Richmond Free Press August 17-19, 2023 edition

Changing the trajectory Richmond Free Press

RRHA ushering in new initiatives for jobs, health and safety

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Steven B. Nesmith promised to transform the operation of Richmond’s public housing and the opportunities for residents when he assumed leadership of the authority last fall.

Nine months after becoming CEO of the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority, Mr. Nesmith is introducing initiatives that he believes will change residents’ lives for the better.

Just a few weeks ago he announced a new program that will launch by early winter to help residents buy homes.

Now he has announced “Hope, Jobs and Security,” an initiative that he and his staff believe will improve the outlook for the nearly 10,000 people who call RRHA communities home. The plan already is drawing approval from some residents.

Grazing in the grass

“This is great,” said Marilyn Olds, president of the Richmond Tenant Organization, the umbrella group that represents the residents, which includes representatives from RRHA’s communities.

Among key elements is a robust workforce training effort to enable unemployed youths and adults to secure jobs in factories, retail stores, restaurants and offices with wages to help lift them out of poverty.

The program also is to include health and wellness services, after-school activities for school-age children and training in nonviolent conflict resolution.

In addition, Mr. Nesmith said RRHA is contracting with a private company to patrol communities to improve safety,

something that Ms. Olds said residents have long requested.

No mention was made of one critical component, child care, which can be one of the most difficult barriers to employment for single mothers who make up a majority of adults in RRHA communities.

To be launched at the end of August following a series of town hall-style briefings for residents beginning Monday, Aug. 21, the bundle of programs takes a holistic approach to “change the trajectory of our public housing residents,” Mr. Nesmith said.

“We’ve tried to think of it all,” he said, in seeking to create a package that deals with the physical, mental and emotional needs of residents.

On the workforce training front, RRHA is partnering with nearly a dozen government, private and nonprofit entities to provide residents “opportunities to achieve self-sufficiency through job and workforce training.”

The workforce effort would offer opportunities in areas such

By George Copeland Jr.

Richmond Public School leaders have demanded a third-party investigation into the events and RPS actions leading up to the mass shooting in Monroe Park following the Huguenot High School graduation ceremony on June 6 that led to the deaths of graduate Shawn Jackson and his stepfather, Renzo Smith.

The motion for the investigation passed in a 5-2 vote with one abstaining during the School Board meeting Monday evening at Huguenot High.

“We cannot, nor can the superintendent, police ourselves when such tragedies such as this have occurred,” said board member Shonda Harris-Muhammed, who introduced the motion.

The 11th Richmond Jazz and Music Festival at Maymont Park on Saturday and Sunday drew fans from near and far to hear the sounds of musical artists such as Chaka Khan, Dave Koz, Wale and Ledesi. Fun and colorfully cool fashions always make a statement during the popular music festival, and this year was no different for attendees such as Faith Wilkerson, whose Afrocentric attire and hand fan provided comfort and flair. Husband-and-wife Derek and Denise McCullough found the festival a nice way to relax on a Saturday evening, while besties Nisha Brooks, left, and Melanie Randel traveled from Los Angeles to enjoy Richmond and other parts of the DMV. Please see more photos on A8.

The investigation’s report, when completed, will include examinations of the graduation procedures in place during the day of the shooting, statements from staff present and a review of the homebound program that Mr. Jackson had participated in.

The motion came amid rising tensions during the meeting, as board members and RPS leadership and staff discussed care and safety initiatives for the upcoming school year. The board also approved a 15-point care and safety plan in a 5-2 vote, with one abstaining, that includes updated and clearer safety protocols, more funding and training for mental health and care professionals as well as a pilot program restricting student cell phone use.

By George Copeland Jr.

Michelle Bryant wants to learn more about herself and her ancestors.

A nine-year resident of Gilpin Court, Ms. Bryant has lived with a limited understanding of her ancestry for much of her life, only able to identify her grandparents on her father’s side of her family and greatgrandparents on her mother’s side. Little else information about her ancestors is available to her, she said.

On Saturday, Aug. 19, however, she will get more insight into her family and their history — and she’s eager to learn what has been uncovered.

Ms. Bryant is one of nine Gilpin Court residents whose ancestry has been researched

Ms. Bryant, Charmain Barbour Brown, Janis Anderson, Vincent Brown, Bonita Gilbert, Eric Clay, Blanche Rodwell, Melissa Jeffries and Carolyn Cotman.

Dr. Royster’s goal is to provide a source of personal validation and motivation to participating residents, inspiring them to “move beyond

However, questions and concerns around safety and the prevention of future tragedies still remained for board members ahead of the start of school next week, leading to the requests for further investigation of the incident.

“This is an RPS school, it originated at the school, we do have people affected at the school and they know how this started,” board member Mariah White said. “It just didn’t start at graduation.”

While an internal report on the shooting already had been submitted, board members Dr. Harris-Muhammed and Kenya over an eight-month period as part of Reclaiming Our Time, a genealogy project that is intended to uncover lost stories and connections and bring greater personal understanding to its participants.

“Honestly, I was very curious,” Ms. Bryant said when asked why she agreed to be part of the project. “You can never know where you’re going in life unless you know where you’ve been.”

Reclaiming Our Time is directed by Dr. Paula D. Royster, founder and CEO of The Center for African American Genealogical Research, a nonprofit based in Fredericksburg focused on the reclamation and preservation of Black history that has been lost or underserved.

During a Gilpin Court Community Day event last October, 10 residents were recruited to be a part of the project. The final group of participants include

Kim D. Saunders, former president and CEO of Consolidated Bank, dies at age 61

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Kim D. Saunders, who ran a financial consulting firm after leading banks in Richmond, Washington and Raleigh-Durham, N.C., has died. Involved in banking and financial services industry for 40 years, Ms. Saunders earned plaudits for her expertise in management, lending, credit administration, asset management and community and economic development.

Ms. Saunders, 62, succumbed to illness on

Saturday, July 29, 2023, in Durham, N.C., where she was living.

Her life will be celebrated 11 a.m. Friday, Aug. 25, at Bethlehem Church of God in Washington, D.C., according to the J.B. Jenkins Funeral Home.

Ms. Saunders was just the second woman to lead Consolidated Bank & Trust Co. in Richmond. The bank was founded by Richmond business leader Maggie L. Walker in 1903. Mrs. Walker

Dr. Royster

Ms. Bryant

Ms. Brown

Ms. Olds

Mr. Nesmith

Ms. Saunders

Brittany Powell

Chinae René

Chinae René

Ms. Harris-Muhammed

GRTC increasing drivers, ridership

Free Press staff report

GRTC is starting to fill driver vacancies and could have a full complement of 300 drivers before the end of the year based on current recruitment, according to a report to the regional transit company’s board Tuesday.

The board, which dramatically boosted driver pay during the spring, was told that if the projections for increases in driver numbers prove out, the company could begin to increase service on routes that were cut back because there were too few bus operators and begin to consider additional service.

As of July 31, the company reported that it had 251 full-time and 29 part-time bus operators, an increase of 15 from a year earlier, with more than 70 people in training.

The company also is focused on improving recruitment of drivers for its specialty van service for the elderly and disabled, where vacancies have been harder to fill.

GRTC also reported growth in ridership on its Pulse bus rapid transit line and on fixed routes and noted to the board that its cash position remains strong as revenues continue to exceed budgeted costs, despite maintaining fare-free service.

Plunky & Oneness at the Kennedy Center

Richmond funk group

Plunky & Oneness will offer a free concert at the Kennedy Center in Washington at 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 2, it has been announced. Legendary saxophone artist and group leader James

“Plunky” Branch said this is the latest recognition for the group that he launched 52 years ago and that music critics have cited as part of the “vanguard of Afro-centric jazz, funk, house music and go-go.”

Since 1971, the group has released more than 25 albums on its own label.

The in-person performance also will be livestreamed from the center, Mr. Branch said.

Free community testing for COVID-19 continues

The Richmond and Henrico County health districts are offering testing at the following locations:

• Thursday, Aug. 17, 1 to 5 p.m. - Henrico Arms Apartments, 1566 Edgelawn Circle.

• Friday, Aug. 18, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. - Southside Women, Infant and Children Office, 509 E. Southside Plaza.

Call the Richmond and Henrico COVID-19 Hotline at (804) 205-3501 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday for more information on testing sites, or go online at vax.rchd.com.

The Virginia Department of Health also has a list of COVID-19 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:

• Wednesday, Aug. 23, 10 a.m. to noon - Henrico West Health Department, 8600 Dixon Powers Drive, Bivalent Moderna boosters for ages 6 and older, Bivalent Pfizer boosters for ages 5 and older, Novavax primary shots for ages 12 and older, JYNNEOS shots and Moderna/Pfizer 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 (1-877-829-4682). VaccineFinder.org and vaccines.gov also allow people to find nearby pharmacies and clinics that offer the COVID-19 vaccine and booster.

Those who are getting a booster shot should bring their vaccine card to confirm the date and type of vaccine received. RHHD also offers at-home vaccinations by calling (804) 205-3501 to schedule appointments.

The Pfizer booster is approved for ages 12 and up, while the new Moderna booster is for ages 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 also offer bivalent Pfizer and Moderna boosters to children between the ages of 5 and 11. Children in this age range will be eligible after at least two months since their last vaccine dose.

On April 26, Virginia Commonwealth University opened the College of Humanities and Sciences’ new 168,000-square-foot STEM building.

The six-floor building, located at the site of the former Franklin Street Gym at 817 W. Franklin St., will expand lab, classroom and office space for the College of Humanities and Sciences. Nearly 60% of VCU undergraduate students are enrolled in the college, which is home to 17 departments, two schools and three programs.

Cityscape Slices of life and scenes in Richmond

Hub, a dedicated space for student/faculty interaction, study groups and specialized support for STEM classes; two 250-seat, team-based learning classrooms; computer labs; and largeand small-capacity flexible classrooms. It will feature instructional wet and dry labs and classrooms for teaching STEM subjects.

The $125 million building was designed by Ballinger and Quinn Evans Architects and constructed by Hourigan.

The STEM building will feature 32 teaching labs; the Math Exchange, an innovative facility for math instruction; a Science

The photo above left shows when construction of the new building was underway.

Glen Lea teacher receives health and physical education award after facing personal health challenges

By Darlene M. Johnson

When diagnosed with heart failure during the 2021-2022 school year, Glen Lea Elementary School educator Dexter Price did not plan to continue teaching.

With the support and encouragement from his wife and fellow educator, Denise Price, his supervisor, Mark Brandenburg, and Glen Lea’s principal, James Gordon, Mr. Price changed his mind and returned to work shortly before the school year ended.

Upon his return, Mr. Price, 64, who teaches health and physical education to students in kindergarten through fifth grade, helped make significant changes to sports at the school. His work did not go unnoticed. Mr. Price earned one of three awards for health and physical education teacher of the 2022-2023 school year for Henrico County Public Schools.

After returning to Glen Lea in September 2021, Mr. Price went on family medical leave two months later in November when aftter learning his heart diagnosis. Although his journey from that point wasn’t easy, Mr. Price persevered.

Following his doctor’s orders, he was put on a defibrillator and pacemaker. He followed a daily fitness regimen to gradually increase his cardio. Initially he could only walk for five minutes before becoming tired. He noticed improvement in two months. His primary care physician and cardiologist worked with him to increase his stamina so that he could pass a physical before returning to work.

Throughout the process was the constant support of Mrs. Price, who was diagnosed with heart failure 20 years ago. She helped him build himself back up, said Mr. Price, to the extent that he returned to Glen Lea to complete the 2021-2022 school year.

Mr. Price also taught the full 20222023 school year, where he continued to help implement multiple sports programs at Glen Lea with full support from the school’s administration, said Ed Schneck, the school’s assistant principal. In addition to coaching basketball and soccer for second through fifth grade students, he coaches tennis, volleyball and track and field for third through fifth

Glen Lea Elementary School educator

Photos courtesy of Dexter Price

Dexter Price credits his wife, Denise, for encouraging him to continue teaching, despite his medical challenges. Below, Mr. Price has coached multiple sports for various grade levels since joining Glen Lea more than six years ago.

Shaw University in North Carolina, he said. He previously taught at Reid Elementary School in Richmond, and has taught at Glen Lea for more than six years.

