Richmond Free Press July 28-30, 2022 edition

Buck O’Neil honored A8

Richmond Free Press

VOL. 31 NO. 31

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RICHMOND, VIRGINIA

www.richmondfreepress.com

Moving forward

Waves of applause resounded in the City Council chambers Monday night after, one by one, the nine members of the governing body voted, as anticipated, to allow city workers to organize unions and negotiate contracts on wages, benefits and working conditions.

“Now the real Mayor work begins,” said Council President Cynthia I. Newbille in noting that passage of the landmark ordinance that Mayor Levar M. Stoney also supported represents just the

first step to making unions and collective bargaining a reality.

The ordinance, which blocks City Council employees from unionizing, cleared the way for workers in departments that report to Lincoln Saunders, the city’s chief administrative officer, to unionize — potentially more than 3,000.

However, no emStoney ployee can be forced to join or pay dues, and any unions that are formed will be barred from striking. And no matter what agreement the administration and a union

JULY 28-30, 2022

35 years after winning Pulitzer, poet Rita Dove’s ‘Apocalyse’ is an awakening

By Holly Rodriguez

When the coronavirus pandemic shut down much of the world in 2020, Pulitzer Prize -winning poet Rita Dove had not published a book of her own work for more than a decade.

Yet, the former U.S. Poet Laureate never stopped writing the entire time.

“The trigger for the collection coming together was indeed the pandemic, because all of a sudden, my calendar was clear,” she said. “Like everyone else, I was

Some hope collective bargaining agreement will define Richmond as a ‘workplace of choice’

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

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Meet this week’s Personality B1

reach, the final decision on approving any contract will be up to City Council.

Still, for the dozens of city workers, who see unions as the

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Ms. Dove

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How many homeless people will be sheltered this winter remains unclear Finding adequate space also an issue, city officials say

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

City Hall is moving forward in trying to find nonprofits or churches and other faith-based groups with available space to house homeless people, at least during the winter.

Sherrill Hampton, director of housing and community development, issued a notice that the city had $3 million federal funds to spend over the next two years to support the operation of one or more inclement weather shelters, particularly Nov. 1 to April 15, the cold weather period.

The shelters also could operate during days of extreme heat or major storms, the notice stated.

However, the notice that Ms. Hampton issued did not specify the number of beds that the city was seeking to fund.

Two members of City Council, Stephanie A. Lynch, 5th Ms. Hampton District, and Dr. Michael J. Jones, 9th District, said they were told that the city would support up to 150 beds.

Ms. Hampton did not respond to a Free Press query.

If the council members are correct, the 150 beds would represent a 50 per-

cent increase from the 100 beds that Ms. Hampton told council’s Education and Human Services Committee on July 14 that the city would pay for – leaving others to fend for themselves.

Ms. Lynch, who chairs the committee, called the policy “heartless” during the committee meeting in noting that 100 beds would fall far short of the need for space to keep people from freezing to death.

During the past winter, the city paid for shelter for more than 300 people each night, including families with children, in two locations after cold weather set in and all the spaces in existing shelters Please turn to A4

Helping customers with utility bills during pandemic proves costly for city

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

Kamala Harris meets with Democrats in Richmond to defend reproductive rights Vice President Kamala Harris, above, met with Virginia State Sens. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, Mamie Locke, D-Hampton, Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, U.S. Rep. A. Donald McEachin, D-4th, and more than 20 other Democratic legislators and community leaders on Saturday, July 23, in Henrico County to discuss the fight to protect reproductive rights.

During the early morning meeting at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 666, Vice President Harris thanked the leaders for their work defending women’s reproductive rights and freedoms in Virginia. She said people do not need to abandon their faith to believe the government should not interfere in the ability of women to make decisions about their own bodies.

She also expressed concerns about other rights that are in jeopardy, including the right to marry someone you love and the ability to access contraception.

The vice president shared actions the Biden-Harris administration is taking to defend abortion access, and noted the importance of building a movement to protect reproductive rights. Others discussed the intersection between the maternal health crisis and the health care crisis that women are facing in the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.

More must be done to fight for the health, safety, and wellbeing of women, they agreed and vowed to continue defending reproductive health care in Virginia and across the nation.

More than 6,300 homes and businesses in Richmond — 10 percent of the customer base — are facing disconnection of their utilities for nonpayment of water, sewer and gas bills.

April Bingham, director of the city Department of Public

Utilities, delivered that information Wednesday in a report to City Council’s Governmental Operations Committee describing the problems the pandemic has created for customers and the department.

According to Ms. Bingham’s report, the effort to keep serving people during the pandemic

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 28, and Aug. 4, 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. – Fulton Neighborhood Resource Center, 1519 Williamsburg Road.

• Wednesday, Aug. 3, 8 to 10 a.m. – Eastern 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.

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Sheriff Irving

might have been necessary, but it has been costly.

Based on the report, the department finished the 202122 fiscal year still waiting to receive 20 percent of payments, double the 10 percent of payments that were outstanding on the same date five years ago.

Most concerning are the number of accounts that have failed to submit payments for 90 days or more — pushing them toward the uncollectable category.

As of June 30, the department had $35.4 million in bills that had been unpaid for three months or more, or about 9 percent of revenue; in 2017, only 3 percent of bills or $10.4 million were 90 days or more past due.

For a department that projects revenue collection to top

$400 million this year for the first time in the current 202223 fiscal year, 20 percent in outstanding bills amounts to more than $80 million.

The trouble began when the pandemic arrived, the report noted. Beginning March 12, 2020, the department responded by ending disconnections and also reconnected customers who were already past due in a bid to help prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus and aid people after jobs were lost in the economic shutdown.

Four days later, the department suspended late fees and collection notices, and would not begin imposing late fees again until Nov. 1, 2021.

The collection problem surged, according to the report.

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Richmond sheriff blames staffing challenges for city jail’s violence

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

“We are doing everything we can to create an atmosphere that is positive” inside the Richmond City Justice Center and prevent attacks on deputies and inmates, according to Sheriff Antionette V. Irving.

“We work diligently every day to makes sure our staff are safe and our inmates are safe. I want people to walk out the door better than they came in,” Sheriff Irving said Tuesday in defending her management of the city’s jail.

The sheriff, whose office is independent of the city, spoke at a meeting of the City Council’s Public Safety Committee that Please turn to A4

Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

Sweet treats for the heat From left, Ona Cox, 4, Harley Harris-Forbes, and JaZelle Cox, 6, enjoyed their cool and delicious frozen treats during the RPS Summer Fest at George Wythe High School on July 23. Students and families attending the event learned about the upcoming school year, met RPS teachers and staff, listened to live music and ate ice cream, of course. Please see more photos on B2.

Richmond Free Press

A2 July 28-30, 2022

Local News

Cityscape Slices of life and scenes in Richmond “Slow your roll,” is likely what Bill “Bojangles” Robinson would caution the driver of a vehicle that collided into the statue of the famous Richmond-born actor, dancer and singer. According to published reports, Mr. Robinson was the most highly paid AfricanAmerican entertainer in the United States during the first half of the 20th century. Which also may lead him to ask, “Why would anyone run into a rich man?” The incident shown occurred at the intersection of Adams and Leigh streets last month.

Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

Community High alum lands role in AMC series

By Holly Rodriguez

In August of 2021, Richmond native Kalyne Coleman got the call every young actor longs for: She got the part. On Oct. 2, Ms. Coleman will be seen in her first onscreen acting credit role as Grace de Pointe Du Lac in the AMC series “Interview with the Vampire.” But it almost didn’t happen.

Ms. Coleman said her parents set the foundation for her interest in acting — her mother is an avid reader and her father, a dramatic storyteller. But the acting bug didn’t really hit until Ms. Coleman performed in a play at William Fox Elementary School as a student. Later, while at Richmond Community High School, she continued acting.

But fearing the struggling actor stereotype Ms. Coleman could be her own story, she decided on a more stable career choice, enrolling at the University of Pennsylvania as a communications major.

As her undergraduate years were drawing to a close, Ms. Coleman was in the final rounds of interviews for a job that would have launched her nine-to-five career.

“I was so close,” she said,” and I asked myself, ‘Do you really want this?” She said the answer was ‘No,’ because she knew she really wanted to pursue acting.

With the support of the person who was almost her boss and her parents, Ms. Coleman moved to New York and had multiple jobs from babysitting to working for a telephone company while figuring out her next step.

She applied to the master’s in Fine arts program at Brown University and did not get in until the third time she applied.

“I encourage young people to follow their dreams because it is important to realize them,” she said. “Keep pushing and believe in yourself because it can and will happen.” She said she has nine nieces and nephews, with another on the way, and said she feels a responsibility to follow her dreams to be a good example for them to do the same.

