Richmond Free Press April 13-15, 2023 edition

Supply and demand Richmond Free Press

City’s ‘housing crisis’ calls for 23,000 affordable living spaces

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Seeking to put fresh emphasis on an issue that has been on the agenda for at least a decade, City Council on Monday followed through and joined Mayor Levar M. Stoney in “declaring a housing crisis in the city of Richmond.”

The approved resolution, among other things, embraces the mayor’s strategies for addressing the desperate housing situation

in which income-challenged residents are finding themselves as rents surge and housing prices continue to soar – such as rewriting zoning laws to remove barriers to income-restricted developments, creating a commission to offer ideas, and beefing up a city loan pool to help finance more developments.

The resolution did not mention that the city had essentially scrapped a 2020 plan to use new revenue from expiring property tax exemptions as a stream of income to finance additional af-

What dreams come true City’s ownership of Mayo Island appears within reach

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

City Hall is jumping to buy a major James River island that the city has dreamed of owning for 40 years to expand parkland.

On Wednesday, City Council introduced two pieces of legislation to move forward on the purchase of the 14.5-acre Mayo Island, which fronts the 500 block of South 14th Street on the Mayo Bridge.

One ordinance to authorize the administration to buy is being sent to the Planning Commission for review on Monday, April 17, with an expectation of council voting its approval at the next meeting on Monday, April 24.

The second ordinance would allow the city to accept a $7.5 million grant from the Virginia

Restoring votes for returning citizens

Free Press staff report

Members of the New Virginia Majority, Virginia NAACP, League of Women Voters of Virginia, Virginia Organizing, ACLU of Virginia, and Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy, along with Del. Don Scott, House Minority Leader, and Sen. Mamie Locke participated in a press conference at the Bell Tower in Capitol Square to speak against the current rights restoration process of the current administration.

Virginia’s three previous administrations have worked toward a more streamlined rights restoration process, which have helped innumerable returning citizens regain their civil rights, including serving on a jury,

Department of Conservation and Recreation to support the purchase. The city’s full cost for the purchase was not disclosed.

The plan is for the island, once a summer recreation area and home to minor league baseball in Richmond, become part of James River Park.

The city first set a goal of buying and incorporating the island into its park system in 1982 as part of its planning for the riverfront.

In an updated 2012 riverfront plan that also included acquisition as a goal, the city described the island as “strategically located to serve communities on both the north and south sides of the river as a premier regional public open space.”

fordable housing units.

Council President Michael J. Jones, 9th District, said the resolution hopefully would push the administration and the council to be “proactive and creative to ensure that teachers, restaurant employees, domestic workers and other working people can live in the city” and it can be attractive to college

running for office, serving as a notary and the right to vote, stated members of various organizations and state legislators.

“Continuing to disenfranchise returning citizens continues to punish them by denying their access to the democratic process. The process that was a pathway to becoming a productive member of society was not broken, and needs to be reinstated as quickly as possible,” said Tram Nguyen, co-executive director of New Virginia Majority.

Duane Edwards, a member of the Virginia Organizing State Governing Board who had his

rights restored in 2014, said, “An individual’s civil rights shouldn’t be political. For the last 13 years, Virginia had a fluid process for restoration of rights that had clear instructions. Now the governor has closed the door and Virginians don’t even know what the process is for getting their rights back.”

“The significant reduction of restoring felons’ rights to vote is a step backward and undoes the previous work that granted thousands of Virginians who served their time a second chance,” said Robert N. Barnette Jr., president, Virginia NAACP.

By Jeremy M. Lazarus Lamont Bagby

is officially a state senator.

On Tuesday, the 46-year-old Democrat took the oath of office and became the new representative for the 9th Senate District, the final step in the process following his victory in a special election March 28. His ceremonial installation took place a day before the General Assembly reconvened to deal with Gov. Glenn A. Youngkin’s vetoes and amendments to legislation.

Sen. Bagby took over the seat previously held by now Democratic U.S. 4th District Congresswoman Jennifer L. McClellan and will fill out the final nine months of her

Expelled Black lawmaker Pearson to return to Tennessee House

The Associated Press MEMPHIS, Tenn.

The second of two Black Democrats expelled from the Republican-led Tennessee House will return to the legislature after a Memphis, Tenn., commission voted to reinstate him Wednesday, nearly a week after his banishment for supporting gun control protesters propelled him into the national spotlight.

Hundreds of supporters marched Justin Pearson through Memphis to the Shelby County Board of Commissioners meeting, chanting and cheering before entering the commission chambers, where officials quickly voted 7-0 to restore him to his position.

“The message for all the people in Nashville who decided to expel us: You can’t expel hope. You can’t expel justice,” Rep. Pearson said at the meeting, his voice rising as he spoke. “You can’t expel our voice. And you sure can’t

The Associated Press Justin Pearson celebrates Wednesday with supporters after being reinstated to the Tennessee House of Representatives by the Shelby County Board of Commissioners in Memphis, Tenn. Republicans expelled Rep. Pearson and Rep. Justin Jones last week over their role in a gun control protest on the House floor after a Nashville school shooting left three children and three adults dead.

Photo courtesy of Capital Region Land Conservancy

If purchased by the City of Richmond, Mayo Island, once a summer recreation area and home to minor league baseball in Richmond, will become part of James River Park.

Ayasha Sledge

State Sen. Lamont Bagby

Photos by Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

A trio of Richmond-based financial operations have been collectively awarded $10.5 million from the U.S. Treasury to advance their service to low- and moderate-income communities.

Among the recipients is RVA Financial Federal Credit Union, whose membership includes City Hall and Richmond Public Schools employees. RVA Financial was awarded $4.96 million, according to the Treasury Department’s announcement on Monday.

Separately, the Virginia Community Development Fund, which supports creation of and manages affordable housing communities, received $4.71 million, while Virginia Community Capital, a real estate, small business and community lender, received $895,000, the Treasury Department stated.

The awards are part of a historic $1.73 billion that the Treasury stated it would distribute to 603 community development financial institutions (CDFIs) across the country to enable them to increase resources flowing into primarily minority communities to aid pandemic recovery.

“These grants will enable hundreds of community lenders to invest in small businesses and entrepreneurs and also provide home loans for families, financial services for nonprofits and capital for community organizations,” Vice President Kamala Harris stated in announcing the awards with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

City Council on Monday cleared the way for a pilot Pathways scholarship proposed by Mayor Levar M. Stoney that would cover tuition and provide a monthly stipend to Richmond high school graduates attending Reynolds Community College.

The council authorized the Stoney administration to award $1.75 million of unexpended funds from the 2021-22 fiscal year that ended on June 30 to the nonprofit Great Aspirations Scholarship Program, which will distribute the funds in partnership with the city and Reynolds.

GRASP already works with students in city high schools on planning for college, and this would be an additional tool for the organization that has been helping students seek scholarships and prepare for college costs since its establishment in 1983 by the late Republican state Sen. Walter Stosch and educator Ray Gargiulo.

The purpose of the new scholarship program is to remove financial barriers for young people from income-challenged families to enroll in certificate and two-year programs that could lead to higher-paying jobs, the mayor has said.

Mayor Stoney has expressed hope that the one-time city contribution would be matched by major local corporations, such as Altria and Dominion, as well as area foundations to extend the life of the program.

The details of the scholarship initiative are still being worked out, the council was told prior to the vote. The goal is to have the program underway by the fall semester.

Dr. Terricita Sass, a Reynolds vice president, told council that the scholarship program would open the door to individuals who might not have considered the college’s varied career development and training programs.

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Laura K. Drewry is the new city attorney and first woman to hold City Hall’s top legal post.

City Council on Monday voted unanimously to promote the veteran city lawyer to a post that is equivalent to attorney general for city government. She will lead a staff of 18 attorneys who represent all elements of the government, including council, the Mayor’s Office, all administrative departments and all boards, commissions and agencies, including the transit and retirement systems and the public libraries.

Saying, “I am honored and appreciate the opportunity,” Ms. Drewry was immediately sworn in as the replacement for Haskell C. Brown III, who retired after being arrested for drunken driving earlier this year.

A graduate of the George Mason University Law School, Ms. Drewry joined the office in 2006 and previously was one of five deputy city attorneys.

Her role as deputy included managing civil litigation, particularly in the areas of employment and workers compensation. She also has been the primary legal representative for the fire department, GRTC, human resources, the Richmond Library Board, the Richmond Personnel Board and the Richmond Retirement Board.

The Associated Press

The politically divided Virginia General Assembly has convened in Richmond to work through scores of Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s proposed amendments to legislation during a one-day session.

The legislature could also challenge the Republican governor’s three vetoes Wednesday.

Of the 819 measures the General Assembly sent to Gov.Youngkin during the regular session that ended in late February, the governor signed 738 into law and proposed amendments to 78. Some of the changes

lawmakers are set to take up Wednesday are small or technical; for other measures

Gov. Youngkin sought a more wholesale rewrite.

Lawmakers won’t be voting on the full state budget bill, as negotiators have yet to reach a deal.

In one of its first actions, the state Senate honored Abigail Zwerner, a Newport News first-grade teacher who was shot and wounded by a 6-year-old student in

January.

Cityscape

Slices of life and scenes in Richmond

The graffiti on concrete barriers surrounding the circle where Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s statue once stood on Monument Avenue is now covered thanks to a fresh coat of paint. The work is part of a City of Richmond landscaping plan for the space.

Ms. Zwerner stood with her family as she was given a framed resolution commending her for her “heroic actions” and devotion to the safety of her students. Police have said that after Ms. Zwerner was shot, she ushered her students to safety and was the last one to leave the classroom, despite life-threatening injuries. She collapsed in a school office and spent two weeks in the hospital. Since then, she’s had four surgeries and is still recovering from wounds to her hand and chest. No one else was hurt in the shooting.

Street Knowledge: Local leaders honored with signs

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

A ceremony to unveil an honorary street sign recognizing the late Richmond religious leader Dr. Paul Nichols will take place noon Friday, April 14, at 28th and R streets.

The unveiling of the Dr. Paul Nichols Way sign will take place beside Good Shepherd Baptist Church, which he led as pastor for 29 years before his death in 1990 while also serving as dean of Virginia Union University’s School of Theology and holding other posts.

The event is one of several such ceremonies, including the most recent one on April 6 at 36th and R streets that unveiled the sign honoring Harold “Jug” Harris, the legendary coach and mentor at the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club located next to the intersection.

Mr. Harris, currently the health and fitness coordinator, has been with the club for 40 years, touching the lives of thousands of youths, as a bio noted, as a “teacher, parent, counselor, motivator, bus driver, disciplinarian and any other role that is needed to be filled on any given day.” He began working with Richmond’s youths in the early 1970s.

