Virginia officials defend ‘free and fair’ elections as primary results are certified
Drawing from bowl sets ballot order for 2024 general elections
By Graham Moomaw
Virginia officials on Tues-
day certified the results of last month’s congressional primaries and defended the integrity of the state’s voting systems after a contentious election season.
“I think we can comfortably say we’ve had free and fair elections in this primary,” said former Republican Del. John O’Bannon, who now chairs the Virginia State Board of Elections.
The 5th District GOP primary fight between incumbent U.S. Rep Bob Good, R-Campbell, and state Sen. John McGuire, R-Goochland, led to intense scrutiny of Virginia’s election system due to a close finish involving the two hard-right
figures. Both McGuire and Good have previously stoked doubts about whether elections can be trusted.
A lawyer for McGuire’s campaign spoke to the elections board Tuesday, saying there were no irregularities in the election that would justify doubting the results or failing to certify McGuire’s apparent victory by a little less than 400 votes.
“We are confident in the integrity of this election and the legitimacy of the result,” said Daniel Bruce, an attorney with the Holtzman Vogel law firm representing McGuire’s campaign.
Good has signaled he’ll seek a recount in the primary he appears to have narrowly lost. No representative spoke
on the congressman’s behalf Tuesday. There was no reason for Good to try to block certification of the primary, because the recount his campaign would have to pay for couldn’t begin until after Tuesday’s vote.
Good, who was attacked by former President Donald Trump after Good endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for president, now has 10 days to officially seek a recount.
Following the June 18 primary, Good pointed to several unusual events to cast doubt on the election’s legitimacy, including several fire alarms going off at polling places and officials in the city of Lynchburg mishandling a small number of ballots by failing to follow procedures for an absentee drop box.
Field of flags
Destinee Decess, 11, of Girl Scout Troop 888 in Midlothian, places one of 12,000 American flags at the Virginia War Memorial on Friday. She was joined by her brother James Walter Decess, 8, of Cub Scout Pack 836 and their mother, Melissa Johnson. The family was among volunteers who helped place the flags in honor of those who died defending our nation. The display will remain until July 12.
New
legislation
brings
aid to family members caring for relatives’ children
By Leah Small
For decades, Virginia has ranked poorly among states for providing financial support for kinship carers — grandparents, aunts, uncles and other family members raising children who are their relatives. And a critical state report found many social services departments in Virginia have failed to provide enough oversight and protection for children in the care of their relatives.
Starting July 1, bipartisan legislation signed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin tackles some of these problems by establishing an aid program and protective guidelines for kinship care families. Under the new initiative, called the Parental Child Safety Placement Program, caseworkers must prioritize placing children with relatives, continue child welfare checks and make appropriate efforts to reunify children with parents when safe.
Lawmakers have budgeted $16 million over two years to
Officials said there were normal explanations for the alarms. The drop box issue only involved seven ballots, according to officials. Elections Commissioner Su-
san Beals, a Republican appointee of Gov. Glenn Youngkin, also gave a speech Tuesday declaring that none of those issues should create doubt about the outcome. Given all the variables involved
in the locally driven process of running an election, she said, minor issues are bound to happen sometimes.
Election to reshape Richmond School Board with
nine seats up for grabs
By George Copeland Jr.
Richmond’s highest education authority is set for a significant political shift with the upcoming general elections for the Richmond School Board in November. Sixteen candidates are seeking the public’s approval for the nine representative district seats of the Richmond Public Schools system, with four candidates running unopposed. The candidates bring a wide array of experiences and perspectives to the table, including educators, parents, business leaders and community activists.
The election comes at a critical time for RPS, as the district faces numerous challenges including the need for full accreditation across all schools, addressing infrastructure concerns and ensuring equitable resources for all students. Here’s a look at the candidates running for each district and the key issues they’re championing in their campaigns.
For the 1st District seat, Matthew Percival is running unopposed to succeed Elizabeth Doerr.
The two previously competed for the seat in 2016.
Percival is an RPS parent and works in IT.
Kathryn Ricard, a former teacher, assistant principal and RPS parent who previously served as president of the William Fox Elementary School PTA, is running to represent the 2nd
District. Open, transparent board communication, safe school environments and multiple avenues for success in education are major issues of her campaign. For more information, go to katie4rva.com.
Competing against Ricard for the position is incumbent Mariah White, formerly the PTA president and mentor for Carver Elementary. Equitable resources for students and staff, reducing overcrowding and better communication for parents, teachers and stakeholders are among the priorities White previously highlighted as part of her bid for office. For more information, visit voteformariah.com
With 3rd District Representative Kenya Gibson seeking a seat on the Richmond City Council, the race for the position is made up entirely of newcomers to the School Board. These include Ali Faruk, an RPS parent, senior policy analyst at the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services and former public policy director at Families Forward Virginia. His platform centers on three key principles: community engagement, transparent governance and accountable leadership. For more information, go to alifarukrva.com
Faruk is competing against Kevin Starlings,
40 Acres and a Lie tells the history of an often-misunderstood government program that gave formerly enslaved people land titles, only to take the land back.
The shocking discovery that suddenly made reparations deeply personal for one woman
File photo by Hadley Chittum/VCIJ
Vicki Lightfoot stands by the front door with Maurice and Marie while waiting for the other grandchildren, Alysha and Corey, to finish getting ready for school.
Graham Moomaw/Virginia Mercury
Virginia State Board of Elections Vice Chair Rosalyn Dance draws a film canister from a crystal bowl to determine ballot order for the 2024 elections.
Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press
July 4 holiday closings
In observance of the Independence Day holiday on Thursday, July 4, please note the following:
Government offices
City of Richmond offices: closed.
Henrico County offices: closed.
Chesterfield County offices: closed.
State offices: closed.
Courts Richmond, Henrico County and Chesterfield County courts: closed.
Public libraries
Richmond Public Library: closed.
Henrico County and Chesterfield Public Library: closed.
Library of Virginia: closed.
Trash pickup and recycling: No pickup Thursday, July 4. Pickups from July 5 to July 9 are delayed by one day.
U.S. Postal Service: No mail delivery.
Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles: Customer service centers are closed.
GRTC: Buses will run on a Sunday schedule with no express service. The administrative office is closed.
ABC stores: All stores will close at 6 p.m.
Free Press offices: Closed Thursday, July 4.
Richmond Redevelopment
and Housing Authority names new chief of staff
Free Press staff report
The Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority (RRHA) named Kim Cole as the new chief of staff last week. Cole has over 20 years of experience as a housing professional, including executive positions at Inlivian and the District of Columbia Housing Authority. She also provided management and program support to several public housing agencies as the managing principal of the LewisCole group LLC. Her last position was chief operating officer at Resource Solutions, a professional resource management consulting company in Washington, D.C.
“We are delighted to welcome Kimberley to the RRHA team,” Steven Nesmith, Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority CEO, said. “She brings a high level of experience in housing industry operations, government, private nonprofit and small business operations.”
Nesmith welcomed Cole to her new position at the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority last Wednesday, June 26. He praised her level of experience as a housing professional, leadership, problem solving and communication in an RRHA press release.
“I am excited to be a part of the RRHA team under CEO Nesmith’s leadership,” Cole said. “I am moved by the level of dedication and commitment that the staff has in serving the residents of RRHA and I look forward to playing a role in positively impacting the lives of RRHA families.”
Cole received her Bachelor of Arts in political science from Hampton University and her Master of Public Management in social policy from the University of Maryland.
Free community testing for COVID-19 continues
For the week ending on Saturday, June 29, confirmed hospital admissions for COVID-19 in Virginia rose 40% from the previous week, though new admissions remained low. No deaths associated with COVID-19 were reported statewide during that time frame. COVID-19 wastewater levels in the Greater Richmond area remain, on average, below detection.
The Richmond and Henrico County health districts are offering testing at the following locations:
• Wednesday, July 10, 8 to 10 a.m. — East Henrico Recreation Center, 1440 N. Laburnum Ave.; 2 to 4:30 p.m. St. Luke’s Apartments, 117 Engleside Drive.
• Thursday, July 11, 1 to 5 p.m. — Henrico Arms Apartments, 1566 Edgelawn Circle.
• Friday, July 12, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. — Southside Plaza WIC, 509 E. Southside Plaza.
RHHD’s Resource Centers are providing free at-home tests for pick-up at select locations:
• Creighton Court at 2150 Creighton Road, call (804) 3710433.
• Fairfield Court at 2311 N. 25th St., call (804) 786-4099.
• Gilpin Court at 436 Calhoun St., call (804) 786-1960 .
• Hillside Court at 1615 Glenfield Ave., call (804) 230-7740.
• Mosby Court at 1536 Coalter St., call (804) 786-0204.
• Southwood Court at 1754 Clarkson Road. Unit #B, call (804) 230-2077.
• Whitcomb Court at 2106 Deforrest St., call (804) 786-0555. Call the Richmond and Henrico Call Center at (804) 2053501 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. For information on testing sites, visit vax.rchd.com.
The Virginia Department of Health also has a list of COVID19 testing locations vdh.virginia.gov. Want a COVID-19 vaccine?
Those interested can schedule an appointment with RHHD by calling (804) 205-3501. Vaccines.gov also lists nearby pharmacies and clinics that offer the COVID-19 vaccine, and those interested can also text their ZIP code to 438829 or call 1-800-232-0233.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently recommends that children between the ages of 6 months and 4 years may need multiple doses of the updated vaccines depending on their COVID-19 vaccine status and whether they had previously received Pfizer and Moderna.
Waiting periods for additional vaccines can range from three to eight weeks or four to eight weeks depending on the vaccine dose previously received.
Children between the ages of 5 and 11 who are unvaccinated or have received a vaccine before Sept. 12, 2023, should get one updated Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.
Those aged 12 years and older who are unvaccinated should get either one updated Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or two doses of the updated Novavax vaccine. People in that age range who received a vaccine before Sept. 12, 2023, should get one updated Pfizer, Moderna or Novavax vaccine. People who are moderately or severely immunocompromised may get additional doses of updated COVID-19 vaccine, and are encouraged to talk with their health care providers about how and when to receive them.
Information compiled by George Copeland Jr.
Cityscape
Slices of life and scenes in Richmond
McClellan proposes bill to standardize time – on the moon
By Sam Brown
Congresswoman Jennifer McClel -
lan introduced a bill last week to create standard time zones for the moon and other celestial bodies. The Celestial Time Standardization Act would direct NASA to submit a report to Congress describing a strategy for a lunar standard time within two years of the bill’s passage.
The idea of an act regarding time zones on the moon may seem far out to some. McClellan, however, believes that space exploration benefits all of humanity.
“There’s a lot of work that we do in space, everything from … real-time pollution forecasts, just like you have real-time weather forecasts,” McClellan said. “Space exploration has — and will continue to — lead to groundbreaking discoveries that benefit people here on Earth.”
McClellan said the act would create more accurate timing for communication with satellites and people stationed in
Historic former hospital site of Community History Fair
Free Press staff report
A part of Richmond’s past returns next weekend as the site of the former Richmond Community Hospital hosts a Community History Fair to commemorate its 90th anniversary. The event, set for Sunday, July 7, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., aims to celebrate the institution’s history and raise awareness about its uncertain future.
Located at 1209 Overbrook Road on the North Side, the historic hospital building opened its doors on July 4, 1934, marking a significant milestone in health care for Richmond’s African American community. The facility represented an expansion from its previous location at 406 E. Baker St.
The concept of a community hospital serving Richmond’s African-American population dates back to 1902, spearheaded by Dr. Sarah Garland Boyd Jones. Through dedicated fundraising efforts, the larger Overbrook Road facility was
space. She also believes that more precise timing could improve safety in emergency situations.
