Richmond Free Press April 27-29, 2023 edition

It’s a deal Richmond Free Press

Running, man

City and RVA Diamond Partners finalize $2.44B agreement; council vote comes next

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

The Diamond District –Richmond’s biggest ever development – is now at the starting gate after seven months of negotiations between the city and RVA Diamond Partners LLC (RVADP), the private developer.

City Council is now rushing to clear the final development agreement. A briefing is set for next Monday, May 1, with a vote of approval anticipated at the first regular council meeting on Monday, May 8, to enable

the public-private partnership to get underway.

Expected take up to 15 years to build out, the ambitious $2.44 billion development is projected to create thousands of construction and permanent jobs, boost participating Black-owned businesses and bring new hotels, retail space and offices. Some 2,600 homes and apartments, with more than 20 percent earmarked for people with lower incomes, including current residents of public housing, also are part of the plan.

It also is projected to generate $1 billion in new revenue for city coffers over 45 years, according to the Davenport and Co., the city’s financial adviser. However, most of the new revenue is forecast to be generated after 2038 as the city’s borrowing to push the project along is paid off.

The project is targeted for nearly 68 acres of largely cityowned property on Arthur Ashe Boulevard where the aging Diamond baseball stadium now stands and being undertaken by a multi-racial business coalition led by Washington-based Republic Properties Corp., Henrico County-based Thalhimer Realty Partners and Chicagobased Loop Capital, the largest Black-owned investment bank in the world.

The development builds on the surge of growth in the nearby Scott’s Addition that has already has brought hundreds of new apartments and businesses to the area.

In Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s view, “We have hit a home run with this project, and our residents will reap the benefits

The Associated Press President Biden takes off his sunglasses at a news conference with South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday in the Rose Garden of the White House.

By Zeke Miller and Colleen Long

The Associated Press

President Biden rolled out the first ad of his 2024 reelection campaign on Wednesday, casting himself as a warrior in defense of freedom, but immediately found himself grappling with questions about his advanced age and droopy poll numbers.

At an afternoon news conference with South Korea’s president, President Biden swatted away questions about his 42% job approval rating in part by arguing that most politicians running for reelection end up in roughly the same boat.

“I feel good, I feel excited about the prospects,” he said. “I think we’re on the verge of turning the corner in a way we haven’t in a long time.”

As for his age — the president would be 86 when he left office if re-elected — President Biden said such numbers don’t even compute with him.

“I can’t even guess how old I am,” he said. “I can’t even say the number, it doesn’t register with me. The only thing I can say is they’re going to see a race and they’re going to judge whether I have or don’t have it.”

He added: “Things are moving. And the reason I’m running again is there’s a job to finish.”

President Biden spoke from the Rose Garden as he was hosting South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for a state visit. The president, who announced his re-election campaign on

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

The issue of inmate and staff safety inside the Richmond City Justice Center continues to bubble as Sheriff Antionette V. Irving’s roster of deputies keeps shrinking. Stabbings and beatings are becoming more common, the Free Press is told, even as Sheriff Irving reported this week that another 15 deputies have resigned or retired since February when she reported 215 deputies were on the payroll. It is estimated that the sheriff now

has 200 deputies of the 385 she said two months ago she was authorized to operate the jail. Deputies’ duties include courthouse security, release and intake of inmates, evictions and service of civil papers.

William Burnett, who once ran jail operations under Sheriff Irving’s predecessor and plans to run for sheriff in the

Josue Fred’s determination and perspiration were clear as he soared like a superhero during this year’s Ukrops Monument Ave 10K presented by Kroger race on April 22. Thmeaka Traylor, sporting a Jamaican Jerk Sauce outfit, joined hundreds of other fierce runners for this annual event. The Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10k is one of Richmond’s favorite spring traditions. Since 2000, people from throughout the Richmond region and beyond have gathered to share in the journey of crossing the 10k finish line.

of the race winners are on A8.

Donna Huang of the City of Richmond Health Department shows Syncere Carter proper handwashing techniques April 22 during

Community Health Fair at Swansboro Elementary School in South Richmond. More photos on B2.

The Associated Press NEW YORK

Harry Belafonte, the civil rights and entertainment giant who began as a groundbreaking actor and singer and became an activist, humanitarian and conscience of the world, has died. He was 96.

Mr. Belafonte died Tuesday, April 25, 2023, of congestive heart failure at his New York home, his wife Pamela by his side, said publicist Ken Sunshine.

With his glowing, handsome face and silky-husky voice, Mr. Belafonte was one of the first Black performers to gain a wide following on film and to sell a million records as a singer. Many still know him for his signature hit “Banana Boat Song (Day-O),” and its call of “Day-O! Daaaaay-O.” But he forged a greater legacy once he scaled back his performing career in the 1960s and lived out his hero Paul Robeson’s decree that artists are “gatekeepers of truth.”

Mr. Belafonte stands as the model and the epitome of the celebrity activist. Few kept up with his time and commitment and none his stature as a meeting point among Hollywood, Washington and the Civil Rights Movement.

2025 election, has said that 200 deputies is far below the minimum staff needed. He said that he needed 190 deputies to operate the jail.

Sheriff Irving, whose jail operation has repeatedly passed state audits, hopes that a state-mandated raise July 1 will help her fill the depleted ranks, according to an email to the Free Press.

But that hope has done nothing to reassure the mothers and advocates who came

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Richmond Police Officer Richard Johnson was responding to a burglary call on April 7, 2022, when he ran a red light and slammed into a car advancing on the green light at Bells and Castlewood roads in South Side.

The crash resulted in the deaths of the two teenage occupants, Jeremiah Ruffin, 18, and Tracey Williams, 19, and left the officer with a traumatic brain injury.

Now Officer Johnson is facing prison time as a result of those deaths.

A jury of seven men and five women Tuesday capped his two-day trial by convicting him of two counts of involuntary manslaughter and one count of reckless driving.

Testimony showed the officer had activated his lights and turned on his siren, but failed to pause at the red light to ensure his way was clear, as state law requires.

Photos

Photos by James Haskins/Richmond Free Press

bats away questions about age, polls; launches 2024 campaign ad

Mr. Belafonte

Mr. Johnson

Chief sounds off on noise ordinance

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

The noise ordinance that Richmond City Council passed five months ago replaces criminal charges with significant fines for people who disturb their neighbors with loud parties and audible disruption. It may sound like good intentions, but the new rule is tone deaf on enforcement, according to Acting Police Chief Richard “Rick” Edwards.

Chief Edwards disclosed on Tuesday the lack of teeth in the legislation that the council passed last November with the support of Mayor Levar M. Stoney. The ordinance provides for fines of $100 for a first offense and up to $500 for a third offense, but did not include a realistic method for collection, he said.

“We want to hold people accountable,” he told council’s Public Safety Committee, noting that complaints about noise pour in from every section of the city. “We have noise meters that are calibrated and ready to go in each of the precincts.”

But, he added that officers have no meaningful tickets they can pass out and also have no means to track the number of offenses at an address. Enforceable fines would change behavior, he said. But right now, officers can only ask that noise be reduced but actually can do little if people ignore the request, he said.

That contrasts with parking and traffic tickets, Deputy City Attorney Gregory Lukanuski said, noting those that are unpaid wind up on the docket of the city’s General District Court, which can impose fines, track payments, note the number of tickets issued to an individual and handle collection.

Chief Edwards said that his office and other members of Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s administration are working out a solution. He said the effort involves the Department of Finance and other elements of the government. As soon as a method is worked out and approved by the council, enforcement could begin in earnest, he said.

Council Vice President Kristen Nye said the enforcement problem wasn’t mentioned when the new ordinance was considered by the Government Operations Committee she chaired last year.

“I was super excited” when the ordinance was presented to impose fines rather than seek potential jail time, said Ms. Nye. The shift was made because violation of the previous noise ordinance proved unenforceable, as well.

She said she is disappointed that there is still a question about enforcement, but reassured that the matter is being addressed.

Chief Edwards said one method would be to make a violation a Class 3 misdemeanor, which only provides for fines but allows the issue to be addressed by the court system. He also indicated the administration also is considering a civil enforcement method.

E-Cycle Day on the way

If you were inspired by Earth Day to start disposing of your old electronics and unwanted items correctly, here’s your chance to follow through on that idea. On Saturday, May 13, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Richmond residents dispose of electronic and hazardous household waste at the Broad Rock Sports Complex, on 4825 Old Warwick Road.

Residents can bring up to five computer boxes of documents free of binders, staples and clips for shredding as well as hazardous household waste materials such as pesticides, herbicides and oil-based paints. Latex and water-based paints will not be collected as these items can be left in open paint cans until dried out and then put in with regular curbside trash pickup.

Unwanted electronics, such as phones, computers, printers, televisions – almost anything with a plug will also be accepted for disposal; however, there may be fees for this service. Volunteers will be on hand to unload vehicles at the drive-thru event. Proof of residency is required.

More information about this recycling event, sponsored by The Department of Public Works, The Clean City Commission and The Department of Public Utilities, including fees and a full list of electronics to recycle, is available at rva.gov/public-works/ clean-city-commission

VSU alumnus to deliver commencement address

Virginia State University announced this year’s spring commencement speaker will be Stockton, Calif., city manager and former City of Richmond official Harry Black.

Mr. Black, a VCU alumnus, served in several executive postings, including as chief financial officer for the City of Richmond from 2005 to 2008. He has published and presented in subjects such as community and economic development, pension and health care reform, performance management, data analytics and long-range public financial planning.

In addition to his bachelor’s degree from VSU, Mr. Black also earned a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Virginia, and was honored by VSU with a doctor of humane letters. He has received VSU’s Presidential Medal and the John Mercer Langston Award from the VSU Alumni Association.

“Mr. Black has a proven track record of being a tremendous leader,” VSU President Dr. Makola M. Abdullah said in the announcement. “His history as a leader, innovator and changemaker has provided him with a great deal of wisdom. We are proud to welcome him home to Virginia State University to share that wisdom with our graduating Trojans.”

More than 550 graduates will receive their degrees during the Virginia State University commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 13, at 9 a.m. in the VSU Multi-Purpose Center. The ceremony will be livestreamed at vsu.edu.

Multiple construction projects are underway at the Virginia War Memorial Carillon in Richmond. In 2016, Elizabeth L. O’Leary of the Carillon Civic Association described the historic monument: Rising a lofty 240 feet in the heart of Richmond’s William Byrd Park stands the Virginia War Memorial Carillon — the Commonwealth’s official monument to the approximately 3,700 men and women from the state who died as a result of World War I. The Georgian-revival tower houses a massive musical instrument made up of 53 fixed bronze bells of varying sizes, still played today by a carilloneur who strikes a pedal keyboard just below the bell chamber. Dedicated on October

Cityscape Slices of life and scenes in Richmond

15, 1932 — 14 years after the end of the Great War — the Carillon opened amidst a swirl of patriotic fervor and controversy. Its original design, commissioned several years earlier by the Virginia General Assembly from celebrated Philadelphia architect Paul Cret, called for a sleek classicized temple. Shortly after ground breaking, a citizen’s committee waged a successful popular campaign to build a carillon instead. Building the more expensive “singing tower” — a brick encased steel frame that originally supported the heavy bells cast by John Taylor & Co. of Loughborough, England — required additional fundraising to achieve the final cost of $325,000.

Council says ‘no’ to ‘warehouse creep’ proposal

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

City Council on Monday night rejected a nonprofit housing group’s plan to build a warehouse in South Side to assemble affordable modular replacements for worn-out mobile homes that mostly Latino residents occupy in the city.

Calling the proposal an attack on majority-black neighborhoods, City Council President Michael J. Jones secured support to kill a crucial special use permit that would have allowed project:Homes to install the warehouse at 112 Carnation St. as the assembly site.

Located in the 9th District Dr. Jones represents, the one-third acre property is a vacant lot project:Homes uses for storage; it sits next door to the headquarters building at 88 Carnation St. that the regional housing group has occupied for 21 years.

The special use permit that the Planning Commission recommended for approval would have overridden the lot’s current R-3 residential zoning.

The permit Richmond-based Baker Development Resources spearheaded for the project:Homes would have allowed assembly work only from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and barred cutting, grinding or other noisy metal work.

Dr. Jones, though, described the proposal as “warehouse creep” into a residential neighborhood in the 9th District he represents that would not be allowed in white

communities.

He called the proposal an example of environmental injustice in making essentially a “not in my backyard” argument while also scolding Baker and project:Homes for failing to undertake a robust community engagement in the past year as the proposal developed and moved forward.

