Richmond Free Press Feb. 16-18, 2023 edition

Reapply Richmond Free Press

Most of City’s HR employees’ jobs no longer guaranteed

Hall, but we’ve been left in the dark’

But three department employees have separately told the Free Press that effective Friday, all of the remaining full-time employees are to be laid off except for the three top managers, who include Robin Redmond, the interim director.

is the heartbeat of City Hall, but we’ve been left in the dark.

None of us knows what will happen.”

city’s

The workers said they were told at a staff meeting in early February and urged to reapply for new positions that are being advertised, but that there were no guarantees they would have jobs.

As one employee put it, “We’ve been told our department

The three employees who discussed the situation would not allow their names to be used for fear they would face retaliation and lose any prospect of retaining a city position.

The department has been short-handed. According to the city’s 2022-23 budget book, Human Resources was authorized to have

Please turn to A4

Mr. benjamin

A race to the finish

4th Congressional District voters will choose McClellan or Benjamin on Feb. 21

By Jeremy Lazarus

Jennifer L. McClellan’s campaign to become the first Black woman to represent Virginia in Congress will culminate next week in a special election she is heavily favored to win — and most aptly during Black History Month.

Having eliminated three male opponents in the “firehouse” Democratic primary, Richmond’s popular senior

state senator only has to beat the Donald Trump-worshipping Republican candidate, Leon Benjamin Sr., in her sprint to become the next representative from the 4th Congressional District. Voters will make the decision Tuesday, Feb. 21, in filling the seat previously held by the late Congressman A. Donald McEachin, who died

Passion, purpose drive Diversity Richmond’s new CEO

By Charles Taylor

When Diversity Richmond, parent of the city’s popular Diversity Thrift, was searching for a new executive director, the Rev. Lacette Cross wasn’t sure about throwing her hat in the ring.

But, being “a good Baptist,” she looked to a higher power for answers. She also got some nudging from friends and colleagues. In the end, she decided to apply.

“I want to be able to make a local impact,” Rev. Cross said in an interview last December.

And Diversity Richmond does make an impact. It has an annual operating budget of about $1.3 million, more than

VUU’s tower sign stays; scooter rentals advance

By Jeremy Lazarus

Virginia Union University can keep its logo shining at night from the top of a historic 60foot tower on its campus.

City Council voted 9-0 Monday night to approve a special use permit to keep what VUU’s Attorney Dale G. Mullen described as a “beacon of hope” in place.

The sign has been controversial to historic preservation regulators who felt the addition of the lighted VUU sign on top of the tower was a

modern touch that should not be allowed.

The university has agreed to pay $30,000 a year to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources to keep the sign up. The payment represents compensation for VUU’s decision to alter the tower without first seeking permission.

The vote for VUU came at a meeting in which the council also voted 9-0 to put in place a a sweeping city plan for tackling climate change without shutting down the city’s natural gas

25 employees at its Northside Richmond headquarters and it operates the well-known and popular Diversity Thrift, as well as hosting programing and services for the LGBTQ+ community. The organization also delivers grants and funding to other area nonprofits such as Richmond Triangle Players, Health Brigade, Side by Side and Equality Virginia.

According to its website, Diversity Richmond has distributed nearly $1 million since its inception in 1999.

When Rev. Cross, 47, stepped into the role as executive director last year on Oct. 17, she became the first Black, queer woman to hold the position in the nonprofit’s history.

“The LGBTQ+ community is a very diverse community, it crosses just about every racial, socioeconomic, religious line you can imagine,” Diversity Richmond Board Chair Chris Moore said about the appointment. “Lacette, as a queer Black woman, has the lived experience of intersectionality.”

Known as “Reverend L” to many, Rev. Cross is currently pastor of Restoration Fellowship RVA, a welcoming-to-all congregation that embraces diversity. She grew up in a military family in Oceanside, Calif., about 40 miles north of San Diego near Camp Pendleton. College took her

City’s annual financial report shows $35 million surplus

By Jeremy Lazarus

City Hall has completed its annual financial report, although it comes three months behind schedule and the first to come in late since 2016.

Lincoln Saunders, the city’s chief administrative officer, told City Council at the Feb. 6 presentation that the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report proved more difficult as the Finance Department was operating with only 58 percent of its positions filled.

The completed ACFR showed the city finished the 2021-22 fiscal year on June 30 with about $35 million in “surplus” or unexpended funds, or close to a previous estimate from Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s administration.

The council has already approved Mayor Stoney’s plan to return $18 million to tax-paying property owners. According to the ACFR,

most of the unspent dollars have been spoken for.

However, $9.2 million is earmarked for the two pots that constitute the “rainy day” fund or savings.

The report stated the city completed the 2021-22 fiscal year with a combined $133.1 million in the two elements of the rainy day fund, the unassigned fund and the revenue and budget stabilization fund.

That represents a 7 percent increase from the previous 2020-21 fiscal year when the city reported $124.4 million combined in the two funds.

The total in both funds represents 17.1 percent of the $776.4 million in actual expenditures and transfers, according to the report, or slightly higher than the 16.67 percent a council

Sen. McClellan

‘We’ve been told our department is the heartbeat of City

Elegba

The Elegba Folklore Society’s 3rd Saturday Documentaries will screen “James Baldwin: The Price of the Ticket” on Feb. 18 at 5 p.m. at Elegba Folklore Society’s Cultural Center, 101 E. Broad St.

The film features a telling, poignant collection of archival footage that explores Mr. Baldwin’s intellect and his undeterred passion in exposing America’s ongoing racial inequities. The film will be followed by a discussion. Admission is free.

Elegba Folklore Society will present the 2023 Black Book Expo ⦿ A Conscious Literary Festival as a hybrid event throughout the month of February. The public is invited to choose informing sneak previews personified in “Author Chats” with celebrity writers streaming on Elegba Folklore Society’s Facebook page on selected Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 7 p.m.

The public is invited to the Elegba Folklore Society’s Broad Street location on Saturday, Feb. 25, and Sunday, Feb. 26, 3 p.m. – 7 p.m. The in-person aspect of the festival enables the public to browse and buy books, experience live entertainment and meet independent authors.

The 2023 Black Book Expo ⦿ A Conscious Literary Festival will showcase literature about black history, social justice, science, health, African Diasporic culture, African spirituality, personal development, novels and children’s books. Independent authors will make presentations and sign their books. Live streaming will occur from the in-person event as well via the Society’s Facebook page. Books will also be available on the Society’s https://elegba-folklore-society-inc.square.site/.

Free Press staff report CrossOver Healthcare Ministry is now offering a saliva-based COVID-19 test at its locations in Richmond and Henrico County to low-income, uninsured and underserved residents.

The nonprofit is the first in Virginia to offer the tests, which involve a mix of saliva and a special solution, inserted into a testing machine to provide results in 28 minutes.

“The advantage to using this method is that we don’t have to store a specimen or send it to an outside lab that would take three to five days to process the sample,” said Kaitlyn Patterson, a CrossOver nurse manager. “Patients don’t have to wait for results that may no longer be useful by the time they are received.

“We’re thrilled to have this as an option because it’s less invasive for patients, and we can get reliable PCR results that are more accurate than rapid test results in less than thirty minutes.”

CrossOver’s clinics are located at 108 Cowardin Ave. in Richmond and 8600 Quioccasin Road in Henrico County. More information can be found at www.crossoverministry.org.

Clarification

Quinn Evans, an architectural firm based in Washington, D.C., is undertaking the work on Fox Elementary School. In the Feb. 9 edition, the Free Press, in an article concerning the redevelopment of Fox, incorrectly stated RRMM Architects of Chesapeake was the design firm. The Free Press relied on information in a Jan. 23 letter that Richmond Public Schools sent to Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s administration. The letter detailed the projected costs for the Fox rebuilding and cited RRMM as providing the information.

RPS officials also questioned the story’s report concerning the $10.1 million the insurer, VAcorp of Roanoke, has offered to settle the claim. “VAcorp has never offered less money or determined any negligence on behalf of RPS,” RPS spokeswoman Lorena Arias stated. However, in February 2022, the School Board was told that the school was insured for $13 million, and the figure was reconfirmed in September 2022 by VAcorp administrator Chris Carey. The current $10.1 million figure was first disclosed by RPS on Jan. 23.

At the corner of Hammond and Brook Road in Richmond’s Edgehill neighborhood, Gary Flowers, left, pulls the signage cover strings Monday, as his sister, Jan Flowers, stands with him. Along with other family, friends and neighbors, the son and daughter of Stafford Alvin Flowers and Ella Lee Fountain Flowers unveil the honorary street sign, Flowers Way, that honors their father and mother.

Cityscape

Slices of life and scenes in Richmond

Stafford Alvin Flowers, who died in 2011, was a brick mason and owner of a contracting business. He also was a co-founder of the Metropolitan Business League, and a regional director for the National Business League, which evolved from the Negro Business League founded by Booker T. Washington in 1900. Ella Lee Fountain Flowers, a former Virginia Union University and Richmond Public Schools educator, died May 15, 2022. Mrs. Flowers was an 80-year member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and a lifelong member of the NAACP, serving as the secretary for the Richmond Chapter.

The street dedication was initiated by 3rd District North Side City Council woman Ann-Frances Lambert, who wants the history of Black Northside Richmond locked in for all to know. She reminded people that a large percentage of Black Americans, when researching their genealogy, realize they have a connection to Richmond.

VCU’s Wilder School announces annual awards program

Seven individuals and organizations will be recognized for their work during Virginia Commonwealth University’s L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs’ 16th Excellence in Virginia Government Awards. Recipients will be honored at a luncheon Tuesday, April 11, at the Richmond Marriott Hotel, 500 E. Broad St.

The awards and honorees include:

• Community Enhancement Award – Drive-To-Work will be honored for its advocacy in assisting low-income and/or previously incarcerated people to restore their driving privileges, and ensure transportation for their employment. Founded in 2007, Drive-To-Work was the first organization in Virginia to advocate for helping people get their driver’s licenses restored through legal and educational services.

• Unsung Heroes Award – Rebecca Gwynn will be recognized for her work to preserve wildlife and conservation lands in Virginia for more than 35 years. As assistant deputy director of the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, Ms. Gwyn has championed the state’s first wildlife action plan, leading the development of the Watchable Wildlife Program and statewide Bird and Wildlife Trail, and leading the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel

Seabird Conservation Initiative.

• Hill-Robinson Expansion of Freedom Award – John V. Moeser will be honored posthumously for his work as a longtime educator and scholar on race, government and politics, and was a founding member of the Urban and Regional Studies and Planning program at the Wilder School.

• Innovation in Government Award

– Henrico County Public Library’s Fairfield Area Library will be recognized for its “Work and Play Stations.” The stations are a unique feature of the library, developed by HCPL staff and the library’s design team to allow parents or caregivers to use computers while children are safe and playing.

Public-Private Partnership Award

– The Virginia Department of Veterans Services Military Medics and Corpsmen Program will be honored for its partnership with hospitals and medical facilities to employ military veterans with health care experience and train -

ing. MMAC’s work helps veterans with medical experience and credentials that struggle to find work after leaving the military.

Lifetime Achievement Award –Charles S. Robb will be recognized for his work statewide and the country as a former United States senator and the 64th governor of Virginia. Mr. Robb’s gubernatorial tenure saw the state increase its education spending and the Port of Hampton Roads become the fastest-growing port in America.

Grace E. Harris Leadership Award – Angela Patton, CEO of Girls For A Change, will be recognized for her work in preparing and empowering Black girls to design, lead, fund and implement social change projects that tackle issues they face in their own neighborhoods. Additional information about the honorees, luncheon registration and scholarship support information can be found at bit.ly/vcuevga.

Proposed GreenCity arena aims to be ‘greenest in America’

By Debora Timms

GreenCity Partners and ASM Global announced on Monday an agreement to develop and operate a proposed 17,000-seat GreenCity Arena in Henrico County.

The new venue will be a central feature of the $2.3 billion development that County Manager John Vithoulkas says will “deliver world class entertainment and other quality of life benefits to our community.”

In addition to the arena, the mixed-use development will combine residential and commercial uses with parks, trails and open spaces. GreenCity’s design will reflect environmental sustainability, civic engagement and inclusion, said Frank J. Thornton, chairman of Henrico County’s

Board of Supervisors.

“This is my 28th year serving this great community,” Mr. Thornton said. “In that time, we’ve seen a lot of exciting development proposals, but none quite like GreenCity.

“As owner of the BEST Products property, Henrico has been eager to see this development come to fruition.”

He spoke of new partner ASM Global’s exemplary track record and international reach. The venue management company and producer of live event experiences has over 350 venues spanning five continents. The GreenCity Arena, located along Interstate 95 between East Parham Road and Interstate 295, will be designed for touring concerts, family shows, sports and tournaments.

GreenCity Partners principal Michael Hallmark said the planned net-zero energy project also will include additional features and practices designed to make it state of the art and “the greenest arena in America.”

Design for the arena will be finalized in the fall. Construction is expected to begin in early 2024 with completion in 2026. It will be largely paid for by bonds issued through the newly created GreenCity Community Development Authority.

Mr. Thornton said this latest step by the board of supervisors demonstrates Henrico’s commitment to GreenCity’s realization.

“The momentum is real and it’s growing,” he said. “We are in it to win.”

Marland Buckner named executive director of Shockoe interpretive center project

Marland E. Buckner will lead the “interpretive center project,” funded by the $11 million investment from the Mellon Foundation, Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney announced this week.

The $11 million grant from the Mellon Foundation, announced last December, is part of its Monuments Project. The grant will fund the creation of an “interpretive center” in 12,300 square feet of space in the lower Trainshed of Main Street Station. The interpretive center will be used to orient visitors to Shockoe Bottom, provide informative and immersive educational and artistic content about Richmond’s role in the domestic trade of enslaved people. Within the facility will be a high-tech immersive

experience that may contain audio, video, augmented reality, exhibitions, public programs and techguided tours will be created.

The interpretive center will be in the heart of Shockoe, the oldest part of the City of Richmond. Shockoe was the center of the Powhatan Confederacy prior to the arrival of the British in 1607 and by the mid-1840, it was one of the largest centers of domestic trade in enslaved Africans.