Ms. Coleman’s character Grace in the AMC series is the sister of the lead character Louis de Pointe du Lac, performed

by Jacob Anderson. She said her character is present in five of the series’ seven episodes, and from the time she first read the script she felt a connection to her.

“My superpower is to spread joy and light, so when I saw that was Grace’s job in the family, I felt this character is a kindred spirit in a lot of ways,” she said. “I felt so connected to who she was and her role in the family.”

“Interview with a Vampire” is the title of a book written by Anne Rice. A movie adaptation of the book was released 1994.

Referendum idea to give voters a say in casino dollars and schools dropped

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Not happening.

City Council has declined to consider putting an advisory referendum on the November ballot that would allow city voters to decide if tax revenues from a casino should go to modernizing Richmond’s school buildings.

The referendum would have allowed voters to say if they wanted a charter change that would direct tax dollars derived from a casino, in the event one were ever built, to be used solely to renovate or replace more than 30 obsolete schools.

The council dropped the idea, members said, after City Attorney Haskell C. Brown III advised that the proposed charter change did not pass muster as it would seek to direct casino tax dollars that do not exist.

Mr. Brown declined to comment on the advice he provided to the council in response to a Free Press query.

The council is still mulling other policy resolutions that the nine members would vote on, but none would be sent to the voters. The mayor is backing a proposal to use casino dollars to cut property taxes by two cents.

Political strategist Paul Goldman in June had promoted the idea of allowing voters to choose whether to use casino dollars for school buildings, and worked with at least two council members, 4th District Councilwoman Kristen Nye and 8th District Councilwoman Reva M. Trammell, on crafting the language.

Last week, the proposal appeared to gain momentum after winning the endorsement of the Richmond Crusade for Voters and Cathy Hughes, founder and board chairwoman of the Black media company Urban One. Urban One was City Hall’s choice to develop a casino-resort in South Side in 2021, but the project died when Richmond voters narrowly turned it down. Voters in

majority Black districts tended to support the casino, while voters in majority-white districts tended to oppose it.

Richmond voters will have a second chance in November to decide whether they support the Urban One casino.

At this point, the state Department of Elections has stated that it has no plans to challenge a Richmond Circuit Court order putting the issue on the ballot.

However, even if the casino wins this second round, the General Assembly has barred the casino-regulating State Lottery from considering for a year any Richmond application for a license to operate a casino.

Petersburg now appears to have the inside track to win General Assembly support to replace Richmond as the state’s fifth casino site.

The enforced delay is designed to give the legislature time to fully consider substituting the Cockade City for the Capital of te Commonwealth.

Training facility for people formerly incarcerated won’t reopen

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

City Hall has ruled out allowing a nonprofit construction training program for people released from jails and prisons to return to a former North Side school building that it had occupied for five years.

The verdict on the Adult Alternative Program was delivered by Sharon Ebert, the city’s deputy chief administrative officer for economic and community development.

The building AAP has been using at 4929 Chamberlayne Ave. is “in poor condition,” Ms. Ebert told City Council’s Land Use, Housing and Transportation Committee on July 19.

The former school for disabled students is in “need of environmental remediation for mold and mildew,” she told the committee.

She said a cursory look also shows the building needs “significant repairs” before anyone could be allowed to use it.

The School Board earlier this year approved returning the building to the city, and the full council voted to accept the building Monday.

It is a blow to Richmond contractor Kenneth Williams, 73, who created the training program in 2012 and relocated to the building in 2017.

Since March, he and his classes have been locked out of the building.

Still hoping the city would allow him to return after it gained possession, Mr. Williams has not yet removed equipment, furniture and other items belonging to AAP. Two members of the council, Vice Presi-

dent Ellen F. Robertson, 6th District, and Dr. Michael J. Jones, 9th District, expressed support for finding a new location for him, though that remains a question mark.

Ms. Ebert said that council’s acceptance of the building would allow the city to determine if it has a use for the property that would make it worth renovating or would seek to sell it to other parties.

Ms. Robertson expressed concern that the School Board was returning a building that was in “horrible condition.” She noted the city had provided the funding to develop the school decades ago and also paid the debt service.

She said that it might be time to end a policy that requires the city to turn over proceeds from the sale of surplus school property to the school system.

Monkey pox vaccines, now available in Richmond area

By George Copeland Jr.

In response to the spread of the monkeypox virus, the Richmond and Henrico health districts are vaccinating people who may be at higher risk of exposure but haven’t had contact with known positive cases.

Last Wednesday, RHHD began using 160 monkeypox vaccines for those currently eligible, and are focused on adults with certain risk factors that increase their likelihood of exposure.

RHHD has made available an interest form for individuals in Richmond and Henrico County to apply for a monkeypox vaccine.

Individuals currently eligible for the vaccine include gay, bisexual and other men, and transgender women and nonbinary persons assigned male at birth, who have sex with men and have multiple or anonymous sexual partners. Sex workers, staff at establishments with sexual activity and people who attend sex-on-premises venues also are eligible.

RHHD officials have warned that these groups are not the full scope of those vulnerable to the virus, and have continued to caution against stereotyping, misinformation and condemnation of individuals and groups.

NHS England High Consequence Infectious Diseases Network

Monkeypox infectious rash

“It’s important to remember that anyone, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation, can get monkeypox if they have close contact with someone infected with the virus,” said Dr. Melissa A. Viray, deputy director of RHHD. “It continues to be important to identify which communities are most impacted by a disease so

that we can work with them for prevention efforts, but it is never acceptable to use transmission of a disease to stigmatize or hold biases against a community.”

Before last Wednesday, RHHD only offered monkeypox vaccines to close contacts of known cases who were at high risk, or specific

intermediate risk, of infection. This new vaccination push focuses on community outreach to identify high-risk individuals and create appointments through groups connected to specific communities.

So far, more than 48 vaccines have been administered locally, according to RHHD officials, who expect those numbers to more than double by the end of the week. More than 300 people have expressed interest in vaccination through the interest form.

As of last Thursday, 63 presumed and confirmed monkeypox cases were found in Virginia, while one had been identified in Central Virginia, and more vaccine doses are expected to arrive this week.

It’s currently unclear how public interest for the vaccine will change in the weeks to come, but Dr. Viray believes Central Virginia is “relatively fortunate” given how the local number of cases compared to other localities and states.

“I think we are in a better place now than we were for COVID because we have a vaccine and we can make it available,” Dr. Viray said.

To complete a form for the monkeypox vaccine, please visit rhhd.gov/monkeypoxvax or call (804) 205-3501.

Richmond Free Press

July 28-30, 2022 A3

Local News

By George Copeland Jr.

our hospital, giving birth, we can be there with them if they need us.”

For the last several months, a new program Heartbeats’ work is focused on a major issue at Virginia Commonwealth University has been in maternal care for Virginia. According to data working to prevent sometimes fatal complications from the Virginia Department of Health gathered such as domestic violence, racial inequality and from 2004 to 2013, patient deaths accounted medical bias that come with pregnancy. for as low as 35.2 percent to as high as 60 With the support of a $1.5 million grant from percent of every 100,000 live births in the state. the U.S. Department of Health and Human Ser- Among those deaths, African-American women vices, VCU’s Heartbeats program is providing died at a much higher rate than white patients, support for many issues that can arise before, 80.7 percent to 35.3 percent, with 53 percent during and after pregnancies. of all deaths caused due to natural causes such Heartbeats began last October as one of 12 as cardiac illness, cancer and infection. The grants awarded in the United States majority of these deaths have tended to fund research and address the risks to occur among women between 20 experienced by pregnant and postparto 29 years old. tum survivors of intimate partner vioHeartbeats’ establishment in Cenlence. The program also will address tral Virginia also places it in the greatest certain challenges African-Americans concentration of pregnancy-associated face during pregnancy. The grant is deaths statewide, with 63.3 percent spread out over five years. of every 100,000 births ending in the For Weluna Finley, a licensed propatient’s death from 2004 to 2013.

Ms. Finley fessional counselor with 20 years of The 70 patients enrolled in Heartexperience in mental health and three years in beats largely live in Richmond and the counties birth work, the chance to work with Heartbeats of Henrico and Chesterfield. They are scheduled as a doula and consultant has allowed her to to receive up to two years of pregnancy and support a new initiative that’s bringing welcome postpartum support through Heartbeats inside services to the community. and outside the medical system.

