Harris confronts Trump with pointed attacks in debate
By Michelle L. Price, Zeke Miller, Jill Colvin, and Josh Boak
The Associated Press
Kamala Harris pressed a forceful case against Donald Trump on Tuesday in their first and perhaps only debate before the presidential election, repeatedly goading him in an event that showcased their starkly different visions for the country on abortion, immigration and American democracy.
Harris ahead of Trump by comfortable margin in Virginia
By Markus Schmidt
New polling shows Vice President Kamala
Harris with a significant lead over former President Donald Trump in Virginia.
A poll by Morning Consult conducted between Aug. 30 and Sept. 8 among 498 likely voters and published Monday has Harris up by 10 percentage points (52%-42%) over Trump in the Commonwealth — roughly the same margin by which Democrat Joe Biden defeated the then-incumbent in 2020 (54%-44%). Among self-identified independent voters, Harris leads Trump by eight points, or 48%-40%.
The survey signals better news for the Harris campaign than a Roanoke College poll released last month, which had the vice president ahead by just three points (47%-44%) and within the margin of error. It also marks a substantial improvement compared to an earlier poll from May that had Biden and Trump tied at 42%-42% in a head-to-head matchup, putting Virginia in play for Republicans for the first time in years.
“For a brief moment, when Biden was at his lowest, it was possible to believe that Virginia would be competitive,” said Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at
Legendary soul icon Frankie Beverly dies at 77
By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire
Frankie Beverly, the iconic frontman of the soul, R&B and funk band Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly, has died at the age of 76. His family confirmed the news in a post on social media. “Grieving the loss of a loved one is a deeply personal and emotional experience,” the family wrote. “During this time, as we are navigating feelings of sorrow, reflection, and remembrance, we kindly ask for privacy and understanding, allowing us the space to grieve in our own way.”
The statement continued, “Howard Stanley Beverly, known to the world as Frankie Beverly, lived his life with pure soul. He lived for his music, family, and friends. For us, no one did it better. Love one another as he would want that for us all.” Beverly, born on Dec. 6, 1946, in Philadelphia, rose to prominence as one of the most influential figures in the music industry. Growing up in the East Germantown section of
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the University of Virginia.
“While we always want to see more polling, I’d say a lead of +10 for Harris strongly suggests Virginia is headed for a fifth Democratic presidential victory,” Sabato said, adding that other “in-reach” states for Trump, such as Minnesota, New Hampshire, and New Mexico, “have disappeared from the discussion” since Harris entered the race.
Jeff Ryer, a spokesman for the Trump campaign in Virginia, said in an email that the new polls are “in no way reflective of what we’re hearing at the doors and on the phones from the tens of thousands Virginia voters
our thousands of volunteers have personally contacted.”
And since the Democrats have confirmed they have 25 offices and 132 staffers on the ground in Virginia, “it’s obviously not what they are hearing either,” Ryer said.
A spokesman from the Harris campaign declined to comment.
Nationally, the Morning Consult poll finds Harris leading Trump by just three percentage points (49% to 46%), which is roughly in line with the survey’s results among registered
James Earl Jones, iconic voice of Darth Vader and EGOT winner, dies at 93
By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire
James Earl Jones, the legendary actor whose deep, resonant voice became synonymous with some of the most iconic characters in film history, passed away Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, at his home in Dutchess County, N.Y. He was 93.
EcoFest fun
Vi’sjay Murphy, 3 , plays cornhole under the
eye of
Over a remarkable career that spanned six decades, Jones earned an indelible place in both Hollywood and Broadway. He became one of only a few entertainers to achieve the prestigious EGOT, winning an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony. Best known to many as the commanding voice behind Darth Vader in Star Wars, Jones brought depth and gravitas to the villainous character, making him one of cinema’s most unforgettable antagonists. He reprised the role in “Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith” (2005) and “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” (2016), further cementing his legacy in the galaxy far, far away. Born on Jan. 17, 1931, in Arkabutla, Miss., Jones’ contributions to the arts extended far beyond Star Wars. He voiced
James River EcoFest Sept. 7 at the James A. Buzzard River Education Center.
Surviving Brunswick 15 share stories of courage, struggle
By Paula Phounsavath
Marvin Curtis Jones Sr. remembers hitchhiking from his family’s farm to Brunswick High School in Lawrenceville every morning during his senior year. He avoided riding the school bus that stopped near his home because he didn’t want to endure racial slurs from white students.
Now, 60 years later at a panel discussion at the Library of Virginia last Thursday night, Jones — along with five other alumni of Brunswick High School re-lived the history of the post-Civil rights era commemorating the anniversary of Brunswick’s desegregation in 1964.
Six surviving members of the “Brunswick 15,” a group of Black students who integrated Brunswick High School in Virginia during the tumultuous era of desegregation, shared their stories of perseverance and triumph. Queen Marks Birchette, Carolyn Burwell-Tolbert, Elvertha Cox Gillis, Sandra Goldman Jackson, Marvin Jones Sr. and Florence Stith-Jackson recounted their experiences of racial discrimination and alienation among their white classmates.
Brunswick High School was desegregated on Sept. 9, 1964, a decade after the Supreme Court case, Brown v. Board of Education, a landmark ruling that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. The 15 students from the neighboring James S. Russell High School (now known as James S. Russell Middle School) were desegregated to Brunswick High.
The discussion was moderated by Brian Daugherity, a professor of history at Virginia Commonwealth University, whose research focuses on the implementation of the Brown v. Board of Education decision in Virginia.
“It [Brown v. Board of Education] did not lead to immediate or even rapid school desegregation in the South, including in the state of Virginia.” Daugherity explained the slow progression of school desegregation.
Right after completing elementary school, Stith-Jackson recalled going straight to James S. Russell High since there was no middle school at the time. She was then given an opportunity to transfer to Brunswick High. Stith-Jackson
James Earl Jones
Donald Trump Kamala Harris
Ava Reaves
Frankie Beverly hits the high notes with Maze in the finale of the 10th Annual Richmond Jazz and Music Festival at Maymont in 2019.
Courtesy Library of Virginia
Six members of the first integrated class at Brunswick High School, from left, Queen Marks Birchette, Carolyn Burwell-Tolbert, Elvertha Cox Gillis, Sandra Goldman Jackson, Marvin Jones Sr. and Florence Stith-Jackson, spoke about their experiences at the Library of Virginia.
Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press
watchful
Mattia Pekanyande, Nala Jones, Miles Pekanyande and Zuri Arnold during the
Stoney rebrands gun violence office, responds to mayoral candidates
By George Copeland Jr.
Mayor Levar M. Stoney defended his administration and addressed key city issues during a Thursday press conference at City Hall, responding to recent scrutiny from mayoral candidates and the press.
A major topic discussed were non-disclosure agreements for finance employees that not only bar the sharing of taxpayer information handled in the department, but any and all discussion about their work. News of the NDAs followed reports on the department’s operations and former employees sharing their concerns about the department.
Stoney didn’t confirm when or where the NDA was put into place when asked by reporters, emphasizing that they’re meant to be “a measure to ensure accountability and protect the taxpayers” and the need for employees to follow the terms of the agreement.
“We need folks who are willing to comply and ensure that we are protecting that data, protecting the taxpayer as well,” Stoney said, “and as I’ve stated in the past, for a vast majority of those who work in the finance department, they do that.”
Stoney also announced that the Office of Gun Violence Prevention will be renamed to the Office of Neighborhood Safety. The office focuses on strengthening coordination, capacity building and partnerships to address the root causes of violence.
Alexander Krupp and Lamont Barnes will lead the office as manager and coordinator, respectively, and oversee initiatives and implement recommendations.
Stoney also highlighted the city’s efforts to address the affordable housing crisis, from 5,000 affordable units built since his first year in office, to new housing performance grant contracts that were introduced during Monday’s City Council meeting.
The mention of the city’s gun violence initiatives was in direct response to the mayoral forum hosted by Richmmonders Involved to Strengthen Our Communities a week earlier. Candidates outlined their plans to address gun violence while RISC members advocated for the use of a Group Violence Intervention framework, leading to what Stoney saw as “just a little bit [of] misinformation” about their work to tackle the issue.
Candidates also gave their assessments on Stoney’s time in office in a later forum.
“As a person who’s been involved in public service for the last decade, it’s a whole lot easier to talk about doing the job and actually doing the job,” Stoney said when responding to how the candidates graded his performance. “I’ll leave it at that.”
Free community testing for COVID-19 continues
For the week ending on Saturday, Sept. 7, confirmed hospital admissions for COVID-19 in Virginia dropped 10.9% from the previous week, and new admissions remain low. No deaths associated with COVID-19 were reported within the same timeframe. Updated data on COVID-19 wastewater levels in the Greater Richmond area showed plateaus starting Sept.1.
The Richmond and Henrico County health districts are offering testing at the following locations:
• Thursday, Sept. 12, 2 to 4:30 p.m. - Calvary United Methodist Church, 1637 Williamsburg Road.
• Friday, Sept. 13, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. - Southside Women Infant and Children Office, 509 E. Southside Plaza.
• Wednesday, Sept. 18, 8 to 10 a.m. - Eastern Henrico Recreation Center, 1440 N. Laburnum Ave.; 2 to 4:30 p.m. - St. Luke’s Apartments, 117 Engleside Drive. RHHD’s Resource Centers are providing free at-home tests for pickup at select locations:
• Creighton Court at 2150 Creighton Road, call 804-371-0433.
• 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 804-2302077.
• Whitcomb Court at 2106 Deforrest St., call 804-786-0555. For more information on testing sites visit vax.rchd.com. The Virginia Department of Health testing locations are listed at vdh.virginia.gov. Households will also soon be able to order four free COVID-19 tests at COVIDTests.gov. Want a COVID-19 vaccine?
The Food and Drug Administration recently approved updated versions of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines. Those interested can schedule an appointment with RHHD by calling (804) 205-3501. Vaccines.gov also lists 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. A vaccine locator is available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at vaccines.gov.
The FDA currently recommends children between the ages of 6 months to 4 years old receive three doses of the updated PfizerBioNTech vaccine or two doses of the updated Moderna vaccine if unvaccinated. Those in the age range that previously received the vaccine can get one or two doses of either updated vaccine, depending on when their last dose was received.
Children between the ages of 5 and 11 years old who are unvaccinated or have received a previous dose should get one updated Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. Children in that age range that have been vaccinated against COVID-19 must wait at least two months after their previous dose before getting the new dose.
The CDC recommends those age 12 and older who are unvaccinated or received a vaccine previously should get either one updated Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. Those who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 must wait at least two months after their previous dose before getting the new one. Health care providers recommend that immunocompromised individuals consult them about the best approach to updated vaccines.
Compiled by
George Copeland Jr.
Cityscape
Slices of life and scenes in Richmond
Richmonders pitch city projects as People’s Budget begins
By George Copeland Jr.
Richmond residents with ideas about how the city should spend its money can now pitch them to city officials as part of a new $3 million initiative years in the making.
The Richmond People’s Budget officially launched Tuesday afternoon with an event that brought roughly 60 residents of the city and the surrounding counties to Abner Clay Park. City Council members and organizers were present to celebrate the program’s start and encourage the public to take an active part in deciding to improve the city.
“This is a chance for us to go, ‘Let’s show you how city government can work for the people and by the people’.”said 1st District Councilmember and mayoral candidate Andreas Addison, who first began efforts on the program through a resolution in 2019.
Addison was joined by council members Katherine Jordan, 2nd District, Cynthia Newbile, 7th District and Nicole Jones, 9th District. They and other council members will assist with developing ideas from their constituencies.
The People’s Budget is centered around a process
called participatory budgeting, which will enable residents to determine how allocations of funds will be spent during the city’s next fiscal cycle. Funded projects must be implemented within a year, not require changes in city policy, not promote religious or political beliefs, must be on city property and avoid funding school initiatives and projects.
The process was initially approved in 2019, but was paused when the pandemic began, and picked up again with the creation of a steering committee in 2021.Most of the funding will be divided among the city’s districts in $200,000 allocations, according to information on the People’s Budget website. The remaining $1.2 million will be distributed across the city with a focus on “districts with the highest social vulnerability.”
North Side resident and High Club Productions creator Ivan Haynes was interested in the potential good that could be done around the city, bringing attention and money to underserved properties and encouraging community involvement.
“There’s a lot of buildings that aren’t being used right now that can be used for something important,” Haynes said.
RVA Transit Ambassador and city resident Courtney Farrar pointed out the need for a farmer’s market or a recreational and education area for children in the open areas and lots that sit unused in her district. Questions and concerns remain despite the bright mood of the event. North Side resident Alex Caligiuri was skeptical about whether the projects developed would be fully implemented, while Leslie Brown of Manchester was somewhat disappointed
by the initial amount of money allocated. Both nonetheless hoped the program would work and lead to better things for the city and more opportunities and resources for residents to make their voices heard.
“We got invited to the table,” Brown said. “Maybe we’re getting a smaller plate, but we’re at the table.” Those interested in participating must be at least 14 years old and a Richmond resident. For more information, visit rvapb.org.
School Board renames alternative school
By Paula Phounsavath
Richmond School Board members unanimously approved the renaming of Richmond Alternative School to Richmond Success Academy on Monday evening.