Mr. Buckner currently serves on the boards of the Valentine Museum,

Bridging Virginia, and the Reinvestment Fund, one of the nation’s largest Community Development Financial Institutions. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada.

A Richmond resident, he serves as co-founder and principal of MB² Solutions LLC, a global strategic consulting firm founded in 2008.

Mr. Buckner was named the interim executive director of Richmond’s Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia in Richmond after the death of Adele C. Johnson in April 2021. The Free Press reported that Mr. Buckner stepped down from that role in June 2022.

Free Press staff report

Free Press staff report

Mr. Robb Ms. Patton

Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

Ms. Gwynn Mr. Moeser

Mr. Buckner

Most of City’s HR employees’ jobs no longer guaranteed

Continued

41 full-time and one part-time employee, down 11 people from the previous fiscal year.

Employees said most the recent directory listed 33 people, indicating there were eight vacancies. Ahead of the layoffs, nine people employed as analysts were allowed to transfer to vacant positions in other departments, the Free Press was told by the Human Resources employees.

Of the remaining employees, the Free Press was told that three are managers, two are temporary workers and one is a retiree who has filled in part-time.

Of the 18 full-time employees left, one has already resigned, leaving 17 full-time employees facing layoffs, the Free Press was told.

According to the city’s employee manual, workers subject to what is known as a reduction in force are usually allowed to move to a lower position in another department, essentially a demotion.

“We have been told we cannot do that,” one employee said. “Either we get rehired in one of the new positions or we get terminated. That’s the choice.

“Maybe we’ll all get rehired. Even so there will be fewer people left to do the work,” the employee said, as result of the transfers that have already taken place.

Human Resources reports to Sabrina Joy-Hogg, deputy chief administrative officer for finance and administration.

The department that is involved in every aspect of employee services, from hiring and retention to designing and administering classification, compensation and performance evaluations, overseeing employee data, handling employee grievances and

City’s annual financial report shows $35M surplus

policy requires.

One reason for the growth in the rainy day fund is that Richmond saw a huge increase in real estate tax collections during the 2021-22 fiscal year, the report noted.

The original budget for that year estimated $414.8 million would be collected from the tax on real estate. An amended budget that council later approved estimated the collections would hit $426.3 million, an $11.5 million increase.

According to the ACFR, actual city collections of the tax reached a record $456.6 million, a $30 million increase over the amended budget and nearly $42 million more than the original budget.

Free COVID-19 vaccines

providing training and development.

Human Resources also is anticipated to play a key role in providing labor relations services given the city’s decision to allow employees to unionize and bargain collectively.

“I don’t know how everything we’re involved with will get done,” one of the employees said. “The city is fortunate. Instead of running for the exits, for the most part, everyone has stayed on and kept focused on the work. But it becomes so stressful when the reward for loyalty is uncertainty and worry. This is not what we signed up for.”

According to the Society for Human Resource Management, a professional human resources membership association head-

quartered in Alexandria, having employees reapply for their jobs is a commonly used strategy in restructuring scenarios such as mergers, acquisitions and downsizing.

Voters will choose on Feb. 21

Continued from A1

Nov. 28, just a few weeks after beating Mr. Benjamin for the second time in the regular November election.

Polls across the district will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the 15 localities that comprise the sprawling district that is rated solidly Democratic. Those communities include the cities of Richmond, Hopewell, Petersburg, Emporia and Colonial Heights and all or part of the counties of Charles City, Chesterfield, Henrico, Dinwiddie, Prince George, Brunswick, Greensville Southampton, Surry and Sussex.

Sen. McClellan, who describes herself as a “working mom and 18-year state legislator,” is expected to gain the checkmark of victory soon after the polls close.

been far more visible than Mr. Benjamin, 54, a U.S. Navy veteran who leads New Harvest Church in Richmond’s South Side and is best known for never conceding his previous lopsided losses to Congressman McEachin.

Along with successfully pushing 20 pieces of legislation through the Senate, Sen. McClellan has run TV ads and hosted campaign events after amassing a campaign war chest of nearly $1 million, or 15 times the $64,000 that Mr. Benjamin reported.

With her win virtually assured, Sen. McClellan is on track to become the 28th Black woman serving in the House of Representatives in the current 118th Congress. She also would increase total female representation to 125 of the 435 House members.

congressional seat.

Sen. McClellan has promised to bring a perspective that has long been underrepresented in the Virginia delegation. When it comes to the issues, from voting to health care access to equality under the law, she has vowed to voters that “I will put my experience as a legislator to work” for those she will serve.

Sen. McClellan was first elected to the House of Delegates in 2005. She joined the state Senate in 2017 after winning a special election to replace Mr. McEachin, who gave up his seat after winning his first congressional election.

Despite a busy General Assembly session, the 50-year-old Petersburg native has

Sen. McClellan’s breakthrough into the Virginia delegation would come 55 years after Shirley Chisholm of New York became the first Black woman to win a

A graduate of the University of Richmond who earned her law degree at the University of Virginia, Sen. McClellan has long been a member of Verizon’s inhouse legal team, a post she has given up in seeking to become a full-time member of Congress.

VUU’s tower sign stays; scooter rentals advance

utility.

Continued from A1

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

Want a COVID-19 vaccine or booster shot?

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

Thursday, Feb. 16, 2 to 4 p.m. - Cary Street, 400 E. Cary St., Primary Moderna shots for age 6 months to 5 years old and 12 years and older, bivalent boosters for age 6 years and older, Primary Pfizer shots for age 6 month and older, bivalent boosters for age 5 years and older, Novavax primary shots for age 12 and older, boosters for age 18 and older, flu shots, walkups welcome but appointments encouraged. JYNNEOS and flu shots, walk-ups welcome but appointments encouraged.

Wednesday, Feb. 22, 10 a.m. to noon - Henrico West Health Department, 8600 Dixon Powers Dr., JYNNEOS and flu shots; 2 to 4 p.m., Primary Moderna shots for age 6 months to 5 years old and 12 years and older, and bivalent boosters for age 6 years and older, Primary Pfizer shots for age 6 months and older, bivalent boosters for age 5 years and older, Novavax primary shots for age 12 and older, and boosters for age 18 and older, flu shots, walk-ups welcome but appointments encouraged.

Thursday, Feb. 23, 4 to 7 p.m. - Sacred Heart, 1400 Perry St., Primary Moderna shots for age 6 months to 5 years old and 12 years and older, and bivalent boosters for age 6 years and older, Primary Pfizer shots for age 6 months and older, bivalent boosters for age 5 years and older, Novavax primary shots for age 12 and older, and boosters for age 18 and older, flu shots and baby bivalent boosters, walk-ups welcome but appointments encouraged.

People can schedule an appointment online at vase.vdh. virginia.gov, vaccinate.virginia.gov or vax.rchd.com, or by calling (804) 205-3501 or (877) VAX-IN-VA (1-877-829-4682). VaccineFinder.org and vaccines.gov also allow people to find nearby pharmacies and clinics that offer the COVID-19 vaccine and booster.

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

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

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

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

New COVID-19 cases in Virginia fell 15 percent during the last week, according to data from the Virginia Department of Health, while data from the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association showed hospitalizations statewide dropped 12 percent since last week.

Richmond and the counties of Chesterfield, Hanover and Henrico County remain at medium levels of community COVID-19. Four localities in Virginia are ranked at high community COVID levels, while 58 were ranked at medium as of last week.

A total of 680 new cases of COVID-19 were reported statewide Tuesday for the 24-hour period, contributing to an overall state total of 2,260,752 cases in Virginia since the pandemic’s outbreak. As of Tuesday, there have been 458,332 hospitalizations and 23,380 deaths reported statewide.

State data also shows that African-Americans comprised 22.1 percent of cases statewide and 22 percent of deaths for which ethnic and racial data is available, while Latinos made up 10.3 percent of cases and 4 percent of deaths.

As of Tuesday, Richmond reported a total of 61,526 cases, 1,292 hospitalizations and 547 deaths; Henrico County, 90,387 cases, 1,738 hospitalizations and 1,083 deaths; Chesterfield County, 99,630 cases, 1,768 hospitalizations and 873 deaths; and Hanover County, 28,925 cases, 912 hospitalizations and 347 deaths.

Compiled by George Copeland Jr.

Continued from A1

All nine council members also voted to authorize the city’s administration to proceed to develop an apartment inspection plan, approve moving ahead with the state Department of Transportation to improve pedestrian safety in various parts of the city, and clear the way for expansion of the rental program for electric scooters.

Separately, the council has been notified that the price tag for planned community centers is going up.

For example, the price tag for building a new South Side Community Center has grown to $22 million – or $6 million more than City Hall estimated 16 months ago.

Mr. Saunders disclosed the increase

Feb. 6 in response to an inquiry from Council President Michael J. Jones, who represents the 9th District where the center is located. Back in September 2021, the center was earmarked to receive $16 million to replace a previously demolished portion. That funding was a piece of the $64 million that Mayor Stoney proposed and the council agreed to spend on four community centers.

The approved plan also allocated $20 million for a new indoor center at Lucks Field in Church Hill; $20 million to improve and expand the T.B. Smith Center in South Side; and provided $8 million to overhaul the existing Calhoun Center in Gilipin Court, including reopening its long-closed swimming pool.

The money came from the $155 million that Richmond received under President

Biden’s American Rescue Plan.

Mr. Saunders responded, “The short answer is yes,” when asked if new cost estimates for the three other centers also are expected to be higher.

He told Dr. Jones that the city would pursue strategies to cut the final projected cost of the South Side center and the other proposed center developments, such as phasing the projects or making changes to materials, size or other parameters in a process called value engineering.

Mr. Saunders said the city also might need to tap the general fund or borrow to fully cover the cost of the South Side center, which is slated to be built first. He told Dr. Jones and the other members that more details would be forthcoming on the administration’s plan to cover the shortfall.

Purpose drives Diversity Richmond’s

Continued from A1

to “the Mecca,” as Howard University is known to some.

After a detour to reconcile her faith and sexuality, Rev. Cross, who identifies as bisexual, transferred to Catholic University of America and received a degree in social work. She moved to Richmond in 2010 and earned her master’s and doctorate of divinity degrees from Virginia Union University, and a master’s in theology from Union Presbyterian Seminary.

Rev. Cross has more than 15 years of experience working with regional nonprofits in leadership positions, most recently as a strategic adviser with NEO Philanthropy. She served as interim executive director for Side-by-Side during 2021, after serving as its director of volunteers and outreach. She was also one of three founders of Black Pride

new CEO

RVA in 2018, an annual celebration targeted to LGBTQ+ persons of color but open to all.

That Rev. Cross has achieved so much is no surprise, says Luise “Cheezi” Farmer, a Diversity Richmond board member and another of the Black Pride RVA cofounders.

“She has a way with words. Sometimes just to listen to her speak you are in awe,” said Ms. Farmer. “She’s just well-rounded, and she’s strong, and she has a lot of faith in the work that she does. And I think when you can balance all those things, then you have a good leader.”

Rev. Cross has spent her first months of leadership listening. She says three questions have threaded together her conversations with staff, board members and community partners: Who are you? Who is Diversity Richmond? Who do we want Diversity Richmond to be?

Her plans for a community listening

Continued from A1 Richmond Free Press e People’s Paper We stand for Equality Justice Opportunity Freedom and we fearlessly ght for Equality Justice Opportunity Freedom

series in the spring will give an even wider community the chance to share their thoughts on what Diversity Richmond can do better.

But Rev. Cross wants the community to know there are opportunities for them to engage right now, as well help support Diversity Richmond’s mission of being “a vibrant, inclusive Richmond where inequality does not exist.”

“Of course people can always donate money,” Rev. Cross said. “But you can also volunteer or shop at the store, attend one of our events, rent the hall or support Iridian Gallery — the South’s only LGBTQ gallery.”

“Ultimately, I love Richmond,” Rev. Cross added. “I’m committed to this city and to this community.”

Uncompromised healthcare for your well-being this winter season.

This winter season, VCU Health o�ers unmatched care and helpful tips. With the tridemic consisting of the flu, RSV and COVID-19 hitting hard, let’s talk about ways to keep you well. It’s not too late to get the flu and COVID-19 vaccines. Many of the viral respiratory infection symptoms are the same and the di�erent viruses cannot be diagnosed by symptoms only. If you feel unwell, seek professional assessment.

Stay safe

• Get the flu and COVID-19 vaccines—it’s not too late

• Cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue or cough into your elbow—not your hands

• Wash your hands often

• Consider wearing a mask

• Avoid close contact with others

• Clean frequently touched surfaces

The signs to look for if you start to feel sick

• Fever

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• Nausea or diarrhea

• Fatigue

Take control

• Monitor your symptoms

• Drink plenty of fluids

• Stay away from public spaces

• Talk to your doctor or medical provider

Emergency warning signs include:

• Trouble breathing

• Pain or pressure in the chest

• Inability to wake or stay awake

• If you have any severe, concerning symptoms, call 9-1-1 or go to your nearest emergency room

We care about the health and safety of our communities. To learn more, visit vcuhealth.org. ©

Enrichmond’s remaining assets headed for receivership, sources say

By Jeremy Lazarus

A deal that could resolve issues related to the collapsed Enrichmond Foundation is in the works, the Free Press has learned.

As outlined, the plan calls for the foundation’s remaining assets, mostly cemeteries and a community garden in Church Hill, to be placed in a receivership, the Free Press was told.

The receivership became feasible after the State Corporation Commission deemed the foundation defunct on Jan. 1 for failing to file annual registration fees, the Free Press was told.

John H. Mitchell, the remaining Enrichmond board member, could not be reached for comment.

Though there still may be months to go with the legal paper-

work, the Free Press was told the framework of the deal calls for City Hall to take over two historic Black cemeteries, Evergreen and East End, which are located adjacent to Oakwood Cemetery on the city’s border with Henrico County in the East End.

The receiver would be responsible for disposing of several other properties still in the foundation’s name, including the three lots that form the garden on Jefferson Avenue and two other gravesites, one on Forest Hill Avenue and one in Chesterfield County.

All are covered by deed restrictions that would limit who could purchase the properties or their future uses, according to people involved in crafting the deal.

Created by the city more than 30 years ago, the foundation

was developed as an independent fundraising arm for city parks and recreation. The foundation also distributed grant funds to nonprofits and also served as a bank for community groups that did not want or have an IRS designation as a charity.