“I believe the program has great potential,” Using the Hurt, Insult, Threaten and Ms. Finley said. “We’re aware of Scream, or HITS, screening tool to the needs of the community and we assess instances of partner violence, step up to answer that call and fill in enables Heartbeats to better assist some gaps.” patients. This support ranges from The program is an extension of educational classes and support groups VCUHealth’s Project Empower, a focused on pregnancy, to housing hospital/community-based violence assistance, counseling services and prevention and intervention program, employment. that aids victims of sexual assault, The program also has partnerships Ms. Olson domestic or intimate partner violence, with Richmond Behavioral Health, the and stalking. All Heartbeats patients have joined YWCA, Safe Harbor and Hanover Safe Place to the program through Project Empower. tackle issues such as legal concerns or substance While the program is relatively new, admin- abuse disorders, that may compound and hinder istrators say it has been positively received by participants’ maternal care process. the pregnant and post-partum patients enrolled “We have connections with our local partners in various services. to make sure that they make it to those centers,” “They love it,” said Carol Olson, a licensed Ms. Olson said. “We also have a strong relaprofessional counselor for VCU Health who tionship with our partners so that they can help works with Project Empower. “We provide them navigate multiple systems at once.” with transportation to their appointments, (and) African-Americans are 59.4 percent of patients we do bedside services. If they’re in here, in in Heartbeats so far, which makes the program’s

Illu str at

ion

by A p

ril Coleman

VCU’s Heartbeats program races for better maternal health outcomes focus on reducing systemic racism and bias in medicine especially important.

Partnerships with doulas trained to support and advocate for women of color dealing with issues in health care settings pre-and post-pregnancy have been particularly vital. Heartbeats also has hired a communications staff member tasked with reaching out to marginalized populations, to better respond to the needs of the clear majority of their patients.

“Because primarily we service African-American clients, we have a duty to service them the way they should be serviced, and historically, the way sometimes they haven’t been,” Ms. Finley said. “That is one of the guiding principles in what we do and how we do it.”

Even with the benefit of its grant, Heartbeats is already facing a number of challenges. According to multiple officials working with the program, client interest in Heartbeats’ services has quickly outpaced the ability to meet that interest.

Heartbeats also hopes to expand the program to VCU Health locations in Tappahannock and New Kent, as well as build partnerships with other Central Virginia hospital systems.

Ms. Olson said she is seeking additional funding and support for this expansion, partly due to the high number of patients but also to support new services and initiatives already in progress.

With less than a year since Heartbeats’ start, a clear picture of the full impact of its work to address maternal health won’t be available until for several more months.

“People stay engaged in treatment, because they have somebody dedicated to them, and they’re navigating pregnancies with more stability,” Ms. Olson said. “We’re having improved outcomes for people navigating the system and navigating the barriers that they may face.”

Pregnancy assistance program adding new location, doulas

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Richmond-based Birth in Color is expanding again to help even more pregnant Black women avoid complications during and after the birthing process.

The nonprofit is now training 10 doulas who will serve in Roanoke, according to Kenda Sutton-El, co-founder and executive director of the organization. The doulas are projected to serve 48 women in the first year.

Launched in 2018, the program last year expanded to Hampton Ms. Sutton-El Roads and Lynchburg, Ms. Sutton-El noted.

The program’s goal is to end the disparity in outcomes for Black women, who have a higher death rate than their white counterparts, she stated.

Ms. Sutton-El and Nikiya Ellis organized the group to expand the number of available doulas, or labor assistants, trained to provide physical and emotional support to expectant mothers during pregnancy, delivery and the post-birth period.

Studies have shown that trained doulas offering culturally-informed support can make a difference in the birth outcomes, Ms. Sutton-El stated.

The program operates with funding from the Anthem Foundation and the nonprofit Bearth Village, which focuses on improving maternal health care and birth equity, she added.

City officials debate how to investigate defunct nonprofit

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

A criminal probe of the collapsed Enrichmond Foundation is on the way, according to 5th District Councilwoman Stephanie A. Lynch.

Ms. Lynch said she is work-

ing with Commonwealth’s Attorney Colette A. McEachin and other officials to determine how best to proceed to carry out the probe.

Created in the early 1990s, the foundation had served as the nonprofit for community

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They need specific blood types that match their own to minimize the risks of repeated transfusions.

groups that operate gardens, support city parks, provide recreation and are involved in other initiatives.

The foundation collected the money each of the groups raised or received and served as their bank, but virtually all of those groups have been told their money is gone. As best as can be determined, about $121,000 is missing or unavailable, city officials estimate.

Meanwhile, the foundation’s situation has become more complicated after the attorney the foundation’s board hired to wind up its affairs withdrew.

“I no longer represent the Enrichmond Foundation,”

Kerry Hutcherson stated Monday in an email to the Free Press.

“Once I was able to get a better idea of the scope of this matter, I determined that legal counsel will be needed that goes beyond my practice area.

I have been temporarily holding everything in place while the Enrichmond board seeks more appropriate legal counsel,” he stated.

The Free Press was previously told the board members had resigned. So it is not clear whether there is anyone available to hire new counsel.

It is also not clear whether the foundation has the financial ability to do so.

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New North Side farmers’ market faces challenge

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

A new farmers’ market has opened on the grounds of Richmond Community High School, but City Hall’s removal of electricity has limited the operation, organizers said.

Joining at least five other such markets in the city, the open-air market is currently operating from 4:30 to 7 p.m. each Thursday beside the school’s parking lot. The high school is located at 201 E. Brookland Park Blvd.

The market, which seeks to highlight offerings from Black producers, is a product of the Northside Food Access Coalition.

The coalition was created to increase access to fresh produce.

The members include Richmond Community High, the American Heart Association, Happily Natural, the Historic Brookland Park Collective, Richmond Food Justice Alliance, the Richmond City Health District, Nomad Deli and Virginia Community Capital.

The market began operating June 16 and anticipated using a small building on the grounds for cold storage, using electricity supplied from second storage building.

Although a coalition stated it had gained permission, the city cut off electrical service to the second building just before the opening and has yet to restore it.

As a result, vegetables and fruit cannot be stored, according to the coalition.

That has prevented the group from operating on Saturday mornings as well, the coalition has stated.

Third District City Councilwoman Ann-Frances Lambert, said the coalition has not requested assistance from her office.

Meanwhile, Tamara Jenkins, spokeswoman for the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities, said the department would research the matter.

Richmond Free Press

A4 July 28-30, 2022

News

Some hope collective bargaining agreement will define Richmond Continued from A1

only way to have their concerns on wages, benefits and health and safety issues be heard by the city’s managers, it is a big step forward.

Others see unions as a way to gain higher pay; one recent study found that a significant share of employees, mostly Black, are unable to afford to raise a family on the wages they now receive.

“This a historical moment. You need to understand how monumental this is,” Doris Crouse-Mays, president of the Virginia AFL-CIO, said before the vote. “The real winners will be the city’s employees. Now they will have a voice and a right because of this ordinance.”

For many, the vote was unbelievable. “I never thought I would see this day,” said Maurice Black, a veteran Public Works employee who pushed collective bargaining as a way to end having him and fellow workers being forced to face injury from ill-maintained or obsolete equipment.

Carl Scott, vice president of the Richmond Coalition of Police, also was joyous. He said the ordinance grants workers a seat at the table with management, which he said is “worth its weight in gold.”

Mr. Saunders, who had spent months seeking to pilot unions only for labor and trade employees, said he is hoping that council’s approval will enable the city, which currently is struggling to fill hundred so vacancies, to become more of “workplace of choice.”

It remains to be seen, though, whether this sea change in employee relations also will usher in better services for city residents and increased productivity among city employees, as advocates insist will happen.

The approved ordinance allows for five separate bargaining units – one for police officers, one for firefighters, one for labor and trade workers, one for administrative and technical staff and one for professional workers.

It will take time to get any of the bargaining units off the ground, with some moving more quickly than others.

Before anything can happen, the Stoney administration must hire a neutral labor relations administrator (LRA) to oversee the program and write the regulations that will guide the development of recognized bargaining units that will negotiate with the administration.

The ordinance grants the Stoney administration four months to hire an LRA or to hire a temporary administrator to run the program until the permanent LRA is chosen. That means it could take until Thanksgiving to get an administrator in place so that person can developing the regulations.

Police and fire already have chosen organizations that are ready to roll, the Richmond Coalition of Police and Local 995 of the International Association of Firefighters. Both are expected to easily secure at least 30 percent support from those they will represent.

Both groups are expected to begin collecting signatures of support and be ready to submit a request to the incoming LRA for an election to allow employees to choose their bargaining agent. The ordinance also requires 120 days to pass before an

Free COVID-19 vaccines Continued from A1

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

Want a COVID-19 vaccine or booster shot?

The Richmond and Henrico health districts are offering free walk-up COVID-19 vaccines at the following locations: • Thursday, July 28, noon to 4 p.m. & August 4, 1 to 4 p.m.

– Richmond 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 for July 28 and encouraged for Aug. 4.

