Meet this week’s Personality B1
Richmond Free Press © 2022 Paradigm Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.
VOL. 31 NO. 29
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA
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2 ‘Little Misses’ at Dogwood Dell B2
JULY 14-16, 2022
‘Being underestimated … that’s my superpower’ Democratic House Minority Leader Don Scott Jr. ready to energize base By Lisa Vernon Sparks
Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press
Virginia Democratic House Minority Leader Don. L. Scott Jr. made history June 1 when his Democratic colleagues in the House elected him to take charge and take on the challenge of rebuilding a majority. A Portsmouth attorney, Delegate Scott stands at the Virginia State Capitol’s Civil Rights Monument that honors the late attorneys Oliver W. Hill Sr. and Spottswood W. Robinson, who were law partners and are greatly admired by Delegate Scott.
Richmond Police officer charged in April 7 traffic deaths of 2 teens
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The Associated Press Emmett Till
Carolyn Donham
JACKSON, Miss. A team searching a Mississippi courthouse basement for evidence about the lynching of Emmett Till has found the unserved warrant charging a white woman in his 1955 kidnapping, and relatives of the victim want authorities to finally arrest her nearly 70 years later. A warrant for the arrest of Carolyn Bryant Donham — identified as “Mrs. Roy Bryant” on the
document — was discovered last week by searchers inside a file folder that had been placed in a box, Leflore County Circuit Clerk Elmus Stockstill told The Associated Press on June 29. Documents are kept inside boxes by decade, he said, but there was nothing else to indicate where the warrant, dated Aug. 29, 1955, might have been. “They narrowed it down between the ’50s and ’60s and got lucky,” said Mr. Stockstill, who certified
Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press
Splash dance Skylar Bauder, 9, cools off on the splash pad at the Battery Park Community Center Pool in North Side.
Daily dangers, including physical assaults on deputies, allegedly occur at city jail By Jeremy M. Lazarus
Seven months after Richmond Sheriff Antionette V. Irving was sworn into her second four-year term, concern is mounting over her control of the still short-staffed Richmond City Justice Center, as the jail located in Shockoe Valley is called. While the sheriff is keeping mum about conditions inside the jail, as has been her practice since she first took office in 2017, reports are surfacing that the jail reeks of marijuana, with one person telling the Free Press that he has a photo of an inmate rolling a joint.
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1955 warrant in Emmett Till case found, family seeks arrest
By Jeremy M. Lazarus
A Richmond Police officer, who ran a red light in South Side while racing to respond to a burglary-in-progress call, is now facing the prospect of prison time for killing two teens when he collided with their car. A special grand jury Monday indicted Officer Richard D. Johnson on two counts of involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of Jeremiah Ruffin and girlfriend Tracey Williams in the April 7 accident at Bells and Castlewood roads. Officer Johnson also was indicted on misdemeanor charges of reckless driving and failing to yield the right of way, according to Commonwealth’s Attorney Colette W. McEachin, who disclosed the indictments Tuesday. Mr. Ruffin, 18, and Ms. Williams, 19, were ejected from their Buick and suffered fatal injuries after Officer Johnson struck their vehicle as Mr. Ruffin drove forward after the light turned green for him. Ms. Williams Officer Johnson died at the scene, and Mr. Ruffin succumbed nearly two weeks later to his injuries at a local hospital. Officer Johnson and another officer who was riding with him also were injured in the crash. “The circumstances surrounding this accident are unfortunate, and our hearts go out to all those involved in this tragic accident,” the Richmond Police Department stated in response to the indictments being made public. “We continue to pray for the families and their healing. The key issue has always revolved around whether Officer Johnson had his lights flashing and his siren sounding as he entered the intersection, a long-standing requirement that allows
These days Delegate Don L. Scott Jr. doesn’t spend as much time in the courtroom as he used to. A criminal defense lawyer by trade, the Portsmouth Democrat recalls days with a packed calendar, filing motions and multiple court appearances to pursue justice for his clients. But that’s changed for him. As for taking new clients, he prefers the less intensive personal injury cases and will be scaling back on his defense practice, he said recently. It’s with good reason. The Virginia legislator representing the 80th House District has plenty on his plate now — and much more to consume in his new role as the House of Delegates minority leader. Voted in by the Democratic caucus June 1, Delegate Scott led the charge to oust former House Minority Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn, who represents the 41st House District in Fairfax. It was a close count, but nonetheless a majority of the 48-member caucus voted to remove Delegate FillerCorn from her post. In an April 24 statement that Delegate Scott addressed to the House Executive Committee, he called for
“a vote of the removal of the officers in the Leader and Caucus Chair roles.” Delegate Scott nominated himself as the member to replace Delegate Filler-Corn. Delegate Scott, a two-term legislator first elected in 2019, declined to comment on what led up to the no-confidence vote to remove Delegate Filler-Corn, other than saying, “my peers recruited me and chose me and selected me to be the leader of the caucus knowing that I’ve only been there for roughly one-and a-half sessions now,” and that Delegate Filler-Corn, “did a great job … when she was (the) speaker.” Attempts to reach Delegate Filler-Corn for comment were unsuccessful. Delegate Scott now enters a political landscape in the aftermath of the 2021 November election, when seven seats went to Republican candidates and shifted the balance of power in the House chamber. Adding to that defeat and much to the Democrats’ ire, Republicans also swept the three statewide seats, including the spot now held by Gov. Glenn Youngkin. Until the next election cycle for the House, Delegate Scott knows he has much
Inmates “are in control,” the Free Press was told. But it’s not just drugs. The concern is in large part fueled by the daily dangers faced by the jail’s deputies. Ms. Irving Staff stress is high, the Free Press was told, because of the nerve-wracking potential for inmate violence, a key issue in the 2021 primary campaign in which Sheriff Irving defeated
the warrant as genuine. The search group included members of the Emmett Till Legacy Foundation and two Till relatives: cousin Deborah Watts, head of the foundation; and her daughter, Teri Watts. Relatives want authorities to use the warrant to arrest Ms. Donham, who at the time of the slaying was married to one of two white men tried and acquitted just weeks after Mr. Till was abducted from a relative’s home, killed and dumped into a river. “Serve it and charge her,” Teri Watts told the Associated Press in an interview. Ms. Donham set off the case in August 1955 by accusing 14year-old Emmett Till of making improper advances at a family store in Money, Mississippi. A cousin of Mr. Till who was there has said Mr. Till whistled at the woman, an act that flew in the face of Mississippi’s racist social codes of the era. Evidence indicates a woman, possibly Ms. Donham, identified Mr. Till to the men who later killed him. The arrest warrant against Ms. Donham was publicized at the time, but the Leflore County sheriff told reporters he did not want to “bother” the woman since she had two young children to care for. Now in her 80s and most recently living in North Carolina, Ms. Donham has not commented Please turn to A4
Free COVID-19 testing, vaccines Free community testing for COVID-19 continues. The Richmond and Henrico County health districts are offering testing at the following locations: • Thursday, July 14 and July 21, 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. – Fulton Neighborhood Resource Center, 1519 Williamsburg Road. • Wednesday, July 20, 8 to 10 a.m. – East Henrico Recreation Center, 1440 N. Laburnum Ave. Call the Richmond and Henrico COVID-19 Hotline at (804) 205-3501 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday for more information on testing sites, or go online at vax.rchd.com. The Virginia Department of Health also has a list of COVID19 testing locations around the state at www.vdh.virginia.gov/ coronavirus/covid-19-testing/covid-19-testing-sites.
challenger William J. Burnett, a police officer who had run the day-to-day operations of the jail while her predecessor, C.T. Woody Jr. was sheriff. That concern has escalated in the wake of a male inmate’s unprovoked, vicious assault July 8 on a petite 5-foot, 3-inchtall female deputy who was stationed in a mental health unit on the third floor. According to reports from concerned jail staff and others, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity, the inmate repeatedly struck the deputy in the head and face
Want a COVID-19 vaccine or booster shot? The Richmond and Henrico health districts are offering free walk-up COVID-19 vaccines at the following locations: • Thursday, July 14 and July 21, Noon to 4 p.m. - Richmond
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Richmond Free Press
A2 July 14-16, 2022
Local News
VUU announces new appointments Virginia Union University has appointed four new vice presidents at the 1500 N. Lombardy St. campus. The new appointees are: Joseph Green, vice president of student development and success. Dr. Green, who has taught at several universities, has managed more than $24 million in grants and special projects, according to VUU. He has been a director of Dr. Green four federal TRiO programs and academic support centers, and his expertise spans grant writing, retention and student success, fundraising and community engagement. Dr. Green received his undergraduate degree from Bowie State University and earned his Ph.D. in political science and public administration from Howard University. Linda Jackson, vice president of sponsored research and innovation. Dr. Jackson has 20 years of higher education experience, including 13 years in sponsored research. She currently provides leadership for the VUU’s National Research Institute, which Dr. Jackson has 17 centers that engage in technology and innovation, health equity, STEM diversity, gospel and sacred music. Dr. Jackson earned a doctorate degree in educational leadership in higher education and school administration from Oral Roberts University. Grant Neely, vice president of university relations. Mr. Neely is the former chief communications officer for former Gov. Ralph S. Northam, and previously has served three Virginia governors, including Mark R. Warner and L. Douglas Wilder. He has advised Fortune 500 clients on six continents, including the CEOs of major Mr. Neely companies in health care and energy, according to VUU. He earned a master’s degree from Miami University of Ohio, and a bachelor’s degree from the College of William & Mary. Franklin Patterson, vice president of administrative services and infrastructure management. He is a former vice president for general services and technology at Bethune-Cookman University. He earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Johnson C. Smith University, an MBA from Queens University of Charlotte, and a juris doctorate from the Concord Law School at Purdue Global University.
Eviction reprieve
Donald J. Garrett has gained a six-week reprieve from an eviction hearing in Henrico General District Court along with dozens of his neighbors. Mr. Garrett’s case was initially scheduled to be heard Friday, July 15, but his case has been pushed back along with others to Friday, Aug. 26, after the discovery that their 1,200-unit complex, the Pointe of River City on Laburnum Avenue near Nine Mile Road failed to provide adequate notice. While private landlords can issue the first notice after only five days of nonpayment, the new owners of Pointe relied on the Federal Housing Financing Agency for funding, and that agency requires that owners provide tenants in arrears a 30-day notice before going to court. That 30-day notice also applies to public housing residents. The new owners, a limited liability company, took charge in March after paying $154 million for the complex, or about $128,000 a unit. Mr. Garrett, who has lived at the complex since 2011, denies he is in arrears in paying his rent.
Cityscape Slices of life and scenes in Richmond
Regina H. Boone / Richmond Free Press
On a clear or even cloudy day, Richmond’s skyline is visible from all sorts of tall buildings and higher-than-average hilltops. On July 8, we captured the city’s natural and concrete glow as it appears from the former Frederic A. Fay Towers’ eighth floor. The vacant building is at 1202 N 1st St.
Program adds facilities for people seeking to end addictions By Jeremy Lazarus
REAL Life, a Richmond-based residential program for recovering addicts, is expanding again. Next week, the six-year-old nonprofit program that Dr. Sarah H. Scarbrough founded and leads will officially open its newest residences at 1117 and 1119 N. 27th St. in Church Hill. The ribbon-cutting on Tuesday, July 19, is ceremonial, Dr. Scarbrough said, as the properties provided by the Junior League of Richmond already have welcomed their first residents. The addresses are the 11th and 12th houses for the organization, whose first name stands for Recovery from Everyday Addictive Lifestyles. The addition means the organization now can offer residential space to 120 people in the nine houses it operates for
men and the three houses it operates for women, Dr. Scarbrough said. The residential program is designed to provide people who have begun recovery a place to continue working to end their addiction to drugs or alcohol and become independent, she said. Most of those who enter stay for six months, she noted. One condition is for those who become residents is for them to find work to cover the program fee of $150 a week that kicks in after 30 days, Dr. Scarbrough said. “We generally are able to place our residents in employment in 6.5 days,” she said, “so that hasn’t been a problem.” She added that no one is evicted if they cannot find work as long as they are actively participating in the program. More than 1,200 people, mostly former inmates with addiction issues, have been served in the program since REAL Life’s launch in
2016, she said. Initially the sole employee, Dr. Scarbrough now supervises a staff of 12 that mostly handles case management. Dr. Scarbrough began the assistance program during the four years she served as a program director at the Richmond City Jail during the tenure of Sheriff C.T. Woody Jr. The REAL Life program was created to assist participants in the jail’s internal addiction recovery program who were being released. Back then it could only assist people in securing cell phones, obtaining bus tickets or creating resumes. After Sheriff Woody was defeated in 2017, Dr. Scarbrough went on to develop a residential program where participants could live, continue in a group 12-step program and gain confidence. Dr. Scarbrough added that 90 percent of the people who have been served by REAL Life have not relapsed or returned to jail.
RRHA moving downtown by the end of 2022 By Jeremy Lazarus
The city’s housing authority is making plans to shift its headquarters from Gilpin Court to Downtown, the Free Press has been told. Described as a rebranding move, the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority plans to lease two floors in the city-owned Theater Row Building, 730 E. Broad St. RRHA has long been based at 901
Chamberlayne Parkway in the front yard of Gilpin Court, the city’s oldest public housing community. But officials have indicated a recent review found the building outdated and in need of substantial renovation. The authority’s board has approved the new location, and the plans are moving along to make the shift by the end of the year after the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development gave its approval to the proposal earlier this month, the Free Press was told.
With plans afoot to replace Gilpin with a mixed-income community and to reconnect the area to Jackson Ward, RRHA believes that its best address is no longer in the 80-year-old community. The new location would move RRHA closer to Richmond’s political center at City Hall where city planners and the city’s administration also are based, reinstating emphasis on the authority’s development side and its long-term goal of eventually ending its role as a landlord.
Still standing: The battle over who gets A.P. Hill statue remains undecided By Jeremy Lazarus
A legal fight is slowing City Hall’s efforts to remove the last remaining statue of a slaverydefending Confederate military leader. The statue is of Gen. A.P. Hill, which now stands in the middle of the intersection of West Laburnum Avenue and Hermitage Road in North Side. The fight in Richmond Circuit Court is over who will get the statue, which has stood at the site since 1891 and marks the grave of the general, who was killed as Union troops finally captured Petersburg on April 2, 1865. Mayor Levar M. Stoney and City Council want the statue to go to the Richmond-based Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia, which already has received title to the city’s other removed Confederate statues.