At least 86 community groups kept their money with the foundation, but their funds appear to have been used to pay foundation bills until the money ran out, previous reports have indicated.

At this point, the foundation’s single largest creditor is Virginia Community Capital, which is owed about $180,000 from a loan it made to the foundation. The community nonprofits collectively are estimated to have lost between $165,000 and $200,000.

White supremacist gets life in prison for Buffalo massacre

Asssociated Press

BUFFALO, N.Y.

A white supremacist who killed 10 Black people at a Buffalo supermarket was sentenced to life in prison without parole Wednesday after relatives of his victims confronted him with pain and rage caused by his racist attack.

Anger briefly turned physical at Payton Gendron’s sentencing when a victim’s family member rushed at him from the audience. The man was quickly restrained; prosecutors later said he wouldn’t be charged. The proceeding then resumed with an emotional outpouring from people who lost loved ones or were themselves wounded in the attack.

Mr. Gendron, whose hatred was fueled by racist conspiracy theories he encountered online, cried during some of the testimony and apologized to victims and their families in a brief statement.

Their remarks ranged from sorrow to outrage, shouts to tears. Some vehemently condemned him; others quoted from the Bible or said they were praying for him. Several pointed out that he deliberately attacked a Black community, a three-hour drive from his home in overwhelmingly white Conklin, N.Y.

“You’ve been brainwashed,” Wayne Jones Sr., the only child of victim Celestine Chaney, said as sobs rose from the audience. “You don’t even know Black people that much to hate them. You learned this on the internet.”

“I hope you find it in your heart to apologize to these people, man. You did wrong for no reason,” Mr. Jones said.

Mr. Gendron’s victims at the Tops Friendly Market — the only supermarket and a neighborhood hub on Buffalo’s largely Black East Side — included a church deacon, the grocery store’s guard, a man shopping for a birthday cake, a grandmother of nine and the mother of a former Buffalo fire commissioner. The victims ranged in age from 32 to 86.

Mr. Gendron pleaded guilty in November to crimes including murder and domestic terrorism motivated by hate, a charge that carried an automatic life sentence.

“There can be no mercy for you, no understanding, no second chances,” Judge Susan Eagan said as she sentenced him. She called his rampage “a reckoning” for a nation “founded and built, in part, on white supremacy.”

Mr. Gendron, 19, is due in a federal court Thursday for a status update in a separate case that could carry a death sentence if prosecutors seek it. His attorney said in December that Mr. Gendron is prepared to plead guilty in federal court to avoid execution. New York state does not have the death penalty. The gunman wore bullet-

Payton Gendron sheds tears as he listens to impact statements Wednesday during his sentencing for charges including murder and domestic terrorism motivated by hate in an Erie County courtroom in Buffalo, N.Y. Mr. Gendron, a white supremacist who killed 10 Black people at a Buffalo supermarket, was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Virginia Electric and Power Company (“Dominion”) has applied for approval to: implement new demand-side management (“DSM”) programs, which includes new programs to supplement the overall DSM Portfolio, new Program Bundles, as well as associated requests for additional funding; to expand the eligibility for a previously-approved DSM program; and to revise its Riders C1A, C2A, C3A, and C4A, by which Dominion recovers the costs of its DSM programs. Dominion requests a total of $107,442,503 for its 2023 Riders C1A, C2A, C3A and C4A. According to Dominion, this amount would increase the bill of a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per month by $0.24.

• A Hearing Examiner appointed by the Commission will hold a telephonic hearing in this case on May 16, 2023, at 10 a.m., for the receipt of public witness testimony

• An evidentiary hearing will be held on May 17, 2023, at 10 a.m., in the Commission’s second oor courtroom located in the Tyler Building, 1300 East Main Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

• Further information about this case is available on the Commission’s website at: scc.virginia.gov/pages/CaseInformation

resistant armor and a helmet equipped with a livestreaming camera as he carried out the May 14 attack with a semiautomatic rifle he purchased legally but then modified so he could load it with illegal high-capacity ammunition magazines.

Mr. Gendron was hustled out of a courtroom Wednesday after someone in the audience at his sentencing rushed at him.

“Do I hate you? No. Do I want you to die? No. I want you to stay alive. I want you to think about this every day of your life,” Tamika Harper, a niece of victim Geraldine Talley, told Mr. Gendron. “Think about my family and the other nine families that you’ve de-

stroyed forever.”

Mr. Gendron locked eyes with Ms. Harper as she gently spoke. Then he lowered his head and wept.

Minutes later, Barbara Massey Mapps excoriated him for killing her 72-yearold sister, Katherine Massey, a neighborhood activist. As Mrs. Mapps shouted and pointed at Mr. Gendron, a person in the audience took a few steps toward him before getting held back.

“You don’t know what we’re going through,” a man shouted as he was led away by court officers. For several minutes thereafter, family members hugged and calmed

approved, the impact on customer bills would depend on the customer’s rate schedule and usage According to the Company implementation of the proposed Riders C1A, C2A, C3A, and C4A on September 1, 2023, would increase the monthly bill of a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per month by $0.24. The Company represents that it has calculated the revised Riders C1A, C2A, C3A and C4A rates in accordance with the same methodology approved in the 2021 DSM Order

Dominion also seeks to expand the eligibility of the DSM Phase IX Agricultural Program. Speci cally the Company requests Commission approval to offer the DSM Phase IX Agricultural Program to its residential customers, in addition to non-residential customers

Dominion states that the Company has complied with the Commission directives and ling requirements relevant to this instant ling, speci cally the Commission s directives in its Final Order in the Company’s Evaluation, Measurement, and Veri cation (“EM&V”) proceeding, Case No PUR-2020-00156. The Company requests Commission approval of Phase XI Program EM&V Plans

Interested persons are encouraged to review the Application and supporting documents for the details of these and other proposals

TAKE NOTICE that the Commission may apportion revenues among customer classes and/or design rates in a manner differing from that shown in the Application and supporting documents and thus may adopt rates that differ from those appearing in the Company’s Application and supporting documents

“demand response” (“DR”) DSM Programs as these terms are de ned by Code

The Commission entered an Order for Notice and Hearing that, among other things, scheduled public hearings on Dominion’s Application. On May 16, 2023, at 10 a.m., the Hearing Examiner will hold a telephonic hearing, with no witness present in the Commission s courtroom, for the purpose of receiving the testimony of public witnesses On or before May 10, 2023, any person desiring to offer testimony as a public witness shall provide to the Commission (a) your name and (b) the telephone number that you wish the Hearing Examiner to call during the hearing to receive your testimony This information may be provided to the Commission in three ways: (i) by lling out a form on the Commission’s website at scc.virginia.gov/pages/Webcasting; (ii) by completing and emailing the PDF version of this form to SCCInfo@scc.virginia.gov; or (iii) by calling (804) 371-9141. This public witness hearing will be webcast at scc.virginia.gov/pages/Webcasting

On May 17, 2022, at 10 a.m., in the Commission s second oor courtroom located in the Tyler Building, 1300 East Main Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219, the Hearing Examiner will convene a hearing to receive testimony and evidence from the Company any respondents and Staff on the Company’s Application.

To promote administrative ef ciency and timely service of lings upon participants the Commission has directed the electronic ling of testimony and pleadings unless they contain con dential information, and required electronic service on parties to this proceeding. An electronic copy of the Company’s Application may be obtained by submitting a written request to counsel for the Company, Vishwa B Link, Esquire, McGuireWoods LLP Gateway Plaza, 800 East Canal Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219, or vlink@mcguirewoods.com

On or before May 10, 2023, any interested person may submit comments on the Application by following the instructions found on the Commission s website: scc.virginia.gov/casecomments/Submit-Public-Comments

of spending proposed in this Application on EE programs targeting low-income individuals when combined with the Company’s prior requests for EE spending since the passage of the GTSA and the Virginia Clean Economy Act, consists of a proposal for approximately $110 million of the proposed $713 million, excluding any amount of projected lost revenues

The Company requests through revised Riders C1A, C2A, and C3A, recovery of projected costs for September 1, 2023 through August 31, 2024 (“2023 Rate Year”) associated with DSM Programs previously approved by the Commission in Case No PUE-2011-00093

electronically may le such notice by U.S mail to the Clerk of the Commission at the address listed above Such notice of participation shall include the email addresses of such parties or their counsel, if available The respondent simultaneously shall serve a copy of the notice of participation on counsel to the Company Pursuant to Rule 5 VAC 5-20-80 B Participation as a respondent of the Commission s Rules of Practice any notice of participation shall set forth: (i) a precise statement of the interest of the respondent; (ii) a statement of the speci c action sought to the extent then known; and (iii) the factual and legal basis for the action. Any organization, corporation, or government body participating as a respondent must be represented by counsel as required by Rule 5 VAC 5-20-30, Counsel, of the Rules of Practice All lings shall refer to Case No PUR-2022-00210.

On or before March 29, 2023, each respondent may le with the Clerk of the Commission, at scc.virginia.gov/clk/e ling any testimony and exhibits by which the respondent expects to establish its case Any respondent unable as a practical matter to le testimony and exhibits electronically may le such by U.S mail to the Clerk of the Commission at the address listed above Each witness’s testimony shall include a summary not to exceed one page All testimony and exhibits shall be served on Staff the Company and all other respondents simultaneous with its ling. In all lings, respondents shall comply with the Commission s Rules of Practice including 5 VAC 5-20-140, Filing and service; and 5 VAC 5-20-240, Prepared testimony and exhibits All lings shall refer to Case No PUR-2022-00210.

Any documents led in paper form with the Of ce of the Clerk of the Commission in this docket may use both sides of the paper In all other respects, except as modi ed by the Commission s Order for Notice and Hearing, all lings shall comply fully with the requirements of 5 VAC 5-20-150, Copies and format of the Commission s Rules of Practice The public version of the Company’s Application and other documents led in this case the Commission s Rules of Practice and the Commission s Order for Notice and Hearing may be viewed at: scc.virginia.gov/pages/Case-Information

VIRGINIA ELECTRIC AND POWER COMPANY

The Associated Press

Fitness DAWGS help kids ‘Eat Better, Move More and Learn’

By Debora Timms

Fun and friendship are what the Fitness DAWGS are all about. What started as an idea has grown into a series of children’s books, a TV show and a curriculum program designed around fitness and wellness for elementary students.

Creators, Addie Briggs, M.D. and Kim Evans, Ed.D., share that connection of friendship. The pair lived in the same Petersburg duplex and were each other’s first friend until 6-year-old Addie’s family moved away. Forty years later, a chance meeting at a local restaurant in August 2015 reunited them on National Girlfriends Day.

Dr. Briggs earned her medical degree from Virginia Commonwealth University and completed her pediatric residency at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. Dr. Evans, a lifelong educator, earned her doctorate of education from Virginia State University, and worked her way from teacher to principal to superintendent of Greensville County Public Schools.

During their conversations, they discussed the impact childhood obesity has on both of their professions — from the medical risks of diabetes, high blood pressure and stroke to the academic effects of low self-esteem, bullying and absenteeism. They realized they could use their expertise and passion to make a difference.

“Addie had this idea years before,” Dr. Evans said about the birth of the Fitness DAWGS. “Coming together and talking about the issue reignited that spark and gave her someone to do it with.”

The program uses the DAWGS acronym of Diet And Workout = Great Success. A diet unit teaches kids about the food groups, and encourages them to eat more and different fruits and vegetables and drink water instead of sugary drinks. The workout unit helps get them moving, improves motor skills and emphasizes personal space. The great success component focuses on social and emotional learning such as sharing, friendship, confidence, good sportsmanship and leadership.

Their first book, “Introducing the Fitness DAWGS” was published in 2017. This was followed by “Come Play with the Fitness DAWGS”

and last month’s release of “Fun at the Farmers Market with the Fitness DAWGS.”

The books aim to expose children ages 4-7 to new foods and new ways to move.

“It’s all about having fun and creating a healthy lifestyle,” Dr. Briggs said. “Research shows that the habits we have in early childhood continue into adulthood.”

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the doctors worked together writing, performing and bringing their mascots to life for a television show that would help kids and families keep active at home. They created three episodes of the Fitness DAWGS that aired on PBS.

When a Hopewell area principal sought them out, Drs. Briggs and Evans brought together a team to create a curriculum that would address the growing issues of childhood obesity.

They delivered the pilot program themselves at Woodlawn Learning Center last year. Its success led to its implementation by kindergarten teachers in Hopewell’s elementary schools.

“It was really important to make this program turnkey,” Dr. Evans said. “After 30-plus years in education, one thing has remained consistent. Teachers don’t have enough time. So it was very important to me to keep the plate balanced.”

The reactions to the program have amazed them.

“The kids have been excited about the program,” Dr. Evans said. “Even before the introduction of the mascots, when it was just Addie and me, they would see us coming in and call us the Fitness DAWGS ladies.

“One parent even contacted the principal wanting to know what in the world was a Fitness DAWG. She said her daughter had been coming home and telling anyone who would listen all about it.”

The immediate future for Fitness DAWGS includes expanding Hopewell’s program into the first and second grades. Two more books, “Drink Up with the Fitness DAWGS” and “Looking Good with the Fitness DAWGS,” are also on the horizon.

“[Childhood obesity] is an important topic and we can make a difference,” Dr. Briggs said. “Prevention is key.”

you’re seeking lending assistance for a home, debt consolidation or other needs, Atlantic Union Bank delivers flexible financing options, including our STAR (Steps Towards Achieving Results) program. We make it easier for you to reach your goals.

The lending support you need for the life you deserve.

Dr. Evans Dr. Briggs

A force for change

It’s not too unusual these days to read about young people who, rather than sit on the sidelines doing little to enact economic, political or social change, devote much of their lives to serving the public.

On Jan. 3, 2019, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, was sworn in as the youngest woman and youngest Latina ever to serve in Congress.

She was 29 years old.

That same month and year, Democratic Congresswoman Lauren Underwood, elected to serve Illinois’ 14th Congressional District, was sworn into the 116th U.S. Congress, becoming the first woman, the first person of color, and the first millennial to represent her community in Congress. She also is the youngest African-American woman to serve in the United States House of Representatives, according to her official biography. She was 32.