The only opposition came from another Black member of council, Ann-Frances Lambert, 3rd District, who said, “I am not understanding” the opposition to on-site creation of homes as a way to cut the cost to future buyers, many of whom live in increasingly decrepit mobile units they cannot afford to replace.

“Just a few weeks ago,” Ms. Lambert said, “we stood with the mayor to declare an affordable housing crisis; project:Homes has been there helping with the crisis.”

A major player in affordable housing, project:Homes seeks to improve lives by improving home , according to its longtime chief executive, Lee Householder. Among its portfolio of programs, the organization repairs and weatherizes homes and also develops affordable rental and for sale homes targeted to lower income families and individuals. The fight over the project: Homes permit

came on a night when the council also:

• Cleared the way for Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s administration to purchase Mayo Island in the James River for $14.9 million. The city has envisioned adding the island to its park holdings in Downtown for more than 40 years.

• Backed a proposal to remove minimum parking requirements for apartment and building developments. First District Councilman Andreas D. Addison, who promoted the proposal, said it could create more parking access by allowing the city to work with property owners to create shared parking. He noted that 50 recent developments added 12,000 parking spaces, though they were only required to provide about 4,700 under city requirements. Currently, all of those spaces are reserved solely for those who live or work in the buildings, even though most of the spaces are unused during the day.

• Removed a restriction preventing installation of a traffic-slowing roundabout at Laburnum Avenue and Hermitage Road now that a Confederate statue has been removed.

• Approved a plan allowing the 58-unit Bacon School senior apartments at 815 N. 35th St. in Church Hill to add 70 more apartments, two single-family homes and seven townhouses.

• Authorized a subdivision of 140 townhomes to be developed on 16 acres at 6140 Hull Street Road in South Side.

City builds Confederate shrine for sole citizen’s use

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

A resident asked for it.

That’s why the Richmond Department of Public Utilities spent upward of $16,000 to create a shrine to Confederate soldiers on the grounds of a utility substation located in the 2400 block of Wise Street in South Side, according to City Hall’s No. 2 official.

Lincoln Saunders, chief administrative officer, provided that explanation in an April 21 email sent to the Free Press, members of City Council and community advocate Michael Sarahan, who raised questions about the shrine, which surrounds a marker remembering Confederate soldiers and features a bench and gate.

Mr. Saunders responded to Mr. Sarahan’s question, “Why is this one marker given pride of place, while the others have been removed?”

“The marker is a tombstone for the mass burial,” Mr. Saunders stated in the two-paragraph email. “THAT is why it has been treated with sensitivity by the City.

“This location was a mass gravesite for soldiers,” he continued, “and we don’t know how many remains may still lie on this site.”

“Furthermore, a resident, who has a grandfather, four times removed, represented by this marker asked for and received the bench to sit and reflect at the marker,” Mr. Saunders stated. “You may disagree, but please accept this as the city’s official response.”

According to city records, the bench cost $1,068. A search of records could not turn up a similar instance in which the city spent taxpayer dollars in response to a single resident’s request for a personal benefit.

As the Free Press reported in the April 6-8 edition, the Richmond chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy created the marker and with city backing and installed it at the site with much fanfare in 1939.

The now 84-year-old marker remembers 100 or so wounded South Carolina Confederate soldiers who died at a make-

shift hospital set up in a house that still exists and sits across Wise Street from the substation.

Despite Mr. Saunders’ claim that the property was a mass grave, Mr. Sarahan has found a statement from DPU that contradicts that assertion.

According to DPU, the city “relocated the graves to the rear of the site several decades prior to erecting the utility building.” In other words, there are not supposed to be any remains on the property.

Mr. Sarahan has followed the shrine’s development. In an April 19 email, he noted that the gate into the shrine “has been taken off, and the shrine is open to the public.

Mayor Levar M. Stoney, whose tenure as mayor includes the removal of Confederate statues and icons from public spaces, did not respond to a Free Press query about whether he supported the shrine.

The members of City Council who were included on Mr. Saunders’ email also have not issued any public statement concerning the shrine.

Fort Lee to be renamed in honor of two Black officers

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire

Fort Lee, named for Confederate leader Robert E. Lee, will take on a new name that honors two Black Army trailblazers. The Prince George county fort will honor Lt. Gen. Arthur Gregg and Lt. Col. Charity Adams, the U.S. Army said in a statement on Tuesday.

A redesignation ceremony is planned for Thursday, April 27, honoring the two Black officers whom officials said excelled in the field of sustainment and made significant marks in U.S. Army history.

Lt. Gen. Gregg rose from the rank of private to three-star general during his military logistics career, which began just

after WWII and spanned nearly 36 years, the release noted. Gregg, 94, will be the only living person in modern Army history to have an installation named after him.

Lt. Col. Adams was the first Black officer in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps – later known as the Women’s Army Corps – in World War II and led the first predominately Black WAC unit to serve overseas: the storied 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion.

“We are deeply honored to have Lt. Gen. Arthur Gregg and Lt.

Col. Charity Adams as the new namesakes for our installation,” Maj. Gen. Mark Simerly, commanding general of the U.S. Army Combined Arms Support Command and senior commander of Fort Lee, stated in the release.

Officials said the post is one of nine Army installations being redesignated in accordance with Defense Department-endorsed recommendations from the congressional Naming Commission to remove the names, symbols, displays, monuments, and paraphernalia that commemorate the Confederate States of America.

On Jan. 5, 2023, William A. LaPlante, the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, directed all Department of Defense organizations to begin implementing those recommendations.

Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

Chief Edwards

Mr. Black

Dr. Jones

City, RVA Diamond Partners finalize $2.44B agreement

for years to come.”

Council President Michael J. Jones agrees, describing the development as “smart growth” that “will benefit our community with jobs, housing, sports, and entertainment and change the trajectory of the area and the city.”

The freshly inked agreement includes changes from the original deal announced last September, largely due to the surge in interest rates that have skyrocketed in the past year. Since October 2021, the Federal Reserve rate for bank borrowing has shot up from 0.8 percent to nearly 5 percent, city officials have noted, making borrowing far more expensive.

That has impacted one key ingredient of the development— construction of a new 9,000-seat baseball stadium for Richmond’s minor league baseball team, the Richmond Flying Squirrels, the Double A affiliate of the Major League San Francisco Giants.

There remains uncertainty about the stadium, which is projected to cost $110 million, according to Davenport.

The new agreement sent to the council calls for the stadium to be built and ready for the 2026 season, but Major League Baseball, which fully controls minor league baseball, has yet to sign off.

MLB has set a deadline for communities such as Richmond with aging stadiums to have modern stadiums ready for play in 2025 or lose their team.

Mayor Stoney has expressed confidence that the extension will be granted once the scope of the city’s commitment is recognized.

The Richmond Flying Squirrels, though, have yet to agree to accept a stadium lease that would substantially boost their costs, nor has Virginia Commonwealth University, which also has planned to use the new stadium as the home for its baseball team.

The analysis from Davenport indicates that the Squirrels and VCU each may have to pay up to $1.5 million a year to lease the stadium.

City police officer convicted for vehicle fatalities

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Officer Johnson testified in his own defense. The jury deliberated for two hours before returning their verdicts around 5:15 p.m.

On leave from the department since a special grand jury indicted him in July, he remains free pending sentencing, which is scheduled for August. He did not comment on the outcome, nor did his lawyers.

The verdict “is not a victory by any means,” Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Colette W. McEachin said after the trial. “Three families have been devastated by what happened.”

Mrs. McEachin, who participated in the prosecution, praised the jury’s attentiveness to the evidence, which “was sufficient to convince them beyond a reasonable doubt of Officer Johnson’s guilt.”

Free COVID-19 vaccines

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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 27, 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.

People can schedule an appointment online at vase.vdh. virginia.gov, vaccinate.virginia.gov or vax.rchd.com, or by calling (804) 205-3501 or (877) VAX-IN-VA (1-877-8294682).

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 11 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 three 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 105 new cases of COVID-19 were reported statewide Wednesday for the 24-hour period, contributing to an overall state total of 2,304,483 cases in Virginia since the pandemic’s outbreak. As of Wednesday, there have been 459,689 hospitalizations and 23,743 deaths reported statewide.

State data available at the time also shows that AfricanAmericans comprised 21.8 percent of cases statewide and 21.5 percent of deaths for which ethnic and racial data is available, while Latinos made up 9.86 percent of cases and 3.7 percent of deaths.

As of Tuesday, Richmond reported a total of 61,037 cases, 1,322 hospitalizations and 549 deaths; Henrico County, 92,948 cases, 1,787 hospitalizations and 1,088 deaths; Chesterfield County, 100,723 cases, 1,782 hospitalizations and 875 deaths; and Hanover County, 29,278 cases, 952 hospitalizations and 348 deaths.

Compiled by George Copeland Jr.

Mayor Stoney

Taxpayers also will be picking up a bigger share of the tab for this development.

The revenue to finance the city’s share of the development – public infrastructure – was to come from the future taxes the development is to create, known as tax-increment financing or TIF. Under the updated agreement, the taxes from properties outside the 68 acre-footprint must be included to cover the increased borrowing costs.

Along with financing the baseball stadium, the city also is to use the tax income from the Diamond District’s new developments to provide a $25 million replacement for the current Sports Backers track and soccer stadium, that will become part of a planned VCU Athletic Village across Hermitage Road from the Diamond District.

The Diamond District is be completed in four phases, with the first phase involving an investment of $627 million.

Along with the stadium, the first phase is to include a 180-room

hotel; 1,134 apartments, 20 percent targeted for families with below-average incomes and 39 for public housing residents; 92 duplex-style for-sale homes, 18 which would be earmarked for lower-income families; and a public park that would eventually occupy 11 acres.

The agreement calls for the development team to do its best to legally ensure city residents are first in line for new jobs and to achieve a goal of 40 percent participation of Black-owned and minority-owned companies, in addition to the 45 percent share that minority-owned businesses that are part of RVADP already have.

Jason Guillot of Thalhimer Realty Partners, called the final agreement “an important milestone” and said the RVADP looks forward to transforming the concept plan into an “amazing mixed-use development.”

Lincoln Saunders, the city’s chief administrative officer, said the agreement that the city and RVADP have put together embodies “the best agreement to build a stadium, a public park, affordable housing and many other amenities … despite rising interest rates and economic headwinds.”

Sheriff Irving continues to lose deputies

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to council’s Public Safety Committee on Tuesday to air concerns about the injuries their loved ones have suffered and to condemn the lack of information that Sheriff Irving provides about incidents.

Among the speakers was a mother, who asked for anonymity out of concern for her son’s safety. She said that she learned that her son recently was stabbed four times and rushed to a nearby hospital for surgery to re-inflate his collapsed lungs only after he was able to call her days later as he recovered.

She said jail personnel never notified her about the emergency or responded to her questions about the April 15 stabbing that her son told her occurred while he sat in a recreation area. She said she has learned the stabbing was payback for his picking up a remote control for the TV without permission from the ruling inmates.

“My son was almost murdered and no one would tell me anything. When I called, they hung up on me. I was dismissed,” she told the committee. “How are they getting weapons into the jail? We need our public officials to do something.”

That also was the view of Lawrence West, founder and leader of Black Lives Matter RVA. “The safety mechanisms are not being adhered to for people in jail. Some people say inmates do not have rights, but they have human rights,” he said. “People should feel safe in a jail cell.”

When the Free Press inquired about the stabbing, spokeswoman Catherine Green said the sheriff’s policy is not to comment on matters that are under investigation.

Eighth District Councilwoman Reva M. Trammell, who chairs the committee, said she wishes something could be done to ease the anguish that relatives of inmates expressed at the meeting.

At this point, Ms. Trammell said, the

sheriff, as an independent elected official, “can do what the hell she wants to do” and there is nothing council or anyone else can do about it, not even the governor and secretary of public safety.

There is a state oversight board for local and regional jails, but the sheriff’s operation is listed as meeting the board’s standards.

“We don’t know what else we can do,” Council Vice President Kristen Nye, 4th District, a committee member told the speakers. “We are in an uncomfortable position. The sheriff does not report to City Council.

“Maybe you all need to picket in front of the jail. Maybe going in front of the jail would help,” she said.

Both she and Ms. Trammell urged the family members to continue speaking out and telling their stories to keep a spotlight focused on the problems that their loved ones are facing.

Biden bats away questions about age, polls

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Tuesday, offered a sharp comparison of his tenure with that of his predecessor, Donald Trump, who also is a candidate once again.

