Holiday spirit on parade Downtown
Richmond Free Press © 2015 Paradigm Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.
VOL. 24 NO. 50
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA
Church backs away from Parson By Joey Matthews
“You all are a bunch of black idiots over there supporting someone who doesn’t care anything about black people,” one angry caller said in a voicemail message left for the Richmond Christian Center last week. Another caller chimed in: “If Donald Trump wasn’t running for president, he would have nothing to do with you a-holes.” A third anonymous caller said, “Your pastor is an ignoramus. I doubt if he has any degrees at all.” These are a sampling of the nearly 50 messages — mostly negative — that people left during the past week via telephone, text messages and emails with the church in the 200 block of Cowardin Avenue on South Side, Rhonda D. Hickman, chair of the church’s volunteer board, told the Free Press on Tuesday. The inflammatory messages prompted the church to issue a statement distancing itself from the far right political leanings of its senior pastor, Stephen A. Parson Sr., who publicly endorsed Mr. Trump, the — Rhonda Hickman controversial GOP presidential front-runner, before national media audiences last week. The church board is reacting to fears that Pastor Parson’s endorsement of Mr. Trump, who commonly uses hateful and inflammatory rhetoric about African-Americans, Mexicans, women, immigrants, disabled people and others during his campaign, may hurt the church’s fundraising efforts at a critical time when the church is trying to emerge from bankruptcy. “The political views, opinions and party affiliations expressed by Stephen A. Parson Sr., founder of the Richmond Christian Center, are his alone, and do not reflect the views, opinions or positions, political or otherwise, of Richmond Christian Center’s Board of Trustees and/or the congregation,” the statement reads. It went on to state that Pastor Parson has been on sabbatical from the Richmond Christian Center since January and that the church is being managed by a board, with Pastor Parson’s return being “contingent upon the outcome of the Chapter 11 Bankruptcy proceedings.”
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Dr. Makola M. Abdullah to face financial, academic challenges By Jeremy M. Lazarus
Mayor Emanuel’s speech came after two weeks of protests in Chicago following the release of a 2014 police squad car dashcam video showing white police Officer Jason Van Dyke shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald 16 times. The officer was charged with firstdegree murder late last month. High-profile killings of black men by mainly
The next president of Virginia State University is to be announced this week. He is Dr. Makola M. Abdullah, 46, provost and chief academic officer of Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Fla., VSU disclosed Wednesday evening. Cincinnati City Manager Harry E. Black, rector of the VSU Board of Visitors, is scheduled to introduce Dr. Abdullah on Friday, Dec. 11, as the 14th president of the 133-year-old university located near Petersburg. An academic veteran, Dr. Abdullah has served as Bethune-Cookman’s provost since 2013. His career also includes stints as provost of Florida Memorial University and as dean of the College of Engineering Sciences, Technology and Agriculture at Florida Dr. Abdullah A&M University. Mr. Black, who chaired the VSU search committee, hired the Chicago native and Howard University graduate after receiving authority from the board in November “to negotiate and execute a contract” with the board’s top choice, according to the minutes. To confirm he acted properly, Mr. Black released a statement Wednesday from the university’s legal representative, Ronald C. Forehand, senior assistant attorney general. In the statement, Mr. Forehand confirms that the Board of Visitors passed a “resolution delegating to the rector the authority” to make the deal with the incoming president and to sign the contract. “That has been done,” Mr. Forehand stated. Word of the appointment began to leak Monday after VSU staff raced to compile a list of alumni, donors and other guests and to issue email invitations to the announcement and reception at 10 a.m. in the Engineering and Technology Building Auditorium. The announcement will come on the eve of VSU’s winter commencement ceremony on Saturday, Dec. 12, at which the outgoing interim president, Dr. Pamela V. Hammond, is to receive an honorary degree in recognition of her service. It also will take place just days after the university’s accrediting body extended a warning against VSU about concerns involving the school’s governance and financial control of its independent foundations. Dr. Abdullah is expected to arrive in January to begin the transition and officially take the helm Feb. 1. Dr. Hammond’s contract as
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Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press
Define ‘naughty or nice’ Aiden Hunter, 1, appears none too merry about his encounter with Santa with Soul, the jolly old elf from the North Pole. Santa (Harry Henry) was hearing the wishes of youngsters last Saturday at the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia’s annual holiday open house in Jackson Ward. Children had their picture taken with Santa, made holiday ornaments and enjoyed holiday music and refreshments with their families and others attending the event.