Relatives of Gen. Hill object, and instead want the city to pay to relocate the “grave marker … with discretion and dignity as a cenotaph (war memorial) in a place and in a manner” they would determine, according to a court filing. No date has been scheduled for a hearing before Judge David E. Cheek Sr., who has been assigned the case. Attorneys for the city and the family members are seeing eye to eye on several major elements of the case. Both sides have agreed that the general’s casket and remains can be removed for reinterment at city expense at Fairview Cemetery in Culpeper. The contest over the statue is whether it is a war memorial like the other statues that were removed from Monument Avenue, Monroe Park and Church Hill, or whether Gen. Hill’s statue
is a grave marker. The legal contest began when interim City Attorney Haskell C. Brown III, who has just secured council support to fill the job on a permanent basis, hired one of the city’s largest law firms, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP, to handle the matter. In a May 24 petition to the court, a threemember team led by Robert M. Rolfe, asked for an order allowing removal of the remains and the statue. The petition cited previously approved ordinances calling for the Hill monument to be treated like the other statues. On June 30, Madison County-based attorney S. Braxton Puryear filed a response and counterclaim on behalf of four collateral relatives of the general, who has no direct descendants. That filing urged Judge Cheek to find that the burial site of the general “is a cemetery and not
Photos by Regina H. Boone / Richmond Free Press
It’s all an illusion What may appear to be response to a fire is actually the Richmond Fire Department conducting high-rise fire training in the vacant, 11-story Frederic A. Fay Towers building in Gilpin Court. These firefighters just completed a fire simulation activity and are quickly removing their equipment to catch their breath and cool off. The training program is a simulation of a fire on the eighth floor with “one fatality” and another “person with injuries. The firefighters gear up just as they would for a real fire and are called to the location on their trucks. To avoid causing confusion or alarming area residents, no sirens are used during the training sessions. Also, water-based smoke, which creates the illusion of smoke, is used but has no harmful effects. Training began in June and will conclude this month.
subject to the city’s custody or control” and to award the remains and the statue to the relatives, listed as Leonard M. Cowherd, John Michael Hill, Catheryn Hill Ketterman and Lawrence Douglas Mason. Mr. Puryear said Monday that his clients have not made a final decision on where they want the statue to be installed but would likely do so if the judge dismisses the city’s petition and finds for them. Mr. Rolfe and his team have yet to file a response to the counterclaim, which is due to the court around July 22. Under court rules, Mr. Puryear will have an opportunity to respond, and then it may take several months for a hearing to be scheduled. Until the court renders a decision, the statue will remain place.
Richmond Free Press
July 14-16, 2022 A3
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Richmond Free Press
A4 July 14-16, 2022
News Democratic House Minority Leader Don Scott Jr. ready to energize base Continued from A1
to unpack in this role, among them to “do things that will energize our electorate,” he said, “ideas and the things that I am fighting for. “I came into the House because of my life experiences, talking about fairness, talking about how do we make the system work for everyone. I have been able to overcome a great deal of adversity,” he added. The 57-year-old Houston native, husband and father is the first Black legislator to serve as the House Minority Leader. He could ascend to the Speaker role if the Democrats regain control in 2023. His well-known ebullient presentations and presence in the courtroom prepared him well for the rigors of the General Assembly – something the novice legislator demonstrated during an impassioned House floor speech he gave on Jan. 26. The now-infamous speech questioned Gov. Youngkin’s Christian faith and accused him of sowing division because of the executive orders the governor signed during his first few days in office. Some orders included a ban on teaching any “divisive concepts,” a ban on critical race theory, for creating a parents’ tip line and using race overall as a political tool. “I understand you found a winning issue, critical race theory, once again using the old southern strategy to use race as a wedge issue,” Delegate Scott said on the House floor in January to the entire chamber. “I am going to implore us to stop using Black people and critical race theory as a political tool and start governing.” A subsequent speech after meeting with Gov. Youngkin to discuss the previous speech also helped set the stage for Delegate Scott’s unlikely rise to leadership, but the delegate unwittingly has been building
on this moment for years. Delegate Scott’s life journey has taken him from abject poverty in Texas to the analysis-driven environment at a Louisiana law school. But a miscalculated decision on his part in 1994 landed him in a cold prison cell for seven years on federal drug charges. Yet, that experience and story, first reported in the Virginian-Pilot, has enhanced his reputation among his peers, with fellow Democrats believing his life path helped to make him the right man, at the right time, for this job. “I think what you’ve seen since the election, and 2021, and up until today, is really what amounts to a cultural war, everything from critical race theory to the charter school debate, the gun violence reduction, debate, the woman’s right to make her own choices,” Delegate Jeff Bourne, D-Richmond, said. “It’s particularly acute and specific here in Virginia. I think Don is the type of leader that is going to meet those challenges head on,” Delegate Bourne said. Delegate Mike Mullin, DNewport News, has worked closely with Delegate Scott, especially on the Court of Justice Committee. “He’s shown incredible leadership and floor presence…to also include his comments in committee as well,” Delegate Mullin said. “He is a tenacious fighter for people that he feels are underserved or left out of government.” Delegate Mullin added that what makes Delegate Scott the right leader for the caucus is his ability to navigate and balance the differences among the 48member chamber. “Trying to keep a whole caucus of individuals together is a tough job. The biggest differences in the House of Delegates aren’t partisan lines. They’re regional ones,” Delegate Mullin
Free COVID-19 vaccines Continued from A1
Henrico Health District, 400 E. Cary St., Pfizer for ages six months and older, Moderna for ages six months to five years old and ages 12 years and older, appointment only. • Tuesday, July 19, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. - Henrico East Health Department, 1400 N. Laburnum Ave., Pfizer for ages six months and older, Moderna for ages six months to five years old and ages 18 years and older, appointment only. • Wednesday, July 20, 9 a.m. to Noon - Henrico Health Department West Clinic, 8600 Dixon Powers Drive, Pfizer for ages six months and older, Moderna for ages six months to five years old and ages 18 years and older, appointment only; 3 to 6 p.m. - Second Baptist Church, 3300 Broad Rock Blvd., Pfizer for ages six months and older, Moderna for ages six months to five years old and ages 18 years and older, appointment only. Vaccinations and booster shots are available for all eligible on a walk-in basis. People still may schedule an appointment online at 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 cases in Virginia decreased by six percent last week, according to the Virginia Department of Health, while hospitalization data from the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association increased by 12 percent. Community COVID-19 levels in the city of Richmond and counties of Chesterfield and Henrico are still at high levels, while Hanover County dropped last week to a medium level of community COVID-19. Cases and hospitalizations in Virginia have continued to rise as the Omicron subvariants BA-4 and BA-5 continue to spread, with both now accounting for 80 percent of new cases in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In response, White House health officials have urged the public to get their booster shots if they qualify. A total of 3,341 new cases of COVID-19 were reported statewide Wednesday for the 24-hour period, contributing to an overall state total of 1,905,474 cases in Virginia since the pandemic’s outbreak. As of Wednesday, there have been 452,277 hospitalizations and 20,772 deaths statewide. The state’s seven-day positivity rate rose to 23.1 percent on Wednesday. Last week, the positivity rate was 21.8 percent. On Wednesday, state health officials reported that 71.7 percent of the state’s population has been fully vaccinated, while 81.8 percent have received at least one dose of the vaccine. State data also shows that over 3.5 million people in Virginia have received booster shots or third doses of the vaccine. Among those ages 5 to 11 in Virginia, 325,375 have received their first shots as of Wednesday, accounting for 44.9 percent of the age group in the state, while 278,449 children, or 38.4 percent, are fully vaccinated and 26,354 children have received a third vaccine dose or booster, making up 3.6 percent of that age group. On Wednesday, 19,829 children from the ages of zero to four have received the first doses, making up 4.4 percent of the population in Virginia. As of Wednesday, fewer than 159,050 cases, 942 hospitalizations and 13 deaths have been recorded among children in the state. State data also shows that African-Americans comprised 22.1 percent of cases statewide and 23.1 percent of deaths for which ethnic and racial data is available, while Latinos made up 11.4 percent of cases and 5 percent of deaths. Reported COVID-19 data as of Tuesday, July 12, 2022 Cases Hospitalizations Deaths Richmond 51,244 1,151 518 Henrico County 75,074 1,528 961 Chesterfield County 83,369 1,521 782 Hanover County 24,336 728 293 Compiled by George Copeland Jr.
said, noting Northern Virginia has different issues than Hampton Roads. “I think that Don (is) very, very good at being able to balance disparate personalities and needs of all of us in the caucus and give voice to a 48-person chorus.” Soon after Delegate Scott received the go-ahead to lead the Democratic caucus, a few Republican legislators tweeted unflattering remarks on social media about him, his background and former incarceration. Delegate Scott appears undeterred by this. They are rallying cries for him. “People have always told me, based on where I was from, or based on something that happened 20, 30 years ago, what I couldn’t do, what I can’t do, what I’m not allowed to do, or even think about doing,” Delegate Scott told the Richmond Free Press. “I’ve often been overly underestimated. That’s my superpower, being underestimated.” Texas roots One of seven children, with siblings from both his mother’s and father’s sides, Delegate Scott said his parents divorced when he was little more than a toddler. Growing up and being raised by his mother, he recalls some complicated and lean times, makeshift meals, even days when he came home and the electric power was out. “My mother had to make some decisions,” he said. “Yeah, we would eat sandwiches with ketchup, sandwiches (with) whatever you could put between some bread.” Scott said he spent many summers in Jasper, Texas, visiting other relatives. Compared to his native Houston, Jasper was a place where the racial lines were more distinct, but mostly people stayed “in their own lane,” he said. During the remaining parts
of the year, Delegate Scott lived in the city with his family and attended Houston Public Schools, but a chance aptitude assessment he took as a 9-yearold opened doors for him. Despite trouble with speaking and articulating as a child, school officials identified him as a gifted learner. He was transferred to another school district — River Oaks Elementary — in an affluent area in Houston. “I went from a place of abject poverty, to catching a bus (and) going to great wealth,” he said. “My school was literally across the street from what I felt were mansions.” Delegate Scott was 12 when he finally met his father, a graduate of Prairie View A & M University who served in the Air Force and was an engineer with the Department of Defense. He had a new family, Delegate Scott said. They lived in San Antonio. They seemed wealthy to Delegate Scott, because “the house (was) full of food.” The encounter again, was another pivotal moment in his journey. Despite not living there, he saw himself in his father and more. “I probably was even more committed to proving to him that I was going to be successful,” he said. Delegate Scott studied hard and continued to attend schools that offered programs for the gifted. He went on to earn a degree in agriculture from Texas A&M University, located not far from the college his father attended. Following in his dad’s footsteps, Delegate Scott entered the military, the Navy, and became a surface warfare officer. More hard work led to law school at Louisiana State University, but by the time his final year arrived, his dream of becoming a lawyer nearly went up in flames. Delegate Scott made a poor decision that involved him in an illegal
drug transaction. He was arrested in Alabama. According to court documents, the law student pleaded “no contest,” to conspiracy to possess cocaine, with intent to distribute. Instead of a lesser sentence that he’d been led to believe he would receive, the plea landed him in a Texas federal prison. Sentenced for 10 years, but serving only seven, Delegate Scott made the best of an impossible and life- derailing situation. While incarcerated he used his legal skills ( he actually learned he had passed the Texas bar exam before going to prison) to help others. He learned other lessons that made permanent impressions on him. “I tell people, I went to prison, and I was there. And I saw very, very bright people who needed a chance, an opportunity … to get back up,” Delegate Scott said. After being released, the road back and re-entry into society was challenging. But Delegate Scott persevered, lived with relatives in Delaware, took odd jobs and ultimately landed work in 2002 at a workforce development firm, according to his personal website. Several years later, after moving to Portsmouth, Delegate Scott received the green light from state officials to continue with his law career and opened an office in 2015 after being admitted to the Virginia State Bar. Legislation goals Since becoming a Virginia lawmaker in 2019, Delegate Scott’s legislative priorities have included creating policies to assist people economically, something he did when he served on the Portsmouth Economic Development Authority. “This is one of the wealthiest countries in the world,” Delegate Scott said. “How do we create (policies) where everybody can participate? There
is a cost to not having everyone participate. You don’t get your best product.” Other legislative goals are criminal justice reform, an area in which Delegate Scott has gained some traction in recent sessions. His experience in prison gave him insight into creating policy that could really make a difference in someone’s life. To that end, Delegate Scott sponsored a measure for parole reform, House Bill 2167. The bill places a five-year cap on probation for felonies, plus a one-year maximum for misdemeanors, among other benefits. His other major legislative highlight, House Bill 5148, reforms to the earned sentence credit, established a four-level classification system to award and calculate earned sentence credits. “If someone is in prison for a long time, and they’re doing everything right, we should be incentivizing them to be the best version of themselves when they’re released,” he said. “We have a society that stigmatizes folks forever. And I wanted to fight to be a part of removing this stigma.” Delegate Scott said he has no immediate political ambitions beyond the Virginia legislature. For now his only aspiration, he said, is to “make good policy in the Commonwealth.” The biggest challenge for him with his job now, he said, is the balancing act between work and family — including his wife, Mellanda Colson-Scott, a dentist, and his 13-year-old daughter. The most surprising thing about being a legislator is that it’s supposed to be a parttime job. It’s not, he said. “I’m doing something every day for at least four or five hours related to my position as a legislator, even when we’re out of session,” Delegate Scott said. “It does not end.”
City police officer charged in traffic deaths Continued from A1
police cars, ambulances, fire trucks and other such vehicles to disregard traffic rules in responding to an emergency. While the department has remained mum about the evidence that was uncovered, family members have said the video they have seen indicates Officer Johnson
had his lights flashing on, but had not activated his siren in speeding toward 1500 Clarkson Road where the burglary had been reported. State law allows emergency responders to go through a red light, but only with “due regard for the safety of persons and property” and authorizes criminal prosecution where the evidence indicates the
operator of the emergency vehicle drove with “reckless disregard of the safety of persons and property.” Officer Johnson has been placed on unpaid leave and is to be arraigned at a future date. In a statement, the department indicated that his future as an officer will be decided after the “criminal process is concluded.”