“Think about what I inherited when I got elected. I inherited a nation in overwhelming debt, in the hole for the four years that he was president,” President Biden said. “I inherited a nation that had a serious loss of credibility around the world.”

President Biden’s first TV ad aims to flip the script on Republicans who have traditionally claimed the mantle of “freedom,” aiming to portray the GOP as part of an “extreme movement” bent on overturning elections, restricting access to abortion and undermining voters’ economic security. It will air in major markets in the six states the president carried in 2020 that are key to his path back to the White House.

Along with the ad push, his campaign has begun the process of reengaging a legion of small-dollar donors, with frequent messages urging their support. As

an incumbent, President Biden is also benefitting from existing joint fundraising relationships with a host of candidates and local parties. His campaign, though, does not plan to release its fundraising totals before the end of the quarter.

The ad offers a taste of what is set to be the core of the Democratic president’s campaign message to voters, as he seeks to paint all Republicans as embracing Trump and out of the step with popular opinion and the nation’s values.

“Courage, opportunity, democracy, freedom: They’re the values and beliefs that built this country and still beat in our hearts,” a narrator says. “But they’re under attack by an extreme movement that seeks to overturn elections, ban books and eliminate a woman’s right to choose.”

The ad goes on to say President Biden “has made defending our basic freedoms the cause of his presidency: the freedom for women to make their own health care decisions, the freedom for our children to be safe from gun violence, the freedom to vote and have your vote counted, for

seniors to live with dignity, and to give every American the freedom that comes with a fair shot at building a good life.”

The 90-second spot includes footage of the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters trying to overturn the 2020 election and of children fleeing a school shootingas well as patriotic-themed images of flags being raised and Biden greeting supporters.

“For freedom, for democracy, for America — Joe Biden,” the ad concludes.

The Biden campaign said the ad is airing as part of a seven-figure, two-week media buy in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. It said a second ad will be released next week.

“Freedom” is a common buzzword among Republicans who would challenge President Biden for reelection, typically around the cultural issues that have defined the early stages of the 2024 GOP presidential nominating campaign. Republican figures, for instance, have attacked race and genderaffirming policy in schools as a threat to the liberty of those who object to them.

Harry Belafonte, activist and entertainer, dies at 96

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Mr. Belafonte not only participated in protest marches and benefit concerts, but helped organize and raise support for them. He worked closely with his friend and generational peer Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He risked his life and livelihood and set high standards for younger Black celebrities, mentoring Usher, Common, Danny Glover and many others. In Spike Lee’s 2018 film “BlacKkKlansman,” he was fittingly cast as an elder statesman schooling young activists about the country’s past.

Mr. Belafonte was a major artist since the 1950s. He won a Tony Award in 1954 for his starring role in John Murray Anderson’s “Almanac” and five years later became the first Black performer to win an Emmy for the TV special “Tonight with Harry Belafonte.”

His “Calypso,” released in 1955, became the first officially certified million-selling album by a solo performer, and started a national infatuation with Caribbean rhythms (Mr. Belafonte was nicknamed, reluctantly, the “King of Calypso”).

Mr. Belafonte befriended Dr. King in the spring of 1956 after the young civil rights leader called and asked for a meeting. They spoke for hours, and Mr. Belafonte would remember feeling Dr. King raised him to the “higher plane of social protest.” Then at the peak of his singing career, Mr. Belafonte was soon producing a benefit concert for the bus boycott in Montgomery, Ala., that helped make Dr. King a national figure. By the early 1960s, he had decided to make civil rights his priority.

“I was having almost daily talks with Martin,” Mr. Belafonte wrote in his 2011 memoir “My Song.” “I realized that the movement was more important than anything else.”

The Kennedys were among the first politicians to seek his opinions, which he willingly shared. John F. Kennedy, at a time when Black voters were as likely to support Republicans as they would Democrats, was so anxious for his support that during the 1960 election he visited Mr. Belafonte at his Manhattan home.

When Dr. King was assassinated, in 1968, Mr. Belafonte helped pick out the suit he was buried in, sat next to his widow, Coretta, at the funeral, and continued to support his family, though they later became estranged.

“Much of my political outlook was already in place when I encountered Dr. King,” Mr. Belafonte later wrote. “I was well on my way and utterly committed to the civil rights struggle. I came to him with expectations and he affirmed them.”

Dr. King’s death left Mr. Belafonte isolated from the civil rights community. He was turned off by the separatist beliefs of Stokely Carmichael and other “Black Power” activists and had little chemistry with Dr. King’s designated successor, the Rev. Ralph Abernathy. But the entertainer’s causes extended well beyond the U.S. He coordinated Nelson Mandela’s first visit to the U.S. since being released from prison in 1990. A few years earlier, he had initiated the all-star, million-selling “We Are the World” recording, the Grammywinning charity song for famine relief in Africa.

He made news years earlier when he compared Colin Powell, the first Black secretary of state, to a slave “permitted to come into the house of the master” for his service in the George W. Bush administration. He was in Washington in January 2009 as President Obama was inaugurated. But Mr. Belafonte would later criticize former President Obama for failing to live up to his promise and lacking “fundamental

empathy with the dispossessed, be they white or Black.”

He was married three times, most recently to photographer Pamela Frank, and had four children. He is also survived by two stepchildren and eight grandchildren.

A New York native, Mr. Belafonte began performing on stage in the 1940s and by the following decade was also singing, finding gigs at the Blue Note, the Vanguard and other clubs — and becoming immersed in folk, blues, jazz and the calypso he had heard while living in Jamaica. Starting in 1954, he released such top 10 albums as “Mark Twain and Other Folk Favorites” and “Belafonte,″ and his popular singles included “Mathilda,” “Jamaica Farewell” and “The Banana Boat Song,″ a reworked Caribbean ballad that was a late addition to his “Calypso” record.

Mr. Belafonte made history in 1968 by filling in for Johnny Carson on the “Tonight” show for a full week. Later that year, Mr. Belafonte performed on a pre-taped TV special and was joined by British singer Petula Clark for a performance of the anti-war song “On the Path of Glory.” At one point, Ms. Clark placed a hand on Mr. Belafonte’s arm. The show’s sponsor, Chrysler, demanded the segment be reshot. Ms. Clark and Mr. Belafonte resisted, successfully, and for the first time a white woman touched a Black man’s arm on primetime television.

Mindful to the end that he grew up in poverty, Mr. Belafonte did not think of himself as an artist who became an activist, but an activist who happened to be an artist.

“When you grow up, son,” Mr. Belafonte remembered his mother telling him, “never go to bed at night knowing that there was something you could have done during the day to strike a blow against injustice and you didn’t do it.”

Bench warmers

When statues of traitorous Confederate leaders were removed by concerned volunteers from the public and the remainder by city officials in 2021-2022, it was a good look for the city.

There was Richmond, entrenched with remnants of a failed force in the form of stone figures and still struggling to interpret what their continued presence meant, finally making an executive decision to move the hell on. Years after their failed campaign, the Confederates looked to be finally in retreat. Richmond looked progressive, smart and cool.

No wonder so many people want to move here to find out what makes us that way.

But vestiges of the confederacy still remain, lurking in the names of bridges and streets and, as it now appears, in the corner of a utility substation on Wise Street in South Side. The shrine to the Confederate dead at the substation isn’t new, the original marker was made by the local chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy and placed there with city support in 1939.

A sign of the times indeed: the government assisting with the construction of markers that claim to memorialize the dead but served to perpetuate white supremacy. Certainly, this type of thing wouldn’t be sanctioned by the government of our city today, especially not the administration of Mayor Levar M. Stoney, who claimed credit for the removal of the statues on Monument Avenue. “Like many cities across the country, we held a mirror up to ourselves and asked whether we approved of the reflection staring back,” Mayor Stoney wrote in a New York Times editorial in 2021. “We didn’t.”

It might be time to take another look. The City of Richmond recently spent more than $16,000 on upgrades to the Confederate shrine at the substation. Fencing and a bench were added to the site, which already includes a marker. Thus, while the city appears to be intent on erasing some of its still standing remnants of the confederacy, it’s quietly reinforcing and investing in others. Why? A city official says the add-ons to the marker were done at the request of one person, who has a relative that is “represented” by this marker so they can “sit and reflect.” Say what? Like our mayor wrote, this isn’t the kind of image or reflection we can approve.

This unfortunate and misguided investment begs a lot of questions. Here’s a few: If the city is now in the bench building business, will they be offering places to mourn departed loved ones for all city residents? Or just this one person? Also, if the bodies of the deceased were moved to another site, away from their initial resting place where the substation stands, why is the marker still there? And who is the person that convinced the Department of Public Works to divert their resources from their mission to “to provide a clean, safe and healthy environment” and doing the hard work that “keeps Richmond looking good.”

Our city leaders have a responsibility to every resident of the city, not just the ones that find a way to get to the front of the line with their ridiculous, selfserving demands. It makes us wonder: Who’s really running the city – and who is sitting on the bench?

Attacks on Black people cause lasting trauma

All Ralph Yarl was trying to do was pick up his siblings in Kansas City. He went to a home on 1100 NE 115th Street instead of 1100 NE 115th Terrace, an understandable mistake that could have been easily rectified had the homeowner, who opened the door with a gun instead, said “wrong address” and provided directions to the right one. Instead, the rabid white man shot the 16-yearold in the head and the arm.

Blessedly, Ralph is alive, home from the hospital, and in stable condition.

Andrew Lester, the shooter, was released for a couple of days but is now arrested and charged, thanks to community outrage.

Questions remain. Does “stand your ground” mean shoot ’em up? Would the homeowner have shot a white youth? Would a black homeowner shooter have been released so quickly? What’s race got to do with it?

As concerned as I am with Ralph Yarl, an exceptional student, I am equally worried about how this shooting may affect other Black youths’ mental health and stability. Every signal our society sends to young Black people is a signal that they are

not valued. Running unarmed through the wrong neighborhood can get you shot and killed. Driving unarmed and safely in the face of white police irrationality can get you killed. Looking “menacing” can get you killed. Sitting in a classroom can get you killed. Going to a birthday party can get you killed. Too often, Black youths are killed by rabid and irrational white

people. Equally often, folks with more guns than sense kill them in classrooms and streets. And then, sometimes, they are killed by each other. How are they processing the threats to their safety and survival?

In her book “Lynching and Spectacle,” Amy Louise Wood wrote that “Even one lynching reverberated, traveling with sinister force, down city streets, and through rural farms, across roads and rivers ... One mob’s yell could sound like “a hundred mobs yelling,” and the specter of the violence continued to smolder long after it was over.”

These all-too-regular shootings of Black youths have a similar effect. What does any young Black man think of the shooting of Ralph Yarl? Does it make him feel more endangered? More cautious? Angrier? Does it affect

his mental health?

It took authorities way too long to charge Ralph Yarl’s shooter. White folks too often get a pass (or at least a break) when they shoot Black people. This is discouraging. It reminds us that there are few consequences to shooting Black people and that Black folks must always be vigilant. To be sure, since the murder of George Floyd, a few murderers, like putrid former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, have experienced consequences. At the same time, too many get away with these public shootings, killings, and lynchings. Ralph Yarl’s survival is a blessing. His community’s advocacy for him is a tremendous support. Attorney Ben Crump and his team should be applauded for being on the case.

The Black community must turn this pain into power and purpose. The National Rifle Association, now promoting “junior” versions of assault weapons, must be checked. Every time a mass shooting occurs, the shooters must be sued, and, more importantly (but not the same thing), if they send legal reinforcements to defend the heinous attacker of Ralph Yarl, they should be countered with fierce opposition. The right to bear arms does not mean the right to shoot innocent people on sight. Simple civility suggests

Clarence Thomas does not belong on Supreme Court

It’s been over 30 years since Justice Clarence Thomas was confirmed to the Supreme Court seat once held by the great Thurgood Marshall, and it’s safe to say that his reputation for unethical behavior – which was poor to start with –has only gotten worse.

What are we supposed to think about a justice’s career that started with allegations of sexual harassment, moved on to extreme coziness with conservative political donors, then multiple instances of questionable gifts and payments to himself and his wife, and now revelations that years of free trips and perks lavished on him by right wing billionaire Harlan Crow went unreported—despite laws that clearly say they should be? Even after the news of Mr. Crow’s largesse first broke, it got worse: the billionaire had also bought Justice Thomas’ mother’s house in Savannah, Ga., a helpful real estate deal that Justice Thomas never reported, either.