RPS chief academic officer for secondary schools Solomon Jefferson presented to the board survey responses for the renaming of the alternative school from the school’s staff and students, with the majority of participating students voting to rename the school, Richmond Success Academy. The process of renaming the school began in April when the School Board declared its intent to rename the school.
The survey’s submission period ran from Aug. 22 through 29. The participating students responded with 21 votes for
engagement team to ensure that there’s no confusion.”
White then motioned for the renaming of the school, on which all board members unanimously agreed.
“I move that Richmond Alternative School … to be Richmond Success Academy, immediately,” she said. The board also considered cutting the meeting’s board comments during debate from six minutes to three minutes. Some members agreed to cut the time to prevent longer board meetings.
Richmond City Council approves resolution to improve internet access
By George Copeland Jr.
Richmond City Council unanimously approved a resolution aimed at bridging the digital divide across the city. The “Digital Equity Implementation Plan,” passed on Monday evening, declares high-speed gigabit internet a “public necessity for all residents” and outlines steps to improve access citywide. The resolution is patroned by 1st District Councilmember Andreas Addison, 5th District Councilmember Stephanie Lynch, 8th District Councilmember Reva Trammell and City Council Vice President
Ann-Frances Lambert of the 3rd District. It was introduced at the City Council Monday, July 22, meeting and was referred to the Governmental Operations Standing Committee, who recommended it for approval two days later. As part of the resolution, the chief administrative officer will develop a strategy for universal broadband access for all Richmond residents and business owners. A major part of this plan will involve creating a “digital connectivity map” of the city’s vertical assets, infrastructure and existing fiber networks.
Richmond Public School board members voted to rename the Richmond Alternative School Richmond Success Academy this week. Richmond Success Academy, 18 votes for Richmond Preparatory Academy and 11 votes for Richmond Academy of Excellence. The staff responded
The resolution also cites “market failures” and the shift toward digital services during the pandemic for creating or exposing inequities in internet access that must be addressed, particularly for communities of color.
“The Council believes that residents would benefit from digital inclusion efforts that provide educational and training programs that would bridge the digital divide across Richmond’s neighborhood,” the resolution reads in part.
The resolution will be further explored during the next City Council meeting Monday, Sept. 23.
with five votes for Richmond Academy of Excellence, three votes for Richmond Preparatory Academy and 2 votes for Richmond Success Academy.
The survey came after a contentious discussion at the last School Board meeting, in which board member Mariah White, 2nd District, ousted the RPS administration for suggesting Richmond Success Academy, even though the proposed name change was not within the School Renaming Committee’s recommendations during two public hearings.
Jefferson assured White that while the school would be renamed, the preservation of the alternative school’s original name will help avoid confusion.
“We’ll make sure the branding is everywhere in the building,” he said. “I’ll work for the communications team and
“I’ve been an advocate for three minutes,” said board member Cheryl Burke, 7th District. “We can always change it again if the new board comes in and wants to do so.”
However, Kenya Gibson, 3rd district — who also is running for City Council — cautioned her colleagues that motioning for the time cut will prevent the newly elected board’s representation.
“By voting today to limit the [board] comment, we are essentially limiting the voice of the future board,” she said. “The people that vote for us, vote for us to be able to ask questions and have a voice.” The board members ultimately remained divided on the issue. A motion to limit board comment time, which would have taken effect on Oct. 7, failed to pass. This leaves the current six-minute comment period unchanged for now, with the possibility of revisiting the topic in the future.
Sandra Sellars Richmond Free Press
A water gauge measures levels in Great Shiplock Park in the East End. The park showcases the James River and Kanawha Canal lock. Once vital for tobacco transport, it now offers scenic Downtown Richmond views and trail amenities. The park was renovated in 2013 as part of the Virginia Capital Trail project.
Charlotte Rene Woods\Virginia Mercury Richmond residents fill out cards to give their suggestions for capital improvement projects at the formal launch of the Richmond People’s Budget on Sep 10, 2024.
Mayor Stoney
ICA at VCU’s ‘Dear Mazie’ spotlights the work of Amaza Lee Meredith
By Paula Phounsavath
Amaza Lee Meredith had no formal training in art or architecture due to the harsh reality of life under the Jim Crow era as a Black woman. Nevertheless, Meredith left her legacy as an art educator at Virginia State University, the first known Black woman to work as an architect and an accomplished artist.
Now, her work is the focus of an exhibition at the Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University. Her work was part of the institute’s fall premiere last Friday evening and will remain on display until March 9, 2025.
The group exhibition known as “Dear Mazie” tours the romanticized lens of Meredith’s early life and legacy, her relationship with her life partner, former dean of VSU’s School of Education, Edna Meade Colson, through lettered-style plaques, abstract artwork and elements of nature. The major source of inspiration for “Dear Mazie” was Meredith’s iconic design and primary residence, Azurest South, an iconic mid-century modern home with turquoise roofing that the artist lived in with Colson until her death in 1984.
ICA’s senior art curator, Amber Esseiva, spent almost four years on the project by researching through letters, photos and architectural blueprints in Meredith’s 5,000-piece archive at VSU. Esseiva then invited 11 contemporary artists, architects and designers to bring the project to life. The collective also includes Emanuel Admassu and Jen Wood, Joseph Cuillier and Shani Peters, Lukaza Branfman-Verissimo, Kapwani Kiwanga, Abigail Lucien, Tschabalala Self and Cauleen Smith.
“I wanted to have fun with it and first and foremost create new things that were inspired by her work and not just … in-
The Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University’s latest exhibition, “Dear Mazie,” features art inspired by the life and work of Amaza Lee Meredith, a Lynchburg native who was an artist and a Virginia State University educator.
debted to some kind of truth,” Esseiva said during a tour of the exhibit. “Being Black there is a certain amount of oppression, even now … it’s more important to me what she [Meredith] was able to build out of that.”
Meredith was born in Lynchburg in 1895 to a Black mother and white father, when interracial relationships were illegal in Virginia. She graduated top of her class at the now-defunct Jackson High School, despite the family’s grief with Meredith’s father taking his own life due to the scrutiny he faced from having an interracial marriage with a Black woman. Meredith went on to become a teacher and accomplished artist, where she exhibited her work at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and in galleries
in New York and North Carolina.
“Seeing [Meredith’s] story is extremely impactful, special and inspiring,” said artist and muralist Austin Auz Miles, who is based in Petersburg and Richmond.
Despite Meredith earning her bachelor’s degree at Columbia University, the artist was discouraged from attending architectural schools due to her race and gender, so she taught herself the architectural designs of International Style, a modern architectural design with characteristics of minimalism and functionalism, mid-century modernism and seaside cottages with a Cape Cod coastal flare.
“I don’t think that having formal, or institutional or collegiate training, fairly means that an artist is less or more than capable of having a career in the arts,” Miles said. “I also feel that formality is a way to keep people from access to the arts and [Meredith] broke barriers in that.”
Meredith not only designed her Azurest South, but she also developed Azurest North, a beachfront community for middle class African Americans in Sag Harbor, N.Y.
“I think it’s really powerful,” said architectural artist Emanuel Admassu on Meredith’s self-teaching on architecture. “We want to have an expansive understanding of what a spatial practice is and she helps us reimagine that.”
Esseiva said she hopes “Dear Mazie” will introduce Meredith’s work to wider audiences, while continuing her mission of supporting Black artists through the commission of new pieces in response to her work.
“This is basically … a very big letter to a very incredible person,” Esseiva said during the premiere. “It’s only the beginning. This story needs to be told and we’re lucky to be the institution that was able to tell this story.”
Library exhibition showcases lives rebuilt after prison
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By George Copeland Jr.
Multiple voices, once silenced behind prison walls, now echo through the halls of Richmond’s Main Library.
The newly opened exhibition “Virginia Needs a Second Chance” turns the spotlight on prison justice advocates and the former inmates who’ve defied societal expectations, rebuilding their lives and giving back to their communities in profound ways. The exhibition is part of a monthlong multimedia project created by the ACLU of Virginia and eight people who’ve been impacted by the state’s prison system through either incarceration or advocacy.
“The collaboration and the coming together and becoming a family over this process is a beautiful thing,” Shawn Barksdale said.
A native of Halifax County, Barksdale was incarcerated for 14 years and has spent the last nine years since his release building on the GED, college courses and trade certificates he earned or began behind bars. This includes creating the screen-printing business Press 4 Time Tees, the Ten Minutes of Truth podcast and the Boots on the Ground mentorship. Barksdale serves as one of the
The goal for the exhibition: to change the perception and narratives around the currently and formerly incarcerated in Virginia, and enable them to reintegrate into society more easily. For those featured in the exhibit, the opportunity and the work done up to this point were deeply rewarding.
George Copeland Jr.
Director of The Humanization Project and former prisoner
Taj Mahon-Haft looks on as Pastor Rodney Hunter speaks during a panel discussion as part of the opening of the “Virginia Needs a Second Chance” exhibition at the Richmond Public Library last Friday evening.
eight “storytellers” from across Virginia featured in the exhibit, alongside Angela White, Taj
Mahon-Haft, Rodney Hunter, Angel DeJesus, Chenoa Young, Amber Bowman and Paulettra
Over 60 people visited the exhibition during its opening, which featured videos and black and white photography of the storytellers, alongside art created inside and outside the prison system by the incarcerated.
“To me, the storytelling phase is to help us know each other,” said Hunter, who is the pastor of Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church and a prison justice and reform advocate.
“Then we can see that these are just people who need help, just like all of us have needed help at some point in our lives. To me, this is what this is all about.”
A major focus for the opening evening was exploring the value of second chances, from the social impact to the economic
TRUMP’S PROJECT ���� IS A THREAT TO BLACK AMERICANS
Project 2025 is Donald Trump and JD Vance’s plan to remake the federal government if they win. It would:
Use Civil Rights-era laws created to address discrimination to instead benefit white people – Axios, 4/1/24
Gut the Affordable Care Act, which will raise health care costs and threaten health care coverage for millions of Americans – AP News, 11/27/23
Cut Social Security and Medicare Americans have earned – Washington Post, 2/9/23
Ban abortion nationally – New York Times, 2/16/24
benefits of allowing the incarcerated to grow and build new lives compared to keeping them in prison. A panel discussion between ACLU-VA members and some of the storytellers furthered this topic. Storytellers emphasized the impact advocacy can have on the incarcerated, the methods to ensure more humane policy by changing how people think, and the need for those who’ve experienced incarceration to be part of improving the prison and re-entry systems. The exhibition continues through Sept. 30. Three related events are scheduled for the month. The Richmond Public Library will host a Community Engagement Day on Saturday, Sept. 14, at 11 a.m. and a Youth Engagement Day on Saturday, Sept. 28, at 10 a.m.
Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press
Vice President Harris confronts Trump with pointed attacks in debate
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The Democratic vice president provoked Trump with reminders about the 2020 election loss that he still denies, delivered derisive asides at his false claims and sought to underscore the Republican former president’s role in the Supreme Court’s overturning of a national right to abortion two years ago. Trump tore into Harris as too liberal and a continuation of Biden’s unpopular administration, as he launched into the sort of freewheeling personal attacks and digressions from which his advisers and supporters have tried to steer him away.
Less than two months from Election Day and hours before the first early ballots will begin to be mailed Wednesday in Alabama, the debate offered the clearest look yet at a presidential race that has been repeatedly upended.
Harris’ performance by nearly every measure seemed to be the opposite of President Biden’s in June, with sharp, focused answers designed to showcase the contrast between her and Trump, whereas Biden at times was muddled, halting and incoherent Harris used her body language and facial expressions to confront Trump and express that she found his answers ridiculous, amusing or both — a pronounced change from Biden’s slack-jawed expression when Trump attacked him.
Harris appeared intent on casting herself as a relief for voters seeking a break from Trump’s acerbic politics — a contrast highlighted as Trump appeared to be set on his back foot by her needling.
In one moment, Harris turned to Trump and said that as vice president, she had spoken to foreign leaders who “are laughing at Donald Trump,” and said she had spoken to military leaders, “and they say you’re a disgrace.”
As Trump, 78, again questioned her racial identity, the 59-yearold Harris, the first woman, Black person and person of South Asian descent to serve as vice president, pointedly gestured to Trump and responded, “I think the American people want better than that, want better than this.”
Trump in turn tried to link Harris to the still-unpopular Biden, questioning why she hadn’t acted on her proposed ideas while serving as vice president. Trump also focused his attacks on Harris over her assignment by Biden to deal with the root causes of illegal migration.
“Why hasn’t she done it? She’s been there for three and a half years,” he said.
Harris promised tax cuts aimed at the middle class and said she would push to restore a federally guaranteed right to abortion overturned by the Supreme Court two years ago. Trump said his proposed tariffs would help the U.S. stop being cheated by allies on trade and said he would work to swiftly end the Russia-Ukraine war — though he twice refused to say he believed it was in America’s interest for Ukraine, which bipartisan majorities in Congress have backed, to win the war.
Trump again denied that he lost to Biden four years ago, when a mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol to try to stop the certification of his loss based on false or unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud. He tried to reverse the question of threats to American democracy and suggested criticism of him could be linked to the assassination attempt he survived in July.