“In this initial year of these sports occurring at Glen Lea, Coach Price exceeded all expectations and provided not only Glen Lea Elementary opportunities, but our surrounding schools the same opportunities,” Mr. Schneck stated in an email.

“I’m just honored to win the award because I was at my lowest,” Mr. Price said. “When I came back, the principal just lit a fire in me.”

Mr. Price does not plan to retire anytime soon, he said. For the upcoming school year, he plans to help implement a “path to college” program where students can visit colleges and universities to give them early exposure to higher education.

Chesterfield County Public Schools and Richmond Public Schools also recognized athletics teachers this year. Kate Doctor, a teacher in the Health Professions and

grade students. And if that’s not enough, Mr. Price leads free sports camps for Glen Lea and students from other area schools. To help inspire and motivate his students, Mr. Price invites guests such as Andre Ingram of the South Bay Lakers, and former NBA player Terry Davis to speak and spend time with students. His goal is to inform the youngsters that whatever they strive for is achievable if they put in the work.

Born and raised in Washington, D.C.,

Mr. Price served in the U.S. Marines between 1978 and 1985 before attending

Therapies Specialty Center at Monacan High School, won both Teacher of the Year and High School Teacher of the Year for Chesterfield County Public Schools. Ms. Doctor teaches exercise science, sports medicine and introduction to health and medical science, according to Chesterfield County Public Schools.

Tyrail “Ty” White, a teacher and the head basketball coach at John Marshall High School, received the Lucille Ball Impact Award for Richmond Public Schools. The award recognizes faculty and staff that have greatly impacted students, according to Richmond Public Schools.

Afro-Puerto Rican orchestra Kadencia appears on Apple TV+ Series ‘Swagger’

By Darlene M. Johnson

Virginia-based Afro-Puerto Rican orchestra, Kadencia, appears in Season 2, Episode 7 of the Apple TV+ series “Swagger.”

“Swagger” is a basketball drama TV series loosely based on the life of NBA superstar Kevin Durant. Seasons one and two of “Swagger” were filmed in Richmond and feature extras from the area.

The episode premiered Aug. 4 and features original music from the group’s sophomore album “En Otro Barrio” throughout. Songs include “Bagazo,” “Puerto Rico Te Extraño” and “Oye,” which are played in the native Puerto Rican rhythms of Bomba and Plena. The band contributed an authentic Puerto Rican sound to the story of character Nick Mendez, a Puerto Rican

high school basketball star playing in the DMV after relocating to America after Hurricane Maria. Members of Kadencia appear in the opening scene of the episode.

Kadencia is an 11-piece band led by the father-son duo of Maurice Sanabria and Maurice “Tito” Sanabria, with members from Richmond, Chesterfield, Henrico and the Tri-Cities. The band is a member of the Virginia Commission for the Arts Performing Arts Touring Directory and preserves, promotes and plays the Afro-Puerto Rican musical genres of Bomba and Plena, according to its news release.

The band recorded its sophomore album, En Otro Barrio” at Minimum Wage Recording in Richmond. The album was selected as one of the Top 20 albums released by Puerto Rican artists by Puerto Rico’s National Foundation for Popular Culture.

Compiled by George Copeland Jr.

Photos by Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

Plunky

I-95 Express Lanes, Fredericksburg extension open

New road estimated to save drivers 35 minutes when coming from D.C. during rush hour

Free Press staff report

A new, 10-mile extension of the 95 Express Lanes to Fredericksburg opens to mainline traffic late on Aug. 17, according to the Gov. Glenn A. Youngkin administration.

“Our robust economy is getting another boost today as the 95 Express Lanes provide faster, more reliable transportation along one of the Commonwealth’s busiest stretches of highway,” stated Gov. Youngkin in a news release. “Through the continued power of public-private partnerships, investment in local and regional communities and booming job creation, we are solidifying Virginia’s status as a great place to do business.”

The $670 million project, a public-private partnership between the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and Transurban, broke ground in 2019 with construction led by a joint venture of Branch Flatiron.

The extension is expected to deliver economic development benefits to the Fredericksburg and Stafford communities by creating more than 9,100 jobs, generating $1.1 billion in economic activity and investing over $75 million in procurement from Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) and Small, Womenowned and Minority-owned (SWaM) designated businesses, the announcement stated.

With an added 10 miles of high-occupancy toll lanes, the

95 and 395 Express Lanes are the longest reversible roads in the United States, spanning from the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., to the Rappahannock River in the Fredericksburg area.

Once the extension is open to customers, drivers can experience 10 more miles of Express Lanes with access to the length of the project, with additional access at Route 17, Courthouse Road and Russell Road opening to traffic in late 2023. The extension will see a 66% increase in capacity during rush hour, saving travelers as much as 35 minutes on a trip from Washington, D.C., to Fredericksburg and easing congestion in one of the worst regions for traffic nationwide.

RRHA ushering in new initiatives for jobs, health and safety

Continued from A1

as forklift operating to construction trades, entry level health care, retail sales and administrative posts.

The authority, he said, also will team up with the Virginia Health Department and the Richmond City Health District to promote resident health and wellness through the restoration and expansion of services that were located in RRHA sites before being disrupted by the pandemic.

To upgrade security, RRHA is bringing on board Fairfax-based Sentry Security Force, which has served other public housing authorities, including Charlottesville and Norfolk. RRHA has signed a contract to pay the company up to $1 million a year for its services.

This would be the first RRHA security force since the authority disbanded its police force nine years ago and began paying the Richmond Police Department to patrol its communities. The arrangement has fallen off as a result of a shortage of police officers.

For Ms. Olds and others, having an internal RRHA security is seen as a necessity to restore a sense of safety that has been lacking.

Ms. Olds said RPD cars mostly just drive through with officers having little connection to residents. Dedicated security, she said, would allow officers to get to know the residents.

“We want to be able to sit on our porches and have children

Kim D. Saunders dies at 61

Continued from A1

led the bank until her death nearly 30 years later.

In 2003, Ms. Saunders was brought in to replace the management that led the bank into serious financial trouble after 100 years of operation. As president and chief executive officer, she guided Consolidated’s sale to a Washington institution in 2005 and remained at the helm for two years during the transition.

She also served on the boards of the Virginia Port Authority and the Virginia Housing Authority while president of Consolidated.

In 2007, she was tapped to serve as president and chief executive officer of the then 100-year-old Durham-based Mechanics and Farmers Bank. During her seven-year tenure, she was credited with leading the bank’s first acquisition in 86 years and helping the institution double its asset base to more than $300 million.

Ms. Saunders left Mechanics and Farmers Bank in 2014 to become founding president and chief executive officer of Eads Consulting Group, which she created to help community banks and community development financial institutions improve their management and become more strategic in their lending.

She was still leading the consulting group at the time of her death.

Ms. Saunders began her banking career after graduating in 1982 with a degree in finance and economics from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

Marked as a leader, she rose relatively quickly from entry level to management.

Within 12 years, she had become the executive vice president and chief lending officer for Enterprise Federal Savings Bank. She spent three years there and then moved on to City First Bank of D.C., where she served as executive vice president and chief lending officer for five years and served as interim president during the illness of the president. Her experience resulted in her being brought to Richmond to become president and chief executive officer of Consolidated.

Ms. Saunders was a former member of community bank advisory committees and councils of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Richmond Federal Reserve Bank. She also served on the board of the National Bankers Association.

Ms. Saunders also served as treasurer of the North Carolina Museum of the Arts Foundation, and was a member of the board and audit committee of the United Way of the Greater Triangle of Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill, and of the board of visitors of the Wake Forest Baptist Health Medical Center.

be able to play outside,” Ms. Olds said, but that requires a police presence, she continued, to deter people who are out to make trouble.

She also said that senior residents also need regular patrols of their buildings to prevent break-ins and prevent them from other dangers.

Mr. Nesmith said that the company would provide nine officers to work in RRHA’s six major communities and its senior citizen developments, work with RPD officers, and be a resident-led initiative that would rely on the input and feedback of residents

of the communities they patrol.

RRHA has not disclosed the contract or the potential cost of the company’s services, which the Free Press was told still needs formal approval from the authority’s board.

Ultimately, he said, having security officers will increase the ability to spot problems and hopefully reduce potential violence that disrupts residents’ safety.

What “we are trying to do is create the kind of change that people who live in our communities can believe in and take part in to change their lives,” Mr. Nesmith said.

Gilpin Court residents ancestry project enables them to reclaim their time

Continued from A1

Gilpin,” a desire she said was shared with her by some of the neighborhood’s generational residents during the project.

“My hope is that, by example, they will see the greatness in their ancestors and own it for themselves,” Dr. Royster said. “They aspire to be more than invisible. I hope to show them that they can be more.”

Dr. Royster had investigated and identified the ancestry of 10 of the oldest Black families in Fredericksburg across two years as part of a previous Reclaiming Our Time project. The results of that project were shared last year with participants in the city, with the ultimate goal of expanding understanding of the history of AfricanAmericans in Fredericksburg.

It was this project that led Reggie Gordon, formerly Richmond’s deputy chief administrative officer for the city’s Office of Human Services, to suggest she start a similar project in Richmond when she reached out to discuss her genealogical work with him. Mr. Gordon’s oversight included the departments of Social Services, Justice Services and the Office of Community Wealth Building.

“I think it’s important for us to expand the narrative about people who live in our

communities,” said Mr. Gordon, who now is president and CEO of the Richmond Memorial Health Foundation. “Everyone has dignity and an important story to tell as part of our Richmond story, as part of our national story, global story.”

For Ms. Brown, also a nine-year resident of Gilpin Court, she was inspired to join the project to uncover potential health issues in her family in order to address them and help ensure her a long and healthy life.

“I wanted to go back and start looking at my family for my health,” Ms. Brown said.

“I was looking for a little bit of a fountain of youth within my own family.”

Dr. Royster’s research for the project used a combination of DNA samples and other contributions from participants, along with research into various historical records, similar to her work in Fredericksburg. Across eight months, she researched local documents at the Richmond Public Library and information on enslaved and free Black Virginians pulled from the Unknown No Longer collection at the Library of Virginia.

Utilizing colonial records, deeds, burial records and textbooks focused on Black history, Dr. Royster has identified historical connections for participants reaching

back centuries, with some dating as far back to the 1700s. She also accumulated historical data that participants can use to further research their own personal history, including DNA analysis.

“I hope to see that the contributions that their ancestors made in shaping this nation were not small,” Dr. Royster said.

Dr. Royster’s work has not been without its challenges as initial struggles to maintain contact with participants did not always pan out. Some participants also had less knowledge of their families and less information about their personal history to provide.

Despite these issues, the results of Dr. Royster’s research will be shared with participating residents Saturday, Aug. 19, at the Virginia Musuem of History and Culture in the Robins Family Forum.

Participants such as Ms. Bryant are excited.

“I very much look forward to being able to acquire this information and being able to teach my children their history,” Ms. Bryant said, “and hopefully instilling in them the importance of that knowledge so that it could continue to be passed on from generation to generation.”

Reservations for the unveiling is free and available at https://tinyurl.com/mry5vbjr.

School Board demands third-party investigation into June 6 shooting

Continued from A1

Gibson were unsatisfied with its findings based on their experience of the event and review of the report, citing what they saw as inconsistencies in security checks and monitoring during and after the ceremony.

RPS Superintendent Jason Kamras, for his part, sought to counter these claims and requests, pointing to the internal report as providing sufficient answers for the questions board members had throughout the discussion. He also pushed back against criticisms of the report and a perceived lack of transparency as minimizing the work done by his staff.

“You were given a report,” Mr. Kamras said. “If there are items that you would like additional information on, I am happy

to provide them to you to the extent that I can, but I will not abide a public claim that you were not provided with an investigation report because it is simply not true.”

Tensions rose so high that at one point in the discussions Ms. White called for an amendment to the motion for the thirdparty investigation that would suspend Mr. Kamras from his duties if the investigation didn’t happen. That amendment was ultimately withdrawn.

Meanwhile, board members Elizabeth Doerr and Cheryl Burke pointed to the in-progress investigation of the shooting by the Richmond Police Department as reason to not approve and start another. Ms. Doerr also pointed to the “potentially traumatizing” nature of the RPD investigation on RPS staff and teachers, while Ms.

Burke questioned if RPS had the funds for the investigation being sought, highlighting instead the need for state and federal action on gun violence.