Daily dangers allegedly occur at city jail Continued from A1
during the attack and left her bleeding and unconscious on the floor. The deputy was rushed to a nearby hospital where she was revived and has undergone surgery for the damage to her face, the Free Press was told. The Free Press was not able to contact her. Assaults on deputies are not rare, the Free Press has been told. During the 2021 campaign, the Free Press reported that deputies are routinely spit on, have had bleach and hot water thrown on them, been hit with sticks and punched. But this assault ratcheted up the danger level, according to sources, and is largely due to the reduced number of deputies on each floor. “When something happens, too often a deputy is on his or her own. There is no one to available to help,” a source said. At the time of this assault, according to the information provided that the sheriff has not contradicted, only two deputies were on the third floor, which has eight pods or contained cellblocks, far short of even the minimum staffing levels needed. Based on the design, the Free Press was told that on each shift, two deputies and a supervisor are supposed to be on each floor monitoring cameras that show the activity
in each pod. Each pod also is supposed to have one deputy stationed inside. When the attack occurred, the second deputy who had been monitoring the camera on that pod was called away to deal with a situation in another pod. That deputy was unaware that the assault was taking place, the Free Press was told. According to the reports, the sheriff was distressed that a responding deputy not only called for medical help but also contacted the Richmond Police Department for assistance. She did not want police officers entering her facility, and since the attack, the sheriff has ensured that her staff retained investigative control. As yet, the Free Press was told the sheriff has not filed any complaint with the commonwealth’s attorney against the inmate so that he could be prosecuted. Since taking office, Sheriff Irving, according to the information, has barred deputies from filing charges against inmates without her permission. She did not respond to requests for comment on the assault or her plans for seeking prosecution of the inmate. Inside the jail, the Free Press was told, that the sheriff reportedly was less upset about the assault than about the fact that information about the assault had leaked and was being reported on Facebook. The Free Press was
told that the sheriff told her staff she was considering calling in the FBI to learn who had disclosed the information. As is the case for other public safety operations, staffing remains an issue at the jail. According to the city’s budget for the 2022-23 fiscal year, the funded positions for Sheriff Irving’s department, including deputies, was reduced by nearly 96 positions, from 466 to 370.5, reflecting the continuing vacancies. Neither the sheriff nor her staff responded to Free Press questions about staff shortfalls or how many of the funded positions are vacant. The sheriff also provides security to the city’s courthouses, serves subpoenas and other legal papers and handles evictions. The jail, though, is the biggest responsibility, absorbing most of the money and manpower. The staff is at minimum even though in recent years the jail has been holding fewer people. The reduction is due to diversion policies that have a significant impact. Fewer people in Richmond who are charged with a crime have to post bonds under the policy former Commonwealth’s Attorney Michael N. Herring installed and current Commonwealth’s Attorney Colette W. McEachin maintains. That policy is to release people pending trial unless they present a danger to the community.
1955 warrant in Emmett Till case found Continued from A1
publicly on calls for her prosecution. But Teri Watts said the Till family believes the warrant accusing Ms. Donham of kidnapping amounts to new evidence. “This is what the state of Mississippi needs to go ahead,” she said. District Attorney Dewayne Richardson, whose office would prosecute a case, declined comment on the warrant but cited a December report about the Till case from the Justice Department, which said no prosecution was possible. Contacted by the Associated Press recently, Leflore County Sheriff Ricky Banks said: “This is the first time I’ve known about a warrant.” “I will see if I can get a copy of the
warrant and get with the DA and get their opinion on it,” Sheriff Banks said. If the warrant can still be served, Mr. Banks said, he would have to talk to law enforcement officers in the state where Ms. Donham resides. Arrest warrants can “go stale” due to the passage of time and changing circumstances, and one from 1955 almost certainly wouldn’t pass muster before a court, even if a sheriff agreed to serve it, said Ronald J. Rychlak, a law professor at the University of Mississippi. But combined with any new evidence, the original arrest warrant “absolutely” could be an important stepping stone toward establishing probable cause for a new prosecution, he said. Mr. Till, who was from Chicago, was
visiting relatives in Mississippi when he entered the store where Ms. Donham, then 21, was working on Aug. 24, 1955. A Till relative who was there, Wheeler Parker, told AP that Mr. Till whistled at the woman. Ms. Donham testified in court that Mr. Till also grabbed her and made a lewd comment. Two nights later, Ms. Donham’s thenhusband, Roy Bryant, and his half-brother, J.W. Milam, showed up armed at the rural Leflore County home of Mr. Till’s great-uncle, Mose Wright, looking for the youth. Mr. Till’s brutalized body, weighted down by a fan, was pulled from a river days later in another county. His mother’s decision to open the casket so mourners in Chicago could see what had happened helped galvanize the building Civil Rights Movement of the time.
Richmond Free Press
July 14-16, 2022 A5
Local News
Photos by Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free
All access Hundreds gather at Monroe Park on July 8 to rally for the support of abortion access in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s rollback of the 49-year-old Roe v. Wade decision that conferred a woman’s right to have an abortion. The supporters were joined by Democratic lawmakers and activists. On the same day, President Biden signed an executive order to increase protection against potential penalties that women seeking abortion may face if they travel across state lines for the procedure. The order also includes measures to safeguard access to abortion medication and contraception.
‘The Bible does not speak about abortion’ City councilman and minister says right-wing evangelicals’ religious doctrine lacks biblical foundation
By Jeremy Lazarus
Dr. Michael J. Jones is ready to debate anyone who claims that a ban on abortion is based on the Bible. In his view, those who seek to lean on the scriptures for support of their opposition to abortion will fall down. “The Bible does not speak about abortion,” said Dr. Jones, the founding pastor of an independent Christian church called Village of Faith, a member of Richmond’s City Council and a Democratic candidate for the 77th House of Delegates District in 2023. “There just isn’t any reference to it in the Old Testament or the New Testament. There just isn’t,” Dr. Jones said in an interview with the Free Press, though, as historians note, the practice of abortion dates back thousands of years in human civilization, predating the Bible. However, he said the Bible does command the faithful to “take care of the homeless, the poor, widows and orphans. “We’re doing a poor job of that,” Dr. Jones continued. “My thing is, start there first and get off of women’s bodies.” A University of Colorado graduate, Dr. Jones earned his master’s of divinity degree at the Virginia Union University seminary and his doctorate in ministry from the McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago. Dr. Jones has been speaking out on the subject in the wake
of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on June 24 that overturned Roe v. Wade, a nearly 50-year-old court decision that provided federal protection for the right of women to terminate a pregnancy, primarily in the first trimester. The court’s ruling returned to the states the authority to regulate abortions. In some states, the ruling triggered bans on the procedure. In Virginia, abortion remains legal, but the current governor, Glenn A. Youngkin, wants to limit them to 15 weeks and ban them altogether if Republicans take control of the General Assembly. Richmond leaders are concerned as the city is home to three of the state’s 15 abortion providers. Any limitations arelikely to have an impact on women’s health. Recently, City Council adopted a resolution putting the city on record as to its willingness to do what it can to defend abortion rights. Dr. Jones, who opposes the governor’s proposals, is concerned the Catholic Church and right-wing evangelicals are pushing a religious doctrine that lacks a biblical foundation in seeking to control half of the population. As he sees it, many on the anti-abortion side are “trying to use the Bible to oppress, to manipulate, to cause fear and to demonize a woman’s right to choose.” To Dr. Jones, the anti-
Dr. Jones
abortionists’ argument is rooted in a view that women are not real people gifted with the same autonomy and choice as men, but instead are merely vessels for bearing children. Essentially, advocates against abortion regard women as dutybound to be mothers, he said, even though the Bible portrays woman as independent people who are free to make their own decisions, including whether to bear and deliver children. He said those who oppose abortion use the Bible to claim that human life is precious and that ending that life before birth amounts to murder. Such advocates are inconsistent in trying to take an ancient book and fit it to modern cir-
Black History Museum to host chess classes The Bright Minds RVA Chess Classes and Tournament for Richmond-area teens will take place Aug. 8 through 18 at the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia. The classes, Monday through Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., seek to teach students of all experience levels the fundamentals of chess,as they participate in classes and a friendly competition tournament. Created in 2020 and officially launched in 2021, Bright Minds RVA was formed by Bernice Travers, president of the Bernice E. Travers Foundation, and Fleming E. Samuels, a former Richmond Public Schools administrator and creator of multiple chess clubs for local schools.
Mr. Samuels will be the instructor during the two-week training in which participants, ages 14 to 16, will be placed in beginner, intermediate and advanced sections based on experience. Classes will culminate in a tournament that will award first, second and third place finishers with monetary prizes and trophies for each section. At the end of the two-week session a ceremony and reception will celebrate the achievements of each student. All classes are free and open to enrolled public school students. Lunch will be provided. For more information, please call (804) 814-4434 or email brightmindschessclub@ gmail.com.
cumstances, Dr. Jones said. They cherry-pick biblical passages to buttress their position, he said. They tout the commandment not to kill on abortion, he said, but then ignore the story of Saul being chastised by God for disobeying an order to attack the Amalekites and slaughter every man, woman and child among that group, which hardly smacks of respect for life. “It’s the same Bible,” he
said. “They promote a ban on abortions because of the sanctity of human life,” Dr. Jones continued. “But if they truly believed,” he said, they would be on the front lines opposing war, the death penalty and policies that lead to poverty, hunger, ill health and death. “Instead, many of those most active in opposing abortion are among the biggest supporters of military adventures, capital punishment and other policies that are harmful to people,” he said. His position on abortion is supported by numerous Bible scholars. Jewish thinkers who look to the Talmud, a compilation of rabbinical debates that has become the foundation of the faith’s laws, practices and customs, have long noted that a fetus is not a person with a soul until it has emerged from the womb and taken its first breath. Numerous Christian theologians note that a fetus or unborn child does not meet the Bible’s depiction of a person as a complex creature vested with the ability to make choices. Christian scholars also cite
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the Bible’s disagreement with the anti-abortion portrayal of life beginning at conception. They point out that among the laws listed in the Book of Exodus is one that states that if someone else’s actions result in injury to a pregnant woman who then miscarries, the punishment for the loss of the fetus is a fine to be determined by the husband and a local religious leader. The only serious penalty imposed under that law is when injury leads to the death of the woman. Then the law states that the person responsible is to be put to death, and the scholars write that the biblical requirement indicates that an actual person is considered far more important than a potential person, which is treated as property. “In the Bible, people can choose to do a thing or not do a thing,” Dr. Jones said. “We all have a choice, and that includes not carrying a pregnancy to term.”
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Crape myrtle in the West End
Editorial Page
A6
July 14-16, 2022
Abortion in Virginia must be protected If you are a Black or Brown woman who is pregnant, living in Virginia, and want the right to become a parent, congratulations. Despite the Supreme Court’s June 24 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which for 49 years conferred the right for American women to have an abortion, you are fortunate to still have bodily autonomy. You can choose whether or not you want to have a baby — for now. However, that could change with a swing of the political pendulum in the direction of conservative, Pro-Life policies. In Virginia, the right for a woman to choose must be protected. When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, it turned its back on a nearly five-decade precedent and eliminated a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion in this country. While abortion itself is not illegal, abortion laws are now under control of the states and those state legislatures have the power to determine how broad or restrictive the laws will be. Upon the high court’s ruling, some wasted no time in tightening the reins. The states with the tightest restrictions often have higher minority populations than others and often have the worst maternal health outcomes. Why? Black women facing difficulties during pregnancy and delivery are often not heard or believed by their doctors when they voice concerns. Why? Because many doctors believe the false stereotype that Black women have higher pain thresholds than women of other populations. As a result, Black women are three to four times more likely to die in childbirth, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If you have heard professional tennis star Serena Williams tell her story about giving birth to her daughter, you know that even with her level of fame, wealth, athleticism and access to high-end health care, she faced this inherent bias and almost died. This makes the right to an abortion a racial justice issue. And turning over Roe v. Wade is a way to control women, especially minority women. America’s obsession with using and wanting to control Black women and their bodies is nothing new. Exploitation of the Black female body has included their sexual abuse when Black women were enslaved, demands that new Black mothers use their breast milk to feed the slave master’s white babies, and Black women’s bodies being sold to reconcile debt. Even in death, Black women have been denied the right to decide what happens to their bodies. The 2010 book, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” details how Henrietta Lacks’ “HeLa” cells were used, without her or her family’s knowledge or consent, to advance research in science and health. Sarah Baartman was a slave in the early 19th century whose body parts were on display in museums until 1974; her remains were finally laid to rest in 2002. According to Planned Parenthood, in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, South Dakota and Texas, abortion is now banned. Thirteen states have “trigger laws” that immediately went into effect to ban or severely restrict abortion access. In other states, access is severely restricted. Health experts indicate this reality will disproportionately impact minority women and potentially compromise their mental and physical health. Knowing this, and how Black women’s bodies have been used and exploited in the past, how do we protect and preserve their health? Soon after the Supreme Court decision on Roe v. Wade, Richmond City Council unanimously voted to support abortion rights for residents within the city limits. Now city leaders are calling upon the General Assembly to take several steps to strengthen those rights, including an amendment to the state constitution that defines abortion as a protected right. Despite protections under state laws and further support at the municipal level, the major divide between conservatives and liberals, and the fact that Virginia has a Republican governor are cause for concern. A continuation of abortion rights in Virginia is not guaranteed. Pro-choice advocates in Richmond insist that now is not the time to be complacent. A woman’s right to choose in the Commonwealth must be protected, and participation from people in our communities is key. We must show up at demonstrations, call our legislators and make sure that we vote to protect Black women’s health and abortion rights in Virginia.
Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press
Nation loses unsung civil rights hero The name Clifford Alexander Jr., who died recently at age 88, is not as well-known today as some of his contemporaries in the Civil Rights Movement. Perhaps no American, however, has done more to combat segregation and discrimination in private employment and the military or leaves as great a legacy. I first met him in 1983 during a pickup game on the basketball court at Xavier University in New Orleans. He had a masterful hook shot, and nearly bested me. I remember being impressed with his stature, both physical – he stood 6 feet, 3 inches tall – and professional. By then, he had been an adviser to four U.S. presidents, hosted his own television talk show, and was then head of his own consulting firm, Alexander & Associates, which advised organizations, including Major League Baseball, on recruiting candidates of color.