“It will have NASA set up a standard celestial time zone or measure so that as we continue manned spaceflight or space activity, we can have the most precise timing for folks working back on Earth to communicate with people or machines in space,” McClellan said.
The bill comes as the United States has returned its focus to space with plans such as the Artemis Program, a recommitment to manned space travel by the United States in pursuit of new scientific discoveries, established in 2017.
According to McClellan, the need for a celestial time standard will grow as the United States pursues more complex
activities on celestial bodies such as the moon. Time standardization would be necessary for a long-term presence on the moon because the differences in gravitational fields affect how time is observed, according to Jack Singal, an associate professor of physics at the University of Richmond. On the moon, time moves slower by about 58 microseconds per year.
“If there is … a very precise clock on the Earth, an observer on the moon … will perceive more time elapsed between the ticks of that clock than an observer on the earth,” Singal said. “And that’s because the presence of a strong gravitational field affects how observers perceive clocks.” McClellan said she believes the bill is an opportunity for bipartisan support in Congress. According to McClellan’s staff, while no vote has been officially scheduled, the NASA Reauthorization Act on July 10 may provide an opening to consider the legislation.
constructed in 1932, opening to the public two years later.
Despite its historical significance, the building now faces an uncertain future under its current owner, Virginia Union University. The structure was recently included in Preservation Virginia’s 2024 List of Virginia’s Most Endangered Sites. The fair seeks to engage the public about the building’s importance to Richmond’s history and advocate for its rehabilitation and reuse. Visitors can expect a “pop-up” museum exhibit, vintage automobiles, an ice cream vendor and giveaways of toys reminiscent of the 1930s.
This family-friendly event offers a unique opportunity to honor the visionaries who established this historic institution. As the building’s future hangs in the balance, organizers hope the fair will underscore the need to preserve this critical piece of Richmond’s heritage.
Richmond Battlefield Park to shutter Tredegar Station, boost river programs
Free Press staff report
Richmond National Battlefield Park is set to close its visitor contact station at the historic Tredegar Iron Works on July 5. The National Park Service (NPS) has maintained a presence at Tredegar for several years, occupying a small leased space near the entrance to the American Civil War Museum. With the lease expiring this year, park officials are planning to expand their community outreach.
“This shift will provide opportunities
to work more closely with the American Civil War Museum, James River Parks,and other visitor attractions to enhance the visitor experience along the riverfront and throughout park sites,” said Scott Teodorski, superintendent of Richmond National Battlefield Park and the Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site.
Beginning in August, park staff will focus on collaborative programming with partners, including formal programs with the American Civil War Museum and the development of interpretive media for Belle
Isle Prisoner of War Camp in cooperation with James River Parks. The NPS aims to maintain a more visible presence along the riverfront while expanding its involvement in local events and partnerships. Visitor services and programming will continue at various sites throughout Richmond National Battlefield Park. Park officials encourage the public to check the Richmond National Battlefield Park website and Facebook page for updates on programming and operations.
Regina H. Boone/ Richmond Free Press
Veritas, a North Side private school, is in the midst of demolishing the former Richmond Memorial Hospital medical buildings at 1311 Palmyra Ave., on Monday, July 1, 2024. According to the school’s website, the project will make way for more green space on their campus. The former Richmond Memorial Hospital building is now Ginter Place, a condominium community.
Regina H. Boone/ Richmond Free Press
The site of the former Richmond Community Hospital in North Side, where there will be a gathering to commemorate the hospital’s 90th anniversary.
Kim Cole
Rep. McClellan
FANTASIA
Fantasia’s desire to show her fans love and thank them for their constant support has resulted in non-stop touring since the beginning of her career. She broke onto the music scene as the Season Three winner of Fox’s American Idol and has been headlining sell-out tours ever since. Don’t miss your chance to see Fantasia at the 2024 Richmond Jazz and Music Festival!
DAY•GREGORY PORTER•MOONCHILD•NAJEE•LEE RITENOUR•ALEX BUGNON THE LOX•REGINA BELLE•TERISA GRIFFIN• TRAP JAZZ•CHIELI MINUCCI, ELLIOTT YAMIN, •BIG MIKE HART• AND MANY OTHERS!
ST. PAUL & THE BROKEN BONES
WYCLEF
LUDACRIS
MONICA SNARKY PUPPY
ANDRA
Drawing from bowl sets ballot order for 2024 general elections
Continued from A1
“This local responsibility means that there will be occasional issues with administration, as there are 133 individual elections being held,” Beals said, referring to the number of cities and counties in Virginia. “Any time you have a process that is run by humans, issues may occur. But these are not systemic problems that call into question the results of the election.”
In other business Tuesday, the state elections board voted unanimously to begin the process of potentially removing a local Republican election official who was accused of failing to perform her duties and being unable to set her partisanship aside.
The board voted to seek the removal of Maria Anne Kinney,
a GOP member of the Charles City County Electoral Board accused of repeatedly sparring with colleagues in her county and behaving in a manner that made other election officials uncomfortable. Kinney is due in court Wednesday on a misdemeanor assault charge related to a county election employee’s claim Kinney pushed her as election business was being conducted last month. State election officials noted they had not verified the veracity of that accusation.
O’Bannon said the board had heard “sufficient factual information” about Kinney’s case to justify asking a court to make the final decision on whether she should be removed from the local board.
“We’re not adjudicating it,” he said. “That will be the court’s job.”
Looking ahead from the primaries, the state elections board conducted a random drawing Tuesday to determine the order in which political party’s candidates will appear on the ballot for the general election. Prior to the drawing, officials announced that the crystal bowl traditionally used for the process had “shattered” after being dropped.
It was replaced by a new, similar-looking crystal bowl. The bowl was filled with film canisters containing strips of paper with the name of a political party, and board members drew the canisters from the bowl to determine the ballot order.
Democrats got the top slot, followed by Republicans and an assortment of third parties.
This story was originally published at VirginiaMercury.com.
Election to reshape Richmond School Board with nine seats up for grabs
Continued from A1
a business owner, RPS parent and chair of the Richmond School Health Advisory Board who previously ran for the seat in 2017 and lost to Gibson. His platform mentions preparing students for college and work, infrastructure and mental health as some of his priorities. For more information, go to kevinstarlings.com
RPS parent Charlene Riley is also running for the 3rd District seat, with a focus on safety, accountability and transparency as part of her platform. For more information, go to www.instagram. com/charlenerileyforschoolboard
The 4th District seat was also vacated after the previous representative, Jonathan Young, resigned from his post in April following an investigation of inappropriate conduct toward a student. He was cleared of any policy violations.
In Young’s place, CEO of Sawyer HR Consulting Garrett Sawyer was appointed by the School Board to serve on an interim basis, leading him to drop his candidacies for Richmond mayor and City Council. He has made campaign commitments of full accreditation for all schools, resources for teachers, administrators and staff, school infrastructure and enhancing School Board operations. For more information, go to garrettsawyerforrichmond.com.
Henrico County teacher Wesley Hedgepeth is also seeking the 4th District seat, bringing experience inside the classroom and beyond, with roles on the Virginia and National Council for the Social Studies. Among his priorities are school support, inclusivity, fully accredited schools and making RPS more accessible to families. For more information, visit wes4rva.com.
Angela Fontaine is the third candidate for the 4th District, a mother of a student at Patrick Henry School of Science and Arts, coach and consultant. She has made increased school funding, collaboration between parents, students and teachers, teacher support and transparency and accountability pillars of her campaign. For more information, go to fontaine4thefourth.com.
Former School Board Chair and incumbent Stephanie Rizzi will seek to retain her seat in the 5th District. She is leaning on her decades of work and accomplishments in education, including instruction at her alma mater, Virginia Commonwealth University, and her work on the School Board. The latter has been marred by recent criticism of her conduct by other board members, leading to her resignation from the chair position. For more information, visit facebook.com/StephanieRizzi5thDistrict Challenging Rizzi for the seat is former School Board member and teacher Mamie Taylor, who helped develop policies for teacher salary, school equity and tests for kindergarten entry during her previous tenure from 2013 to 2016. For more information, go to twitter.com/mamietforthe5th
Shonda Harris-Muhammed will run unopposed as the incumbent representative for the 6th District. She has previously served as board chair, and put her support behind educational equity,
school rezoning and improving early childhood education. For more information, visit vote4shonda.weebly.com.
Cheryl Burke will also run as the unopposed incumbent for the 7th District seat. She is a multigenerational educator and former principal of Chimborazo Elementary School with nearly 40 years of service with RPS. For more information, go to instagram.com/cherylburkerva
The 8th District School Board seat is up for grabs, as current Representative and interim Chair Dawn Page has decided not to seek reelection. This has created an opening for two newcomers to vie for the position.
Emmett Jay Jafari is running to represent the 8th District, following previous attempted runs for the seat and the position of Richmond Circuit Court clerk. He is the owner of African American
Tours of Richmond and has promised improvements in education and treatment of students while promoting his campaign on social media. For more information, go to facebook.com/EJJafari
PH Cruz Sherman is also seeking the 8th District seat. He is CEO and founder at Cruz Inc. Media and Cruz Inc. Radio. His campaign platform emphasizes creating safe learning environments and improving the overall quality of schools in the district. For more information, go to facebook.com/Cruz0074
Shavonda Dixon is running unopposed for the 9th District seat, after being unanimously appointed to fill the vacancy left by Nicole Jones when she was elected to City Council. An entrepreneur who founded and runs the Jesus Groupie Clothing company, Dixon is also a motivational speaker, mentor and preacher. For more information, visit shavondadixon.com/home.
New legislation brings aid to family members
Continued from A1
provide monthly stipends to kinship care providers for the cost of raising these children. The amount of assistance families can receive will be based on income, with details to be determined ahead to the program’s expected January 2025 start date.
Child welfare advocates have long pushed for more oversight and support for children in kinship care. The new state program represents “a positive and much-needed evolution in Virginia’s foster care prevention efforts,” writes Allison Gilbreath, head of policy for Voices for Virginia’s Children.
By prioritizing kinship placements and ensuring comprehensive support for both the child and their family of origin, the new program will “contribute to a more robust and compassionate child welfare system,” she said.
The legislation seeks to bolster a foster care system consistently ranked among the worst in the nation for reuniting children with parents and providing resources for family caregivers. About 5,000 Virginia children are in the foster care system, costing the state about $300 million annually.
The new program lowers eligibility standards for aid, which could provide assistance to more families. Under the program, a child must be in the custody of a relative
by court order and voluntarily placed in the relative’s care by parents. The child’s local department of social services must document that the child is at risk of removal.
Children living with loving and safe relatives have better and safer emotional and social lives than children placed with strangers in foster care, child welfare experts say. Kinship caregivers also relieve the state’s overburdened foster care system, stressed by drug epidemics that continue to tear families apart. Parental drug abuse is now the second leading cause, behind neglect, for children entering foster care
An investigation by the Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism at WHRO published at vcij.org, in February, probed why Virginia lags so far behind other states in kinship care.
Relatives caring for children in Virginia are far less likely than caregivers in other states to have help from the foster care system for child care, counseling, grocery bills and other needs. About 12% of the children in Virginia’s foster care system live with relatives and receive support from the system, state data shows, far below the national rate of 33%.
Part of the reason why Virginia has a low number of relative foster carers is that caseworkers shoulder such large workloads that they fail to inform relatives of the benefits
available to them, a state agency’s investigation found. The failure to properly inform caregivers was so prevalent that the state passed a law in 2012 requiring caseworkers to notify kinship care families that they were eligible for foster care benefits.