The Army National Guard veteran also is the former coach of the Maggie Walker High School boys’ basketball team and the Armstrong High School girls’ basketball team, as well as other teams.

Milestones

Free Press staff report

Photo courtesy Khari Branch Harold “Jug” Harris, a coach and mentor at the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club, is honored with an honorary street naming at 36th and R streets on April 6. Mr. Harris has been with the club for 40 years and also is the former coach of the Maggie Walker High School boys’ basketball team and the Armstrong High School girls’ basketball team.

Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

Ms. Drewry

Gov. Youngkin

Mother of 6-year-old who shot teacher indicted by grand jury

The Associated Press NEWPORT NEWS

A grand jury has indicted the mother of a 6-year-old boy who shot his teacher on charges of child neglect and failing to secure her handgun in the family’s home, a prosecutor said Monday.

A grand jury sitting in Newport News charged the boy’s 25-year-old mother with felony child neglect and a misdemeanor charge of endangering a child by reckless storage of a firearm, Commonwealth’s Attorney Howard Gwynn said in a news release.

The Associated Press isn’t naming the mother to shield the identity of her son.

The boy shot first-grade teacher

Abby Zwerner on Jan. 6 inside her classroom at Richneck Elementary School. Police said the boy’s mother legally purchased the gun. Her attorney, James Ellenson, has said the gun was secured on a top shelf in her closet and had a trigger lock.

Mr. Ellenson said Monday that his client plans to turn herself in later this week. He did not comment on the indictments, which were first reported by the Daily Press.

The decision to charge the boy’s mother is the latest development to

cascade from the shooting in this shipbuilding city of about 185,000 people near the Chesapeake Bay.

“Every criminal case is unique in its facts, and these facts support these charges, but our investigation into the shooting continues,” Mr. Gwynn said.

Mr. Gwynn said his office has petitioned the court to empanel a special grand jury to continue an investigation into any security issues that may have contributed to the shooting.

“The safety and security of Newport News students is of utmost importance. The Special Grand Jury will investigate to determine whether additional charges against additional persons are justified by the facts and the law,” Mr. Gwynn said.

Diane Toscano, an attorney for Ms. Zwerner, said there were “failures in accountability at multiple levels” that led to the shooting.

“Today’s announcement addresses but one of those failures,” Ms. Toscano said in a statement, referring to the indictments against the boy’s mother.

Days after the shooting, school officials revealed that administrators at Richneck Elementary had suspected the child may have had a weapon before the shooting occurred. But they didn’t find it, despite searching

his backpack.

At a subsequent School Board meeting, parents and teachers lambasted administrators for what they called a misguided emphasis on attendance over the safety of children and staff. They said students who assaulted classmates and staff often faced few consequences, while Ms. Zwerner’s shooting could have been prevented if not for a toxic environment in which

teachers’ concerns were ignored.

In a lawsuit filed last week seeking $40 million in damages, Ms. Zwerner’s attorneys accused school officials of gross negligence and of ignoring multiple warnings from teachers and other school employees the day of the shooting that the boy was armed and in a “violent mood.”

In the lawsuit, Ms. Zwerner’s attorneys said all of the defendants

knew the boy “had a history of random violence” at school and at home, including an episode the year before when he “strangled and choked” his kindergarten teacher.

“Our lawsuit makes clear that we believe the school division violated state law, and we are pursuing this in civil court,” Ms. Toscano said Monday.

Virginia’s law on felony child neglect states any parent, guardian or other person responsible for the care of a child “whose willful act or omission in the care of such child was so gross, wanton, and culpable as to show a reckless disregard for human life” is guilty of a Class 6 felony. The charge is punishable by up to five years in prison.

The misdemeanor charge states it’s against Virginia law to “recklessly leave a loaded, unsecured firearm in such a manner as to endanger the life or limb of any child under the age of fourteen.” That charge is punishable by up to one year in jail.

Police Chief Steve Drew has repeatedly characterized the shooting as “intentional.” He said there was no warning and no struggle before the child pointed the gun at Ms. Zwerner and fired one round, striking her in the hand and chest.

City’s ‘housing crisis’ calls for 23,000 affordable living spaces

Continued

graduates and others.

The city is estimated to need 23,000 rental units and starter homes that are affordable for individuals and families at the lower end of the income scale — defined as requiring no more than 30 to 35 percent of income.

The approved resolution sets a goal of adding 1,300 apartments and homes a year that carry lower price tags in seeking to make a small dent in that huge need.

Second District Councilwoman Katherine Jordan said supply also could be increased if the city cracked down on the illicit conversion of blocs of apartments into short-term rentals – a process that she said reduces the overall supply of units and helps fuel rental increases.

Affordable housing advocate Tracey Hardney-Scott, speaking before the vote, told the council that she hopes the words fire up the city because of the impact that the cost of housing is having on people’s lives.

“This crisis is bigger than just bricks and mortar. It is affecting health, education and criminal justice,” said Ms. HardneyScott, who chairs the Help Me Help You Foundation and the Richmond Branch NAACP’s Housing Committee. She said that affordable housing is a key ingredient in changing the lives of people returning from jails and prisons.

But in passing the resolution, the council essentially endorsed the mayor’s plan for costly borrowing to beef up the loan pool overseen by the Affordable Housing Trust Fund (AHTF) while eliminating the 2020 program.

Free COVID-19 vaccines

Continued from A1

The Virginia Department of Health also has a list of COVID19 testing locations around the state at www.vdh.virginia.gov/ coronavirus/covid-19-testing/covid-19-testing-sites.

Want a COVID-19 vaccine or booster shot?

The Richmond and Henrico health districts are offering free vaccines for COVID-19 and more at the following locations:

Thursday, April 13 & April 20, 2 to 4 p.m. - Cary Street, 400 E. Cary St., Primary Moderna shots for age 6 months to 5 years old and bivalent boosters for age 6 years and older, Primary Pfizer shots for age 6 months and older, bivalent boosters for age 5 years and older, Novavax primary shots for age 12 and older, and boosters for age 18 and older, JYNNEOS shots and baby bivalent boosters. Walk-ups welcome but appointments encouraged.

Wednesday, April 19 , 2 to 4 p.m., Henrico West Health Department, 8600 Dixon Powers Dr., Primary Moderna shots for age 6 months to 5 years old and bivalent boosters for age 6 years and older, Primary Pfizer shots for age 6 months and older, bivalent boosters for age 5 years and older, Novavax primary shots for age 12 and older, and boosters for age 18 and older, JYNNEOS shots and baby bivalent boosters. Walk-ups welcome but appointments encouraged. People can schedule an appointment online at vase.vdh.virginia. gov, vaccinate.virginia.gov or vax.rchd.com, or by calling (804) 2053501 or (877) VAX-IN-VA (1-877-829-4682).

VaccineFinder.org and vaccines.gov also allow people to find nearby pharmacies and clinics that offer the COVID-19 vaccine and booster.

Those who are getting a booster shot should bring their vaccine card to confirm the date and type of vaccine received.

RHHD also offers at-home vaccinations by calling (804) 205-3501 to schedule appointments.

New COVID-19 boosters, updated to better protect against the latest variants of the virus, are now available. The new Pfizer booster is approved for those aged 12 and up, while the new Moderna booster is for those aged 18 and older.

As with previous COVID-19 boosters, the new doses can only be received after an initial two vaccine shots, and those who qualify are instructed to wait at least two months after their second COVID-19 vaccine.

The Richmond and Henrico Health Districts are now offering bivalent Pfizer and Moderna boosters to children between the ages of 5 and 11 in clinics in the near future. Children in this age range will be eligible after at least two months since their last vaccine dose.

New COVID-19 cases in Virginia fell by 24 percent during the last week, according to data from the Virginia Department of Health, while data from the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association showed hospitalizations statewide decreased by one percent since last week.

Richmond and the counties of Chesterfield, Hanover and Henrico County are at low levels of community COVID-19. No localities in Virginia are ranked at high community COVID levels, and none were ranked at medium as of last week.

A total of 104 new cases of COVID-19 were reported statewide Wednesday for the 24-hour period, contributing to an overall state total of 2,302,698 cases in Virginia since the pandemic’s outbreak. As of Wednesday, there have been 459,522 hospitalizations and 23,724 deaths reported statewide.

State data available at the time also shows that African-Americans comprised 22 percent of cases statewide and 21.6 percent of deaths for which ethnic and racial data is available, while Latinos made

Under the mayor’s plan, the city is to borrow $10 million a year in each of the next five years to fuel the trust fund’s ability to support affordable housing developments at a cost of $88 million in interest. Council is preparing to vote for that plan when it finalizes the 2023-24 budget that will start July 1.

Just three years ago, the mayor and the council approved using increasing property tax revenue from renovated properties.

Though completely overhauled, Richmond had long reduced real estate taxes for a period of time as an incentive to owners and investors to rehabilitate blighted homes, apartments and commercial buildings.

In 2020, Mayor Stoney proposed and the council agreed that roll-off money, the increase in tax revenues from properties with expiring exemptions, should go to the AHTF for use to support affordable housing development.

At the time, Sharon Ebert, deputy chief administrative officer economic and community development, advised council that was the right way to go.

She stated that City Assessor Richie McKeithen agreed that expiring tax exemptions should generate $2 million a year in new revenue and over a 10-year period, should generate more than $100 million for the AHTF.

Under the plan, the initial $2 million was to flow each year to the AHTF, with additional dollars from expiring exemptions added to that each year. Under the scenario that Ms. Ebert out-

lined, the $2 million the first year would become $4 million the second year, $6 million the third year and so on.

However, Lincoln Saunders, the city’s chief administrative officer, issued a paper in March stating the revamp of the program and other complexities meant that the “expiring tax exemptions will not produce as much money” as had been anticipated.

He projected that the AHTF would receive a maximum of $5.2 million a year from the roll-off funds by 2027.

Martin Wegbreit, an AHTF board member, said that Mr. Saunders’ paper did not explain why the city planned to keep the roll-off dollars rather than sending them to the AHTF as the 2020 ordinance required.

The AHTF was to be credited with nearly $2.4 million this year and $3.7 million in 2024 from the roll-off funds until it reached the $5.2 million maximum in three years.

However, those roll-off dollars have not been made available to the AHTF. Last year and this year, the council approved the mayor’s plan to use $10 million in 2022 and $10 million in 2023 in the American Rescue Plan funds’ roll-off dollars over two years. This year, the council is poised to substitute borrowed money for the roll-off dollars.

Mr. Wegbreit noted that adding the roll-off dollars to the ARP funds and the borrowed money would increase the amount of city dollars. As he pointed out, $12.4 million is more than $10 million as is $13.7 million.