In November 2022, 25-year-old Matthew Frost, an Afro-Cuban progressive activist from Orlando, Fla. was elected to represent Florida’s 10th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. As the youngest member of Congress, Mr. Frost also is the first member of Generation Z to serve.

Nearly 20 years ago, Virginians may recall another young woman who entered the state’s political arena filled with fresh ideas and an eagerness to serve.

Her initial run for office was inspired by her parents, who filled her ears with conversations about how public policy had an impact on their lives and, subsequently her life, too.

“They grew up during the depression and Jim Crow,” she told the Free Press in an early morning text. “They saw the best of government in the New Deal and the worst of government in Jim Crow.”

(For the unaware, Jim Crow was a derisive slang term for a Black man during America’s segregated era. It came to mean any state law passed in the South that established different rules for Black people and white people. Jim Crow laws were based on the theory of white supremacy and were a reaction to Reconstruction.)

Her parents’ stories, she said, coupled with her research and studies at Chesterfield County’s Matoaca High School, the University of Richmond and the University of Virginia’s School of Law, “showed me how public policy and politics impact people’s lives.

“That’s what made me want to be a part of government and making it a force for helping people and solving problems.”

Recounting how her mother, Lois D. McClellan, grew up in a small Mississippi town with just one school for Black children that ended at the eighth grade, the only jobs available to her mother’s siblings were as domestics, military service or factory work.

“Only by working to save enough to move to Jackson, Miss., was (my mother) able to attend high school and ultimately become the first member of her family to go to college.”

Her father’s (Dr. James F. McClellan) experience, while somewhat different, still was steeped in segregated Southern conditions, she recalled.

“My dad’s grandparents founded a school for Black children in Alabama where he and his sisters went, so that taught me the impact that education has on economic opportunity for individuals and communities.”

Her mother eventually became director of the Trio Program at Virginia State University, and her father was a professor and director of testing at the university. Dr. McClellan also served as interim pastor of Petersburg’s Westminster Presbyterian Church.

With those stories anchoring her, 34-year-old Jennifer L. McCLellan stepped out on faith, first being elected to the House of Delegates in 2005, as we note on today’s Free Press front page. She kept running and kept winning. She joined the Senate in 2017 after winning a special election to replace A. Donald McEachin when he won the seat she now seeks.

Next week she is poised to become, at age 50, the first African-American woman to represent Virginia in the current 118th Congress.

Her record is solid and her purpose is clear. Sen. McClellan, as states her official biography, has earned a reputation as a strong legislative champion for Virginians, passing landmark laws to protect voting rights, safeguard abortion access, tackle climate change, rebuild crumbling schools, expand Obamacare in Virginia, protect workers’ rights, and reform Virginia’s criminal justice system.

The Richmond Free Press fully endorses Jennifer L. McClellan in her quest to become the Commonwealth of Virginia’s first Black Congresswoman.

We encourage our readers to vote for Jennifer L. McClellan on Tuesday Feb. 21.

Black resistance to ignorance

Each year the Association for the Study of African American Life and History sets a theme for Black History Month. This year the theme is Black Resistance. It is appropriate for a time such as this because it reflects the work we must do in a climate where there has been active retrenchment of our rights. The 2022 elections reminded us that voter suppression efforts continue to erode our voting rights. The reduction of our voting rights is taking place as we prepare for the 2024 election.

Already the far rights and their allies are attempting to steal the 2024 election by sidelining as many voters as possible. This will pressure our voting rights organization, and I know they are equal to the task. Their work to prepare for 2024 is the epitome of Black resistance. In the academic realm, 36 states have passed laws restricting what can be taught in classrooms. These laws are specious and ignorant. Some say teachers can’t teach “critical race theory,” although no one attempts to introduce a higher-level legal concept to

K-12 students. Others vaguely say nothing can be taught to make students “feel uncomfortable” about their origins.

Enslavement was uncomfortable. Lynching was uncomfortable. Undoubtedly, Tyre Nichols felt “uncomfortable” when beasts with badges beat him to death over a traffic stop. What many people do not know about American history is bound to make them uncomfortable. But as my grandma used to say,

“Ignorance is bliss.” We in academia must use our resistance to repel these malicious efforts. It is past time for us to ensure that our collective history is reflective of reality.

Nobody wants anybody to “feel bad.” Instead, we want to take the truth and build on it. There is so much to resist that we must also resist the urge to become “too tired” to fight back. I’m ashamed to say that, years ago, I said that I was tired of marching.

Wrong! We can never be too tired to march, protest, or stand up for what is right. I am profoundly grateful to the folks in Black Lives Matter who show up and show out in the face of injustice. In Los Angeles, they

show up regularly to resist the anti-Blackness that riddles this city. In Washington, D.C., people show up to protest land-use decisions that push poor and moderate-income people out of the city. In Memphis, Tenn., folks are showing up to protest the murder of Tyre Nichols.

They are resisting, as we all must. Self-care is also a form of resistance. While we can never be “too tired” to resist, the wise among us will know when it is time to take a break. A leaky vessel can’t carry anybody’s water. When we are broken, we can’t heal anyone, much less our community. When we are healthy and whole, we are effective warriors. When we are not, we must ask ourselves if we are bringing our best selves to the struggle.

Nearly 150 years ago, at the end of Reconstruction, AfricanAmericans faced resistance to our post-enslavement gains. Black Codes and Jim Crow laws were passed. Vagrancy laws were passed. Those AfricanAmericans who had attained some wealth and status, including elective office, found themselves under attack. In that context, people such as Ida B. Wells began to document lynchings to ensure that we all knew about the many attacks we were facing.

This present period is remi-

Economic inequality places most risk for eviction on Black people, poor

For the first time in more than two decades of research, every state now has renters who are nearing a financial breaking point in housing affordability. New research released by Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS), and Moody’s Analytics independently reach the same conclusion: Consumers are struggling with a growing percentage of their incomes going toward keeping a roof over their heads.

On Jan. 19, Moody’s released its update on rental affordability, and concluded that “Rising mortgage rates caused many households to be priced out from home buying and would-be buyers to remain renters. Apartment demand surged as a result and drove rates sky high. As the disparity between rent growth and income growth widens, Americans’ wallets feel financial distress as wage growth trails rent growth.”

Days later on Jan. 25, Harvard’s JCHS went a step further by factoring race and poverty into its analysis.

“Renters living in communities of color, and in high-poverty, lower-income, and lower-rent neighborhoods were more likely to experience financial distress. More than three-fifths of renters behind on their housing payments lived in communities of color, while about twofifths lived in high-poverty or lower-income neighborhoods,” concluded JCHS.

There was a time when a single,

full-time income could financially provide for families. But today, most families are working harder than ever and still need at least two incomes to make financial ends meet. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, in 2022, there was no county, metro area, or state where a person earning the federal or prevailing state or local minimum wage for a 40-hour work week could afford a modest two-bedroom rental home.

Although the U.S. Census Bureau finds that the nation’s median income in 2021 was $70,784, that same figure for Black America was only $48,297. This $30K income difference is further examined by a Federal Reserve Bank wealth inequality update. On average, according to the St. Louis Federal Reserve, Black and Hispanic families owned about 25 cents and 23 cents, respectively, per $1 of white family wealth. These substantial gaps remain largely unchanged despite fluctuations from 1989 to 2022.

In response to these and other issues, a report by the White House Domestic Policy Council and National Economic Council recently issued the White House Blueprint for a Renter’s Bill of Rights to promote fairness for Americans living in rental housing. The document calls for safe, and affordable housing, clear and fair leases and eviction prevention, diversion and relief, among other measures.

“Over 44 million households, or roughly 35 percent of the

U.S. population, live in rental housing,” states the plan. “And while federal laws such as the Fair Housing Act, the American with Disabilities Act, the Violence Against Women Act, and Fair Credit Reporting Act offer renters certain focused protections, there is no comprehensive set of federal laws protecting renters. Instead, our nation’s rental market is defined by a patchwork of state and local laws and legal processes that renters and rental housing providers must navigate.”

However well-intentioned, the newly released principles lack authority to require implementation. But the Department of Housing and Urban Development has embraced the effort by allocating $20 million for its Eviction Protection Grant Program, which will fund nonprofits and government agencies to provide legal assistance to low-income tenants at risk of eviction. The agency also will move toward requiring certain rental property owners to provide at least 30 days’ notice if they plan to terminate the lease of a tenant due to nonpayment of rent.

After more than 50 years since enactment of federal laws to ensure fair housing, equal employment, equal credit, and more, a lack of consistent enforcement of these laws have allowed backtracking on hard-fought victories. A litany of bad behaviors by unscrupulous landlords will continue to ignore laws unless aggressive and consistent enforcement makes it clear that proportionate prices will be paid.

The writer is a senior fellow with the Center for Responsible Lending.

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.

niscent of the post-Reconstruction era when obstacles were created to prevent further progress in the face of Black gains. It is no accident that the presidency of Barack Obama was followed by retrenchment in the subsequent presidency of the Orange Man, and Vice President Harris has been attacked in both racist and sexist terms. White resistance to Black progress must be met by Black resistance to ignorance.

That is our challenge this Black History Month. Our resistance must be structural, but it must also be personal. We must make decisions about how we resist, but we must resist.

“Power concedes nothing without a demand,” said Frederick Douglass. What are you demanding, and how far will you go to ensure that our collective social and economic justice demands are met?

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

Sellars

Regina H. Boone reginaboone@richmondfreepress.com James Haskins, Rudolph Powell and Clinton A. Strane Vice President – Administration Tracey L. Oliver traceyoliver@richmondfreepress.com

Advertising Traffic Coordinator Cynthia Downing advertising@richmondfreepress.com classifieds@richmondfreepress.com

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Julianne Malveaux

Charlene Crowell

Recent Free Press article ‘was not a forum for litigation or absolution’

In my conversations with Mr. Jeremy Lazarus that resulted in the Jan. 26-28 edition of the Richmond Free Press article, “It’s Complicated,” I believe that I was clear in stating that I became an Enrichmond board member in October of 2017.

Once I accepted a position as an employee, I was no longer a board member. My position as community ambassador began May 2021. The purpose of the Free Press article was to inform the public that the city is moving in good faith regarding Enrichmond’s partner renumeration. The article, in my opinion, was not a forum for litigation or absolution.

Yet, the response in a Free Press Feb. 2-4 Letter to the Editor stating the article is “inaccurate and misleading” comes off as an attempt to throw shade at me and my family’s work. You found documents pertaining to my board membership. However, someone neglected to “discover” documents that show when I became a salaried employee. Most people know you cannot be an employee and a board member at the same time.

After working as an electrician’s apprentice during COVID-19 shutdowns, it was a joy to work beside other Richmonders on the cemetery grounds by hosting volunteer groups and working with descendants daily. Our goal was to maintain the work of volunteers. Despite selective photo images and secondhand accounts to the contrary, I believe that we were effective.

Regarding the critique of “securing an agreement with VOF (Virginia Outdoors Foundation).” Tell me where in Mr. Lazarus’ article is the implication that I was compensated in any form? Additionally,

our family foundation’s ongoing transition doesn’t involve “cemetery maintenance.”

My personal work has been that of a volunteer since July of 2022. The contractor used came directly by recommendations from people at Woodland Cemetery. I worked hard to find several options in order to maintain the upper section of Evergreen during the growing season.

I’m proud that an excellent licensed Black contractor with experience was found to mow and maintain grounds throughout the city. So was permission needed from the Descendants Council to cut the grass?

Safe and clean access was being maintained with the help of the men of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Daniel #7 Masonic Lodge, MilitaryVets from The Mission Continues, and descendants that called me every week. I was not compensated for my time. Nor did I ask to be.

As Enrichmond staff were dismissed, I personally reached out to have discussions with both The Friends of East End and my friends on the Descendants Council. Through honest conversations, many have been hopeful that all of us can return to the real business at hand. Meanwhile, others recently ignored my online communication and also informed me by text that “... to talk to you again, it will be in a public forum.” Which, I am to assume, refers to my dealings with Enrichmond.

Yet, I remain here to offer help regarding the cemeteries.

JOHN MITCHELL The Richmond Planet Foundation

PUBLIC NOTICE

RICHMOND 2023 BOARD OF EQUALIZATION

Public notice is hereby given that the Board of Equalization for the City of Richmond is inequities for 2023 real estate assessments. Upon hearing such complaints, either oral or assessments. Before a change can be granted, the taxpayer or his agent must overcome a clear presumption in favor of the assessment. The taxpayer or agent must prove that the property is not uniform with similar property assessments or prove that the property is assessed in excess of its fair market value.

The Board of Equalization has scheduled the following hearings:

Each Tuesday & Thursday, beginning at 10:00 am in Room 802 of City Hall. Meetings will commence on February 21, 2023 and continue until such time as all matters before the Board are resolved. Due to COVID-19 all appeals will be via phone calls with social distancing and wearing of masks. For further information, please contact Mrs. Jennifer Cannon, Liaison, for the Richmond Board of Equalization at (804) 646-7910, 900 East Broad Street, Room 802-City Hall, Richmond, VA 23219.