• Tuesday, Aug. 2, 9 a.m. to noon – 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, appointments encouraged.

• Wednesday, Aug. 3, 1 to 4 p.m. – 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, appointments encouraged.

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

VaccineFinder.org and vaccines.gov also allow people to find nearby pharmacies and clinics that offer the COVID-19 vaccine and booster.

Those who are getting a booster shot should bring their vaccine card to confirm the date and type of vaccine received.

RHHD also offers at-home vaccinations by calling (804) 205-3501 to schedule appointments.

New COVID-19 cases in Virginia have largely stayed at a flat rate, according to the Virginia Department of Health, while hospitalization data from the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association increased by 16 percent.

As of last Thursday, the city of Richmond and counties of Chesterfield, Henrico and Hanover are at high levels of community COVID-19.

A total of 3,561 new cases of COVID-19 were reported statewide Wednesday for the 24-hour period, contributing to an overall state total of 1,947,686 cases in Virginia since the pandemic’s outbreak. As of Wednesday, there have been 452,792 hospitalizations and 20,889 deaths statewide.

The state’s seven-day positivity rate rose to 22.9 percent on Wednesday. Last week, the positivity rate was 22.7 percent.

On Wednesday, state health officials reported that 71.9 percent of the state’s population has been fully vaccinated, while 82.1 percent have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

State data also showed that nearly 3.6 million people in Virginia have received booster shots or third doses of the vaccine.

Among those ages 5 to 11 in Virginia, 327,333 have received their first shots as of Wednesday, accounting for 45.2 percent of the age group in the state, while 284,347 children, or 39.2 percent, are fully vaccinated and 34,131 children have received a third vaccine dose or booster, making up 4.7 percent of that age group.

On Wednesday, 27,977 children from the ages of zero to four have received the first doses, making up 6.2 percent of the population in Virginia, while 2,243 are fully vaccinated. As of Wednesday, fewer than 161,000 cases, 959 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 five percent of deaths.

Reported COVID-19 data as of Wednesday, July 27, 2022 Cases Hospitalizations Deaths 52,548 1,169 520 Richmond Henrico County 76,823 1,556 967 Chesterfield County 85,439 1,555 787 Hanover County 24,817 732 296

election request can be submitted.

Two other organizations, the Service Employees International Union and the Teamsters, appear ready to compete to be the bargaining agent for one or more of the other employee groups.

Given the groundwork, local organizers have said it is possible

they could be ready to roll after 120 days as well.

An election could be held 45 days after the LRA accepts the paperwork and confirms that it meets the criteria.

In other words, it could be next spring before negotiations could begin.

Poet Rita Dove’s ‘Apocalyse’ is an awakening Continued from A1

sheltering in place, and had time to myself to think about all of the recent things that happened.”

This collection of poems became “Playlist for the Apocalypse,” published last year. Her work covers topics ranging from the Black Lives Matter movement to her struggle in learning to cope with her Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis.

Ms. Dove will read and discuss poems from her book 6 p.m. Thursday, July 28, at the Library of Virginia as part of its Weinstein Author Series.

The term “apocalypse” may be startling, but Ms. Dove says the word doesn’t necessarily represent the ending of things.

“An apocalypse is a great revelation, a revealing of a great truth,” she said. “And whenever we have a reckoning, it can feel like the end of the world because it is the end of the world that we know.”

But, she says, you can also look at it as opening up, an awakening.

Ms. Dove joined the University ofVirginia’s Creative Writing faculty in 1989, and today is the Henry Hoyns Professor of Creative

Writing there. When she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1987 for her book “Thomas and Beulah,” she was 35 and the youngest person to ever win the award.

The recipient of more than two dozen honorary doctorate degrees from colleges and universities, Ms. Dove became the first African-American woman to hold the title of U.S. Poet Laureate in 1993, was the special consultant in poetry for the Library of Congress bicentennial in 1999 and 2000, and Poet Laureate of Virginia 2004-2006.

In addition to being a published poet, she also edited two anthologies and a poetry collection, published several plays, and has a dozen major musical collaborations under her belt.

Although she has been in the spotlight for her work for more than three decades, she believes now is an exciting time for poetry.

Especially poetry by Black women.

“I am very excited about emerging black women poets,” she said. “There is such a diversity, a variance in which they approach current events, daily life and how they express that.”

While she said the attention given to emerging Black female poets may seem

like a surprise to mainstream audiences, the recognition was inevitable, as the genre has been building for years.

“There was a time when many of these young and working poets were used to being the only Black person in a workshop because the focus of poetry was so white male-dominated,” she said. “Now you can’t stop [these Black women] — it’s a wonderful wave.”

With so many workshops, seminars and programs that now focus on poetry, Ms. Dove said the mystique of it is being lifted as more people are exposed to genre. This is key, but not the driver of the relevance of poetry, she said.

“Poetry deals with the interior life and all of the emotions we find difficult,” she said. “Our need for connection is what keeps poetry relevant.”

Other genres of writing pull the reader into a story, she added, enabling him or her to be a bit removed from the material.

“When you have an Amanda Gorman, it makes more people receptive to [poetry],” she said. “While it is still not as embraced as in Europe or South America, I think we are making strides.”

Winter shelter for homeless remains unclear Continued from A1

were filled.

Ms. Lynch said she is pushing the administration to go even bigger — but one big problem is finding buildings that can serve as shelter.

Applications are due to Ms. Hampton’s office Aug. 25.

The Free Press has learned that the administration had begun talks with Liberation Church, 5501 Midlothian Turnpike, about providing space to serve as a centralized shelter, much as the former Conrad Center and vacant Public Safety Building did in years past.

However, that plan appears to have faltered due to opposition Dr. Jones, who also is a minister.

Dr. Jones said Tuesday he supports a de-

centralized approach rather than having one place shelter all of the homeless, particularly if the site is located in his district.

If the city is seeking space for 150 people, “that is a lot of people in one place facing life’s challenges,” he said, particularly when they would be housed on the Midlothian corridor which he said is already notorious for prostitution and drug sales.

He said he could support 25 to 30 people being housed at Liberation. In his view, the city needs to find six or seven locations willing to accept similar numbers so that.

He said having smaller groups would allow the city and nonprofits to provide better wrap-around services to enable those served to get on their feet.

Ms. Lynch, a social worker, is frustrated by the difficulty in locating space for a

year-round shelter.

At Monday night’s council meeting, she listened to Dr. Jones and other speakers, including the Rev. Gwen C. Hedgepeth, a former council member, push back against the use of the Liberation Church.

“We can’t keep playing shuffleboard with people’s lives,” Ms. Lynch told her colleagues. “These are human beings.” She said she would welcome a central shelter being located in her district, if a space could be found, although she acknowledged that no buildings large enough to serve so many people at one time have turned up in her district.

Council President Cynthia I. Newbille said the issue of providing shelter during the winter is serious enough to warrant a special meeting in mid-August. A date is still being determined.

Helping customers with utility bills proves costly for city Continued from A1

On June 30, 2020, uncollected bills that were 90 or more days late hit $19 million. A year later, that figure hit $28.3 million.

The report indicates that is unsustainable as it is chopping into the utility department’s financial reserves.

According to the report, the department sought to help by automatically putting customers in arrears 90 days or more on a payment plan.

By July 2020, the department had created 12,363 payment plans for customers who collectively owed $11.7 million, or

an average of $921 apiece, with payments starting with as little as $5.

However, the report noted only 40 percent of customers activated their plans, while 60 percent did not and fell further behind.

The department gained help from the federal CARES Act and the American Rescue Plan, which collectively provided $19 million to cover unpaid bills.

In December 2021, the report noted that the department had repayment plans for 13,773 customers who had unpaid bills totaling about $12.5 million or $907 apiece, but only 54 percent, or about 7,440 customers had taken advantage.

That leaves more than 6,300 customers who are not paying.

Beginning in June, the department resumed disconnections of offices, stores, factories and other nonresidential buildings that were far behind and of residential customers whose service was restored in 2020 but who had not paid since. The department also resumed sending out delinquency notices.

This month, the department has been canceling the thousands of repayment plans that were never activated and re-imposing late fees on the affected accounts. Late fees are not assessed against those with active payment plans.

Sheriff blames staffing challenges for city jail’s violence Continued from A1

only the chair, 8th District City Councilwoman Reva M. Trammell, attended amid reports of continuing violence and drug abuse inside.

Just since last Friday, July 22, according to information provided to the Free Press, a female deputy was punched in the face, three inmates suffered serious stab wounds and two inmates had to be revived after overdosing on illegal drugs.

“We do have issues at the Sheriff’s Office. Yes, we do,” the sheriff, without being specific, told Ms. Trammell. The sheriff added that reports of such incidents “are often inaccurate.”