Dr. Harris-Muhammed was unmoved by the arguments.

“It is not about RPD and the Commonwealth’s Attorney. It is about how we run the operations in our school division,” she said. “We have the funds — if we can purchase 40 vans and this and that and this and that, we can set aside funding to have a third-party investigation because we cannot police ourselves.”

Mr. Kamras must present two options of companies that can complete the investigation for review and approval by Sunday, Oct. 1, with the findings due at the School Board’s second meeting that same month.

Arthur Ashe Center agreement reached

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

A potential roadblock for the projected $2.4 billion Diamond District development appears to have been cleared, the Free Press has learned, though questions remain on other aspects.

The cleared roadblock involves the aging Arthur Ashe Jr. Athletic Center, the Richmond Public School’s aging sports and convocation building that sits on a key 4-acre piece of Diamond District real estate at the corner of Arthur Ashe Boulevard and Robin Hood Road. City Hall and the Richmond School Board have reached a tentative agreement, the Free Press has been told, that will end a year-long dispute over ownership, allowing the center to eventually be bulldozed and permit the land to be incorporated into the giant development.

While most details remain unavailable and a formal agreement remains to be signed, the tentative deal includes City Hall acknowledging that RPS is the current owner and that a city ordinance would require the school system to receive compensation that could run into the millions of dollars for ceding the title to the city.

For nearly two years, the City Attorney’s

Office had advised Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s administration that the city owned the property and could ignore a city ordinance requiring the proceeds from the sale of school property go to the school system.

Based on that opinion, Leonard Sledge, city director of economic development, repeatedly told City Council and would-be developers that the city could do what it wanted with the Ashe Center property and did not have to recognize an RPS interest.

The School Board didn’t buy that argument and gained the support of veteran corporate attorney Thomas M. Wolf, husband of a former School Board member. Mr. Wolf agreed to represent RPS without charge and issued a memo disputing the city’s claim to ownership with citations of state law and legal cases to back his view.

Meanwhile, some key ingredients of the Diamond District deal appear to remain unsettled.

For example, Mayor Stoney’s administration has not introduced legislation to create the community development authority that is to issue bonds to provide the bulk of the construction money for the stadium.

According to a schedule the city has issued, the stadium is now being designed.

Major League Baseball officials told the city that it wants a new stadium in place for the start of the 2025 minor league season. RVA Diamond Partners, the developer the city has chosen to undertake the redevelopment of the 67 acres, has projected that it would take 18 months to build the stadium.

Every month that there is no CDA approved with members appointed and in place means the bonds remain unissued and unsold, leaving less time for construction to meet the deadline.

MBL could possibly grant an extension.

There also has been no announcement of lease agreements between the development team and the Flying Squirrels and Virginia Commonwealth University, whose baseball team is to use the new facility as well.

Lease payments are one piece of the revenue that will be used to repay the stadium-building money that will be raised by selling the bonds, the city previously disclosed.

At this point, the working assumption is that the development is moving ahead as planned.

Judge suspends order to put casino issue on Nov. ballot

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

A Richmond judge will decide whether to allow a charitable gaming group to challenge the constitutionality of the city’s selection of a casino operator and potentially prevent a planned vote on whether to have a casino in the Nov. 7 general election.

Chief Circuit Court Judge William R. Marchant on Tuesday temporarily suspended his July 25 order putting the casino issue on the ballot while he considers whether to allow Richmondbased Good Lions to intervene.

He said he would issue his decision next Wednesday, Aug. 23.

Among the key issues the judge said he is weighing is whether Good Lions has standing or is legally entitled to challenge the city’s action and whether a legal challenge to his order is appropriate, rather than a separate lawsuit.

He issued the suspension on the 21st day after he signed the order, the last day before it would become final. Under state Supreme Court rules, lower courts lose jurisdiction over cases after three weeks have passed.

Good Lions, which raises money for charity by operating bingo games in South Side and views the casino as a threat to its revenue, filed its request to intervene last Friday, just a few days before the 21-day deadline.

The charity’s main claim, according to attorney Christopher T. Robertson, is that the referendum order Judge Marchant issued is invalid because City Council violated the state constitution by choosing a casino operator without first seeking competitive bids for the lucrative franchise as required.

Richmond political strategist Paul Goldman first broached that point, and the charity picked up his argument.

Mr. Robertson told Judge Marchant the charity is not challenging the rest of the process that led to the judge’s order.

Wirt P. Marks, a senior assistant city attorney, responded at

the hearing that the city does not believe the state constitutional provision the charity is citing applies in this case as city property is not involved.

Mr. Marks also argued that the city met all of the statutory requirements to secure the court order, that the charity lacks standing and that any constitutional challenge should be brought in a separate lawsuit.

The potential for a constitutional challenge began in June after the council backed Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s recommendation for a new no-bid award to RVA Entertainment Holdings LLC, a joint venture that includes Maryland-based Black radio and media company Urban One and Kentucky-based horse racing giant Churchill Downs.

Two years ago, Urban One, which then reported it would solely own RVA Entertainment Holdings, first won council’s endorsement after a competitive bid process, though city voters narrowly rejected in a November vote that year the casino Urban One proposed to go on 100 acres of land at the Bells Road interchange of Interstate 95.

Blocked by the General Assembly from holding a second referendum in 2022 when RVA Entertainment also was the city’s choice, Mayor Stoney and the council came back this year for another attempt at securing approval for a casino at the Bells Road site from a majority of voters.

Arthur Ashe Jr. Athletic Center

What’s in a name?

Richmond has gone to considerable expense to get rid of its public display of affection for its Confederate and slavery past.

So it seems only right that the city School Board approved replacing the name of George Wythe, the great Virginia legal scholar and teacher, for being a slave owner. (Even though Mr. Wythe became an outspoken opponent of slavery and promoted emancipation, freeing his own slaves and arguing for everyone else to do so.)

But is the replacement name, Richmond High School for the Arts, the right choice?

In our view, that name that will be used when the new replacement high school finally opens should be a citywide operation open to any students interested in dance, music, singing, painting and other arts.

As it stands now, the school will be limited to serve those students who live within the school’s designated attendance zone. The School Board and the administration apparently talked about the idea of a citywide program, but did nothing to advance it.

That is a mistake. Young people who are eager to be engaged in the arts should have that opportunity by attending a specialized school that exists for them.

Now, thanks to shortsighted planning and a lack of vision by school leaders, some portion of the new school’s student body will be forced to participate in programs that fail to meet their needs.

Another question to be resolved: What will be the arts programming focus? Is it just to introduce students to performance or will this be a place that will promote career training?

The arts are a major industry, which requires people who can record music, market artists, design costumes, film productions, write or fill other crucial positions that allow a performer to appear in front of an audience.

Indeed, scores of RPS graduates have made or are making names for themselves in various artistic and creative spaces.

Consider the culinary arts, for example. Ever heard of or ate at Soul Taco and Jewfro in Richmond’s Shockoe Bottom area? If you have and left one of its venues smacking your lips, thank William “Trey” Owens, the venues’ owner and proprietor who is a “proud” graduate of Richmond Community High School.

Although Mr. Owens honed his craft by watching his grandmother cook, one can only imagine how his future would have been baked had he been introduced to the culinary arts in high school or even middle school.

“I’ve always had a passion for cuisine whether it be through consumption or production,” Mr. Owens states in an BLKRVA online interview. “I had no idea restaurant ownership was possible for me, but by sheer nature of me taking a ‘fly by the seat of my pants’ approach to life, an opportunity came along and I had to seize it.”

Another culinary artist, Shenarri Freeman, was featured in the Free Press one year ago after she appeared on a panel with other chefs and food experts at the Black-owned Salamander resort in Middleburg. Ms. Freeman is a 2011 graduate of Richmond Community High School who started cooking 11 years ago at the 9:30 Club, a Washington, D.C., concert hall. Then a pre-physical therapy student at Howard University, she took the gig to get free concert tickets.

Simple entrees were prepared and served: olive tapenade, hummus, vegan chili, sandwiches.

At the time, Ms. Freeman, who grew up in Richmond surrounded by a family of talented cooks who prepared heavy, traditional southern meals, had no real interest in developing her own culinary skills.

Now based in New York, she prepares mouth-watering meals as executive chef at Cadence, a James Beard-nominated vegan restaurant in New York’s East Village that has been described as “a breakout vegan hit.” In the past year alone, Ms. Freeman’s work repeatedly has been reviewed or mentioned in The New York Times, Vogue and other publications.

Then there is actor, director, producer and writer Tamika Lamison, a 1987 graduate of Jefferson-Huguenot-Wythe High School (Remember when the three schools were combined?). Ms. Lamison, who lives in Los Angeles, is well known in the motion picture and television industry for her work, including her Make a Film Foundation, which grants film wishes to children and teenagers who have serious or life-threatening medical conditions. MAFF helps the youngsters create short film legacies by teaming them with noted actors, writers and directors.

Her writing skills talents were not lost on journalists who mentored her during a Dow Jones Newspaper Fund summer training program before she graduated high school. (Sadly, as years passed, the number of student participants from Richmond Public Schools dwindled.)

Ms. Lamison’s studies include performing arts and theatre at Howard and American Universities, and directing at the American Film Institute. In addition to MAFF, she is executive director of the CDDP- Commercial Directors Diversity Program, an inclusion program for historically underrepresented directors.

Ms. Lamison’s latest milestone involves traveling to Nashville, Tenn. where her script, “Superman Doesn’t Steal,” is a finalist in the Academy Award/Oscar qualifying Nashville Film Festival.

“Super stoked that my script made it all the way to the finalist round to be considered for the win,” Ms. Lamison, the daughter of a former RPS educator, recently posted on her Facebook page. “Excellent energetic validation as we endeavor to bring this personal story to life.”

Our point is clear. This new school needs to be more than a place where students perform in plays or concerts. It needs to be a game changer in how its curated arts programming attracts talented teachers and students by partnering with universities and industries where performing, visual and media arts not only survive, but thrive.

Not a ‘brawl,’ but a vicious attack

We need to watch our language.

The debacle at the Montgomery Pier, where enslaved people were once offloaded and sold, is described as a “brawl.”

The dictionary says a “brawl” is a “fight or quarrel in a rough and noisy way.”

The Saturday, Aug. 5, attack on a Black dock worker, Damien Pickett, who attempted to do his job, should be described as a vicious and racist attack, not a brawl. To be sure, thanks to the vigilant Black people who defended a conscientious worker, an attack descended into a brawl, but let’s not make it a mutual thing. According to the video I saw, three white men attacked a Black man, and others attempted to defend him, with one swimming across the water to protect him.

Language is essential, especially in a racial context. The massacre in Tulsa, Okla., in 1921 was described as a “riot.” But Black folks weren’t rioting. They were trying to live. Economically envious

white people attacked Black people and property on a ruse. Even today, though, the events of Tulsa are described as a “riot” without attributing the genesis of the violence to white people. Indeed, thousands lost their homes and were incarcer-

ated in a so-called “riot” that was nothing more than white people hating the reality of Black wealth.

So when at least three probably drunken white men attack a Black man, don’t call it a brawl. Call it what it is. A manifestation of antiblackness. An attack on a man just trying to do his job. A justified defense of others who loathed how a senior man was kicked and stomped by unrestrained idiots. An attack, and then perhaps a brawl.

Language is important. I am exhausted, for example, from hearing people talk about “white supremacy.” There is no white supremacy. If the Montgomery debacle is any example, there is white unrestrained drunken inferiority. Whenever we say “white supremacy,” we promote the myth of white delusions. Structurally, a system has been

developed to advance whiteness and its twisted attempts at supremacy. Every time we use the term “white supremacy,” we reinforce the myth. Can we call it white delusions, white myopia, or white ignorance?

Black supremacy is such that a Black man, Nathaniel Alexander, invented the folding chair used as a defense instrument at the Montgomery Wharf. Black supremacy is such that we are still here, despite the Caucasity and the ignorance of some white men who so resented a Black man in authority that they chose to attack him. Black supremacy is such that, in the words of Dr. Maya Angelou, “Still we rise.” But Black folks aren’t asking for supremacy (although we exhibit it daily); we are simply demanding equality.

