VMFA screens Black press film

By Craig Belcher

The stories of the men and women who were the pioneers of the Black press, newspapers that delivered news to African Americans starting in the 1800s, continue today.

On Sunday, April 23, at 1 p.m., the James River Film Society presents a film about its evolution: “The Black Press: Soldiers Without Swords.” Directed by Stanley Nelson and released in 1998, the documentary was the first to consider the history of African-American newspapers their struggles, triumphs and contributions.

“That story is still very much relevant,” said Wayne Dawkins, an associate professor of multimedia journalism at Morgan State University. “You have to know where you came from.”

He should know. Mr. Dawkins has written two books about black journalists and was a student of Phyllis Garland, a former Ebony magazine editor who is featured in the film.

“Most of that documentary focused on the 1900s, say to the early to mid 1900s, [a] critical period because that was a period we were Black folk entrenched in Jim Crow,” he said, adding that the words and pages of the Black press had a transformative impact on Black America.

Some of the newspapers recalled by the film include Freedom’s Journal, The Chicago Defender, the Pittsburgh Courier and the Baltimore Afro American. The latter three are still publishing today, and the late Raymond H. Boone Sr., founder of the Richmond Free Press, was editor and vice-president of the entire Afro-American newspaper chain, a position he held from 1976 to 1981. The documentary is narrated by actor Joe Morton and features music from jazz bassist Ron Carter, along with interviews with journalists, photographers, publishers and archival footage.

The film is part of the 29th James River Film Festival. The annual event also features “Rewind and Play,” a 2022 documentary about a Paris performance of jazz composer Thelonious Monk on Saturday at 9 p.m. at the Grace Street Theater. Tickets are $8 for each screening.

Henrico DMV office moves to Ashland

Free Press staff report

A new, larger DMV office is about to open in Ashland, replacing the service center at 9015 Brook Road in Henrico County, which will shut down on Saturday, April 22, it has been announced.

It will take about a week to complete a move to the new center at 251 N. Washington St., which is to open Monday, May 1, the Department of Motor Vehicles stated in the announcement.

Until the new office opens, DMV is advising customers to either handle business online or seek assistance at two other service centers, 9237 Quioccasin Road in Henrico or DMV’s headquarters, 2300 W. Broad St. in Richmond.

Free Press staff report

University of Richmond alumnus Greg Morrisett will speak at the school’s commencement ceremonies on May 7. He is currently the Jack and Rilla Neafsey Dean and Vice Provost of Cornell Tech and a faculty member in the computer science department at Cornell University.

As dean, Mr. Morrissett upholds the academic quality and direction of Cornell Tech’s degree programs and research. He develops approaches for working with companies, nonprofits, government agencies, and early-stage investors, as well as overseeing the faculty recruitment and entrepreneurial initiatives of the New York-based campus. His research focuses on using programming language technology to build reliable and high-performing software systems.

Prior to joining Cornell Tech, Mr. Morrisett was dean of computing and information science at Cornell University from 2015 to 2019. He held the Allen B. Cutting Chair in Computer Science at Harvard University from 2004 to 2015, as well as serving as associate dean for computer science and electrical engineering. Before his time at Harvard, he spent eight years on the faculty of Cornell’s computer science department.

In addition to graduating with a bachelor’s degree from UR in 1989, he earned both master’s and doctoral degrees from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

Mr. Morrisett will address graduates during the main commencement ceremony at 2 p.m. on May 7 at the Robins Center. Ceremonies for the Richmond School of Law and School of Professional & Continuing Studies will take place on May 6.

A member of the Nation of Islam sells newspapers at the intersection of Chamberlayne Avenue and Brookland Park Blvd. in Richmond’s North Side. Not only is the intersection a fixture in Richmond, it is a major corridor for all sorts of vehicles traveling north, east, south or west. But if your intention is to explore the diversity of people and places in Richmond’s North Side, you will discover a hub of small businesses, mixed-use housing, churches, community centers, libraries, schools and institutions of higher learning. Consider