As one of the architects of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as an early chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and as the first Black Secretary of the Army, Mr. Alexander transformed not only government policy but social attitudes regarding racial equity. A graduate of Harvard University and Yale School of Law
Marc H. Morial and veteran of the Army National Guard, Mr. Alexander served as assistant district attorney in Manhattan and led communitybased organizations focused on improving housing conditions and expanding educational and employment opportunities for youths. In 1963, President John F. Kennedy recruited Mr. Alexander, then 29, to serve on the National Security Council. Mr. Alexander later served President Lyndon B. Johnson in various positions, becoming one of his closest advisers and helping to shepherd the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into law. But there was one moment where he
thought he’d personally doomed the landmark legislation after the Washington Star prematurely published his interview about the upcoming vote. Mr. Alexander assumed the chair of the EEOC in 1967, immediately launching investigations of individual companies and labor unions as well as entire industries and airing the findings during public hearings. During hearings in 1968 and 1969, he secured promises from the major TV networks “to increase employment opportunities for Negroes and other minority groups as well as to give them fair and honest representation on the TV screen.” But three decades later, in an essay published in the New York Times, he decried those promises as empty, and noted a “crippling lack of support” from the Nixon Administration. As the first Black Secretary of the Army – the first Black senior civilian official of any branch of the U.S. armed services – he assumed office in 1977 at a turbulent moment. The nation had ended the draft just four years earlier, and the all-volunteer
Use economic tools to stop gun violence There have been at least 214 mass shootings in the United States so far this year, the most recent being the killings during a July 4 gathering in Highland Park, Ill. This year, we have also been both riveted and horrified by the massacre of 21 people, 19 of them children, in Uvalde, Texas. A crazed racist killed 10 Black people and wounded at least three others when he shot up a Tops grocery store in Buffalo, N.Y. In 2022, there have been more shootings than days; the shootings have become commonplace. The Biden Administration and concerned legislators have done what they can to restrict gun ownership, given our nation’s gun culture and our combatively divided Senate. There is a new gun safety law, and some survivors of mass shootings joined him at the White House to celebrate the legislation. Yet, even after Congress passed the law, we learned that the new law would not have prevented the Highland Park shootings, as the 18-year-old man who did the shootings legally purchased the assault weapon he used. The families of victims are tired of people offering thoughts and prayers. They want action! The Safer Communities Act, passed on a bipartisan basis last month, is a step in the right direction, but it doesn’t go far enough. We need to use economic tools or inject economics into the conversation about gun safety. Those of us who are disgusted by mass shootings and the violence that plagues our inner cities
may have some weapons at our disposal to punish those who participate in, and encourage, our gun culture. Those of us with stock portfolios must insist that our money managers avoid stocks like Smith and Wesson (SWBI), which produced more than 1.5
Julianne Malveaux million guns in 2020. If more people who say they hate gun violence stopped investing in gun manufacturing companies, perhaps these companies would rethink their manufacturing, marketing and lobbying. Gun ownership has been cleverly marketed, with companies using buzzwords like safety to encourage gun purchases. Those who are survivors of gun violence and their families should sue the gun manufacturers who produce the deadly weapons that make massacres possible. Earlier this year, Remington (RGM) agreed to pay the families of the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting, where 20 children and six educators were killed. It took a decade between the shootings and the lawsuit settlement, so the families must be commended for their persistence. The families of victims in Uvalde, Buffalo, and Highland Park should consider pursuing similar lawsuits to punish those companies that flood deadly weapons into the public. Those who facilitate the gun possession of young shooters should also be sued. In the Highland Park case, the shooter’s father, Bobby Crimo, said he’d done nothing wrong in signing his son’s gun permit application. From all indications, his son Bobby Crimo Jr. was troubled. He’d once threatened to kill his
family, sparking a police investigation. And yet his dad signs for a gun permit. Sue him. If those who mindlessly sign gun permits understand that there are financial consequences to their actions, they might think again. Some will say that Mr. Crimo and some of the other shooters were adults. I say if you facilitated the gun purchase, you have to pay for it. We also can use our tax or surcharge system to restrict the distribution of ammunition. Comedian Chris Rock had it right when he said in 2009, “You don’t need no gun control, you know what you need? We need some bullet control. I think all bullets should cost $5,000 … $5,000 per bullet … You know why? Cause if a bullet cost $5,000, there would be no more innocent bystanders. “Every time somebody got shot, we’d say ... He must have done something ... he’s got $50,000 worth of bullets in his behind. Even if you get shot by a stray bullet, you wouldn’t have to go to no doctor to get it taken out. Whoever shot you would take their bullet back, like, ‘I believe you got my property.’” Chris Rock might have been joking, but I’m not. We use our tax system to encourage or discourage specific behavior or to cover the costs of such behavior. We use gas taxes to maintain roads. We impose cigarette and alcohol taxes to discourage consumption. Why not tax bullets (or mandate a surcharge) to discourage their use. If we want to slow or stop gun violence, economic tools might well be the answer. The writer is an economist, author, and Dean of the College of Ethnic Studies at Cal State
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.
armed forces still were considered an experiment. Critics charged that the draft, which ostensibly cut across class and race lines, resulted in a more equitable force and that ending it had resulted in lower recruit quality. These criticisms were tinged with racism, as Black soldiers made up more than 22 percent of the Army, twice the percentage Black Americans. During his tenure, Mr. Alexander promoted thirty Black officers to general, including future U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and Hazel Johnson-Brown, the first Black woman general. With Mr. Alexander’s death, the nation has lost one of the unsung heroes of the civil rights movement. The writer is the president and CEO of the National Urban League.
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Richmond Free Press
July 14-16, 2022 A7
News
U.S. labor shortage provides opportunity for ex-prisoners The Associated Press
JACKSON, Miss. When Antonio McGowan left the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman after serving 17 years, he was free for the first time since he was 15. But as an adult finally out from behind bars, he immediately found himself confined to menial labor. Mr. McGowan needed stable work for a paycheck and to keep busy, but temporary gigs were all he could find. Just as those around him counseled the importance of maintaining a routine, he became trapped in a cycle of odd jobs and irregular hours. He trimmed grass one week and painted a house the next. But he couldn’t land anything full time, and the unpredictability of his income proved challenging. Disconnection notices and unpaid bills piled up. “Things weren’t in place,” Mr. McGowan said. “They weren’t where I wanted them to be as far as being an individual back in society. It was a struggle.” After several years adrift, Mr. McGowan was finally able to regain his footing with the help of the Hinds County Re-entry Program, a workforce training program for former inmates created in October. Re-entry programs are one way employers are trying to fill some of the 11.3 million open jobs in the U.S. amid a dire national labor shortage. The practice of employing people with a criminal record is known as “second-chance hiring.”
Rogelio V. Solis/Associated Press
Eric Beamon, HOPE coordinator with MagCor, a company that provides realistic work experiences for sentenced, adult offenders residing within Mississippi correctional facilities, that can lead to gainful employment upon release, confers with event sponsors June 22 during the 2022 Mississippi Re-Entry Job Fair, in Jackson, Miss. The Mississippi Department of Corrections joined the Governor’s Job Fair Network in hopes of assisting inmates eligible for parole and those recently paroled and who have participated in one of the MDOC’s re-entry vocational programs with finding work.
In rosier economic times, many former prisoners faced steep obstacles finding work. The labor shortage sparked by the COVID-19
Public Notice
Updated weight limits on Virginia bridges and culverts
In accord with state and federal law, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has imposed new or changed existing weight restrictions and installed new signage indicating the updated weight restrictions on the following bridges and culverts (structures) in Virginia within the last 30 days.
The list above is not a comprehensive list of all structures with weight restrictions in the Commonwealth, but shows only structures that have new or changed weight restrictions within the last 30 days. The list contains only basic structure identification and location information and the date the new or changed weight restriction and signage became effective. For a full listing of all bridge and culvert weight restrictions with detailed information about specific structures, including location data and actual weight limits, visit https://www.virginiadot.org and navigate to Info Center/Trucking Resources. This page references a posted structures report and a GIS map tool that contain detailed information about restricted structures in Virginia. To receive email notifications regarding new or updated weight restrictions for structures statewide, complete the sign-up form on the web page.
pandemic now presents them with opportunities, said Eric Beamon, a recruiter for MagCor, a company that provides job training to people in Mississippi correctional facilities. “We think the pandemic, in a sense, was a big help,” Mr. Beamon said. “If no one wants to work anymore or if everyone wants to work from home, employers are begging for employees.” Some studies have shown that stable jobs are a major factor in reducing recidivism. Still, not everyone is willing to hire an ex-convict, and a lack of job opportunities for those with a criminal record is still stymieing workforce participation in the economy, Stephanie Ferguson, a senior manager of employment policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, wrote in a May report. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, barriers faced by people with felony convictions were linked to a loss of at least 1.7 million employees from the workforce and a cost of at least $78 billion to the economy in 2014, the year that Mr. McGowan left prison. The current desperate straits in which employers now find themselves could help spur a change. In a 2021 survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management, or SHRM; the SHRM Foundation and the Charles Koch Institute, 53 percent of human resource professionals said they would be willing to hire people with criminal records — up from just 37 percent in 2018. That’s where programs like Hinds County Re-entry and MagCor step in, helping to make former inmates more desirable as candidates by properly training them to reintegrate into society and matching them with jobs tailored to their skills and interests. Mr. McGowan said he’d like to work in air conditioning and heating repair, and the program’s staff members recommended him
Notices regarding bridges and culverts with new or updated weight restrictions are published monthly by VDOT. For additional information or questions, please contact haulingpermits@vdot.virginia.gov. The Virginia Department of Transportation is committed to ensuring that no person is excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any of its programs or activities on the basis of race, color, or national origin, as protected by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. If you need further information on VDOT’s Title VI Program or special assistance for persons with disabilities or limited English proficiency, please contact the Virginia Department of Transportation’s Title VI Program Specialist at 804-786-2730.
Traffic Signal Upgrades Chesterfield County Find out about the proposed improvements to traffic signals along various routes in Chesterfield County. The project will install Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) improvements, communications and advanced traffic signal control equipment at multiple intersections throughout the county, including:
Route 10 (Ironbridge Road) from Route 150 (Chippenham Parkway) to I-295 Route 60 (Midlothian Turnpike) from Route 150 (Chippenham Parkway) to Route 652 (Old Hundred Road) Route 360 (Hull Street Road) from Route 150 (Chippenham Parkway) to Route 7692 (Magnolia Green Parkway)
Improvements will include new advanced traffic signal controllers, signal cabinets, wireless radio installation, uninterruptible power supply modifications to junction boxes and signal wiring, new communications and service drops, and installation of CCTV cameras. These improvements will provide better traffic management capabilities along these critical corridors. Drivers may experience intermittent lane closures during construction. Review the project information and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documentation in the form of a Categorical Exclusion at VDOT’s Richmond District Office located at 2430 Pine Forest Dr. in South Chesterfield, 804-524-6000, 800-663-4188, TTY/TTD 711. Please call ahead to ensure the availability of appropriate personnel to answer your questions. If your concerns cannot be satisfied, VDOT is willing to hold a public hearing. You may request that a public hearing be held by sending a written request to Mr. Adam Brooks, Virginia Department of Transportation, 2430 Pine Forest Dr., South Chesterfield, VA 23834-9002 on or prior to July 22, 2022. If a request for a public hearing is received, notice of date, time and place of the hearing will be posted. In compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act, Section 106 and 36 CFR Part 800, information concerning the potential effects of the proposed improvements on properties listed in or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places will be available at the hearing. VDOT ensures nondiscrimination and equal employment in all programs and activities in accordance with Title VI and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. If you need special assistance for persons with disabilities or limited English proficiency, contact the project manager listed above. State Project: 0060-020-853, P101, R201, C501 Federal Project: NHPP-5A27(685) UPC: 115404
to Upchurch Services, a Mississippi-based company that allows workers to take classes in repair services while gaining experience in the field. Mr. McGowan was hired the second week of May. He makes $15 per hour, working 40 hours per week with paid overtime. He said he has full health care coverage — and he loves the work. “Summer, winter, spring or fall, you’ll need either heat or air conditioning,” he said. “So I found something I can help people out with. At the same time, it can keep me in the working class, so I don’t fall back into the things I used to do.” Mr. Beamon, one of numerous recruiters staffing booths at a job fair for ex-prisoners in Jackson recently — other companies represented included Waffle House, Amazon and Columbus, Mississippi-based Lyle Machinery — said he has seen an influx of new jobs and wages that are rising precipitously, some to as much as $20 per hour. Mississippi has not enacted a state minimum wage, and the federal standard is still $7.25. In addition to skills training, the workforce re-entry programs can provide parolees with mentors who have firsthand knowledge about the travails of life after incarceration. For Savannah Hayden, who was released from prison in November after serving time for five felony convictions, that person was Cynetra Freeman. Ms. Freeman is the founder of the Mississippi Center for Re-entry, an organization offering work readiness programs to inmates preparing to leave prison. Ms. Freeman remembers taking a bus to an employment agency the day after she was released from prison. She said the agency told her she would never get a job because of her record. “This crushed me and made me think about others who felt the same devastation,” Ms. Freeman said. “Employment is one of the toughest aspects for a person who is just returning home.” Ms. Hayden thought she might string together temporary jobs to make ends meet. But Ms. Freeman encouraged her to think long term, specifically about a job in which she could use her experience as a formerly incarcerated person to help others re-entering society. Ms. Hayden now works for Ms. Freeman as the mental health and drug addiction coordinator at the Center for Reentry. “After so many doors are slammed in your face, you get tired of asking,” Ms. Hayden said. “But there will be a person who says ‘yes,’ and that will change your life.” Ms. Hayden was adopted and spent years in the state’s foster system. “It didn’t dawn on me that I might be able to help people who grew up in the same position,” she said. “I think I found my niche.” Mr. McGowan, who had been convicted of violent crimes, said his work is more than just a job. “It’s the look on someone’s face,” he said. “When you fix something of theirs that’s been broken, they just smile. I spent so many years hurting people. So I know the look people have when they feel hurt. To see the reverse of that, it’s enough to make me happy.”
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Richmond Free Press
A8 July 14-16, 2022
Sports Stories by Fred Jeter
Raiders name first Black female president of NFL franchise
Sandra Douglass Morgan poses with Raiders controlling owner Mark Davis.
First it was Art Shell. Now it’s Sandra Douglass Morgan. The Las Vegas Raiders (formerly Oakland Raiders and Los Angeles Raiders) have reached another racial milestone in the NFL. Shell became the NFL’s first Black head coach in 1989. On July 7, Morgan became the first Black female president of an NFL franchise. The 44-year-old native of Las Vegas succeeds Dan Ventrelle, who was fired in May. Before Ventrelle, Marc Batain served as president for 30 years. “This team’s arrival in Las Vegas created a new energy and opportunities we never dreamed possible,” Morgan said during interviews with the Las Vegas news media.” I look forward to taking this team’s integrity, spirit and commitment to excellence on the field into every facet of the organization.” A graduate of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas William Boyd School of Law, Morgan was previously the Nevada Gam-
ing Control Board Chairwoman. More recently she worked with the law firm of Covington & Burling LLP. Morgan has a firsthand knowledge of NFL football. Her husband, Don Morgan, is a former safety with the Minnesota Vikings and Arizona Cardinals. Don Morgan played football at the University of Nevada-Reno. Sandra Morgan was hired by Mark Davis, the Raiders’ controlling owner of the franchise. Art Shell was hired by Mark Davis’ father, Al Davis, the longtime owner and general manager of the storied franchise (five Super Bowl appearances, winning three). Al Davis died in 2011. The Raiders moved from Oakland to Vegas in 2020. The team went 8-8 in 2020 and 10-7 this past season. The Raiders were eliminated in the Wild Card playoffs by Cincinnati.