Most kinship carers are grandparents who unexpectedly fill the role of parents later in life and are often retired and on fixed incomes, said Sen. Barbara Favola (DArlington), who authored the legislation.
“We have to acknowledge that it is costly to raise a child, and oftentimes it’s the grandparents who are stepping up,” Favola said. “Here they are, collecting social security, and many of them are lower- to middle-income. And they just didn’t expect to be raising a child when they were in their 70s.”
Under the new program, kinship families would enter into an agreement with the local department of social services to receive financial support and continued case management if needed. Caseworkers must identify to parents available support programs, including parenting classes and substance abuse counseling. Caseworkers must also visit homes to assess living conditions and ensure eligibility.
This story was originally published by the Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism at WHRO.
The shocking discovery that suddenly made reparations deeply personal for one woman
Continued from A1
of the Freedmen’s Bureau, the federal agency tasked with, among other things, distributing land to those who had been emancipated from slavery. These titles detail specific Black men and women who received plots of land in Georgia and South Carolina and empowered the Center for Public Integrity to conduct the first-ever effort to identify and locate living descendants of those whose land was stripped away as Reconstruction faltered. To date, reporters have traced genealogies for roughly 100 of the 1,250 identified as having received land following the orders. While many of their descendants stayed in Georgia and South Carolina, others migrated to states like Delaware, Michigan and Ohio.
Among the land titles was the crumbling slip of paper— with smudged ink, torn edges, and three deep creases suggesting it had been folded into a small square—that in 1865 granted Wilson’s great-greatgrandfather Fergus Wilson his 40-acre plot.
When an English professor at the University of South Carolina, Michele Reese, first contacted Ruth Wilson and told her that one of her ancestors was given land by the Freedmen’s Bureau, she had a hard time believing it. To her, 40 Acres and a Mule had always invoked little more than one in a long series of hollow, broken promises.
“In the Black community,” she explained, “we don’t say it, but we understand we don’t plan on the white man for nothing.”
Fergus Wilson had been enslaved by Charles Spalding, whose family owned a sugarcane and cotton empire on Sapelo Island, Georgia. As the biggest landowners on the island, the Spalding family
enslaved 385 people there. In 1861, they sold Wilson to the president of a railway company, and he was detailed to a railway hospital in Savannah. In court documents he’d file years later, Wilson said he and his wife, Priscilla, would sneak baskets of food to Union prisoners in rail cars during the war. “I had rather suffer death than to see them open their mouths and we not fill them,” Wilson wrote, before adding that the Union troops later stole all the crops from his garden.
“He had a great quantity of rice, but I don’t know how much. I can’t count, but my old man, he can count,” Priscilla would testify years later. “I saw them take the rice in bags, they took it away on their shoulders. It was good, clean rice.”
Under General William T. Sherman’s Special Field Orders, No. 15, formerly enslaved men and women were entitled to up to 40 acres. For his plot, Wilson chose land south of Savannah on Sapelo Island, on a rice plantation that had been previously owned by the Spaldings. The eldest of his five sons, Fergus Jr. and Richard, also received titles to 40 acres each on Sapelo Island. But once the war ended, the Spaldings fought to get their land back. Charles Spalding, who served as a lieutenant colonel in the Confederate Army, swore his allegiance to the Union and sought a presidential pardon in December 1865.
A month later, an administrator for the estate of his deceased brother Randolph asked the Freedmen’s Bureau to return the Spalding plantation to their family so they could pay off creditors. His widow and their children had all taken the amnesty oath, according to a letter sent to county officials, and needed those 7,400 acres to pay the family’s debts.
President Andrew Johnson soon pardoned Charles Thomas Spalding, allowing him to reclaim the Sapelo Island plantation as his own. While the Freedmen’s Bureau resisted returning land to Confederate planters like Spalding, by 1867 the plantation had been
Sherman’s soldiers stole from him. Years after Fergus’ death, his sons Hercules and Anthony Wilson would serve in the Georgia General Assembly.
“Of the three colored members in the House two are brothers. They are Hercules Wilson, of McIntosh, and Anthony Wilson,
returned to him and Wilson’s land title rendered worthless. Wilson’s sons Fergus Jr. and Richard would eventually leave Sapelo Island and move to Savannah after losing their 40 acres too.
Instead of moving back to Savannah, Wilson pooled his money with other freedmen to buy farmland in Camden County, near the coastal border with Florida, according to research conducted by professor Reese, of the University of South Carolina. They paid half upfront—$300— to a Freedmen’s Bureau agent, then paid off the rest after selling their first harvest.
Before he died in 1873, at about 70 years old, Wilson successfully petitioned the Southern Claims Commission for half of the $492 he requested as restitution for the crops and rice that
of Camden,” relayed an October 1885 article in the Savannah Morning News. “Wilson, of McIntosh, is a brick mason, and Wilson, of Camden, is a farmer and school teacher,” the report continued. “All are well-to-do, industrious, and sober. They board together at a private house on Peters street.”
That year, Hercules Wilson proposed a civil rights bill that would have banned racial discrimination by private businesses such as hotels and theaters, earning a rebuke from the most widely read newspaper columnist in the South. “I see that the colored member from Camden has introduced a bill to enforce the perfect equality of the races,” columnist Bill Arp wrote in a front-page Atlanta Constitution piece in which he implored state lawmakers to
not be like others before them who had “pandered to northern prejudices” and “were afraid to do anything for fear the north would be offended.”
“Our lawmakers will set down on Camden & Co. Our people have got as good manners and as much humanity as any people and know how to treat the negro according to his disservings,” Arp continued. “We intend to make distinctions. The Creator made them and drew the color line and we shall not try to wipe it out… If the wards are dissatisfied, let them go elsewhere and get another guardian.”
By November 1885, Hercules Wilson had resigned, noting that he was better paid as a bricklayer than as a lawmaker. It would be more than a century before Georgia’s public accommodations were desegregated.
“If anything were wanting to show the inferiority of the colored race, it is exhibited in the person of Hercules Wilson,” declared the Boston Evening Transcript. “Had he been a white man, he would have joined the third house of the Legislature. But the poor noodle preferred to lay bricks at $4 or $5 a day!”
His great-granddaughter Ruth Wilson has only ever been to Georgia once, when as a child she was taken to a wedding in Savannah. She spent her entire life in North Carolina, where her grandfather, Hercules Wilson Jr.—born in 1882—settled to attend seminary, becoming the first in the family to receive higher education. “My granddaddy left Georgia,” she said. “And no, he didn’t go back.” She grew up knowing relatively little about the family down in Georgia. Her grandfather told her that his father had been a state legislator, but other than that they never discussed slavery and Reconstruction.
Hercules Wilson Jr. married and began pastoring in a series of churches near Charlotte. He was proud that all three of his children would go on to college. He loved reading the classics, Ruth recalled, and watching his family members dance. As a teen, he got his family kicked out of a Baptist congregation by dancing at a church picnic. The Wilsons have been Presbyterians ever since. Ruth was raised in Henderson, North Carolina, the only child of Hercules’ son James and his wife, Mary, who were both teachers. She still recalls her parents, after a trip to Winston Salem, bringing back the first black doll she’d ever seen—one she still has to this day—and a white-owned pharmacy where a young white girl was allowed to sit at the counter to eat ice cream but she was not. “If you grow up in it, nobody has to tell you about skin color,” Ruth said. “It comes naturally.” She attended elementary and middle school amid the tumultuous efforts at integration that followed the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision before enrolling in a private high school and then the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. It was only in recent years, after beginning to use Ancestry. com to trace her genealogy, that she first heard the name Fergus Wilson and learned that he’d been given 40 acres only to have them taken away.
“Nothing is like manna from heaven. And if it’s gifted to us, beware: cuz what is given can be taken back,” Wilson said. “And the good news about [Fergus], he was smart enough to have a Plan B.”
This project is a collaboration between the Center for Public Integrity, the Center for Investigative Reporting, and the Investigative Reporting Workshop.
The Hercules Wilson Jr. family in Concord, North Carolina, in the early 1940s. From left: Carrie Dockery Wilson (wife), James Edward Wilson (son; Ruth’s father), Hercules Wilson Jr. (Ruth’s grandfather), Pinckney Dockery Wilson (son), Helen Eizabeth Wilson (daughter).Courtesy Ruth Wilson
Survivors of Tulsa Race Massacre challenge Oklahoma high court decision
By Sean Murphy The Associated Press
Attorneys for the last two remaining survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre asked the Oklahoma Supreme Court on Tuesday to reconsider the case they dismissed last month and called on the Biden administration to help the two women seek justice.
Viola Fletcher, 110, and Lessie Benningfield Randle, 109, are the last known survivors of one of the single worst acts of violence against Black people in U.S. history.
As many as 300 Black people were killed; more than 1,200 homes, businesses, schools and churches were destroyed; and thousands were forced into internment camps overseen
by the National Guard when a white mob, including some deputized by authorities, looted and burned the Greenwood District, also known as Black Wall Street.
In a petition for rehearing, the women asked the court to reconsider its 8-1 vote upholding the decision of a district court judge in Tulsa last year to dismiss the case.
“Oklahoma, and the United States of America, have failed its Black citizens,” the two women said in a statement read by McKenzie Haynes, a member of their legal team. “With our own eyes, and burned deeply into our memories, we watched white Americans destroy, kill, and loot.”
“And despite these obvious crimes against humanity, not
one indictment was issued, most insurance claims remain unpaid or were paid for only pennies on the dollar, and Black Tulsans were forced to leave their homes and live in fear.”
Attorney Damario Solomon Simmons also called on the U.S. Department of Justice to open an investigation into the massacre under the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act of 2007, which allows for the reopening of cold cases of violent crimes against Black people committed before 1970. A spokesperson for the DOJ declined comment.
The lawsuit was an attempt under Oklahoma’s public nuisance law to force the city of Tulsa and others to make restitution for the destruction.
Attorneys also argued that Tulsa
appropriated the historic reputation of Black Wall Street “to their own financial and reputational benefit.” They argue that
any money the city receives from promoting Greenwood or Black Wall Street, including revenue from the Greenwood
Black farmers’ association calls for Tractor Supply CEO’s resignation after company cuts DEI efforts
By Wyatte Grantham-Philips and Haleluya Hadero The Associated Press
The National Black Farmers Association called on Tractor Supply’s president and CEO Tuesday to step down after the rural retailer announced that it would drop most of its corporate diversity and climate advocacy efforts
The resignation demand emerged as Tractor Supply, which sells products ranging from farming equipment to pet supplies, faces a deepening backlash over its decision, which itself came after conservative activists spoke out against the company’s work to be more socially inclusive and to curb climate change
In a public announcement last week, the company said it would eliminate all of its diversity, equity and inclusion roles, end sponsorships of “nonbusiness activities” like Pride festivals, and withdraw its goals for reducing carbon emissions
Critics of the new position argue that Tractor Supply is giving in to hate and harming its customers by abandoning crucial principles.
“I was appalled by the decision,” John Boyd Jr., president and founder of the National Black Farmers Association, said in an interview. “I see this as rolling back the clock with race relations — because the country is so divided on race, especially in rural America.”
Tractor Supply declined to comment further when reached on Tuesday.
Tractor Supply, which has its headquarters in Brentwood, Tenn., operates over 2,200 stores across the United States, most of them located in rural areas. The retailer’s core customer base consists of shoppers in need of farm and ranch products, such as livestock feed, trucking supplies, tools and outdoor equipment.
Boyd said Tractor Supply stores can be found where much of NBFA’s 130,000 members are located. Like other farmers, he said Black farmers have shopped at the chain for years. Boyd, who
is also a Tractor Supply shareholder, estimated personally spending more than $10,000 at his local store since January alone — buying supplies like fencing wire and feed for his cattle and horses in Virginia.