By order of the Richmond Board of Equalization (Va. Code § 58.1-3378)

Date: February 7, 2023

Youth Mental Health

As we enter the final week of the 2023 Session, the issue of children s mental health looms large For too long Virginia has failed to fully address the mental health needs of our children with less than 10% of state funding for mental health services targeted to children According to Mental Health America Virginia ranks 48th in youth mental health access, with Virginia youth having a higher prevalence of mental illness and lower rates of access to care

While the lack of sufficient children s mental health services has long been an issue the pandemic has made the problem even worse In its report

Pandemic Impact on K-12 Public Education JLARC found that students especially girls reported disturbingly high levels of mental health issues during the pandemic Half of middle school students and nearly two-thirds of high school students reported feeling nervous anxious or on edge Ten percent of middle school students and 13 percent of high school students said that they seriously considered attempting suicide in the past 12 months Three percent of middle school students four percent of high school students reported attempting suicide at least once

Over the past few years the General Assembly has made some progress on this issue and with historic revenues we can do even more

Thanks to a budget amendment I carried in 2022 we provided $2 5 million to establish school-based mental health services on a pilot basis in 5 school divisions - Lunenburg, Bristol, Mecklenburg Hopewell & Hanover This year we are poised to invest an additional $15 million to add programs to up to 25 more school divisions

Last year we partially lifted the cap on state funding for school support staff which was put in place during the 2008-09 recession From 2009 to 2020 Virginia schools added 63 000 students while school support staff positions dropped by 1 700 This has led to support staff being unable to support the increasing mental health needs of students For years, I have sponsored budget amendments to fully eliminate this cap

This year the Senate budget does just that providing hundreds of millions of dollars to support student mental health

In 2020 I passed legislation increasing the number of specialized school-based support staff (social workers nurses psychologists and other licensed behavioral health specialists) to three per 1000 students This session my SB 1325 will further increase that number to four per 1 000 students and the Senate budget funds that increase

In addition, the Senate budget includes:

$54 4 million in funding for a 10% Medicaid rate increase for behavioral health services $8 4 million for community based children s behavioral health services $7 9 million to expand Virginia Mental Health Access Program (VMAP) to include children aged 0-5 by training early childhood medical providers; $500 000 to provide technical assistance to school divisions to bill for Medicaid; $450 000 in funding to begin a rate study for Medicaid to redesign behavioral health services including school-based mental health services and $181 250 from the Senate to create a social media campaign geared towards young people, and with youth consultation for suicide prevention

We have an opportunity to finally take significant steps to address the youth mental health crisis Our budget reflects our priorities as a Commonwealth There should be no higher priority than investing in our children s future including their mental health needs

I look forward to updating you on the budget and other issues before the General Assembly in the final weeks of sSession To learn more and stay engaged contact me or my staff at district09@senate virginia gov or (804) 698-7509

Clarence Thomas statue backed by Republicans in Georgia

The Associated Press Republican Georgia lawmakers are again trying to erect a statue of U.S. Supreme Court Justice and Georgia native Clarence Thomas on the State Capitol grounds in Atlanta, in what many Democrats, particularly Black ones, see as an insensitive display of partisan power.

The Georgia state Senate voted 32-20 along party lines on Tuesday to mandate a statue of the Pin Point, Ga., native. Minority Democrats had proposed amending the measure to also mandate a statue of the late Georgia congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis.

Sen. Ben Watson, a Savannah Republican, said he represents Justices Thomas’ birthplace near the coastal city and had known the justice’s mother.

“This native son of Georgia deserves a place of honor and recognition on our Capitol grounds, a place where future generations of Georgians can learn valuable lessons from his legacy and gain inspiration and belief that their lofty dreams are obtainable too in America, regardless of the circumstances into which they are born,” Sen. Watson said. Democrats, though, recoiled. They cited not only Justice Thomas’ confirmation to the court in 1991 amid Anita Hill’s testimony that he had sexually harassed her, but also Justice Thomas’ rulings on the Supreme Court.

“His service is problematic,” said Sen. Nan Orrock of Atlanta. “There’s a cloud over his service … and that cloud continues today.”

Republicans countered that the Georgia Capitol grounds has a statue of former Democratic Gov. and President Jimmy Carter.

“There are citizens, probably members of this body, that take issue with his policies when he was governor or president, but we respect history,” said Sen. Jason Anavitarte, a Republican from Dallas.

The debate came on the same day that Republican senators also pushed through a resolution honoring former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, who was defeated by Democrat Raphael Warnock in 2020, giving his party a Senate majority. As part of the Republican’s continuing political activity, Sen. Loeffler spearheaded an effort last year to elect Republicans to the state Senate, where they now have a 33-23 majority.

Opponents of the statue pointed to Justice Thomas’ concurring opinion last year to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that established nationwide access to abortion. In that opinion, he called on his fellow justices to revisit other Supreme Court precedents that legalized same-sex marriage and access to contraception.

Sen. Emanuel Jones, a Decatur Democrat who is Black, called Justice Thomas an “Uncle Tom,” saying he is like someone who has “sold his soul to the slave master.”

“There’s a whole laundry list of positions that Justice Thomas has taken that I find offensive,” Sen. Jones said.

“Sometimes, when I talk to the majority party, I say, “Y’all just don’t get it.’”

Democrats also criticized Justice Thomas’ wife, Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, noting records show she texted then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows after the 2020 election, urging him to stand with then-President Donald Trump as he falsely claimed there was widespread fraud in the election.

Ginni Thomas later told the House Jan. 6 committee that she regrets the texts and told investigators that her activity after the election was minimal. But Georgia Democrats said

Justice Thomas

Tuesday that they are not yet convinced that Ginni Thomas bore no blame.

“His wife actually encouraged this coup of violence in an attempt to stop the peaceful transfer of power for the first time in our country’s history,” said Sen. Nikki Merritt, a Lawrenceville Democrat.

Republicans passed a measure approving a Clarence Thomas statue last year in the state Senate, but it never came

to a vote in the state House. This year’s bill states the statue would be paid for with private money. Democrats had proposed an amendment to the bill to also mandate a statue of John Lewis, but pulled the proposal back before it could get a vote. If Republicans had voted for the amendment, Democrats would have been forced to either vote for the Thomas statue or against a Lewis statue.

NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC OF PETITION FOR REINSTATEMENT AND REVISION OF A RATE ADJUSTMENT CLAUSE, DESIGNATED RIDER RGGI, BY VIRGINIA ELECTRIC AND POWER COMPANY D/B/A DOMINION ENERGY VIRGINIA CASE NO. PUR-2022-00070

•Virginia Electric and Power Company d/b/a Dominion Energy Virginia (“Dominion”) has applied for approval to reinstate and revise its rate adjustment clause, Rider RGGI, for recovery of projected and actual costs related to the purchase of allowances through the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (“RGGI”) market-based trading program for carbon dioxide emissions.

•Dominion requests approval of a revenue requirement of $373,214,000. According to Dominion, this amount would increase a typical residential customer’s monthly bill using 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per month by approximately $4.64.

•A Hearing Examiner appointed by the State Corporation Commission will hold a telephonic hearing in this case on May 1, 2023, at 10 a.m., for the receipt of public witness testimony. Virginia 23219.

•Further information about this case is available on the Commission website at: scc.virginia.gov/pages/Case-Information

1, 2022, its rate adjustment clause (“RAC” or “Rider”), designated Rider RGGI, that was approved in Case No. PUR-2020-00169 (“Suspension Petition”). The Rider recovers the Company’s costs related to the purchase of allowances through the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (“RGGI”) market-based trading program for carbon dioxide emissions.

In Case No. PUR-2020-00169, the Commission approved projected allowance costs of $167,759,000 for the period ending July 31, 2022, subject to true-up for the actual costs subsequently approved by the Commission for that period.

On June 15, 2022, the Commission granted the Company’s Suspension Petition, ordering that Rider RGGI be suspended, and the Rider RGGI Projected Cost Recovery Factor be base rates (subject to further review in a future Rider RGGI actual cost true-up proceeding, and in the Company’s 2024 triennial review proceeding). to account for allowance costs incurred and recovered through Rider RGGI prior to the Rider’s July 1, 2022 suspension. Additionally, the Company seeks to reinstate Rider RGGI to recover deferred RGGI compliance costs incurred after July 31, 2022, and those projected to occur over the period of September 1, 2023 through August 31, 2024 (the “Rate Year”). For purposes of this proceeding, the Company states that it has assumed that Virginia will withdraw from RGGI on December 31, 2023, and accordingly has not projected any RGGI-related compliance costs to be incurred after that date.

Code § 56-585.1 A 5 e permits a utility to seek approval of a rate adjustment clause for recovery of:

facilities used to serve the utility’s native load obligations, including the costs of allowances purchased through a market-based trading program for carbon dioxide emissions. The In its Petition, Dominion states that for the period August 1, 2022 through December 31, 2023, it will require approximately 31,000,000 carbon dioxide (“CO2”) allowances to that it assumed a weighted average price of $13.52 per allowance, based on futures contracts for 2022 and 2023.

The Company states that its aggregate Virginia jurisdictional revenue requirement for RGGI-related costs from the time Virginia joined RGGI in 2021 through December 31, 2023 is expected to be approximately $640 million. For the period prior to August 1, 2022, the total revenue requirement was $267 million on a Virginia jurisdictional basis. The Com-

ment of approximately $373 million on a Virginia jurisdictional basis, which the Company is proposing to recover during the Rate Year through the reinstated Rider RGGI.

2022, will be recovered through base rates. In this proceeding, the Company seeks approval of a total revenue requirement of $373,214,000 for the Rate Year.

If the proposed Rider RGGI for the Rate Year is approved, the impact on customer bills would depend on the customer’s rate schedule and usage. According to Dominion, implementation of its proposed Rider RGGI on September 1, 2023, would increase the bill of a residential customer using 1,000 kWh per month by approximately $4.64. Interested persons are encouraged to review the Petition and supporting documents for the details of these and other proposals

The Commission entered an Order for Notice and Hearing in this proceeding that, among other things, scheduled public hearings on Dominion’s Petition. On May 1, 2023, at 10 a.m., the Hearing Examiner assigned to this case will hold a telephonic hearing, with no witness present in the Commission’s courtroom, for the purpose of receiving the testimony form on the Commission’s website at scc.virginia.gov/pages/Webcasting; (ii) by completing and emailing the PDF version of this form to SCCInfo@scc.virginia.gov; or by calling (804) 371-9141. This public witness hearing will be webcast at scc.virginia.gov/pages/Webcasting

An electronic copy of the Company’s Petition may be obtained by submitting a written request to counsel for the Company, Elaine S. Ryan, Esquire, McGuireWoods LLP, Gateway Plaza, 800 East Canal Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219, or eryan@mcguirewoods.com scc.virginia.gov/clk/

Document Control Center, P.O. Box 2118, Richmond, Virginia 23218-2118. Such notice of participation shall include the email addresses of such parties or their counsel, if available. The respondent simultaneously shall serve a copy of the notice of participation on counsel to the Company. Pursuant to 5 VAC 5-20-80 B, Participation as a respondent, of then known; and (iii) the factual and legal basis for the action. Any organization, corporation, or government body participating as a respondent must be represented by counsel as required by 5 VAC 5-20-30, Counsel any person or entity should obtain a copy of the Commission’s Order for Notice and Hearing.

, any testimony and exhibits by which the respondent 140, Filing and service, and 5 VAC 5-20-240, Prepared testimony and exhibits

On or before April 26, 2023, any interested person may submit comments on the Petition by following the instructions found on the Commission’s website:

scc.virginia.gov/casecomments/Submit-Public-Comments Commission at the address listed above. All such comments shall refer to Case No. PUR-2022-00070. Copies and format, of the Rules of Practice.

scc.virginia.gov/pages/Case-Information VIRGINIA ELECTRIC AND POWER COMPANY

Stories by Fred Jeter

From Henrico to Kentucky Born to compete, Jada Walker’s unafraid to take the ball

Jada Walker is an honest, law-abiding young woman until she gets on the basketball court.

She then turns into a woman of steal.

But don’t call the police.

The sophomore guard at the University of Kentucky is second in the powerful Southeastern Conference with a rules permitting 2.4 steals per game, as of Feb. 11.

Walker is just one-tenth of a steal behind leader Ciaja Harbison of Vanderbilt at 2.5.

Starting all 22 games for the Wildcats, the 5-foot-7 former Richmonder is averaging 13.5 points (second on the team), with 71 rebounds and 72 assists.

The left-handed dynamo is hitting 45 percent from the floor, 34 percent from beyond the arc and 83 percent at the foul line.

Walker was born to play basketball. She is the daughter of AnnMarie Gilbert, a former NCAA scoring champ, and former Virginia Union sensation Jonathan “Jon” Walker, whose number is retired. In a Jan.18 “What’s Next” podcast interview, Walker acknowledged how much her parents taught her about basketball.

As a result, competition and dominance became “ingrained in my head,” she said.

Her fearlessness on the court also comes from “playing around boys my entire life,” she said,

which further honed her toughness.

“I’ve had my nose broken, head beat in… bleeding, and I still keep running down the court,” she said. “It’s just that type of mindset. Keep going.”

Walker played locally at Highland Springs and Henrico high schools and one year at a private school in Washington, D.C.

There was little in the way of on-the-job training when Walker arrived last season in Lexington. Starting 22 of 31 games as a freshman, she averaged 10.4 points and made 47 steals, earning SEC All-Rookie honors.

Perhaps her best game a season ago came in the most adverse conditions. Having suffered a broken nose, she played with a plastic mask over her face in the first round of the SEC tournament against Mississippi State.

Despite her injury, she scored 21 points, helping Kentucky to victory.

AnnMarie Gilbert, following a brilliant run as coach at Virginia Union, is now the assistant women’s coach at Division I Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C.

Between 2015 and 2020, Gilbert’s Pantherettes went 135-18 with three CIAA titles and five trips to the NCAAs.

Kansas takes down Philadelphia in Super Bowl LVII

Mahomes sweet Mahomes.

The Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs always feel like they have the home field advantage — or rather Mahomes field advantage — with Patrick Mahomes at quarterback.

In the 57th edition of football’s grandest occasion, Philadelphia Eagles’QB Jalen Hurts was outstanding.

But Mahomes, operating on a gimpy ankle, was a tad better, especially in the clutch, and that’s how the Chiefs were able to prevail, 38-35 against the Eagles, in Glendale, Ariz.

It marks KC’s second Super Bowl title in four years. The Chiefs lost in the final game to Tampa Bay two years back, and fell to Cincinnati in last year’s AFC title game.

Modestly, here’s how Mahomes said it:

“The failures … they gave me a great, great appreciation to be standing here as champion.”

It was the first time two Black quarterbacks had gone head to head in the Super Bowl. Hurts had the early edge before Mahomes began plucking Eagles feathers.

Hurts was 27 for 38 for 304 yards passing 103.4 passer rating. Plus, he ran 15 times for 70 yards and three touchdowns.

Earning his second Super Bowl MVP, Mahomes was 21 for 27 for 182 yards and three TDs (131.8 rating). Despite the swollen ankle, he scampered for 26 yards on the final possession, setting up the decisive field goal.

This came as no surprise.

Over the past four seasons, with Mahomes taking the snaps from center, KC is 52-14 overall during the regular season and 10-2 in the playoffs.

With Tom Brady having retired, is it time to pass the torch of GOAT to Mahomes. At age 27, the former Texas Tech star is just warming up.