All Mr. Pickett was trying to do was his job. White delusionalists seem to strongly object to a Black man instructing them to move their boat. There was no supremacy in their attack on an unarmed Black man, and they should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Jail time is a mild penalty for their absurd behavior.

The African-Americans who attempted to defend the dock worker and boat co-pilot are to

Defend democracy, demand diversity, defeat poverty

“For more than 100 years, this organization has worked to bring our country together in coalition in the collective fight for the freedom, rights, and justice of all people. ... We know we have more work to do, being clear-eyed about the moment we are in — a moment when state by state in places like Texas and Florida, extremist so-called leaders attack hard-won rights and freedoms.”

— Vice President Kamala Harris, national Urban leagUe 2023 conference

During my first National Urban League Conference in Pittsburgh in 2003, just weeks after I became president and CEO, I outlined a five-point Empowerment Agenda that evolved into the Five Pillars of our movement: Employment, Education, Housing, Healthcare, and Justice.

Twenty years later to the day, at our Conference in Houston, I introduced a new phase of advocacy and activism — Empowerment 2.0 — that builds upon the foundation of the Five Pillars through what I call the Three Ds.

The first D is Defend Democracy. We will, and we must, demand the full restoration of the Voting Rights Act. We demand fair representation in Congress and state legislatures and an end to racially-based gerrymandering. We demand freedom of expression and freedom of speech, and we will not comply with book bans and warped lesson plans designed to erase us from history and force our LGBTQ brethren back into the closet. With 2024 around

the corner, and states purging their voting rolls and erecting barriers to the ballot box, we are going to need an effort like never before.

The second D is Demand Diversity. We insist on diversity, equity and inclusion in all aspects of American life, from our

courtrooms to our classrooms and campuses, from our factory floors and construction sites to our C-suites and every workplace in America. We must level the playing field, so that our children and children’s children have an equal opportunity to succeed.

The third D is Defeat Poverty.

In order to close all racial income and wealth gaps, we will focus on closing gaps in education, healthcare, housing and justice. For a nation with a $23 trillion economy, our double digit levels of poverty and even more people living on the brink, is unacceptable.

The 20th century Civil Rights Movement of our fathers and grandfathers was a movement to defeat the white supremacist terrorism of Jim Crow. When I came to the Urban

League in 2003, we were facing a new villain: James Crow, Esquire, who wore a suit and a tie instead of a robe and hood, and spoke of “states” rights” and “welfare queens” instead of the n-word.

Twenty years later, we are facing the son of James and the grandson of Jim: Jimmy Crow. Not content with suppressing Black votes, he seeks the power to ignore election results altogether. He rants about “replacement theory” and “Critical Race Theory.”

We are engaged in a battle for the future of this nation. It is clear that the progress, hard fought, since the Brown decision, is under assault on every front. From the Supreme Court to right-wing state legislatures, to cable talk shows, to the utterances of some governors, presidential candidates, members of Congress and the United States Senate — it seems they are trying to bend that moral arc not toward justice, but backward to a dark time, long gone.

With the Three Ds as our battle cry and our clarion call, this generation of Urban League leaders, partners, and supporters is prepared to face the headwinds that lie before us.

The writer is the president and CEO of the National Urban League.

The Free Press welcomes letters

The Richmond Free Press respects the opinions of its readers. We want to hear from you. We invite you to write the editor. All letters will be considered for publication. Concise, typewritten letters related to public matters are preferred. Also include your telephone number(s). Letters should be addressed to: Letters to the Editor, Richmond Free Press, P.O. Box 27709, 422 East Franklin Street, Richmond, VA 23261, or faxed to: (804) 643-7519 or e-mail: letters@richmondfreepress.com.

be commended, and the community is to be commended for its spirit of “no more.” No more will people stand by and allow a Black man to be attacked by white thugs. No more will people stand silent and accept white delusionalism. Enough.

Watching the Montgomery madness brought me to tears because it reminded me of the many times Black women have swallowed white insults and, careful for their survival, refused to say anything. They took it because they had no choice in the 1950s and early 1960s. We have a choice now. There was no brawl; it was madness precipitated by an unwarranted attack. When referenced, this incident should be a response to an attack, not an equal brawl suggesting both sides had a grievance. A man was attacked. His community fought back. Enough.

The writer is an economist, author and commentator.

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Julianne Malveaux

Vaccines provide hope and care

Seven years after my father passed, I recently experienced an unexpected emotion: Hope.

His death at the youthful age of 52 came as a shock. He was my best friend, cheerleader and confidante, and despite being a marathon runner and all-around healthy person, he was diagnosed with brain cancer. His prognosis of six months jarred our family, sending us into a tailspin of clinical research trials and medical jargon that our family struggled to understand.

Being an undergraduate student of public health at the time, I frantically hurled myself into self-study. Maybe if I could understand the intricacies of a National Institutes of Health study, I could figure out how to help my dad. But these epiphanies never came, and

after just two months of illness my dad succumbed to the cancer, ultimately becoming just another statistic highlighted in my textbooks.

In the years since, I have dabbled in different careers focused on helping others, ultimately returning to the

Bel-Kelly Russo

field of public health. I believe these altruistic efforts to be an attempt at emulating my father’s goodwill.

An advocate in every sense of the word, my dad was a legal representative for Vietnam veterans whose children had been born with Spina Bifida, a result of the Agent Orange chemical inhaled during their service. Although he had not spent any time in military service himself, he had given every fiber of his being to ensure these veterans were treated with dignity and respect, as well as fairly compensated. Ironically, his

demise was due to a glioblastoma, an illness commonly linked to military service exposure to Agent Orange. As the years have gone by since his death, this paradox has remained a particularly harsh reality.

The other day, though, I felt a deep hope for others whose loved ones are suffering the same diagnosis as my dad. One story in particular caught my eye: A daughter whose time with her father since the onset of his illness has been nearly twice as long as doctors expected. This is due, in large part, to the advent of a new and experimental peptide mimic immunotherapeautic vaccine, also known as the “cancer vaccine.”

If we believe the adage, “the personal is the political,” then the following is also true: The personal is public. Public health impacts each one of us, and vice versa, the decisions we make as individuals impact others. I am happy to have stuck with public health, and to now be able to

advocate for vaccination. While I know it is ultimately a personal choice to vaccinate oneself or one’s children, I hope that for the sake of the public good, you will embrace the values that my dad carried with him to the end and consider the impact your decision has on the health of others.

The decision to vaccinate is a decision rooted in caring about others. Herd immunity is what keeps our most vulnerable people, those undergoing chemotherapy like my dad, safe and able to live as normal a life as possible.

August is National Immunization Awareness Month, and I am choosing to use it to highlight the existence of innovative new vaccines, such as those targeting glioblastomas, as well as vaccines being developed to prevent breast cancer and reduce the risk of melanoma spread. I dream of a future in which children won’t lose parents suddenly to these cruel illnesses and I know that my work

is currently contributing to a world in which parents don’t lose children to vaccine-preventable diseases like measles, pertussis, and even HPVrelated cancers.

Funny enough, one of my most vibrant memories from my pre-teen years was how adamant my dad was about taking my sister and me to get the HPV vaccine. This act on his behalf was an act of caring. Likewise, I hope we choose to care about one another, because whether you want to believe in them or not, vaccines are the single most life-saving advancement of medical science. More than anything perhaps, they are a source of abiding hope for our future.

The writer is a program associate with Virginia’s immunization coalition, ImmunizeVA, a project of the Institute for Public Health Innovation. She can be reached at ikellyrusso@ institutephi.org

Recovery and reflection

Hawaii works to identify wildfire’s 107 dead

LAHAINA, Hawaii Hawaii officials worked painstakingly to identify the 107 people confirmed killed in wildfires that ravaged Maui and expected to release the first names Tuesday, even as teams intensified the search for more dead in neighborhoods reduced to ash.

A week after a blaze tore through historic Lahaina, many who survived have started moving into hundreds of hotel rooms set aside for displaced locals while donations of food, ice, water and other essentials have poured in.

Crews using cadaver dogs have scoured about 25% of the search area, the police chief said Monday. Gov. Josh Green asked for patience and space to do the search properly as authorities became overwhelmed with requests to visit the burn area.

“For those people who have walked into Lahaina because they really wanted to see, know that they’re very likely walking on iwi,” he said at a news conference on Maui, using the Hawaiian word for “bones.”

Gov. Green warned that scores more bodies could be

found. The wildfires, some of which have not yet been fully contained, are already the deadliest in the U.S. in more than a century. Their cause was under investigation.

Authorities paused a system that had allowed Lahaina residents and others to visit devastated areas with police permits.

Kevin Eliason said when he was turned away, the line of cars with people waiting to get a placard had grown to at least 3 miles (5 kilometers) long.

“It’s a joke,” Mr. Eliason said. “It’s just crazy. They didn’t expect, probably, tens of thousands of people to show up there.”

The blaze that swept into centuries-old Lahaina last week destroyed nearly every building in the town of 13,000. That fire has been 85% contained, according to the county. Another blaze known as the Upcountry fire has been 65% contained.

Even where the fire has retreated, authorities have warned that toxic byproducts may remain, including in drinking water, after the flames spewed poisonous fumes. That has left many unable to return home.

The Red Cross said 575

City of Richmond, Virginia Richmond Circuit Court

PUBLIC NOTICE

Notice is hereby given to the voters of the City of Richmond, Virginia, in accordance with Sections 24.2-682, 24.2-684, and 58.1-4123 of the Code of Virginia, a referendum shall be held during the general election of Tuesday, November 7, 2023, on the following question:

CASINO GAMING

Shall casino gaming be permitted at a casino gaming establishment in the City of Richmond, Virginia, at 2001 Walmsley Boulevard and 4700 Trenton Avenue, Richmond, Virginia 23234 as may be approved by the Virginia Lottery Board?

Attendees embrace during a church service at King’s Cathedral in Kahului on the island of Maui, Hawaii.

evacuees were spread across five shelters on Monday, including the War Memorial Gymnasium in Wailuku. Gov. Green said thousands of people will need housing for at least 36 weeks.

More than 3,000 people have registered for federal

assistance, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and that number was expected to grow.

“We’re not taking anything off the table, and we’re going to be very creative in how we use our authorities to help build communities and help people

find a place to stay for the longer term,” agency administrator

Deanne Criswell said.

FEMA has started to provide $700 to displaced residents to cover the cost of food, water, first aid and medical supplies.

The money is in addition to whatever amount residents

qualify for to cover the loss of homes and personal property.

President Joe Biden’s administration is seeking $12 billion more for the government’s disaster relief fund as part of its supplemental funding request to Congress.

Gov. Green said “leaders all across the board” have helped by donating over a million pounds (454,000 kilograms) of food as well as ice, water, diapers and baby formula.

“When people are hurting, the community steps up and takes care of each other,” Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke said at a news conference Monday.

A small number of active duty U.S. Marines also have joined the aid efforts.

Meanwhile, the local power utility has faced criticism for not shutting off power as strong winds buffeted a parched area under high risk for fire. It’s not clear whether the utility’s equipment played any role in igniting the flames.

The NBA has been playing to a hip-hop beat for nearly 50 years

By Kyle Hightower and Alanis Thames

The Associated Press

From his booth at the corner of the court, Miami Heat disc jockey M Dot has a front-row look at the harmonious fusion of basketball and music.

M Dot — real name Michael Hankerson — has watched LeBron James and Dwyane Wade to Jimmy Butler nod their heads in pregame layup lines to songs from artists like Drake and Jeezy. He’s seen fans mumble song lyrics between cheers, and rap artists hype up the crowd during timeouts.

It’s a relationship that began in the late 1970s, early ’80s as hip-hop was taking flight, and so was a new NBA era.

Today, basketball games are like a playground for the sounds of hiphop — the unmistakable music genre infused with rhythmic beats and vivid storytelling.

Just as a movie soundtrack helps viewers follow the action of the narrative through each plot twist, hip-hop has done the same for basketball via the NBA. Over the past five decades, the genre has inserted lyrics, beats and culture into the sport’s DNA. Now, as hip-hop reaches its 50th anniversary, the two are intertwined like a colorful, crisscrossed ball of yarn.

“Hip-hop has always been young, fresh, relatable,” M Dot said. “If you were to attend any NBA game, I would go as far as to say it’s probably a third of the music being played.”