We could think that Justice Thomas either doesn’t know or doesn’t care about the ethical standards expected of a Supreme Court justice, or the laws that apply to him as a public employee. But Clarence Thomas is a graduate of Yale Law School. Ignorance is not a believable defense here. So we have to conclude that Justice Thomas just doesn’t care about the rules, or thinks that he can ignore them.

That’s not the kind of person who belongs on the Supreme Court. If he wanted to do the decent and honorable thing, Justice Thomas would admit his wrongdoing and resign. Calls for him to resign are coming from pro-democracy groups, including the one I lead, top media outlets,

Svante Myrick

and members of Congress.

But Justice Thomas doesn’t have a history of doing the decent and honorable thing. So that means others will have to hold him accountable. The question is how.

There are plenty of calls for impeachment, but with a Republican-controlled House the option would appear to be off the table. Meanwhile the Senate will hold hearings and may call Jusrice Thomas himself to testify. That is an important step. I would add that two other steps are absolutely essential right now: A Justice Department investigation and Supreme Court reform including an enforceable code of ethics.

The Justice Department has clear grounds to investigate Justice Thomas under a federal disclosure law that applies to government officials including Supreme Court justices. The law authorizes the DOJ to pursue both civil penalties and criminal fines from government officials who fail to report gifts as legally required.

Justice Thomas has claimed that the generosity he received from Harlan Crow was just “personal hospitality” – not subject to reporting. Even if some of that

were true, some perks, like free use of Mr. Crow’s private jet for Justice Thomas’ personal travel, and the real estate transaction in Georgia are, according to most ethics experts, clearly in a different category.

The Justice Department can give a definitive answer as to whether Justice Thomas’ actions were not only unsavory, unethical, improper and all the rest – but also absolutely illegal. And it can call for imposition of a monetary fine. Even more important than the cash fine would be the impetus a finding of guilt would give to any effort to remove Justice Thomas.

And then, to help ensure that trust in the Court isn’t further eroded by scandal after scandal, we need to have Supreme Court reform. That means an enforceable code of ethics specifically for the Court, written to address the full range of ethical questions that could ever apply to justices’ behavior. In the longer term we should also have Supreme Court expansion, to counteract the far right capture of the Court that was achieved by totally unethical means. But that is a larger conversation.

It has been painful to watch Justice Thomas’ corrupt behavior and its effect on the Supreme Court. We need judges on all our courts who understand the impact of their decisions on everyday Americans. Courts should be led by trustworthy, fair-minded judges who value equality and justice, uphold the Constitution, and protect civil and human rights for all Americans.

That’s not Clarence Thomas.

The writer is president of People For the American Way.

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that the erroneous ringing of a doorbell should not turn into a savage act by a homeowner. But the media machine that portrays Black people as frightening and threatening is at least partly responsible for the deep-seated fear and hate that some whites have toward us.

Too many of us have been anesthetized by our trauma. It hurts, but it doesn’t hurt. It’s abnormal, but its attacks on Black people have been so frequent that they have become routine.

We pray for Ralph Yarl, cry for him, and contribute to the Go Fund Me appeal that his aunt put out. Yet these passive acts are not enough. It is time for the kind of action that disarms fools and protects young Black people.

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

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The Kamala Harris I saw in Africa

In many ways, Vice President Kamala Harris’ visit to Africa in late March and early April was not unlike her stops in cities across the United States: She made a pitch to communities, touted an administration policy backed with funding, and reaffirmed the White House’s commitment to an issue while acknowledging the work left undone. But in every way, it was totally different.

It was a trip that played to Vice President Harris’ strengths, but not only as the first woman and Black American vice president visiting the continent for the first time in her historic role. Many of her approaches to leadership were also on display: a focus on the future and tangible solutions; a style that seeks to educate without lecturing; a constant consideration for who isn’t or hasn’t been in the room or on the agenda; an aim to shape a narrative that seeks to challenge traditional thinking about seemingly intractable issues; and a premium placed on inclusion not just in who has a seat at the table, but who’s at the head of it.

There also was a chance to see how Vice President Harris’ lived experience has shaped her political career, particularly in Zambia, the one African country she had previously visited as a child. Her maternal grandfather, whom she has called one of her biggest inspirations, and aunt both worked in Lusaka, and she visited them as a young girl. Returning as the second most powerful person in American politics felt like a full-circle moment, and she was embraced by Zambia’s leadership and citizens.

In the United States, Vice President Harris has faced constant criticism, with detractors saying she has had trouble defining herself and has been ineffective. As with many firsts, she was covered more in the process of making history than she has been actually doing the job. Americans in general rarely think of the vice president as someone with real power or influence.

daughter of our country, someone who spent time here.”

Vice President Harris’ connection to Zambia in particular was apparent from almost the moment she arrived. As in other countries, she was welcomed by a delegation of local and national leaders and enthusiastic performers, but it was another group that caught her eye on the Friday afternoon we landed in Lusaka: the scores of cheering women waving American and Zambian flags and chanting her name.

Errin Haines

But in Ghana, Tanzania, and Zambia, the countries’ leaders and citizens in their capitals expressed hope about what her visit represented. They welcomed Vice President Harris as the highest-profile representative of the world’s most powerful democracy and economy, with an expectation that she — and by extension, America — could improve their lives. Largely absent was the scrutiny and scorn that have stalked her from the right or the whispers about her political future from the left.

Back home, Vice President Harris’ historic weeklong visit was overshadowed by domestic events, but in Africa, it dominated local markets. African media far outnumbered the American press traveling with her at every stop. And along nearly every motorcade route, Ghanaians, Tanzanians and Zambians of all ages and genders lined the streets. Whether they were smiling, waving, looking on skeptically or curiously, or filming her passing by on their cell phones, what was clear is that they wanted to see her. Many Black Americans have told me they want to see more of her, too, just doing the job, whatever it is on any given day.

Vice President Harris’ trip to Africa was months in the making, with a focus not on

what the United States could do for Africa, but what the administration could do with the continent, a theme she repeated last week. She also touted two statistics repeatedly: that the median age on the continent is 19, and that by 2050, 1 in 4 people on the planet will live in Africa.

From a community recording studio in Ghana, to a smallbusiness incubator in Tanzania, to a farm seeking solutions to mitigate the effects of climate change in Zambia, the itinerary attempted to showcase an emerging, innovative Africa in a way that didn’t use stale language or thinking and wasn’t focused on poverty or health crises. Vice President Harris also sought to elevate the conversation in a way that put Africa on par with Europe in terms of respect.

Jane Munga, a researcher at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace focused on socioeconomic transformation and how the digital economy is

Second grand jury to probe fatal police shooting in Virginia

The Associated Press FALLS CHURCH

A prosecutor has requested a special grand jury to investigate the fatal police shooting of an unarmed shoplifting suspect outside a Northern Virginia shopping mall after an earlier grand jury refused to issue an indictment.

Carl Crews, an attorney for the family of Timothy McCree Johnson, said he was informed Tuesday by Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano that a judge had approved the prosecutor’s request to empanel the special grand jury.

Mr. Descano confirmed Tuesday in a short statement that he requested the special grand jury but declined further comment.

The use of special grand juries is rare. In Fairfax County, the only other time Mr. Descano sought a special grand jury was in the case of another fatal police shooting — the 2017 shooting of Bijan Ghaisar by U.S. Park Police officers after a stop-and-go highway chase. The charges in that case were ultimately dismissed by a federal judge.

The empanelment of the special grand jury in the Johnson case comes after a regular grand jury earlier this month declined to indict the officer who fatally shot Mr. Johnson.

Mr. Johnson was shot and killed Feb. 22 after a security guard said Mr. Johnson had stolen sunglasses from a Nordstorm department store. Two officers chased Mr. Johnson into a wooded area outside the mall. Both officers fired shots. An investigation determined that one of the officers, Wesley Shifflett, fired the fatal shot.

Police Chief Kevin Davis fired Mr. Shifflett last month. He also released dimly lit video showing a nighttime foot chase that lasted less than two minutes. In a slow-motion version of the video, it sounds as though two shots were fired after an officer yelled “get on the ground” but just before shouting “stop reaching.”

After the shooting, the body camera video records Mr. Shifflett telling another officer he saw Mr. Johnson “continually reaching in his

a

waistband” and that he told Mr. Johnson, “Let me see your hands.” But that command cannot be heard on the video.

Police searched for a weapon but none was found.

Caleb Kershner, a lawyer for Mr. Shifflett, said Tuesday that he was shocked Mr. Descano is presenting the case to a second grand jury. He said prosecutors should respect the judgment of the initial grand jury, which did not find probable cause to bring criminal charges.

“It’s pretty clear they don’t want to respect the law, and they’re going to try hell or high water to get a charge,” Mr. Kershner said.

The rules for a special grand jury are different than those for a regular grand jury. Most significantly, in a regular grand jury, prosecutors are absent from the room when police officers present evidence and testimony to the grand jurors.

When the grand jury declined to indict Mr. Shifflett earlier this month, it was clear prosecutors had concerns that officers shaded their testimony in a way that weakened the case. Mr. Descano issued a statement emphasizing he was not allowed in the room and had no idea what testimony officers gave.

A lawyer for Mr. Johnson’s family noted how rare it is for a grand jury to refuse indictments and said he was concerned police were trying to cover up for a fellow officer.

In a special grand jury, prosecutors are in the room asking questions of officers who give testimony, and have more control over the process.

“I believe the commonwealth’s attorney is trying to get control over the case,” the Johnson family’s lawyer, Carl Crews, said in a phone interview. “He’ll now have the ability to be in the room, and present the matter as he sees it.”

Mr. Johnson’s mother, Melissa Johnson, said in a phone interview that she “felt like the wind had been knocked out of her” when the grand jury refused to indict last week. Now that a new grand jury will hear the case, she said she feels “revived, with renewed hope in the judicial system.”

contributing to that in Africa, said Vice President Harris’ trip further advanced a reorientation of how the United States is engaging with the continent.

“We’ve seen a change,” said Ms. Munga, a native of Kenya who is based in Washington. “They’re moving away from aid to trade.”

Vice President Harris’ connection as a member of the African diaspora and a woman leader also made her an effective messenger, Ms. Munga said, given women’s lack of equal participation in the digital economy. Continued engagement on that and other areas where women are disproportionately affected will be the measure of success, she said.

In Accra, thousands cheered Vice President Harris during a major speech at Black Star Gate — a monument celebrating the country gaining independence in 1957 — when she discussed equality for women: “Let us agree: Women around the world must be able to fully participate

in economic, political and social life. And they must be able to participate equally, including in leadership roles. It is a key to maximizing global growth and opportunity.” Glynda Carr of Higher Heights, which endorsed Harris for vice president, was in the audience as part of a group of Black American leaders invited to join Harris on her Ghana visit. She described the experience as “significant,” one that spotlighted the power of the diaspora and that will be looked back upon as a history-making moment.

“If we’re questioning Kamala Harris and her legacy, that was, bar none, the example of her standing and living in her identity at the intersection of race and gender that will translate across the globe.”

In welcoming Vice President Harris to Zambia at a joint news conference Friday, President Hakainde Hichilema said her visit for many Zambians was like “receiving somewhat of a

The writer is an editor-atlarge for The 19th. This commentary first appeared in The Amendment, a new biweekly newsletter by Errin Haines. To read the full commentary, please visit https://19thnews.org/2023/04/ the-amendment-errin-haineskamala-harris-africa/

Your Primary Care Is

Stories by Fred Jeter

VCU hoops getting that homegrown feeling

The VCU Rams are becoming the RVA Rams. Under new Coach Ryan Odom, Virginia Commonwealth University is loading up on 804 talent for the 2023-24 season.

In the wake of a coaching change, here are the latest commitments – all transfers – from within a half hour of the VCU campus.

Jason Nelson, 5-foot-10, out of John Marshall High: Transferring from University of Richmond where he started 26 of 32 games, averaging eight points and two assists in 27 minutes per. He has three years of eligibility.

Roosevelt Wheeler, 6-foot-10, from John Marshall High: Transferring from Louisville, where he saw limited duty. In just nine minutes per game, he averaged 1.2 points and 2.0 rebounds. He has at least two seasons eligibility.

Joe Bamisile, 6-foot-4, from Monacan High: Transferring from Oklahoma after previously playing for Virginia Tech and George Washington. Averaged 4.0 points and 2.3 rebounds in just 11.1 minutes for sooners. He may have to sit out the upcoming season due to multiple transfers.

Alphonzo Billups, 6-foot-7, former All-Stater from Varina High: Sat out freshman season at VCU with medical redshirt. He has four more years of eligibility.