Evolution: Black and Brown players and the MLB All-Star Games
The first official Major League Baseball All-Star Game was in 1933. But for many Black Americans, 1949 may perhaps be a year they consider more important. For the first time, the 1949 All-Stars provided an overdue splash of color to the “Midsummer Classic” at Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field. Representing the American League was Cleveland outfielder Larry Doby. The National League countered with three Dodgers, second baseman Jackie Rbinson, pitcher Don Newcombe and
Stars will shine in City of Angels 92nd Major League All-Star Game Location: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles Date: Tuesday, July 19 Time: 7:30 p.m. Coverage: Fox TV; ESPN Radio Warm-up act: Monday, July 18 Home-Run Derby; 8 p.m.; also at Dodger Stadium.
catcher Roy Campanella. Robinson started and hit second in the lineup. The other three came off the bench. Newcombe picked up the loss in an 11-7 American League victory. At the time the starters were selected by a national panel of white sportswriters. For reasons that defy fair play, Robinson was not chosen in his rookie year of 1947, or in 1948, despite sparkling credentials. Black and Brown athletes have been
in the middle of the action ever since. In 1951, Cuban outfielder Minnie Minoso became the first Black Latino to become an All-Star, opening the door for others to follow. Tuesday’s rosters will be well represented with numerous AfricanAmericans and Latinos from the Caribbean. Among the best bets to light up the scoreboard are Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts and New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge. Top Latinos figure to include Cleveland first baseman Vladimir Guerrero, last year’s All-Star MVP, and Atlanta outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. Managing the AL will be Houston’s Dusty Baker, a former Richmond Brave and twice an MLB All-Star himself in 1981 and 1982. It will be a family affair in LA. Baker’s son, Darren, will be playing in the July 16 MLB Futures Game, also at Dodger Stadium. Darren Baker, a former 10th round draft choice of Washington, is now the second baseman for the Nats’ High-A Wilmington, Del., affiliate. u It wasn’t until 1962 that an All-Star MVP was selected. The first was Dodgers switch-hitting shortstop Maury Wills, who that same year set the big-league record with 104 stolen bases in just 117 attempts. Wills had one stolen base in the AllStar game and scored two runs. The 1962 game was at D.C. Stadium (later called Robert F. Kennedy) in Washington, Wills’ hometown. u Before Black players were permitted
From left, Roy Campanella, Larry Doby, Don Newcombe, Jackie Robinson.
to play in the mainstream big leagues, they boasted a galaxy of stars of their own in the Negro Leagues. In September 1933, the Negro Leagues hosted its first All-Star Game at Comiskey Field in Chicago. It is the same location where the MLB All-Star Game was played in July 1933. The teams were selected by fans in an effort coordinated by the nation’s leading Black newspapers, including the Chicago Defender, the Pittsburgh Courier and Sun-Telegraph, the Baltimore Afro-American, the Kansas City Call and others. The inaugural game drew 19,568 fans, most of whom arrived on a rainy night in crowded train cars. Top Negro stars in 1933 were Hall of
Famers-to-be Satchel Paige, Cool Papa Bell, Josh Gibson and leading vote-getter Oscar Charleston, then playing for the Pittsburgh Crawfords. The game was officially billed “East vs. West,” but more commonly referred to as the “Game of Games.” The best-attended Negro League All-Star Game was in 1943 when 51,723 crowded into Griffith Stadium in Washington. The attendance fell off sharply once the top Black players entered MLB. Ernie Banks is believed to be the last Negro League All-Star to join the big leagues. Banks was signed by the Chicago Cubs in September 1953, after starting the season with the Kansas City Monarchs.
Tracye Thompson aims for Dodgers victory Klay Thompson, who helped the Golden list with a broken foot. State Warriors win the NBA title, may have Celebrating July 4, Thompson blasted a competition for bragging rights at the next three-run homer to help LA defeat Colorado, family reunion. 3-1. He also is an excellent defensive player, Thompson’s younger brother, Trayce, is capable of filling in at all three outfield posihopeful of being part of another championship tions. in another sport in another city. The homer on July Fourth marked a homeThe 31-year-old Trayce is a right-handed coming of sorts for Thompson, who grew power-hitting outfielder for the Los Angeles up near LA in Ladera Ranch, Calif. He was Dodgers, the team pushing for a second World the Chicago White Sox’s second round draft Series crown in the last three years. pick in 2009. LA acquired the 6-foot-3 Thompson in a Well-traveled, he previously spent time trade with Detroit last month after Dodgers’ with the White Sox, Oakland, Chicago Cubs, Brothers Trayce Thompson and Klay Thompson star outfielder Mookie Betts suffered a broken San Diego and Dodgers, along with several rib. Betts has returned to the lineup but Thompson may have earned a more stops in the minor leagues. permanent spot. Also, another LA outfielder, Chris Taylor, is on the disabled He hails from an athletic family. Father Mychal is a former NBA standout, and his mother, Julie, is a former volleyball standout. Mychal, who is Black, and Julie, who is white, met when Mychal was playing for Portland Trail Blazers and Julie was a volleyball setter for Portland State. The couple’s eldest son, Mychel, played basketball at Pepperdine University and briefly in the NBA with Cleveland. Longtime NBA official and former Richmonder Hubert “Hugh” Evans died Friday, July 8, 2022. He was 81. His long list of honors includes selection to the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame. Mr. Evans will be inducted posthumously into the Hall on Sept. 10 in Springfield, Mass., as part of the Class of 2022. A native of Bishop, W.Va., Mr. Evans starred in basketball and baseball at North The Richmond Flying Squirrels have one Carolina A&T from 1959 to 1963. He was of the nation’s most promising prospects drafted by the NBA’s St. Louis Hawks, but and his skills will be on full display this chose baseball instead, and played in the San weekend in Los Angeles. Francisco Giants’ chain. Kyle Harrison, a 20-year-old, left-handed In 1973 he became the first person from pitcher, will be competing in the All-Star an HBCU to referee in the NBA. He went on Futures Game on July 16 at Dodger Stato work 1,969 games, including 170 playoff dium. This event showcases the top minor contests, 35 Finals and four All-Star Games leaguers and is held in conjunction with the Kyle Harrison before retiring in 2001. Major League All-Star Game. He continued work with the NBA as a The 7 p.m. minor-league game will be telecast on the MLB supervisor of officials until 2003. Network and re-shown July 17 at 9 a.m. Mr. Evans and his wife, Cathy, lived in the The 6-foot-2, 200-pound native Californian began this season Hugh Evans and Allen Iverson during an Richmond area from about 1977 to 1998. They for Class A-plus Eugene, Ore. He was elevated to Richmond NBA game in June 2001. had two sons, Aaron and Todd, who starred in on May 24. For the Squirrels he is 3-1 with a 3.19 earned run football for Richmond Public Schools and went on to play at the University of West Virginia. average and a stunning 60 strikeouts in 42.1 innings. Aaron Evans was the fullback for the 1988 West Virginia University team that fell to Notre Harrison was San Francisco’s third round draft pick in Dame in the Fiesta Bowl. The game was for the college football national championship. 2020. Away from the hard court, Mr. Evans was much involved with the Huguenot Little League During his brief pro career, Harrison has 276 strikeouts in 170 in Chesterfield County. innings. He is believed to be on the fast track to the Squirrels’ In addition to the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame, Mr. Evans also is a member of the North big league affiliate Giants. Carolina A&T and New York City halls of fame. Following a trip to Altoona, Pa., Richmond returns to The He got his start in officiating by working games in the famed Rucker Park Summer League Diamond on July 22 for a three-game Eastern League series in Harlem. with the Bowie, Md., Baysox.
Hugh Evans, first HBCU graduate to referee in the NBA, dies
Squirrels’ Kyle Harrison competes in upcoming All-Star games
Play ball:
RPS high school football starts Aug. 26 The countdown to kickoff is underway. Richmond’s five public high schools will begin practice in early August, with four of the five opening games scheduled for Aug. 26. John Marshall returns to the field after being forced to bow out in 2021 due to multiple problems, most notably a shortage of ablebodied players. The rebuilding Justices will open at Greensville County High in Emporia on Aug. 26. Also, on Aug. 26, an innercity matchup will send Thomas Jefferson to Armstrong on Cool Lane. Unfortunately, due to different VHSL enrollment classifications and District affiliations, there is no round-robin schedule for the city schools. Many old city rivalries are no more. Here is the 2022 lineup of games according to the Virginia High School League (VHSL) master schedule and MaxPreps. com, with home games in bold.
Armstrong Wildcats Aug. 26 Thomas Jefferson Sept. 2 Petersburg Sept. 9 at John Marshall Sept. 16 at Goochland Sept. 23 at Hanover Sept. 30 Parkview (Sterling) Oct. 7 Varina Oct. 14 Patrick Henry Oct. 21 at Atlee Oct. 28 at Mechanicsville
George Wythe Bulldogs Sept. 2 at Caroline Sept. 9 at Manchester Sept. 16 at Monacan Sept. 23 at Powhatan Sept. 30 at James River Oct. 7 at Clover Hill Oct. 13 at L.C. Bird Oct. 21 at Midlothian Oct. 28 at Cosby Nov. 5 at Huguenot
John Marshall Justices Aug. 26 at Greensville Sept. 2 at Brunswick Sept. 9 Armstrong Sept. 16 at Petersburg Sept. 23 Thomas Jefferson Sept. 30 at King & Queen Oct. 21 at Charlottesville Oct. 28 Hermitage Nov. 4 at J.R. Tucker
Thomas Jefferson Vikings Aug. 26 at Armstrong Sept. 1 at Meadowbrook Sept. 9 Amelia Sept. 16 Greensville Sept. 23 at John Marshall Sept. 30 Deep Run Nov. 14 at J.R. Tucker Nov. 22 at Glen Allen Nov. 28 at Colonial Heights Nov. 4 at Mills Godwin
Huguenot Falcons Aug. 26 at Louisa Sept. 9 at Powhatan Sept. 16 James River Sept. 23 at Clover Hill Sept. 30 L.C. Bird Oct. 7 at Midlothian Oct. 14 Cosby Oct. 21 at Monacan Oct. 27 at Manchester Nov. 5 George Wythe
July 14-16, 2022 B1
Richmond Free Press
Section
Happenings
B
Personality: Joanna Heiskill Spotlight on co-founder of Justice and Change for Victims of Nursing Facilities When Joanna Heiskill’s mother died in August 2019, she was determined to find the cause of her death. Her mother’s final years were spent in a Richmond rehabilitation and health care facility. Ms. Heiskill concluded that the facility’s neglect and an unwillingness to provide necessary treatment contributed to her mother’s death. Ms. Heiskill filed an eightpage nursing home complaint form with the Virginia Department of Health’s Office of Licensure and Certification that detailed issues involving her mother’s care, but says that nothing was done. Several months later, she met other women who’d had similar experiences with nursing facilities in Virginia. They began to work on a solution to change the system — and residents’ lives — for the better. “I lost my mother due to abuse and neglect in a nursing facility, and hearing the stories of others experiencing the same is unacceptable and must change,” Ms. Heiskill says. “Every life matters. Quality of life matters.” Ms. Heiskill’s desire to help others avoid what she experienced led her to establish the nonprofit organization Justice and Change for Victims of Nursing Facilities. As the organization’s founder and president, she leads the group in its mission to see greater accountability for nursing and rehabilitation facilities statewide. Since the organization’s founding in July 2021, Ms. Heiskill and others have worked to support families affected by mistreatment of loved ones at rehabilitation facilities. In addition to highlighting struggles families and residents face, the group also seeks to establish outreach programs for facility residents. They’ve also brought their mission to the Virginia General Assembly by supporting bills focused on staffing and standards of care at rehabilitation and nursing home facilities. While criticism of numerous nursing and rehabilitation facilities have long been publicized, the COVID-19 pandemic has made more people aware of the struggles often faced by families and residents, Ms. Heskill says. She adds that while such issues have been constantly reported for years, there has only been limited improvement. Despite what she believes is a lack of interest in addressing these issues, Ms. Heiskill is optimistic about her organization’s ability to end poor treatment faced by many residents and their families. “I think that the louder we speak and the bolder we are and the more consistent we are will definitely affect change,” Ms. Heiskill says. “We tell the residents all the time, ‘Don’t worry, justice and change is
coming’.” Meet an advocate for nursing residents and their families, Joanna Heiskill:
government has largely turned its back on the suffering of nursing facility residents, and a deaf ear to those who are speaking out about it. Profit over lives has to change.
Volunteer position: President, Justice and Change for Victims of Nursing Facilities.
Ways to report suspected violations: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Adult Protection Services in Virginia, Long Term Care Ombudsman, Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services, Virginia Department of Health, local police departments.
Date and place of birth: Nov. 28 in Nassau, Bahamas. Where I live now: Richmond. Education: Attended high school and took college courses in Nassau, Bahamas, and Ontario, Canada. Certificate of biblical studies, Faith Landmarks Bible Institute. Occupation: Minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; retired director, administration manager, Holiday Inn in Ashland. Family: Husband, Willie Heiskill), eight children, eight grandchildren, one great-grandchild. Justice and Change for Victims of Nursing Facilities is: A group brought together through tragedy, dedicated to building a community of trust and support where families of nursing neglect can come together with the goal of raising awareness to bring about change and accountability to the epidemic faced by our elderly population in nursing facilities. Mission: To be a voice for justice and change for those who are abused and neglected in nursing facilities, and to lend support to family members. Founders: Joanna Heiskill, Tracy Pompey, Karen Clarke and Kelly Edwards. When and why founded: July 9, 2021. Founded because each member of this organization had the personal experience of losing a loved one directly due to abuse and neglect in a nursing facility. M o t t o : “ We A r e T h e i r Voice.” I am personally passionate because: I lost my mother due to abuse and neglect in a nursing facility, and hearing the stories of others experiencing the same is unacceptable and must change. Every life matters. Quality of life matters. What are the different levels of nursing and rehabilitation facilities: The differences basically boil down to three main levels of care: intermediate care, skilled nursing care and rehabilitation care.
How to choose the right facility: We suggest researching everything you can about the facility, its history, complaints, etc. Reviews and ratings online are often unreliable. Walk in and ask for a tour. Look for their annual survey report which should be posted for the public to see. Don’t be afraid to ask specific questions and take notes. For example, what is the staff-to-patient ratio? What is your staff turnover rate? Do you provide special care for people with dementia? Ask to see their meal menu. Red flags to be aware of: Physical abuse (bruises, welts, cuts, sores, broken bones), emotional abuse (changes in the behavior or sleep patterns, depression, fear), financial abuse, lack of good hygiene (soiled clothes, unclean hair, odor), missing medical devices, poor nutrition and dehydration, inability to get clear and truthful answers when you ask questions.