Before the company’s announcement, conservative activists opposed to DEI efforts, sponsorship of LGBTQ+ events and climate advocacy had spent weeks criticizing Tractor Supply on social media. Tractor Supply said in its Thursday statement that it was making the changes after hearing from disappointed customers and took “this feedback to heart.”
The decision marked a significant shift in mes-
Local BBQ restaurant crowned ‘Best Chef’ at Chicago barbecue competition
Free
Jerrine Lee, vice president of sales at Richmond Region Tourism. “The meetings and events industry is all about building relationships, and what better way to connect than
through delicious Southern food. Ronnie’s helped give attendees a taste of our incredible food scene.”
About 150 meeting planners voted in the contest. Ronnie’s BBQ served a menu featuring brown sugar bacon sriracha deviled eggs, Virginia smoked brisket, macaroni and cheese, honey butter cornbread and sweet tea lemonade pound cake.
This marks Richmond Region Tourism’s first win in the chef category, having previously won “Best Booth Presentation” twice at Six in the City events in Washington, D.C.
Ronnie’s BBQ is located at 2097 New Market Road, beside the Virginia Capital Trail. The family-run restaurant is open Friday through Sunday, from noon to 7 p.m., or until sold out.
saging from Tractor Supply, which once touted its diversity and inclusion efforts. In recent years, the company has been trying to broaden its appeal to younger consumers — including former city dwellers it is at risk of now alienating.
“We will continue to listen to our customers and Team Members. Your trust and confidence in us are of the utmost importance, and we don’t take that lightly,” the company said.
NBFA said it made repeated attempts to discuss its concerns with Tractor Supply President and CEO Hal Lawton before calling for his resignation.
“He’s gone too far — and we have to let him know we’re not going to sit back and take this mess anymore,” Boyd said, adding that the organization may consider calling for a boycott of Tractor Supply if nothing changes in the coming days. “We’re tired of (being) mistreated by the government and Fortune 500 companies. ... Black farmers are going to start fighting back. And that’s what we’re doing.”
Some customers already have decided to take their business elsewhere, including Squirrelwood Equine Sanctuary, a New York animal sanctuary that says it spent more than $65,000 annually on livestock feed and other supplies at Tractor Supply.
Squirrelwood co-founder Beth Hyman said she first heard about the company’s decision when the sanctuary’s supporters reached out to ask if the group planned to make a statement about it. She thought about it for a day and then went to her local store to ask a manager whom she’s worked with for years about the announcement.
The sanctuary also posted its stance on X, where the post has received 31,000 likes.
“It’s mind-boggling to me that a company would cave to basically a hate campaign,” Hyman said. “Now they just have another boycott on their hands. We didn’t call for that, but obviously people are.”
Allen Adamson, co-founder of marketing consultancy Metaforce, said the conservative pressure on Tractor Supply and the fallout from giving in was the “perfect example of how the increasing split in the country — politically and ideologically — have made it really hard to run consumer-facing businesses.”
“No matter which way you go on this, you’re going to upset big chunks of customers,” he said. Consumers of all backgrounds are becoming more influenced by social media and choosing to redirect their spending if they feel like companies don’t align with their values, Adamson said. With the case of Tractor Supply, whose business is tethered to rural communities, antiDEI activism put the retailer in a “really tricky” situation where it had to do something to stop a potential exodus, he said.
“No company wants to be a target of negativity on social media,” Adamson said. “It’s a no-win situation.”
Tractor Supply’s reversal follows boycott campaigns against Bud Light and Target last year over their LGBTQ+ marketing. Target decided not to carry Pride Month merchandise in all its stores this June following last year’s backlash. Legal attacks against companies’ diversity and inclusion efforts have also drawn more attention following the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling to end affirmative action in college admissions. Many conservative and anti-DEI activists have been seeking to set a similar precedent in the working world.
A handful of other organizations and patrons of Tractor Supply have also expressed disappointment or outrage over the company’s recent announcement — which included plans to no longer submit data to the Human Rights Campaign, the largest advocacy group for LGBTQ+ rights in the U.S. Eric Bloem, vice president of programs and corporate advocacy at the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement last week that Tractor Supply is “turning its back on their own neighbors with this shortsighted decision.” The organization had worked with Tractor Supply to create inclusive policies and practices for years, he added.
Hyman, who is gay, said she told the manager the sanctuary could no longer support Tractor Supply if its announcement reflected its beliefs.
But Boyd, of the National Black Farmers Association, said that despite yearslong efforts from the NBFA, Tractor Supply did not consult the group on past diversity and inclusion goals or participate in the organization’s conferences. The company recently invited NBFA to apply to be a partner of Tractor Supply’s company foundation, but the organization learned on June 26 — one day before Tractor Supply’s announcement on its DEI and climate goals — that it was not among the groups selected, he said.
Photo courtsey of Richmond Region Tourism
The crew from Original Ronnie’s BBQ celebrating its win in Chicago.
AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File
Tractor Supply Company
sign seen in Pittsburgh. The National Black Farmers Association is calling on Tractor Supply’s president and CEO to step down, days after the rural retailer announced that it would
Doug Hoke/The Oklahoman via AP, File
Lessie Benningfield Randle, a Tulsa Race Massacre survivor, during the House General Government Committee meeting at the Oklahoma Capitol, Oct. 5, 2023. Attorneys asked the Oklahoma Supreme court Tuesday, July 2, 2024, to reconsider the case they dismissed last month and called on the Biden administration to help.
Press staff report
The Original Ronnie’s BBQ from Henrico County won the “Best Chef” title at the Six in the City Southern BBQ Experience event
Rising History Center, should be placed in a compensation fund for victims and their descendants.
What to the slave is the Fourth of July?
This week, we present a portion of Frederick Douglass’ powerful speech “What to the slave is the Fourth of July?” Delivered on July 5, 1852, this address remains a poignant and searing critique of our nation’s founding principles versus its practices.
Douglass, born into slavery and later becoming a leading abolitionist, delivered this speech to the Rochester Ladies’ AntiSlavery Society. His words cut to the heart of American hypocrisy, questioning how a nation celebrating freedom could deny it to millions of enslaved people.
The relevance of Douglass’ speech extends far beyond its historical context. It serves as a mirror, reflecting our ongoing struggles with racial justice and equality. His call for the nation to live up to its professed values of freedom and equality resonates as powerfully today as it did over 170 years ago.
What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciations of tyrants, brass fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade, and solemnity, are, to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy — a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices, more shocking and bloody, than are the people of these United States, at this very hour. Go where you may, search where you will, roam through all the monarchies and despotisms of the old world, travel through South America, search out every abuse, and when you have found the last, lay your facts by the side of the every day practices of this nation, and you will say with me, that, for revolting barbarity and shameless hypocrisy, America reigns without a rival …
Behold the practical operation of this internal slave-trade, the American slavetrade, sustained by American politics and American religion … Fellow-citizens, this murderous traffic is, to-day, in active operation in this boasted republic … I see the bleeding footsteps … on the way to the slave-markets, where the victims are to be sold like horses, sheep, and swine … My soul sickens at the sight … But a still more inhuman, disgraceful, and scandalous state of things remains to be presented. By an act of the American Congress … slavery has been nationalized in its most horrible and revolting form … The Fugitive Slave Law makes Mercy to them, a crime; and bribes the judge who tries them. An American Judge gets ten dollars for every victim he consigns to slavery, and five, when he fails to do so … Let this damning fact be perpetually told … that, in tyrant-killing, king-hating, people-loving, democratic, Christian America, the seats of justice are filled with judges, who hold their offices under an open and palpable bribe …I take this law to be one of the grossest infringements of Christian Liberty, and, if the churches and ministers of our country were not stupidly blind, or most wickedly indifferent, they, too, would so regard it . . . they are utterly silent in respect to a law which robs religion of its chief significance, and makes it utterly worthless to a world lying in wickedness … Allow me to say, in conclusion … I do not despair of this country. There are forces in operation, which must inevitably, work the downfall of slavery. “The arm of the Lord is not shortened,” and the doom of slavery is certain. I, therefore, leave off where I began, with hope.
Dahlias in East End
Despite debate performance, support for
Biden remains strong among Black leaders
President Joe Biden and the first lady spent Sunday at Camp David with their grandchildren after his debate performance. At the same time, the media and a growing chorus of Democrats speculate on the 81-year-old leader’s future.
But Sen. Rafael Warnock (D-Ga.) sounded more like a preacher than a politician on “Meet the Press” as he defended Biden on a Sunday when the Atlanta Constitution joined several major news outlets to call for Biden not to run for re-election after his June 27 CNN debate performance was admittedly poor.
“As a pastor, there have been more than a few Sundays that I wished I had preached a better sermon,” Warnock said. “After the sermon, it was my job to embody the message.
“To show up for the people
that I serve, and that is what Joe Biden has done his entire life,” Warnock said in an interview with NBC’s Laura Jarrett.
“Over the last four years, he has been showing up for the American people … Joe Biden has demonstrated over the last four years the character and metal of the man that he is. He is a
life of public service baptized in sorrow. As for Trump, how do you stand and lie every 90 seconds?”
The most vital voices calling for Biden not to run for re-election come from media outlets and lawmakers on Capitol Hill. At the same time, progressives and African-American leaders remain committed to the President.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said Sunday on Face the Nation that he didn’t see President Biden getting out of the race despite his poor performance.
“I got a chance to see the
president challenged; I have seen him in times of trial,” said Moore, referring to the crisis when a ship collided into a Baltimore bridge, and he called Biden at 3:30 am. “But when we get knocked down, we get back up.”
Political operative the Rev. Jamal Bryant, pastor of the New Birth Baptist Church, said, “I’d rather have Joe Biden in a wheelchair than Donald Trump on both of his feet. There is too much focus on personality when it should be on policy.”
Bryant said he and the Rev. Freddi Haynes held a conference call with 100 black preachers last weekend to shore up support for Biden. “As quiet as it is kept, Joe Biden did more to advance the Black community than Barack Obama.”
Melanie Campbell, president of the National Coalition of Black Voter Participation, a nonpartisan organization, said talk of Biden leaving the race is premature.
“The people voted for these two nominees. There is too
Environmental justice for Cumberland County
in
More seats are on the ballot than just who will be in the White House.”
President Obama tweeted after the debate, “Bad debate nights happen. Trust me, I know. But this election is still a choice between someone who has fought for ordinary folks his entire life and someone who only cares about himself.”
Obama tweeted, “Between someone who tells the truth; who knows right from wrong and will give it to the American people straight — and someone who lies through his teeth for his benefit. Last night didn’t change that, and it’s why so much is at stake in November.”
A more forceful Biden spoke in North Carolina the day after the debate, where he acknowledged that his debate performance didn’t go well. But he also said to wild applause, “I know when you get knocked down, you get back up!”
Cumberland County stands on the edge of an environmental catastrophe. An hour west of Richmond, the historic town of Cumberland is set to become the site of the proposed Green Ridge Disposal and Recycling Facility. This 1,200-acre mega-landfill plans to operate nearly 24/7, releasing harmful pollutants into the air, contaminating the community’s drinking water and depreciating the surrounding residential land value each day.
The Virginia Environmental Justice Act of 2020 enshrines the principles of environmental justice and fair treatment into law. This act requires “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people, regardless of race, color, national origin, income, faith, or disability, in the development, implementation, or enforcement of environmental laws and policies.” It ensures that “no group bears a disproportionate share of negative environmental consequences from industrial, governmental, or commercial operations.”