Another local athlete being pursued by Coach Odom is 7-foot Efton Reid out of Steward School. Reid played as a freshman

at LSU and this past season at Gonzaga, averaging 2.1 points and 1.0 rebounds in 4.6 minutes per.

Reid, Nelson, Wheeler, Bamisile and Billups all played together in the past for the Team Loaded travel squad.

Then there is Rob Beran, a 6-foot-9 product of Collegiate School. Beran averaged 7.9 points and 4.5 rebounds this past season for Northwestern.

There’s far-away recruiting, too.

Other Coach Odom targets are 6-foot-8 Sean Bairstow, 6-foot-4 Max Shulga and 6-foot Rylan Jones, all from Utah State, and 6-foot-5 Michael Belle, a native Englishman now playing in the U-21 French league, along with 6-foot-4 Jacob Patrick from Germany.

Bairstow and Shulga both averaged about 11 points per game last season for the Aggies.

Numerous departures created all of the roster vacancies.

From last year’s 27-8 squad, Ace Baldwin and Nick Kern have followed Coach Mike Rhoades to Penn State.

Jayden Nunn has landed at Baylor, Jamir Watkins at Florida State, Jalen DeLoach at Georgia and Josh Banks at UNCAsheville.

The Rams are losing two seniors, Brandon Johns and David Shriver.

Despite a rich history with homegrown talent, Rams rosters have been absent of area athletes for the last 20 years or so. Brad Burgess (Benedictine) and Brandon Rozzell (Highland Springs) were two exceptions.

The record book shows how prominent local players have been, starting with the late 1960s.

Six of VCU’s top 11 all-time scorers were local recruits. They are Len Creech (George Wythe), Kendrick Warren (Thomas Jefferson), Jabo Wilkins and Jesse Dark (Maggie Walker), Dom Jones (Manchester) and Burgess.

Not far behind in the Rams’ 1,000-point club are Gerald Henderson and Bo Jones (Huguenot), Ed Sherod and LaMar Taylor (John Marshall), Monty Knight (TJ) and Michael Brown (Hopewell).

Black QBs in hot demand

It looks like a Black quarterback will be selected first in this year’s NFL draft.

The question is which Black QB?

With the very first pick, the Carolina Panthers are expected to call the name of either Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, age 21, or Alabama’s Bryce Young, 22.

Young might have a slight edge for first overall based, in part, on having competed in the nation’s toughest conference, the Southeastern.

It’s time to pick ’em

Annual NFL draft on ESPN, ABC, NFL Network

Thursday, April 27: first round, 8 p.m. Friday, April 28: rounds two and three, 7 p.m. Saturday, April 29: final rounds, 12 noon

With the second pick, look for the Houston Texans to call whichever QB the Panthers don’t pick.

In two seasons as Buckeyes’ signal caller, the 6-foot-3, 214-pound Stroud threw for 7,775 yards and 81 touchdowns. He was a Heisman finalist this past season.

Young, 5-foot-11 and 194 pounds, passed for 8,200 yards and 79 TDs in two full seasons as ‘Bama’ QB, and was the Heisman Trophy winner.

Also likely to hear his name called in the first round is Florida QB Anthony Richardson, who is just 20 years old.

At 6-foot-4 and 244 pounds, Richardson has a powerful arm and legs to match.

The Gators’ QB passed for 2,549 yards and 17 TDS this past season and ran for another 1,116 yards and 12 more scores.

Drawing “oohs and ahhs” at the NFL preseason Combine, Richardson ran the 40-yard dash in 4.43 and did a 40.5-inch

Wilson breaks college record

Former Richmond-area athlete Britton Wilson has raced to the top in the NCAA track and field record book.

The University of Arkansas athlete set a college record of 49.51 for the 400 meters on April 15 at the Tom Jones Memorial in Gainesville, Fla.

The old mark of 49.57 was set by Texas A&M’s Athing Mu in 2021. Wilson doubled her pleasure in Gainesville.

On April 14 she won the 400-meter hurdles in what is a world-leading 52.23 for 2023.

The 5-foot-5, 22-year-old Wilson first starred at Mills Godwin High in Western Henrico County and under Coach Gene Scott with the Central Virginia Track Club.

At Godwin, she won 10 Virginia High School League State titles in the 200, 400 and 300 hurdles outdoors and 300 and 500 indoors.

Wilson is the daughter of Vince and LeYuani Wilson. Vince Wilson was a starting guard for VCU’s basketball team from 1987-89. LeYuani Wilson was a sprinter at Douglas Freeman High and later a cheerleader at James Madison University.

Tucker following in Bradley’s footsteps

Prince George High School has produced at least one major league baseball player in Jackie Bradley. Will Tevin Tucker be another?

A graduate student at West Virginia University, Tucker is on the Watch List for the Brooks Wallace Award that goes to college’s top shortstop.

The 6-foot, 180-pound leadoff hitter is batting .368 for the Mountaineers with 15 stolen bases (as of April 21). Defensively he has made just seven errors in 165 chances.

Tucker was at his best in West Virginia’s 9-4 win over Pittsburgh April 19 in the “Backyard Brawl” at PNC Park (home of Pittsburgh Pirates).

Against Pitt, Tucker was three-for-four at the plate with a walk and two stolen bases.

A dean’s list student with a Master’s degree in sport and exercise psychology, Tucker has consistently made the Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll.

At Prince George, located just south of Petersburg, Tucker led the Royals to the State Class 5 title in 2018.

He developed his skills under Coach Mickey Roberts, the same man that coached Bradley.

Bradley went from Prince George to the University of South Carolina and first broke into a big league lineup with Boston in 2013. He now plays for Kansas City.

The Brooks Wallace Award is named after the former Texas Tech shortstop who died at age 27 in 1985.

Bradley was the overall 40th pick in the Major League Draft in 2011. This year’s draft will be in July.

vertical leap. And don’t go to sleep on Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker, who was Heisman favorite before suffering a leg injury last season. Hooker, 25, is a 6-foot-3, 217-pound dual threat QB who transferred to UT from Virginia Tech.

Before his injury, Hooker passed for 3,135 yards and 27 TDs and ran for another 430 yards and five TDs.

Hooker is projected to go no later than the second round.

Only five Black QBs previously have ever been drafted No. 1 overall.

They were:

• Michael Vick (Virginia Tech), 2001 by Atlanta

• JaMarcus Russell (LSU), 2007, by Oakland

• Cam Newton (Auburn), 2011, by Carolina

• Jameis Winston (Florida State), 2015, by Tampa

• Kyle Murray (Oklahoma), 2019 by Arizona

Looking to 2024 draft, a likely No. 1 pick is Southern California QB Caleb Wiliams, the current Heisman winner.

The first Black athlete of any position to go first overall was Syracuse running back Ernie Davis in 1962. Davis was picked by Washington but quickly traded to Cleveland for Bobby Mitchell. Tragically, Davis died of leukemia before ever playing in the NFL.

HBCU alumni are rare in professional baseball, but the Richmond Flying Squirrels have one.

Carter Williams, who joined the Richmond roster April 22, hails from North Carolina Central, where he was a four-time All-MEAC pick.

The 6-foot-3, 210-pound, 25-year-old wears jersey No. 18.

A native of Brown Summit, N.C., Williams is a left-handed hitting outfielder who went 2-for-7, with a double, in his first two games at The Diamond. Williams hit .336 with 11 homers and 61 runs batted in last season at High A Eugene. He began this season with Eugene before his promotion to the AA Squirrels.

Williams, who signed with San Francisco as an undrafted free agent, ranks with Central’s all-time stars. In 157 games over four seasons (2017-‘20), he hit. 329 with 13 homers and 111 RBI and 41 stolen bases.

Since the 1960s, there have been few HBCU athletes to play professionally, much less reach majors.

The most famous in Richmond lore is Ralph Garr, “The Roadrunner,” who played for the Richmond Braves in parts of the 1968, 1969 and 1970s seasons. Garr, perhaps the all-time fans’ favorite at old Parker Field, was signed by the Atlanta Braves’ organization out of Grambling State.

A regional version of the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame is coming to Henrico County in the spring of 2024.

Designed to recognize athletes, coaches, media and exceptional people involved with sports, it will be housed at a building now under construction at Virginia Center Commons in North Central Henrico near Interstate 95.

The 185,000-square foot building, with a projected cost of $50 million, will serve as the Henrico Sports & Events Center and

is scheduled to open this fall.

Plans for the Hall were announced by Virginia Hall of Fame Director Will Driscoll at the Class of 2023 induction ceremony.

The statewide Virginia Sports Hall of Fame is in Virginia Beach. Since 1972, 354 sports figures have been inducted, including the likes of Ken Willard and Barty Smith from Henrico and Willie Lanier, Arthur Ashe and Bobby Dandridge from Richmond.

“We are excited that the Henrico Sports & Events Center will be a place to showcase this history just as we bring in the next generation of athletes,” said Dennis Bickmeier, executive director of Henrico Sports and Entertainment Authority, which manages the facility.

In addition to the inclusion of the regional Hall of Fame, the Henrico Sports & Events Center is designed to host basketball and volleyball events as well as graduations, concerts and other gatherings.

Joe Bimisile Roosevelt Wheeler Jason Nelson

Britton Wilson

Tevin Tucker

Carter Williams

Young

C.J. Stroud

Sonja Branch-Wilson’s interest in learning about community and the importance of preserving one’s history began as a child.

Growing up, she often sought to learn more about her ancestry and local community while absorbing the stories her family shared with her and seeking more information from wherever she could find it. From that knowledge, she gained not only a connection to her past, but an understanding of the need to not let it fade from memory or record.

Today she employs her instincts, skills and interests as the co-founder and board president of the AMMD Pine Grove Project, which works to protect and preserve Cumberland County’s Pine Grove Rosenwald School for future generations.

“Awareness and connection are the keys to the lesser-known stories of Black communities,”

Ms. Branch-Wilson says. “It was a natural progression for me to honor my ancestors to become involved in developing a grassroots organization to perpetuate their legacy for future generations.”

Ms. Branch-Wilson’s role in the project carries great personal importance in that she founded the group with her mother, Muriel Miller Branch, and assumed the role last June after her mother’s four-year tenure as president. Their family also has deep ties to the school itself, which served as an educational resource for generations of AfricanAmerican students, including Mrs. Branch.

As board president, Ms. Branch-Wilson plans to involve both young and older generations of Cumberland County. She envisions a youth council for the AMMD project and improving senior citizens access to technology.

While these plans are varied in their focus and target demographic, they share a common strategy for Ms. Branch-Wilson: Building real connections and relationships within the Cumberland County community.

“Connecting is key,” Ms. Branch-Wilson says. “Being genuine, engaging in meaningful conversations, helping and teaching others, working as a TEAM - combining these strategies and engaging the community will advance AMMD Pine Grove Project’s mission of Preserving History, Expanding Community.”

Ms. Branch-Wilson and the Pine Grove project face several obstacles in their work, most notably plans for a landfill near the school that has made environmental justice another point of focus and concern. And while the group received a $290,000 grant from the National Park Service last year to preserve the school, she says additional funding is needed.

Nevertheless, Ms. BranchWilson is proud of what the Pine Grove Project has accomplished so far, and hopes to develop a network of TuskegeeRosenwald sister schools like Pine Grove so that more of this preservation and protection can expand. For now, however, Pine Grove School is her major focus, and she believes that great gains are being made when it comes to its history and its community.

“Pine Grove Project is making a difference in the community by being present, actively listening, and working with school-age children

Personality: Sonja Branch-Wilson

Spotlight on AMMD Pine Grove Project president

to inculcate in them the love of education and preserving history,” Ms. Branch-Wilson says. Meet a preserver of AfricanAmerican history and this week’s Personality, Sonja Branch-Wilson:

Volunteer position: President, AMMD Pine Grove Project.

Occupation: Educator.

Date of birth: April 1.

Where I live now : Richmond.

Education: Undergrad: Rutgers University and Virginia Commonwealth University.

Graduate school: Kean University and Liberty University.

Family: Mother, Muriel Miller Branch, SGM Willis L. Branch Sr. (deceased), siblings: Willis Jr., Kenneth, Cheryl and Angela, husband, Marcel Wilson, children Shynice Wilson and Kelson Wilson.

AAMD Pine Grove Project is: A nonprofit organization.