Elder abuse is: Elder abuse at the hands of anyone is the evidence of a heart that has become hardened, until the day the abuser himself becomes the abused elder. The importance of advocacy in nursing and rehabilitation facilities: Is critical to invoking accountability. It sends the message that you are paying close attention and that you care. Top three problems known by our organization: Critical staffing and management issues in nursing facilities, family members are intimidated and afraid to speak up for fear of retaliation on their loved ones in the facility (it happens whether or not you speak up), our government values profit over the lives of nursing facility residents so there is no accountability. Our elected representatives should be addressing this issue. Steps we are taking to eradicate injustices: We supported
HB646 and HB330 (introduced in the 2022 Virginia General Assembly by Delegates Betsy B. Carr and Vivian Watts) Respectively, we will continue to work in support of staffing standards in nursing facilities. We lend our support to family members and loved ones, providing valuable information and contacts. We have implemented outreach programs for nursing facility residents and will continue to call on others to join in this fight for justice and change. Best ways to advocate for loved ones in nursing and rehabilitation facilities: Speak up, and do not be intimidated. Document everything! Request medical records regularly, and make surprise visits as often as possible. How lawyers seeking justice can volunteer with our organization: Contact: Joanna Heiskill at (804) 839-1833 or Tracy Pompey at (804) 2527973, and email: jcfornfvictims@gmail.com . Number one goal or project as the president: To encourage and support those who are going through this experience to advocate for their loved ones. There is strength in numbers and a collective voice. Strategy for achieving goals: Creating programs to support nursing home residents and their families and creating an avenue for family members to be heard. Our biggest challenge: Getting more people to speak out, getting lawmakers to listen and do something to protect nursing home residents from abuse and
neglect, and effectively saving their lives. How to become involved with Justice and Change for Victims of Nursing Facilities: Contact us at jcfornfvictims@ gmail.com or call (804) 8391833 or (804) 252-7973 Ways we have influenced change since our founding: Our personal stories and encouragement to others; speaking to our representatives; calling for justice, change and accountability; and lending genuine support for families. Nursing facilities are aware of who we are and why we are here. How I start the day: In prayer. The three words that best describe me: Genuine, trustworthy, sincere. Best late-night snack: I don’t do late-night snacks. How I unwind: Quiet time and music. What I have learned during the pandemic about myself: That my mother taught me well about how to adjust in the midst of chaos. Something I love to do that most people would never imagine: Draw, sketch, pottery. A quote that I am most inspired by: “If someone shows you who they are, believe them.”– Maya Angelou The best thing my parents ever taught me: To keep the faith. The person who influenced me the most: My mother. Next goal: Working on it. This goal is not yet finished.
Most alarming scenarios we have discovered about nursing and rehabilitation facilities: Residents needing desperate help and no one answering their call bell, left to sit soiled for extended periods of time, ignoring pleas for help, unattended bed sores, rough handling of residents, subpar food quality served to residents, always short-staffed, except for the day they are to be inspected. Suddenly, there is a full staff! Numerous blatant violations. Government and nursing and rehabilitation facilities: Our
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B2 July 14-16, 2022
Happenings
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Gospel and pageantry at The Dell Sheilah Belle’s 12th Annual Gospel Music Fest at Dogwood Dell in Byrd Park introduced the audience to two “Little Misses” of Little Miss Black Virginia on June 11. The young pageant enthusiasts are Mia Moore, 4, of Richmond, Little Miss Black East Coast, and McKenzie Casey-Jones, 7, of Hopewell, Little Miss Black Virginia. The two pageant winners displayed their public speaking skills before an encouraging audience. Meanwhile, at left, father Nathan Scott, and son, Kingston, 10 months, enjoy their first gospel music concert.
Vote now for the Library of Virginia’s 25th Annual People’s Choice Awards
RVA East End Festival returns The popular RVA East End Festival kicks off Sept. 24 with musical performances by students and professionals.
The RVA East End Festival returns Saturday, Sept. 24, from 12 to 9 p.m. at Henry Marsh Elementary School, 813 N. 28th St. The free family event will feature performances by the Richmond Symphony, youth musicians, dancers and visual artists. This year’s festival co-chairs are James “Saxsmo” Gates and the Rev. Marilyn Heckstall. Mr. Gates has played in the U.S. and abroad with notable artists including Dizzy Gillespie, The Temptations, Roberta Flack, Marvin Gaye and others. He is the director/ coordinator of the Dr. Billy Taylor Jazz Studies Program in the Department of Music at Virginia State University. Rev. Heckstall is the former pastor of Asbury Church Hill United Methodist Church and most recently was pastor of Saint Paul United Methodist Church in Roanoke. She has been chairwoman of the
RVA East End Festival since 2017. Now in its fifth year, proceeds from the event benefit the Richmond Public Schools music and arts departments. Cheryl Burke, a Richmond Public Schools board member, says past proceeds from the festival have helped the Richmond Public Schools Education Foundation purchase or repair musical instruments, create a dance studio at Armstrong High School, and purchase choral risers, concert attire and visual arts supplies such as pottery kilns. “The festival’s financial goal for 2022 is $100,000 to be used for a variety of purchases to benefit music, performing arts and visual arts programs at our wonderful East End schools,” she says. To learn more about the RVA East End Festival, contact rvaeastendfest@gmail.com or visit www. rpsedfund.org/eastendfestival.
The Library of Virginia has announced 14 finalists for the 25th Annual People’s Choice Awards. The finalists represent the most-requested fiction and nonfiction titles by Virginia authors, or about the commonwealth, published in 2021. Winners will be announced at the 25th Annual Literary Awards Celebration on Oct. 15. The general public is invited to select the winners. Voting begins July 15 and ends Aug. 31. Individuals can vote online at the Library of Virginia’s website at https://bit.ly/ LVAPC22. This year’s fiction finalists for the People’s Choice Awards are: • “Razorblade Tears” by S. A. Cosby • “Yellow Wife” by Sadeqa Johnson • “My Monticello” by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson • “Rhapsody” by Mitchell James Kaplan • “The Mother Next Door” by Tara Laskowski • “The Matzah Ball” by Jean Meltzer
• “All the Little Hopes” by Leah Weiss This year’s nonfiction finalists for the People’s Choice Awards are: • “The Words That Made Us” by Akhil Reed Amar • “Poe for Your Problems: Uncommon Advice from History’s Least Likely Self-Help Guru” by Catherine Baab-Muguira • “Going There” by Katie Couric • “The Girls Who Stepped Out of Line: Untold Stories of the Women Who Changed the Course of World War II” by Mari K. Eder • “Liberty Is Sweet: The Hidden History of the American Revolution” by Woody Holton • “Travels with George: In Search of Washington and His Legacy” by Nathaniel Philbrick • “The Ledger and the Chain: How Domestic Slave Traders Shaped America” by Joshua D. Rothman In addition to the award and distinguished recognition, winners in each category receive a monetary prize of $2,500. For awards information and a list of past winners and finalists, please visit www.lva. virginia.gov/public/litawards/index.htm.
Several events will mark Maggie L. Walker’s birthday and Cultural Center park service will of Virginia on two join the city for a events to mark her service project in birthday. Mrs. Walker’s honor The opening event from 9 to 11 a.m. and includes a reception is seeking volunteers and panel discussion for garden beautifiin Mrs. Walker’s honcation and a sidewalk or at the museum, 122 cleanup in Jackson Mrs. Walker W. Leigh St. Open Ward. Both projects to the public, the reception is will begin at the visitor’s center scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. and entry to the Walker home, That will be followed by a 600 N. 2nd St. Participants may panel discussion at 6 p.m. at register at handsonrva.org. which some of Mrs. Walker’s Mrs. Walker is best known for descendants will discuss the her leadership of the Independent process of creating the statue Order of St. Luke, a fraternal that was unveiled in July 2017, insurance group. In 1899, she according to the park service. was elected grand secretary, esOn Saturday, July 16, the sentially executive director, of
the group that was flagging at the time. She rebuilt the membership, led the order into developing a four-story headquarters at Baker and St. James streets in Gilpin Court in 1901 that is now an apartment building, launched the order’s first newspaper in 1902 and then put the order into the banking business in 1903. Mrs. Walker became the first Black woman to both charter and lead a U.S. bank, which became Consolidated Bank & Trust Co. in 1930 and now has been merged into Ohio-based Peoples Bank. Details on the events: (804) 226-5041 or www.facebook.com/ MaggieL.WalkerNHS.
Casting call for ‘Swagger’
AppleTV+ series’ second season being filmed in Richmond Free Press staff report
Kendall Cooper Casting is seeking extras for the second season of “Swagger” starring O’Shea Jackson Jr. and Isaiah Hill. Filming for the “Swagger,” and AppleTV+ Original series continues in Richmond and surrounding areas this month through November. The series is created by Reggie Rock Bythewood and inspired by NBA star Kevin Durant’s youth basketball experience growing up in the DMV (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia) area. Richmonders of all ethnicities, ages, gender and sizes are encouraged to apply for various roles. According to a casting notice on the Virginia Film Office website, “Swagger” specifically is “seeking people of African American and mixed ethnicities to play high school students, basketball players, cheerleaders, parents,” basketball fans and several other roles. Young adults ages 18 to 24 are encouraged to audition or apply. Typically, work for extras will be a 1 to 3-day commitment for filming, and there also is the opportunity for returning roles for
Photo courtesy of Apple
In “Swagger,” Isaiah Hill plays 14-year-old basketball player Jace Carson and O’Shea Jackson Jr. is his coach.
multiple scenes. All roles require COVID-19 testing in advance of any in-person work. Filming will generally be a 12-or-more hour commitment for each day of work. All extra work, fittings, and testing is paid. No travel or housing is provided. For more information, visit www.kendallcoopercasting. com/RVA, or the Virginia Film Office, https://www.film.virginia.org.
Grandmaster Flash, the creative and celebrated hip-hop artist who nearly 50 years ago originated the turntable moves that are now standard, will headline this year’s 2nd Street Festival in Jackson Grandmaster Flash Ward. Venture Richmond, which organizes the festive celebration, announced Tuesday that Grandmaster Flash would top the scheduled list of artists to perform Saturday, Oct. 1. Venture Richmond also announced the festival would close Sunday, Oct. 2, with “I Would Die 4 You: A Musical Tribute to Prince!” This is a popular production of more than 23 songs that Richmond music and theater performer Anthony Cosby Jr. created and leads.
Rebuilding the Village festival A free, open-to-all community festival that organizers said will feature food, music and fun is scheduled to take place from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, July 16, at Armstrong High School, 2300 Cool Lane in the East End. The festival is a production of Rebuilding the Village, a partnership involving the Help Me Help Foundation that former City Council President Michelle Mosby founded and leads to serve returning jail and prison inmates and other people-helping groups. Details: (804) 286-1040.
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Richmond will mark Maggie L. Walker’s 158th birthday this week with several events. Melvin Jones Jr., president of the Maggie Walker Statue Foundation, will lead the fifth annual ceremony of laying flowers at the base of her statue at Adams and Broad streets at 10 a.m. Friday, July 15, the date on which the celebrated civic leader, banker and nonprofit insurance company executive was born in the city. Separately, the National Park Service, which operates Mrs. Walker’s home at 110½ E. Leigh St. as a historic site, will partner with the city and the Black History Museum
2nd Street headliners announced
(804) 644-0496 Space reservation deadline: Friday, prior to Thursday publication date Materials deadline: Monday, prior to Thursday publication date
July 14-16, 2022 B3
Faith News/Directory
Vernon Winfrey, Oprah’s father, dies at 89
The Associated Press
Bill Lee Photo
Members of the Fund Peace Foundation gather July 11 to celebrate President Biden signing the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act last month at the White House.
Faith leaders attend White House celebration of gun control law ing from gangs and intimate partners. Other faith groups have responded to the passage of the legislation with statements of support. “The investments in mental health services and reasonable measures to regulate guns included in this bill are positive initial steps toward confronting a culture of violence,” said Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development. “We are heartened that after almost three decades of gridlock, Congress finally ’S AN CHhas NIVE CHURaction taken bipartisan to ad-RSA dress America’s gun violence epidemic and end violent crime,” said Melanie Roth Gorelick, senior vice president of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. “This is a huge victory, but we cannot allow this to be the end.” While calling himself grateful for this historic development, Rev. McBride said he and his partners will be pushing for far more support. “This will be a failure if this is the only thing they do for the next few years,” he said. President Biden seemed to agree that further action was needed. “We have so much more work to do,” he concluded. “May God bless all of us with the strength to finish the work left undone, and on behalf of the lives we’ve lost and the lives we can save, may God bless you all.”
Moore Street Missionary Baptist Church
1408 W. Leigh Street · Richmond, Va. 23220 (804) 358—6403
Dr. Alonza L. Lawrence, Pastor
Mr. Winfrey
Milwaukee with her mother, Vernita Lee, who died in 2018. However, she also lived with her father in Nashville, between the ages of 7 and 9 and during her teens. “If I hadn’t been sent to my
father (when I was 14), I would have gone in another direction,” Oprah told the Washington Post in 1986. “I could have made a good criminal. I would have used these same instincts differently.”
Riverview Baptist Church Sunday, July 17, 2022 Sunday School - 9:30 A.M. Morning Services - 11 A.M.
Sermon by: Rev. Dr. Leo Whitaker
Via Conference Call (202) 926-1127 Pin 572890# In Person Sunday Service also on FACEBOOK and YouTube 2604 Idlewood Avenue, Richmond, Va. 23220 (804) 353-6135 • www.riverviewbaptistch.org
“The Church With A Welcome”
Sharon Baptist Church 500 E. Laburnum Avenue, Richmond, VA 23222 www.sharonbaptistchurchrichmond.org (804) 643-3825 Rev. Dr. Paul A. Coles, Pastor
Sundays Morning Worship 10:00 A.M.