However, Ms. Trammell, who invited the sheriff to appear in the wake of the savage attack on a female deputy July 7 that had left the woman with a broken jaw and other injuries, found that claim difficult to accept.

The councilwoman said she regularly receives calls from family members of incarcerated people pleading with her to get their relatives out due to the threats they face, though she is powerless to do so. She also said the claims that deputies are attacked are supported by videos from inside the jail that she and other council members receive.

“The deputies cannot be making up all of these stories and loved ones, too,” said Ms. Trammell, who requested the sheriff attend the meeting after learning about the female deputy was savagely beaten by a mentally ill inmate earlier this month.

Sheriff Irving said the biggest challenge is staffing. She said she currently has 160 vacant deputy positions, up from 100 last year, and that the jail would be safer if she could just fill 80 of those positions.

That drew musings from Ms. Trammell that the sheriff is now in the worst shape in terms of personnel of all the public

safety agencies in the city, that also are short-staffed.

The shortfall has impacted the sheriff’s ability to manage the jail and carry out her other duties, including providing security at the three city courthouses and serving civil papers carrying out evictions The jail, however, has been the most impacted, with mandatory overtime apparently providing little help.

Shifts that once had 40 deputies before she took office in 2018 can muster only 10 or 12 deputies to monitor cameras and patrol the cellblocks or pods that are on all six floors of the building – leaving inmates largely to police themselves.

The jail has seen a major increase in broken cell locks and other equipment as a result, the Free Press was told.

The risks to inmates and deputies also have gone up. While the number of inmates being held has fallen, those that remain are harder to deal with, the sheriff confirmed.

At a jail built to accommodate 1,132 people, the sheriff said she averages about 602 inmates a night.

However, she said 333 of the residents are being held for violent crimes. In addition, she said more than half, 365, have mental health challenges and are prescribed daily medication, while 38 others are now at Central State.

“Whatever goes on in the streets of the city of Richmond, those are things we have to deal with once those individuals are brought into our facility,” the sheriff said.

According to the sheriff, she has pushed “training, training, training” beyond what the state requires so that deputies can be prepared if an inmate snaps. She said that deputies need that because often “when you are in the back of the jail, you are alone.”

But a former deputy, Richard J. Shannon, who listened to the meeting, said the sheriff was painting a rosy picture that

does not comport with reality.

He said because of short-staffing, deputies cannot be pulled out for training. “It’s not happening,” he said.

Sheriff Irving also claimed that she has sought to increase mental health and wellness services both for inmates and staff.

She said she also regularly grants time off for beleaguered deputies who have used up leave time and pitches in on meal deliveries and on relieving stressed deputies.

“I can’t do this job by myself,” she said.

“I need the people who work for me.”

But Mr. Shannon said the sheriff depiction of herself as a caring, engaged individual was belied in his case. After nearly 20 years on the job and a few months away from retiring, he said the sheriff fired him after he was diagnosed with a medical issue, without offering him any accommodation.

Another former deputy, Charles “Chip” Davis, said the sheriff’s claim that she and her staff check up on injured employees was false in his case. He said he got a card, but virtually no other support or expressions of concern after an inmate hit him in the head and created injuries that left him unable to continue working at the jail.

“I was attacked Sept. 13, 2020, working at the Richmond City Justice Center,” he said, and then had to fight the sheriff’s office to get worker’s compensation.

“We shouldn’t have to worry about being punched in the face, having boiling water thrown us, having people break bones,” Mr. Davis said.

A Richmond native, who worked for the Henrico County Sheriff’s Office for more than 25 years before winning her office in the 2017 election, Sheriff Irving insisted she cares about her staff and for treating those in custody humanely.

“Anyone who tells you I don’t care,” she said, “is not telling you the truth.”

Richmond Free Press

July 28-30, 2022 A5

Local News

Photo courtesy of Shiya Brown

Shiya Brown participated in the NextUp RVA program while attending Lucille Brown Middle School. Shiya , who recently graduated from Huguenot High School with a 4.0 GPA, will study pre-nursing this fall at Old Dominion University.

Photo courtesy of Ja’Nay Worsely

Former Lucille Brown Middle School student Ja’Nay Worsely graduated in June from Richmond Community High School. She soon will enter Wilberforce University in Ohio to study biology, and her future goal is to become a doctor.

NextUp RVA promotes positive youth development Recent graduates excited about their future

By Ronald E. Carrington

Shiya Brown was a Richmond Public Schools student at Lucille Brown Middle School in 2015. When she became part of NextUp RVA’s second cohort, she explored several after-school programs that helped her grow academically and creatively.

“In middle school, I was really interested in art and writing,” Shiya said in a recent interview. “[Taking] those programs really helped me to develop written assignments.”

Other programs such as economics and robotics tapped into her analytical and problem-solving abilities. Shiya used those skills to graduate with a 4.0 GPA recently from Huguenot High School. The next step in her academic journey will come when she starts pre-nursing studies at Old Dominion University this fall. She plans to focus on newborn development and disorders for an eventual career in neonatology.

Another former Lucille Brown Middle School student, Ja’Nay Worsely, also spoke about her experience with the nonprofit NextUp through Greater Richmond’s North Side YMCA. She learned to deejay in Spin Academy and took part in “Y Achievers,” a program Ja’Nay said helped “build an academic and social foundation for high school.”

It is a foundation that will continue to help the recent Richmond Community High School graduate as a biology major at Wilberforce University in Ohio, where she will pursue her dream of becoming a doctor.

Since its launch in 2014 at Thomas H. Henderson Middle School, NextUp RVA has coordinated more than 60 community-based providers to offer

Photo by Matt Doe/NextUp RVA

Students perform at Henderson Middle School’s 2018 NextUp Showcase, a spring celebration that has been on hold since the COVID-19 pandemic. NextUp plans to continue the showcase in the coming school year.

high quality after-school programs without cost to any middle school student attending Albert Hill, Boushall, Lucille Brown, Martin Luther King Jr., River City or Thomas H. Henderson middle schools.

Studies have shown that such afterschool programs provide benefits not only for participating youths and their families, but for entire communities as well. The Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs lists effective after-school programming on its website, from supporting social and emotional learning to a significant return-on-investment. The increase to youth earning potential from im-

proved academic performance, as well as a reduction in crime and juvenile delinquency, can save $3 or more for every $1 invested.

Yet, hurdles such as family income, available transportation and neighborhood safety can mean access to such programming is often less than favorable. According to state education data, more than half of RPS students are economically disadvantaged — a fact that NextUp RVA believes contributes to what educators call an “opportunity gap.”

In addressing such gaps, NextUp has provided nearly 2,000 RPS middle schoolers outside-the-classroom

VUU fills leadership roles

learning in areas such as athletics, health, STEM, the arts, mentoring and leadership.

The success stories of program participants such as Shiya and Ja’Nay are reflected in the data NextUp has seen so far. In a recent phone interview, Anderson Hayes, NextUp RVA’s communications manager, said that 92 percent of its inaugural 2014-15 cohort graduated on-time as compared to 78 percent of their peers.

Data for its second cohort’s graduation rates is expected to be available later this year.

Mr. Hayes also said registrations are open for the upcoming 2022-23

Jackson Ward organizations launch community business academy

By Holly Rodriguez

Virginia Union University recently announced several new administrative roles.

Mylaka Simpson is the new assistant vice president Ms. Simpson Dr. Cobb-Abdullah Ms. Hill of enrollment management and director of graduate admissions. Ms. Simpson, who has more than 17 years director of the VUU Center for STEM Diversity, and of experience in higher education, previously served currently is a research mentor to undergraduate and as VUU’s director of graduate admissions. graduate students through the center.

Dr. Ahkinyala Cobb-Abdullah is the university’s dean VUU alumna Joy Hill is director of human resources of the School of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Cobb-Abdullah and talent management. worked in higher education for more than15 years Ms. Hill has more than 14 years of experience in human before joining the faculty at Virginia Union University resources and talent management for organizations that include in 2016 as an associate professor of environmental sci- Bon Secours Mercy Health, Dominion Energy, and Virginia ence and ecology. In 2018, she was appointed founding Commonwealth University School of Dentistry.

The founders of the Jackson Ward Collective and the JWC Foundation are launching The Community Business Academy (CBA), a 12-week business fundamentals course for new and established business owners.

The course is for entrepreneurs who are just starting out with a solid idea, or an established business that seeks to strengthen its brand and model. Beginning Sept. 14, participants will meet weekly for in-person, instructor-led sessions on topics related to setting up and sustain-

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To be considered for the fee-based program, potential participants must have attended one of the virtual information sessions held earlier this summer, or attend the last session on Wednesday, Aug. 3, at 12 p.m.