Other sports certainly have been touched by hip-hop culture over the decades. But by nature of sharing the same playgrounds as the musical genre’s birthplace, the kinship with basketball

has always been different.

“I think the relationship between basketball and hip-hop, they seem kind of symbiotic. They both allow for individual expression within a team dynamic,” said Mark Campbell, University of Toronto professor of music and culture. “What makes them unique is that a lot of times what’s memorable about basketball is not how many wins a team made, but it is about how Dr. J (Julius Erving) went around the rim, or how an individual player created poetry in motion...how they made the body do interesting and dynamic and new things.”

Many hip-hop artists and basketball players have lived similar ragsto-riches stories, making for a natural brotherhood on and off the court.

Remnants of that connection have roots in the infant days of the genre.

Sugar Hill Gang’s “Rappers Delight”

— the first rap song to appear on Billboard’s Hot 100 — linked hardwood to drum machine in 1979 when Big Bank Hank rapped, “So after school, I take a dip in the pool, which is really on the wall/I got a color TV so I can see the Knicks play basketball.”

Kurtis Blow did it again in 1984 with “Basketball,” his lyrical ode to the sport and another of rap’s earliest commercial successes.

“Basketball by the middle of the 80s after the merger with the NBA and with the ABA, is struggling to be a profitable professional sport,” Campbell said. “All it really took was someone like (Michael) Jordan to have the swagger of local b-boys in the neighborhood, to have the swagger of anyone hanging outside, or to pick

up the swagger of a Rakim or those guys and put it on a stage where cable television allowed people to see what they couldn’t see in the neighborhoods that they weren’t part of.”

It was the start of a connection that has persisted throughout the decades.

Michigan’s “Fab Five” were college basketball’s first hip-hop team, hitting the scene in 1991, the same year Public Enemy became the first hip-hop group to top Billboard charts.

From their baggy shorts to their black socks and shoes, the five Michigan freshmen — Jalen Rose, Chris Webber, Jimmy King, Juwan Howard and Ray Jackson — brought a personality to the game that was in direct contrast to the toned-down style of the players that came before them.

Bringing elements of hip-hop culture to the court was intentional, King said.

“Most basketball players want to be entertainers, and most entertainers want to be athletes. So we pay attention to each other,” King said. “I think we use the hip-hop genre of music to hype us up for games, keep our spirits up and motivated. And I think that entertainers kind of get that thrill vicariously through the athlete. It just kind of goes hand-in-hand.”

While most teams would break huddles with phrases like “Go Team!” or “Family,” King recalled team Michigan ending with a not-so-subtle line borrowed from the Geto Boys’ 1991 album “We Can’t Be Stopped.”

King said it was a testament to the culture clash they proudly personified.

“It was our brand. It was our style,” he said. “The trash talking, the celebrations, it was just an extension.”

That legacy was passed to Allen

Iverson when he entered the NBA in 1996, embodying hip-hop culture in everything he did, from his clothes to his corn rows. With stars embracing hip-hop in ways never seen before, it all gave the NBA pause and raised concerns in some circles about the league’s more conservative corporate sponsors. Former league Commissioner David Stern even instituted a dress code for players who were on the bench in street clothes. But it was more than a look, the hip-hop/NBA seed had taken hold.

Iverson’s time in the league helped cement an era of NBA players who went from simply consuming hip-hop leisurely and hanging out with its stars, to actually producing their own music.

Iverson, Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, Marcus Smart, Damian Lillard and so many others have actual hip-hop albums.

Lillard, a seven-time All-Star,

is known by his rap persona Dame D.O.L.L.A. in the studio. With four albums to his credit, he often displays his lyrical talent on social media. This past season when a snowstorm left him and his Portland Trail Blazers teammates stranded on the tarmac for seven-plus hours, he used the downtime to pen a quick verse around the ordeal, complete with an impromptu music video shoot.

The kinship between the two worlds remains clear.

Drake and J Cole are just a couple big-named hip-hop artists who are deeply involved with NBA teams. Drake has been a global ambassador for his hometown team the Toronto Raptors since 2013 and is often seen on the sidelines interacting with coaches and players. Cole, who played on his high school basketball team, became a minority owner for the Charlotte Hornets when Michael Jordan sold his majority ownership stake in June.

Holmes, Myers are VUU’s foot soldiers

Brady Myers and Marvin Holmes put the “foot” in football at Virginia Union University.

When the Panthers kick off their season Sept. 3 in Canton, Ohio, Myers and Holmes will be doing the kicking in the HBCU Hall of Fame Classic against Morehouse College. Both enter this season with flashy statistics from last year’s 9-2, NCAA tournament qualifier team.

Place kicker Myers made seven of 11 field goals, most notably the game winner as time expired at Bowie State, and was successful on 54 of 56 point-after boots.

He was first team All-CIAA and has been mentioned on some preseason HBCU AllAmerican lists.

Myers’ 75 total points was second in CIAA to teammate Jada Byers’ 125.

Holmes punted 32 times for a 43.5 average, with four touchbacks, two fair catches and six kicks that stuck opponents inside their own 20-yard line. He suffered only one blocked effort.

“We didn’t have to punt a lot, but when we did Marvin made good things happen,” Coach Alvin Parker said.

“He might have been All-CIAA if we’d been forced to kick more.”

His average was more than two yards farther than any other CIAA punter.

Clarence ‘Chip’ Howard plans JM resurgence

Clarence “Chip” Howard is a big man with a big assignment:

To try and return football glory to the North Side.

At 6-foot-3 and 320 pounds, Coach Howard who looks like he could play NFL noseguard, succeeds John Marshall High School’s former coach, Willie Gillus.

“I see great things ahead,” Coach Howard told the Free Press. “There’s a lot to look forward to.”

The Justices, who open at home Aug. 26 (1 p.m.) against Greensville, were 3-7 last season and 1-3 in 2021, when the program was suspended because of dwindling numbers.

There was no JM football in 2020 due to the pandemic.

“When I was hired inApril, we only had six to eight kids coming for workouts … now it’s more like 25-26,” he said, noting there is no JV program for now. This is a “country comes to city” scenario.

Coach Howard arrived at JM from rural Amelia High where he led the Raiders to a 13-10 record and two Class 2 playoff appearances in two seasons.

Before Amelia, he coached at Southwest Guilford High in High Point, N.C.

There is quality, if not quantity, at the Old Brook Road campus.

Coach Howard is excited about sophomore quarterback Jaylen Williams, who he expects to “lead the team the next few years.”

Senior running back/defensive back Khabeer Adderley has some “18 scholarship offers,” said Coach Howard, who noted that he is the great nephew of former Green Bay Packers cornerback and Super Bowl champion Herb Adderley.

Others in key positions include Marshaun Bega, Jeahvon Singleton, Wayne Williams and Donta Everett. Many of the Justices will be asked to play both offense and defense. Meanwhile, Coach Howard is focused on the future. That means building a better “pipeline” from the nearby Hotchkiss and Battery Park youth programs.

“That’s something we haven’t tapped into enough and many of those kids are winding up at Thomas Jefferson and the county schools,” Coach Howard said.

“We plan on inviting those kids to our games on Fridays and going to their games on Saturdays.”

While there currently are no field lights at JM, there is a new scoreboard, and the field will be dedicated to longtime former Coach Lou Anderson.

After excelling at Highland Springs High, Coach Howard never played at Virginia State University where he earned his degree.

“I made some bad decisions … wasted some opportunities,” he said. “That’s why I got into coaching, to make sure the kids coming along don’t make the same mistakes.”

Holmes had a tough act to follow at VUU. His predecessor, Jefferson Souza, ranks with the Panthers’ most elite kickers ever.

Myers and Holmes represent the near and far of Coach Parker’s fishnet of recruiting.

Myers hails from Orlando, Fla., some 739 miles from Richmond.

“I just told my coaches to go out and get the best kicker they could find, and Brady was the man,” said Coach Parker.

By contrast, Holmes hails from Varina High, just seven miles from Hovey Field. Holmes’ 43.5 norm broke the school record of 40.8 yards set

by Warner Jones in 1997.

Holmes also serves as Brady’s holder on placements.

The Panthers will break in a new kickoff man this season. Andrew Kibler, who averaged 59 yards with 11 touchbacks on 70 kickoffs a year ago, has graduated.

A likely replacement is New Jersey native Josue Hernandez, a transfer from Keystone College, Pa. Hernandez can also punt and place kick. u

The Panthers will bus to Canton two days before the game which will be televised live on the NFL Network. The Sunday matchup could be the most watched VUU game in history.

“We’ll be the only game going on at that time,” Coach Parker said.

Slyderz shine in Inner-City Classic

Carl Smith has seen baseball from an up-close-and-personal vantage point few can match.

Now he’s passing along that wisdom to area up-and-comers.

Coach Smith’s Slyderz U-14 squad finished as co-champions of the Inner-City Classic held two weeks ago at ballparks all over the 804.

The Slyderz went 2-0-1 in the annual event sponsored by Metro Junior Baseball League (MJBL) and were ahead in the finals before the weather forced a premature ending.

The locals were declared co-champs with a team from Trenton, N.J.

Coach Smith’s passion for the sport began in 1985 when he became a Richmond Braves batboy at The Diamond.

For the next few years, while a student at John Marshall High, he became a regular at the facility on Arthur Ashe Boulevard. He later played baseball at Virginia State University.

“I was a batboy, an usher … worked on grounds crew, clean-up crew … you name it, I did it,” he fondly recalled.

He got to know many of the Braves as well as the opposing players, as visitor’s clubhouse attendant.

Among the Braves he remembers most are Dave Justice, who went on to big league fame

Brian Robinson Jr.’s rookie season in Washington couldn’t have started much worse. Nor could it have ended with much more promise.

“I’m appreciative of everything that has been granted me, and I have so much to look forward to,” the running back told Commanders.com as he prepares for his second season in The District.

As the Commanders’ third round draft choice out of Alabama, Robinson was shot twice (in knee and glute) on Aug. 28, 2020, as he was leaving a D.C. restaurant around 6 p.m.

with Atlanta, and infielder Carlos Rios.

“I used to pitch with Carlos all the time … and shagged fly balls during batting practice,” he said.

In addition to coaching the Slyderz, Coach Smith serves as an instructor/coach at RBAWest where he has a travel team, Virginia Seminoles. He is assisted by Tim Bullock. His full-time job is the family business, Shrimps, on West Brookland Park Boulevard.

Hailing from all over the area, the Slyderz included Meckhi Bullock and Tav’ion Tunstall (Varina), Toney Smith (coach’s son) and Eric Johnson (St. Christopher’s), Bryson Freeman (Mechanicsville), Ashton Kemp (Atlee),

It was part of an armed robbery in which two teenagers were arrested and charged with assault with intent to rob while armed with a gun.

The 6-foot-1, 228pound native of Tuscaloosa, Ala., was a quick healer. He was released from the hospital the next day.

The injuries were not life threatening and Robinson returned to the team, and into the

Jordyn Williams (Dinwiddie), Caden Stancil (Thomas Dale), Nafeese Lewis (Fluvanna), Jonathan Love (Highland Springs) and Devon Henry Jr. (Glen Allen).

u

Thanks to dedicated MJBL Director William Forrester and many others, the annual Inner-City Classic was a success despite inclement weather that resulted in creative rescheduling.

More than 400 youngsters up to age 19 competed in the event, with many having time for a discounted Kings Dominion field trip. Looking ahead, Forrester said the 2024 event may be back in Richmond, but Greensboro, N.C., and Orlando, Fla., are other options.

For the first time there was a girls’fast-pitch softball division. The U-18 Tri-City Reign out of Hopewell won top honors. u

The Home Run Derby was held at Hermitage High, which had to make Justin Journette feel at home.

Journette starred at Hemitage before spending this past season as the slugging, freshman third baseman for Norfolk State. Journette, who had eight homers this past spring for NSU, blasted three balls out of the park in 10 swings to win the Derby while representing the U-19 Black Sox.

Exhibition II

Monday, Aug. 21: Baltimore Ravens at Washington Commanders, 8 p.m.

lineup, in Game 5 against Tennessee.

From there, No. 8 led the team in rushing with 797 yards (in just 12 games) while adding nine pass receptions for 60 yards and scoring three touchdowns.

“I watched myself develop and saw myself make strides week after week,” he told the team’s in-house publication.