Back Inside
Good Shepherd Baptist Church 1127 North 28th St., Richmond, VA 23223 s Office: (804) 644-1402 Dr. Sylvester T. Smith, Pastor “There’s A Place for You”
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Washington Faith leaders from a wide range of traditions, including those whose houses of worship have been attacked, were at the White House on July 11 as members of Congress and other gun control advocates gathered for a celebration of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, signed into law June 25. The Rev. Mike McBride, the leader of Live Free USA, who has long sought political support to especially help the nation’s urban centers, hailed the signing as an opportunity to address gun violence deaths that do not always make national headlines. “It’s been a very difficult task to get the death of Black men in this country, much less the death of any Black folks, to receive national attention and intervention,” said Rev. McBride. “Even among Democrats — Democrats have not been the most political champions for this work. So it’s taken us 10 years to get to $250 million committed in a bipartisan way.” On hand were Rabbi Jonathan Perlman and others who endured a mass shooting in 2018 at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh and the Rev. Sharon Risher, whose mother was among the nine AfricanAmerican worshippers killed during the 2015 shooting at Mother Emanuel AME church in Charleston, S.C. “That was beautiful — to see all these heroic people, survivors that have been working for change,” said Shane Claiborne, co-founder of the group Red Letter Christians and leader of an effort that melts down guns into garden tools in observance of the biblical call to turn “swords into plowshares.”
But Mr. Claiborne added that he understood that the bipartisan legislation “is the most substantial gun reform bill that we’ve seen in 30 years. But what we also heard is how dysfunctional our political process is — because there’s so much more that’s needed.” “We need a ban on assault rifles,” he added. The legislation includes a variety of interventions into gun purchasing, including expansion of background checks for people younger than 21, $250 million for community-based violence prevention initiatives and $500 million to increase the number of mental health staffers in school districts. President Biden, in remarks from the White House’s South Lawn, decried the violence that has turned houses of worship, schools, nightclubs and stores into places of death. “Neighborhoods and streets have been turned into killing fields as well,” said the president. “Will we match thoughts and prayers with action? I say yes. And that’s what we’re doing here today.” Mr. Claiborne said he presented a Christian cross made from a melted-down gun barrel to second gentleman Douglas Emhoff, as well as to a friend of President Biden. Rev. McBride said his efforts with faith leaders on this issue date back to a 2013 meeting at the Obama White House, when President Biden was vice president. “In 2013, we asked for $300 million, and we were told no,” he recalled. “And so some 10 years later, we’ve gotten close to that original ask.” He said the programs for which groups like the Fund Peace Foundation seek support are “targeted for Black and brown communities that are dealing with the highest rates of gun violence,” includ-
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By Adelle M. Banks and Jack Jenkins Religion News Wire
Oprah Winfrey confirmed in an Instagram post that her father died in Nashville, Tenn., on Friday, July 8, 2022. “Yesterday with family surrounding his bedside I had the sacred honor of witnessing the man responsible for my life, take his last breath,” the media mogul wrote. “We could feel peace enter the room at his passing.” Details about funeral plans were not immediately released. Oprah recently surprised her father by throwing him a surprise barbeque in Nashville on the Fourth of July. The event was called “Vernon Winfrey Appreciation Day,” which included a barber chair to honor his long career as a barber and owning his own shop in Nashville for nearly 50 years. Mr. Winfrey served as a member of Nashville’s Metro City Council for 16 years and was a trustee for the Tennessee State University. Oprah spent her early childhood at her father’s hometown of Kosciusko, Miss., and in
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Richmond Free Press
“Your Home In God’s Kingdom”
46th Anniversary of
Pastoral Rev.44th Robert C. Anniversary Davis Z ò͘ ZÊ Ùã ͘ ò®Ý &ĂĐĞŬ ĞůĞďƌĂƟŽŶ͊ Join us On Facebook at h ^Khd,Z/ ,DKE Sunday, July 24, 2022 dŚĞŵĞ͗ 11:00 a.m.
“Honoring Our Pastor, Speaker: A Laborer For The Lord” Rev. Dr. Angelo Chatmon 1 Timothy 5:17 WĂƐƚŽƌ͕ WŝůŐƌŝŵ :ŽƵƌŶĞLJ ĂƉƟƐƚ ŚƵƌĐŚ Colors: Red,“Honoring White and Blue Theme: Our PastorJuly For26, 462020 Years Sunday, of Dedicated Morning WorshipService” - 11:00 a.m. Scripture:Speaker: 1 Timothy 5:17
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https://youtu.be/qqzhnIEQyQc for inspirational messages from Pastor Smith
THEME: 7M\XL &ETXMWX 'LYVGL
African Americans 8LIQI 1SFMPM^MRK *SV 1MRMWXV] and6IJVIWLMRK 8LI 3PH ERH )QIVKMRK 8LI 2I[ The Vote! 22,Church 2020 AFebruary 21st Century With Ministry For1:00 Everyone 11:00 am — pm
Come worship with us! Back Inside Sundays Join us for 10:00 AM Worship Service
Shades of Blue Jr. Rev.Color: Robert L. Dortch,
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100
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Live on Facebook @sixthbaptistrva Live on Youtube @sixthbaptistrva Or by visiting our website www.sixthbaptistchurch.org
Union Baptist Church 1813 Everett Street Richmond, Virginia 23224 804-231-5884 Reverend Robert C. Davis, Pastor
400 South Addison Street Richmond, Va. 23220
(near Byrd Park)
Rev. Dr. Yvonne Jones Bibbs, Pastor
(804) 359-1691 or 359-3498 Facebook Fax (804) 359-3798 sixthbaptistrva www.sixthbaptistchurch.org
Triumphant
Baptist Church 2003 Lamb Avenue Richmond, VA 23222 Dr. Arthur M. Jones, Sr., Pastor (804) 321-7622
Broad Rock Baptist Church 5106 Walmsley Blvd., Richmond, VA 23224 804-276-2740 • 804-276-6535 (fax) www.BRBCONLINE.org
OPEN FOR IN PERSON WORSHIP Morning Worship - 11 am Conference Calls are still available at: ( 503) 300-6860 PIN: 273149 Facebook@:triumphantbaptist
“BACK IN SERVICE” Our doors are open again Mask required • Must provide vaccination card Every Sunday @ 11:00 am. Live Streaming Every Sunday At: BRBConline.org or YouTube(Broad Rock Baptist Church)
“MAKE IT HAPPEN” Pastor Kevin Cook
Worship With Us This Week! Morning Worship On Site & Virtual July 17, 2022 @ 10:00 A.M.
Looking for a welcoming place to worship this week? Stop by & see what God is up to at MMBC.
Additional Opportunities to Engage with Us: *Faith Formation/ Church School (Sat. @ 9:00 AM) Zoom Meeting ID: 952 9164 9805 /Passcode: 2901 *Give Via: http://mmbcrva.org/give Or through Givelify
2901 Mechanicsville Turnpike, Richmond, VA 23223 (804) 648-2472 ~ www.mmbcrva.org Dr. Price London Davis, Senior Pastor
th Formation/ Church School (Sat. @ 9:00 AM) om Meeting ID: 952 9164 9805 /Passcode: 2901 le Study (Wed. @ 7:00 PM) om Meeting ID: 854 8862 2296
Antioch Baptist Church “Redeeming God’s People for Gods Purpose”
“Working For You In This Difficult Hour”
SERVICES
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1384 New Market Road, Richmond, Virginia 23231 | 804-222-8835
SUNDAY WORSHIP HOUR – 10:00 A.M. CHILDREN’S CHURCH & BUS MINISTRY AVAILABLE SUNDAY SCHOOL (FOR ALL AGES) – 9:00 A.M. TUESDAY MID-DAY BIBLE STUDY – 12 NOON WEDNESDAY MID-WEEK PRAYER & BIBLE STUDY – 7:00 P.M. A MISSION BASED CHURCH FAMILY EXCITING MINISTRIES FOR CHILDREN, YOUTH, YOUNG ADULTS & SENIOR ADULTS BIBLE REVELATION TEACHING DIVERSE MUSIC MINISTRY LOVING, CARING ENVIRONMENT
DR. JAMES L. SAILES PASTOR
Joseph Jenkins, Jr. Funeral Home, Inc. 2011-2049 Grayland Avenue Richmond, Virginia 23220 (804) 358-9177
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Joseph Jenkins, Jr., Founder (Dec. 19, 1938 - Dec. 9, 2006) Joseph Jenkins, III. • Jason K. Jenkins • Maxine T. Jenkins
Richmond Free Press
B4 July 14-16, 2022
Legal Notices/Employment Opportunities City of Richmond, Virginia CITY COUNCIL PUBLIC NOTICE Notice is hereby given that the Council of the City of Richmond has scheduled a public hearing, open to all interested citizens, on Monday, July 25, 2022 at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chamber on the Second Floor of City Hall, located at 900 East Broad Street, Richmond, Virginia, to consider the following ordinances: Ordinance No. 2022-054 As Amended To amend and reordain City Code § 2-1105, concerning the Aging and Disabilities Advisory Board, for the purpose of modifying the membership composition of such Board [to specify that one member shall be a member at-large and one member shall be an employee of the City’s Office of the Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for Human Services with program manager duties]. Ordinance No. 2022-105 As Amended To install [an appropriate number of] a speed [tables to be determined by the Department of Public Works] table in the middle of the 3600 block of Moss Side Avenue and in the middle of the 3700 block of Moss Side Avenue between West Laburnum Avenue and Walton Avenue. Ordinance No. 2022-163 As Amended To authorize the special use of the [property] properties known as 2301 Commerce Road and 3001 Commerce Road for the purpose of parking areas and drive aisles illuminated by lighting structures in excess of 35 feet in height, upon certain terms and conditions. Ordinance No. 2022-189 To rezone the property known as 807 Oliver Hill Way from the M-1 Light Industrial District to the TOD-1 Transit-Oriented Nodal District. Ordinance No. 2022-190 To amend and reordain Ord. No. 80-260-81-41, adopted Mar. 9, 1981, as previously amended by Ord. Nos. 81-152-138, adopted August 24, 1981, 84-110-83, adopted May 29, 1984, 89-318-295, adopted Nov. 13, 1989, 2006-26-52, adopted Feb. 27, 2006, 2006-260-263, adopted Oct. 23, 2006, 2012-163-164, adopted Oct. 8, 2012, 2017-169, adopted Oct. 9, 2017, and Ord. No. 2022-036, adopted Mar. 28, 2022, concerning the Beaufont Oaks Community Unit Plan, to amend the use of the parcel known as 7000 West Carnation Street to allow for multifamily use. The property is situated in an R-3 Single-Family Residential District. Ordinance No. 2022-191 To repeal ch. 16, art. II (§§ 16-19—16-31) of the City Code; to amend ch. 30, art. VI, div. 10.1 by adding therein a new section 30-691.1:1, concerning definitions for the Affordable Dwelling Unit Density Program; and to amend City Code §§ 30-691, 30-691.1, 30-691.2, 30-691.3, 30-691.4, 30-691.6, 30-691.7, 30-691.8, 30691.9, 30-691.11, for the purpose of revising the Affordable Housing Dwelling Unit Density Program as authorized by Va. Code § 15.22305.1.
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the City of Richmond and Fulton Montessori School for the purpose of expanding the Fulton Montessori School’s child care and preschool programs. (COMMITTEE: Education and Human Services, Thursday, July 14, 2022, 2:00 p.m.)
General Fund Budget and the amount appropriated by $571,000.00 for the purpose of servicing additional debt to be incurred for the purchase of ambulances.
months. It is ORDERED that the defendant, who is a nonresident, appear here on or before the 1st day of August, 2022 at 9:00 AM, and protect his interests. A Copy, Teste: FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR., Clerk I ask for this: Dorothy M. Eure, Esquire VSB# 27724 Law Office of Dorothy M. Eure, P.C. 8460 Mount Eagle Road Ashland, VA 23005 (804) 798-9667
described as follows: ALL that certain Lot, piece or parcel of land, lying and being in the City of Richmond, Virginia, with the improvements thereon, designated as No. 1305 Bainbridge Street, and being more particularly bounded and described as follows: COMMENCING at a point on the north line of Bainbridge Street distant 44.19 feet from the intersection of the said North line of Bainbridge street with the west line of Thirteenth Street thence running and fronting on the said north line of Bainbridge Street·21.81 feet; thence back at right angles with Bainbridge Street 155 feet to an alley ten (10’) feet wide; thence along the line of said alley toward Thirteenth Street 21.81 feet, thence at right angles and parallel with Thirteenth Street 101.5 feet thence at right angles towards Thirteenth Street 4 inches; thence at right angles and parallel with Thirteenth Street 35 feet; thence at right angles toward Fourteenth Street 4 inches; thence at right angles and parallel with Thirteenth Street 18.5 feet to the point of beginning. TERMS OF SALE: CASH. A bidder’s deposit of $25,000.00 or 10% of the sale price, whichever is lower, in the form of cash or certified funds (payable to the Substitute Trustee) must be presented at the time of sale. The balance of the purchase price is due within fifteen (15) days of the date of sale, otherwise Purchaser’s deposit may be forfeited to the Substitute Trustee(s) to be disbursed in accordance with VA law. The Property and appurtenances thereto, if any, will be sold “as is” without warranty of any kind and subject to any and all judgments, liens, covenants, conditions, restrictions, easements or other matters of record or not of record which may take priority over the referenced Deed of Trust. Time is of the essence. The sale is subject to post-sale confirmation by the secured party or the Substitute Trustee of the terms and acceptability of the sale, at the sole discretion of the secured party or Substitute Trustee. If the sale is set aside for any reason, the Purchaser’s sole remedy will be the return of the deposit paid without interest and the Purchaser will have no further recourse against the Substitute Trustee, the Mortgagee or the Trustee’s attorney. Additional Terms of Sale will be announced at the time of sale and will be set forth in the Trustee’s Memorandum of Foreclosure Sale to be executed by the successful bidder at the time of the sale. This is a communication from a debt collector and any information obtained will be used for that purpose. Sale is subject to seller confirmation. Substitute Trustee: RVA Recovery, LLC,. Contact Stephen B. Wood at The Wood Law Firm, 6720 Patterson Ave., Suite D. Counsel for Trustee. For information contact: Stephen B. Wood TEL: (804) 8730088 or (804) 335-0888. File #GF2021191. Ad. Dates: July 14 & 21, 2022
An Affidavit having been filed that said owner, CLAUDE D. HAMILTON, who has been served by posting and by mailing a copy of the complaint to his last known address, has not been personally located and has not filed a response to this action; that PLATINUM FINANCIAL SERVICES CORP, an entity not appearing in the records o f t h e Vi r g i n i a S t a t e Corporation Commission, which may be a creditor with an interest in said property, has not been located and has not filed a response to this action; and that any heirs, devisees, assignees, successors in interest, successors in title and/or any creditors with a current or future interest in said property, have not 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 CLAUDE D. HAMILTON, PLATINUM FINANCIAL S E R V I C E S C O R P, a n entity not appearing in the records of the Virginia State Corporation Commission, and Parties Unknown, come forward to appear on or before AUGUST 11, 2022 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
Ordinance No. 2022-197 To authorize the Chief Administrative Officer, for and on behalf of the City of Richmond, to execute a Memorandum of Understanding between Richmond Public Schools and the City of Richmond for the purpose of facilitating the use of the City’s public schools by the City’s Department of Parks, Recreation, and Community Facilities. (COMMITTEE: Education and Human Services, Thursday, July 14, 2022, 2:00 p.m.) Ordinance No. 2022-198 To authorize the Chief Administrative Officer, for and on behalf of the City of Richmond, to execute a SCAN Grant Contract between the City of Richmond and Greater Richmond SCAN (Stop Child Abuse Now), Inc., for the purpose of stabilizing and expanding the Greater Richmond SCAN (Stop Child Abuse Now), Inc.’s preschool program. (COMMITTEE: Education and Human Services, Thursday, July 14, 2022, 2:00 p.m.) Ordinance No. 2022-199 To authorize the Chief Administrative Officer, for and on behalf of the City of Richmond, to execute a St. James’s Children’s Center Grant Contract between the City of Richmond and St. James’s Children’s Center for the purpose of stabilizing the St. James’s Children’s Center ’s preschool program. (COMMITTEE: Education and Human Services, Thursday, July 14, 2022, 2:00 p.m.) Ordinance No. 2022-200 To authorize the Chief Administrative Officer, for and on behalf of the City of Richmond, to execute a YMCA of Greater Richmond Grant Contract between the City of Richmond and the Young Men’s Christian Association of Greater Richmond for the purpose of establishing two new preschool programs in the city of Richmond. ( C O M M I T T E E : Education and Human Services, Thursday, July 14, 2022, 2:00 p.m.) Ordinance No. 2022-201 To authorize the Chief Administrative Officer, for and on behalf of the City of Richmond, to execute a YWCA Grant Contract between the City of Richmond and YWCA Richmond for the purpose of stabilizing and expanding the YWCA Richmond’s preschool programs in the city of Richmond. ( C O M M I T T E E : Education and Human Services, Thursday, July 14, 2022, 2:00 p.m.)