Following the session, potential participants will receive an application to be considered for the course. A cohort will be created from the pool of applicants.

Additional information on the 12week program and the upcoming information session is available at: https:// jacksonwardcollective.com/cba/.

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school year. Students from eligible middle schools may enroll by having their parents or guardians sign them up online through NextUp’s Parent Portal before Oct. 2.

Additionally, NextUp RVA plays a central role in Richmond’s efforts to curb rising gun violence. The nonprofit oversees the distribution of $1 million in grants from the city’s Positive Youth Development Fund to community-based organizations providing mental health services, parental support, tutoring, mentoring and after-school programs.

The first round of grant recipients was announced in June. In a news release, Mayor Levar M. Stoney highlighted the benefits of local community-based providers saying, “grassroots organizations that know and work in the community will help ensure those closest to impacted communities have the resources to disrupt the cycle of violence, and encourage positive development for our youngest residents.”

“Every child deserves the opportunity to discover their talents and to just stay safe and supported and ultimately to thrive,” NextUp RVA’s CEO, Barbara Sipe, said in the same release. “The more coordinated our efforts, the more extensive our reach, the greater the impact that we can make on children’s present and future.”

This positive impact is something Shiya and Ja’Nay both experienced in the NextUp program.

“NextUp RVA is a fantastic opportunity for children to get out and have fun after school instead of going straight home,” Ja’Nay said.

Debora Timms, a Richmond Free Press freelance writer, contributed to this article.

(804) 644-0496 Space reservation deadline: Friday, prior to Thursday publication date Materials deadline: Monday, prior to Thursday publication date

Richmond Free Press

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Editorial Page

A6

July 28-30, 2022

How adults can avoid the summer slide Most people are familiar with the summer slide, a term researchers use to describe what happens when grade-school students lose significant knowledge in reading and math over the summer break.

Suggestions for combating this decline, which disproportionately impacts children from families of limited means, include encouraging youngsters to read what they want, make time for smart play, get out of the house and use their imagination.

While advice for keeping children engaged and interested in learning during the summer is plentiful, how can adults ensure that they don’t succumb to similar learning gaps?

For thousands of African-American professionals, summer offers the perfect time to practice many of the suggestions dispensed to children. In the past few weeks alone, several predominantly Black organizations have hosted annual conferences and conventions that historically encourage their members to broaden their perspectives, expand their networks and deepen their commitments.

All while reading or listening to what they want as they travel to conference destinations throughout the country.

Remember: Read what you want. Get out of the house.

Once at their conference destinations, the choice of games can be endless and enlightening. For example, instead of trying to recall the name of someone you met during last year’s conference, flip the script by saying to him or her “I’ll bet you don’t remember me!”

Or, for some real fun, engage in a game of one-upmanship: “I just came back from a two-week vacation in Greece.”

“You know my daughter is in law school at Harvard.”

“Did you hear that my wife just became chief of staff at her hospital?”

All games (and kidding) aside, the encouragement to use one’s imagination and act has long been a guiding light for many of the nation’s leading Black organizations such as the NAACP, the National Urban League (NUL), the National Newspaper Association (NNPA), the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) and dozens of religious and fraternal groups.

Hopefully, a few takeaways from this year’s annual meetings of the NAACP, the NUL and NNPA will leave you enlightened as these last weeks of summer slide.

NAACP: 113th National Convention, July 14 - 20, Atlantic City, N.J. Oscar award-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o surprised 40 NAACP youth members on stage during this year’s NAACP 113th Convention, awarding each student a $10,000 scholarship.

“Since I was a child, I have always had big dreams, and my education has played a huge part in helping me realize them,” Ms. Nyong’o told NAACP attendees. “I’ve always loved learning and I believe that learners change the world. I am so thrilled to join Lancôme, on behalf of their Write Her Future Scholarship Fund, to award this incredible group of women with these game-changing scholarships.”

NUL: July 20-23, Washington, D.C. In days leading up to the conference, Marc Morial, NUL’s president and chief executive officer wrote that the conference “provides an opportunity to highlight and redefine the National Urban League’s role in responding not only to the medical and economic crises wrought by the COVID pandemic, but to the rise of extremism and an unprecedented assault on democracy and civil liberties.”

Mr. Morial also expressed alarm at the dwindling number of elections taking place. “More than 70 election deniers are candidates for state offices that run, oversee, or protect elections. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case that could open the door for a state legislature to refuse to certify the results of a presidential election and instead select its own slate of electors – much as the plotters of the Jan. 6 insurrection attempted to do.

“It is these extraordinary threats to the foundation of our democracy that we will confront as the National Urban League Conference convenes in Washington,” Mr. Morial promised.

NNPA: June 22-25, New Orleans, Theme: “Amplifying Our Voices for Freedom” About a month before the NUL’s gathering, NNPA leaders were well into their convention in which the focus was the 2022 midterm elections. Stacy M. Brown, NNPA’s senior national correspondent, reported that more than 55 million Americans remain unregistered to vote – and about 10 million are African-Americans who are eligible to vote but who are unregistered.

“Whether the reason is apathy, suppression, or something else, the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) and the Transformative Justice Coalition seek to get to the bottom of why, with so much at stake, voter registration and Get Out The Vote mobilization remain lacking notably among Black Americans across the nation,” Mr. Brown wrote.

During the national convention marking the 195th-anniversary celebration of the Black Press of America in New Orleans, leaders of both organizations announced a get-outto-vote campaign aimed at registering and mobilizing GOTV for 10 million more African-Americans to vote in time for the 2022 midterms.

Rest assured that in coming weeks, many of these organizations will continue to shine a light not just on voting and voting rights, but also health care, housing, equal rights, police brutality, the economy, and reproductive rights.

All adults, no matter their station in life, should pay attention to these groups that present daily lessons in which we all can learn.

Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

The oath of office should never be a lie

Since 1789, only 45 men have held the Office of President of the United States, and each was required to take an oath of office. Regardless of political ideology, the Office of President is a position of honor and respect, nationally and worldwide.

Therefore, when an elected official, such as the president, takes an oath, it represents a public pledge and promise to the American people acknowledging they fully understand the position’s requirements and will work to meet or exceed those requirements. The president is a public servant to the people and is bound by their oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.

In addition to the president, the vice president, senators, representatives, judges, political appointees, military personnel, and federal employees also are public servants bound by the oath they take.

What happens when these public servants, including the president, ignore their promises?

Before Jan. 6, 2021, America had never experienced a domestic attack on the United States Capitol. Of the 45 men who held the highest office in our government, only one has proven to be

an election denier. Only one out of the 45 has ever developed a cult-like following at the detriment of the republic.

How do we explain what we are seeing today in our nation?

Where a former president— called to serve and defend the Constitution—seeks to remain in power by overturning a presidential election while supporting

David Marshall political violence, including the attempted assassination of a sitting vice president?

“Decency, honor and courage are the dominant characteristics to seek,” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said in New York on Feb. 6, 1964, when speaking about the Civil Rights Movement and how people respond to calls to serve.

Dr. King told the audience that the historic struggle for progress has always had “masses of decent people, along with their lost souls.”

What Dr. King described in 1964 remains true of American society today. There will always be men and women in positions of trust and power who are corrupt.

While it is troubling, it should not surprise us when the masses support corruption.

When we look for examples of public servants, consider Dan Cox and Michael Cox. These men are public servants on the state and local levels, bound

by a public pledge of integrity.

One man embraces the pledge and its meaning, and the other does not.

The recent results from the Maryland gubernatorial primary election prove that election deniers are not only on state ballots but also winning. As a first-term state delegate endorsed by former President Trump, Dan Cox won the Maryland Republican gubernatorial primary. He is the same elected official who attended and organized buses for supporters to attend the Jan. 6 “Stop the Steal” rally.

In maintaining political allegiance to an individual rather than the Constitution, Dan Cox is now in a position to become the next governor of Maryland.

Compare Dan Cox to Michael Cox, who is the newly named commissioner of the Boston Police Department. Commissioner Cox, who is Black, was working undercover in plainclothes in January 1995 when his fellow officers mistook him for a homicide suspect and severely beat him. They left him unconscious and bleeding after realizing who he was.

The matter was covered up by the “blue wall of silence,” where officers shield one another from accountability. Commissioner Cox spent four years fighting his department in court before any of his assailants were punished while being shunned and targeted for harassment. He eventually received $1.25 million in damages

Protect freedom to marry

We all know what people do tells you more about them than what they say. That’s true for politicians, too.

We see politicians who call themselves “pro-life” and “prowoman” when they’re pushing to make abortion a crime, but shrug their shoulders when those laws result in greater risk of women dying during pregnancy-related medical crises.