Ownership of Mayo Island appears within reach

Continued from A1

However, no taxpayer dollars were previously appropriated.

In December, the Capital Region Land Conservancy, led by former City Councilman Parker C. Agelasto, announced an agreement to purchase the flood-prone property from the current owners, the Shaia family, who had owned the island since the early 1980s.

Mr. Agelasto indicated then that the price tag was $11.8 million, a major reduc-

tion from the $19 million that the family sought in listing the property for sale four months earlier.

Council was briefed in closed session Monday about Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s administration’s plan to become the purchaser, the Free Press was told.

Mr. Agelasto could not be reached for comment about the city’s new plans.

He previously engineered the conservancy’s 2021 purchase of 5.2 acres of riverfront property in the 3000 block of Dock Street among a string of initiatives

he has pushed that have boosted the profile of the conservancy.

Previously, Mr. Agelasto said the conservancy envisions the island being restored to its natural state.

He also had indicated possible funding if the property becomes a vehicle and equipment staging area during replacement of the Mayo or 14th Street Bridge.

The Virginia Department of Transportation indicated the $81 million construction project could begin in 2024.

Pearson to return to Tennessee House

Continued from A1

Chuck Schumer and four other senators sent a letter Wednesday asking the Department of Justice to investigate whether the expulsions violated the Constitution or federal civil rights laws and “to take all steps necessary to uphold the democratic integrity of our nation’s legislative bodies.”

After the reinstatement vote, a throng of jubilant supporters greeted Rep. Pearson outside in a churchlike celebration. Rep. Pearson adopted the cadence of a preacher as he delivered a rousing speech with call-and-response crowd interaction. Accompanied by his fianceé, mother and four brothers, Rep. Pearson pumped his fist, jumped up and down and hugged relatives.

“They’ve awakened a sleeping giant,” he said, as a drumbeat and roaring cheers echoed his voice.

Rep. Pearson is expected to return to the Capitol in Nashville on Thursday, when the House holds its next floor session, and plans to be sworn in there.

Republicans expelled Reps. Pearson and Jones over their role in a gun control protest on the House floor after a Nashville school shooting that left three children and three adults dead. The Nashville Metropolitan Council took only a few minutes Monday to unanimously restore Rep. Jones to office. He was quickly reinstated to his House seat.

Shelby County’s commission has 13 members, but only seven voted — all Democrats in favor of Rep. Pearson. Two Democrats were out of the country and did not vote. The four Republicans on the commission did not attend the meeting.

The appointments are interim and special elections for the seats will take place in the coming months. Reps. Jones and Pearson have said they plan to run in the special elections.

Marcus DeWayne Belton said he attended the rally outside the Shelby County government building after the vote because he supports Rep. Pearson’s call for gun law reform.

“It’s not even a Black thing anymore,” he said of gun violence. “This is Black and white. Any time you go inside a school and you’re killing kids, Black and white, it’s serious. Things are getting worse.”

The expulsions made Tennessee a new front in the battle for the future of American democracy. In the span of a few days, the two expelled lawmakers had raised thousands of campaign dollars, and the Tennessee Democratic Party had received a new jolt of support from across the U.S.

Political tensions rose when Reps. Pearson, Johnson and Jones on the House floor joined with hundreds of demonstrators who packed the Capitol last month to call for passage of gun control measures.

As protesters filled galleries, the lawmakers approached the front of the House chamber with a bullhorn and participated in a chant. The scene unfolded days after the shooting at the Covenant School, a private Christian school. Their participation from the front of the chamber broke House rules because the three did not have permission from the House speaker.

Republican Gov. Bill Lee has avoided commenting on the lawmakers’ expulsion and instead said the controversy was an issue concerning the House. He has since called on the General Assembly to pass

legislation that would keep dangerous people from acquiring weapons.

In their return to the Tennessee Capitol, Reps. Pearson and Jones still face the same political divisions between the state’s few Democratic strongholds and the Republican supermajority, which were already reaching aboiling point before the expulsions.

General Assembly term. The district he now represents includes part of Richmond, Ashland and part of Hanover County, Charles City County and Henrico County, where he lives.

Sen. Bagby, who also chairs the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, previously served more than seven years as the representative for the 74th District in the House of Delegates. That seat is being left vacant.

In order to remain in the state Senate, he will need to win the upcoming election in the new 14th Senate District, the revamped and renumbered district that resulted from redistricting.

He already has signed to run in the decisive winner-take-all June Democratic primary in the district that includes a big chunk of Richmond and a smaller portion of Henrico.

He will face off against a Richmond minister, Katie Gooch. The winner could essentially be elected to a four-year term. At this point, no independent or Republican challenger has signed up to challenge the Democratic nominee in the general election that will be held in November.

The Associated Press Students return to Richneck Elementary on Jan. 30, 2023, in Newport News, Va. A grand jury has indicted the mother of a 6-year-old boy who shot his teacher on charges of child neglect and failing to secure her handgun in the family’s home, a prosecutor said Monday.

Bon Secours details plans to increase medical access in city’s East End

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Bon Secours Richmond welcomed the positive statement from the Richmond Health Coalition about its plans to improve health care in the East End, which the Free Press reported in the April 6-8 edition.

“Bon Secours appreciates the coalition’s willingness to have private, meaningful conversations with us about our ‘Community Today, Community Tomorrow: Pathway to Wellness in the East End’ initiative,” spokeswoman Jenna Green stated in response to a Free Press request for comment on the statement Brian Bills, a coalition leader, issued on behalf of the coalition. According to the statement, the coalition declared a ceasefire on further criticism of Bon Secours, viewing the plan as enabling Bon Secours to meet its obligations.

The coalition, though, promised to monitor the hospital system’s actions to ensure that it followed through on its promises.

Ms. Green stated that the three-year Community Today, Community Tomorrow plan unveiled in January was developed using “data

gathered from the East End community, for the East End community.”

She stated the plan has four components: Increasing access to medical services, focusing on wellness and prevention, growing Bon Secours’ partnerships and recruiting and training physicians and associates. That includes expanding and upgrading health care services at Richmond Community.

“Bon Secours is confident this plan will positively impact health outcomes” among East End residents, she continued, adding that quarterly updates on the plan would be posted on a dedicated webpage, www.bonsecours.com/ communitytodaycommunitytomorrow

The health coalition was organized last fall in reaction to a New York Times exposé alleging that Bon Secours had improperly spent millions of dollars from a federal drug discount program that it received through Richmond Community.

The newspaper claimed the Catholic health care system diverted program funds to build clinics and operations in wealthier suburbs while cutting back services the East End hospital. Bon Secours denied the allegation as baseless.

Summit to address Black women, birthing and reproductive health

Free Press staff report

In Virginia, Black women are three times more likely to die than white women during childbirth or due to pregnancy-related causes, according to Birth in Color RVA, a birth, policy and advocacy nonprofit focused on raising awareness surrounding maternal health and reproductive justice.

One way the group will further its goal to bridge the gap between maternal and reproductive health justice is by hosting a daylong session of speakers, workshops, and interactive learning during its April 14 Black Maternal Health Summit.

“Our maternity care system is failing Black women,” BINRVA notes on its website. “Our goal is to bring attention to unacceptable racial disparities in our maternity care systems, get out of our silos and equip all attendees with additional knowledge and tools to raise awareness and bring positive action to the issues that affect women at one of the most vulnerable times of their lives.”

“Without reproductive justice there is no justice in maternal health,” according to summit organizers. “Overall health, sexual education, abortion and contraception care are key factors to

helping maternal health outcomes.

Birth in Color encourage nurses, physicians, social workers, family practitioners, pediatricians, Doulas, midwives and nurse practitioners, along with other health care professionals, to attend the summit to determine ways to improve maternal and

reproductive health vitality for Black women.

Speakers include:

Jennie Joseph, founder and executive director of Commonsense Childbirth, and creator of The JJ Way®, a common sense approach designed for women and children. A British-trained midwife, she is an expert on women’s health: healthy pregnancies, healthy deliveries and healthy babies.

Ms. Joseph also advocates “for systematic reform that puts women and babies first in health care; before profit, convenience and the numerous reasons America trails other developed nations in healthy births,” her biography states.

Harriet Washington, a medical ethicist, who makes the case for broader political consciousness of science and technology, challenging audiences to see the world differently and challenge established paradigms in the history of medicine.

Her latest book, “Carte Blanche: The Erosion of Medical Consent,” discusses how the right of Americans to say “no” to risky medical research is being violated.

The Summit begins at 9 a.m. at U-Turn in Richmond, 2101 Maywill St. Tickets may be purchased at https://givebutter.com/ blackmaternalhealthweek

Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

Bon Secours’ East End Medical Office Building opened earlier this year in Richmond’s East End community.

Ms. Washington

Ms. Joseph

Education as the great equalizer

“We have come a long, long way, but we have a long way to go.”

Those words spoken by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. more than 65 years ago at an NAACP rally still ring true today.

His words come to mind just a few days after the anniversary of his assassination on April 4, 1968.

Our community has plenty of progress to celebrate.

In doing research, one striking example of that forward movement involved Black women.

In 1940, 60 percent of employed Black women worked in domestic service; today, fewer than 2 percent do, while 60 percent of working Black women hold white-collar jobs.

Black people are a constant presence as candidates for public office, on college campuses, on athletic fields, in entertainment and a host of other fields.

One need only drive through several Richmond area neighborhoods where Black people live, attend school and worship.

We have come a long way from the days when just a scant 5 percent of Black men were engaged in white-collar work of any kind, while the majority made do with ill-paid, insecure manual jobs.

In March, the unemployment rate for Black individuals dropped to a record low of 5 percent.

There are plenty of challenges and issues, not the least of which is the level of gunfire in our communities. Disparities in health and longevity still plague Black and Brown people.

But there remains an inexplicable disparity that would appall Dr. King and calls for greater attention – the persistent and unresolved educational gap between Black and white students.

We have many examples of educational success. But in general, results on measurement tests show a significant gap between Black students and white students in math, science, reading and writing.

Between the 1960s and 1990s, educational measures showed dramatic learning gains among Black students.

Somehow that progress has stalled. It is as if there is less faith in learning and education, which Dr. King regarded as the great equalizer.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress, the nation’s report card on what students know in elementary and secondary schools, continues to show a gap of 20 to 30 percentage points in scores for Black students compared with their white counterparts.

Others have called education the civil rights issue of our time. Word knowledge, reading comprehension, reasoning and math skills affect job opportunities that increasingly demand specialized skills and technological savvy.

Unless everyone has come to believe that Black children cannot learn as well as white children, this continuing disparity is cause for alarm.