The Green Ridge landfill proposal very clearly contrasts with these principles. Cumberland County, with its high percentage of underserved communities and a poverty rate exceeding the national average by more than 5.5 percent, faces a disproportionate burden from this landfill. This is a clear case of environmental racism, where marginalized communities are subjected to harmful environmental practices.
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has conditionally approved the initial phase of this landfill project, despite the obvious health
and economic implications it will bring to the residents of Cumberland County. However, our community is hopeful that the next phase of this approval process will shed light on yet another reason that this megalandfill cannot and must not be approved — the historic and beloved Pine Grove School.
The Pine Grove School
was built in 1917 as one of the thousands of “Rosenwald School s ” constructed in the South during the Jim Crow era. Created to improve educational opportunities for African American children, schools like Pine Grove Elementary were a safe haven. These schools still remain a testament to the perseverance of communities like Cumberland through some of the worst times our nation has faced.
Groups like the AMMD Pine Grove Project have even taken to highlighting the significance of Rosenwald Schools like Pine Grove. They released a documentary titled “Pine Grove: More Than a School” that showcases the historical importance of these schools.
Now, more than a decade later, Pine Grove’s perseverance is being put to the test again. The Green Ridge Disposal and Recycling Facility is set to be placed in the backyard of this landmark. The 1,200-acre landfill will only tarnish the legacy of this significant site, reducing it to the garbage and rubble surrounding it. And while the mega-landfill is not only a slap in the face to the community that cherishes it, the placement of this landfill is also illegal.
Under Virginia Code § 15.2230 6, building any structure that would mar the historic value of landmarks is strictly prohibited. While the DEQ has already conditionally approved
the landfill project, they are now required to meet with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources to ensure compliance. With the host agreement between Green Ridge and Cumberland County set to expire in July 2025, the Virginia Department of Historic Resources’ decision here will affect this community for generations.
Local advocates and residents have expressed their concerns, hoping community and state officials will do something to prevent this environmental catastrophe. Last month, the citizens of Cumberland, along with environmental racism activists, held an advocacy day in Richmond, hoping to rally support for both Cumberland County and the Pine Grove School. After speaking faceto-face with many sympathetic legislators, we can only hope that action will follow their apologies and promises.
I have fought for environmental justice since the 1980s and am disappointed that we are still fighting the same battle almost 50 years later, but my passion and determination have not dissipated. Over the last three years, I have had the honor to fight with leaders like AMMD President Sonja Branch Wilson and AMMD President Emeritus Muriel Miller Branch and we will not stop until the Pine Grove mega-landfill is rejected.
The residents of Cumberland deserve clean water, a safe environment and a future free from the shadows of environmental injustice. Our state leaders have a moral and legal obligation to ensure that the principles of environmental justice are upheld and the Pine Grove School is protected. In order to do so, it is imperative that the Green Ridge landfill proposal be unequivocally rejected.
The writer is the president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA).
Frederick Douglass
Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press
Hamil R. Harris
Benjamin Chavis Jr.
Fair housing is up to all of us
We all deserve the freedom to choose where we live. But even Virginians who have won a lottery struggle to find a way home.
they are unreliable, untidy, or dangerous — put many on a fruitless search.
Last month, a Richmond mother — I’ll call her Michelle — called my colleagues at Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia (HOME of VA). She had recently given birth to twins. Tragically, both passed away –one soon after birth, the other after weeks in an ICU.
Michelle had received a Housing Choice Voucher, a coupon provided by the federal government to help pay rent in a higher-opportunity neighborhood than the one where she and her other children live. These vouchers are administered locally and support low-income families seeking safe and stable housing. Waiting lists are years long. New vouchers are sometimes issued by lottery.
After a long wait, Michelle’s number had come up. But a severe shortage of housing in our region meant that she struggled to find a suitable home. Meanwhile, the clock was ticking: her voucher was set to expire at the end of this month, unless the local housing authority agreed to extend the deadline due to her heartbreaking situation.
This wasn’t the only obstacle Michelle faced. Vouchers offset the cost of rent, but they don’t cover security deposits. Virginia law allows property managers to require security deposits that can equal two months’ rent — a near impossibility for individuals and families whose low incomes have qualified them for a voucher.
Michelle also had a relatively small pool of options.
If I were looking for a new home in the Richmond area, I could search throughout the region. But voucher holders living in Virginia’s cities must first search for housing within their own city, and are only able to transfer their voucher to another — possibly more affordable — town after waiting a full year. As a result, housing opportunities for Michelle and other voucher holders are limited.
Regular violations of housing law make our rental market even more challenging. The Virginia Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination against rental applicants based on race, people with Housing Choice Vouchers, and other “protected classes.” But discrimination complaints about the source of funds used to pay rent are among the most common we see. Falsehoods about voucher holders — stereotypes that
Any one of us could wake up to a nightmare like Michelle did with her newborns. But the desperate housing situation she confronted reflects a failure of policy and enforcement amid a tight housing market ripe for discrimination. It also reflects a lack of investment in rid-
ding our housing landscape of injustice.
Throughout the 20th century, public investment made housing inequity possible. Massive outlays funded whites-only mortgages and highways that fueled the growth of segregated suburbs. Today, many Black and Latino Virginians live in areas lacking essentials that most of us would choose for our families: access to well-paying jobs, public transit, grocery stores, childcare, and tree cover to clean the air and offer shade during our blistering summers. These features of well-resourced neighborhoods remain out of reach to many.
There is nothing natural about the lack of fairness across communities in our region. Michelle’s housing struggles were created — by policy, by investment, by human actions. In the same ways, we can dismantle them.
This is why, for more than a half-century as a fair housing organization, HOME of VA has worked to ensure equal access to housing for all people. We envision empowered communities where everyone has the freedom of housing choice. Where we live shouldn’t determine the shape of our lives; people everywhere should have an equal chance to seek their potential. But as Michelle knows, as you know, where we live does matter. It
determines which schools our children can attend, how safe we find our streets, how close we find our jobs. Fair access to housing is possible only without discrimination.
Elections, naturally, have a role to play in shaping policy that would make Michelle’s situation rare. But we don’t have to wait for November to make meaningful change. Our local elected officials meet regularly. Vulnerable wouldbe renters apply for housing daily and violations of fair housing law happen just as often. We can push our leaders to enforce fair housing law and provide funds to help voucher holders pay security deposits. Our elected officials can act at any time, especially when we speak up.
We might also be surprised by the power each of us has to raise an alarm. Through vigilance and a spirit of help ing our friends and neighbors, we can talk about fair hous ing protections — and guide people we know who have
experienced violations toward help. At HOME of VA, we receive complaints of housing law violations every week. Our team works hard to help enforce the law.
Michelle recently left the hospital, and her spirits are strong. With the support of one of our tireless housing counselors, she has found a home for her family and hopes to move soon. But so many of our neighbors, including others who have won a housing lottery, remain in need.
Policy solutions that make housing fair do not magically appear. We must make the case — not only at the polls, not only in November, but consistently. Fair housing is up to all of us. The writer is the
PUBLIC NOTICE
RICHMOND FLYING SQUIRRELS
DIAMOND DISTRICT OUTREACH
The Richmond Flying Squirrels hereby invite you to attend an outreach session to learn about the design, construction, and ongoing operations opportunities for the new Richmond Flying Squirrels baseball stadium. The new stadium will have capacity of approximately 10,000 fans and feature a 360-degree concourse with level will feature suites, a premium club, as well as space for Flying Squirrels employees and administrative staff.
Date: July 8, 2024
Location: 3001 N. Arthur Ash Blvd, Richmond VA 23230 Time: 4:00PM EST to 5:00PM EST Inquires: info@richmondballpark.com
Thomas Okuda Fitzpatrick
Wyatt Gordon Virginia Mercury
A sign advertising an apartment for rent in the Fan.
Flying Squirrels’ July 4 game sells out for 14th straight year
Free Press staff report
The Richmond Flying Squirrels’ July 4 game at The Diamond has sold out, the team announced recently. This marks the 14th consecutive year the franchise has sold out its Independence Day game since its inception in 2010.
Tickets remain available for postgame fireworks shows on July 5 and 6, extending the Independence Weekend
celebration.
“We are extremely excited for another July 4 sellout and grateful to our fans for showing out once again,” said Ben Rothrock, Flying Squirrels vice president and general manager.
The July 4 game against the Bowie Baysox is scheduled for 6:35 p.m., with gates opening at 5 p.m. Fireworks will follow, presented by Chick-fil-A and Abilene Motor Express. July 5 will feature an In-
Your-Face Fireworks show and Friday Happy Hour specials. July 6 is Glow Night, with the first 2,000 fans receiving a Patriotic Glow Wand.
The Flying Squirrels currently lead Double-A baseball in average attendance, drawing 7,002 fans per game. This ranks fifth among all 120 Minor League Baseball teams.
Tickets for the July 5 and 6 games were limited at press time.
HBCU All-Stars complete historic first international tour in France
Lut Williams Black College
The 10-member HBCU AllStar basketball squad successfully completed its first-ever international tour in France last week after competing in the QUIA 54 International Tournament and a series of exhibition games.
The team, assembled by ˆ founder Travis Williams and led by HBCU head coaching legend Cy Alexander, was made up of players from all four HBCU conferences and Tennessee State.
“What an amazing and historic moment,” said Williams on Instagram of the seven-day trip. “It was an opportunity for 10 of our most esteemed HBCU All-Star Game alums to participate in this historic moment.
“This was truly a remarkable journey and lifetime moment for many of those young men, but more importantly, for the HBCU basketball culture. We are global from this moment forward and moving forward toward the future.”
The team played a total of five games. It fell in its only tournament game, 42-38 in an abbreviated 18-minute format.
No U.S. team has won a first round game in the years participating in the tournament.
“Had the game been 40 minutes, we would have won,” said Alexander, while not making excuses. “We got off to a very slow start, but we adjusted and played better as the game wore on.”
The game was played before
a crowd of thousands of fans.
In the friendly exhibition contests, the team went 2-2 against European pro competition.
“I was very pleased with how our squad handled themselves in a very hostile environment with the fans and tough officiating,” Alexander said. For example,
in the QUIA Tournament, the Spanish team scored 19 of its 42 points from the free throw line.
“I thought they represented their families, their HBCUs and the U.S. extremely well,” Alexander said. “I think the trip was a major success.”
Colonial Downs prepares for 2024 racing season
Colonial Downs Racetrack is gearing up for its 2024 thoroughbred racing season, set to begin July 11. The track announced last week that more than 100 horses have already arrived, with approximately 700 expected during the nine-week season.
Frank Hopf, senior director of racing operations, said, “We are excited to see our stables filling with world-class thoroughbreds from around the country.”
The 27-day live racing season will run through Sept. 7, featuring three race days per week from Thursday to Saturday. Steeplechase racing will be a regular Thursday feature, with a new addition of wagering on three jump races beginning at 11:45 a.m.
This year’s stakes program includes 27 races worth a combined $5.7 million. Highlights include the Colonial Downs Festival of Racing on Aug. 10, featuring the Grade 1 Arlington Million and two Grade 2 stakes races. The Grade 3 New Kent County Virginia Derby will close the season on Sept. 7. The track is introducing several promotions, including “Thirsty Thursdays” with drink specials, “Party at the Downs” on Fridays with a happy hour and live music, and various family-friendly activities on Saturdays.
General admission and parking remain free. Reserved seating and dining options are available for purchase. For more information, visit colonialdowns.com.
VUU’s Ny Langley to showcase skills at Harlem’s Rucker Park
Free Press staff report
Harlem’s legendary Rucker Park is about to get a taste of Panther prowess. Virginia Union University’s basketball standout, Ny Langley, has been invited to participate in the HBCU All Star Dream Classic on Aug. 10, when she’ll compete alongside top collegiate talent.