“I probably took a bullet to the head because of the things that they say about me,” he said. “They talk about democracy, I’m a threat to democracy. They’re the threat to democracy.”
Trump has in recent days ramped up his threats of retribution if he returns to the White House, saying he would prosecute lawyers, donors, and other officials whom he deems to “cheat” in the election.
“Donald Trump was fired by 81 million people,” Harris said,
“So let’s be clear about that. And clearly he is having a very difficult time processing that.”
Her campaign ended the debate by expressing openness to another meeting in October — and welcomed an endorsement from megastar Taylor Swift, who labeled herself a “ childless cat lady” in a dig at Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, as she encouraged her fans to vote.
Harris defends shifts to the center
Harris sought to defend her shifts away from liberal causes to more moderate stances on fracking, expanding Medicare for all and mandatory gun buyback programs — and even backing away from her position that plastic straws should be banned — as pragmatism.
Asked about her changing positions on a number of issues, she twice repeated a phrase she has used to try to explain it away, saying, “My values have not changed.”
Trump, meanwhile, quickly went after Harris for abandoning some of her past liberal positions and said: “She’s going to my philosophy now. In fact, I was going to send her a MAGA hat.” Harris smiled broadly and laughed.
Harris, in zeroing in on one of Trump’s biggest electoral vulnerabilities, laid the end of a federally guaranteed right to abortion at Trump’s feet for his role in appointing three U.S. Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade, leaving more than 20 states in the country with what she called “Trump abortion bans.”
Harris gave one of her most impassioned answers as she described the ways women have been denied abortion care and other emergency care since that ruling, and said Trump would sign a national abortion ban if he wins.
Trump declared it “a lie,” and said, “I’m not signing a ban and there’s no reason to sign a ban.”
The Republican has said he wants the issue left to the states.
Trump, who is trying to paint the vice president as an out-oftouch liberal while trying to win over voters skeptical he should return to the White House, continued to call Harris a “Marxist” and said, “Everyone knows she’s a Marxist.”
Harris’ eyebrows shot up and she made an amused face, bringing her hand to her chin and staring at him.
Trump leaned on familiar falsehoods
Trump attacked Harris for the inflation seen under the BidenHarris administration, a major liability for the vice president. He quickly turned his answer to warning about immigrants coming into the country — one of the subjects he’s focused on most heavily in his campaign.
He called his proposed tariffs a straightforward way to make other countries pay for what he has long argued is an imbalance that hurts the U.S. Harris called the tariffs an effective national sales tax. Trump reacted swiftly and called that “an incorrect statement.”
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voters in the previous weeks.
The survey also found that Harris’ popularity has declined a bit among likely voters over the past week, with voters just one point more likely to hold favorable opinions about her than unfavorable ones (50% to 49%).
But nationwide Harris remains more popular than Trump, whose net favorability rating is 10 points underwater, as she
Throughout his campaign, Trump has leaned on illegal immigration, an issue that has bedeviled Biden and Harris with rising numbers of illegal border crossings and the arrivals of thousands of people needing shelter in Democratic-led cities. He accused Democrats of abetting large numbers of unauthorized crossings — though they have dropped in recent months in part due to new asylum restrictions by the Biden administration. But as he often does in his rallies and on his social media account, Trump reeled off a series of falsehoods or unproven claims about migrants. One of those claims was a debunked rumor that Trump and his allies have spread online in recent days, alleging Haitian immigrants in a Ohio town are hunting and eating pets. Officials in Springfield, Ohio, say they have no evidence of that happening.
“Talk about extreme,” Harris said after Trump talked about dogs and cats being eaten. Harris’ expressions filled their split-screen
As the debate opened, Harris walked up to Trump’s lectern to introduce herself, marking the first time the two had ever met, since Trump skipped her 2021 inauguration. “Kamala Harris,” she said, extending her hand to Trump, who received it in a handshake — the first presidential debate handshake since the 2016 campaign.
Trump has at times resorted to invoking racial and gender stereotypes and falsely claiming that Harris, who attended a historically Black university, hid her race during her career.
“I read where she was not Black,” Trump said when asked about comments questioning Harris’ race, adding a minute later, “and then I read that she was Black.” He seemed to suggest her race was a choice, saying twice, “That’s up to her.”
“I think it’s a tragedy that we have someone who wants to be president who has consistently over the course of his career attempted to use race to divide the American people,” Harris responded.
While Tuesday’s meeting might be the last time the candidates cross paths on the debate stage, they crossed paths again Wednesday when they both mark the 23rd anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Harris, Trump and Biden were all at ground zero in lower Manhattan and the Flight 93 National Memorial near Shanksville, Pa., on Wednesday. Harris and Biden also visited the Pentagon in Arlington, later in the day for a ceremony there. Trump at one point launched into an attack on Biden, questioning his mental acuity by making the claim that Biden “doesn’t even know he’s alive.”
Harris quickly tried to turn it around to make Trump look less than sharp.
“First of all, I think it’s important to remind the former president, you’re not running against Joe Biden. You’re running against me,” she said
continues to receive more positive news coverage than the former president has ever received in Morning Consult’s tracking dating back to November 2022.
A new Washington Post-Schar School poll released Tuesday morning has Harris ahead of Trump by eight percentage points (50%-42%), largely owed to an 18-point advantage among women voters and by a sense of unity among Democrats. The survey also found that 53% of Virginia voters have an unfavorable opinion of the former president, while 39% view him more favorably. In contrast, Harris enjoys a 49% favorability rating, with 42% of voters finding her unfavorable.
Legendary soul icon Frankie Beverly dies at 77
Continued from A1
Philadelphia, he began his musical journey singing gospel in local churches. At just 13 years old, he joined the ensemble The Silhouettes and later formed his own group, The Blenders, inspired by doo-wop icons like Frankie Lymon. In a nod to his musical idol, Beverly changed his first name to Frankie, setting the stage for his future legacy.
In 1970, Beverly founded the band Maze in Philadelphia, originally named Raw Soul. The group’s big break came when R&B legend Marvin Gaye, impressed by their talent, suggested they change their name to Maze. Beverly relocated to San Francisco in 1971, and the rest is history.
U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., also is ahead of his Republican challenger, former Navy Capt. Hung Cao, by 12 points, or 53%-41%, the poll says. The story originally appeared on VirginiaMercury.com.
James Earl Jones dies at 93
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Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly debuted with a self-titled album in 1976, which went on to sell more than 500,000 copies and earned gold status. The album featured timeless tracks such as “While I’m Alone,” which climbed the Billboard charts, reaching No. 21 on the R&B chart and No. 89 on the Hot 100. Over the next decade, Beverly and Maze released a string of hits, including “Feel That You’re Feelin’” from their 1979 album “Inspiration,” which reached No. 7 on the R&B chart, and “Southern Girl” from the 1980 album “Joy and Pain,” which peaked at No. 9 on the R&B chart.
Continued from A1
still remembers her first day of school.
The group’s live performances, particularly their 1981 album “Live in New Orleans,” showcased their musical brilliance and standout tracks like “Running Away” and “Before I Let Go,” the latter of which became an enduring classic in R&B and funk circles, reaching No. 13 on the R&B chart. In the mid-1980s, the group continued their success with hits like “Too Many Games” and “Back In Stride” from their album “Can’t Stop the Love,” cementing their place in music history. Throughout his career, Beverly demonstrated a unique ability to craft timeless music that resonated with generations of
“I was expecting to show them that I was not an animal, that I was okay, I was normal and that they could be friends with me. I never got that chance,” she said.
Instead, she encountered white students calling her the n-word and other racial slurs. Despite being strong in math and science, her math teacher at Brunswick failed her one semester, making her repeat the class over again. After she left Brunswick, Stith-Jackson graduated with a bachelor’s from Virginia State University and eventually became an educator and school administrator.
fans. His contributions to soundtracks, including the 2005 film “Get Rich or Die Tryin’,” further solidified his impact. His song “Hustler’s Ambition” earned a nomination for “Outstanding Original Song” at the Satellite Awards that year.
Beverly’s influence didn’t go unnoticed. In 2012, he was honored with the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award at the BET Awards. In 2019, at the age of 72, he delivered a powerful performance at the Essence Festival in New Orleans, proving that his music still moved the masses.
Beyond his musical accolades, Beverly’s family said he was a devoted father to his son, Anthony Beverly, and a loving grandfather to three grandchildren. They said his legacy, marked by five gold albums and countless unforgettable songs, will continue to inspire and resonate with fans for years to come.
“He lived for his music, family, and friends. For us, no one did it better,” the family stated.
Elvertha Cox Gillis, self-described as a rebellious and unrefined teenager, shared a time when she got called into the principal’s office after fighting with a male classmate.
Once she got inside the principal’s office, she told the last week’s Library of Virginia audience, the principal called her a, “Negro girl,” which was followed by heavy gasps from the crowd.
“I got on [the principal’s] desk and I told him, ‘My name is Elvertha Cox, repeat after me.’ I mean, I was a little person for my age,” Cox Gillis said. “I said, ‘if you say it again, I’m going to clench you in your heart.’”
Cox Gillis was suspended from school for 10 days, but after her mother negotiated with
the beloved character Mufasa in Disney’s animated classic “The Lion King” (1994) and again in the 2019 live-action remake. His unmistakable voice was also a signature of CNN’s “This is CNN” campaign.
Jones’ acting career began on the stage and in film with his breakout role in Stanley Kubrick’s “Dr. Strangelove” (1964). His powerful on-screen presence led to roles in a variety of acclaimed films including “Conan the Barbarian” (1982), “Coming to America” (1988), “The Hunt for Red October” (1990), and “The Sandlot” (1990). He earned an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Jack Jefferson in “The Great White Hope” (1970), a role that also won him his first Tony Award.
On Broadway, Jones earned four Tony nominations and took home two wins for “The Great White Hope” in 1969 and “August Wilson’s Fences” in 1987. His contribution to the stage was celebrated with a Special Tony Award in 2017. Jones’ talents were equally recognized on television, where he won two Primetime Emmys in 1991 for “Gabriel’s Fire” and “Heat Wave.” His voice and presence on screen were magnetic, a testament to his versatility as an actor who could excel in drama, comedy and everything in between.
A recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors in 2002, Jones’ lifetime of achievements earned him accolades from SAGAFTRA and the National Board of Review and a Grammy for Best Spoken Word Recording in 1977.
the principal the next day, Gillis was ordered back to class. The once rebellious teenager eventually returned to Brunswick High as an educator, then assistant principal.
“Through it all, it was a life learning experience, and if I had to do it again, I would do the same thing over again,” she said.
Jones served 35 years as a teacher and counselor for Richmond Public Schools, retiring as a counselor in 2006 at Thomas Jefferson High School. She received an Unsung Hero Award from the National Association of University Women in April.
Jones said while overt discrimination has decreased, racism persists in more subtle forms.
“There’s a lot of hidden racism today,” he
said. “There are people whose attitudes have not changed.”
Jones added he would prefer direct confrontation to concealed prejudice.
“I prefer somebody to call me (racial slur) than to hate me and I not know you were hating me,” he said. “I would know where that person is coming from.”
Catherine Fitzgerald-Wyatt, The Library of Virginia’s director of education and outreach, added that it is important to listen to others’ lived experiences.
“Take the time to listen to one another … then hopefully, build empathy for others,” said Fitzgerald-Wyatt. “I think we can all be change makers in our own communities.”
Mayoral hopefuls outline strategies for key city positions
By George Copeland Jr.
Mayoral candidates gave more insight into how their vision would shape the state of city government during a forum at the Virginia Rep Center for Arts and Education on Tuesday evening.
Moderated by Grady Hart of the Rosedale Civic Association, the forum saw Harrison Roday, Maurice Neblett, Michelle Mosby, Danny Avula and Andreas Addison provide their outlook on topics of particular importance to the city’s 3rd District.
Local residents were present to hear from candidates, with multiple 3rd District civic associations collaborating to host the event.
Alongside answering questions on property taxes, transportation and supporting the district’s small businesses, candidates also provided insight into how they would handle replacing or retaining some of the officials of Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s administration.
Candidates had previously voiced their intention to replace the city’s current Chief Administrative Officer Lincoln Saunders, and were asked to further explain their strategy for finding and hiring his replacement.
Avula cited his work in finding new leadership for the Richmond and Henrico health districts as evidence of his hiring strategies, with an eye toward finding a great team-builder and a team
JXN
Project
reflective of Richmond.
“Richmond’s a great city — there’s no reason that we should not be able to attract top talent from all over the country,” Avula said. “I’m looking for somebody who is a great team builder, a great culture builder who shares my priority of customer-focused service delivery.”
Quality of character and experience were major qualities Neblett would look for in who he would hire as CAO if elected, as well as an openness to the Richmond residents.
“You want to have someone that engages with the community, and understands and knows what their citizens want, they listen,” Neblett said.
“What I look at is hiring someone who has the integrity and character.”
Mosby focused on the value of connections in a new CAO, from experience with local government, to collaboration with city, local and regional partners. She also would conduct interviews for new hires with City Council members.
“There’s a lot of times friction between the mayor and who he hired and the City Council,” Mosby said. “Bringing council in so they’re a part of the hiring process will help to bridge that gap.”
Roday, for his part, voiced a preference for a humble, communicative CAO who wasn’t a “political appointee” and could serve well across multiple administrations, but cautioned
against thinking that one hire would fix the many problems at City Hall.