It starts at home. Parents are the most important educators. We remember our own parents taking action if we did not earn good grades. And in those days, good meant excellent. Attending class, paying attention, completing homework assignments and following the teacher’s instructions not only were demanded, but expected. Parents, particularly mothers, knew they would be in trouble with their child’s teacher if they did not attend parent-teacher conferences or show up for PTA meetings.

Yet, learning is a personal thing. No matter how hard they try, none of our teachers can take the knowledge they have and transfer it through some kind of mind meld.

If our progress is to continue as Dr. King envisioned, it is time to drop the excuses and to reinstate the importance of reading, writing and arithmetic. If we want our children to succeed, then this must become our top priority.

Clarence Thomas and high court’s low ethical standards

It must be more than a little embarrassing for a Supreme Court justice to lament that he took some bad legal advice.

But the embarrassment will be worth it for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas if it helps him to get out from under the bigger embarrassments reported by the investigative news service ProPublica.

I’m refer ring to his fail ure to report more than two decades and hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of luxury trips around the world on the sort of super yacht and private jets lifestyle that I usually associate with the Roy family on HBO’s “Succession.”

The largesse came courtesy of Harlan Crow, a Dallas billionaire and longtime friend of Justice Thomas’ and his wife. The core of the controversy is not so much that Justice Thomas received the gifts but that he did not disclose receiving them.

For example, Justice Thomas did disclose a 2015 gift from Mr. Crow—a bronze bust of abolitionist Frederick Douglass valued at $6,484, ProPublica’s report said. But his reports don’t mention the vacations and other travel on Mr. Crow’s plane.

On Friday, more than 24 hours after ProPublica’s report, Justice Thomas responded in a

statement that he and his wife, Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, were among the “dearest friends” of Harlan and Kathy Crow, and, “as friends do,” had joined the Crows on family trips for more than 25 years.

He also pleaded innocent to any suspicions that he was trying to slip past ethics rules. Since his early days on the court, Justice Thomas’ statement said, he was advised by “colleagues and others

in the judiciary” that “this sort of personal hospitality from close personal friends, who did not have business before the court, was not reportable.”

Well, that may sound lovely, as far as the Thomases and Crows are concerned but, in today’s fashionable parlance, it’s not a good look.

In that vein, ProPublica couldn’t help but compare Justice Thomas’ luxurious vacationing among the rich and famous with the modest “RV park” reg’larguy version he describes in a documentary financed partly by Mr. Crow.

“I prefer the RV parks. I prefer the Walmart parking lots to the beaches and things like that. There’s something normal to me about it,” ProPublica quoted Justice Thomas as saying. “I come from regular stock, and I prefer that—I prefer being around that.”

Well, I don’t think anyone should begrudge Justice Thomas’ enjoyment of an old friend’s generosity, as long as he discloses it. That way, in keeping with our nation’s democratic principles of governance and accountability, we all get a chance to be the judge.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, said his panel “will act” based on the ProPublica report, although he did not specify what steps they would take.

We probably have a clue in another bill, the Supreme Court Ethics Act, that was introduced earlier this year to close what Sen. Durbin called “the inexcusable Supreme Court loophole” in federal judicial ethics rules.

“The highest court in the land shouldn’t have the lowest ethical standards,” Sen. Durbin said.

He makes a good point. In fact, a federal statute already governs gifts to judges. But, perhaps because it was produced by arguing lawyers, its wording is open to interpretation and the justices have questioned whether it can be constitutionally applied to them.

To end that confusion and clarify the value of ethical conduct, the proposed Supreme Court Ethics Act calls for a code of conduct for the Supreme Court and a mechanism for the public to report potentially unethical conduct by justices.

Judges below the Supreme Court are instructed to avoid even the appearance of impropriety.

Another lynching in Tennessee

The abolitionist journalist

Ida B. Wells’ quest to document lynchings began when three of her friends, Tommy Moss, Calvin McDowell, and Will Stewart, were lynched because white people were envious of their economic success.

Mr. Moss, a highly regarded pastor, postal worker (a great job in the South in the 1890s), and activist started the People’s Grocery with two of his friends in the Curve area of Memphis, Tenn., partly because the white owner held a monopoly and provided substandard service to Black shoppers. The white owner chafed at the competition and that Black men dared to stand up to him. When two youths got into a scuffle over marbles, white men went to confront Black men at the People’s Grocery.

Shots were exchanged, and three Black men were eventually incarcerated, then lynched. Tommy Moss was a dear friend of Ida B. Wells. Her outrage at that lynching propelled her into documenting lynching around the South.

What would Mrs. Wells write today about how the Tennessee legislature politically lynched Justin Pearson and Justin Jones, two young Black Democrats who protested that legislature’s inaction after the massacres of three children and three adults at the Nashville Covenant School? The details are less important than the fact that the shooter used automatic weapons, had an arsenal, and was prepared to massacre others. In the

face of this carnage, the Tennessee state legislature refused to act on measures curtailing the ownership of automatic weapons. Thus, three legislators joined others protesting the inaction. In addition to the two Justins, a white female legislator, Gloria Johnson, was threatened with expulsion. She avoided it by one vote.

Tommy Moss, Calvin McDowell, and Will Stewart were lynched because they dared take a stand against the economic exploitation of a white grocer whose monopoly power denied Black shoppers fair prices and hassle-free shopping experiences.

Justin Pearson and Justin Jones were expelled from the Tennessee legislature for taking a stand against the gun violence that their fellow lawmakers refused to take a stand on. The Nashville Metro Council unanimously voted to reinstate Justin Jones, but he may have to run to regain his seat in a special election. As of this writing, Justin Pearson is waiting to find out whether he will be reappointed to his seat by the Shelby County Board of Commission, although some worry that state legislators may retaliate against Memphis.

Ida B. Wells was a principled woman whose writing about lynching resulted in her newspaper, the Memphis Free Speech, being destroyed. She was threatened with lynching and left Memphis for New York, where she continued writing. She was undeterred by her pointed writing putting her in physical jeopardy.

Like Mrs. Wells, the two Justins were undeterred by the potential

consequences of their anti-gun protest. Like Mrs. Wells, they are a profile in courage and conviction.

Both Justin Jones and Justin Pearson are under 30. The resistance to their activism must encourage other young people to be similarly active. Unfortunately, too often, young people are discouraged from political participation. Many don’t vote because they find it cumbersome or because they feel it doesn’t make a difference. But the Justins are not only making a difference but inspiring others to do the same thing. People are thronging to Nashville, the state capital, to protest both the treatment of the Justins, but also the inaction of the legislature in the face of gun violence.

The Tennessee legislature behaved unjustly in expelling the Justins. Their selective discipline of these young men is in sharp contrast to their treatment of Rep. Paul Sherrell, who advocated “hanging from a tree” as a form of capital punishment. Sherrell offered a tepid apology after members of the Black Caucus called his resignation or, at the very least, censure from his colleagues. He was not rebuked. He did not resign. He was unscathed by his abhorrent statements. He apologized for his “poor judgment,” but it was more than poor judgment that lynched Tommy Moss and his colleagues.

May the treatment of the Justins inspire us to resist racism. One of the signs outside the State Capitol said it succinctly. “No Justins, no peace.”

The writer is an economist, author, and dean of the College of Ethnic Studies at Cal State LA.

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That’s an excellent standard that should be fundamental to all of the Supreme Court’s business. None of the justices should feel insulted or inconvenienced by the need to protect their own integrity—on which rests the rule of law itself.

Despite his reputation for abundant silence on the bench, Justice Thomas has spoken wisely and at length in other forums about the importance of honesty, integrity and the danger of victimhood mentalities and entitlement attitudes.

Whether his failure to file all of his disclosure statements resulted from bad legal advice or not, he is hardly the only person who needs to have a code of ethics to help end that confusion.

The public needs it too. The demands of self-government call on all citizens to appreciate sound standards of ethical conduct—and then do our best to live by them.

The writer is a syndicated columnist and senior member of the Chicago Tribune editorial board.

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Clarence Page

Curbing gun violence demands focus on stronger laws, helping those who’ve been hurt

When Republicans in the Tennessee House were challenged on gun control after three 9-year-old children and three adults were slain at a Christian elementary school in Nashville, Tenn., they responded by expelling two Black representatives who led a protest on the chamber’s floor. A white legislator survived the outrageous ouster. When then-Gov. Ralph Northam brought the Virginia General Assembly back to Richmond to consider gun legislation after 12 people were killed on May 31, 2019, at the Virginia Beach Municipal Center, Republican leaders shut down the special session.

After 32 students and professors at Virginia Tech were fatally shot on April 16, 2007, in what at the time was the nation’s largest contemporary mass shooting, it was another 13 years before significant gun safety reforms were adopted – that was in 2020, after Democrats seized control of the Virginia House and Senate in the 2019 elections following the Virginia Beach shootings.

In our politically torn nation, divided over whether freedom means the freedom to stay alive or the freedom to be armed with little or no restriction, how to reduce gun violence grows in complexity and urgency. Just two weeks after the Nashville school shootings, a Louisville, Ky., bank employee on Monday killed five people and injured eight others, including a young, newly sworn-in police officer who was shot in the head. The attacker was killed by police.

How many days—or hours— will it be until the next community mourns? Anyone still concerned about legislative decorum should contemplate the shattering chaos after innocent lives are ended by gunfire.

As we approach the 16th memorial observance for those slain at Virginia Tech, the need for common sense gun safety policies remains critical if we’re to end the bloodshed at work,

school and home – and in all of the many settings in which we’ve seen communities devastated by gun violence.

Andrew Goddard, a top Virginia gun safety advocate whose son was wounded at Tech, says these broader changes are needed to truly protect children.

Mr. Goddard wrote in a recent article for the University of Richmond’s Public Interest Law Review that while there are valid issues in school security, 98.8 percent of the children killed by guns in 2020 lost

their lives elsewhere. This is a crisis widely felt throughout the Richmond area. Mr. Goddard argues children can be protected inside and outside of school by enacting, for example, tougher safe storage laws and bans or restrictions on the sales of assault rifles and high-capacity magazines.

Mr. Goddard views safe storage as critical to preventing casualties across a variety of scenarios. But Virginia’s divided legislature, where Republicans hold the House and Democrats control the Senate, missed a chance to toughen our laws even amid the headlines about a Newport News 6-year-old who shot and wounded his teacher with a handgun he brought from home. Mr. Goddard said he was disappointed that such an obvious need couldn’t win bipartisan support. While the boy’s mother was charged Monday with felony child neglect and a misdemeanor count of allowing a child access to firearms, the legislature missed a chance to act forcefully on the issue of children obtaining weapons from home.