Langley, a senior from Greenville, North Carolina, made her mark this season with an impressive 14.4 points per game average, helping lead the Lady Panthers to a solid 17-win season. Her performance earned
her a spot on the 2024 All-CIAA Team and now an opportunity to play on one of basketball’s most storied courts. The Dream Classic will feature 40 of the best players from HBCUs across various conferences, including the CIAA, MEAC, SIAC and SWAC. This high-profile event is expected to draw attention from G-League and European scouts, as well as sports agents, potentially opening doors for participating athletes.
VUU’s Head Women’s Basketball Coach Tierra Terry expressed her enthusiasm: “We are thrilled that Ny has been chosen for this opportunity. It’s not often that you get invited to play at the historical Rucker Park. We know she will represent Virginia Union well.” As Langley prepares to take her talents to the Big Apple, she’ll be looking to make an impact and showcase the skills that made her a standout at Virginia Union. The event promises to be a unique blend of HBCU sports tradition and urban basketball culture, providing a platform for the athletes to shine on a national stage.
Former Ram Owusu Sekyere returns to VCU
Free Press staff report
VCU Women’s Soccer Head Coach Lindsey Martin recently announced the hiring of Owusu Sekyere as assistant coach. Sekyere returns to VCU after spending the past season as an assistant coach at George Mason. He previously served as a volunteer assistant under Martin for two seasons from 2021-2022.
“I am very happy for the program to be able to welcome back Owusu to our staff,” Martin said. “He was such an integral part of our 2021 and 2022 success and we are thrilled to have him join us again leading into our fall season.”
Martin added, “He has all the qualities that we look for when seeking a strong assistant coach, as he possesses a strong
knowledge of the game combined with an ability to connect with student-athletes.”
During Sekyere’s previous stint with the Rams, VCU won its first Atlantic 10 regular season championship in 2021, tying a school record with nine straight wins en route to a 13-4-0 record. The following year, VCU earned a spot in the Atlantic 10 Tournament, finishing 8-3-8. Sekyere, a VCU alumnus, played four years for the Rams, appearing in 63 games and recording 12 goals and 15 assists as a midfielder.
After graduating, Sekyere played professionally in the USL, making 28 appearances for the Charlotte Eagles in 2014 before joining the Richmond Kickers from 2015 to 2018, where he played in 96 matches.
Richmond basketball bolsters staff: Dollar named assistant coach
Darian Dollar, who served as video coordinator for the University of Richmond’s men’s basketball program last season, has been promoted to assistant coach/director of basketball operations and recruiting, Head Coach Chris Mooney announced last week.
“Since coming to Richmond, Darian has demonstrated the ability to help our program in so many ways,” said Mooney. “Whether it’s helping us scout our next oppo-
nent, managing our recruiting operations, working with our players, … Darian has proven to be a tremendous asset to Spider basketball.” Dollar’s new role will allow him to perform the same on- and off-court tasks as the rest of the coaching staff, with the exception of off-campus recruiting. He will assist with scouting and player development while serving as the program’s primary liaison to other departments at the university.
Prior to joining Richmond, Dollar spent one year as an
assistant coach at Indian Hills (Iowa) Community College, where he helped the Warriors to a 29-5 record and a spot in the semifinals of the 2023 National Junior College Athletic Association Men’s Basketball National Tournament. Dollar also served as a graduate assistant at Florida State, earning a Master of Education degree while working under Seminoles Head Coach Leonard Hamilton. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of South Florida, serving as a team manager for the men’s basketball program for three seasons.
NFL Players Choir set for Essence festival performance
Free Press staff report
The Players Choir, a group composed of current and former NFL players, is scheduled to perform at the 30th Anniversary Essence Festival of Culture on Sunday, July 7.
Formed in 2008, the choir includes NFL athletes, some of whom are Super Bowl champions, Pro Bowl selections, and Hall of Fame inductees. The Players Choir, developed by Super Bowl Gospel Celebration founder and executive producer Melanie Few, has performed on television specials, at events and charitable functions. Bryan Scott, a former player for the New Orleans Saints and Buffalo Bills, is among the choir members.
“We couldn’t be more excited to showcase our talent and passion for music in the vibrant city of New Orleans,” Scott said. The Essence Festival appearance follows the choir’s recent performances at the Super Bowl Soulful Celebration and the NFL Draft in Detroit. At the festival, the group will perform on the main stage and make appearances at the Febreze booth in the Convention Center.
The choir is also slated to perform at a National Urban League-sponsored event and the Urban Legends “Women in Harmony” Awards Luncheon during the festival weekend. Myron Butler, a Grammy-winning producer, and Demarcus Williams
The
More information can be found at playerschoir.com.
serve as the choir’s musical directors.
former NFL players who make up the choir include: Cameron Newton, Atlanta Falcons; Michael
Gaines, Carolina Panthers; Bryan Scott, Atlanta Falcons; Stephen Pierce, Cleveland Browns; Tully Banta-Cain, New England Patriots; Tommie Harris,
Chicago Bears; Jamon Brown, Los Angeles Rams; Trey Williams, USFL (previously Cowboys, Colts); Nathan Palmer, 49ers, Broncos; KeShun Freeman, New Orleans Saints; Prince Amukamara, NY Giants; Dwayne Wright, Buffalo Bills; Willie Yarbary, LA Chargers; Bryant McKinnie, Vikings, Ravens; and Olrick Johnson, New England Patriots. Current NFL players performing with the choir include: Markquese Bell, Dallas Cowboys; Chris Paul, Washington Commanders; Isaiah McKenzie, NY Giants; Tommy Hudson, New Orleans Saints; Kendrick Bourne, New England Patriots; and other members.
Ny Langley
Coach Dollar
Free Press staff report
sports page
Free Press staff report
Photo Courtesy Colonial Downs
More than 100 horses have already arrived at Colonial Downs, with approximately 700 more expected at the New Kent racetrack throughout race season.
Coach Cy Alexander, left, and the game’s founder, Travis Williams, right, joined players from HBCUs at the tournament held in France last week.
Photo Courtesy VCU Athletics
VCU Women’s Soccer Assistant Coach Owusu Sekyere
Earl Gibson, Courtesy of Super Bowl Soulful Celebration/FrontPage Firm
All-NFL group The Players Choir will perform at the 30th Anniversary Essence Festival of Culture on Sunday, July 7.
Personality: Jason T. Pritchard
Spotlight on Board President for Substance Abuse and Addiction Recovery Alliance
Jason Pritchard knows rock bottom — and what it takes to lift oneself from the depths of addiction. As the board president of Richmond-based Substance Abuse and Addiction Recovery Alliance (SAARA), he is constantly fighting for the underserved.
His early life was marked by extreme poverty in Appalachia. In the 1980s, local jobs there didn’t pay enough to support a family. His parents, struggling to make ends meet, grew marijuana and sold moonshine alongside their jobs at cotton mills.
Pritchard’s journey took a turn when he found himself in prison, facing a five-year sentence after more than 15 years of alcohol and drug addiction. However, the survival skills he honed in prison transformed him, igniting a determination to prevent others from ending up like him.
“Prison is isolating,” Pritchard said. “You learn a lot about yourself very quickly. It’s scary and empowering at the same time.”
Without a re-entry program, he landed a job as a culinary trainer for Olive Garden after his release. Later, he learned about a job at Ballard Health, a regional hospital chain. The organization wasn’t in the practice of hiring anyone convicted of a felony within the past seven years, but Pritchard, a four-time felon, convinced them to give him a shot.
He quickly became certified as a peer recovery specialist there and was promoted to Recovery Program Manager, overseeing $3.4 million in grants to help those in recovery or re-entering society after
incarceration. His mission was to help them find hope and purpose.
As board president of SAARA, Pritchard not only helps those with substance abuse — he can be a voice for people convicted of drug charges
Pritchard is also the director of outreach for Virginia at SaVida Health, an opioid and alcohol treatment services provider. He travels throughout the state to help those who are under the foot of addiction.
Pritchard, recently married, only sees his wife on weekends. She’s ok with that because she sees what he’s doing to help others. They have date nights and do faith-based community work when he’s home.
While his parents continue to struggle financially, he helps them with home repairs and celebrates them with expensive dinners. Yet, he remains humbled by his success.
His work with SaVida Health overlaps with his work with SAARA. Pritchard aims to shift hearts and minds to reduce the stigma of those in recovery who have served their criminal sentences. He advocates for legal reform to give people a pathway to redemption.
Meet a former addict turned advocate empowering others to overcome addiction and thrive, drawing on his personal experience to educate and inspire and this week’s Personality:
Volunteer position: President of the Board of the Substance Abuse and Addiction Recovery Alliance of Virginia (SAARA)
Occupation: Director of Outreach for Virginia at SaVida Health
Date and place of birth: Aug. 20 in Columbus, N.C.
Where I live now: Bristol.
Education: Polk County High School in Columbus, N.C., associate’s degree of applied science from Virginia Highlands Community College and a bachelor’s in finance from Virginia Tech.
Family: I got married last year. We live in Bristol and my parents, brother and sister also live in the area.
What is the SAARA: SAARA of Richmond is an advocacy and recovery organization that gives a voice to the recovery community at the state level.
With affiliate locations across the state, SAARA can stay attuned to regional recovery issues and address the needs of the recovery community by advocating for policy change and reform at the state and
federal levels.
Mission: To transform Virginia communities through hope, education and advocacy for addiction prevention, treatment and recovery.
When and why founded: SAARA began with a group of individuals who responded to a sign-up sheet circulated at a Substance Abuse Awareness Week luncheon in Fairfax County in Nov. 1996.
Founders: A group of individuals in recovery.
Headquarters: 2222 Monument Ave.
How SAARA works : From its inception in 1997, SAARA has recruited, engaged and retained significant numbers of families with children in treatment and recovery, adults in recovery and on the staff of organizations providing substance abuse treatment and prevention services, and members of recovery networks associated with alumni groups.
Who is eligible for services: Individuals in or seeking recovery from substance use disorder.
Services include: Statewide advocacy and training, Alive RVA Recovery Warmlin e , community outreach and education, peer recovery groups behavioral health docket
Funding: Private, public and individual giving.
Partnerships: Community organizations that promote behavioral health wellness.
I initially got involved with SAARA: I got involved with
SAARA by completing my peer recovery specialist training in January 2019. After spending 11 days in Richmond taking the class and seeing what SAARA did in the community, I knew it could be a means of having a voice from Southwest Virginia tied to Richmond. Many working in or associated with the recovery community in far Southwest Virginia often feel forgotten or voiceless in state policies.
When elected board president: I was elected board president in January of 2024.
Why SAARA is meaningful to me: SAARA is important because of the work they do to create more opportunities for those who are formerly justiceinvolved. A felony conviction shouldn’t be a life sentence.
No. 1 goal and strategy as board president: To help Executive Director Victor McKenzie, expand the reach of SAARA through my recovery journey story and extensive network of contacts across the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Biggest challenge: I believe that the biggest challenge is the outdated legislative policies that restrict justice-involved individuals from living a restored life across the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Number one joy I have witnessed through working with SAARA: The number one joy I have witnessed through working with SAARA is having the Barrier Crime Reform Bill signed into law by Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
Ways to contact SAARA if in need of assistance: www. saara.or g info@saara.or g
804-764-4445.
Upcoming events and details: There will be a Friends and Family Cookout in September!
How I start the day: I start my day praying that God will guide my actions and lead me to those he would have me help. After serving three consecutive sentences totaling five years, I feel that I am walking in my calling and fulfilling my purpose.