“It’s gonna be a team effort. It’s gonna require a lot,” Roday said. “It’s gonna require working with the folks who do the job everyday.”
Addison also emphasized a team-focused approach when hiring new staff, and said he’d look for someone with experience with union contracts.
Candidate responses were also varied when asked whether they would retain Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras during their time in office and if they would work with him to improve the school system.
Addison, Mosby and Roday made clear that the choice of superintendent would be for the School Board to decide, with some also highlighting their recent accomplishments. Mosby cited her prior work with, and endorsements from, the School Board. Roday touted his Richmond Education Association endorsement and promised to be a strong advocate for students and staff.
A range of proposals also were shared, such as Avula’s state-level advocacy, Neblett’s funding of support staff and lessening the load on teachers, and Addison’s proposal for a deputy mayor for school performance and other ideas.
“Every school should be a convening space for our community, neighbors and partners,” Addison said. “I will commit to finding where we can find those opportunities in our budgets moving forward together.”
and Library of Virginia unveil Jackson Ward’s hidden history
Free Press staff report
The Library of Virginia, in partnership with The JXN Project, has received a $282,975 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to support a new exhibition on the history of Richmond’s Jackson Ward neighborhood. Titled “House to Highway: Reclaiming the Hidden History of Jackson Ward,” the exhibition highlights the pivotal role of Jackson Ward in the Black History, showcasing the neighborhood’s past through the lens of the Skipwith-Roper family.
The exhibition marks a major step forward for The JXN Project (JXN), a nonprofit dedicated to capturing and preserving the historic legacy of Jackson Ward. JXN Executive Director,Sesha Joi Moon emphasized the project’s goal to advance “restorative truth-telling and redemptive storytelling” as a means to preserve the area’s history.
“House to Highway” will be presented in two venues, starting with a 10-month installation at the Library of Virginia in 2025. A longer-term exhibition is planned for the reconstructed Skipwith-Roper Cottage in Jackson Ward, set to open in April 2026 as part of the neighborhood’s anniversary celebrations. A traveling version will
also be available to public libraries and small museums across Virginia. This exhibition will explore more than 250 years of history, using maps, photographs and archival records to showcase the extraordinary legacy of Abraham Peyton Skipwith and his descendants, who were among the first Black homeowners in the area.
Jackson Ward, once a vibrant hub of Black economic and political power, was deeply impacted by the construction of the Richmond-
Petersburg Turnpike in the 1940s. The project displaced over 1,000 families, including the last Black homeowners of the Skipwith-Roper Cottage. Research uncovered that the cottage was relocated rather than destroyed, and remnants of it still exist today. The JXN Project now plans to restore the cottage as part of a larger effort to reconstruct the area’s historic legacy.
JXN’s preservation work has gained significant momentum, with the organization raising $3.8 million toward a $5.68 million goal to fund the Skipwith-Roper Homecoming Campaign. This initiative includes the reconstruction of the Skipwith-Roper Cottage and JXN Haus, a multi-functional research space with community programming. Notable contributors include the Mellon Foundation, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation, among others.
Dr. Moon highlighted the importance of Jackson Ward’s reconstruction for the upcoming U.S. Semiquincentennial, noting that “1 in 4 Black Americans can retrace their roots to the rivers in the Richmond region.”
A groundbreaking ceremony for the SkipwithRoper Cottage and JXN Haus will take place on Sept. 28 with remarks from Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan and Mayor Levar M. Stoney.
The forum wasn’t without issues or interruptions. An audience member disrupted the forum during one of Mosby’s responses. Roday would also be cut off during a response for referencing Avula directly, pointing out his earlier work with Gov. Glenn A. Youngkin’s administration.
Another forum
Mayoral candidates announce forum and debate schedule
Photo courtesy Library of Virginia
This photo shows the destruction of houses in Jackson Ward for RichmondPetersburg Turnpike on Nov. 14, 1956.
National Baptist Convention elects new president amid controversy
By Adelle M. Banks Religon News Service
After an unusual election that gave voters the choice on the ballot of a name or a “no,” members of the National Baptist Convention, USA, lined up behind a new president, the Rev. Boise Kimber, senior pastor of First Calvary Baptist Church in New Haven, Conn. Kimber, who ran unopposed but needed the approval of the historically Black denomination’s delegates, received 1,774 “yes” votes, or 69% of the votes cast, Sept. 5, while 79 votes, or 31%, were cast as “no” votes.
“Oh, how marvelous God is,” said Kimber, after outgoing NBCUSA President Jerry Young invited him to greet those attending the final session of the annual meeting. “My brothers and sisters in Christ, I greet you in the name of him who orders our steps. What God has done no persons can put asunder.”
In the months ahead of the NBCUSA annual session, which concluded shortly after the election results were announced, officials determined Kimber had received the necessary 100 endorsements from member churches and other NBCUSA entities to qualify to run for president.
Four other men who had hoped to be on the ballot were told they did not qualify: the Rev. Tellis Chapman, a Detroit pastor; the Rev. Claybon Lea, a San Francisco-area pastor; the Rev. Alvin Love, a Chicago-area pastor; and the Rev. James B. Sampson, a Florida pastor. Pastor Thomas Morris Sr., chairman of the NBCUSA’s Election Supervisory Commission, said in an earlier interview that many of the other candidates’ endorsements were voided because they came from churches that have been unable to afford their required annual registration with the denomina-
Partnership for the Future awarded $375,000 grant
Free Press staff report
Partnership for the Future, a nonprofit organization focused on providing college access and success support to under-resourced high school students, recently received a $375,000 grant from the Richmond Memorial Health Foundation. The grant, which will be distributed over three years, will fund general operating expenses to support PFF’s programs.
The grant will help PFF continue its mission of preparing high-achieving students for college and career success, according to a press release from the group. The organization provides resources such as college preparatory services, workforce development, internships and mentorship programs to help students access higher education with minimal debt.
“We are proud to support Partnership for the Future in their vital work of transforming the lives of young people through education,” said Reginald Gordon, president and CEO of RMHF. “This grant underscores our commitment to fostering equitable opportunities and improving our community’s overall health and well-being. By investing in education, we believe we are laying the foundation for a healthier and more prosperous future for all.”
PFF plans to use the funding to expand its initiatives promoting educational equity and closing the wealth gap through higher education, according to the press release. The organization plans to enhance its programs to better equip students with the tools and guidance needed to achieve their academic and professional goals.
“We are incredibly grateful to Richmond Memorial Health Foundation for their continued support and belief in our mission,” said Dionne Henderson, president and CEO of PFF. “This grant will have a profound impact on our ability to serve our students and help them realize their full potential. Together, we are creating pathways to success and building a stronger, more equitable community.”
tion due to lack of funds, consolidation or closure.
In May, the disqualified challengers released a video in which they urged supporters to help them “fight for the soul of our convention.” They hoped sufficient “no” votes would cause the election process to restart.
In August, Sampson wrote about his continuing concerns in a Facebook post that said, in part, “There is no way that any candidate selected under these circumstances can legitimately govern this august body.”
But shortly after the election results were announced, the latest posting on Sampson’s Facebook account seemed to offer a different tone: “God have spoken, let the National Baptist Convention USA inc, Constituency say Amen. Lord Bless and keep ‘President Boise Kimber.’”
The Rev. Dwight McKissic, a Texas pastor whose church has been dually aligned with the Southern Baptist Convention, was a newly appointed NBCUSA officer along with Kimber in 2020. The day before the election, McKissic expressed his support for a “no” voting,
saying in a Facebook post that cited lyrics from the hymn “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”:
“A ‘No’ vote immediately fuses ‘strength for today’ and ‘bright hope for tomorrow’ into the fabric and fellowship of our great convention.”
McKissic, who declined further comment, told RNS after the election that he sent Kimber a text with his congratulations.
“You prayed and worked hard for this,” he told Kimber. “God granted it to you. May God crown your time in office with phenomenal & Kingdom success. Blessings on you, and the National Baptist Convention.”
On the day before the election, some attendees at the gathering voiced support for Kimber as a generational change.
Dr. Dwight and Dr. Derik Jones, senior pastor and pastor, respectively, of First Baptist Church of South Richmond, expressed concern about how the NBCUSA will draw in more members of younger generations.
“We’re hopeful that this election will kind of be the dawn of a new day for the convention in terms of it being serious about
meeting the needs of the church in 2024,” said Derick Jones.
“The church, particularly the post-pandemic church, is going through so many gyrations and changes that it needs a leadership that is able to adapt and to lead the convention,” added Dwight Jones, who said he planned to vote for Kimber. “Many churches are dying, and if the church is dying, the convention can’t live.”
Both Young, the outgoing denominational president, and the Rev. Breonus Mitchell Sr., NBCUSA board chair, said the denomination’s election processes need to be changed in the future. Mitchell said on Sept. 4 that the current bylaws contain “so much ambiguity,” pointing to one church that had joined and paid for its registration in 2023 but was not able to have voting delegates at the session. Young, in his final address Wednesday, acknowledged the “unusual” election but said its
Virginia State University honored as Fulbright Institutional Leader
Free Press staff report
Virginia State University has been named a Fulbright Historically Black College and University Institutional Leader for 2024, marking its third consecutive year receiving this recognition from the U.S. Department of State.
The designation acknowledges HBCUs that demonstrate exceptional support for Fulbright participants and actively promote Fulbright programs on campus.
“To be recognized as a Fulbright HBCU Institutional Leader for the third year in a row is a tremendous accomplishment for the University,” said Dr. Tia Minnis, provost and vice president of Academic Affairs. “Fulbright has brought new perspectives and opportunities to our community through international engagement and education.”
VSU has a history of active engagement in Fulbright initiatives, including hosting international educators and providing opportunities for students, faculty and staff to study and teach abroad.
Recent notable examples include Hunter Mack, a former VSU football player and engineering major, who received a Fulbright U.S. Student Program award to the Czech Republic for the 2021-2022 academic year. Dr. Karl Jackson, asso-
strangeness did not mean anyone had done wrong.
“There is absolutely no question that there are some problems with the process,” he said. “But hear me: You can’t get in the middle of the process and then decide it ought to change.”
After Thomas announced the election results on behalf of the elections commission, Young said the decision was final.
“Their report here tonight says clearly that the body has spoken,” he said, drawing some applause. “And when the body speaks, that settles the matter. Within the context of Baptist polity, there is no appellate system.”
Shortly before calling the meeting to a close, Young noted that he hopes to achieve the transfer of authority over the denomination in less than the 30-day maximum stated in the NBCUSA constitution.
He also contrasted his plans for a “smooth transition” with the last national U.S. election.
“I can promise you this: There will be no insurrection on our part,” Young said, drawing some laughter and applause. “And you can bet on this: We’re not going to storm the headquarters.”
ciate professor of chemistry, served as a Fulbright Scholar in Ghana for the 2023-2024 academic year. Dr. Chevelle Hall, associate professor of sports Management, participated as a Fulbright Hays Scholar in Taiwan during summer of 2023, while Dr. Patricia Lynch, Associate Professor of Dietetics, completed a Fulbright Specialist award in Indonesia in January 2023.
The university has also hosted Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistants from Mexico and Argentina, and welcomed Fulbright Visiting Scholar Dr. Shafaq Fatima from Pakistan.
“I have been incredibly proud to see VSU embrace the many opportunities available through the Fulbright program,” said Dr. Daniel Roberts, Dean of the Honors College and VSU’s Fulbright Campus Advisor. “Hosting Fulbrighters has been a valuable experience for our students and the entire campus community.”
The 2024 Fulbright HBCU Institutional Leader announcement was made on September 10, ahead of the Annual National HBCU Week Conference hosted by the White House Initiative on HBCUs.
“[This] is a testament to your dedication to promoting global engagement and international understanding,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said in praising the recognized institutions.
Dr. Jones
Dionne Henderson, president and CEO of Partnership for the Future, and Reginald Gordon, president & CEO of Richmond Memorial Health Foundation.
RNS photo/Adelle M. Banks
The Rev. Boise Kimber, at podium, president-elect of NBCUSA, addresses the close of the National Baptist Convention, USA annual meeting Sept. 5 at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore. The Rev. Jerry Young, center right, outgoing NBCUSA president, listens to Kimber.
As interest wanes, pediatricians scale back on COVID-19 shots
By Jackie Fortiér KFF Health News
When Dr. Eric Ball opened a refrigerator full of childhood vaccines, all the expected shots were there — DTaP, polio, pneumococcal vaccine — except one.
“This is where we usually store our COVID vaccines, but we don’t have any right now because they all expired at the end of last year and we had to dispose of them,” said Ball, who is part of a pediatric practice in Orange County, Calif.
“We thought demand would be way higher than it was.”
Pediatricians across the country are pre-ordering the updated and reformulated COVID-19 vaccine for the fall and winter respiratory virus season, but some doctors said they’re struggling to predict whether parents will be interested. Providers like
Ball don’t want to waste money ordering doses that won’t be used, but they need enough on hand to vaccinate vulnerable children.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that anyone 6 months or older get the updated COVID vaccination, but in the 2023-24 vaccination season only about 15% of eligible children in the U.S. got a shot.