According to Caesars Sportsbook, the Chiefs are the clear favorites to win Super Bowl LVIII next year at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Location doesn’t seem to matter for the Chiefs — not as long as they have the Mahomes field advantage.

LeBron James passes

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as NBA’s all-time

leading scorer

LeBron James long ago earned the nickname “King James.”

Today the crown fits better than ever.

On Feb. 7, James became the NBA’s all-time scorer, passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

The Los Angeles Lakers star of stars broke the record with a fall-away jumper in the late going of a loss to Oklahoma City at the Crypto.com Arena in L.A.

In defeat, James was brilliant, scoring 38 points (13 for 20 from floor, 4-for-6 beyond the arc, 8 for 10 at foul line) and snagging seven rebounds in 34 minutes.

James, standing 6-foot-8 and built like a contender for World’s Strongest Man, passed the 7-foot-1 Jabbar while playing 150 fewer games, representing about two seasons.

King James’ total came in 1,410 games while Jabbar needed 1,560 to reach his milestone.

James has averaged 27.2 points per game in a career that started in 2003 and continues today. Jabbar averaged 24.6 per game between 1969 and 1989.

The legends took different paths on their way to NBA stardom. Jabbar (then known as Lew Alcindor) played four seasons at UCLA.

Had he gone straight to the NBA, he might have four more seasons to pad his totals.

By contrast, James leapfrogged college and went straight to the NBA out of the Akron, Ohio, high school ranks.

At age 38, James would seem to have at least several more productive seasons ahead. Plus, he has stated he wants to play

with his eldest son, Bronny.

Bronny James is currently a high school senior who could be eligible for the NBA in two seasons.

Look out: Fourteenth on the all-time list is 34-year-old Kevin Durant, now with Phoenix. Durant has 26,684 career points and shows no sign of slowing down.

Durant is averaging nearly 30 points this season and could play for years to come. He’s scored as many as 2,593 points in a season (2014).

While it’s a long shot, with a fistful of more healthy seasons, Durant could be wearing a crown.

In the meantime, “King James” sits on the throne.

Under first-year football Coach Henry Frazier III, Virginia State University doubled its win total in 2022, posting a 6-4 record after going 3-6 the season before. This upcoming season, VSU hopes to continue the upgrade, but it won’t be easy.

The NCAA Division II Trojans will open Sept. 2 at Norfolk State in the onepeg higher NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).

Following the trip to Dick Price Stadium, VSU will return home to face Tusculum, Tenn., in the home opener at 2 p.m. at Rogers Stadium. Tusculum (non HBCU) was 8-3 last season and in strong contention for the Division II playoffs.

VUU nets 76-65 win over Bowie

Just when you think Robert Osborne has hit full stride, he shifts into an even higher gear.

The Virginia Union University senior forward has entered the final week of the regular season with his foot to the pedal.

They don’t call him “The Wizard of Os” for nothing.

In front of BCSBN cameras, Osborne had 33 points (14-for-24 from the field), nine rebounds, four assists and four steals in VUU’s 76-65 Feb. 11 home win over Bowie State.

The victory clinched VUU’s second straight Northern Division title under Coach Jay Butler.

Individually, it marked perhaps the top performance of Osborne’s career in Maroon & Steel and among the elite outings by any Panther in recent seasons.

Osborne has been sensational throughout his senior campaign. The smooth, 6-foot-5 southpaw out of Hermitage High leads the CIAA in scoring (20.6), is second in rebounds (8.9), second in shooting percentage (.545) and third in assists (3.2).

Next up is the “Downtown Showdown,” the regular season finale Saturday, Feb. 18, against invading Virginia State at Barco-Stevens Hall. The Trojans have lost their last two, most recently

at Bowie State 75-55 on BCSBN.

VSU has three of the CIAA’s top performers in Terrence Hunter-Whitfield (second in league with 18.1 scoring average), B.J. Fitzgerald (first with .444 shooting from beyond the arc) and Zach Newkirk (first in assists with 99).

After Saturday, all CIAA teams head to Baltimore for the men’s and women’s CIAA tournaments taking place Feb. 20-25.

Note: Through games of Feb. 11. VUU was to play at Shaw and Bowie State was to visit VSU on Wednesday. Saturday, Feb. 18: “The Downtown Showdown.” Virginia State at Virginia Union’s Barco-Stevens Hall at about 4 following women’s game set for 2.

Nell Redmond/The Associated Press

Kentucky guard Jada Walker (11) keeps her eye on the ball that was passed by South Carolina guard Raven Johnson, right, during the first half of a Feb. 2 game in Columbia, S.C.

$350 million in savings for electric customers? We’re all ears.

Legislation being considered by the Virginia General Assembly strengthens regulatory oversight and lowers the cost of electricity, saving Dominion Energy customers at least $350 million. That means a savings of about $6 to $7 a month for the average residential user, according to the State Corporation Commission, the agency that regulates utilities in Virginia. In a time of high prices for food, clothing and gas, it’s commonsense rate relief that will help us continue to do what we do best: meet the needs of our customers.

To take action, visit DominionEnergy.com/RateRelief.

BY

Pregnant Rihanna soars in Super Bowl halftime performance

By Andrew Dalton The Associated Press

Rihanna was above it all. And pregnant to boot.

She began and ended the Super Bowl LVII halftime show hovering high above the field at State Farm Stadium

The performance lacked the surprise guest stars included in many previous Super Bowl halftimes, save one — her representative revealed afterward that the singer is pregnant Rihanna wore a puffy, bright red jumpsuit with tight, rubbery garb underneath that showed a baby bump that fueled a wave of social media speculation until the big revelation. She stood on a transparent rectangular platform that raised and lowered as she belted out the lyrics to “Bitch Better Have My Money” over the turf where the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs were battling moments earlier.

Dancers wearing white ski-style suits and shaded goggles had their own suspended platforms that moved in concert with hers. She and the dancers were lowered to a long stage that matched her outfit as she sped through hits including “Work,” “Where Have You Been,” and “Only Girl,” belting out “Want you to make me feel like I’m the only girl

There were also none of the constant costume changes and scene shifts from previous years. The theme — and

the color scheme — stayed the same throughout the 13-minute show, with red lights bathing the stage at times and golden fireworks exploding in the air above her.

The long stage allowed for extended pull-away shots as she stared down the camera and overhead tracking shots of Rihanna and her dancers.

At one point she powdered her face and checked it in a mirror before getting back on the mic.

Lights sparkled from the stands as she was hoisted alone back into the air and sang “Diamonds” — with its refrain of “shine bright like a diamond” — as the set closed.

Rihanna’s performance was her first solo performance event in seven years, and her first since becoming a mother for the first time nine months ago.

Country star Chris Stapleton made the national anthem a simple affair at Super Bowl LVII, standing alone on the field accompanied by only his electric guitar as he sang “The Star Spangled Banner” moments before the Kansas City Chiefs kickoff to the Philadelphia Eagles to start the game. Dressed simply in smooth black denim and sunglasses, with neatly combed hair instead of his signature feathered cowboy hat, he sang the anthem as a plaintive ballad, picking it up to rock only briefly as he delivered the final lines “banner yet wave” and “land of the free!”

His anthem felt slow, but it clocked in at 2 minutes, 2 seconds, under the 2 minutes, 5 seconds predicted by oddsmakers. But it was more than 10 seconds longer than last year’s sung by another country star, Mickey Guyton.

Before Mr. Stapleton’s anthem, “Abbot Elementary” star Sheryl Lee Ralph performed “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”

Wearing a flowing red velvet gown, Ms. Ralph began the song, the Black national anthem, as a reflective ballad, and it became a soaring hymn as it went on, with military-style drums joining her and a choir dressed all in white chiming in behind her on the field at State Farm Stadium.

Pharrell named new Louis Vuitton menswear creative director

The Associated Press

Louis Vuitton has named multitalented singersongwriter-philanthropist Pharrell Williams creative director of its menswear division, replacing the late Virgil Abloh, the company said Tuesday.

“Pharrell Williams is a visionary whose creative universes expand from music, to art and to fashion — establishing himself as a cultural, global icon over the past 20 years,” the luxury house said in a statement. Word on the appointment first broke in The Wall Street Journal and Le Figaro.

The “Happy” singer is a 13-time Grammy winner and two-time Oscar nominee with experience working with luxury brands and designers like the late Karl Lagerfeld.

The appointment is effective immediately. Mr. Williams’ first collection is scheduled to be shown during Paris Men’s Fashion Week in June.

The position had been left vacant since November 2021, when Mr. Abloh died of cancer at age 41. He was a groundbreaking designer and tastemaker known for merging streetwear and high fashion.

Mr. Abloh’s ubiquitous, consumer-friendly presence in culture was wide-ranging and dynamic. Some compared him to Jeff Koons. Others hailed him as his generation’s Lagerfeld, Chanel’s longtime creative director who died in 2019. Mr. Abloh was the first Black director of menswear at Louis Vuitton, one of France’s most storied fashion houses.

After Mr. Abloh’s death, the brand carried on with splashy men’s shows, largely without a creative

director. Mr. Abloh, a DJ and founder of the brand Off-White, turned the job at Louis Vuitton into that of “curator,” rather than simply “designer,” as he expanded his interests into housewares, art, jewelry, industrial design and architecture.

Mr. Williams collaborated with the luxury group LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy) in 2004 and 2008. He had a massively popular sneaker collaboration with Chanel in 2017 and a unisex clothing collection in 2019 that he designed with Mr. Lagerfeld. He also has his own fashion brands, including Billionaire Boys Club and Icecream.

“His creative vision beyond fashion will undoubtedly lead Louis Vuitton toward a new and very exciting chapter,” the brand’s new chairman and CEO, Pietro Beccari, said in the statement.

Pharrell Williams

PANELISTS The Honorable Viola Baskerville, one of the founders of the project

Lauranett Lee, a public historian and adjunct assistant professor at the University of Richmond

Ajena Rogers, a descendant of Black legislator James A. Fields

Brent Tarter, a historian, author and retired editor with the Library of Virginia

Matthew Gibson, executive director of Virginia Humanities

As a child growing up in the 1980s, Teresa Cole was a “latchkey kid” who played outside a lot.

“My dad lived near Canoe Run Park, and my friends and I built forts in the woods,” she said. “I have always preferred being outside.”

As she grew into adulthood, Ms. Cole never lost her love for spending time outdoors. Today that sense of adventure, which includes snowboarding, skiing and whitewater rafting sports, is shared with her family.

Fonticello Park, an area often used by her family and nearby residents, has not been maintained like other parks in the city that serve mostly white communities, she said.

“I shouldn’t have to go over to Maymont to enjoy time at the park when there is one right here in my neighborhood,” she said.

Ms. Cole said her “wakeup call” regarding the park’s unkempt condition came when Amy Robins, a city council liaison, visited the park and posted pictures of its crumbling infrastructure.

“There are no working bathrooms, so people defecate where springs used to be and a port-a-potty on the property is regularly destroyed,” Ms. Cole said.

Cracked pavement and overgrown grass on the tennis and basketball courts also show the park’s disrepair.

This park has been neglected and that needs to change,” she said.

Following the shooting death of Markiya Simone Dickson, a 9-year-old who was killed at Fonticello Park during the 2019 Memorial Day weekend, a group of area residents who used the park began regular meetings to discuss the park’s safety issues. But the COVID19 pandemic halted the effort, Ms. Cole said.

cused on restoring the park. and we aren’t perfect yet,” she said. She said the majority of the people involved with the board

Personality: Teresa Cole

Spotlight on Fonticello Park Friends board president

of the nonprofit she created to improve the park are white, and the group is “actively working to change it.”

“Our plan is to continue engaging the entire community no matter what it takes,” she said. “We have removed traditional barriers to participation like monetary dues and in-person voting, to ensure we provide a myriad of ways for people to be involved.”

Ms. Cole’s work to restore Fonticello, she said, is not just about restoring the park in her neighborhood, but about equitable maintenance and access to beautiful parks for everyone, regardless of where they live.

Meet a proponent for parks and the outdoors and this week’s

Personality, Teresa Cole:

Volunteer position: Board president, Fonticello Park Friends.

Occupation: Former public school educator; currently program administrator for CodeVA.

Date and place of birth: Jan. 8 in Richmond.

Where I live now: Swansboro neighborhood.

Education: Bachelor’s in interdisciplinary studies and bachelor’s in English, Virginia Commonwealth University.

Master’s in curriculum and instruction, University of Richmond.

Family: My partner, Matt, and my three children, Caden

It was originally founded in the early 2020s by concerned neighbors.

Founders: Laney Sullivan, Jameson Price, Ja’Nai Frederick, Vaughn Garland, Traci Garland, Tyler Howell, Randy Minor, Carl Joseph, Charles Lawson, Alan Nicholas, Amanda Silvester, Charlie Schmindt, and Chris Ercolano.

Fonticello Park is located: In the Swansboro and Woodland Heights neighborhoods off of Bainbridge in Richmond’s South Side.

Brief history of Fonticello Park: This park has a LONG history. I encourage folks to check out our website at www.fontielloparkrva.co m to learn more. The spring on the property was frequented indigenous people prior to colonization. Then white people stole it and built a homestead on it around 1760, which changed hands multiple times in the 1800s until William Garland Taylor bought it. Around 1923, City Councilman Carter Jones began advocating

for a park on the South Side, noting the inequality of parks opening for the white children on North Side Richmond, but there were no parks on the South Side for the over 1,500 Black children who lived there at the time. He established an 11-acre park that was heavily used from then until the early 2000s for local and school sports, as well as community events.

How I became involved with Fonticello Park Friends: My family and I are in the park daily, playing foursquare, biking, picnicking, rollerblading, or chilling in a hammock. We walk our dogs there daily. After the most recent shooting of three teens in September 2022, I went to a meeting with the Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities for Richmond and started volunteering to help with different tasks/projects and my involvement grew from there.

When elected board president: We are in the process of building governance, developing bylaws, membership structures and breaking down barriers to involvement.

Why I accepted the role as leader of the group: My mom always said I was a “natural leader” so I think I’ve slipped into the organizing role as we have gotten started.

Previous president’s name: Rose Marie Wiegandt.