Protests continue after Chicago mayor’s apology Free Press wire reports
Chicago Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, under heavy criticism for his handling of a 2014 police shooting that resulted in the death of a black teen, gave an emotional apology Wednesday, hours before angry demonstrators closed city streets while demanding his resignation. In a special address to the Chicago City Council, the mayor said, “I’m sorry,” and promised
“complete and total reform of the system.” Mayor Emanuel’s speech was met with applause from the City Council, but demonstrators said the city’s actions do not go far enough. Hundreds filled downtown streets while chanting “No more killer cops” and “Rahm must go.” “This system is designed for us to be dead or in jail, and we’re tired,” said protester Jamal Wayne.
Dr. Bedden gets 2-year extension By Joey Matthews
The Richmond School Board presented Superintendent Dana T. Bedden with an early Christmas gift Monday when six of its nine members voted to extend his contract by two years — through June 30, 2019. The extension comes midway through Dr. Bedden’s initial 3½-year contract that began Jan. 13, 2014, and was scheduled to expire on June 30, 2017. It also comes less than a year after Dr. Bedden was a finalist for the school superintendent’s job in Boston. He withdrew his name hours before the Boston School Committee voted Dr. Bedden to name Dr. Tommy Chang of Los Angeles as its next superintendent in early March 2015. The six board members who backed the contract extension were Glen Sturtevant, 1st District; Kim B. Gray, 2nd District; Jeff M. Bourne, 3rd District; board Vice Chair Kristen Larson, 4th District; Chair Donald Coleman, 7th District; and Derik Please turn to A4
DECEMBER 10-12, 2015
New president named at VSU
‘His views in no way represent ours as a church’
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Voter suppression or simple snafu?
City man given wrong ballot in Nov. election By Jeremy M. Lazarus
Edward A. Adams went to the polls Nov. 3 eager to cast his ballot for Dan Gecker, the Democrat who ultimately lost in the hotly contested race in the 10th Senate District. But the 59-year-old postal worker wound up casting a ballot for unchallenged incumbent Sen. A. Donald McEachin in the 9th Senate District — even though Mr. Adams’ residence at 612 W. Franklin actually is listed on the poll books as being in the 10th Senate District. What went wrong? He was given the wrong ballot where he votes, Richmond Precinct 206 at the Dominion Place apartments, 1025 W. Grace St. The precinct, it turns out, is split between the two Senate districts. Mr. Adams blames poll workers who handed him a ballot for the 9th District
and refused to listen or check further when he told them “that I had previously voted in the 10th District.” He said he was told his residence had been shifted to the 9th District Ms. Showalter “because of some changes (the workers) themselves did not understand. I thought I had no choice but to vote the ballot I was given.” When he got home, he called the Richmond Voter Registrar’s Office. He said he was told that, indeed, he did live in the 10th Senate District, but “nothing could be done about it because I had already voted.” He was not alone. He said two other people in his building also were pushed into voting in the 9th District. The same thing may have happened
to other voters in Precinct 206 and six other city precincts that the 10th Senate District shares with the 9th Senate District or the 16th Senate District that Sen. Rosalyn R. Dance represents, Richmond Voter Registrar Kirk Showalter acknowledged this week. “This is why I and every other registrar hate split precincts,” Ms. Showalter said. No matter how much time is spent training poll workers at split precincts — and Ms. Showalter said that there were special sessions for workers assigned to the split precincts in the city — things can go wrong. She said that’s why she is seeking approval from the state Board of Elections to deploy new poll books that are designed to prevent this kind of human error. Unlike the city’s current electronic Please turn to A4