Ball said it was difficult to let vaccines go to waste last year. It was the first time the federal government was no longer picking up the tab for the shots, and providers had to pay upfront for the vaccines.
Parents would often skip the COVID shot, which can have a very short shelf life compared with other vaccines.
“Watching it sitting on our shelves expiring every 30 days, that’s like throwing away $150
repeatedly every day, multiple times a month,” Ball said.
This year, Ball slashed his fall vaccine order to the bare minimum to avoid another costly mistake.
“We took the number of flu vaccines that we order, and then we ordered 5% of that in COVID vaccines,” Ball said.
“It’s a guess.”
That small vaccine order cost more than $63,000, he said.
Pharmacists, pharmacy interns, and techs are allowed to give COVID vaccines only to children age 3 and up, meaning babies and toddlers would need to visit a doctor’s office for inoculation.
It’s difficult to predict how parents will feel about the shots this fall, said Chicago pediatrician Scott Goldstein. Unlike other vaccinations, COVID shots aren’t required for kids to attend school, and parental
interest seems to wane with each new formulation, he said.
For a physician-owned practice such as Goldstein’s, the upfront cost of the vaccine can be a gamble.
“The cost of vaccines, that’s far and away our biggest expense. But it’s also the most important thing we do, you could argue, is vaccinating kids,” Goldstein said.
Insurance doesn’t necessarily cover vaccine storage accidents, which can put the practice at risk of financial ruin.
“We’ve had things happen like a refrigerator gets unplugged. And then we’re all of a sudden out $80,000 overnight,” Goldstein said.
South Carolina pediatrician Deborah Greenhouse said she would order more COVID vaccines for older children if the pharmaceutical companies that she buys from had a more forgiving return policy.
“Pfizer is creating that situation. If you’re only going to let us return 30%, we’re not going to buy much,” she said. “We can’t.”
Greenhouse owns her practice, so the remaining 70% of leftover shots would come out
of her pocket.
Vaccine maker Pfizer will take back all unused COVID shots for young children, but only 30% of doses for people 12 and older.
Pfizer said in an Aug. 20 emailed statement, “The return policy was instituted as we recognize both the importance and the complexity of pediatric vaccination and wanted to ensure that pediatric offices did not have hurdles to providing vaccine to their young patients.”
Pfizer’s return policy is similar to policies from other drugmakers for pediatric flu vaccines, also recommended during the fall season. Physicians who are worried about unwanted COVID vaccines expiring on the shelves said flu shots cost them about $20 per dose, while COVID shots cost around $150 per dose.
“We run on a very thin margin. If we get stuck holding a ton of vaccine that we cannot return, we can’t absorb that kind of cost,” Greenhouse said.
Vaccine maker Moderna will accept COVID vaccine returns, but the amount depends on the individual contract with a provider. Novavax will accept the
return of only unopened vaccines and doesn’t specify the amount they’ll accept.
Greenhouse wants to vaccinate as many children as possible but said she can’t afford to stock shots with a short shelf life. Once she runs out of the doses she’s ordered, Greenhouse said, she plans to tell families to go to a pharmacy to get older children vaccinated. If pediatricians around the country are making the same calculations, doses for very small children could be harder to find at doctors’ offices.
“Frankly, it’s not an ideal situation, but it’s what we have to do to stay in business,” she said.
Ball, the California pediatrician, worries that parents’limited interest has caused pediatricians to minimize their vaccine orders, in turn making the newest COVID shots difficult to find once they become available.
“I think there’s just a misperception that it’s less of a big deal to get COVID, but I’m still sending babies to the hospital with COVID,” Ball said. “We’re still seeing kids with Long COVID. This is with us forever.”
Photos by Jackie Fortiér /KFF Health News
Childhood vaccines are stored in temperature-controlled refrigerators at Dr. Eric Ball’s practice in Orange County, Calif.
Murals adorn the walls of the waiting room at Dr. Ball’s pediatrics practice.
Richmond Free Press
Editorial Page
September 12-14, 2024
Rare soul
He made us happy.
If you have ever been within earshot when Frankie Beverly’s baritone cut though the air at a cookout, block party, night club, lounge, after-hours joint or at any other social gathering where African Americans of a certain age are present, then you already know that. There is something about his vocals and the music of Maze that brought people closer together – to let themselves go for just a few minutes. Anyone who didn’t get up to dance to his signature song, “Before I Let Go,” is probably a person who doesn’t dance at all. It’s a song that’s proven timeless — just ask Beyoncé, who covered the 1981 hit a few years ago on her “Homecoming: The Live Album.”
Frankie Beverly and Maze toured extensively and they visited Richmond so often, he should’ve been charged property taxes. It wasn’t until March of this year when the singer announced he’d be hanging up his white cap for good and retiring from the band.
“His music has contributed to the soundtrack of our lives by enriching our experiences with his soulful melodies,” Black Promoters Collective’s Chief Executive Gary Guidry told Billboard Magazine at the time.
Frankie Beverly died on Wednesday at age 77. But we don’t have to let go of his music or the memories. His songs will remain a vital part of African American culture, a reminder of the power of soul music to uplift, unite and make us happy. As we say goodbye to this icon, let’s take comfort in knowing that somewhere, someone is stepping out onto the dance floor as “Before I Let Go” plays one more time.
The long game
Let’s give it up for the Flying Squirrels organization. They’ve stuck by Richmond, even though the city didn’t seem to appreciate the team in the early days, as they were ridiculed for their unusual moniker.
“When we went about naming the team, that’s when we heard a lot of naysayers,” former Chief Executive Officer Todd “Parney” Parnell told Richmond Magazine in 2020. “There would always be one person, seems like, that would wait for me by the door to tell me how ridiculous and silly the Flying Squirrels name was.”
Fortunately, Richmond got used to the name and the minor league baseball team settled in – for a long haul. They’ve probably spent more time at the aging ballpark they call home than they planned to, but they have not publicly whined or complained about the condition of The Diamond – that much. They also managed to stay diplomatic when plans to move the stadium to Shockoe Bottom sank and rumors of a ballpark at Navy Hill never materialized.
Now, it seems their patience has paid off. Last week, the team announced the naming rights to their next home were sold to Richmond-based CarMax. Fans were aware a new stadium was in the works, but the involvement of a local business that’s willing to back the team should generate more excitement for this development.
Richmond has had quite a few sports franchises over the years. Most play a few seasons, move on or dissolve. The Flying Squirrels, with their community involvement, strategic planning and patience with a city that can be cold to newcomers have left a blueprint on how the game should be played.
A trap
On Tuesday evening, the two presidential candidates met for their first debate. It went as many expected. Vice President Kamala Harris used pointed and precise criticisms of her opponent to bait him. It didn’t take long before he was on the hook. The former president flopped and floundered outside of his element of adoring supporters and “yes – men”. He resorted to old tactics, dog whistles and insults. It wasn’t pretty. In the aftermath, the usual conservative pundits have struggled to find the words to defend or explain his performance. Yes, their guy had a bad night. But with the election less than two months away, the consequences of this debate performance may reverberate beyond one evening, and shape the narrative of the rest of the campaign.
Milkweed pods in the East End
In an election year, Labor Day kicks off the official campaign season, and Vice President Kamala Harris kicked hers off with a bang. She had rallies in Detroit, Milwaukee and Pittsburgh, all major cities in battleground states. Joined by local elected officials in each place, vice presidential nominee Tim Walz in Milwaukee, and President Biden in Pittsburgh. In Pittsburgh, flanked by AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, teachers’ union leaders Becky Pringle (National Education Association) and Randi Weingarten (American Federation of Teachers), Harris gave a rousing speech that reminded us that we have organized labor to thank for the eight-hour workday, pensions, paid vacations and health care, worker benefits that have now become standard.
wage. The most infamous collision happened in Chicago in an event known as the Haymarket Riot, or the Haymarket Massacre. On May 4, 1886, police attempted to curtail a protest with violence against workers. Someone, still unidentified, threw a bomb. Seven police officers and between four and eight civilians were killed. Dozens were injured. Eight radical activists were arrested, four were hanged, one
committed suicide, and three were pardoned. They were described by many in labor as “martyrs”.
Those benefits didn’t come without a fight, nor did the establishment of Labor Day. In the late 19th century, the typical worker put in 60 hours a day, six days a week. There were protests all over the country, and workers were derisively described as “anarchists” and “socialists” because they were prepared to fight for a living
For the next eight years the men were lionized and celebrated. None had any connection to the bomb, but each was passionate about securing an eight-hour day. In June 1894, Congress designated the first Monday in September as Labor Day, a federal holiday. Union activism made Labor Day possible, and though most celebrate Labor Day as the last day of summer, the beginning of the football season, the return to school and to cooler days, and the beginning of the political season, few acknowledge the sacrifice of those unjustly convicted in the Haymarket riot as the genesis for this much anticipated holiday.
Unions are still fighting for worker rights and predatory capitalist employers are still resisting the demand for fair wages and working conditions. The minimum wage has not increased in more than a decade, and too many workers survive by working two minimum wage jobs. Some employers cut corners on health care. In this sweltering summer, many outdoor workers had no protection from heat that exceeded one hundred degrees. At least 37 people died from heat in July. Among those workers who made their transition in August, city worker Ronald Silver died from heat exhaustion while collecting garbage in Baltimore. There are no laws requiring employers to provide breaks in excessive heat. Silver’s family is demanding answers and action from his death. Unions are the ones who establish health and safety standards in the workplace. Unions are the ones who defend workers rights. Vice President Harris embraced unions, even in the face of the union resisting activity that comes from the right. Resistance to union activity makes it imperative to pass the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, since labor rights have been eroded in the past couple of decades. Income inequality was exacerbated during the COVID pandemic, and the emerging gig economy has left many workers with few protections. Vice President Harris understands that unions are one of the ways that workers can get a better deal. The Harris Labor Day offensive continues the momentum she picked up at the Democratic National Convention. Her speeches were not just about enthusiasm and joy, but also about policy and substance. Her ode to organized labor was a fitting kickoff to this phase of her campaign. Her opponent has only countered with shade – slimy personal attacks and vitriol. It continues to repel many voters. Snark can’t stop the Harris momentum. With labor at her side, victory is possible. Dr. Julianne Malveaux is a Washington-based economist and author.
Our nation’s symbols belong to all Americans
If you don’t tell a lie, my father used to say, you won’t have to worry about which version of your story you told last.
Right, I agreed, but with an attitude like that, ol’ Dad was well ad vised to avoid going into politics.
That ad vice came to mind amid the unfold ing saga of an unfortunate altercation at Arlington National Cemetery on Aug. 26. It seems a cemetery official tried to prevent members of former President Donald Trump’s campaign staff from taking photos and video of Trump participating in a wreath-laying ceremony. Campaign staffers reportedly didn’t like being told what to do and got a little aggressive in return.
The matter is still under investigation, but I know from experience that telling photographers where they can’t shoot is often heard as more of an invitation than a warning, and I’m trying to keep an open mind on the matter.
NPR reporte d afterward that, according to a source with knowledge of the incident,
“Arlington officials had made clear that only cemetery staff members would be authorized to take photographs or film in the area, known as Section 60.” Trump staffers responded by verbally abusing and shoving the official.
Clarence Page
In a statement to NPR a few days after the incident, cemetery officials stressed: “Federal law prohibits political campaign or election-related activities within Army National Military Cemeteries, to include photographers, content creators or any other persons attending for purposes, or in direct support of a partisan political candidate’s campaign.”
After reports of the incident surfaced, Trump’s campaign spokesperson responded by implying that the Arlington official was mentally unstable and that the campaign was preparing to release video footage of the confrontation.
Yet the former president soon cast a cloud on the narrative by contradicting his own campaign with a post on his social network, Truth Social. It falsely called the confrontation a “made up story by Comrade Kamala and her misinformation squad,” using Trump’s latest
nickname for his Democratic rival, presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump also criticized Harris and President Biden for not attending the private ceremony, although it is not clear that they had been invited.
Why, I am often asked, does the military make such a big deal over cameras on the historic cemetery grounds? Controversies such as this one show the depth of the daunting task of protecting our national symbols from partisan exploitation.
NPR spoke with one regular visitor to Arlington, Allison Jaslow, an Iraq war veteran who leads the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. Section 60, she said, is “a humbling reminder of how some of us were lucky enough to make it home.”
Indeed. As one who was drafted into the Vietnam War call-up but fortunately missed combat, I understand.
Unfortunately, humility got elbowed aside in the altercation between a cemetery staff member and officials of Trump’s presidential campaign.
As much as some people or parties try to lay claim to the nation’s symbols, they belong to all Americans. We all need to protect them.
The writer is a columnist for the Chicago Tribune.
Julianne Malveaux
Commentaries
The figures who helped shape Vice President Harris
When Kamala Harris was sworn in as vice president in 2021, she swore her oath of office on two Bibles.
One belonged to our nation’s first Black Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. Marshall, the civil rights giant who founded the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, inspired a generation that included Harris to embrace the law as a means to advancing equality and justice. Harris chose to attend Howard University, Marshall’s alma mater.
The other Bible on which Harris was sworn in was the family Bible of Regina Shelton. Shelton was a neighbor, trusted caretaker and mentor to Vice President Harris and her little sister Maya as children after school when her mom was working. Harris refers to Shelton as her “second mother.” It was Harris’ actual mother Shyamala Gopalan who guided and encouraged that relationship.
positive change.”
