Richmond Free Press © 2014 Paradigm Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.
VOL. 23 NO. 49
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA
www.richmondfreepress.com
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Weekend events: Grand Illumination • Love Lights • Christmas Parade
DECEMBER 4-6, 2014
Justice denied
Ferguson, N.Y. cases expose injustices, spark change Free Press staff, wire reports
A national movement is underway to address police brutality against African-American men and the criminalization of communities of color. It is being fueled by the outrage over a grand jury’s decision not to indict a police officer, Darren Wilson, in the fatal Aug. 9 shooting of unarmed teenager Michael Brown Jr. in Ferguson, Mo. Adding to the outrage is a fresh decision from a Staten Island, N.Y., grand jury to exonerate a police officer who allegedly strangled a 43-year-old suspect July 17 by placing him in an illegal chokehold. On Wednesday, the grand jury declined to bring any charges against the officer, Daniel Pantaleo, in the death of Eric Garner. Anger over the grand jury’s inaction against the police officer in Mr. Brown’s death has sparked continuing protests in Richmond and across the nation. From coast to coast, protesters marched, staged “die-ins” and occupied shopping malls and other public spaces in calling for justice. The fledgling movement includes people of all ethnicities, faiths and backgrounds. Their demands: An end to the senseless killing of unarmed African-Americans by white police officers, changes in the way law enforcement officers interact with people of color and an honest national conversation on race relations. In Richmond, Police Chief Ray J. Tarasovic took a proactive approach to address possible racial biases among the department’s more than 700 officers. He ordered his command staff to join Henrico County police Please turn to A4
Councilman sees trouble in rising city debt By Jeremy M. Lazarus
Richmond schools urgently need at least $35 million to replace old boilers, roofs and outdated windows and lighting, reports indicate. And down the road, tens of millions more will be needed for renovations and new buildings. Meanwhile, Richmond’s newest business, California-based Stone Brewery, is counting on the city to borrow up to $23 million to develop its proposed brewery and distribution center in the Fulton neighborhood that the company would lease. And the city has promised to provide millions of dollars to GRTC to assist the transit company in developing a new bus rapid transit system along Broad Street. These are just some of the demands Richmond is facing for Please turn to A4
File photo
25 years of history
L. Douglas Wilder’s legacy Twenty five years ago, L. Douglas Wilder was elected the 66th governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Mr. Wilder’s election was historic, not just for Virginia, but for the entire nation. When the polls closed Nov. 8, 1989, this grandson of slaves became the first African-American elected governor in the history of the United States. On Thursday, Dec. 4, members of his winning campaign staff and subsequent gubernatorial administration — along with several of the journalists who covered it all — will gather at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Student Commons Theater, 907 Floyd Ave., to discuss and dissect the Wilder legacy. The discussion, which is free and open to the public, begins 9:30 a.m. with remarks by VCU President Michael Rao and closes at 4:30 p.m. after concluding remarks by the legend himself. Two other former Virginia governors, George Allen and Jim Gilmore, are to speak about the meaning of Mr. Wilder’s election then and now. The Free Press invited Mr. Wilder to present in his own words what he views as the legacy of his historic election and leadership of the commonwealth 25 years later. Here are his thoughts:
By L. Douglas Wilder
Moving the Commonwealth of Virginia toward greater progress isn’t something I started the day I was elected governor. Far from it. “Never” is one word I would not allow to define my life or career. The two words that always motivated me were, “Why not?” I asked that question as a boy, and repeatedly asked that question as a man — both of myself and of those with whom I was in discussion. I understood early on that, in order to accomplish desired results, one must be in a position of power to do so. Starting out as a young lawyer with a solo practice, I
knew that a relative degree of independence was necessary to accomplish some of the things I knew were possible. Once I returned to Richmond to open a law practice, I asked several more senior members of the Old Dominion Bar Association, the black bar association, when meetings were held. I wanted to be part of a group I felt should be a focus of change. I was astonished to learn it had not met in six years. After waiting only a short while, I wrote a rather testy letter to all of the members challenging them to meet to discuss and share legal concerns and the need for equality in our community. I can assure you that in 1960 America, Please turn to A5
Preston, Jones vie for 63rd House seat By Jeremy M. Lazarus
Nice on ice
Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press
Joel Sydnor, 7, of Varina, shows off his ice skating skills Saturday at the RVA on Ice rink in the 600 block of East Broad Street in Downtown. Please see story and photos, page B3.
Joseph E. Preston is a step closer to realizing his 21-year-old dream of representing the Petersburg area in the General Assembly. The attorney from Petersburg celebrated his 58th birthday by capturing the Democratic nomination for the 63rd House of Delegates District on Monday night, gaining a leg up in his quest to secure the seat recently vacated by new state Sen. Rosalyn R. Dance. The next step for him is the special election Tuesday, Jan. 6. With no Republican entering the race, Mr. Preston will have only one challenger, an independent, William H. “Mouse” Jones, 58, a well-known community activist and
Mr. Preston
Mr. Jones
concert promoter in Petersburg. Mr. Jones refused to participate in the Democratic Party’s nomination process because he felt it was unfair. He filed his final paperwork to enter the race close to the 5 p.m. Wednesday deadline. Mr. Preston gained the party nod with
a surprisingly easy victory over two rivals, Petersburg Mayor Brian A. Moore and Dinwiddie minister Larry D. Brown Sr. The nomination was determined in a five-hour “firehouse primary,” a process that allows participants to vote by secret ballot. The tally released after voting ended 8 p.m. Monday shows Mr. Preston won 536 votes or 52 percent of the 1,017 valid votes that were cast at the single voting place, Petersburg’s train station in Ward 4, which Mr. Moore represents on the Petersburg City Council. Mr. Moore, who appeared to be the front-runner coming into the race, finished Please turn to A5