When and why founded: AMMD Pine Grove Project was formed as an extension of the Agee-Miller-Mayo Family Association when the family, whose ancestral ties are deeply rooted in this historic school, learned that Pine Grove School was at risk of being sold for delinquent taxes. Within a week family and close friends raised funds to rescue this irreplaceable historic school. So, AMMD Pine Grove Project formally organized to protect and preserve the historical and environmental integrity of the school and the community. In June 2018, another threat emerged. A mega-landfill was being proposed to be installed adjacent to Pine Grove School. With this information, we added environmental justice to our preservation cause, to protect and preserve the historical and environmental integrity of the school and the community.

Founder: Muriel Miller Branch (my She-ro).

Pine Grove School location: The Historic Pine Grove School is located in Cartersville (Cumberland County), Va.

How I became involved: Awareness and connection are the keys to the lesser-known stories of Black communities. My investment in genealogy, coordinating family reunions, and historic preservation began at a young age; it was “environmental serendipity.” I was the child who was always curious to know more about our family’s history and our ancestral community (Cumberland Co.). I often “ear hustled” while playing, or pretending to play, because being in “grown folks” business was a no-no. With each conversation, or impromptu storytelling session, I gained a greater understanding of who my ancestors were, the struggles they endured, the sacrifices they made so that future generations would have a path to follow.

When elected board president: The torch was passed to me in June 2022 after my mother stepped down from her four-year tenure.

Why I accepted the position: Beyond continuing the legacy, I am always willing to try new endeavors, especially in

leadership roles, and it helped that I had, in the words of one of my high school math teachers Rev. Smith, been “riding in the second chariot” for four years, listening and learning.

No. 1 goal or project as board president: I dream big, and in color, so I actually have two!

My most immediate goal, this term, is to develop and expand the AMMD Pine Grove Project Youth Council. We are well on our way, as we now have seven student ambassadors in training. Getting youth involved in the organization is the surest way to sustain its longevity. Another goal is to get a technology program for senior citizens implemented. I had written the curriculum and was prepared to launch (until) COVID hit and I was unable to implement it. Cumberland is such an internet desert, so I am searching for tech corporations to partner with us to fund a project to train and connect our seniors.

A Rosenwald School was: In 1913, Dr. Booker T. Washington of the Tuskegee Institute and Julius Rosenwald, president of Sears Roebuck Company, both visionaries, devised a plan to build state-of-the art schools for Negro children across the South who would not otherwise have received an education due to Jim Crow laws imposing racial segregation.

All Rosenwald schools were built according to specific plans provided by the Rosenwald Fund to make sure the schools were conducive to learning—meaning well-lit, well-ventilated, and spacious. As the result of the successful initial pilot school building program in near Tuskegee, Ala., more than 5,000 Rosenwald schools were built to educate poor, Black children in the rural South. This school-building project has been called the most important initiative to advance Black education in the early 20th century.

Pine Grove School was established when, for whom, and for how long: In 1916, Black citizens in the Pine Grove community petitioned Cumberland County to build a school for their children with the understanding that they could secure the land on which to build, and contribute a sizable amount toward the cost of building a school. Four acres of land was deeded to the County in 1916, by William and Olivia Miller, and sufficient funds were raised

($1,000 County, probably from taxes, $500 from Black residents, and $50 from the Rosenwald Fund). Pine Grove School was erected in time to receive its first pupils in the fall of 1917 to provide traditional and vocational education to Black children in kindergarten to seventh grade. The school closed in 1964 when segregation ended.

No. 1 challenge facing AAMD Pine Grove Project: We have two major challenges: Funds to continue to build and expand the organization, which will include hiring a director, developing a strategic plan, training in preservation and interpretation, environmental justice, and a survey of the 80+ historic resources identified in our Rural Historic District PIF to be recognized by National Park Service as a Rural Historic District. The other major challenge is the threat of an unnecessary megalandfill, dumping an estimated 5,000 tons of trash a day in our pristine rural community is an affront to the legacy of our ancestors.

Importance of preserving the school and its history: I recently learned from the Historic Preservation architect, Jody Lahendro, who is working on stabilizing Pine Grove School, that less than one-third of the Tuskegee-Rosenwald Schools remain standing in Virginia and less than one-tenth of these historic schoolhouses remain standing nationally. Ways to get involved with AAMD Pine Grove Project:

We have room for anyone interested in education, community engagement, history and historic preservation, and environmental and social justice. Our contact information is www.ammdpinegroveproject. com or email ammdpinegroveproject@gmail.com

Upcoming events: Unveiling

Week! We have developed a series of celebratory events leading up to and including our Historical Marker Unveiling Ceremony on Saturday, April 29, at 11 a.m. on the grounds of Pine Grove School.

How I start the day: Prayer and meditation, usually followed by Alexa, play “Thank You” by Richard Smallwood.”

The three words that best describe me: Creative, committed, courageous.

Best late-night snack: Peppermint patties, mango or coconut gelato.

How I unwind: Listening to music (soundscapes, jazz, neo-soul, smooth R&B) with scented candles.

Something I love to do that most people would never imagine: I would have to say a little known fact about me is that I love roller coasters.

A quote that inspires me: “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” Harriet Tubman

At the top of my “to-do” list: Countdown to our upcoming Mommie-Daughter cruise. Connect with our White/Caucasian Mayo descendants. Our Mayo family members also are descendants of William

and Joseph Mayo Jr. (fifth great-grandfather) of whom Mayo Island and the Mayo Bridge are named. We have connected with some of our DNA connected white Miller family members and established relationships to the point where they have even come to a family reunion and felt right at home.

The best thing my parents ever taught me: Work ethic. “Take pride in your work and put forth your best effort. You will NOT send anything sloppy or haphazard out here and have it represent you. Presentation is key.”

Persons who influenced me the most: My grandparents — the late Rev. Frank Adolph Sr. and Missouri Virginia (Walthall) Miller. The love they showed everyone was inspiring, the faith they demonstrated, and the sacrifices they made for others were exemplary and made a lasting impact on my life.

Book that influenced me the most: Associated with this work that I am doing, I would have to say, “The Warmth of Other Sons” by Isabel Wilkerson. I was deeply connected to the stories because many paralleled the stories within my own family where so many left Virginia and migrated North for better opportunities.

What I’m reading now: I just finished “Buses Are Coming — Memoir of a Freedom Rider” by Charles Person.

Next goals: To continue the work of AMMD Pine Grove Project; to thrive in, as a member of the inaugural cohort, of the Preservation Virginia African American Fellows Program under the leadership of Dr. Lisa Winn Bryan and navigate into the field of Historic Preservation and build my brand “Threads and Truth” where my tagline is “stitching our story and cultural garments together.”

Review: A different kind of underdog story in ‘Air’

By Lindsey Bahr The Associated Press

The new movie “Air” is technically about a shoe. There is nothing especially extraordinary about this shoe. As the Q-like Nike designer Peter Moore (Matthew Maher) explains, the last significant change to footwear was made some 600 years ago when the decision was made to differentiate the right and left feet. The Air Jordan is, at the end of the day, just another shoe. No one coos about how comfortable it is. No one waxes poetic about its performance enhancing abilities or how many podiatrists recommend it for sporting purposes. No one even tries it on.

That’s because “Air,” directed by Ben Affleck from a smart script by Alex Convery, is not really about the shoe at all. Nor is it about Michael Jordan, who has exactly one line in the film and is mostly seen from behind and in silhouette. It is about the men – and they were all men – of Nike who defied the odds and signed the rookie despite being a very distant third to Adidas and Converse in the basketball sneaker game in 1984. This is not a sports movie, however. If “Moneyball,” a spiritual cousin to “Air,” was baseball-adjacent, “Air” is about as far away from the game of basketball as one can get. The sport and romance of basketball in “Air” is almost completely beside the point, which is in some ways the most honest way for a couple of Gen-Xers to make a sincere movie about a corporate brand’s biggest success.

“Air” is more “Mad Men,” but without the glamour. In 1984, everything was brown and drab, except for the grape-colored sports car driven by Nike CEO Phil Knight (Mr. Affleck, in a comedic role about C-suite eccentricities and ineffectuality). Even the new stuff looked old. There are only so many ways cinematographer Robert Richardson can shoot a corporate office park and series of conversations between men in ill-fitting polos and khakis. But Affleck and his music supervisor do have fun with their conventional but not ineffective needle drops.

The center of “Air” is Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon), a Nike exec with a basketball scout’s eye for rising talent. He is not, at least on the surface, a slam dunk movie hero. Sonny is out of shape, as the movie reminds us with cruel frequency, he’s

he doesn’t have a family and he seems to do all his grocery shopping at the gas station. All he has is this job, which isn’t going especially well. And his big idea to bet on Jordan, and Jordan alone, has everyone — Knight; Jordan’s hot tempered agent David Falk (Chris Messina); Nike execs Rob Strasser (Jason Bateman) and Howard White (Chris Tucker); college ball coach George Raveling (Marlon Wayans); and Jordan’s mom Deloris (Viola Davis) — essentially telling him he’s crazy.

One big issue with “Air” is that the dramatic stakes never really quite crystalize or spark excitement in the way that the best movies do when you go in knowing the ending. There are no life-or-death scares or thrilling plane escapes at the end for Mr. Affleck to fall back on for tension. Nike was not even an unsuccessful company on the brink of collapse, they just hadn’t cracked the basketball market to the satisfaction of their shareholders yet. It’s hard, as an audience member, to discern whether your own apathy is because you know the outcome or because the story hasn’t convinced you to care enough.

Still, this is movie that also has the potential to get better with time and rewatches. “Air” coasts quite well on its compelling, funny and self-aware script (which even allows room for an amusing disagreement about who exactly came up with the

name Air Jordan) and charismatic movie stars. And Damon, who gets one show-stopping monologue, is the perfect actor to carry the film in his first time acting for his old pal. Here’s hoping that the longtime friends make this a habit.

“Air” pivots about halfway through when the Jordans finally enter the picture and, through Ms. Davis’ stoic performance, add a much-needed human element. It’s easy to forget that athletes being compensated justly for the value of their image is a relatively new phenomenon. One wonders why the movie couldn’t have mainly been about her and her savvy.

There is an admirably sly subversiveness to the whole endeavor in its refusal to glamourize the shoe, the company or the guys they’ve made a movie about. These are white-collar cubicle dwellers just trying to make it through the week and keep their jobs. I’m not even sure the movie buys into its subjects’ self-written and occasionally contradictory mythologies. Credit to the filmmakers that this is not a TED talk.

How can you be romantic about a billion-dollar shoe company?

“Air,” an Amazon Studios/MGM release in theaters now, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association for language throughout. Running time: 112 minutes. Three stars out of four.

Richmond entrepreneur to host black dress event

By Debora Timms

With the word “reimagine” as a catalyst, spiritual coach, motivational speaker and author Rita Ricks’ “Little Black Dress Day Affair,” event last year enabled women to dress up and celebrate their spirit and each other.

“We were really just coming out of COVID-19, and in another life I had been a boutique owner and a fashion consultant,” Ms. Ricks said in a recent telephone interview. “I felt like it was time for us to come out of COVID and get dressed.”

Whether worn as a symbol of a provocative woman, or simply defined as chic, classic and glamorous, Ms. Ricks’ fashion sense leads her to state unequivocally that, “a little black dress makes us all feel good. I don’t know any-

body who objects to wearing a little black dress.”

On Saturday, April 29, dozens of Richmond-area women will attend Ms. Ricks’ second “Little Black Dress Day Affair” at Main Street Station.

Whereas last year’s event gave women a chance to network and “just see one another again,” Ms. Ricks decided to recast “Black Dress” this year after falling in love with the book, “Yellow Wife,” written by a New York Times best-selling author and Chesterfield County resident Sadeqa Johnson.

The book tells the fictional story of

a woman’s struggle to protect her family and survive, but it also details some of the very real atrocities that took place in Lumpkins Jail, also known as “the Devil’s half-acre,” which was located just blocks from the Main Street Station venue.

Ms. Johnson’s book also inspired this year’s focus word — “persevere.”

“The main character in this story persevered,” Ms. Ricks said. “Women persevere. We all persevere at some point.”

During the event, Ms. Ricks will interview Ms. Johnson, whose current

best-seller is titled “The House of Eve,” about the writing process involved in “Yellow Wife.”

“She did a lot of research,” Ms. Ricks said. “I am really curious to find out how she was able to stomach all the horrors and atrocities she read about.”

Bill Martin, director of Richmond’s The Valentine museum, will share true accounts of Lumpkins Jail and its impact on Richmond history.

As a spiritual coach. Ms. Ricks says she finds purpose in helping women to remove the barriers that keep them from living the lives they were born to live.

“There’s so much that we suppress as women, and oftentimes that is our spirit,” she added. “My role is to show women how to live from the inside out … to live in the center of who they are and the joy that is offered there.”