Stories by Fred Jeter

Associated Press file photo

Toronto Raptors Kawhi Leonard, left, holds his MVP trophy while smiling for the camera with rapper/producer Drake as they celebrate during the team’s 2019 NBA basketball championship during a parade in Toronto.

Robinson’s size and speed commands attention in D.C.

Allen Iverson

Brian Robinson Jr.

Coach Howard

Coach Smith and son Toney Smith

Marvin Holmes Brady Myers

About a decade ago, Mitchell Haddon met Robin Robertson Starr, who then was CEO of the Richmond SPCA. Because of Mr. Haddon’s experience in construction, Ms. Starr had questions about a veterinary hospital that the nonprofit SPCA was considering building.

Their conversation soon segued into the mission of SPCA and its journey.

“Listening to Robin, it was incredible to hear her steadfast conviction, her courage, her drive and intensity to support animals,” Mr. Haddon recalled in a recent phone call. “Hearing the work that had been done, the work for the future and the no-kill concept ... I don’t know if contagious is the right work, but it felt like I needed to do this.”

He and his wife of 10 years, Sabine, quickly decided it was a natural fit. They became financial donors and began supporting some of the nonprofit’s events such as its annual Fur Ball and Dog Jog. In 2016, Mr. Haddon joined SPCA’s board. His two-year term as board president ends next month.

The Richmond SPCA, or Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, was established as a private, local nonprofit in 1891. In 2002, the organization adopted a no-kill policy making it the oldest fullservice, no-kill humane society in Central Virginia.

“It’s easy to say no-kill,” Mr. Haddon said. “It’s very, very hard to make it happen day in and day out.”

Over the last two decades, the Richmond SPCA has made changes within the organization and within the wider community to support its commitment to ending the killing of healthy and treatable dogs and cats and promote its mission that every life is precious. Each year it helps save and find homes for about 4,000 homeless dogs, cats, kittens and puppies.

Its Susan M. Markel Veterinary Hospital also makes a big difference in the community. By

Personality: Mitchell Haddon

Spotlight on Richmond SPCA’s outgoing board chairman

making veterinary care more affordable for low-income households, it can prevent relinquishments and allow more people to become pet owners.

Last year, the hospital served more than 10,400 patients and 5,000 clients — most of whom qualified based upon household income.

All of which fits in with the passion the Haddons share for animals, especially their four horses. Both have competed in show jumping, and while Mr. Haddon retired from the sport several years ago, he says he “lives vicariously” through his wife’s continued competitions.

Four years ago the couple added Royal, a 5-year-old yellow labrador they adopted, to their Glen Allen home.

“She has been an incredible companion for Sabine and me,” Mr. Haddon says of the rewards of adopting, adding there are other ways to make a difference by being a donor, volunteer or attending an SPCA event or program.

“Whether it’s time, talent or treasures, the Richmond SPCA is a place where anyone can volunteer and do something to help,” Mr. Haddon said. “It has given me an opportunity to make a difference. I will forever support this organization.”

Meet the board chairman of Richmond SPCA who is passionate about animals and is this week’s Personality, Mitch Haddon.

Volunteer position: Board chairman, Richmond SPCA.

Occupation: President and CEO of ColonialWebb Contractors.

Date and place of birth: April 24 in Orlando, Fla.

Where I live now: Glen Allen.

Education: J. Sargeant

Reynolds Community College, associate degree in HVAC. Family: Wife, Sabine, one yellow lab and four horses. Richmond SPCA is: The oldest full-service, no-kill humane society in Central Virginia.

SPCA is the acronym for: Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The Richmond SPCA is a private, local nonprofit established in 1891, and it is not affiliated with any other organization with SPCA in its name.

Mission: To practice and promote the principle that every life is precious.

Brief history: During the earliest years of the Richmond SPCA, there was not yet a concept of sheltering homeless companion animals. Initially, its work centered around advocacy for greater consciousness of animals and their suffering, and those efforts led directly to getting the General Assembly to adopt the first statute mak-

ing cruelty to animals a crime in 1894.

The force behind the Richmond SPCA’s first shelter was novelist Ellen Glasgow, who was board president from 1924 until her death in1945. Ms. Glasgow’s generosity in leaving the majority of her estate and all the rights to her great works of literature to the Richmond SPCA gave the organization fiscal stability for decades to come.

Twenty years ago, we moved to our current home at 2519 Hermitage Road. We’ve since expanded to add the fullservice, low-cost Susan M. Markel Veterinary Hospital, and opened a satellite spay and neuter clinic in Mechanicsville.

Founder: First in 1883 and again in 1891, a woman named Nellie Nalle Palmer was concerned about humane issues and gathered a group of Richmonders to meet in her home with the ambition of forming a local society for the protection of animals. While the first gathering did not produce enough support, she did not give up, and in 1891 the Richmond Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was formed. What does it mean to be a no-kill humane society: Our commitment to the no-kill philosophy is a pledge to save the life of every healthy and treatably sick or injured homeless animal in our care. It means the only time we euthanize a pet is under the same circumstances that a responsible pet guardian would euthanize his or her own pet.

When did the Richmond SPCA adopt this policy and why: We became no-kill in

2002 after a strategic and visionary process led by then CEO Robin Roberson Starr and Board President Emerson Hughes. They believed strongly that taking the lives of homeless animals to control their numbers, which was the commonly accepted practice at the time, was not morally acceptable. Committing ourselves to the no-kill philosophy and operating model required systemic change both at the Richmond SPCA and within the larger community to provide the programs and services that were essential to ending the killing of healthy and treatable dogs and cats.

Why this organization is meaningful to me: I have always had an emotional connection to and passion for helping animals. As they cannot speak for themselves, I feel we are responsible for advocating for them, ensuring they are treated well, and making sure they have an opportunity for a good life.

Upcoming events:

•Richmond Brunch Weekend, Saturday, Sept. 9, and Sunday, Sept. 10 https://richmondspca. org/events/richmondbrunch/

•Richmond Tattoo & Arts Festival, Oct. 20-22 , The Richmond SPCA is the charity partner for this year’s festival, which is celebrating its 35th year. https://richmondtattooconvention .com/

•25th Annual Fur Ball, Saturday, Nov. 4, Richmond’s only black-tie event for people and their pets is held at The Jefferson Hotel to raise money for the veterinary rehabilitation of more than 3,500 homeless dogs and cats. https:// richmondspca.org/furball

How I start the day: Early! I’m usually up by no later than 5:30 a.m., stretching, feed -

ing horses, having breakfast, reading the paper, and getting organized before I head into the office.

The three words that best describe me: Authentic, visionary/strategic, resilient.

My pets are: Royal, our 9-yearold yellow lab, and the horses we have been blessed to have in our lives.

Best late-night snack: I don’t do late-night snacks! But if I did, it would be a glass of red wine and a chocolate chip cookie.

Something I love to do that most people would never imagine: I am a retired equestrian competitor, but I still love sitting in the saddle!

A quote that inspires me: “Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts,” by Winston Churchill. The best thing my parents ever taught me: The importance of hard work.

The person who influenced me the most: Bill McAllister, the founder of Colonial Mechanical, now ColonialWebb Contractors.

Book that influenced me the most: “Leadership Pipeline” by Ram Charan, Stephen Drotter, James L. Noel. It provides an understanding of the nature of leadership, how to develop it in yourself and others, and how to build a strong company with it.

What I’m reading now: “Think Again – The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know” by Adam Grant. It speaks to the importance of thinking outside the box, not holding on to past convictions, always seeking out the opinions of others, and being willing to challenge my own thought process.

Next goal: Semi-retirement is three to four years away. I am a lifetime planner, so figuring out the next chapter is frequently on my mind.

SPARKS CONVERSATION.

Trio with Richmond roots wins South by Southwest award

By Kimberly Fields

When you play by the BOOC, you play to win. Richmond natives Bevin Brown, Chris Scholar, and Drew Ashby are doing just that as winners of South by Southwest’s 2023 Audience Award in the Music Videos Competition.

Their video “HER” by Drew Ashby won in SXSW’s Film & TV Festival category.

Directed by Ms. Brown and Mr. Scholar, Mr. Ashby’s instrumental visual for “HER” is described as a young man’s pursuit of purpose and romance. It reflects Mr. Ashby’s eclectic style and the creative content of BOOC, a Richmond and Los Angeles based production company that gives voice to underrepresented communities by providing Black-owned original content.

How did they get here? It all started at home. Ms. Brown and Mr. Ashby are the children of Terri Seay-Anderson and jazz musician Ashby Anderson, founders of the Richmond Youth Jazz Guild. Music, of course, was a staple in their home, but so were their dad’s tender pieces of advice.

“My dad is full of quotes,” Ms. Brown said. “He would say ‘Proper planning prevents problems.’”

Their parents’ words, business etiquette, and encouragement of their creative muscles certainly carried into their careers. Ms. Brown credits her parents with helping to establish a guide for a building a successful business.

“I would always see them

switch things up,” she said. “The way that they marketed or packaged [themselves]. The way that they would story tell. I knew going into business you always have to be malleable and willing to change. I think that’s had an impact on me when it comes to growing BOOC and being patient because things take time.”

Music is at their roots and

is internalized as a spiritual experience. Mr. Ashby says you have to feel the music when you play. “My dad would say when you are performing, you should almost feel like you will shed a tear,” said Mr. Ashby. Mr. Scholar also comes from a creative home; his father is a choir director and his brother a dancer. Watching them helped him develop his own taste for

music. Being an artist himself, Mr. Scholar understood that it was important to not limit his abilities and make sure that he is useful. “Anything I did, I explored creatively,” said Mr. Scholar. “I always wanted to be useful in any situation. When you become useful, you can be helpful to others.”

Ms. Brown and Mr. Scholar initially met at First African

They have notable credits for writing “Rule the World “ for 2 Chainz featuring Arianna Grande, “Sorry” for Chris Brown, have been nominated by Country Music Television for their directing on “Cruise” by Florida Georgia Line featuring Nelly, and have directed both the 2022 and 2023 Black Future Maker campaign for AT&T. When asked what this award means for the company, Mr. Scholar said it gives them validation. “SXSW is a very curated and respected space, so for us to win an award, our peers will look at us like, ‘Oh wow, their art is respected,’” Mr. Scholar said.

“Just being apart [of SXSW] has invited a whole new wave of community that we didn’t have before,” Ms. Brown said. “And that community helps us dive deeper into our craft.”

Rounding out the year, the trio will move forward with releasing Mr. Ashby’s body of work. His next single is titled “Souf”. BOOC will continue working with their other artists Gal, Big Chalice and Mr. Scholar, and tell narratives on their YouTube channel, ByTheBooc.

Baptist Church and reunited as students at Virginia Commonwealth University. They’ve been married for two years and living in Los Angeles for five years. Expanding the family affair, they brought Mr. Ashby aboard as their artist to help him create more music.

With the SXSW award, it adds to the growing list of accomplishments of BOOC.

Clarence Avant, ‘Black Godfather’ of entertainment, and benefactor of athletes and politicians, dies

By Hillel Italie

The Associated Press

NEW YORK

Clarence Avant, the judicious manager, entrepreneur, facilitator and adviser who helped launch or guide the careers of Quincy Jones, Bill Withers and many others and came to be known as the “Black Godfather” of music and beyond, has died. He was 92.

Mr. Avant, inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2021, died Sunday at his home in Los Angeles, according to a family statement released Monday.

Mr. Avant’s achievements were both public and behind the scenes, as a name in the credits, or a name behind the names.

Born in a segregated hospital in North Carolina, he became a man of lasting and wide-ranging influence, in part by minding two pieces of advice from an early mentor, the music manager Joe Glaser: Never let on how much you know, and ask for as much money as possible, “without stuttering.”

“He exemplified a certain level of cool and street smarts that allowed him to move confidently into worlds that nobody had prepared him for, never doubting he could figure it out,” former President Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama, among the many prominent people he befriended, said in a statement.

“Clarence was part of a generation that served as a bridge from a time when there was very little opportunity for Black people to a time when doors began to open. He demanded the world make room, and he paved the way for the rest of us.”

Sometimes called “The Godfather of Black Music,” he broke in as a manager in the 1950s, with such clients as singers Sarah Vaughan and Little Willie John and composer Lalo Schifrin, who wrote the theme to “Mission: Impossible.” In the 1970s he was an early patron of Black-owned radio stations and, in the 1990s, headed Motown after founder Berry Gordy Jr. sold the company.