The three words that best describe me: Approachable, motivated and successful.
Best late-night snack: I love fresh fruit smoothies with a fruit juice base.
Top three on my playlist: “ Revolutionary” by Josh Wilson, “Grave Robber” by Crowder, “God Only Knows” by King + Country.
A quote that inspires me: “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t — you’re right.”
The best thing my parents ever taught me: Life requires hard work to survive.
The person who influenced me the most: My pastor, Jeff Carico. We met before I went to prison and he wrote me once a month for five years while I was incarcerated.
The book that influenced me the most and how: “Legal Loopholes: Credit Repair Tactics Exposed,” by Charles Dickens.
Next goal: My next goal is to prove that people in recovery can hold and excel at corporate jobs while maintaining their recovery.
Free Press staff report
The National Park Service will honor Maggie Lena Walker’s 160th birthday with a two-week celebration featuring events across Richmond highlighting the Black banking pioneer’s legacy. Walker, a civil rights leader and community organizer, will be commemorated through art exhibits, tours, lectures and volunteer opportunities from July 5-20.
The celebration begins July 5 at the Maggie L. Walker Memorial Plaza with speakers
Henrico County hosts its annual Red, White and Lights Independence Day celebration on Thursday, July 4, at Meadow Farm Museum in Crump Park, 3400 Mountain Road. The free event will begin at 5 p.m. and feature familyfriendly entertainment.
The festivities include a performance by the Richmond Symphony, led by associate conductor ChiaHsuan Lin, featuring patriotic and American-themed music. The evening concludes with a laser-light show. Gates open at 4 p.m.
“We’re excited, just two weeks after Juneteenth, to give families the opportunity to celebrate the Fourth of July,” said John Zannino, director of Recreation and Parks. “Henrico’s community celebration of Independence Day has been a wonderful event for more than 30 years. We look forward to having the community join us again at historic Meadow Farm.”
Live music begins at 5 p.m. with perfor-
Free Press staff report
Drag royalty was celebrated at the annual Virginia Pride Pageant last Sunday.
Celestia Cox was named Miss Virginia Pride, Keante Armon Black took the title of Mr. Virginia Pride and Javon Love was crowned Mx. Virginia Pride, a category for nonbinary persons.
The event, held at Godfrey’s in downtown Richmond, drew a packed crowd to witness the 25-year-old pageant tradition. Contestants were evaluated on presentation, evening wear, talent and community service commitment.
“Virginia’s drag community is incredibly talented, creative and generous,” James Millner, Virginia Pride director, said. “These exceptional entertainers use their artistry to support numerous causes and raise thousands of dollars for local nonprofits each year.”
The newly crowned winners will represent Virginia Pride at various events throughout the year, including the upcoming PrideFest on Sept. 14. Alvion Arnell Davenport, dubbed “Richmond’s LGBTQ mayor” and the current Miss Continental Plus winner, emceed the event.
“Drag has a deep and rich history in the Richmond region,” Davenport said. “This
hosted by the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia. From there, a parade will lead to Gallery 5, where student artwork inspired by Walker will be displayed and music will be provided by the Love Movement.
Special “Oral History House Tours” at the Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site will run July 9-20, incorporating recordings of Walker’s grandchildren. The site’s visitor center will exhibit previously unseen personal items.
On July 13, events include a community service day in the
Jackson Ward neighborhood, a lecture on Walker’s life at the Richmond Public Library and financial literacy workshops at Third Street Bethel A.M.E. Church.
The Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site, open Tuesday through Saturday, will offer regular tours throughout the celebration. A full schedule is available on the National Park Service website and the historic site’s Facebook page.
mances by the Henrico Police Acoustic Blue Band and J. Roddy Walston. Additional highlights include renditions of “The Star-Spangled Banner” by Sarah Walston and “Lift Every Voice and Sing” by Desiree Roots. The Richmond Symphony, along with Walston, will perform at 8 p.m. under The Big Tent, a state-of-theart mobile stage designed to bring orchestral music to local communities. Around 9 p.m., the symphony’s performance will be accompanied by a laserlight show, an alternative for those sensitive to loud noises, as there will be no fireworks display.
Attendees are encouraged to bring blankets and chairs and to arrive early to enjoy a variety of activities, including a kids’ zone with inflatables, games, the Fun Bus mobile gym, face painting, balloon art and a community art project. Greg McQuade, a reporter for WTVR CBS 6, will serve as the evening’s emcee. Sixteen food trucks will also be on-site offering a range of meals, snacks and desserts. For more details, visit henrico.us/rec.
Veteran R&B singer Angie Stone headlined the inaugural People’s Evolution Music Festival in Broad Rock Sports Complex on South Side last Saturday.
The free event, presented by Councilmember Nicole Jones, also featured Latin and gospel music, vendors and food trucks.
Free Press staff report
Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press
Regina H. Boone/File photo Maggie L. Walker statue
Thousands of faith leaders, union members, activists rally in D.C.
By Jack Jenkins Religion News Service
Thousands of clergy, union members and activists rallied on behalf of the poor near the U.S. Capitol on Saturday, June 29, with faith leaders calling for lawmakers to embrace a slate of policies and for lowwealth Americans to make their voices heard in November as the nation’s “largest potential swing vote.”
The Rev. William Barber, co-chair of the organizing group the Poor People’s Campaign, declared to the sprawling crowd Saturday morning that poor people — who, he stressed, represent members of both major parties — are one of the largest untapped voting blocs in the country. Citing studies compiled by the Poor People’s Campaign, Barber argued poor and low-wealth people do not vote to their full potential, despite making up around 30% of the national electorate and close to 40% of voters in
battleground states. Were the poor to vote with full strength, Barber said, they could potentially elect lawmakers who support policies focused on the wide range of topics that impact the poor, such as voting rights, raising the federal minimum wage, housing issues, LGBTQ+ rights and climate change.
“Like the Prophet Moses, honored by Jews, Muslims and Christians, led the people out of bondage of Egypt, it’s time to rise,” he said. “Like the dry bones in the valley of Ezekiel’s vision, we’ve got to rise. Like the ancient vision of the prophet, when the stones that the builders rejected became the chief cornerstone of a new reality, we have got to rise.”
Speakers at the demonstration, which has been planned for months and promoted by Barber on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” grappled with two major political happenings that took place this week: a Supreme Court decision upholding bans
Raymond E. Gross, Air Force veteran and community leader, dies at 89
Raymond E. Gross, a retired U.S. Air Force veteran and community leader, died Monday, May 20, 2024. He was 89.
Born in Washington, Pa., Gross earned degrees from Hampton Institute and American University. He served 20 years in the Air Force before working 21 years for C&P Telephone Co. and Bell Atlantic, retiring as an area manager.
Gross served on several boards in Richmond, including the Science Museum of Richmond, The Arts Council and The Richmond Symphony. He was a founding member of Richmond Crime Stoppers and held lifetime memberships in Omega Psi Phi Fraternity and the NAACP. Survivors include his wife, Margaret Cephas-Gross; two daughters; two stepsons; six grandchildren; and four greatgrandchildren.
A memorial service will be held Saturday, July 6, at Scott’s Chapel and livestreamed at scottsfuneralhome.com.
The family suggests memorial contributions to the Richmond Jazz Society.
barring homeless people from sleeping outside in certain cities, and the presidential debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
Barber, who endorsed Biden ahead of the 2020 election and preached at the president’s inaugural prayer service, seemed dubious of calls for the president to halt his re-election bid in the wake of his widely panned debate performance, which included moments when Biden paused for long periods of time or lost his train of thought. Noting that an array of issues that impact the poor are at stake in the 2024 election, Barber —
who walks with a cane and has been public about his own health struggles — suggested Biden’s poor performance shouldn’t be seen as disqualifying.
“In my tradition, Moses stuttered, but he brought down Pharaoh,” Barber said, to
cheers. “Jeremiah: depression, but he stood up for justice. Jesus was acquainted with sorrow. Harriet Tubman had epilepsy. People getting caught up on how a candidate walks — well, let me tell you, I have trouble walking, but I know how to walk toward justice.”
Even so, Barber and other speakers lamented the lack of conversation about poverty this campaign season. Barber voiced similar frustrations during the 2020 election, when Biden and other Democratic nominees participated in a Poor People’s Campaign candidates forum. On Saturday, Barber announced his group would send statements to major networks imploring them to bring up the poverty issues at future televised debates.
“In politics, there is a dirty, ugly, open secret that the word ‘poverty’ — the topic of poverty — is a taboo subject,” said the
Rev. Adam Taylor, president of Sojourners. “We saw that displayed in the first presidential debate on Thursday night where the candidates spent more time debating their golf game than they did debating what would help all of us.”
Other speakers at the event included Wendsler Nosie Sr., founder of the Apache Stronghold; the Rev. Terri Hord Owens, president of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ); the Rev. Leslie Copeland Tune, senior associate general secretary of the National Council of Churches; the Rev. Theresa Lewallen of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia; Sheila Katz, head of the National Council of Jewish Women; the Rev. Jimmie Hawkins, advocacy director for the Presbyterian Church’s Office of Public Witness; and the Rev. Abhi Janamanchi, a Unitarian Universalist minister.
his words, “the light broke from heaven above, and he was convinced of his sins.” He agonized for several days and finally accepted Christ and set out on a career as a preacher. Jasper went on to become the most popular and celebrated preacher in Virginia, speaking to large audiences of black and white listeners. He organized the Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church in 1867. John Jasper died in March 1901 and is buried in Woodland Cemetery. Born on the 4th of July 1812, and “born again” on the 4th of July 1839.
Raymond E. Gross
RNS photo/Jack Jenkins
The Rev. William Barber addresses a crowd at a demonstration organized by the Poor People’s Campaign outside the U.S. Capitol on June 29, 2024.
virGiNiA: iN THE circUiT cOUrT FOr THE cOUNTY OF HANOvEr PrESTON MiLLS, Plaintiff v. DONNA MiLLS, Defendant. case No.: cL24001892-00
OrDEr OF PUBLicATiON
A Copy, Teste: FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR.,
Clerk I ask for this: Law Office of Dorothy M. Eure, P.C. Dorothy M. Eure, Plaintiff’s Attorney VSB# 27724 8460 Mount Eagle Road Ashland, VA 23005 (804) 798-9667 virGiNiA: iN THE circUiT cOUrT FOr THE cOUNTY OF HANOvEr rOBErT WiLLiAMS, Jr., Plaintiff v. JENNiFEr WiLLiAMS, Defendant. case No.: cL23002636-00
OrDEr OF PUBLicATiON
The object of this suit is to obtain a divorce from the bond of matrimony from the defendant on the ground of living separate and apart without any cohabitation and without interruption for a period exceeding twelve months.
It is ORDERED that the defendant, who is a nonresident, appear here on or before the 16th day of August, 2024 at 9:00 a.m. and protect her interests.