A civil rights activist herself, Gopalan was keenly aware that the world would see and treat her biracial daughters as Black women and of what that meant in America. She knew it was important for the girls to bond with other Black girls and women. Regina Shelton was from Louisiana, part of the migration of African Americans from the Jim Crow South. Shelton shared her perspective on Black culture and identity, took the Harris girls to church, taught them to cook soul food and inspired them with stories of important Black female leaders. She was one of the people who exemplified and passed on to both Harris girls a responsibility to give and serve,” according to the vice president.
That responsibility to give and serve was also influenced by Vice President Harris’ sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha. Founded at Howard, AKA has been on the front lines of fights for social justice for more than a century. AKA members organized to stop lynchings, advocate for women’s rights, staff health clinics in rural Black com -
Ben Jealous
munities and offer job training programs. AKA charted the path for other Black sororities and fraternities to become more active in the Civil Rights Movement when it became a permanent member of the NAACP in 1939. As AKA international President and CEO Danette Anthony Reed puts it: “Whether it’s social activism, advocacy for civil rights, building economic wealth, impacting our communities, we make a
Vice President Harris’ dedication to service was not only inspired by her personal relationships and affiliations. Her chosen path as a lawyer was shaped by important icons who embodied a commitment to freedom, justice, and equity. Justice Marshall was one of them. Another one was Judge Thelton E. Henderson Before becoming a legendary judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern California District, Henderson was the first African American lawyer to serve in the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. He was a field investigator, working alongside Dr. King and other movement leaders. He was famously fired for loaning Dr. King his government rental car in Alabama because Dr. King’s car had a problem with a tire and Henderson feared for King’s safety if he got stranded. From the bench, Judge Henderson
understood the importance of protecting human dignity for all people, and that the Constitution guaranteed fundamental rights even to those who much of our society shunned and did not accept. His judicial philosophy was shaped by wisdom, experience and an understanding of the law’s role in protecting people that naturally allowed room for empathy. Judge Henderson defended the rights of prisoner s who were being abused and denied adequate health care. He made the Oakland Police Department more accountable to federal monitoring over police brutality. He was the first judge in the country to recognize the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection and due process rights for gay people – decades before the Supreme Court recognized same-sex couples’ right to marry. Judge Henderson is widely celebrated by conservationists for saving
dolphins from drowning in tuna nets. And he wrote a decision that in effect made the San Francisco Bay Area meet federal air quality requirements A fierce defender of civil rights, a champion of the law’s role in protecting the vulnerable and marginalized, who understands the importance of laws and regulations that protect our environment and health. That description applies to both Thelton Henderson and Vice President Harris – and that is no coincidence. Over our 20-year friendship, I have witnessed firsthand how the powerful lessons from these mentors continue to guide Vice President Harris in her commitment to justice and service. And I am grateful to all the influences who helped shape and instill that commitment. Ben Jealous is the executive director of the Sierra Club and a Professor of Practice at the University of Pennsylvania.
Youngkin panders about nonexistent voting by noncitizens
When it comes to hyping phantom voter fraud – most recently by noncitizens reputedly casting ballots in presidential contests, which is already illegal – Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin keeps playing lapdog to Donald Trump. The former president’s lies about the subject have earned tacit support from Youngkin and other Republican officials in the run-up to the November election. They all know better. Shame on them for placating an insurrectionist, a convicted felon and someone whose incompetent response to the COVID-19 pandemic killed hundreds of thousands of Americans.
cluding Trump, have lied repeatedly that illegal immigrants are overrunning the polls. That’s simply not the case.
Republicans know this, yet keep fanning the flames. We all saw how deceitfulness like that incited an insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021.
Consider this:
• A study by the Heritage Foundation – the folks behind the ultraconservative, government-gutting Project 2025 found just 24 cases of noncitizen s voting between 2003 and 2023. That’s an infinitesimal amount compared to the total number of votes cast.
June 28, 2024.
me his agency has “gained access to substantially more data to use in updating voter lists” since leaving ERIC. It now receives data from 42 states about voters who may have moved, compared to 25 states before.
The change, however, is a classic case of reinventing the wheel, because there was nothing wrong with ERIC in the first place.
Youngkin also has reversed the ease with which former felons could regain the right to vote in Virginia. We remain among the toughest states to do so nationwide, hewing to a state Constitution clause that’s
Remember this: Trump was so incensed that he lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton in 2016 that he embarked on a discredited ques t to uncover millions of undocumented immigrants who “all voted for Hillary,” he claimed. Trump’s biased commission ended with a whimper, after states refused to comply with the panel’s intrusive requests for voter data and opponents complained the panel wasn’t open with the public about its work.
I hesitated to write this column because it gives more oxygen to a lie about voting by noncitizens. Some noxious statements, though, must be repudiated.
This lie is just the latest from the Republican Party, as it provides a ready excuse for Trump if he loses a second straight election. GOP leaders are priming the pump for chaos if Democratic Party nominee Kamala Harris wins. Youngkin recently signed an executive order codifying “election security” measures that were already in place in the commonwealth. He noted the state Department of Elections had removed 6,303 noncitizens from the voter rolls between January 2022 and July 2024.
Trump then praised Youngkin on social media for “securing” November’s election in the state. By the way, Republican nominees haven’t carried Virginia since George W. Bush in 2004 – and Trump already has lost Virginia twice. No mention was made in the guv’s executive order of how many immigrants had purposely voted illegally, or whether some were confused and didn’t know it was against the law. I sought answers from the governor’s office, but a Youngkin spokesman didn’t return my calls and emails.
I wanted to know, among other things, why Youngkin signed the executive order just months before the November election, and why he didn’t say how many of those thousands of people actually tried to vote. Were any charged with a crime?
Republican lawmakers, in-
• The Associated Press reported that Georgia officials in 2022 audited the state’s voter rolls looking for noncitizens. Some 1,634 had tried to register to vote over a period of
Roger Chelsey
25 years, but election officials caught all the applications; none actually registered.
• In North Carolina in 2016, an audit found 41 legal immigrants – not yet citizens – cast ballots, out of 4.8 million total votes. Not surprisingly, the votes made no difference in the results in any of the state’s elections.
• The progressive Brennan Center for Justice studied the prevalence of noncitizen voting, too. “Across 42 jurisdictions, election officials who oversaw the tabulation of 23.5 million votes in the 2016 general election referred only an estimated 30 incidents of suspected noncitizen voting for further investigation or prosecution,” it said. “[I]improper noncitizen votes accounted for 0.0001 percent of the 2016 votes in those jurisdictions.” If your family wasted money at those minuscule rates, you’d be euphoric.
Alice Clapman, Washingtonbased senior counsel for voting rights at the Brennan Center, told me Youngkin’s executive order feeds disinformation about voter fraud.
“I think it’s a disturbing pattern,” she said. Similar an-
nouncements have occurred recently in other states with Republican governors, including Louisiana and Texas
“The number of actual instances of noncitizen voting is vanishingly rare,” Clapman said, adding there’s a distinction between such people who register to vote, but then realize they can’t do so legally and stay away from the polls.
Clapman also noted that it would be extremely risky for noncitizens to cast ballots. They could be imprisoned and deported.
In Virginia, Youngkin has zero credibility on the issue of voting security and administration. He’s chosen partisanship over good governance repeatedly since taking office in early 2022.
He played coy during the gubernatorial party nomination process about whether he agreed Joe Biden won the 2020 election – a litmus test for Trump supporters. He participated in a discredited “election integrity” rally in Lynchburg
Youngkin’s elections commissioner pulled Virginia out of what had been an uncontroversial, multistate program to share accurate voter rolls known as the Electronic Registration Information Center, or ERIC, after it was targeted by conservative activists and conspiracy theorists. The decision emboldened partisan hacks and quacks.
A spokesman with the state Department of Elections told
racist. States run by Republican governors, including Virginia, have made a lot of noise about one of Trump’s favorite talking points – noncitizen voting. It’s not a problem. Youngkin and others shouldn’t bestow their imprimatur to someone who constantly lies – and stokes fear – to try to regain power. It’s dangerous. The writer worked at the Daily Press and The Virginian-Pilot from 1997 through 2018. He previously worked at newspapers in Cherry Hill, N.J., and Detroit. This commentary originally appeared on VirgniaMercury.com
Charlotte Rene Woods/Virginia Mercury
Former President Donald Trump shakes hands with Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin at a rally in Chesapeake,
Late surge falls short as Trojans fall to Spartans
Free Press staff report
The Virginia State University Trojans’ hopes of avenging last year’s loss to Norfolk State University fell short, as the Spartans held on for a 28-23 thriller on their home turf.
After VSU was forced to punt on the opening drive, the Spartans wasted no time striking first. Norfolk State’s offense exploded for a 60-yard TD pass to cap an 80-yard, five-play touchdown march.
But the Trojans quickly answered, marching the length of the field in 12 plays. Quarterback Romelo Williams found Kevin Gayles for a 22-yard score to knot things up at 7-7 by the end of the opening quarter.
Early in the second, VSU took the lead when running back Jimmyll Williams punched it in from 2 yards out, capping an eight-play, 60yard drive to make it 14-7 Trojans. However, the Spartans responded with a 14-yard rushing TD of their own to tie it back up at 14-14.
With time winding down in the half, Norfolk State struck again through the air, finding the end zone on a 21-yard passing score to take a 21-14 lead into the break.
The defenses tightened in the third quarter, with the Spartans forcing a turnover but the Trojans answering with an interception. VSU kicker Joshua Campbell connected on a field goal to pull his team within four at 21-17 heading to the fourth.
Early in the final frame, Norfolk State put the game out of reach, breaking off a 64-yard touchdown run to go up 28-17. VSU kept fighting, with Williams scoring on a 6-yard run to make it 28-23, but the Spartans were able to run out the clock for the victory.
Jimmyll Williams finished with 21 rushes for 60 yards and a TD for the Trojans. Receiver
Malik Hunter hauled in five catches for 72 yards in the loss. Defensively, Donovan Howard recorded eight tackles and an interception for VSU.
in
to
Panthers’ Byers rushes for 105 yards but Hampton holds on
on both sides of the ball.”
Free Press staff report
Hampton’s defense during a hard-fought game, where he rushed for 105 yards and two touchdowns.
France waves farewell at Paralympics closing ceremony
By Jerome Pugmire The Associated Press
This time, it really is au revoir.
A summer sporting bonanza that started under pouring rain on July 26 with a remarkable opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics on the Seine River ended Sunday with the Paralympics closing ceremony at a rain-soaked Stade de France. It lowers the curtain on successful back-to-back Games that captivated fans and raised the bar high for others to follow. Good luck Los Angeles in 2028.
As the stadium was lit up in the blue, white and red colors of the French national flag, a trumpet player played the national anthem “La Marseillaise” and Paralympic flagbearers then made their way into the stadium carrying national flags to the sound of “Chariots of Fire” by Vangelis.
“Everyone can see what an inclusive world is like,” Tony Estanguet, the head of the Paris Olympics in 2024, said in his closing speech. “Now there is no turning back.”
The International Paralympic Committee president Andrew Parsons said France excelled itself as a host in both Games.
“Paris 2024 has set a benchmark for all future Paralympic Games,” Parsons said. “For a country famous for its fashion and its food, France is now famous for its fans.
Virginia Union University running back Jada Byers rushed for 105 yards and two touchdowns, but Hampton University outlasted the Panthers 33-21 last Saturday.
Hampton running back Elijah Burris was the difference-maker, breaking loose for 135 yards and two scores to lead the Pirates (1-1) to victory in front of 6,308 fans at Armstrong Stadium.
“We played four quarters tonight,” said Hampton Coach Trent Boykin. “We played with a lot of energy and intensity. I was really proud of the way we played
Burris, the second-leading rusher in the Coastal Athletic Association last season, was held to just 43 yards in Hampton’s season opener against Morgan State. But the senior found his stride against Virginia Union (1-1), scoring two fourthquarter touchdowns to seal the win for the Pirates.
VUU quarterback RJ Rosales completed 3-of-6 passes for 114 yards and a touchdown, while Shamar Graham recorded a career-high 17 tackles, including 10 in the first quarter alone, for the Panthers.
“We didn’t finish,” said
VUU Coach Alvin Parker. “It’s something we teach our guys every day in practice, but today we just didn’t finish the game. You have to play four quarters, and we didn’t accomplish that today.” At halftime, Hampton honored its 1994 and 2004 national championship football teams, both coached by the legendary Joe Taylor. Virginia Union (1-1) will have a bye week next weekend before traveling to Charlotte, N.C., to face Johnson C. Smith University on Sept. 21. Hampton (1-1) will visit Norfolk State on Sept. 14.
Flying Squirrels announce 2024 team awards
The Richmond Flying Squirrels held their annual team awards ceremony last Thursday night at The Diamond, celebrating standout performances from the 2024 season. Several players were recognized for their contributions both on and off the field.
The awards highlighted achievements in various categories, from top on-field performances to community involvement, showcasing the all-around impact of key Flying Squirrels players this year.