The voices and leadership of gun violence survivors and their supporters – among them the young people who demonstrated in Tennessee and the Parkland, Fla., students who helped energize the movement in 2018 – have been critical to the push for reform.

Preventing gun violence is a major part of creating a healthier society. Helping those who have already experienced the worst is a another pressing need. Joe

Samaha, whose daughter Reema was killed in the Tech shootings, has been the leader in advocating for a state-operated Virginia Mass Violence Care Fund. The fund would reimburse survivors for expenses that aren’t fully covered by insurance – that could range from continuing physical and mental health care to wheelchairs and other adaptive needs.

The proposal draws on two inspirations – the state’s settlement with Tech families after the shootings, and the work of the VTV Family Outreach Foundation, which Mr. Samaha led for 13 years. The foundation, which was established through the settlement, has helped 12 other violence survivors nationally, including two from Virginia Beach, through its VTVCare program.

The proposal for the state mass violence care fund failed to get through the legislature in 2022. But this year Gov. Glenn Youngkin placed $10 million for the program in his budget proposals. If approved during the current budget talks, the fund would first help Virginia Beach families but also

be ready to assist survivors of the mass shootings last year at the University of Virginia and a Chesapeake Walmart. As with VTVCare, Mr. Samaha said, the payments would come from returns on investments and applicants would be eligible in the third year after a violent event, when fundraising and other sources begin to run out.

Mr. Samaha said it’s important to recognize that violence survivors face a long and uncertain path to physical and emotional healing. He points to how the state’s reimbursements to Tech survivors have fluctuated over the years and were higher in 2022 than they were in 2021.

“It just shows you that healing is not linear,” Mr. Samaha said. “People still are in need.”

Thomas P. Kapsidelis is the author of “After Virginia Tech: Guns, Safety, and Healing in the Era of Mass Shootings,” and a visiting assistant professor of journalism at the University of Richmond. For information on the Virginia Tech memorial observances in Blacksburg this weekend, click on https://www. weremember.vt.edu/

Thomas P. Kapsidelis

Stories by Fred Jeter

coming back Spoiler alert: VSU-VUU season finale is renamed

Panthers rejoice! Byers is

Virginia Union University football fans can take a deep breath. Jada Byers is staying put.

Resisting any temptation to venture elsewhere, the running back is committed to VUU and helping Coach Alvin Parker’s Panthers return to the NCAA playoffs.

“Jada is the face of our program, the team spokesman and involved in helping our recruiting,” said Coach Parker. “He’s a staple; he’s not going anywhere.”

The swift, elusive Byers is arguably the top attraction in all of Division II football. As a sophomore, the New Jersey native rushed for 1,920 yards and 19 touchdowns, earning CIAA Player of Year and first-team All-American honors.

In two seasons on Lombardy Street, Byers has 2,830 yards on the ground with 31 rushing TDs. He would have been an attractive addition for just about any school in the nation.

The extremely active NCAA portal now allows athletes to transfer without sitting out a season. That makes it easy to jump ship, but Byers likes life at Hovey Field. It also helps

VUU will return most of the stalwarts from last year’s powerful offensive line.

“Jada was third in the Harlan Hill voting (for top player in Division II) and the two ahead of him have graduated,’ said Coach Parker.

“That says to me he’s the best player in the country.”

It helps that Byers has received an NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) deal at VUU, providing compensation beyond room, board and tuition.

Other Panthers with NIL’s include All-CIAA offensive lineman Justin Meade (from J.R. Tucker High) and place kicker extraordinaire Brady Myers from Florida.

Time to pop pads: VUU will conclude spring drills Saturday, April 15, with the annual “Panthers vs. Union” intrasquad game at Hovey.

Coach Parker guarantees victory.

Returning from last year’s 9-2 squad will be seven starters on both offense and defense and both kickers (Myers and punter Marvin Holmes).

There is a hole to fill at quarterback. Jahkari

Grant has moved on after passing for 1,916

yards and 18 TDS in 2022. Grant also ran for 346 yards before sack deductions.

Likely replacements include Christian Reid from Georgia and Floridian R.J. Rosales. Filling in for Grant last year, Reid hit eight of 12 passes for 74 yards and four TDS.

Other QB candidates, including transfers and incoming freshmen, could enter the fray when summer drills begin in August.

Denmark to Richmond: Among the freshmen will be 6-foot-5, 300-pound Mathias Nielson from the Scandinavian nation.

Coach Parker alluded to “a lot of connections along the way” in luring the offensive lineman to Virginia.

“People are going to be surprised to see him,”

Coach Parker said.

National exposure: The Panthers will open their 2023 season Sept. 3 (a Sunday) against Morehouse College of Atlanta in the NFL Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio.

The HBCU contest will be televised on the NFL Network. VUU’s home opener in 2023

Rams lose their ‘Ace’ in the hole

The arrival of several new VCU players is imminent

The Ace Baldwin era is over at VCU. The Rams’ star point guard is heading to Penn State to join former VCU Coach Mike Rhoades. Others could follow.

Baldwin was the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of Year while helping the Rams win the A10 regular season and tournament titles and qualify for the NCAAs.

Coach Rhoades left VCU after six seasons and has been replaced by former Utah State Coach Ryan Odom.

At Big 10 Conference Penn State, Coach Rhoades follows Micah Shrewsberry, who

left to take the Notre Dame post. VCU’s roster is in flux.

In addition to Baldwin, Jalen DeLoach, Jayden Nunn, Nick Kern and Jamir Watkins put their names in the NCAA transfer portal following the coaching change.

Seniors Brandon Johns and David Shriver have completed their eligibility. Before the change, Josh Banks and Jarren McAllister had filed for the portal.

All still have the opportunity to return.

Three of Coach Rhoades’VCU assistants, Jamal Brunt, Jimmy Martelli and Brent Scott, have followed him to Penn State.

With Baldwin gone, the likely VCU point guard will be Zeb Jackson, a transfer from Michigan who averaged 5.2 points this past season filling in for Baldwin and Nunn in the backcourt.

Until further notice, VCU freshman Alphonzo Billups (Varina High), Christian Fermin and Toibu Lawal are scheduled to return.

Stay tuned for the arrival of several new players at VCU through the portal and via Coach Odom’s contacts at Utah State.

Mo’s coming home to VCU

Mo Alie-Cox is returning to Richmond not so much to talk about basketball or football, but to talk about the game of life.

The former VCU hoops star and current tight end for the NFL Indianapolis Colts will deliver his alma mater’s commencement address May 14 at the Greater Richmond Convention Center.

For ticket information go to commencement.vcu.edu.

Alie-Cox wore jersey No. 12 for the

Rams, playing in 142 games from 2013’17 and scoring 1,092 points, grabbing 663 rebounds and blocking 255 shots, second on the all-time list behind Ren Watson.

Known as “Mo-nan the Barbarian” for his powerful physique, he remains VCU’s second all-time leader in field goal percentage (57.4) behind Hasan Ward. Now he wears No. 81 for the Colts with 89 career receptions and 11 touchdowns. He also is considered among the top blocking tight ends in the game.

From Northern Virginia, the 6-foot-5, 267-pound muscle man landed a spot in the NFL despite not having played the sport since ninth grade in high school. At VCU, he earned a bachelor’s in criminal justice from the Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs in 2015 and a master’s in 2017.

won’t be until Sept. 23 when reigning CIAA champ Fayetteville State comes to Hovey for the Willard Bailey Classic.

VUU’s regular season finale against Virginia State on Nov. 4 will be titled the L. Douglas Wilder Classic.

Help is on the way for VUU

Virginia Union University has landed one of the state’s elite high school basketball stars.

O’Maundre Harris, a super-quick 5-foot-10 guard from E.C. Glass in Lynchburg, has committed to play for Panthers Coach Jay Butler.

VUU is coming off a 24-8 season in which it advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs. Many holes are left to fill through graduation.

Harris averaged 25.4 points per game for Glass this past season, leading the Hilltoppers to the state Class 4 finals againstVarina.

Earning first All-State honors, Harris was at his best against the best. He had 32 points in the state quarterfinals, 34 in semifinals and 31 in the title game 59-56 Varina loss at the Siegel Center.

Along with his prolific scoring, Harris averaged 6.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists and hit 36 percent from beyond the threepoint arc.

VUU has a history of success with sub 6-foot guards. The Panthers won NCAA Division II titles with 5-foot-9 Derwin Lilly in 1980 and 5-foot-10 Luqman Jabber in 2004.

Also, current Panthers’ coach, the 5-foot-9’ish Butler, was VUU’s ace ball handler in the late ’90s, teaming up with center Ben Wallace.

Bonds looks forward to NFL draft

Long ago, droves of HBCU football players were drafted by the NFL and many went on to All-Pro and Hall of Fame careers.

That’s no longer true as times have changed, but Hampton University’s Jadakis Bonds hopes to change the trend, even if the odds seem against him.

Bonds set numerous receiving records at HU under Coach Robert Prunty, and at least is on the NFL’s radar for the April 27-29 draft in Las Vegas.

“I think he’ll go somewhere from the fourth round to free agency, but he’ll definitely be in someone’s camp,” said Coach Prunty.

Named after the rapper Jadakiss, Bonds has entertained Pirates fans for four years with his speed, height (6-foot-4), sure hands and talent for getting open.

Bonds has re-written the Pirates’ record book for receiving. Earning All-conference honors in both the Big South as a junior and Colonial Athletic as a senior, he finished his career on the Bay with 180 catches for 2,731 yards and 34 touchdowns.

The Williamson, N.C., native had 49 grabs for 855 yards (nearly

It’s that time again: Pirates’ 2023 opener Hampton vs. Grambling, Sept. 9, Harrison, N.J., Red Bull Arena, Brick City Classic

18 yards a catch) and 10 TDs this past season. He was selected to the prestigious East-West Shrine Bowl in Las Vegas where he caught two passes for 26 yards in front of NFL scouts from all teams. All of it played out on national television.

There were about 15 NFL scouts watching Bonds and standout defensive lineman KeShaun Moore (58 tackles, five sacks) for Hampton’s “Pro Day.”

Moore, from Suffolk, was selected for the HBCU Legacy Bowl in New Orleans.

Impressing the NFL talent scouts, Bonds ran a 4.5 for 40 yards, did a 35-inch vertical leap and did 10-3 for the standing broad jump.

Moore ran an impressive 4.8 while weighing 285.

These days, the NFL draft is never a sure thing when it comes

Embiid goes back to back

Joel Embiid has done it again. For the second straight season the Philadelphia 76ers’ center is the NBA scoring champ.

The 7-foot-1, 280-pound, 29-year-old native of Cameroon finished with a 33.1 scoring norm, just ahead of Dallas’ Luka Doncic (32.4).