A Copy, Teste: FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR.,
Clerk I ask for this: Law Office of Dorothy M. Eure, P.C. Dorothy M. Eure, Plaintiff’s Attorney VSB# 27724 8460 Mount Eagle Road Ashland, VA 23005 (804) 798-9667 STATE OF NOrTH cArOLiNA cOUNTY OF BUNcOMBE iN THE GENErAL cOUrT OF JUSTicE DiSTricT cOUrT DiviSiON File No.: 24 cv 02414 rOMAriO LATiBEAUDiErE, Plaintiff v MicAH AYANA MADDOX, Defendant, NOTicE OF SErvicE OF PrOcESS BY PUBLicATiON TO: Micah Ayana Maddox Take notice that a pleading seeking relief against you has been filed in the aboveentitled action. The nature of relief being sought is absolute divorce. You are required to make defense to such pleading not later than July 22, 2024, and upon your failure to do so the party seeking service against you will apply to the court for the relief sought. This the 13th day of June, 2024 JENNIFER W. MOORE NCSB No.: 24431 Attorney for Plaintiff P.O. Box 7602 Asheville, NC 28802 828-258-8053 virGiNiA:
iN THE circUiT cOUrT FOr THE cOUNTY OF HANOvEr JESSE PriTcHArD, Plaintiff v. TrUDY PriTcHArD, Defendant. case No.: cL24001750-00 OrDEr OF PUBLicATiON
The object of this suit is to obtain a divorce from the bond of matrimony from the defendant on the ground of living separate and apart without any cohabitation and without interruption for a period exceeding twelve months.
It is ORDERED that the defendant, whose whereabouts are unknown, appear here on or before the 19th day of July, 2024 at 9:00 a.m. and protect her interests.
A Copy, Teste: FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR., Clerk I ask for this: Law Office of Dorothy M. Eure, P.C. Dorothy M. Eure, Plaintiff’s Attorney
Continued from previous column
VSB# 27724 8460 Mount Eagle Road Ashland, VA 23005 (804) 798-9667
virGiNiA: iN THE circUiT cOUrT FOr THE cOUNTY OF HANOvEr rOSLYN MOOrE, Plaintiff v. KATrYcE JAcKSON, Defendant. case No.: cL24001807-00 OrDEr OF PUBLicATiON
The object of this suit is to obtain a divorce from the bond of matrimony from the defendant on the ground of living separate and apart without any cohabitation and without interruption for a period exceeding twelve months.
It is ORDERED that the defendant, whose whereabouts are unknown, appear here on or before the 29th day of July, 2024 at 9:00 a.m. and protect her interests.
A Copy, Teste: FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR., Clerk I ask for this: Law Office of Dorothy M. Eure, P.C. Dorothy M. Eure, Plaintiff’s Attorney VSB# 27724 8460 Mount Eagle Road Ashland, VA 23005 (804) 798-9667
virGiNiA: iN THE circUiT cOUrT FOr THE cOUNTY OF HANOvEr KiM LAWrENcE, Plaintiff v. OLivEr LAWrENcE, Defendant. case No.: cL22003829-00 OrDEr OF PUBLicATiON
The object of this suit is to obtain a divorce from the bond of matrimony from the defendant on the ground of living separate and apart without any cohabitation and without interruption for a period exceeding twelve months.
It is ORDERED that the defendant, who has been served with the Complaint by posted service appear here on or before the 29th day of July, 2024 and protect his interests.
A Copy, Teste: FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR., Clerk I ask for this: Law Office of Dorothy M. Eure, P.C. Dorothy M. Eure, Plaintiff’s Attorney VSB# 27724 8460 Mount Eagle Road Ashland, VA 23005 (804) 798-9667 cUSTODY
virGiNiA: HANOvEr circUiT cOUrT AMBEr BAYNE vALADEZ v rONALD cHriSTOPHEr TALLEY case No. cL 24001822-00
OrDEr OF PUBLicATiON
The object of this suit is to: OBTAIN A NAME CHANGE FOR A MINOR. It is ORDERED that Ronald Christopher Talley appear at the above named court and protect his/her interests on or before August 7, 2024 at 10:00 a.m.
virGiNiA: iN THE JUvENiLE AND DOMESTic rELATiONS DiSTricT cOUrT OF THE ciTY OF ricHMOND commonwealth of virginia, in re KYLiE DArQUAN HArriS rDSS v. rAvEN HArriS, UNKNOWN FATHEr case No. JJ101948-11-00, JJ101948-10-00 OrDEr OF PUBLicATiON
The object of this suit is to: terminate the residual parental rights {“TPR”) of raven Harris (Mother) & Unknown Father (Father) of Kylie Daquan Harris, child DOB 11/17/2022, “TPR” means all rights and responsibilities remaining with Parent after transfer of legal custody or guardianship of the person, including but not limited to rights of: visitation; adoption consent; determination of religious affiliation; and responsibility for support. It is ORDERED that the defendant r aven Harris (Mother) & Unknown Father to appear at the above-named Court and protect his/her interest on or before 08/13/2024, at 2 P.M, cOUrTrOOM #2 (McG) PrOPErTY
virGiNiA: iN THE circUiT cOUrT FOr THE cOUNTY OF HANOvEr Balducci Developers, LLc, 10173 chamberlayne road Mechanicsville, vA 23116
Plaintiff, v. Any and all persons known or unknown claiming an interest in certain property situated in Hanover county, virginia, designated by GPiN Number 8737-25-4710 and identified as 10288 Gould Hill road Defendant. case No. cL24001838-00 OrDEr OF PUBLicATiON An object of this suit is to partition the property briefly described as 10288 Gould Hill Road Hanover VA 23069, Tax Map Number 8737-254710 As it is apparent that the defendants in this lawsuit have potential interest in the subject property; and As “Any and All Other Interested Parties”, as defendants, cannot be located; and As the parties have not been served with process, then iT iS OrDErED that ANY AND ALL PErSONS cLAiMiNG AN iNTErEST iN THE PrOPErTY situated in Hanover county, virginia, designated by GPiN Number 8737-25-4710 and identified as 10288 Gould Hill road, come forward to appear in the Circuit Court for the County of Hanover, Virginia on or before July 30, 2024 at 9:00 a.m. and do what is necessary to protect their interest in the property briefly described as GPiN Number 8737-25-4710 and identified as 10288 Gould Hill road in this matter The Court in its discretion hereby dispenses with the requirements of Rule 1:13 of the Virginia Supreme Court. A copy Teste Frank D. Hargrove, Jr, clerk i ASK FOr THiS: Benjamin M. Andrews, Esquire (VSB No. 77824) Andrews Law PLC 5711 Greendale Road, Suite 2 Henrico, Virginia 23228 804-918-2091 benjamin@andrewslawva.com virGiNiA: iN THE circUiT cOUrT OF THE cOUNTY OF HENricO iN rE: AGNES GAcULA cArABAT DETErMiNATiON OF DEATH OF GrAciANO BArAMEDA cArABAT case No.: cL24003701-00 NOTicE Please take notice that on June 11, 2024, Agnes Gacula Carabat, by Counsel, pursuant to Section 64.22304(et. seq.) of the Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended, filed a Petition with the Henrico County Circuit Court seeking a Determination of Death for her husband, Graciano Barrameda Carabat. A Hearing will be held on this matter on September 20, 2024 @ 9:30 am in the Henrico County Circuit Court. Agnes Gracula Carabat By: Jason L. Shaber, Esq. Of Counsel Jason L. Shaber, Esquire VSB #96186 Dankos, Gordon & Tucker, P.C. 1360 E. Parham Road, Suite 200 Richmond, Virginia 23228 Telephone: (804) 377-7427 Facsimile: (804) 262-8088 Counsel for Petitioner virGiNiA: iN THE circUiT cOUrT OF THE cOUNTY OF HENricO cLAY STrEET iNvESTOrS, LLc Plaintiff, v. JEAN MENDE, if living, and if deceased, Heirs at law ofJean Mende and JUNE MENDE cHArKLEY, if living, and if deceased, heirs at law of June Mende charkley and Defendants. Plaintiff. The unknown heirs, descendants, devisees, assigns, and/or successors in title to JEAN MENDE, JUNE MENDE CHARKLEY and CLYDE G. LEARN, JR., any there be, the consorts of any of the said unknown heirs who are married, the lien creditors of the said unknown heirs, if any, and other persons who may have an interest in the subject matter of this suit, whose names are unknown and are included in general description of “UNKNOWN HEIRS” and “PARTIES UNKNOWN” Defendants. cASE NO. cL24-3886 OrDEr OF PUBLicATiON The object of this suit is to sell a certain parcel of real property situated in Henrico County, Virginia, being owned by Clay Street Investors, LLC,
June Mende, if living, and if deceased, her heirs at law, June Mende Charkley, if living, and if deceased, her heirs at law, and the unknown heirs, descendants, devisees, assigns, or successors in title to Clyde G. Learn, Jr., any there may be, more particularly described as follows: ALL that certain lot, piece, or parcel of land lying and being in the Brookland District of Henrico County, Virginia, and being more fully described as follows, to wit, Condominium Unit No. 15, Building 4, Section lV, of the Hamlet Condominium, Henrico County, Virginia, as shown on a plat entitled “Hamlet Condominium, Brookland District, Henrico County, Virginia,” as made by Chas H. Fleet & Associates, Engineers, & Surveyors, dated April 1, 1974, last reviewed on March 29, 1977 and recorded in the Clerk’s Office, Circuit Court, Henrico County, Virginia in Plat Book 66, Page 44, as may be amended from time to time, together with the undivided interest of .500 percent in the common elements described in the Declaration of Condominium to be appurtenant to such unit. Further identified as Tax Map ID No. 774 744 3490.069, and commonly known as 15 Horseshoe Curve, Henrico County, Virginia 23228. June Mende, if living, and if deceased, her heirs at law, June Mende Charkley, if living, and if deceased, her heirs at law, and the unknown heirs, descendants, devisees, assigns, or successors in title to Clyde O. Learn, Jr., may have an interest in the property by deed, by inheritance, or by duly recorded liens. Affidavit having been made and filed that due diligence has been used without effect to ascertain the identities and/or locations of certain parties to be served, and that there are or may be persons whose names are unknown, interested in the subject matter of this suit; It is ORDERED that June Mende, if living, and if deceased, her heris at law, June Mende Charkley, if living, and if deceased, her heirs at law, and the unknown
heirs, descendants, devisees, assigns, or successors in title to Clyde G. Learn, Jr., if then living or if dead, their heirs, devisees, assigns, or successors in title, and any heirs or other unknown heirs or parties who have an interest in the subject matter of this suit, who are proceeded against as PARTIES UNKNOWN, appear before Court on or before August 19, 2024 to protect their interests, if any, in this suit. A Copy Teste: HEIDI S. BARSHINGER, Clerk I ask for this: Curtis D. Gordon, Esquire, VSB #25325 DANKOS, GORDON & TUCKER, P.C. 1360 E. Parham Road, Suite 200 Richmond, Virginia 23228 Telephone: (804) 377-7424 Facsimile: (804) 262-8088
Email: cgordon@ dankosgordon.com Counsel for Plaintiff cUSTODY cOUNTY OF HENricO, virGiNiA cONSTrUcTiON BiD iTB #24-2712-6JOK Greendale Park Sewer and Water Extension Phase i Due: July 29, 2024 at 2:00 p.m. For additional information visit: https://henrico.us/ finance/divisions/purchasing/
Thank you for your interest in applying for opportunities with The City of Richmond. To see what opportunities are available, please refer to our website at www.richmondgov.com. EOE M/F/D/V
Monument
the County of Henrico, Department of Public Works, 4305 E. Parham Road, Administration Annex Building, 3 rd Floor, Henrico, VA 23228, Telephone: (804) 501-4624. If your concerns cannot be satisfied, the County is willing to hold a public hearing. You may request a public hearing by sending a written request to the Department of Public Works, Attn: Michael Elander, P.O. Box 90775, Henrico, VA 23273-0775, on or before July 12, 2024. If a request for a public hearing is received, a notice of the date, time, and place of the public hearing will be provided. The County ensures nondiscrimination and equal employment in all programs and activities in accordance with Title VI and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. If you need more information or special assistance for persons with disabilities or limited English proficiency, contact Michael Elander at the above address, phone number, or ela013@henrico.us.
VDOT UPC #: 117044
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