. Height served as national president for the National Council of Negro Women and was the 10th president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.

Keith Balmer, general registrar for the City of Richmond, explained the significance of this year’s elections, adding “We need help this year ... I need 900 more poll workers.”

He asked the women to help him get ready for the more than 160,000 registered voters in Richmond.

After the program, members of both organizations marched outside with signs encouraging people to vote. The groups also sang a spirited version of Stevie Wonder’s “Happy Birthday” song before taking selfies and moving on to other activities in the name of community and service.

Photo by Adelle M. Banks

The Rev. Thomas L. Bowen stands for a portrait March 15 in front of