He had three games of at least 50 points, including a 52point explosion against Boston in which he was 20-for-25 from the field.

Later this spring, Embiid is likely to get his first MVP title after finishing runnerup to Denver’s Nikola Jokic in 2022 and Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo in 2021.

Embiid was the points-pergame king last year with a 30.6 average.

More than just a scorer, Embiid averaged 10.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.7 blocked shots while hitting 55 percent from the floor, 33 percent beyond the arc and 86 percent at the foul line.

Joel Embiid

Led by Embiid and veteran guard James Harden, the Sixers will carry a 54-28 record into the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs against the Brooklyn Nets.

Embiid, the third overall draft pick out of Kansas in 2013, becomes the first center to lead the NBA in scoring in consecutive years since Buffalo’s Bob McAdoo did it three straight seasons, 1974-76.

Towering centers aren’t always the scoring leaders because they tend to play fewer minutes, get fewer transition baskets, and aren’t generally as prolific 3-point shooters as forwards and guards.

Chicago’s Michael Jordan is the NBA’s all-time leader in scoring titles with 10 between 1987 and 1998.

Next comes Wilt Chamberlain with seven crowns between 1960 and 1966 with the Philadelphia and San Francisco Warriors and Philly 76ers.

Kevin Durant, George Gervin and Allen Iverson have four scoring titles each.

Here are the NBA’s other regular season statistical leaders:

Rebounds: Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento, 12.4

Assists: James Harden, Philadelphia, 10.7

Blocked shots: Jaren Jackson, Memphis, 3.0

Steals: O.G. Anunoby, Toronto, 1.9

Field-goal percentage : Walker Kessler, Utah, 72.0

Three pointers made: Klay Thompson, Golden State, 295

Three-point percentage: Luke Kennard, Memphis, 49.4

to HBCUs. Just four HBCU athletes were drafted in 2022 and none in 2021.

The modern-day draft is mostly about the Power Five, Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). Hampton and the other Division I HBCUs compete in the one-step down Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).

While HBCU numbers are down in the NFL, Hampton has had its share of athletes make it to the top.

That group includes defensive lineman Reggie Doss (Rams, 1978 to ’87), linebacker Justin Durant (2007-’17 with four teams), lineman Kenrick Ellis (2011-’15, Jets, Vikings), and tackle Michael Ola (2012-’19, 10 teams).

Three Pirates have made the NFL this century from Central Virginia Schools – Petersburg lineman Kendall Lanford (200818, six teams), Petersburg receiver Jerome Mathis (2005-’11, three teams) and Hanover receiver Zuriel Smith (2003-’06, three teams).

The upcoming NFL draft will consist of seven rounds and 259 selections.

Squirrels feast on ‘M&Ms’

The Richmond Flying Squirrels opened their season with “M&Ms” at the top of the batting menu.

Not the candy kind; this is about leadoff hitter Ismael Munguia and second-inorder Luis Matos.

The Latin American outfielders provided much of the offensive thrust in the season opener April 8 in a 4-3 win over visiting Reading at The Diamond.

Munguia, a 24-year-old Nicaraguan, and Matos, a 21year-old switch-hitter from Venezuela, combined for five hits in the opener with Matos slugging the first homer of the season.

Richmond went on to sweep the opening series against the Philadelphia Phillies Eastern League affiliate three games to none under manager Dennis Pelfrey.

Remember No. 42

Thursday, April 14

Jackie Robinson Day Richmond Flying Squirrels at Harrisburg, Pa., Senators. 7 p.m.

The Squirrels are playing in Harrisburg, Pa., this week and will return to Richmond for a sixgame series against Erie, Pa., Seawolves ending

April 16. Erie is the Detroit Tigers’ AA affiliate. Richmond is celebrating Jackie Robinson Day April 14 in Harrisburg. Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier on April 14, 1947, debuting with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Robinson’s No. 42 is retired across pro ball major and minor league teams.

The Richmond roster is short on African-Americans but well represented by Latino athletes.

Along with Munguia and Matos, others who are from mostly Spanish-speaking countries are pitchers Raymond Burgos (Puerto Rico), Randy Rodriguez (Dominican Republic) and Juan Sanchez (Venezuela).

Also, the Squirrels are hopeful of soon adding shortstop Marco Luciano, a Dominican who is ranked the No. 2 prospect in the San Francisco chain. Luciano began the season in extended spring training.

Ace Baldwin

O’Maundre Harris

Mo Alie-Cox

Luis Matos Ismael Munguia

Section B

Sharon Parham Blount is bringing a new kind of peace to Richmond’s hungriest residents.

The new board chair of Shalom Farms, Mrs. Blount has assumed a key part in the leadership of an organization that has worked since 2009, when it was originally a social program led by the United Methodist Urban Ministries of Richmond, to expand food access in the Richmond area.

For Mrs. Blount, who joined Shalom’s board of directors in 2019, the group’s mission fits her own life experiences, and resonates with her beliefs and interest in aiding Richmonders in need of assistance.

“I wanted to be a part of an organization that directly impacts the lives of Richmonders,” says Mrs. Blount, when asked why she accepted the position. “As an African-American woman with diabetes, I know how important it is to have good choices about what we eat and how we care for our bodies.”

Mrs. Blount first learned of Shalom Farms through its work at Union Presbyterian Seminary, where one of its community farms is located. She was encouraged by the group’s former executive director, Dominic Barrett, to join their efforts.

Personality: Sharon Parham Blount

Spotlight on Shalom Farms board chair

their approach to this issue according to Mrs. Blount. This shift includes moving away from the idea of “food deserts” toward “food apartheid,” emphasizing the nature of this problem as man-made and systemic, rather than a natural occurrence.

Mrs. Blount and Shalom Farms’ current work fits in well with this moment, as the organization’s work shifts more toward racial equity. She currently chairs the nonprofit’s Racial Equity Committee. The nonprofit also is moving forward on a new, threeyear strategic plan centered on racial equity.

“As we look to the future, we want to do more than just be an input that is part of an unjust system,” Mrs. Blount says. “Rather, we want to collaborate with others, sharing our resources, to create a new and better food system together.”

“In all of this work we continually ask ourselves if what we are doing best serves and honors the communities for whom and with

Shalom Farms.

Occupation: Retired.

Date and place of birth: Oct. 6 in Greenwood, Miss. Where I live now: Richmond’s North Side.

Education: Hampton University, and MBA, Old Dominion University.

Family:

Joshua Blount, son, Kaylin Blount, daughter. Shalom Farms is: farm and food justice organiza tion working for an equitable food system in Richmond. Each year, we grow and distribute more than 200,000 pounds of certified naturally grown produce through our network of community part ners and our own innovative food access and education programs, including our Mobile Market and Community Food Skills Educa tion Classes.

Why the name: Hebrew word often translated as “peace.” However, its meaning goes beyond just the absence of violence or oppression, to suggest the active presence of health and happiness, and an understand

ing that this wholeness and well-being belongs to everyone. Number one goal or project as board chair: I am excited about our organization’s desire to look at everything we do through a racial equity lens. This is a bold and challenging concept, and I am enjoying working with the board and staff to see how we might grow and change through this process.

Shalom Farms, Black and Brown Richmonders and food injustice: Everyone deserves access to good food. Food that is good for their bodies, their families, their community and the environment. Unjust and uncaring systems create barriers to persons and their families inaccessing food, disproportionately affecting Black and Brown communities in our region. This is not OK. We envision a food system that is rooted

through our innovative and collaborative food access and education programs, which include our Mobile Market, Community Food Skills Education Classes, Produce Rx, and Nutrition Distribution Program. All of our produce is distributed at low-to-no cost directly to individuals and through collaborative partnerships with community organizations doing complimentary work here in Richmond.

What Shalom Farms grows and distributes: We grow and distribute more than 25 different kinds of vegetables, including: collards, broccoli, cabbage, kale, onions, strawberries, cucumbers, eggplant, bell peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, zucchini, spinach and herbs such as basil, cilantro, and parsley.

Where Shalom Farms distributes its harvest: Our Mobile Market Distributes produce throughout the Northside, South Side, and East End of the city. Mobile Market locations include Highland Park Senior Apartments, Mosby Court, VCU Massey Cancer Center, Stonewall Senior Apartments, the Sarah Garland Jones Center, the Boys & Girls Club Teen Center, Broad Rock Elementary School, Southside Plaza, and others. Our Nutrition Distribution Program partners with food pantries and feeding programs across the city, including Feed More, St. Thomas’ Food Pantry, Nationz Foundation, MAD RVA/RVA Community Fridges, Underground Kitchen: Community First, MARCH Food Pantry, Belmont Food Pantry, Shalom Farms on wheels: launched in 2016, our Mobile Market offers consistent access to fresh food in neighborhoods across Richmond where physi cal and economic barriers are prevalent. The Market provides a dollar-for-dollar match on SNAP purchases and sells produce at a significantly discounted price: $3

of produce at the market would cost about $12 at farmers markets and grocery stores.

Upcoming events: Savor Shalom on May 6 at the Powhatan Farm. Our annual on-farm gala returns for the first time since 2019. Guests will enjoy creative dishes featuring Shalom Farms produce, a silent auction, live music and more! Funds raised will support our food access, education, and advocacy work.

How I start the day: With gratitude for all that I have been given and go from there. Thethreewordsthatbestdescribe me: Kind, supportive, capable. Best late-night snack: Rarely eat late-night snacks.

How I unwind: Love to walk, read, watch movies and spend time with friends.

Something I love to do that most people would never imagine: I love a good romance! Can always count on a happy ending!

A quote that inspires me: “Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.”

—Unknown

At the top of my “to-do” list:

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Sen. Charles S. Robb

COMMUNITY ENHANCEMENT AWARD

Drive-To-Work

HILL - ROBINSON EXPANSION OF FREEDOM AWARD

John V. Moeser, Ph.D., (honored posthumously)

INNOVATION IN GOVERNMENT AWARD

Henrico County Public Library’s Fair eld Area Library

GRACE E. HARRIS LEADERSHIP AWARD

Angela Patton, CEO of Girls For A Change

PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP AWARD

Virginia Department of Veterans Services

Military Medics and Corpsmen Program

UNSUNG HERO AWARD

Rebecca Gwynn, Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources

q-r.to/evga2023

Jeffrey Osborne keeps holding on, flying high

By Craig Belcher

Blessed with one of the most distinctive voices in modern R&B, it didn’t take Jeffrey Osborne long to establish a solo career after departing the funk band L.T.D. (Love, Togetherness and Devotion) in the early 1980s. After years of playing drums in the group known for the hits “Holding On (When Love Is Gone)” and “(Every Time I Turn Around) Back in Love

Again, he stepped out front with his self-titled debut in 1982, produced by George Duke.