Ways Fonticello Park Friends ensures it fully represents the entire community and not just newcomers: We are aware of the ways gentrification has impacted Richmond, including the Swansboro neighborhood.

We’ve gone door to door handing out flyers, talking to neighbors in the areas around the park that are typically underrepresented.

Who was 9-year-old Markiya Simone Dickson? She was just a little girl waiting to ride a pony in the park, enjoying a hot day in May with her family, celebrating the Memorial Day weekend. She was shot and killed there.

How Markiya’s tragic death impacted how the park has evolved or has not evolved: Unfortunately, not much has changed in the park since her death. In September 2022, more gun violence erupted in the park when six people were injured at a baby shower. The infrastructure has continued to decay. The park hasn’t had a playground since November 2020, and we have one that should be completed soon. Number one goal or project as board president: I’ve heard time and again that Markiya’s family wants her memory honored by creating a safe place for kids to play, without being reminded of the violence. For me, honoring that request is number one.

Strategy for achieving goals: We’ve prioritized creating a diverse board that represents the different lived experiences of the people in our community.

Upcoming events: SPCA Dog Safety Education Event on March 18; a community work day and a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new playground soon.

Ways to get involved: Come to a Friends meeting, become a member, volunteer at a workday, get involved in one of our projects, write your city councilperson to advocate for equitable parks, join our mailing list, come to one of our

events, buy some merchandise or donate on our website www. fonticelloparkrva.com

A perfect day for me is: Doing anything outside with my family — hiking, camping, kayaking, skiing — just playing in nature is the best way for me to recenter.

Something about me that people may not know: In my free time, I’m a raft guide at Riverside Outfitters.

A quote that inspires me:

“The function of freedom is to free someone else.”— Toni Morrison

My friends describe me as: Intelligent, tenacious and determined.

At the top of my “to-do” list: Hike the Appalachian Trail. Best late-night snack: A handful of frozen M&Ms.

The best thing my mom ever taught me: As a woman, I’ve got to learn to do for myself. I don’t need anyone to help me get things done.

The person who influenced me the most: There are so, so many. My mother, my grandmother, Dr. Njeri Jackson and Dr. Rose Landrum Lee from VCU, my previous principal, Melanie Phipps, authors and activists bell hooks, Toni Morrison and Angela Davis, all of whom I’ve heard speak in person.

Book that influenced me the most and how: “Black Faces, White Spaces: Reimagining the Relationship of African Americans to the Great Outdoors By Carolyn Finney.” I spend a lot of my free time in the outdoors and this really opened my ideas to the ways in which we continue to racialize the outdoors and perpetuate exclusionary practices.

What I’m reading now and my takeaway: I’m raising three teens. I haven’t read a book in months!

Next goal: I’d love to see the skatepark expansion at Fonticello Park come to fruition.

THE VIRGINIA HOME PRESENTS

AN EVENING WITH JEFF HENDERSON

March 16, 2023 / The Jefferson Hotel / 6:30 pm

MARCH

From humble beginnings in South Central Los Angeles to celebrity chef and best-selling author, Jeff is a role model for anyone who needs the encouragement to reinvent their life.

A bene t to support The Virginia Home.

PRESENTED BY

APRIL

To save the date and get your tickets, scan this code or visit: thevirginiahome.org/ events/stories-ofcourage-grace

STILL THE WORLD’S MOST POPULAR MUSICAL

By Debora Timms

Dwandalyn Reece, associate director for curatorial affairs at the National Museum of African Americn History and Culture, will bring the story of Black music to Virginia Commonwealth University as the 2023 VCU Libraries Black History Month Lecturer.

A musician, scholar and museum professional, Dr. Reece said her career has been centered around music collections and public humanities work. Before assuming her current role last year, she was the museum’s first curator of music and performing arts for 13 years. During that time, Dr. Reece built a collection of more than 4,000 objects and curated the museum’s inaugural permanent music exhibition, “Musical Crossroads.”

Of the many objects in the museum, Dr. Reece gives examples of just a few — an outfit associated with Marian Anderson when she performed on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1939, the P-Funk Mothership donated to the museum by George Clinton, and a banjo created for Charles P. Stinson, a Black minstrel performer in the late 1800s.

“These objects are really fascinating ways to tell us not only what music is in AfricanAmerican culture, but how it operates in society and how central it is to our daily lives and experience,” Dr. Reece said during a recent interview.

She considers it an honor to be asked to lecture at VCU, where her daughter is currently a graduate student in the university’s physical therapy program. She also saw it as a fortuitous opportunity to share glimpses into her newly released book, “Musical Crossroads: Stories Behind the Objects of African American Music.”

“I love music, I love history and I love storytelling. My excitement about music is getting to understand it and why it means something to us.

“Music is about community,” she added. ‘We are all part of music’s story. It’s not just about the singer on the stage.”

Dr. Reece will speak from 7 to 9 p.m. on Feb. 23, in the James Branch Cabell Library Lecture Hall, 901 Park Ave. The event will be live-streamed and is free and open to the public. Registration is required for both in-person and Zoom attendance at https://www.support.vcu.

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR

Jace Miles celebrates his victory in the 2nd Annual Bright Minds RVA Chess Tournament at the awards presentation Friday night at the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia. The 13-yearold Henderson Middle School student, the son of Michael and Otesa Miles, received a trophy and $400 for his first place showing in the four-round competition involving 10 youths. Jace started playing chess in an afternoon elementary school program. During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, he further developed his chess skills by playing online with a cousin who lives in New York. In between, he continued to play the game.

The nonprofit Bright Minds, founded by Richmonders Bernice Travers and Fleming Samuels, seeks to spread interest in the game among city youths by offering free lessons.

Other tournament winners include:

2nd Place – Denzel Johnson

3rd Place – Ptah Ahmed

4th Place – Nafiysi Harper

5th Place – Richardson Armstead

Most Improved Beginner – Alnisa Scott

Dr. Reece

Photo by Stafford Armstead

What is Black History Month in a white Christian nation?

By Andre Whitehead

Just in time for Black History Month, the Public Religion Research Institute and the Brookings Institution have released a fascinating new survey about Christian nationalism that points to the ways that stories about race in American history get told and why these stories matter.

The PRRI/Brookings Christian nationalism survey adds to a host of research that demonstrates the historical repercussions of this powerful cultural framework. It shows that Christian nationalism can serve to rewrite history so that racial injustice and those responsible for it are rendered almost invisible.

A few of the survey’s findings:

• Two-thirds of white Americans who strongly embrace Christian nationalism disagree that white supremacy is still a major problem — compared with one-third of all Americans.

• Just over 80 percent of white Americans who strongly embrace Christian nationalism disagree that generations of slavery and discrimination make for an uneven playing field for Black Americans — compared with 45 percent of all Americans.

• 85 percent of white Americans who strongly embrace Christian nationalism believe discrimination against white Americans is as big of a problem as discrimination against Black Americans and other minorities — compared with 41 percent of all Americans.

• Just over 70 percent of white Americans who strongly embrace Christian nationalism disagree that a Black person is more likely to receive the death penalty for the same crime (an empirical reality in our current justice system) — compared with 36 percent of all Americans.

White Americans, in sum, who believe this country was founded as a Christian nation and desire to see a particular expression of Christianity privileged in the public square imagine a very different past and present when it comes to the experiences of Black Americans. Nonwhite Americans, interestingly, shared some notions of Christian nationalism, the survey found. But those Black Americans who strongly embrace Christian nationalism score anywhere from 23 to 37 percent lower than their white counterparts, depending on the question.

The gap is most obvious when

Black History Month

examining historical explanations for economic inequality experienced by Black Americans today. Only 46 percent of nonwhite Americans who strongly embrace Christian nationalism disagreed that generations of slavery and discrimination still affect Black Americans’ chances. More than 80 percent of white Americans who strongly embrace Christian nationalism disagreed.

These findings underscore why many social scientists add “white” when talking about “Christian nationalism.” The desire to see a particular expression of Christianity privileged in the public sphere and preserved by the government operates differently for white and Black Americans.

Another reason to add “white” before Christian nationalism is that it was white Christian denominations and religious institutions that created the narrative of a “Christian nation” and sustained it throughout American history. Recent historical work demonstrates that white Christians “baptized” slavery, Jim Crow and later iterations of racially inequality as God’s will for this Christian nation. Their theologies and religiou s explanations framed social injustice as an unfortunate

reality of a fallen world. White America and white Christianity were thereby absolved of any guilt or responsibility.

Today, those who push back against teaching this history argue that we should all be judged by our character, not the color of our skin. But surveys

like this one show that white Christian nationalism is not about skin color or even the race we identify with. Rather, it refers to “whiteness” — the values, habits, beliefs, behaviors and attitudes that result in the organization of society in such a way that white Americans, as

a group, tend to have greater access to power, privilege, wealth and other benefits bestowed by various social institutions.

The writer is an associate professor of sociology at the Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture at IUPUI.

Celebrating Black History Month

e Reverend John Jasper (1812-1901)

Born enslaved on July 4, 1812, John Jasper overcame slavery and became a prominent and renown preacher in Richmond and throughout the state of Virginia.

A er a religious experience on Richmond’s Capital Square, Rev. Jasper began his career as a slave funeral preacher. As a result of his unique preaching style and sincere belief in the scriptures, he was frequently in demand to speak at funerals and other occasions around the state.

A er emancipation, Rev. Jasper organized the Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church in September 1867 in an abandoned horse stable on Brown’s Island along the north shore of the James River. e growing congregation moved to its present site in Jackson Ward in the summer of 1869. Rev. Jasper reached the height of his spiritual powers in 1878 with the introduction of his signature sermon, “De Sun Do Move.” Heard by thousands of people, the sermon was preached over 250 times. e Reverend John Jasper died in March 1901 and is buried in Woodland Cemetery.

Riverview Baptist Church

The Tallahassee Democrat/Associated Press

A large crowd gathers last month on the fourth-floor rotunda of the Florida Capitol in Tallahassee for the “Stop the Black Attack” rally. Attorney Ben Crump threatened to file a lawsuit against Gov. Ron DeSantis and his administration amid the ban of a proposed Advanced Placement course on African-American studies in Florida high schools on behalf of three Leon County, Fla., school students.

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

William Leon “BB” Prentiss Jr., who molded thousands of student musicians as the director of high school marching bands in Richmond, Chesterfield County, Norfolk and four other localities, has died.

Mr. Prentiss, most recently band and orchestra director at Meadowbrook High School in Chesterfield, succumbed to illness Friday, Jan. 27, 2023. He was 58.

Six days before his death, his family said he took his final turn at the bandstand as the guest conductor of the Henrico All-County Band and offered this advice to the audience in his closing remarks: “We just have to be kinder and gentler these days, less stressful.

“So, from me to you, don’t let the things that don’t matter too much, matter too much,” he concluded.

Family and friends celebrated Mr. Prentiss’ life Saturday, Feb. 11, at Second Baptist Church – Southside.

Those who knew him described him as humble, kindly man with a great sense of humor and a deep and abiding passion for enabling students to become proficient in performance and field maneuvers.

A Richmond native, Mr. Prentiss began his musical career while in fifth grade when he was introduced to the flute. He would later learn to play the piano, saxophone and tuba, but the flute remained his first love.

By middle school, he was performing with The Brass Connection, a band that his best friend, Anthony Anderson, organized. In high school, he played with the band and also was the drum major in the Jefferson-Huguenot-Wythe High School’s marching band.

He began his 27-year career in music education after graduating from Norfolk State University, where he performed with the

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Wilson Alexander “Bopper” Seaborn loved being an educator.

Known as a man who was easy to meet and get along with, Mr. Seaborn started out as a classroom teacher in Richmond and devoted himself to helping students become proficient in their studies.

Then he opened a travel business in which he helped adults and their families learn about the world.

Mr. Seaborn’s role in teaching others is being remembered

Marching Spartan Legion and other musical groups on the campus. He later added a master’s degree in music education from NSU and took additional courses at Shenandoah University and Longwood University.

Before joining Meadowbrook’s faculty, he was band director for Huguenot High School in Richmond and other schools, including Potomac Middle School in Prince William County, Smithfield High School in Isle of Wight County, Booker T. Washington High School in Norfolk, I.C. Norcom High School in Portsmouth and Cardoza High School in Washington, D.C.

Under his baton, Huguenot’s band was the first and only city public school band to be named a Virginia Honor Band. Cumulatively, the marching, concert and jazz bands he led received more than 23 superior assessment ratings in competitions at the district and state levels.

Mr. Prentiss also aided his students to secure auditions that

William L. Prentiss Jr., local and regional band director, musician and educator, dies at 58 Wilson A. Seaborn succumbs at 76

following his death on Monday, Jan. 20, 2023. He was 76.

Family and friends paid final tributes to him Saturday, Feb. 11, at Jerusalem Baptist Church in Jarrett.

He was born in Sussex County and began his education career after graduating from Virginia State University.

Mr. Seaborn

before he began the travel firm that he dubbed Sussex Tours after his birthplace. Among other things, he organized end-of-year trips to amusement parks for students and their teachers while also helping people take trips overseas and across the country. He ran the business for 20 years before retiring.

er, Ellen Seaborn; a grandson; and a great-grandson.

led to their receiving scholarships to various colleges and universities. He did double duty at Virginia Union University, where he served as assistant band director and also taught students as an adjunct music professor.

He was a member of national and state associations for musical educators, served on the Reynolds Community College Music Advisory Board, and participated in the Commonwealth Winds Community Band.

He also was a member two honorary band fraternities, Kappa Kappa Psi and Phi Beta Mu. Outside of education, he created two professional performance groups that he played with at various times, Opium Jazz, when he lived in Hampton Roads, and Quintessential Jazz in Richmond.

Mr. Prentiss also was an active member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, served as basileus or president of Norfolk State’s Pi Gamma Chapter as well as Gamma Xi Chapter in Virginia Beach and Pi Phi Chapter in Richmond.

Mr. Prentiss also was a past president of the Richmond Alumni Chapter of Norfolk State.

Survivors include his wife of 31 years, Diana “Dee Dee” Witcher Prentiss, whom he met at Norfolk State; daughters, Dara S. Prentiss, Jana N. Prentiss and Maya V. Prentiss; his mother, Rosa Prentiss; his sisters, Dr. Janice P. Bennett and Rosalind HillBey; and his brother, Norman E. Washington Sr.