Or who claim to be “pro-child” but try to force a 10-year-old rape victim to accept the physical and emotional trauma of bearing her rapist’s child.

It’s the same when it comes to marriage. A lot of politicians who posture as defenders of marriage just voted against the Respect for Marriage Act, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives on July 19, and would ensure that equal treatment of samesex couples under federal law if passed by the Senate.

The right to marry has not always been protected for everyone. My own parents had to deal with the fact that some states still made it illegal for my White father and Black mother to get married. A Virginia judge upheld that state’s anti-marriage law claiming that God “did not intend for the races to mix.” In 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned laws against interracial couples getting married.

Almost 50 years later, the Supreme Court rejected similar

arguments that were used to defend laws making it illegal for same-sex couples to get married.

When I was president of the NAACP, I was proud to lead the organization’s support of the marriage equality movement. And I was thrilled when the Supreme Court ultimately rejected state laws that discriminated against

Ben Jealous loving same-sex couples.

Mildred Loving, half of the couple that took the interracial ban all the way to the Supreme Court, was also on board. She was grateful for the freedom to marry the person she loved and for the family they built together.

And she wanted all Americans to have that same freedom.

Most Americans agree. Support for interracial marriage reached 94 percent last year, according to Gallup. And this year, support for same-sex couples’ right to marriage hit 71 percent, according to Gallup.

But about three-quarters of the Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives just voted against protecting those couples under federal law.

Why do we need a federal law to protect people’s freedom to marry? Because anti-equality groups have never accepted the Court’s 2015 ruling that samesex couples have a constitutional right to marry under the 14th Amendment and that states cannot ban same-sex marriage.

They have vowed to overturn it.

And because Justice Clarence Thomas just called on the Court

to reconsider and overturn its marriage equality ruling — along with other rulings recognizing a right to privacy, protecting access to contraception, and decriminalizing consensual sexual relationships between people of the same sex.

For years, Justice Thomas was an often-lonely voice on the extreme right-wing of the Court.

But he has a lot more company out there now, especially with the three justices named by former President Donald Trump.

They just overturned Roe v.

Wade, stripping women of the right to make abortion-related decisions about their bodies and families.

Justice Thomas is just getting started, and it is clear that the far-right movement that helped overturn Roe v. Wade has samesex couples as its next target.

We must stand up and make sure that Congress sides with the vast majority of Americans by passing a law giving federal protection to the millions of people who are in interracial and same-sex marriages.

It’s a good sign that the Respect for Marriage Act passed with the support of 47 Republicans joining the Democratic majority. It’s not such a good sign that three-quarters of the Republicans voted “no.” You can bet those members of Congress describe themselves as lovers of freedom and defenders of families. But their actions say otherwise.

The writer is president of People For the American Way and professor of the practice at the University of Pennsylvania.

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.

and legal fees from the city.

“After this incident happened, I had a choice — either quit or stay, and I chose to stay, because I believe in policing in a community-friendly way,” Commissioner Cox said. “And I know the men and women that I work with believe in that same thing, too.”

For more than 30 years, Commissioner Cox rose the ranks within the department, only to leave to become chief of police in Ann Arbor, Mich. The Boston native, who exemplifies a true public servant with decency, honor, and courage, returned home to become Boston’s next police commissioner.

If the U.S. Senate members had the courage of a Michael Cox during the first impeachment of Donald Trump, Jan. 6 would not have occurred.

The writer is founder of the faith-based organization, TRB: The Reconciled Body, and author of the book “God Bless Our Divided America.”

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July 28-30, 2022 A7

News

102-year-old WWII veteran from segregated mail unit honored

By Jay Reeves The Associated Press

Montgomery, Ala. Millions of letters and packages sent to U.S. troops had accumulated in warehouses in Europe by the time Allied troops were pushing toward the heart of Hitler’s Germany near the end of World War II. This wasn’t junk mail — it was the main link between home and the front in a time long before video chats, texting or even routine long-distance phone calls.

The job of clearing out the massive backlog in a military that was still segregated by race fell upon the largest all-Black, all-female group to serve in the war, the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion. On Tuesday, July 26, the oldest living member of the unit was honored.

Romay Davis, 102, was recognized for her service at an event at Montgomery City Hall.

It follows President Joe Biden’s decision in March to sign a bill authorizing the Congressional Gold Medal for the unit, nicknamed the “Six Triple Eight.”

Mrs. Davis, in an interview at her home Monday, said the unit was due the recognition, and she’s glad to participate on behalf of other members who’ve already passed away.

“I think it’s an exciting event, and it’s something for families to remember,” Mrs. Davis said. “It isn’t mine, just mine. No. It’s everybody’s.”

Following her five brothers, Mrs. Davis enlisted in the Army in 1943. After the war, the Virginia native married, had a 30-year career in the fashion industry in New York and retired to Alabama. She earned a martial arts black belt while in her late 70s and rejoined the workforce to work at a grocery store in Montgomery for more than two decades until she was 101.

While smaller groups of African-American nurses served inAfrica,Australia and England, none matched the size or might of the 6888th, according to a unit history compiled by the Pentagon.

Jay Reeves/The Associated Press

Romay Davis, 102, poses with a photo showing her during World War II, at her home in Montgomery, Ala. Mrs. Davis was honored on July 26 for her service with the all-female, all-Black 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, which got mail to U.S. troops in Europe during the war.

Mrs. Davis’ unit was part of the Women’s Army Corps created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1943. With racial separation the practice of the time, the corps added AfricanAmerican units the following year at the urging of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and civil rights leader Mary McLeod Bethune, according to the unit history.

More than 800 Black women formed the

6888th, which began sailing for England in February 1945. Once there, they were confronted not only by mountains of undelivered mail but by racism and sexism. They were denied entry into an American Red Cross club and hotels, according to the history, and a senior officer was threatened with being replaced by a white first lieutenant when some unit members missed an inspection.

“Over my dead body, sir,” replied the unit commander, Maj. Charity Adams. She wasn’t replaced.

Working under the motto of “No Mail, Low Morale,” the women served 24/7 in shifts and developed a new tracking system that processed about 65,000 items each shift, allowing them to clear a six-month backlog of mail in just three months.

“We all had to be broken in, so to speak, to do what had to be done,” said Mrs. Davis, who mainly worked as a motor pool driver.

“The mail situation was in such horrid shape they didn’t think the girls could do it. But they proved a point.”

A month after the end of the war in Europe, in June 1945, the group sailed to France to begin working on additional piles of mail there. Receiving better treatment from the liberated French than they would have under racist Jim Crow regimes at home, members were feted during a victory parade in Rouen and invited into private homes for dinner, said Mrs. Davis.

“I didn’t find any Europeans against us. They were glad to have us,” she said.

The 6888th previously was honored with a monument that was dedicated in 2018 at Buffalo Soldier Military Park at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. But immediately after the war, members returned home to a U.S. society that was still years away from the start of the modern Civil Rights Movement with the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955.

U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas helped shepherd the bill to present the Congressional Gold Medal to the members of the unit.

“Though the odds were set against them, the women of the Six Triple Eight processed millions of letters and packages during their deployment in Europe, helping connect WWII soldiers with their loved ones back home, like my father and mother,” Sen. Moran said in a statement earlier this year.

Officer, once beaten by colleagues, to lead Boston Police

By Alanna Durkin Richer The Associated Press

BOSTON A former Boston Police officer who was beaten more than 25 years ago by colleagues who mistook him for a shooting suspect will be the new leader of the city’s police department, Mayor Michelle Wu announced Wednesday.

Michael Cox, 57, will return to his hometown of Boston after working as the police chief in Ann Arbor, Mich., to lead the same force he once brought a civil rights case against over his beating by fellow cops. Mr. Cox will take over as commissioner next month.

Mr. Cox described his appointment as an “emotional moment” for him, apologizing during a call with reporters for his voice quivering. He promised to work to diversify the police department — which critics have long complained doesn’t look enough like the city it serves — and make sure officers feel supported in their job to protect the community.

“I think this is a very exciting time. I think the officers need someone to support them,” Mr. Cox told reporters Wednesday.

“And I’m going to be their biggest cheerleader.”

Before becoming chief in Ann Arbor in 2019, Mr. Cox was part of the Boston Police force for 30 years, where he rose through the ranks after fighting for years to get justice over his

beating that left him seriously injured at the age of 29.

Mr.Cox was working undercover in plainclothes as part of the gang unit in January 1995 when officers got a call about a shooting. Mr. Cox, dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt, spotted the suspect and started to chase him. The suspect started to scale a fence and Mr. Cox was struck from behind just as he was about to grab the man, Mr. Cox said.