“We got lucky with the first record,” Mr. Osborne recalls from his home in Los Angeles. “I had a couple of hits, ‘Really Don’t Need No Light,’ was the first thing and then ‘On The Wings of Love’ kind of took that over the top. I think it helped that I was a songwriter.”

The Rhode Island native and Grammy-nominated singer’s luck continued as he built a career that includes 12 albums, acting stints on

Whether it’s art and poetry or films and music, Richmond and surrounding communities offer a lot to everyone in the coming weeks.

Most programs and events are free.

So, get out your sunglasses, water bottles, favorite outfits and hit the streets to enjoy the following attractions.

RVA First Fridays

Organized by: The Downtown Neighborhood Association and Richmond Arts District.

Where it takes place: Roughly throughout Richmond’s Arts District, running west to east on Broad Street from Laurel Street to 7th, and south to north from Franklin Street to Clay Street.

When it takes place: Generally from 5 to 9 p.m. on the first Friday of each month.

Cost: Generally free, though certain vendors or participants may have their own prices for items.

More information: www. richmondartsdistrict.org/rva-firstfridays

First Fridays at the VMHC

Organized by: Virginia Museum of History and Culture.

Where it takes place: The Virginia Museum of History and Culture at 428 N. Arthur Ashe Blvd.

When it takes place: From 5 to 8 p.m. on the first Friday of each month.

Cost: Free after-hours admission to the museum, but separate pricing for drinks in the Museum Café and participating food vendors.

More information: secure. virginiahistory.org/1912/1913

Manchester Manifest First Fridays

Organized by: Manchester Manifest and Crenius LLC.

Where it takes place: 1309 Hull St.

When it takes place: From 5 p.m. to midnight on the first Friday of each month.

Cost: Free.

More information: www.instagram.com/manchestermanifest

The 23rd season of the Riverfront Canal Cruises

Organized by: Venture Richmond.

Where it takes place: The Turning Basin at 139 Virginia St.

When it takes place: The 23rd season runs Fridays and Saturdays from noon to 7 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. in April, then from noon to 7 p.m. Monday through

soap operas and singing the national anthem at sporting events. Mr. Osborne, 75, talks about his times with L.T.D., where that voice comes from and his next projects.

Free Press: Is there anything you miss about the group dynamic?

Mr. Osborne: I miss a lot about the group. The group was a great group. It was one of the best entertaining live performing groups ever. I miss some of the relationships I had in the group and a great songwriting relationship with one person in particular. But you know, it was a grind with L.T.D. We were working sometimes for barely any money, you know, it was, it was tough back then. But … I didn’t leave the group because of that. I left the group because they didn’t provide any outlets for the individual to grow. It was just time for me to leave.

Free Press: Throughout your career, you’ve had songs with social commentary. Why do you think it’s important to sing about those issues?

Mr. Osborne: I just think it’s

Friday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sundays from May through September.

Cost: Tickets cost $12 for adults, $8 for children age 5 to 12 years old and seniors 65 years and older, children age 4 or younger can ride for free. Tickets are sold on a first come, first served basis in person and online.

More information: www. venturerichmond.com/our-services/ riverfront-canal-cruises

Richmond Poetry Fest

Organized by: The Visual Arts Center of Richmond and the Carole Weinstein Endowment for Creative Writing.

Where it takes place: The Visual Arts Center of Richmond.

When it takes place: Friday, April 14, from 6 to 8 p.m. and Saturday, April 15, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Cost: Free

More information: www. visarts.org/rva-poetry-fest

RVA Adaptive Sports Festival

Organized by: Sportable.

Where it takes place: Glen Allen High School at 10700 Staples Mill Rd.

When it takes place: Saturday, April 15, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Cost: Free.

More information: www. sportable.org/rva-adaptive-sportsfestival/

Chesterfield County

Seeking Volunteers for Earth Day Cleanups

Organized by: Chesterfield County.

Where it takes place: County parks, including the Dutch Gap Conservation Area, Falling Creek Ironworks Park, Mid-Lothian Mines, River City Sportsplex and the Radcliffe Conservation Area

When it takes place: From Saturday, April 15-22

Cost: Free

More information: tuckeran@ chesterfield.gov or 804-768-7435

Climate Justice: Why It Matters & What You Can Do Virtual Session

Organized by: RVA Engage.

Where it takes place: Online, through Zoom.

When it takes place: Wednesday, April 19, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Cost: Free.

More information: www.bit. ly/411HKJV

As a teenager, Jeffrey Osborne stopped listening to radio and records for a year to develop his own material and style.

continues to attract new fans and audiences.

PLACES TO GO, PEOPLE TO SEE

RPS Priority Schools Virtual Teacher Hiring Event

Organized by: Richmond Public Schools’ Talent Acquisition Department.

Where it takes place: Online.

When it takes place: Wednesday, April 19, and Thursday, April 20, from 4 to 8 p.m.

Cost: Free

More information: www. rvaschools.net/talent-office/talentacquisition

Leadership Metro Richmond’s Spring Alumni Luncheon

Organized by: Leadership Metro Richmond

Where it takes place: The John Marshall Ballrooms, 101 N. 5th St.

When it takes place: Thursday, April 20, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Cost: Tickets cost $70 for LMR alums or current class members and $80 for guests, who must be accompanied by an LMR alum.

More information: www. classy.org/event/lmr-2023-springalumni-luncheon/e461888

The 29th James River Film Festival

Organized by: James River Film Society.

Where it takes place: Various locations, including the Visual Arts Center, Richmond Public Library, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the Byrd Theatre.

When it takes place: From Thursday, April 20, to Sunday, April 23.

“The Black Press: Soldiers without Swords,” is 1 p.m. April 23 at the VMFA. Directed by Stanley Nelson, the documentary chronicles the history of African-American newspapers nationwide.

Cost: Some screenings are currently listed at $8 to attend, while others are free.

More information: www. jamesriverfilm.org/

Paul Laurence Dunbar:

Beyond the Mask Documentary Screening & Discussion

Organized by: Events On Leigh.

Where it takes place: Events On Leigh at 122 W. Leigh St.

When it takes place: Saturday, April 22, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Cost: Free, but registration is

required

More information: www. eventsonleigh.com/event/paulbeyondthemask

Dressed to the Nines Jazz Concert

Organized by: The Dr. Billy Taylor Jazz Studies Program at Virginia State University.

Where it takes place: The Anderson-Turner Auditorium of the VSU Virginia Hall.

When it takes place: Thursday, April 27, at 7 p.m.

Cost: Free.

2nd Annual RPS Youth Poetry Slam

Organized by: The Writer’s Den.

Where it takes place: The Visual Arts Center of Richmond at 1812 W. Main St.

When it takes place: Saturday, April 29, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Cost: The event is free, but donations are welcome through CashApp and Venmo.

More information: Contact @ thewritersdenrva on Instagram.

Pine Grove School Historical Highway Marker Ceremony

Organized by: AMMD Pine Grove Project.

Where it takes place: The site of Pine Grove School, 267 Pinegrove Road, Cumberland, Virginia, 23040.

When it takes place: Saturday, April 29, at 11 a.m.

Cost: Free.

More information: ammdpinegroveproject.com or (202) 643. AMMD (2663).

An Afternoon of History: Rosa Bowser, BHMVA & Richmond Public Library

Organized by: Richmond Public Library and the Black History Museum & Cultural Center.

Where it takes place: The Black History Museum & Cultural Center of Virginia at 122 W. Leigh St.

When it takes place: Saturday, April 29, from noon to 4 p.m.

Cost: Free, but registration is required.

More information: rvalibrary. libcal.com/event/9745691

Friday Cheers’ 38th Concert Season

Organized by: Friday Cheers.

Where it takes place: Brown’s Island.

important to be relevant. But for whatever you believe in, I think it’s important to sing about that so that people know that this is how you feel about what you believe in. It’s tough in this industry, because you can alienate yourself from a lot of people and that was back then!

Free Press: Can you talk about how you developed your distinctive vocal style? What influenced you?

Mr. Osborne: When I was a teenager … I tried to basically sound the way everybody did. When I got to L.T.D., I realized that I needed to have an identity. So, the one thing I did … which I think helped me more than anything, is … I basically stopped listening to radio and records for almost a year to develop my own stuff. I didn’t want to be influenced anymore. And I think that really helped me and that was hard to do.

Free Press: What are you working on currently?

Mr. Osborne: I’m just basically writing right now. I think I’m gonna just try to put a few songs together and, and do it the way the youths of today do it, you know, through social media. I don’t think I want to be affiliated with a record company anymore. So, I think that’s my new approach.

Jeffrey Osborne performs at the Greater Richmond Convention Center on Saturday, April 22, at 7 p.m. Alex Bungnon opens. Details: www. jsaffair.com

When it takes place: Every Friday in May and June, starting Friday, May 5, to Friday, June 30, from 6 to 9:30 p.m.

Cost: All tickets cost $10 in advance and $15 at the door, free for children under age 12.

More information: www. venturerichmond.com/our-events/ friday-cheers/

Henrico Junior 4-H

Summer Camp

Organized by: The Henrico County office of Virginia Cooperative Extension.

Where it takes place: The Jamestown 4-H Educational Center at 3751 4-H Club Road.

When it takes place: From Monday, Aug. 7, to Friday, Aug. 11.

Cost: $345, which covers five days and four nights of meals and lodging, alongside programs, materials and a T-shirt. Transportation is not provided this year.

More information: www. henrico.us/extension or 804501-5160. Parents interested in volunteering can contact Kendra Young at kkyoung@vt.edu or Carter Humphries at chumphries@ vt.edu

Compiled by George Copeland Jr.

LEVELS UP ACADEMY

June

20th–June 30th | July 3rd–July 14th

Levels Up Academy is a podcast training intensive running this summer for Richmond’s rising generation, ages 17-22. Over the course of this two week intensive, students will learn the hows and whys of audio storytelling from experts in the field. Through hands on training and special guest workshops, students will graduate Levels Up with a firm grasp on field and studio recording, voiceover narration, interviewing, audio editing, and critical listening. Always had an interest in podcasting? Here’s your chance to get your skills up fast!

Levels Up Academy is free to attend and community inspired, complete with services to support attendees, such as meals, transportation and childcare support where needed. Each Levels Up graduate will receive a $500 stipend.

Scan below to learn more and apply!

Photo courtesy JSAffair

The 75-year-old R&B singer

Easter 2023 highlights Bonnets, Brahmas and beats

The legendary Harry Gore sings Bob Dylan songs at Easter on Parade, and Mike Sobba and Mike Pace parade in their Easter bonnets.