He also started such labels as Sussex (a hybrid of two of Mr. Avant’s passions — success and sex) and Tabu, with artists including Withers, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, the S.O.S Band and an obscure singer-songwriter, Sixto Rodriquez, who decades later became famous through the Oscar-winning documentary “Searching for Sugarman.” (Mr. Rodriquez died last week).

Other work took place more quietly. Mr. Avant brokered the sale of Stax Records to Gulf and Western in 1968, after being recruited by Stax executive Al Bell as a bridge between the entertainment and business industries. He raised money for Mr. Obama and Bill Clinton, helped Michael Jackson organize his first solo tour and advised Narada Michael Walden, L.A. Reid and Babyface and other younger admirers.

“Everyone in this business has been by Clarence’s desk, if they’re smart,” Quincy Jones liked to say of him.

Mr. Avant’s influence extended to sports. He helped running back Jim Brown transition from football to acting and produced a primetime

television special for Muhammad Ali. When baseball great Henry Aaron was on the verge of surpassing Babe Ruth as the game’s home run champion, in 1974, Mr. Avant made sure that Mr. Aaron received the kind of lucrative commercial deals often elusive for Black athletes, starting with a personal demand to the president of Coca-Cola.

Mr. Aaron would later tell The Undefeated that everything he had become was “because of Clarence Avant.”

Mr. Avant met Jacqueline Gray, a model at the time, at an Ebony Fashion Fair in the mid1960s and married her in 1967. They had two children: Music producer-manager Alexander Devore and Nicole Avant, the former U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas and, along with her husband, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos, a major fundraiser for Mr. Obama. Besides his Rock Hall induction, his honors included two honorary Grammys, an NAACP Image Award and a BET entrepreneur award.

In 2021, Jacqueline Avant was murdered in their Beverly Hills home, her death mourned by Bill Clinton and Magic Johnson among others. Nicole Avant would credit her mother, who be came a prominent philanthropist, with bringing to Clarence Avant and other family members “the love and passion and importance of the arts and culture and entertainment.”

Born in 1931, Clarence Avant spent his early years in Greensboro, N.C., one of eight children raised by a single mother, and he dropped out of high school to move North. A friend from North Carolina helped him find work managing a lounge in Newark, N. J. and he soon

got to know Mr. Glaser, whose clients ranged from Louis Armstrong to Barbra Streisand, not to mention Al Capone. Through Mr. Glaser, Avant found himself in places where Black people rarely had been permitted.

“Mr. Glaser would have me go with him to these dog shows,” Mr. Avant told Variety in 2016. “And you’ve got to imagine I was the only Black person at the (expletive) dog show. He also had these 16 seats behind the visiting dugout at Yankee Stadium, and whenever he’d take me I would try to walk to the back row, and he’d grab me and say, ‘(Expletive) it, sit your ass up here with me.’”

Mr. Avant became especially close to Mr. Jones, their bond formed through a missed record deal. It was the early 1960s, and Mr. Jones was a vice president at Mercury Records, one of the industry’s few Black executives. Mr. Avant was representing jazz musician Jimmy Smith and had heard that Mercury recently signed Dizzy Gillespie for $100,000.

For Mr. Smith, Mr. Avant aimed much higher, closer to half a million.

“Are you smoking Kool-Aid?” Mr. Jones would remember saying to Mr. Avant, who then negotiated with Verve Records.

“He went and got the deal,” said Mr. Jones, whose collaborations with Mr. Avant would include the TV series “Heart and Soul” and the feature film “Stalingrad,” told Billboard in 2006. “I respected him for that.”

As he rose in the entertainment industry, Mr. Avant became more active politically. He was an early supporter of Tom Bradley, the first Black mayor of Los Angeles, and served as executive producer of “Save the Children,” a 1973 documentary about a concert fundraiser for the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s “Operation PUSH.” Three years earlier, when he learned that civil rights leader Andrew Young was running for Congress in Georgia, he gave him a call.

“He said, ‘In Georgia, you’re running for Congress?’” Mr. Young later told CNN. “He said, ‘Well, if you’re crazy enough to run, I’m crazy enough to help you.’”

Mr. Avant, whom Mr. Young had never met, offered to bring in Isaac Hayes and other entertainers for a benefit and arranged for it to be held at the baseball stadium in Atlanta.

Mr. Young had forgotten about their conversation when, a month later, signs promoting the show appeared around town.

“We had about 30,000 people in the pouring down rain,” Mr. Young said. “And he never sent us a bill.”

Photo courtesy of BOOC

Drew Ashby, Chris Scholar and Bevin Brown, all of whom grew up in Richmond, are winners of South by Southwest’s 2023 Audience Award in the Music Videos Competition.

Mark Von Holden/Associated Press

Jacqueline Avant, left, and Clarence Avant appear at the 11th Annual AAFCA Awards in Los Angeles on Jan. 22, 2020. Mr. Avant, the manager, entrepreneur, facilitator has died at age 92. He helped launch or guide the careers of Quincy Jones, Bill Withers and many other well-known celebrities, athletes and entertainers. Mrs. Avant was murdered in their Beverly Hills home in 2021.

Dr. Evora W. Jones, who mentored authors and educators

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Dr. Evora Williams Jones, a retired English professor at Virginia Union University who focused on Southern women writers, has died.

Dr. Jones, who died at age 88 on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, wrote extensively on the works on Zora Neale Hurston and on other writers.

She also is credited with molding and mentoring future authors, educators and journalists and educators during her 30-year tenure at the Baptistaffiliated Richmond school.

“Anyone who knew her would agree that it is impossible to exaggerate the genuine love and kindness in her heart, the determination and passion of her spirit, her love for her family and the strength of her faith in God,” her family wrote about her.

Family and friends will pay final tributes to Dr. Jones at 11 a.m. Friday, Aug. 18, at First African

age 88

Baptist Church, 2700 Hanes Ave., of which she was a lifelong member and where her late father, the Rev. Y.B. Williams Sr., served as pastor until his death in 1974.

Prior to the funeral, there will be a viewing from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 17, at Scott’s Funeral Home Chapel, 116 E. Brookland Park Blvd.

Dr. Jones began teaching at VUU around 1972 and won admiration in overcoming a barrier to earning her doctoral degree, her family stated.

Dr. Jones

When she began pursuing the degree at the University of Virginia, her adviser told her he would see to it that she would not succeed, the family stated.

Tough and determined, she got around him and earned her Ph.D. as she also juggled her roles as an educator, wife of a medical professional, the mother of six children and the caretaker of three dogs, the family noted.

“This is what makes her a superhero to her family and a role model to many,” her family concluded. Born in Newport News, the family moved to Richmond when her father was called to the First African Baptist pulpit and led the congregation in moving to its current home in Barton Heights. Dr. Jones graduated from Armstrong High School, and after graduating from VUU in 1955, she began teaching at Dunbar High School in

Lynchburg.

Her career took a hiatus after she married future Richmond obstetrician William C. Jones. The couple moved to Nashville and started a family while he earned his medical degree at Meharry Medical College and she earned her master’s degree in Victorian studies at Tennessee State University. She picked up her career after the couple returned to Richmond in the early 1970s with their six children.

She was preceded in death by her husband and a son, Michael C. Jones.

Survivors include her children, Lisa J. Dixon, Dr. Mark Jones, Lori J. Mason, Dr. David Jones and Dr. Lydia J. Johnson; her brother, Tim Williams; nine grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, contributions be made in Dr. Jones’ name to VUU’s general scholarship fund or to First African Baptist Church.

Longtime RPS educator Eleanor R. Binford remembered

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Eleanor Redd Binford influenced hundreds of elementary schoolchildren during the 35 years she taught in Richmond Public Schools.

Mrs. Binford was so successful that Ebony Magazine named her to its list of the best Black teachers in America.

Radio talk show host Gary Flowers, who was one of her students, said she did more than teach classroom subjects.

Students who came to her classroom had to leave sloppy speech and grammar at the door as she did not tolerate it in her classroom, he said.

She also taught her students the importance of dignity, decorum, poise, gentility and manners.

“You know the African saying that it takes a village to raise a child,” Mr. Flowers said. “Mrs. Binford was a village mother.”

Mrs. Binford’s role in putting Richmond children on the road

to successful lives is being remembered following her death on Friday, July 28, 2023, at age 90.

Her life was celebrated Friday, Aug. 11, at Scott’s Funeral Home Chapel, with the Rev. Lawrence Cooper delivering the eulogy.

Mrs. Binford

Mrs. Binford, who married at 19, began her teaching career in Richmond after graduating from Virginia Union University in 1958. She also was elected the 1953 homecoming queen. She later earned a master’s degree from Virginia Commonwealth University.

She taught at three elementary schools, A.V. Norrell, John B.

Cary (now renamed Lois Harrison-Jones) and Bellevue before retiring in the mid1990s.

Born in Fredericksburg during the Great Depression, Mrs. Binford also left a civil rights mark on her hometown.

She was among the 27 seniors at Walker-Grant High School who led one of the first civil rights protests in that community and the state to decry the decision of the city’s Dorothy Hart Community Center to block the Class of 1950 from using the facility for their graduation ceremony because of the color of their skin.

Mrs. Binford and her class

Love to Sing?

Want to Make a Difference in the Richmond Community?

ONE VOICE CHORUS is a non-profit, intentionally integrated chorus bringing a musically diverse range of excellent choral performances to Central Virginia audiences. We are dedicated to the idea that bringing people together of different backgrounds promotes not only kindness and respect, but an embrace of those differences. All are welcome to sing the beauty and power of diversity in an atmosphere of openness, inclusiveness, mutual respect, and fun. Those who join us experience friendships, and collaboration with people they may not have met otherwise, and these opportunities open minds and hearts, one person and one voice to another. We sing a mix of musical styles, including spirituals, jazz, classical, and popular songs. We rehearse on Monday evenings, 7:00-9:15 pm, at Epiphany Lutheran Church, 1400 Horsepen Rd. No auditions required! While we do sing from sheet music, you do not need to be able to read music to sing with us.

Rehearsals for our Nov. 12 concert begin with a kickoff workshop on Friday, Aug. 25 at 7:00 pm and Saturday, Aug. 26, at 9:30 am. For more information, visit www.onevoicechorus.org.

mates protested in front of the center with signs reading “This entrance CLOSED to us” before marching to a local Black church for the ceremony.

Last year as part of an effort to highlight the area’s Black history, Fredericksburg officially saluted the students’courage by unveiling a panel listing the names of the demonstrators, including Mrs. Binford, and the story of their protest on a panel in front of the center, which is still in use and is now a national historic landmark.

Mrs. Binford was active in VUU alumni support groups, such the Panther 100 Club at Richmond and national organizations for graduates. Through the years, she was a fixture at numerous VUU basketball and

Moore Street

Missionary Baptist Church

1408 W. Leigh Street · Richmond, Va. 23220 (804) 358 6403 Dr. Alonza L. Lawrence, Pastor

football games. She also was a 50-year member of The Mothers Club, which began as a support group for young mothers, and the Upsilon Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.

Mrs. Binford was predeceased by her husband, Jerome G. Binford, and her daughter, the Rev. Carla P. Binford-Jerman. Survivors include her son, Terry J. Binford, and her brother, Dr. George R. Yancey.

Riverview Baptist Church

Sundays Sunday School - 9:30 A.M. Worship Service - 11 A.M.