VMHC welcomes students to State History Day competition

Free Press staff report

Elementary, middle, and high school students from across the Commonwealth will compete this weekend in the Virginia History Day State Contest at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Virginia Museum of History & Culture has hosted the Virginia History Day contest since 2017, and this year will be its largest, with more than 400 student participants. The contest will take place Saturday, April 29, (elementary & middle school) through Sunday, April 30, (high school).

Virginia History Day is the state affiliate of the National History Day program. Similar to a science fair, but for history, the National History Day Contest was founded in 1974 to inspire students to conduct original historical research. Since its creation, the contest has grown into an international competition with more than half a million participants and thousands of dollars in scholarship awards and prizes annually.

In a time when civics and history education are critical for engaged citizenship, Virginia History Day offers students a transformative learning experience by

making history relevant and approachable. The contest challenges students to draw connections between the past and present to ensure they see and understand the importance of history in shaping the world.

Students are asked to research topics related to a theme and express their research in one of the five project categories — documentary, exhibit, website, paper, performance. Providing students with a choice in how they express their research allows them to see themselves in history and helps get them excited about their research.

The Virginia Museum of History & Culture has been the host of the Virginia History Day contest since 2017, and this year will be its largest, with more than 400 student participants. Featured activities will include trivia games, food trucks, and tours of the museum’s newest space exhibition, “Apollo: When We Went to the Moon.” For more information, please visit VirginiaHistory.org/VirginiaHistoryDay, or call (804)340-1800 or (800) 358-8701.

PLACeS TO GO, PeOPLe TO See

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 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 starts on Saturday, April 1, and runs Fridays and Saturdays from noon to 7 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. that month, then from noon to 7 p.m. Mondays to Fridays, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sundays from May to September.

Cost: Tickets cost $12 for adults, $8 for children between the age of 5 to 12 years

Derby Day returns

Free Press staff report

A Richmond-based foundation once again will be throwing a benefit bash to accompany the running of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, May 6.

The Derby Day Party will take place from 4 to 9 p.m. on the grounds of the Bon Secours Training Center, 2701 W. Leigh St. The event is a fundraiser for the Professionals Reaching Out to the Community (PROC) Foundation to allow participants to sport fashions, meet-and-greet and view the race.

Entertainment will include DJ Lonnie B, Massino Cassinos’ horse race game and outdoor games, according to co-chairs Janet Hawkes-Pleasants and Natalie Smith.

General admissions tickets are $65 each, with VIP packages available, the co-chairs stated. Proceeds will support scholarships and community events, including spring and winter events for seniors and The Beautillion, a social etiquette and leadership training program for male high school students that culminates with a black-tie ball, according to Charmayne B. Vincent, foundation chair.

Ticket information: thederbydayparty2023-procfoundation.eventbrite.com

Organized

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: South Side Richmond at 1309 Hull St.

Compiled

This image released by Amazon Prime Video shows Matt Damon as Sonny Vaccaro, left, and Viola Davis as Deloris Jordan in a scene from “Air.”

Ms. Ricks Ms. Johnson

middle-aged,

News and notes

Whitehead named VSU band director

Free Press staff report Virginia State University announced this week that Dr. Taylor Whitehead is its new director of Marching and Pep Bands. Dr. Whitehead has served as the interim band director since 2022 and was formerly the university’s assistant band director. Under his leadership, the Trojan Explosion band performed several high-profile gigs, such as NASCAR’s Bubba Wallace Block Party, the Honda Battle of the Bands, NBC’s “Today” show and at a Black History Month program at the White House. Dr. Whitehead, a native of Meherrin, Va., holds a bachelor’s degree in music education from VSU and a master’s degree in music education from Norfolk State University.

Lizzo protests anti-drag rule with drag queens

The Associated Press

In a concert Friday night in Knoxville, Tenn., pop singer Lizzo filled the stage with drag queens in a glittery protest against the state’s legislation designed to restrict drag performances in public.

In February, Tennessee’s Republican Gov. Bill Lee signed the legislation against “adult cabaret” in public or in front of minors. A federal judge temporarily blocked the law in late March, saying it was too vaguely written. Civil rights groups have criticized the law as a violation of free speech. The Tennessee law is part of a wider Republican effort to restrict drag shows and other LGBTQ+ public gatherings.

Lemon squeezed out at CNN, Carlson canned

The Associated Press

CNN fired longtime host Don Lemon on Monday following his short and disastrous run as a morning show host, a little over two months after he apologized for on-air comments about Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley being “past her prime.” The move quickly turned nasty. While CNN chairman and CEO Chris Licht announced that they had “parted ways,” Mr. Lemon characterized it as a firing and said it was surprise to him. “After 17 years at CNN I would have thought someone in management would have the decency to tell me directly,” Mr. Lemon said. CNN said that Mr. Lemon was given the opportunity to meet with management and offered no public explanation for Mr. Lemon’s dismissal.

Meanwhile, Fox News on Monday ousted primetime host Tucker Carlson, whose stew of grievances and political theories about Russia and the Jan. 6 insurrection had grown to define the network in recent years and make him an influential force in GOP politics.

Fox said that the network and Mr. Carlson had “agreed to part ways,” but offered no explanation for the stunning move, saying that the last broadcast of “Tucker Carlson Tonight” aired last Friday. Mr. Carlson ended the show by saying, “We’ll be back on Monday.”

Yet on Monday night, viewers tuned in to morning anchor Brian Kilmeade, who said that Mr. Carlson was gone, “as you may have heard.”

The break from Mr. Carlson comes amid a cascade of bad legal news for the network. A week ago, Fox agreed to pay more than $787 million to settle a lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems over the network’s airing of false claims following the 2020 presidential election — shortly before Mr. Carlson was expected to be called to testify.

Compiled by Craig Belcher

It’s Met Gala time again — here’s what we know so far

The Associated Press

NEW YORK

Last year, it took 275,000 bright pink roses to adorn the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the Met Gala, the biggest night in fashion and one of the biggest concentrations of star power anywhere. It remains to be seen how the museum’s Great Hall will be decorated come the first Monday in May, but one thing is not in question: those entering it will look spectacular. The theme centers on the late designer Karl Lagerfeld, who made an indelible mark on luxury fashion in his long career at Chanel, Fendi and elsewhere. It is a theme not without controversy — Lagerfeld was known for contentious remarks about everything from #MeToo to curvy bodies.

Want to know what to expect as the big day approaches? Not to worry. We’ve dusted off our annual guide for you here, with some key updates.

What is the Met Gala?

It started in 1948 as a society midnight supper, and wasn’t even at the Met. Fast forward 70-plus years, and the Met Gala is something totally different, one of the most photographed events in the world for its head-

This year’s four hosts are drawn from television (Emmywinning writer, actor and producer Michaela Coel); the movies (Oscar-winning actor Penélope Cruz who has worked with Chanel for more than 20 years); music (Grammy-winning songstress Dua Lipa); and sports (recently retired tennis superstar Roger Federer).

spinning red carpet — though the carpet isn’t always red.

We’re talking Rihanna as a bejeweled pope. Zendaya as Cinderella with a light-up gown. Katy Perry as a chandelier morphing into a hamburger. Also: Beyoncé in her “naked dress.” Billy Porter as an Egyptian sun god, carried on a litter by six shirtless men. And Lady Gaga’s 16-minute striptease. And, last year, host Blake Lively’s Versace dress — a tribute to iconic New York architecture — that changed colors in front of our eyes.

It’s important to note that the party has a purpose — last year, the evening earned $17.4 millionfor the Met’s Costume Institute, a self-funding department. Yes, that’s a heckuva lot for a gala. It also launches the annual spring exhibit that brings

hundreds of thousands of visitors to the museum.

But it’s the carpet itself that draws the world’s eyes, with the guest list — strategically withheld until the last minute — featuring a collection of notables from movies, music, fashion, sports, politics and social media that arguably makes for the highest celebrity wattage-per-square-foot of any party in the world.

Is there always a theme?

Yes. As mentioned above, the theme is Karl Lagerfeld and the exhibit, “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty,” looks at “the designer’s stylistic vocabulary as expressed in aesthetic themes that appear time and again in his fashions from the 1950s to his final collection in 2019.”

Once again, it has been cre-

ated by the Met’s star curator, Andrew Bolton

Does everyone follow the theme?

Not really. Some eschew it and just go for big and crazy But expect some guests to carefully research the theme and come in perfect sync. It was hard to beat the carpet, for example, when the theme was tied to “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination and Rihanna came as the pope, Zendaya channeled Joan of Arc, and Perry navigated the crowd with a set of enormous angel wings. For Lagerfeld, the clothes may be a bit more, er, down to earth.

How much is a ticket for the gala?

Wrong question. You cannot just buy a ticket. The right question is: If I were famous or powerful and got invited, how much would it cost?

If I were famous or powerful and got invited, how much would it cost?

Well, you may not have to pay. Generally companies buy tables. A fashion label would then host its desired celebrities. This year, the cost has gone up, as it does every few years due to rising expenses: It’s now $50,000 for an individual ticket, and tables start at $300,000.

Richmond R&B singer hospitalized

By Craig Belcher

The family of local R&B singer and producer

Marlon Cox is asking for financial assistance to cover the 49-year-old’s medical expenses. Mr. Cox, who released his debut CD “Ain’t Dat Da Truth,” in 2006, was admitted to the hospital on April 4 after a “medical emergency,” according to the gofundme. com page created by his brother, Rafael Cox.

“Marlon had a medical emergency which has left him unable to work and in no condition to keep his financial obligations current,” the page reads. “Marlon’s current condition requires treatments and surgeries which are very expensive.”

Mr. Cox, also known as “Marlon C.,” comes from a musical family. He has three children, Keija Cox, (also a singer), Kayla and Kaden. Prior to his solo career, he was part of a rap duo known as “Dirty Souls,” alongside Eugene James

Music series on track at Main Street Station

By Craig Belcher

Arriving at Main Street Station next week is the venue’s first concert series, featuring local artists known for their R&B, reggae and jazz sounds. While the historic building has been the backdrop for many public events, this is the first time the station’s back patio area will be used.

“We want to use our venue as a way for people in the area to hang around after work, enjoy some music and then explore the Shockoe area,” said John Everett, events coordinator for Main Street Station, in a press release.

The free Thursday concert series starts with the R&B favorites Legacy Band on May 4, followed by the reggae sounds of The Mighty Joshua on May 11, the energetic Inside Out band on May 18, and closing with jazz and R&B from Plunky and Oneness on May 25. Opening acts include reggae artist Jah-IWitness and pop/R&B singer Quinton Jones. The event, which begins at 5:30 p.m., is presented by the Department of Public Works and Main Street Station.

Mr. Everett said the musicians won’t have to compete with whistles or rail squeals while they’re performing. After the music starts, no trains are scheduled to arrive until around 8 p.m., when the concert ends.

“We’ve put a lot of things in place to make sure people can enjoy themselves,” he said. “It’s going to be clean, safe environment.”

Jr., and signed to record label run by his cousin, D’angelo. He also produced an album for the gospel group, The Henley Family Gospel Singers, featuring close relatives and himself on guitar, in 2011. Since, then Mr. Cox also has produced music for various film and television productions. Now his family is asking for assistance to keep Mr. Cox’s affairs in order while he’s hospitalized.

“We’re so grateful for all the love, prayers, support, and kindness you all have shown during this time, and hope that you will be able to rally around Marlon,” the page reads.

Rafael Cox adds that his brother had been working on a new album, and shares a message to people who have shown support to the family.

“I just hope people keep praying, you know? It’s not over,” he said. “He’s still with us right now. We need a miracle.”

Photos by Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

Fun, informative fair

A’maya Smith shows off her dance moves during a performance by the Sizzling Dolphins Dancers during the inaugural Swansboro Elementary School Health Fair on April 22. Family, friends, educators and local residents attended the Swansboro Elementary School Health Fair in South Richmond, which featured 70 health-related vendors, a petting zoo, entertainment, music and food. Below, Richmond City Council’s Stephanie Lynch, 5th District, joins in the fun and informative event.

Mr. Cox

The Associated Press

Dr. Whitehead

Mr. Lemon

Lizzo

William U. Booker Sr., entrepreneur, civic and spiritual leader, dies at age 95

were his trademarks

Avenue and Hull Street.

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

William

Ulysses

Booker Sr. sought to seize the opportunities that came his way.

As a teenager, he opened a shoeshine business for well-heeled business people on Hull Street to buff up their footware.