Margaret Elizabeth Cooper Osei remembered for her selfless roles in civic, social and church organizations

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

For more than 30 years, Margaret Elizabeth Cooper Osei helped root out discrimination against employees in Virginia government offices as an Equal Employment Opportunity investigator for the state Department of Human Resources Management.

But Ms. Osei was better known for assisting people with securing good-paying jobs, her family said.

“She was honest and strong and knew how to talk to people,” said her daughter, Dr. Margaret Osei, an associate director for the State Council of Higher Education in Virginia.

“Within a few minutes of meeting someone, she would see their talent and be encouraging them to make the most of it,” Dr. Osei said. “She was always authentic. It was always about something for them and never about her.”

Ms. Osei maintained a packed schedule and touched the lives of untold numbers of people

through various roles in church, in Greek activities and other civic and social endeavors before her death on Sunday, March 10, 2023. She was 78.

Family and friends gathered on Saturday, April 1, at Union Baptist Church in South Side where she had been a member for more than 50 years, to pay final tributes to the Richmond native.

Roger L. Gregory, chief judge of the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, was among the speakers who reflected on her life, evidencing the wide circle of people with whom she engaged.

A minister’s daughter, Ms. Osei was just 18 when she began her career. She started working with incarcerated youths in Washington, D.C., after graduating from Maggie Walker High School in 1962.

After five years, she returned to Richmond. Then starting a family, she also earned a degree

at Virginia State University in 1971 and served as a manpower coordinator for the City of Richmond before joining the state as an EEO investigator about 10 years later. She retired around 2009.

Ms. Osei was a founding member of the Richmond Chapter of the National Association of African Americans in Human Resources. She also volunteered in political campaigns for politicians she admired, her daughter said, including Republican Sen. John W. Warner, Richmond Democratic Delegate Franklin P. Hall and City Councilwoman Claudette Black McDaniel, all deceased.

finance committee, served for 30 years as parliamentarian for congregational meetings, was a founding member of the church’s birthday club, and originated the church’s “Wall of Praise” for members.

An alto, she sang in the church choir, was a regular in the Henrico Volunteer Choir and participated in the choir for the annual citywide revivals that the Baptist Ministers Conference of Richmond and Vicinity sponsored.

Ms. Osei also was active in the Iota Sigma Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority. She represented the sorority on the Pan-Hellenic Council of Metro Richmond, of which she was a former president and served as secretary for 10 years.

By Amethyst Holmes Religion News Service

For the Rev. Irene Prince, discussions around reproductive choice start in Bible study. Rev. Prince, pastor of Mount Olive AME Church in Emporia, Kan., has taught on the biblical concept of free will in connection with choice — a connection she hopes will move her congregation to “demonstrate the love of God” by being kinder and not passing judgment on how people decide to live their lives.

“We don’t have to be the keepers of behavior and the purveyors of what is supposed to be holy. That’s God’s realm. I have no heaven or hell to put anybody in,” said Rev. Prince, who is also trying to address reproductive issues by inviting health professionals and advocates to speak to her predominantly Black congregation.

While white evangelicals have led anti-abortion movements and publicly celebrated the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade last June, responses from within the Black church have been more mixed and muted. A recent Pew Research survey found that two-thirds of Black Protestants (66 percent) believe abortion should be legal or mostly legal

in all cases — a sharp contrast to the 74 percent of white evangelicals who believe it should be illegal or mostly illegal in all cases.

Even as some of the largest Black denominations oppose abortion and Black clergy often hold theological positions affirming the sanctity of unborn life, they also face the reality that Black women, who make up the majority of their congregations, are disproportionately affected by lack of access to reproductive health services.

“Nobody flippantly makes that decision,” said Rev. Prince. “We forget that people have choices in their life that they have to make. Those choices are difficult enough without us interfering in their life in a way that is harmful, that ignores their humanity.”

Not all clergy feel theologically equipped to broach the topic of reproductive health, said the Rev. Madison Shockley, former member of the Planned Parenthood Clergy Advocacy Board and pastor at Pilgrim United Church of Christ in Carlsbad, Calif.

In his advocacy work and in his ministry, he tries to help clergy take “the Bible seriously, not literally,” by using the Jewish cultural context of the Bible as an entry point to

She served as recording secretary of the Richmond Urban League for 25 years, and chaired the group’s yearly Equal Employment Opportunity Day Program. She also served as president of the Southside Civic League.

Ms. Osei was a pillar of Union Baptist Church, where she long chaired the church’s

She also was one of the nine founders of the Virginia Crowns Chapter of The Red Hat Society. Survivors include her three children, the Rev. Ronald A. Cooper, Jennifer C. Caldwell and Dr. Osei; brother Rene Cooper; and five grandchildren.

How Black clergy are reframing approach on abortion with congregations

Ms. Osei legislators on behalf of their communities. SisterReach also created the Interfaith Coalition for Human Rights, composed of clergy around the country who do “movement evangelism,” advocating for reproductive justice and sexual health care, among other issues.

Rev. Prince Rev. Shockley Ms. Scott discussing reproductive health from the pulpit.

“Jewish theology has always held — and Christian theology adopted this for many centuries — that life begins with the first breath of the fetus, not conception,” he said.

Monique Moultrie, associate professor of Africana studies and religious studies at Georgia State University, said more pastors are taking a “whole life” approach to reproductive access in church settings instead of engaging in politically charged, single-issue debates around the morality of abortion.

Some ministers are operating in “triage mode” to help church members with funds or day care services when they need to travel across state lines for abortion access, said Dr. Moultrie, who sees these offerings as an entry point for ministry leaders to expand their ministries to women and children.

Clergy are “thinking through

these things in ways that I think will transform how we think of the Black church’s impact because there really is this gap between the baby and youth ministry,” she said. “Our responsibility doesn’t just start and end with the baby dedication.”

Cherisse Scott sees an awakening happening among Black clergy to address reproductive justice. That’s a positive sign, said Ms. Scott, founder and CEO of the Memphis-based reproductive advocacy nonprofit SisterReach. She recognizes clergy play a critical role in their communities.

“We are interested in equipping them with the ability to be spokespersons for this work,” said Ms. Scott.

SisterReach offers clergy a range of reproductive justice resources, from consultation services, to tips on talking with members about abortion access, to strategies for lobbying

“Approaching this as an abortion conversation is what got us here,” said Ms. Scott, who is also an ordained minister. “Approaching this as a conversation around abundance is what will get us out of this.”

Brandee Jasmine Mimitzraiem, director of institutional engagement and public theology with the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, said the people in the pews are often less hesitant to start conversations around reproductive justice than their pastors. Only 22 percent of Black churchgoers heard sermons about abortions, compared with 31 percent who heard sermons on criminal justice reform, according to a 2021 Pew Research Center study.

As a former pastor, Ms. Mimitzraiem has seen her members respond positively to partnering with reproductive justice

organizations, recognizing they have a desire to understand the injustice around abortion access rather than an opportunity to gossip about each other’s sexual behaviors. She believes this is the time for congregations to make their voices heard.

“Congregations have a whole lot more power than they think they do,” Ms. Mimitzraiem said. “People want to know how to do this justly from a faith lens, from a lens that’s rooted in the Black church.”

Fall Line Trail – Brook Road and Hilliard Road

Henrico County, Virginia

Notice of Willingness to Hold a Public Hearing

The County of Henrico is proposing to construct approximately 2,800 feet of a 12-foot-wide paved multi-use trail along Hilliard Road (Route 161) and Brook Road (Route 1) from the Belmont Golf Course to the intersection of Brook Road and Lakeside Avenue. This work will be a part of the Fall Line Trail, a 43-mile north-south paved trail that will connect Ashland to Petersburg. Construction is anticipated to begin in May 2025.

Information related to this project includes the proposed trail addition, project schedule, and funding information which can be reviewed at the County of Henrico, Department of Public Works, 4305 E. Parham Road, Administration Annex Building, 3rd Floor, Henrico, Virginia 23228, Telephone: (804) 501-4616.

County is willing to hold a public hearing.

You may request a public hearing by sending a written request to Sarah Briggs, P. O. Box 90775, Henrico, VA 23273-0775, on or before April 27, 2023. 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

Sarah Briggs at the above address, phone number, or at bri114@henrico.us.

VDOT UPC #: 118153

over Goodes Creek Culvert replacement

Call Meeting: April 18, 2023, at 11:00

For all information pertaining to this IFB conference call, please logon to the Richmond website (www.RVA.GOV).

Proposal Due Date: Tuesday May 16, 2023, Time: 2:00 P.M.

Information or copies of the above solicitations are available by contacting Procurement Services, at the City of Richmond website (www.RVA. GOV), or faxed (804) 646-5989. The City of Richmond encourages all contractors to participate in the procurement process.

Thank you for your interest in applying for opportunities with The City of Richmond.

To see what opportunities are available, please refer to our website at www.richmondgov.com. EOE M/F/D/V

Pilgrim Baptist Church is seeking a van driver for Sunday services and Special occasions. Must be over 21 years of age.

Must pass background check. Contact PBC office 804-643-9244

Sr Software Engr, Glen Allen, VA. Analysis, design & devlpmt of s/w apps. Remote WFH allowed. Apply online w/Data Concepts LLC at http:// dataconcepts-inc.com/Jobs.aspx

UX Designer, Richmond, VA. Design & create user exps for web/mobile software apps. Collab w/product owners & dvlpmt teams. Conduct user research, develop info Support project team deliverables. EEO. singlestoneconsulting.com/careers/

To advertise in the Richmond Free Press call 644-0496

Follow the Free Press on @FreePressRVA @RichmondFreePressUSA

GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Holdings (US) LLC in Richmond, VA seeks Senior Development Scientist to support new product development in the US Gastrointestinal (GI) team by developing formulations & products at all stages for Consumer Healthcare brands. Req: Master’s w/3 years’ exp in (i) industrial formulation & pharmaceutical product development for solids, liquids, & semi-solids; (ii) implementing R&D processes in a matrix team environment; (iii) applying statistics to experimental work; & (iv) summarizing & reporting study data from internal & external sources. Employer will also accept a Bachelor’s (or foreign equiv) in Chemistry or in the above. Resumes to ana.p.loayza@ haleon.com. Job code: SG

Freelance Writers: Richmond Free Press has immediate opportunities for freelance writers. Newspaper experience is a requirement. To be considered, please send 5 samples of your writing, along with a cover letter to news@richmond freepress.com or mail to: Richmond Free Press, P. O. Box 27709, Richmond, VA 23261. No phone calls.

We stand for Equality Justice Opportunity Freedom and we fearlessly ght for Equality Justice Opportunity Freedom