Ordinance No. 2022-196 To authorize the Chief Administrative Officer, for and on behalf of the City of Richmond, to execute a Fulton Montessori Grant Contract between
Ordinance No. 2022-202 To amend Ord. No. 2022055, adopted May 9, 2022, which adopted the Fiscal Year 2022-2023 General Fund Budget and made appropriations pursuant thereto, to reassign the appropriation for the Soil and Water Conservation District Start-up Costs line item in the NonDepartmental agency; to amend Ord. No. 2022056, adopted May 9, 2022, which adopted the Fiscal Year 2022-2023 Special Fund Budget and made appropriations thereto, to increase anticipated revenues and the amounts appropriated in the total amount of $3,451,918.00 and to appropriate such increase to the Fiscal Year 2022-2023 Special Fund Budget for certain City departments; to amend Ord. No. 2022057, adopted May 9, 2022, which accepted a program of proposed Capital Improvement Projects for Fiscal Year 2022-2023 and for the four fiscal years thereafter, adopted a Capital Budget for Fiscal Year 20222023, and determined the means of financing the same, to increase anticipated revenues from the Virginia Department of Transportation and the issuance of equipment notes and the amounts appropriated to the Department of Public Wo r k s b y t h e t o t a l amount of $5,553,000.00 to various projects in t h e Tr a n s p o r t a t i o n category and the Vehicle Replacement project in the Capital Vehicle & Equipment category for the purchase of ambulances, and to modify certain planned appropriations in future fiscal years of the capital improvement program; and to amend Ord. No. 2022-059, adopted May 9, 2022, which adopted the Fiscal Year 20222023 Debt Service Fund Budget, to increase anticipated revenues from the City Debt agency in the Fiscal Year 2022-2023
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Ordinance No. 2022-192 To authorize the special use of the property known as 2300 Fairmount Avenue for the purpose of a building containing an office use and up to four multifamily dwelling units, upon certain terms and conditions. Ordinance No. 2022-193 To authorize the special use of the property known as 1117 West Leigh Street for the purpose of a twofamily detached dwelling, upon certain terms and conditions. Ordinance No. 2022-194 To authorize the special use of the property known as 1207 Porter Street for the purpose of a dwelling unit within an accessory building to a single-family dwelling, upon certain terms and conditions. Ordinance No. 2022-195 To authorize the Chief Administrative Officer, for and on behalf of the City of Richmond, to execute a Friends Association Grant Contract between the City of Richmond and Friends Association for Children Endowment Fund, Inc., for the purpose of stabilizing the Friends Association for Children Endowment Fund, Inc.’s child care and preschool programs. (COMMITTEE: Education and Human Services, Thursday, July 14, 2022, 2:00 p.m.)
Ordinance No. 2022-208 To authorize 121, L.L.C., to encroach upon the public right-of-way with an outdoor dining area encroachment at the south line of West Broad Street east of the southeast corner of the intersection of West Broad Street and North Jefferson Street, upon certain terms and conditions. (COMMITTEE: Land Use, Housing and Transportation, Tuesday, July 19, 2022, 1:30 p.m.) Ordinance No. 2022-209 To authorize The Diradour, LLC, to encroach upon the public right-of-way with an outdoor dining area encroachment at the north line of Stuart Avenue west of the northwest corner of the intersection of Stuart Avenue and North Robinson Street, upon certain terms and conditions. (COMMITTEE: Land Use, Housing and Transportation, Tuesday, July 19, 2022, 1:30 p.m.) Ordinance No. 2022-217 To p r o v i d e f o r t h e granting by the City of Richmond to the person, firm or corporation to be ascertained in the manner prescribed by law of an exclusive easement over, under, through, upon, and across certain portions of the property located at 4430 Deepwater Terminal Road for the laying, construction, operation, and maintenance of one or more lines of underground conduits and cables and all equipment, accessories, and appurtenances necessary in connection therewith to provide electrical service to a City site at 4430 Deepwater Terminal Road pursuant to a certain Right of Way Agreement. (COMMITTEE: Land Use, Housing and Transportation, Tuesday, July 19, 2022, 1:30 p.m.) Ordinance No. 2022-218 To amend City Code §§ 26-364, concerning tax relief for elderly persons, and 26-365, concerning tax relief for qualified permanently and totally disabled persons, for the purpose of extending the deadline to file an application for tax relief from March 31 of the taxable year to December 31 of the taxable year. (COMMITTEE: Finance and Economic Development, Thursday, July 21, 2022, 1:00 p.m.) Interested citizens who wish to speak will be given an opportunity to do so by following the instructions referenced in the July 25, 2022 Richmond City Council Formal meeting agenda. Copies of the full text of all ordinances are available by visiting the City Clerk’s page on the City’s Website at https:// www.rva.gov/office-cityclerk, and in the Office of the City Clerk, City Hall, 900 East Broad Street, Suite 200, Richmond, VA 23219, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Candice D. Reid City Clerk
Divorce VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE CITY OF RICHMOND TADESHA LATRICE (BALL) WILLIAMS, Plaintiff v. AVRON NATHANIEL WILLIAMS, Defendant. Case No.: CL22-1959-4 ORDER OF PUBLICATION The object of this suit is to: Obtain a Divorce A VINCULLO MATRIMONII OR FROM THE BONDS OF MATRIMONY. It appearing from an affidavit that the defendant is: that diligence has been used without effect, by or on the behalf of the plaintiff to ascertain in what county or city defendant is and the last known address of the Defendant is as follows: L/K/A 6847 Carnation St. Apt A Richmond, VA 23225 It is ORDERED that Avron Nathaniel Williams appear at the above-named court and protect his/her interests on or before July 18, 2022, 9 AM. An Extract, Teste: EDWARD F. JEWETT, Clerk
PROPERTY Notice Judicial Sale of Real Property Owner/s of the below listed properties are hereby given notice that thirty (30) days from the date of this notice, proceedings will be commenced under the authority of Section 58.13965 et seq. of the Code of Virginia to sell the following parcels located in the City of Richmond, Virginia for payment of delinquent taxes: 2026 North 21st Street E0120312010 1127 North 32nd Street E0000803034 2403 Bainbridge Street S0000581016 2014 Botetourt Street N0001008023 17 West Brookland Park Boulevard N0000892030 500 West Brookland Park Boulevard N0001034026 3424 Carolina Avenue N0001161001 418 Chimborazo Boulevard E0000884007 400 West Clay Street N0000208014 4725 Cooks Road C0060607010 1018 Crafton Lane N0000790042 3219 Dill Avenue N0051079006 3221 Dill Avenue N0051079007 3521 Florida Avenue N0001266022 1034 Fourqurean Lane N0000805008 2916 Garland Avenue N0000889011 714 East Gladstone Avenue N0001155017 6331 Glenway Drive C0050749063 1804 Harwood Street S0071133006 511 Hazelhurst Avenue N0001364009 1619 Hull Street S0000197033 3700 Iron Bridge Road C0081065012 1010 Jamestown Avenue E0100072016 313 East Ladies Mile Road N0001553012 2200 Lamb Avenue N0000490004 3106 Lamb Avenue N0001041011 3113 Letcher Avenue N0001053011 4824 Lovells Road C0060607030 4830 Lovells Road C0060607032 414 Marx Street S0000320001 3404 Montrose Avenue N0001348012 939 Oak Street N0000313007 3901 Old Warwick Road C0080435052 5301 Parker Street E0100140014 3600 Platinum Road C0090743008 625 Pollock Street N0001261013 611 Queen Anne Drive C0060727020 2105 Richmond Street E0000665004 3530 East Richmond Road Unit 24 E0001763333 2007 Southcliff Road S0002492020 5688 Ullswater Avenue C0070261052 4951 Walmsley Boulevard C0080825006 1416 Webster Street N0000313009 1390 Westwood Avenue N0001330086 3500 Woodmere Drive C0080750020 The owner/s of any property listed may redeem it at any time before the date of the sale by paying all accumulated taxes, penalties, interest and cost thereon, including the pro rata costs of publication hereunder. Gregory A. Lukanuski, Deputy City Attorney Office of the City Attorney for the City of Richmond 900 East Broad Street, Room 400 Richmond, Virginia (804) 646-7949
VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF HANOVER DENISE DAVIS, Plaintiff v. ULYSSES ALSTON, Defendant. Case No.: CL22001680-00 ORDER OF PUBLICATION The object of this suit is to obtain a divorce from the bond of matrimony from the defendant on the ground of living separate and apart without any cohabitation and without interruption for a period exceeding twelve
Trustees’ Sale of 1305 Bainbridge Street Richmond, VA In execution of that certain deed of trust dated August 15, 2018 securing payment in the original principal amount of $292,750.00 recorded in the Clerk’s Office of the Circuit Court of the City of Richmond, VA as Instrument Number 180017063 at page 0201, (the “Deed of Trust”), default having occurred in payment of the indebtedness secured by the Deed of Trust, the undersigned Substitute Trustee, at the direction of the secured party will offer for sale at public auction at the main entrance to the building housing the Circuit Court of the City of Richmond, VA at The John Marshall Courts Building, 400 N. 9th Street, Richmond, VA on AUGUST 10, 2022 at 12:00 Noon. the property described in the referenced Deed of Trust located at the above address and more particularly
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VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND JOHN MARSHALL COURTS BUILDING CITY OF RICHMOND, Plaintiff, v. CLAUDE D. HAMILTON, et al, Defendants. Case No.: CL22-1276 ORDER OF PUBLICATION The object of this suit is to subject the property briefly described as 1812 Texas Avenue, Tax Map Number W000-0701/015, Richmond, Virginia, to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owner of record, Claude D. Hamilton. Continued on next column
ABC LICENSE Midway Express VA Inc Trading as: Carolina Express 3100 Carolina Ave. Richmond, Virginia 23222 The above establishment is applying to the Virginia Department of A lcoholic B everage C ontrol (ABC) AUTHORITY for a Convenience Store license to sell or manufacture alcoholic beverages. Amar Singh, President Date notice posted at establishment: June 17, 2022 NOTE: Objections to the issuance of this license must be submitted to ABC no later than 30 days from the publishing date of the first of two required newspaper legal notices. Objections should be registered at www. abc.virginia.gov or (800) 552-3200. Jonette Danielle Meade Barley Trading as: Read Between The Vines 2917 Monteith Road Richmond, Virginia 23235-2150 The above establishment is applying to the Virginia D epartment of Alcoholic Beverage C ontrol (ABC) AUTHORITY for a Wine and Beer In-State Internet Retailer license to sell or manufacture alcoholic beverages. Jonette Danielle Meade Barley, owner Date notice posted at establishment: June 22, 2022 NOTE: Objections to the issuance of this license must be submitted to ABC no later than 30 days from the publishing date of the first of two required newspaper legal notices. Objections should be registered at www. abc.virginia.gov or (800) 552-3200. COUNTY OF HENRICO, VIRGINIA CONSTRUCTION BID ITB #22-2381-6JOK Ridgefield Parkway & Gayton Road Water Main Replacement Due: August 10, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. For additional information visit: https://henrico.us/ finance/divisions/purchasing/ solicitations/
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TRANSIT SYSTEM
SENIOR ITS PROJECT MANAGER FULL TIME EXEMPT Salary $70,000 - $90,000 Closes: Open until closed
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Staff Attorney/Court Administrator City of Richmond Circuit Court FLSA Status: Exempt Starting Pay Range: $75,000 - $95,000 Application Deadline: July 17, 2022 SUMMARY Provide legal research and recommendations to the Judges of the 13th Judicial Circuit; provide overall training, direction and supervision to law clerks; and perform related administrative work as directed by the Judges. REPRESENTATIVE WORK FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES • Assist in the development and implementation of court policies and procedures, and written materials regarding same; and seek to generate improvements in court policies and procedures to enhance the functioning of the court. • Serve as Law Clerk to a Judge of the Circuit Court by providing in each case an objective summary of the procedural history, issues, relevant facts and incidents of trial, the legal arguments propounded by the parties, and in certain cases, a recommendation for a disposition. • Assist the Judges with special research and writing projects as the Judges may request. • Assist the Chief Judge with administrative and reporting requirements pursuant to statutory requirements. Please submit resume and cover letter, and requests for the complete job description, to:
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
CircuitCourtClerkEmployment@Richmondgov.com or RICHMOND CIRCUIT COURT CLERK’S OFFICE PERSONNEL DEPARTMENT 400 NORTH 9TH ST RICHMOND, VA 23219 NO WALK-INS OR PHONE CALLS, PLEASE EOE
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Freelance Writers: Richmond Free Press has immediate opportunities for freelance writers. Newspaper experience is a requirement. To be considered, please send 5 samples of your writing, along with a cover letter to news@richmond freepress.com or mail to: Richmond Free Press, P. O. Box 27709, Richmond, VA 23261. No phone calls.