Later, while selling insurance, he noticed that people in his neighborhood had no place to buy fish. He responded by buying a building near the intersection of Hull Street and Midlothian Turnpike and opening Quick Drive In Seafood, that he operated for 27 years.

He initially planned only to offer raw seafood. But he added prepared lunches and dinners of fish, crabs, shrimp, oysters and clams after his soldier son called and told him that seafood stores in Washington, D.C., offered cooked food for customers.

Described as a man of faith and drive, Mr. Booker also helped launch Koinonia Christian Church in South Side that his now deceased wife, the Rev. Marjorie Leeper Booker, pastored. Mr. Booker’s other initiatives included starting a civic association for residents and business owners, and assisting his wife with voter registration drives.

A lifelong resident of South Side, Mr. Booker is being remembered for his contributions to the community following his death at age 95 on Thursday, April 20, 2023.

Family and friends will celebrate his life at noon Tuesday, May 2, at March Funeral Home, 2110 E. Laburnum Ave., it has been announced.

His three children said he lived his faith, ticking off the virtues he embodied.

“Hard-working, honest, wise, industrious, caring and innovative. If he gave you his word, you could take it to the bank that he would keep it.”

Born in 1928, Mr. Booker had to travel across the river to Maggie Walker High School on North Side because there was no high school for Black students south of the James River.

After earning his diploma, he added a certificate in religious studies from the Evans Smith program in Virginia Union University’s seminary.

Before graduating from Maggie Walker, he started the shoeshine business in a shed-style building located near the corners of Cowardin

“He had four or five chairs. He had one and other young men would pay him a fee to offer service in the other chairs,” said his son, William U. Booker Jr., a retired manager for Du Pont and former city manager of Atlantic Beach, S.C.

Mr. Booker Jr. said his father gave up the business and went to New York, but returned after a year.

Before opening his seafood store in 1969, Mr. Booker worked as a mail carrier, a salesman for North Carolina Mutual and as a manager for a South Side pawn shop.

When Mr. Booker Sr. added prepared meals, his son recalls his parents started cooking with a “frying pan on a stove. They later added a deep fryer.”

He founded the Hull Street-Midlothian Civic Association that still represents the Swansboro West neighborhood. He also served two terms on the Richmond City Planning Commission, was a member of a City Charter review committee, and sat on a city welfare advisory board.

He helped his wife in her voter registration work for the Richmond Crusade for Voters and

later campaigned for his unsuccessful bid for a seat on City Council.

After selling the seafood business around 1997, Mr. Booker returned to his business roots when his brother-in-law, Robert Leeper Jr., asked him for help. Mr. Leeper had a mobile shoeshine business and had a contract to operate a shoeshine stand at the airport.

Mr. Booker managed the airport shop for nearly 20 years before a stroke forced him to retire in 2017. “It was more than shining shoes,” said daughter Phyllis Booker Hendrick Bell, who taught math for 44 years for Richmond Public Schools. “It was a chance to talk to people and share the love of Jesus.”

Mr. Booker also was a member of Hobson Lodge No. 23 F&AM.

In 1983, Mr. Booker joined with others to start Koinonia Christian Church in the 3600 block of McRand Street near Southside Plaza. His wife, one of the first female pastors in Richmond, led the church for 33 years. She died in 2011.

Survivors include two daughters, Jacqueline Booker Walker, a retired state employee, and Mrs. Bell; his son, Mr. Booker Jr.; eight grandchildren; 20 great-grandchildren; and one great-great grandchild.

Why do Christians create structures that hurt trans children?

There are currently 44 states with anti-trans legislation. They run the gamut from banning drag performances to prohibiting care to trans youths to restricting the use of public restrooms and facilities.

The proponents of these bills would have people of faith, particularly Christians, believing these laws are about the safety of children, preying on most parents’ desire to protect their children from harm. But, in so doing, they contribute to the lie that children are more likely to experience sexual assault when in community with trans people.

But anti-trans legislation is not about keeping children safe at all. Rather, these laws reinforce an uncomfortable truth: America is soulless. There is something demonic about using children as political pawns. And that’s exactly what is happening here.

The desire to “protect” children only extends to youths who fit squarely in the traditional boxes of heteronormativity. Because how could this ever be about caring for children when parents of trans kids — and the people who fail to report them — can be held criminally responsible for giving them the care they need? Can we say we care about children when we pass laws, like in Kentucky, that put them in more danger and directly in harm’s way?

More than 8 in 10 trans individuals (82%) have contemplated suicide, and the rates of suicidality, the risk of suicide and suicidal ideation, are highest among trans youths. In 2022, The Trevor Project released a

study showing that 50% of trans and nonbinary youths seriously considered suicide that year. And just last month, a study found that the rate of suicide attempts for Black trans youths is twice the rate of suicide attempts among cisgender Black queer youths.

How do Christians, in good conscience, create structures

that isolate children — the very ones their savior said would inherit the kingdom of God in Matthew 18?

Answering this exposes the reality that Christian proponents and supporters of these laws do not see the image of God reflected in trans children, and more broadly, trans people. And while that is incredibly unfortunate, the trans community should not have to pay for their willful ignorance and bigotry.

At its core, the notion that trans youths endanger their cisgender peers is silly. What is true is that these anti-trans laws (and the myopic perspectives that inform them) are at the heart of the bullying and harassment that trans youths experience at the hands of their peers.

Many of us say it all the time:

“Trans women are women” and “trans men are men.” We say it because it’s true. And, while it unfortunately does not seem to resonate with those who are committed to the rejection of trans dignity and humanity, what about the children? Because trans children are children. And, in a world that has refused to relinquish its relationship with violence, don’t all children deserve to be safe?

All of our children deserve better. Transgender youths deserve a world where they

flourish mattered that much to Jesus, and it should matter that much to us, too. We cannot call ourselves followers of the one who so boldly said “let the children come” when we pass laws that push them away.

The writer is a public theologian and columnist for Religion News Service.

Moore Street Missionary Baptist Church 1408 W. Leigh Street Richmond, Va. 23220 (804) 358 6403 Dr. Alonza L. Lawrence, Pastor

The Associated Press Protesters of Kentucky Senate bill SB150, known as the Transgender Health Bill, cheer on speakers March 29 during a rally on the lawn of the State Capitol in Frankfort, Ky. are safe, and cisgender youth deserve that same world. It can come into being when adults push past their own agendas and limited understandings to let it be so.

More than half of Americans (54%) oppose anti-trans legislation, specifically laws that criminalize gender-affirming care for minors. This is a good thing. Perhaps America isn’t that soulless, after all. Perhaps the

majority of us do care about all children and desire to create a world where their thriving is essential. If only our legislation — and lawmakers — reflected this intention.

At the same time Jesus told his disciples that they must become like children to enter into heaven, he also said it would be better for a millstone to be placed around a person’s neck and to drown than for that person

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‘Hard-working, honest, wise, industrious, caring’

Mr. Booker

Candice Benbow

Rockets hire

ex-Celtics

coach Udoka as new coach

The Associated Press

For Heat, the legend of ‘Playoff Jimmy’ continues to grow

MIAMI

HOUSTON

Ime Udoka has been hired as the new coach of the Houston Rockets, a source familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Monday.

Udoka led the Celtics to the NBA Finals last season, then was suspended for this season after the disclosure of an inappropriate relationship with a female Celtics employee.

The person spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity because the team had not officially announced the move.

He replaces Stephen Silas, who was fired after three seasons.

The Rockets had the worst record in the previous two seasons and finished tied with the Spurs for the second-worst record this season, earning another lottery pick in this year’s draft.

The Associated Press Boston Celtics Coach Ime Udoka reacts during the first half of Game 6 in the NBA basketball Eastern Conference semifinals playoff series May 13, 2022, in Milwaukee.

The 45-year-old Udoka led the Celtics to a 51-31 record in his one season in Boston. The Celtics finished the regular season on a 26-6 run and beat Brooklyn, Milwaukee and Miami in the playoffs before falling to Golden State in six games in the NBA Finals. Udoka wasn’t drafted and played professionally in Europe ahead of a seven-year NBA career that included short stints with the Los Angeles Lakers, Knicks and Trail Blazers before he spent three of his last four years with the Spurs.

He then joined Coach Gregg Popovich’s staff as an assistant, working with San Antonio from 2012-19. Udoka then spent one season each as an assistant with the 76ers and Nets before being hired to replace Brad Stevens in Boston.

Udoka was a candidate to replace Nick Nurse in Toronto before being hired by the Rockets over candidates that included Nurse, Sam Cassell and Frank Vogel.

Udoka takes over a team that made the playoffs in eight straight seasons before the trade of James Harden in January 2021 led to a complete rebuild. General Manager Rafael Stone said this month that he plans to pursue some veteran free agents this offseason to add to Houston’s young talent.

The Rockets hope to build their team around Jalen Green, the third pick in the 2021 draft and Jabari Smith, taken second in 2022.

Terms of Udoka’s deal were not immediately available.

Jimmy Butler insists that “Playoff Jimmy” — the moniker that he has now, whether he wants it or not — isn’t a thing. His play shows otherwise.

He has scored 45 or more points five times in his NBA career, and three of those games have come in the playoffs — the most recent one coming Monday in a performance for all time. Butler scored 56 points, tying the fourth-highest playoff scoring effort in NBA history, and carried the Miami Heat past the Milwaukee Bucks 119-114 to take a 3-1 lead in that Eastern Conference firstround series.

“I think this is where all the best players, they show up and they show out,” Butler said. “And I’m not saying I’m one of those best players. I just want to be looked at as such.”

Hard to imagine anyone not looking at him that way, especially right now.

He had 22 points in the first quarter on Monday, 21 more in the fourth. Over the last quarter-century, nobody had two 20-point quarters in the same playoff game and only one player — Damian Lillard, in his 71-point game for Portland — did it during this regular season.

Butler was 9 for 10 in the first quarter, 6 for 8 in the fourth quarter. And this came against a Milwaukee team that has three players — Giannis Antetokounmpo, Brook Lopez and Jrue Holiday — who are

The Associated Press

Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) celebrates Monday after scoring during the second half of Game 4 in the first round NBA basketball playoff series against the Milwaukee Bucks in Miami. The Heat defeated the Bucks 119-114. Jimmy Butler scored 56 points.

rightly considered among the NBA’s best defenders.

Didn’t matter. Playoff Jimmy was no match.

“I haven’t been here too long, but I’ve always had the utmost respect for him,” said Heat forward Kevin Love, who signed with Miami in February. “Love his game, love what he’s about. I mean, I hate to say arguably, but I think he’s the best closer in the game. And you saw why.”

The only players to score more in a playoff game were Michael Jordan with 63 in 1986, Elgin Baylor with 61 in 1962, and Donovan Mitchell with 57 in 2020. Butler became the fourth with 56, joining Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain and Charles Barkley. The previous Heat playoff

record for points in a game was 49, by LeBron James.

“I think we’re witnessing a guy who continues to be in his prime and is playing at a level of basketball that not many players can get to,” Heat guard Kyle Lowry said. “And you have to just kind of sometimes sit back and appreciate it.”

For Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, what Butler did Monday night — Miami trailed for almost the entire game and was down 14 in the fourth quarter — was reminiscent of the other top moments in the franchise’s playoff lore.

Like James scoring 45 in a must-win Game 6 on the road at Boston in 2012. Like Butler willing Miami to the NBA

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Finals in the bubble in 2020. Like Dwyane Wade taking over in Game 3 of the 2006 NBA Finals, erasing a double-digit deficit after his infamous “I ain’t going out like this” proclamation in the huddle and starting the Heat on their path to beating Dallas in six games for their first championship.

“I don’t think Jimmy would want me up here ranking this performance or anything,” Spoelstra said. “He views everything the way a head coach does. He’s not relaxing. He understands what we still have to do, and he understands who we’re facing.”

The Bucks are in trouble, but far from doomed. Game 5 is in their building, and if they bring it back to Miami and win Game 6 — not unthinkable, since they led on the Heat home floor for much of Monday night — they’d also have the home-court edge for Game 7.

Butler knows all this, and that was his message after scoring 56.

“The job’s not done, so we don’t want to get comfortable,” Butler said. “We’ve got one more to get.”

He leads the playoffs in scoring so far at 36.5 points per game, is shooting 63% so far in the series, has helped the Heat overcome the losses of injured shooting guards Tyler Herro and Victor Oladipo, and simply wore down Antetokounmpo and the Bucks in Game 4.

The legend of Playoff Jimmy kept growing.

“It’s not a thing. It’s not,” Butler insisted. “I just be hooping.”

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