Rev. Dr. Yvonne Jones Bibbs, Pastor

Mr. Seaborn served on the faculty of Richmond Public Schools and also as a Title I school-community coordinator

Survivors include his wife of 51 years, Zona Brooks Seaborn; son Derek Seaborn; daughter Sheila Rivers Adams; his moth-

Docuseries on Black church highlights history, links to biblical orthodoxy

By Adelle Banks Religion News Service

“How I Got Over,” a five-part series, examines the history of seven historic Black denominations and highlights major Black Christian leaders — well-known and lesser-known — who have contributed to American society. Officials of the AND Campaign, a nonpartisan think tank that promotes Christian civic engagement, released the first episode on YouTube Feb. 13. AND Campaign leaders who are featured in the documentary’s half-hour episodes note that the Black church is not monolithic, pointing out that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was not supported by all Black churches. Black churchgoers are not all progressive or liberal, they observe, but many have long embraced a more conservative Christian orthodoxy.

Rev. Giboney said the new series notes that the origins and differences among the plethora of Black denominations were based on “secondary issues” such as baptism, women preachers, speaking in tongues and levels of training.

“We wanted to show the substantive differences between the denominations but also show that the primary arguments were not about orthodoxy,” he said.

rev. Giboney Rev. Rhodes

More recently, he said, Black church leaders from a range of denominations have banded together to support voting rights initiatives and the proposed Fairness for All Act, which would provide broad protections for LGBTQ people and simultaneously provide exemptions for religious institutions that uphold traditional beliefs about marriage and sexuality.

“Your

“Orthodoxy, or true belief in Scripture, doesn’t belong to any one culture,” said the Rev. Justin Giboney, president of the AND Campaign, in an interview with Religion News Service. He said part of the goal of the series is to highlight the conservative theological stances of many Black Christians.

“What we’re saying is orthodoxy has always been in the Black church. It’s still strong, and we think that’s part of the Black church’s future.”

In the documentary, the Rev. C.J. Rhodes, pastor of Mount Helm Baptist Church in Jackson, Miss., describes what he calls the “sanctified seven” major Black denominations, divided among three strains of Christianity: Methodist (African Methodist Episcopal Church, African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church and Christian Methodist Episcopal Church), Baptist (National Baptist Convention, USA; National Baptist Convention of America; and Progressive National Baptist Convention) and Pentecostal (Church of God in Christ).

“In today’s moment of the Black church, there’s a lot of overlap and confluence between these three groups, which was a very interesting turn of events, given about 100 years ago they fought vehemently about which one was truer to the biblical witness,” Rev. Rhodes said in the first episode.

The series, timed to start during Black History Month, follows another documentary, PBS’ “The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song,” based on a 2021 book by Harvard historian Henry Louis “Skip” Gates Jr. Rev. Giboney praised the overall content of that four-hour documentary but said he thought “it did tell us that we need to go left,” and his organization wanted to offer a different perspective.

The AND Campaign affirms traditional marriage between a man and a woman and considers families with a mother and father as “the traditional family ethic,” Giboney said.

The documentary features longtime Black church leaders such as Bishop Claude Alexander, senior pastor of The Park Church in Charlotte, North Carolina; and the Rev. Cynthia Hale, senior pastor of Ray of Hope Christian Church, a Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) congregation outside Atlanta. But Rev. Giboney, an executive producer (along with Rev. Rhodes) of the series, said they intentionally included younger voices speaking about Black religious history.

The series emphasizes speakers such as Nona Jones, founder of Faith & Prejudice, who describes once-enslaved Richard Allen’s decision to start the African Methodist Episcopal Church; and Isaiah Robertson, founder of Black Church Empowered, who recounts how Nannie Helen Burroughs started the influential National Baptist Women’s Convention.

It also includes interviews with leaders such as Barbara Williams-Skinner, a public policy strategist and co-convener of the National African American Clergy Network, and former longtime Philadelphia Mayor W. Wilson Goode Sr., who link their civic work with their commitment to the Bible.

“I intended not to be a politician,” said Mr. Goode in the second episode. “I intended to be seen as someone who was a Christian who believed in Christian principles, who carried out what I carried out with Christian principles.”

Documentary producers plan to release the second episode on Feb. 27 and three others in March and April, all of which will be available on the AND Campaign’s website after their premieres.

Sandra Sellars for Richmond Free Press

File photo of William Prentiss, director of the award-winning Huguenot High School Band, as he strikes up the band in a practice session in 2003.

Hampton appoints new athletic director

Anthony D. Henderson will soon lead the 18 varsity, NCAA Division I sports at Hampton University.

HU President Darrel Williams announced Feb. 8 that Henderson, who has extensive administrative experience, will become the new athletic director, effective Feb. 27.

Henderson succeeds Eugene Marshall, who resigned to accept a similar AD position at Binghampton, N.Y., University.

Mr. Henderson

the MEAC title in 1997 and 1998, and advanced to the NCAA Division 1-AA playoffs both seasons. Joe Taylor (now Virginia Union University’s athletic director) was HU’s coach at the time. Henderson is listed as being in Hampton’s Class of 2000. Since then, Henderson has served in administrative positions at Akron, Old Dominion and Yale universities, as well as The College of William and Mary.

Charles ‘Jabo’ Wilkins’ VCU jersey to be retired Feb. 28

In the beginning of VCU basketball, there was Charles “Jabo” Wilkins. The merger of the Medical College of Virginia and Richmond Professional Institute in the summer of 1968 created VCU.

Pirates football fans recall Henderson as a talented defensive back under coach Joe Taylor. With Henderson as a defensive back, HU won

The Pirates now compete in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) after stints in the MEAC, CIAA and Big South.

Ed Reed’s criticism of Bethune-Cookman costs him coaching job

Ed Reed is out, and Raymond Woodie Jr. is in as Bethune-Cookman University football coach. Reed, the NFL Hall of Fame safety, was announced as the Wildcats’ coach last month, replacing Terry Sims. However, Reed went public, vociferously criticizing the Daytona Beach schools’ athletic facilities in general and, in particular, his own office.

At that point, embarrassed Bethune-Cookman officials decided not to ratify Reed’s contract.

The SWAC school has since turned to native son Woodie, a former standout Wildcats linebacker 1992-95.

Woodie has been a man on the move, serving as an assistant at Florida State, Florida

Atlantic, Oregon, South Florida and Westen Kentucky.

Bethune-Cookman was 2-9 each of the past two seasons under Sims. The HBCU has sent at least 20 players to the NFL, most notably Miami Dolphins’ Hall of Fame offensive lineman Larry Little.

In a blink (during the 1968-69 season), the slender, bouncy 6-foot-3 Wilkins became the epitome of the hometown hero. Coach Benny Dees didn’t look far for help.

VCU’s first star grew up on Idlewood Avenue, just west of campus, and polished his unique, fallaway jump shot at Maggie L. Walker High.

His “oh-my-gosh” performances still dominate the VCU record book.

He hasn’t been forgotten.

On Feb. 28, during halftime of VCU’s last home game against St. Louis, Wilkins will have his No. 40 jersey retired, strangely for a second time. The honor will come posthumously. Mr. Wilkins died of cancer in 2018, living in Greenville, N.C. Wilkins first had his number retired on Feb. 21, 1971, prior to the Rams’regular season finale against Virginia Union at Franklin Street Gym. Presiding

Note: Wilkins’

came in just three seasons after transferring from

over the ceremony was then-VCU head coach and athletic director Chuck Noe, now deceased.

The retirement was documented in the Feb. 22 editions of the Richmond Times-Dispatch (by Harold Pearson) and Richmond News Leader (by Mike Hyland). Mr. Pearson and Mr. Hyland have both died.

As coaches, athletic directors and playing venues changed, the honor fell through the cracks. Now, for the second time, No. 40 will be retired … only this time it will hang from the rafters, where it always belonged.

Flying Squirrels’ GRASP program seeks VUU, VSU applicants

The application process is underway for the $5,000 Richmond Flying Squirrels “34” Scholarship. Local students attending Virginia Union or Virginia State universities are eligible. Last year’s scholarship went to Virginia State’s

Marica Greenhow. Co-sponsoring the program are the Squirrels and GRASP (Great Aspirations Scholarship Program, Inc.).

The “34” represents the brave move in 1960 when a group of 34 Virginia Union students

Virginia, to wit: all that certain lot, piece or parcel of land, with the improvements thereon, lying and being in Henrico County, VA known as, Henrico County VA and more particularly described as follows:

PARCEL I: ALL those certain lots, pieces or parcels of land, with improvements thereon, and appurtenances thereto belonging, lying and being in Henrico County, Virginia, designated as Parcel A, containing 1.000 Acre, and Residue, containing 0.846 Acre, as shown on that certain plat of survey recorded in the Clerk’s Office, Circuit Court, Henrico County, Virginia, in Deed Book 6256, page 2322, to which plat reference is hereby made for a more particular description of the property hereby conveyed.

Fair Oaks, containing 3.693 acres, and more particularly shown on plat of Hulcher & Associates, Inc., Engineers and Surveyors, Richmond, Virginia, dated June 18, 1991, entitled, “Plat of Two Parcels of Land along the West Line of Hanover Road,” a copy of which is recorded with the deed recorded in Deed Book 2314, page 126, and to which plat reference is hereby made for a more particular description of said land.

peacefully marched downtown and sat at the formerly “whites only” lunch counter at Thalhimer’s Department Store.

The deadline for scholarship application is May 31. For more information, call GRASP at 804-923-0059 or go to advising@grasp4va.org

Betty J. Tyson, and Parties Unknown, come forward to appear on or before APRIL 13, 2023 and do what is necessary to protect their interests in this matter. An Extract, Teste: Edward F. Jewett, Clerk Gregory A. Lukanuski, Esq. City of Richmond, Office of the City Attorney 900 E. Broad Street Richmond, VA 23219 804-646-7949 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND JOHN MARSHALL COURTS BUILDING CITY OF RICHMOND, Plaintiff, v. ELLALEE

been identified and/or served despite diligent efforts to do so and are defendants to this suit by the general description of Parties Unknown. IT IS ORDERED that Unity Sanctuary Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ and Parties Unknown, come forward to appear on or before APRIL 13, 2023 and do what is necessary to protect their interests in this matter. An Extract, Teste: Edward F. Jewett, Clerk Gregory A. Lukanuski, Esq. City of Richmond, Office of the City Attorney 900 E. Broad Street Richmond, VA 23219 804-646-7949 VIRGINIA: IN THE

PARCEL 2: ALL those certain lots, pieces or parcels of land, with improvements thereon, and appurtenances thereto belonging, lying and being in Henrico County, Virginia, designated as Parcel A, containing 1.000 Acre, and Residue, containing 0.846 Acre, as shown on that certain plat of survey recorded in the Clerk’s Office, Circuit Court, Henrico County, Virginia, in Deed Book 6256, page 2322, to which plat reference is hereby made for a more particular description of the property hereby conveyed. Fair Oaks, containing 14.45 acres, and more particularly shown on plat of F. T. Seargent, Certified Surveyors, Sandston, Virginia, dated March 28, 1975, and recorded with deed from Eddie Wood Taylor to Benjamin Franklin Griggs, in Deed Book 1655, page 422, Clerk’s Office, Circuit Court, Henrico County, Virginia, on October 7, 1975.

LESS AND EXCEPT all that certain lot, piece or parcel of land containing 33,212 square feet as conveyed unto the County of Henrico, by deed from George C. Boatwright and Evelyn M. Boatwright, his wife, dated October 28, 1980, recorded January 27, 1981, in the aforesaid Clerk’s Office, in Deed Book 1824, page 119.

LESS AND EXCEPT all that certain lot, piece or parcel of land containing 3.693 acres as conveyed to Frankie E. Lane and Judy B. Lane, by deed from Evelyn M. Boatwright, dated September 20, 1991, recorded September 27, 1991, in the aforesaid Clerk’s Office, in Deed Book 23 I 4, page 126.

PARCELL 3: ALL that certain parcel of land lying and being in Henrico County, Virginia, situated on the western line of Route No. 256, 1.2 miles, more or less, north of

PARCEL 4: ALL that certain lot, piece or parcel of land with all improvements thereon and appurtenances thereunto belonging, lying and being in Henrico County, Virginia, on the north line of Route No. 156 (Hanover Road), containing 3.08acres, all as shown on plat of survey made by F. T. Seargent, Certified Land Surveyor, dated March 14, 1977, and attached to and recorded with deed in Deed Book 1716, page 697, in the Clerk’s Office, Circuit Court, Henrico County, Virginia, to which plat reference is hereby made for a more particular description of the property herein conveyed.

PARCEL 5: Tax Map No.# 77777-HOLE, Henrico County, VA, Affidavit having been made and filed stating that due diligence has been used, without effect, to ascertain the existence of and location of certain parties to be served, and that there are or may be persons whose names and/or addresses cannot be ascertained and remain unknown who are interested in the subject matter of this suit;

It is ORDERED that, the Defendants named above and the PARTIES UNKNOWN, if then living or be dead, their heirs, devisees, assigns, or successors in title, and 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 3/27, 2023 to protect their interests, if any, in this suit and/or the referenced property.

We ask for this: Stephen B. Wood (VSB 26581) Counsel for Plaintiff The Wood Law Firm, PLC 6720 Patterson Avenue, Suite D Richmond, VA, 23226 (804) 335-0888 Office (804) 747-4951 Facsimile (804) 873-0088 Cell Steve.wood@woodlawrva. com Attorney for Plaintiff

Leigh Alsawaf (V.S.B.# 96517) Troutman Pepper 1001 Haxall Point

The City of Richmond announces the following project(s): Request for Proposals: 230003980 for Annual Civil Engineering and Landscape Architecture Services. For all information pertaining to this RFP conference call, please logon to the Richmond website (www.RVA.GOV).

Proposal Due Date: March 10, 2023, Time: 3:30P.M.

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

Thank you for your interest in applying for opportunities with The City of Richmond. To see what opportunities are available, please refer to our website at www.richmondgov.com. EOE M/F/D/V Pilgrim Baptist Church is seeking a pianist with choir direction skills

For more information please contact Mr. Williams at 804-643-9244 pbc2012@verizon.net