Player of the Year – Carter Howell
Howell, in his first season with the Flying Squirrels, led the team in several offensive categories, including batting average (.274), on-base percentage (.353), slugging percentage (.396), and stolen bases (15). He also ranked among Eastern League leaders, tying for first in triples and leading in doubles.
“He’s been excellent all the way around, from a character standpoint to a work ethic standpoint,” Flying Squirrels manager Dennis Pelfrey said. “He has been by far our most valuable player this year.”
Howell, a native of Fargo, N.D., signed with the San Francisco Giants as a nondrafted free agent in 2022 after playing at Augustana University in South Dakota.
Pitcher of the Year – John Michael Bertrand
Bertrand, in his second season with Richmond, led the Eastern League in games
and
started (26) and innings pitched (143.0). He notched 10 scoreless starts of at least five innings and led Minor League Baseball in defensive assists for pitchers.
“From day one, he was the guy I wanted to start Opening Day for us,” Pelfrey said. “He brings a lot to the table and helps the team tremendously.” Bertrand, originally from Raleigh, N.C., was drafted by the Giants in the 10th round of the 2022 MLB Draft after playing at Notre Dame. He finished the season 7-8 with a 4.03 ERA in 27 games.
Puritan Cleaners “Dirty Squirrel” of the Year – Turner Hill Hill, promoted to Double-A Richmond in June, was recognized for his hustle
and aggressive play. He hit .274 with 10 stolen bases in 47 games for the Flying Squirrels and finished the season ranked third in stolen bases across the Giants’ organization.
“He plays hard, never takes a pitch off, and continues to grind,” Pelfrey said. Community Service Award – John Michael Bertrand Bertrand’s impact extended beyond the field, as he actively participated in community initiatives, including visits to the Children’s Hospital of Richmond and fundraising for Uplifting Athletes.
“He is a leader on the field and off,” Pelfrey said. “That shows the type of character he has.”
Chesterfield County to honor 10 sports legends in Hall of Fame
the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• Johnny Grubb, Meadowbrook High School graduate and member of the 1984 World Series champion Detroit Tigers.
• Denny Hamlin, Manchester High School alumnus and decorated NASCAR Cup Series driver.
• Ken Oxendine, Thomas Dale High School graduate who played for Virginia Tech and the Atlanta Falcons.
• Bobby Wadkins, Meadowbrook High School alumnus with a successful career on the PGA Tour and Champions Tour.
• Lanny Wadkins , Meadowbrook High School graduate and 21-time PGA Tour winner, including the 1977 PGA
Championship.
• Lacey Waldrop, Thomas Dale High School graduate and two-time ACC Pitcher of the Year at Florida State.
• Kellie Wells-Brinkley, James River High School alumna and 2012 Olympic bronze medalist in the 100-meter hurdles.
• Vic Williams, local coaching legend with 213 wins and a state championship at Thomas Dale High School. The Hall of Fame, presented by Virginia Credit Union, will display inductees’ names at the River City Sportsplex in Midlothian. Not all nominees are expected to attend. Tickets for the event are available at playchesterfield.com/sports-hall-of-fam
The defeat drops the Trojans to 1-1 on the season, while Norfolk State evens its record at 1-2. VSU will look
rebound
two weeks when they host Winston-Salem State.
AP Photo/Michel Euler
from different delegations parade Sept. 8 during the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paralympics in Paris.
Randy Singleton
Virginia State lines up against Norfolk State’s defense in a high stakes showdown.
Despite a strong effort, the Trojans narrowly fell 28-23 in a thrilling contest.
From left, Flying Squirrels manager Dennis Pelfrey, outfielder Carter Howell,
outfielder Turner Hill
pitcher John Michael Bertrand.
Personality: Charles C. ‘Chuck’ Epes
Spotlight on community activist and Bryan Park advocate
Charles C. “Chuck” Epes, a founding member of Friends of BryantPark, is fighting against the construction of the Fall Line Trail, a 43-mile paved bike and pedestrian trail stretching from Ashland to Petersburg. The project is a regional effort, including the city of Richmond and the counties of Chesterfield, Henrico and Hanover. The city broke ground in late August, touting the potential for economic growth.
Epes is a cyclist who has biked across Virginia, the country and Europe. He’s opposed to The Fall Line’s construction through Bryan Park for four reasons: environmental concerns, changes to the park dynamics, the safety of park-goers and cost. He believes there was little community involvement in the planning for the trail.
“I don’t know why there’s been such limited public engagement about this project,” Epes said. “There are a lot of heavy hitters behind the project.”
Bryan Park has been a passion project for Epes since 1995, when he took the familiar three-block walk from his Bellevue neighborhood home to Bryan Park with his sixyear-old son. Gunshots rang out, so he quickly reversed course to get his son to the safety of their home.
Out of curiosity, Epes returned to the scene and found out that someone had been shot to death. Epes had already been deeply disturbed
that Bryan Park had fallen into disrepair. He knew most city residents avoided it — with the exception of teenagers partying and carrying out nefarious activities.
The incident sparked a chain of events that led Epes to form Friends of Bryan Park in 1995. The park has seen revitalization with the addition of soccer fields, pickleball courts, playgrounds and renovated picnic shelters.
Epes is a retired communications and public relations professional, newspaper reporter and editor, and teacher.
He’s a grassroots activist on the local level, who has been a part of every neighborhood and civic association where he’s lived. He serves on the board of Ginter Place Condominium Association, where he currently lives, and the board for Richmond First, a civic organization dedicated to responsible citizenship and government improvement.
Meet the community activist working to preserve Bryan Park and this week’s Personality, Charles C.“Chuck” Epes:
Volunteer work you do: I’m co-founder of Citizens for a Responsible Fall Line Trail and a volunteer for Meals on Wheels and The Shepherd Center.
Date and place of birth: Sept. 16 in Newport News.
Education: Virginia Tech for my undergraduate and Virginia Commonwealth University for my graduate degree.
Family: Married with three adult children, and three grandchildren.
Bryan Park is: A 260-acre green space listed on the National Historic Register on Hermitage Road in North Side Richmond.
The Fall Line Trail Project is: A 43-mile bike trail from Ashland to Petersburg, funded by more than $400 million from the Central Virginia Transportation Authority. The Richmond section will be comprised of newly constructed pathways as well as existing surface streets. The Bryan Park section will cost $3 million and requires paving over nearly a mile of park open space rather than using the park’s existing roadways.
Citizens for a Responsible Fall Line Trail is: We are a loosely organized group of citizens who believe the planned route of the Fall Line Trail through Bryan Park is unnecessarily destructive to the park, unsafe for park users, and was decided without adequate public engagement and input. I cofounded the group with Dr. Elizabeth Barrett. Why you felt the need to organize: The public outreach about the Bryan Park section of the trail has been grossly inadequate. Many park users, including myself, were not aware of the planned route until July. By then, the city had already locked in the plan and is now refusing to consider alternatives despite the raised questions and concerns.
The history of The Fall Line Trail: It’s been in the planning stage for several years. Today, some of the nine localities through which the trail will go have already begun construction. Richmond broke ground on the Bryan Park section Aug. 28.
Why routing the Fall Line Trail through Bryan Park is good for the city: The trail will introduce many regional cyclists to Bryan Park, a green environmental jewel surrounded by highways and one of Richmond’s best-kept secrets.
Main objectives of Citizens for a Responsible Fall Line Trail: For the city to pause, hold additional public engagement meetings, reconsider the current plan and use the park’s existing roadways for the trail rather than pave over more of the park.
Biggest challenge for Citizens for a Responsible Fall Line Trail: Getting city officials, including members of City Council, to acknowledge citizens’ concerns, hold further discussions, and reconsider the planned route. Using the park’s existing roads for the trail would be less destructive, save trees, be safer, and cost considerably less than the trail’s $3 million price tag.
What keeps you going: Nearly everyone I’ve approached about this project agrees the planned route is destructive, unsafe, unnecessary and should be changed. That makes me and others in the Citizens for a Responsible Fall Line Trail think we must not be crazy.
Vision for the Fall Line Trail: It’s simple. Use the park’s existing roadways for the trail – no loss of park open space, no loss of trees, no threats to children, soccer players, and walkers, and very little cost. The roads are already there and safe for cyclists to use – most of the roads are already closed to traffic. There’s just no need to add more pavement for bicycles.
Plan to impact change to the present proposed route: Keep gathering public support to pressure city officials to pause and reconsider the route.
How citizens can help: Please join 3rd District Councilwoman Ann-Frances Lambert’s district meeting on Monday, Sept. 16, at 6 p.m. at the Richmond Police Academy at 1202 Graham Road.
How people connect with Citizens for a Responsible Fall Line Trail: Email me at chuck.epes@gmail.com
How you start your day: I read newspapers and online news over coffee.
Three words that best describe me: Optimistic, committed, loyal.
Best late-night snack: Buttered popcorn.
A quote that inspires you:
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” — Margaret Mead
The best thing my parents ever taught me: Compassion and integrity.
Person who influenced you the most: Not one person but two: my mother, who instilled in me a love of nature and volunteerism, and my father, who gave me the gift of music.
Next goal: Help elect more Democrats!
Sept. 6, 2024–March 9, 2025 | 601 W. Broad St. | Tuesday–Sunday 10 am–5 pm
Dear Mazie, is a group exhibition inspired by the life and work of Amaza Lee Meredith, the trailblazing artist and educator who became the first known Black queer woman to practice as an architect in the United States. Join us as we celebrate her legacy.
Ruth E. Carter exhibition extended at Jamestown Settlement
Free Press staff report
The special exhibition “Ruth E. Carter: Afrofuturism in Costume Design” at Jamestown Settlement has been extended through Jan. 5, 2025. The exhibit, which showcases the work of two-time Academy Award-winning costume designer Ruth E. Carter, has drawn significant attention since its debut in May.
The exhibition features over 60 costumes from films such as “Black Panther”,“Malcolm X”, “Amistad” and “Selma.” The pieces highlight Carter’s signature blend of historical and futuristic influences, offering a unique perspective on African and African American culture through fashion.
A special program is scheduled for Oct. 5 featuring a talk by Carter titled
“Symbolism and Storytelling with Ruth E. Carter” followed by a book signing and reception. The reception is from 6 to 8:30 p.m., featuring the Hampton University Jazz Trio. The program, along with the reception and book signing, is $25 per person. A discounted ticket, $15, is available for students. Space is limited and tickets are available.
“The exhibition has already been a great success, with substantial visitation and wonderful visitor feedback,” said Dr. Mariruth Leftwich, senior director of museum operations and education for the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation. “We are excited to be able to extend the exhibition’s time at Jamestown Settlement to ensure that the region has an even greater opportunity to visit and become inspired by Ruth’s work and the intersection of the past and future.” The exhibition is presented by Dominion Energy with support from James City County. For more information, visit jyfmuseums.org/ruthecarter.
Concert series continues at Main Street Station
Free Press staff report
The City’s Department of Public Works kicked off its free “Music at Main” concert series at Main Street Station on Sept. 5 with a performance by Soul Expressions. The series will continue with two more shows Sept. 12 and Sept. 19, running from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Next up in the series is a performance by The Legendary Chuck Brown Band on Sept. 12. Known for pioneering the go-go music genre, Chuck Brown earned the nickname “The Godfather of Go-Go” for blending funk, Latin, jazz, and soul into a percussive sound that became synonymous with Washington, D.C.’s music scene. The band continues his legacy with high-energy performances that keep audiences moving.
The concert series wraps up Sept. 19 with a performance by local R&B band Legacy.
Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and enjoy the music against the backdrop of one of the city’s most iconic landmarks. The “Music at Main” series, hosted by DJ Danja Mowf and Kai Valdez, is free. For more information, visit rva.gov/public-works.
Pre-production on a Richmond 34 film underway
By Sam Brown
Pre-production has begun on a film depicting the Richmond 34, a group of Virginia Union University students who were arrested in 1960 for staging a sit-in at a lunch counter of the Thalhimers department store in Richmond.
On Feb. 22, 1960, a group of 200 Virginia Union University students went to the Thalhimers department store. The Richmond 34 was a small group of those students who chose to enter the building. Some of the students silently sat at a whites-only lunch counter to be served, others entered the Richmond Room, Thalhimers’ restaurant. They were asked to leave and—when they did not—they were arrested and charged with trespassing.
The movie, which will be filmed in Richmond, is set to
begin production in November, with hopes of being finished by spring and released next year. The film will feature new information on the event that is not well known in the story of the Richmond 34.
“We have several people that are on board with us, [who are] ready and eager to get this production online because it is a real-life event, something that actually happened right here in Richmond,” LK Harris Sr., producer, writer and director of the film, said. “And the world should know about what these 34 students … did.”
Harris was approached by his close friend and founder of The LM Bray Jr. Foundation,Vincent Scott Bray, with the idea. Bray is the son of the late Leroy Bray Jr., a member of the Richmond 34 and the first student to be arrested.
Harris has experience in the
industry, writing and directing the film “You Reap What You Sow,” starring the late Thomas Ford, who played “Tommy” on the television show “Martin.” Harris also has experience in TV. He wrote, directed and hosted “The Impact of Reality,” a talk show that aired on WRIC in 2015.
Harris is hoping to raise at least $60,000 in donations through The LM Bray Jr. Foundatio n to help finance the film.