Via Conference Call (202) 926-1127 Pin 572890#

In Person Sunday Service also on FACEBOOK and YouTube

2604 Idlewood Avenue, Richmond, Va. 23220 (804) 353-6135 • www.riverviewbaptistch.org

Rev. Dr. John E. Johnson, Jr., Interim Pastor

216 W. Leigh St., Richmond, Va. 23220 Tel: 804-643-3366 Fax: 804-643-3367

Please visit our website Ebenezer Baptist Church Richmond, VA for updates http://www. ebenezerrva.org

Dr. Wallace J. Cook Pastor Emeritus

Broad Rock Baptist Church 5106 Walmsley Blvd., Richmond, VA 23224 804-276-2740 • 804-276-6535 (fax) www.BRBCONLINE.org

“BACK IN SERVICE” Our doors are open again every Sunday @ 11:00 am. Live Streaming Every Sunday At: BRBConline.org or YouTube (Broad Rock Baptist Church) “MAKE IT HAPPEN”

“Your Home In God’s Kingdom”

“BACK IN SERVICE” Our doors are open again Mask required • Must provide vaccination card Every Sunday @ 11:00 am. Live Streaming Every Sunday At: BRBConline.org or YouTube(Broad Rock Baptist Church)

“MAKE IT HAPPEN”

Pastor Kevin Cook

(Good Shepherd Baptist Church RVA). 1858

resides without effect, and her whereabouts are not known, it is therefore

ORDERED that

Defendant, Samantha V. Chambers, appear on or before the 4th day of October, 2023, at the County of Hanover Circuit Court located at 7530 County Complex Rd, Hanover, Virginia, and do what is necessary to protect her interest.

ENTER: 08/09/2023

Judge John Overton Harris I ASK FOR THIS:

Robert L. Isaacs, Esq. (VSB# 35595) Robert L. Isaacs & Associates

8100 Three Chopt Road Suite 134 Henrico, VA 23229 Telephone (804) 355-2600 Facsimile (804) 355-8758

Email: rob@rvalaw.net Counsel for Plaintiff vIRGINIA: IN THE cIRcUIT cOURT OF THE cITY OF RIcHMOND

JOHN MARSHALL cOURTS BUILDING

SYLvIA DENISE WOLFE, PLAINTIFF v WAYNE WOLFE, DEFENDANT case No. cL23-3647-cGc ORDER OF PUBLIcATION

The object of this suit is to obtain a divorce from the bond of matrimony, from the defendant, on the ground that the parties hereto have lived separate and apart continuously, without cohabitation and without interruption for more than one year. And it appearing from an affidavit that the whereabouts and address of the defendant are unknown and that he may not be a resident of Virginia, it is Ordered that the defendant appear before this Court on September 28, 2023, at 9:00 a.m. pursuant to this notice and protect his interest herein.

An Extract, Teste:

EDwARD F. JEwETT, Clerk vIRGINIA: IN THE cIRcUIT cOURT FOR THE cOUNTY OF HANOvER JERRY LEONARD vIENS Plaintiff, v. JAE LYNN BLASENGAME vIENS, Defendant. case No. cL23002420-00 ORDER OF PUBLIcATION

The object of this suit is to obtain a divorce from the bond of matrimony from the defendant on the grounds that the defendant desertion and/ or patiies have lived separate and apati continuously and without cohabitation or interruption for a period in excess of one year, namely January 1, 1989.

It appearing from an affidavit that the whereabouts of the defendant, JAE LYNN BLASENGAME vIENS , is unknown and that diligence has been used by or on behalf of Plaintiff to ascertain in what county or city the defendant is, without effect, it is ORDERED that the defendant appear before this Court on the 5th day of September, 2023 at 9:00 a.m., and do what is necessary to protect her interest herein.

II ask for this:

A COPY TESTE FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR. CLERK I ask for this:

John R. working, Esquire VBS# 88126 Railside Law Group, PLLC 307B England Street Ashland, Virginia 23004 804.798-5552 Phone 804.798.5554 Facsimile john@railsidelaw.com Counsel for Plaintiff vIRGINIA: IN THE cIRcUIT cOURT FOR cITY OF RIcHMOND

JEFFLEAN K. NTOW v cAROLYN (MccREARY) NTOW case No. 19-5877-RBc ORDER OF PUBLIcATION

The object of this suit is to: OBTAIN A DIVORCE

Plaintiff, Pro Se 116 Beauaguard Ave Henrico, VA 23075 (804) 298-8156 vIRGINIA: IN THE cIRcUIT cOURT FOR THE cOUTY OF HENRIcO JULIO BUSTOS, Plaintiff v. JENNIFER RENEE SMITH, Defendant. case No.: cL23-4930 ORDER OF PUBLIcATION

The object of this suit, brought by Julio Bustos is a complaint for divorce. It appearing from an affidavit that the Defendant, Jennifer Renee Smith cannot be found, and that due diligence has been used without effect to ascertain the location of the Defendant; it is hereby ORDERED that the Defendant appear before this Court on or before September 11, 2023 to protect his interest herein.

I ask for this:

HARRISON, Plaintiff, v. RIcHARD B. HARRISON, Defendant. case No. cL23-5031-00 ORDER OF PUBLIcATION

The object of this suit is to obtain a divorce. It appearing from an affidavit that diligence has been used by or on behalf of the plaintiff to ascertain in what county or city the defendant is, without effect, it is Ordered that the defendant appear before this Court on September 25, 2023, at 9: 00 a.m., and protect his interests herein.

I ASK FOR THIS: Janet E. Brown, P.C. (VSB #26482) Counsel for Plaintiff 3108 N. Parham Road, Suite 600A Richmond, Virginia 23294 (804) 747-8200 (Tel.) (804) 747-3259 (Fax.)

vIRGINIA: IN THE cIRcUIT cOURT FOR THE cOUNTY OF HANOvER ANDREA JAcKSON, Plaintiff v. TYRONE JAcKSON, Defendant. case No.: cL23001231-00 ORDER OF PUBLIcATION

The object of this suit is to obtain a divorce from the bond of matrimony from the defendant on the ground of living separate and apart without any cohabitation and without interruption for a period exceeding twelve months.

It is ORDERED that the defendant, who has been served with the Complaint by posted service appear here on or before the 8th day of September, 2023 at 9:00 AM, and protect his interests. A Copy, Teste: FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR.,

M. Eure, Plaintiff’s Counsel

27724

Law Office of Dorothy M. Eure, P.C.

Mount Eagle Road

VA 23005 (804 798-9667

IN THE cIRcUIT cOURT FOR THE cOUNTY OF HANOvER ERIKA ScHULER, Plaintiff v. RONALD ScHULER, Defendant. case No.: cL22002607-00 ORDER OF PUBLIcATION

The object of this suit is to obtain a divorce from the bond of matrimony from the defendant on the ground of living separate and apart without any cohabitation and without interruption for a period exceeding twelve months.

It is ORDERED that the defendant, whose has been served with the Complaint by posted service, appear here on or before the 8th day of September, 2023 at 9:00 a.m. and protect his interests.

David E. Noll (VSB #4175) Cravens & Noll, P.C. 4551 Cox Road, Suite 120 Glen Allen, Virginia 23060 Phone: (804) 264-4529 Fax: (804) 264-4528 dnoll@cravensnoll.com Counsel for Plaintiff cUSTODY I, Pawan Kumar R/o 4420 Breezy bay Cir, Apt205, Henrico, VA-23233 have changed my minor child’s name from Jagrav to Jagrav Kumar for all purposes.

vIRGINIA: IN THE JUvENILE AND DOMESTIc RELATIONS DISTRIcT cOURT OF THE cITY OF RIcHMOND commonwealth of virginia, in re Tracey LindaMarie Pierce RDSS v. crystal Marie HenleyRuffin, James Reginald Jackson & Unknown Father File No. J-97967-08, J-97967-09, J-97967-10 ORDER OF PUBLIcATION The object of this suit is to: terminate the residual parental rights (“RPR”) of Unknown Father (Father) & crystal Marie Henley-Ruffin (Mother) & James Reginald Jackson (Father), of Tracey LindaMarie Pierce, child, DOB: 12/6/2012 “RPR” means all rights and responsibilities remaining with Parent after transfer of legal custody or guardianship of the person, including but not limited to rights of: Visitation; adoption consent; determination of religious affiliation; and responsibility for support and that: It is ORDERED that the defendants Unknown Father (Father) & crystal Marie Henley-Ruffin (Mother) & James Reginald Jackson (Father) to appear at the above-named Court and protect his/ her interest on or before 11/14/2023, at 11:20 A.M, cOURTROOM #2 (McG) vIRGINIA: IN THE JUvENILE AND DOMESTIc RELATIONS DISTRIcT cOURT OF THE cITY OF RIcHMOND commonwealth of virginia, in re Dakyla Bernice Thomas RDSS v. Erika Thomas, Michael Ashcraft & Unknown Father FILE NO. J-90650-09, J-90650-10, J-90650-11 ORDER OF PUBLIcATION The object of this suit is to: terminate the residual parental rights (“RPR”) of Unknown Father (Father) & Erika Thomas (Mother) & Michael Ashcraft (Father), of Dakyla Bernice Thomas, child, DOB: 9/2/2007 “RPR” means all rights and responsibilities remaining with Parent after transfer of legal custody or guardianship of the person, including but not limited to rights of: Visitation; adoption consent; determination of religious affiliation; and responsibility for support and that: It is ORDERED that the defendants Unknown Father (Father) & Erika Thomas (Mother) & Michael Ashcraft (Father) to appear at the above-named c ourt and protect his/ her interest on or

cAROL DUNFORD; LINDA McMILLION; KELLY IHINGER BYRD; EDDIE LEE IHINGER; AMBER LYNN IHINGER; BRADLEY JOSEPH IHINGER; DIScOvER BANK; and Anyone else who may claim an interest in the Property which is the subject matter of this suit and who is made a party hereto by the caption

UNKNOWN Defendants. case No.: cL23-3607-cNJ ORDER OF PUBLIcATION

The object of this suit is to sell a certain parcel of real property situated in the City of Richmond, being owned by 4307 Clarkson Rd LLC, June Carol Dunford, Linda McMillion, Kelly Ihinger Byrd, Eddie Lee Ihinger, Amber Lynn Ihinger, and Bradley Joseph Ihinger, more particularly described as follows: ALL that certain lot, piece or parcel of land with improvements thereon situate in the City of Richmond, Virginia (formerly in Chesterfield County, Virginia), on the Southern line of Clarkson Road and west of Sunbury Road, designated as Lot 14, Block C, Section B, McGuire Manor and known as No. 4307 Clarkson Road, as shown on plat of survey made by Chas. H. Fleet & Assocs., dated March 11, 1968, to which plat reference is made for a more particular description of the property hereby conveyed. June Carol Dunford, Linda McMillion, Kelly Ihinger Byrd, Eddie Lee Ihinger, Amber Lynn Ihinger, Bradley Joseph Ihinger and Discover Bank may have an interest in the property by deed, by inheritance, or by duly recorded liens. Affidavit having been made and filed that due diligence has been used without effect to ascertain the identities and/or locations of certain parties to be served, and that there are or may be persons whose names are unknown, interested in the subject matter of this suit;

It is ORDERED that June Carol Dunford, Linda McMillion, Kelly Ihinger Byrd, Eddie Lee Ihinger, Amber Lynn Ihinger, Bradley Joseph Ihinger and Discover Bank, if then living or if dead, their heirs, devisees, assigns, or successors in title, and any heirs or other unknown heirs or parties who have an interest in the subject matter of this suit, who are proceeded against as PARTIES UNKNOWN appear before Court on or before October 4, 2023 at 2:00 p.m. to protect their interests, if any, in this suit.

A Copy, Teste: EDwARD F. JEwETT Clerk I ask for this: Curtis D. Gordon, Esquire, VSB #25325 Kyle Roberts, Esquire, VSB #95631 DANKOS, GORDON & TUCKER, P.C. 1360 E. Parham Road, Suite 200 Richmond, Virginia 23228 Telephone: (804) 377-7424 Facsimile:

804-355-4688 - phone 804-355-5355 - fax attykbe@elliottandelliottlaw. com vIRGINIA: cIRcUIT cOURT OF THE cOUNTY OF cHESTERFIELD JOYcE MASON THOMAS and MYRNA JEFFERSON WASHINGTON, Plaintiffs, v. SANDRA cOLIER, vIENcE FINNEY, THERON FINNEY, vANESSA cOOK, RUDOLPH FINNEY, JR. NIcOLE FINNEY, SARAH E.

Date: Thursday, September 14, 2023 /Time: 2:00 PM. Information or copies of the above solicitations are available by contacting Procurement Services, at the City of Richmond website (www.RVA. GOV), or faxed (804) 646-5989. The City of Richmond encourages all contractors to participate in the procurement process. Mechanical Engineer needed by Alfa Laval Inc. in Richmond, VA to ensure vessel requirements from the customer are met both by the design team and the vendor, layout and piping design meet customer specs and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements. Provide nal quality review