“We need people to get on board and understand that these young kids … fought silently. They fought against injustice silently. [They fought] against racism silently,” Harris said. “So that has to be known.”
A casting call for the film will be held Tuesday, Sept. 24, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Black History Museum, 122 W. Leigh St., Richmond. Ac-
of Virginia Union University students who participated in a civil rights protest in 1960. tors interested in participating should submit headshots and résumés by noon Sept. 23 to info@lmbrayjr34foundation. org. For more information, visit lmbrayjr34foundation.org.
Photos by Colin Gray/Scad Museum
designer Ruth E. Carter will
for a program at Jamestown Settlement on her exhibition next month. The photo shows the Ruth E. Carter costume for “Black Panther” character “Princess Shuri.”
File photo
A local filmmaker is producing a film that will focus on the story of the Richmond 34, a group
Summer snapshots
Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press
Malisha “Cat” Todd exudes joy and jubilation at Virginia Union University’s Juneteenth celebration.
Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press
Commonwealth University students participate in a walkout Wednesday, Sept. 4, to advocate for support of Palestine.
Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press
Adelle Brown of the Latin Ballet of Virginia performs at Abner Clay Park during the 33rd Down Home Family Reunion.
Julianne Tripp Hillian
Kacie Boone crosses the finish line of the Belle Isle Blitze 5K trail race during the 16th Annual Dominion Riverrock on May 17.
Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press
Ninety-four candidates from 48 countries are sworn in by Judge Roger L. Gregory as newly naturalized citizens during a ceremony held on July 4 at the Virginia Museum of History and Culture.
Julianne Tripp Hillian
Milan Rock, 2, plays with Isabella Licona, 6, at Dunncroft/ Castle Point Park Spray Park in Henrico County on July 5. Julianne Tripp Hillian
Mimi Melvin Parham enjoys a jazz performance at the Richmond Jazz & Music Festival on Aug. 10 at Maymont.
Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press Signs of the times at Unlimited Performance Barber Shop in North Side on Aug. 24.
Julianne Tripp Hillian Appomattox River Company and Waterfront RVA provide recreational kayaks during the 16th Annual Dominion Riverrock on May 17.
Julianne Tripp Hillian Joseph decorates a mask he made during ART 180’s Block Party on May 3.
Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press Angie Stone headlines the Peoples Evolution Music Festival at the Broad Rock Sports Complex on June 29.
Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press
Tabatha Williams and Charnette Lee at Black Pride RVA event at the Richmond Convention Center on July 20.
Brian Palmer/Richmond Free Press
Children arrive at the newly reopened Cardinal Elementary school on Sept. 3.
Photos by Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press
Resist Booksellers host Nikole Hannah-Jones, the author of “The 1619 Project,” during one of her stops on her book tour June 7 at First Baptist Church in Petersburg.
summer,
Co-founder of Abundent Life Church of Christ leaves lasting impact
By George Copeland Jr.
Mother. Wife. Pastor Foreman. Libby. Lady “O.”
Beatrice Olivia A. Foreman had many roles and was known by many names throughout her long life, which included decades as co-founding pastor of the Abundant Life Church of Christ. Foreman died Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, at the age of 82, and the accomplishments she left in her wake promise to influence the Richmond community for generations to come.
“I’m so glad to have known this woman of God,” said Pastor Cheryl Frazier of Beracah Faith Ministries International during the funeral service for Foreman held at Abundant Life on Sept. 9. “She literally changed my life.”
Foreman was born in Richmond on Oct. 14, 1941, the seventh of eight children of Creade and Mabel Anderson. Growing up in the Carver area of the city, she graduated from Maggie Walker
Beatrice Foreman
High School in 1959. Foreman later graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a bachelor’s in education and associate degrees in business administration and biblical studies. Later, she began the Abundant Life Christian Academy and founded the Power-Filled Women’s Conference, which ran for over 20 years.
Her focus on faith led her and her husband, Steve I. Foreman, to found Abundent Life Church of Christ in the 1980s, where she served as co-pastor for over 30 years.
Beyond her church work, Foreman pursued diverse interests including cooking, sewing, swimming and travel. She applied these skills generously, crafting curtains, pillows and outfits for
Civil rights pioneer Sybil Haydel Morial dies
Free
Sybil Haydel Morial, widow of New Orleans’ first Black mayor and a prominent civil rights activist, died at 91, her family announced last Wednesday.
Morial, whose husband Ernest “Dutch” Morial served as mayor from 1978 to 1986, was remembered as a champion of education and civil rights who confronted racial discrimination with unwavering courage and faith.
In a statement, the Morial family said, “Words cannot express our sorrow at the loss of our beloved matriarch and guiding star. Our grief is tempered by our overwhelming gratitude for her life, her wisdom, and her love.”
Born in New Orleans in the 1930s, Morial’s experiences with segregation shaped her activism. She completed her undergraduate degree at Boston University, where she was a contemporary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. After the Brown v. Board of Education decision, Morial attempted to enroll at Tulane
University but was rejected due to her race. This experience fueled her commitment to creating an inclusive environment.
Morial co-founded the Louisiana League of Good Government, a racially inclusive women’s group that advocated for voting rights. In 1963, she filed lawsuits against the Orleans Parish School Board challenging restrictions on teachers’ advocacy for integration.
Survivors include her son Marc H. Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, and daughters Julie Morial, Cheri Morial Ausberry and Judge Monique Morial, seven grandchildren and a great-granddaughter.
her children, tailoring her own clothing, and preparing meals for community members.
Foreman also was an author of multiple books, including “The Genesis Series: Stop Blaming Eve,” “Gifts of the Spirit,” “Christian Living in the 21st Century,” and “Spiritual Temperament and Personalities.”
She was preceded in death by her parents, her siblings Percy Lee Brown, Harold Anderson Sr., Arthur Anderson Sr., Bernice Anderson, Nancy Anderson, Clara Braye, and Marjorie Johnson, her oldest daughter, Tonya F. Edgerton, and her grandson, Ayden Foreman.
She is survived by her husband, children Steve Foreman III, Adrian Gary Foreman, Isaac Edgerton, Kimberly F. Smith, and Monique Folston, nine grandchildren, a great-granddaughter, and numerous other relatives, adopted daughters, church family and friends.
Panel discussion at Saint Paul’s Baptist Church
Free Press staff report
A panel discussion on Project 2025 will be held on 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 19, at The Saint Paul’s Baptist Church, Creighton Campus, 4247 Creighton Road. Jean Boone, publisher of the Richmond Free Press, is among the panelists.
Project 2025 is a controversial plan developed by conservative strategists for the next Republican adminstration. The event, organized in collaboration with The Saint Paul’s Baptist Church Justice for All Group and the NAACP branches of Hanover County, Henrico County, the city of Richmond and Chesterfield County, also will feature voter registration opportunities. For more information email outreach@myspbc.org.
Press staff report
Courtesy of family
National Urban League President and CEO Marc Morial and his mother, Sybil Haydel Morial.
Sports Plus
Will players and fans embrace safety over swag?
Fall brings football season in the U.S. and, with it, the parade of distinctively decorated helmets that the players wear Over time, the shape and size of these helmets have gradually changed, from the leather head covering s of the early 20th century to the space-age plastic domes we’re accustomed to seeing today.
But the visual profiles of some NFL football helmets may change drastically in 2024. The league has approved the in-game use of padded helmet accessories known as Guardian Caps, which, according to the NFL, “can reduce the force from head contact” by up to 20% A backlash has already begun. Some players have complained that the devices are unwieldy. And both fans and players have blanched at how the blocky accessory makes players’ heads seem disproportionately large
After the caps were introduced in 2010, some college and pro teams gradually adopted them during practices. In 2022, the NFL began requiring their use in preseason practices. At first, only linemen and linebackers were required to wear them. By 2024, the league mandated all players except quarterbacks and kickers wear them while practicing. In April 2024, the league announced that players could wear them in regular season games at their discretion.
There seems to be good reason to encourage their use. Using data collected from all 32 teams, the league found that the devices reduce the impact
force of head-on-head collisions by 20% when both players involved wear the device, and 10% when one of the players is wearing one.
Because I’m working on a cultural history of the football helmet, I’m eager to see what transpires.
In a multibillion-dollar sport in which the helmet is the preeminent branding space and symbol of the game, what happens when the imperative of player safety conflicts with its visual appeal?
We’re about to find out.
From the practice field to the playing field Affixed to the outside of players’ existing helmets via snaps and Velcro straps, Guardian Caps consist of a series of soft, rectilinear pads connected by fabric.
Some scholars have expressed skepticism toward the NFL’s closely held research data. Nonetheless, the league claims that there’s been an eye-popping decline of 52% in concussion incidence reporting during preseason practices since the devices were mandated.
Touting the safety benefits of the Guardian Caps is an obvious public relations win for the NFL. Ongoing research into chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, and other traumatic brain injuries continues to show just how much damage repeated blows to the head can do to the brain, with football players particularly vulnerable.
Many players have supported the league’s efforts to put safety first, including Indianapolis Colts running back
Jonathan Taylor, who became the first high-profile, skill-position player to wear a Guardian Cap during a preseason game on Aug. 11, 2024.
Players object
But the story of Guardian Caps’ introduction is not an unfettered success – at least, not yet.
Though the standard-issue Guardian Caps weigh less than 7 ounces (0.2 kilograms), many players find them heavy and hot
“I hate them,” Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Jarran Reed told The Seattle Times “I understand the safety for them, but I’ve been playing a long time. It just looks crazy to me. I don’t like them. I’m ready to take them off.”
“I can’t stand them. It impacts my swag,” Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Darius Slay told CBS Sports. “My game is part of my swag. If I ain’t looking the part, I can’t feel the part.”
Obviously, in such a fastpaced and violent game, the tiniest margins – both physical and psychological – can make a difference in performance. And players like Reed, Slay and at least a dozen others don’t seem to be willing to sacrifice their ability to maximize on-field performance for incremental safety gains.
As important as such players’ objections to the feel and look of Guardian Caps may be, it may not be the most significant problem the NFL faces in their adoption.
Blemishing the brand
Simply put, many fans think the Guardian Caps are ugly, even when they’ve been covered with fabric that mimics the look of the logos on the underlying plastic shell.
But why should the reaction of the fans matter? After all,
Guardian caps during games if they choose.
they’re not the ones putting their health on the line.
What’s more, for the first 75 years of football history, most helmets were nondescript.
Per football historian Timothy P. Brown, early helmets were constructed from plain leather in “various shades of brown or black, so they all looked more or less alike, as did many team uniforms.” It wasn’t until the 1940s and ’50s, when sports equipment manufacturer Riddell’s early plastic model s began to gain popularity, that the helmet’s potential as a canvas for decoration began to be realized
Yet so much of the NFL’s incredible success is premised on its visual appeal.
In the early 1960s, then-NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle observed that television, not ticket sales, would power football’s future financial success. Helmet
branding was a vital way to promote and celebrate an NFL team’s identity. For TV viewers, helmet logos would become only more crisp and colorful as broadcasting technology improved.
Today, the logos that first appeared on helmets in the mid-20th century have become the icons of multibillion-dollar brands with hundreds of millions of fans around the world.
The negative impact the Guardian Caps have on the look of the game, and the importance of that look to the continued popularity of the game, have not gone unnoticed.
“Football is an extremely visual sport,” Mike Florio of “Pro Football Talk” wrote. “It thrives in large part because of how it looks on TV.”
“With sleek helmets coated in clumpy coverings that look like soundproofing panels, the vibe will be compromised,”
he added. Fortunately for Florio and others who dislike the look of the Guardian Cap, the NFL has already approved and encouraged the use of six new helmet models that purportedly provide equivalent protection to those with the Guardian Cap affixed to them. These models don’t exactly look like normal helmets, either. But they don’t look like Guardian Caps, and that could make all the difference.
The writer is assistant director of American culture studies at Washington University in St. Louis. His research and teaching are oriented to the intersection of American sports, fan cultures and narratives, particularly as they pertain to race and gender. This column originally appeared on Virginia Mercury. com.
This
Testimony
VDOT UPC #: 117040 NOTICE
County-Wide Pedestrian Intersection Accommodations
County of Henrico, Virginia
Notice of Willingness to Hold a Public Hearing
The County of Henrico proposes to provide pedestrian crossing accommodations, including ADA ramps, crosswalks and pedestrian signals at four (4) intersections: Gayton Road and Gaskins Road; Monument Avenue and Willow Lawn Drive; Old Nuckols Road/Wyndham Forest Drive and Nuckols Road; and Quioccasin Road and Starling Drive.
Construction is anticipated to begin in May 2026.
Information related to this project including the plans, project schedule, and funding information can be reviewed at the County of Henrico, Department of Public Works, 4305 E. Parham Road, Administration Annex Building, 3rd Floor, Henrico, VA 23228, Telephone: 804-501-5115.
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: LaTheasha Hinton, P. O. Box 90775, Henrico, VA 23273-0775, on or before September 27, 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
LaTheasha Hinton at the above address, phone number, or hin03@henrico.us.
AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File
Washington Commanders running back Brian Robinson, second from left, wears a Guardian cap during practice at the team’s training facility July 27, 2022 in Ashburn, Va.
The NFL says it will allow players to wear protective soft-shell helmet covers known as
Noah Cohan