He was kicked and punched by fellow officers, suffering head injuries and kidney damage.

“It was humiliating what happened to me,” Mr. Cox told former Boston Globe reporter Dick Lehr for Lehr’s book about the beating: “The Fence: A Police Cover-Up Along Boston’s Racial Divide.”

“There’s no reason to treat anyone like that. And then to just leave them. And if they do it to me — another police officer — would they do it to another person if they got away with it?” he said.

Mr. Cox has described facing harassment in an effort to silence him after the beating became public despite efforts by his colleagues to cover it up.

A department injury report said Mr. Cox lost his footing on a frozen puddle, causing him to fall and crack his head.

Mr. Cox chose to stay on the police force after what happened to him and try to improve things instead of walking away from a job he loved, he said Wednesday.

“Since then in 1995, I have dedicated my life to making sure that both the Boston Police Department and policing in general has grown and learned ... to make sure that we have structures and mechanisms in place to make sure that we never repeat that kind of incident against anyone,” Mr. Cox told reporters.

The top prosecutor for Boston and surrounding communities, who has known Mr. Cox for years, called him “a man of high honor and integrity.”

“The journey of Michael Cox from being beaten by fellow Boston Police officers to his appointment as Commissioner of the Boston Police Department is emblematic of criminal legal reform,” Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in an emailed statement.

Mr. Cox’s tenure in Ann Arbor was marred by claims that he created a hostile work environment, which led to him being briefly placed on administrative leave in 2020.

An investigation found “no evidence that the Chief was behaving in such a way” as to create a hostile work environment. But a report said “there is evidence that people feared retaliation by the Chief, and they had a legitimate basis for that fear, whether or not that was the Chief’s intent.”

He was reinstated less than a month after being placed on leave after being told by the city administration to apologize

Steven Senne/ Associated Press

Michael Cox, right, who has been named as the next Boston Police commissioner, talks with reporters as Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, left, looks on during a news conference, Wednesday, July 13, in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood. Mr. Cox, who was beaten more than 25 years ago by colleagues who mistook him for a suspect in a fatal shooting, served in multiple roles with the Boston Police Department before becoming the police chief in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 2019.

“for any misunderstandings and poor communications.”

Mayor Wu said the vetting process was intense and that she personally spoke with Ann Arbor’s mayor and town administrator about Mr. Cox’s time there. Those conversations confirmed that he is a “leader of great integrity,” Mayor Wu said.

“We are tremendously excited to bring a leader of his experience and wisdom and

background to Boston in this role,” she told reporters.

In Boston, Mr. Cox spent 15 years in a variety of roles in the police force’s command staff, including as the Bureau Chief and Superintendent of the Bureau of Professional Development. He oversaw the Boston Police Academy, the Firearms Training Unit, the Police Cadet Unit, and training for recruits and sworn officers.

Boston’s last commissioner

— Dennis White — was fired last year following a bitter battle to keep his job after decades-old domestic violence accusations came to light.

Mr. White was placed on leave over the allegations, which he denied, just days into his new job. Superintendent-InChief Gregory Long has been serving as the acting police commissioner during the search for Mr. White’s permanent successor.

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Richmond Free Press

A8 July 28-30, 2022

Sports Stories by Fred Jeter

Players of color in MLB’s All-Star Game

Here’s the All-Star breakdown of players of color in the 2022 All-Star game.

Along with all the usual pageantry, the 92nd edition of the Major League All-Star Game was a “colorful” occasion indeed.

Baseball in the U.S. is a clear majority white game on the youth, high school, college and even pro levels. That is until the bright lights come on at All-Star time for the Midsummer Classic.

Of the 62 All-Stars who took the field July 19 in Los Angeles nearly half were men of color. That includes seven African- Americans and 23 nonwhites born outside the U.S. Athletes from the Caribbean stand out most. The Dominican Republic alone produces more all-star caliber players than any U.S. state.

The players of color didn’t hide from the spotlight.

Washington’s Juan Soto won the Home-Run Derby, defeating fellow Dominican Julio Rodrigeuz of Seattle in the final. Five of the eight Home-Run participants were Dominican.

In the main event, the New York Yankees’ Giancarlo Stanton swatted a two-run home run that was the difference in the American League’s 3-2 win. He was named MVP. u According to the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport, 7.2 percent of Major League baseball players on 2022 opening day rosters were African-American. About 28.5 percent were Hispanic.

The NCAA reports that only 4.5 percent of college players are AfricanAmerican. The percentage of African-American high school players in competitive programs would also be very low.

The most recent All-Star roster’s makeup is not unusual. All-Star selections long have been disproportionately Black and Brown.

Since 1962 when Maury Wills became the first MVP, the All-Star MVP has been Black or Brown on 49 occasions. u Gazing ahead, a father-son MVP may be in works. In 2009 Tampa Bay outfielder Carl Crawford was the All-Star MVP. On June 19, Philadelphia selected Carl’s son, Justin, with the 17th overall selection in the MBL draft. The 6-foot-3 J. Crawford hails from Las Vegas and was timed at a Perfect Game camp in a blazing 6.11 for the 60-yard dash.

Speed runs in the family. Carl Crawford stole 480 bases (including six in one game), four times leading the American League.

African-Americans National League Mookie Betts (Dodgers, from Tennessee) Devin Williams (Milwaukee, Missouri) *Manny Machado (San Diego, Florida) American League Aaron Judge (Yankees, California) *Giancarlo Stanton (Yankees, California) Byron Buxton (Twins, Georgia) Tim Anderson (White Sox, Alabama) Latino/Hispanic American league Alajandro Kirk (Toronto, from Mexico) *Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Toronto, Canada) Miguel Cabrera (Detroit, Venezuela) Rafael Devers (Boston, DR) Jose Ramirez (Cleveland, DR) Julio Rodriguez (Seattle, DR) Xander Bogaerts (Boston, Curacao) Andres Gimenez (Cleveland, Venezuela) Santiago Espinal (Toronto, DR) Framber Valdez (Houston, DR) Martin Perez (Boston, Venezuela) Jorge Lopez (Kansas City, DR) Greg Soto (Detroit, DR) Emmanuel Clase (Texas, DR) Nestor Cortes (Yankees, Cuba) National League Latino/Hispanic Ronald Acuna (Atlanta, DR) Juan Soto (Washington, DR) Willson Contreras (Cubs, Venezuela) William Contreras (Atlanta, Venezuela) Albert Pujols (St. Louis, DR) Sandy Alcantara (Miami, DR) Luis Castillo (Cincinnati, DR) Asian Shohei Ohtani (Angels, Japan)

Giancolo Stanton

*Manny Machado, who grew up in Miami, is of Dominican ancestry. *Giancarlo Stanton grew up in Southern California and is of Puerto Rican ancestry. *Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was born in Montreal while his Dominican father, Vladimir Sr., was playing for the Expos.

Juan Soto

In rare contact, U.S. offers Russia deal for Griner, Whelan The Associated Press

Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

Posthumous honor John Jordan “Buck” O’Neil Jr., the first Black coach in MLB history, was inducted posthumously Sunday into the same Nationak Baseball Hall of Fame class as another Black baseball pioneer, Bud Fowler, and former Negro league All-Star, Minnie Miñoso. After his baseball career ended, O’Neil kept the memories of the Negro leagues alive with his stories and the creation of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. He died in 2006.

Golfing group honors VCU Coach Andy Walker To use a golfing termAndy Walker has “aced” the test in his first season as VCU’s coach.

The Rams coach was recently awarded the inaugural Coach of the Year award by the Black College Golf Coaches Association.

Walker, who succeeded longtime VCU Coach Matt Ball in June 2021, guided the Rams to a third place finish this past May at the Atlantic 10 tournament in Orlando, Fla. Coach Walker Walker arrived at VCU with glistening credentials as a player and coach. In 1997 he was part of Pepperdine University’s NCAA title squad.

He has since guided South Mountain Community College in Arizona to a national junior college title, and Louisiana’s Lynn University to the NCAA Division II crown.

VUU football looking up Expectations are high for Virginia Union University football this season.

Coach Alvin Parker’s Panthers have Poll Bowl been selected to finish third overall in (CIAA predicted order of finish) the 12-school CIAA and second in the Bowie State Northern Division in a poll conducted Fayetteville State Virginia Union by head coaches in Charlotte.

Shaw Defending champion Bowie is picked Chowan first overall with Fayetteville State comVirginia State ing in second overall and first among Winston-Salem State Southern Division schools.

Elizabeth City J.C. Smith Earning All-CIAA preseason recogniLincoln tion for VUU were running back Jada Livingstone Byers from New Jersey and defensive end St. Augustine’s Armonii Burden from Williamsburg.

Byers was sensational as a freshman, rushing for 910 yards, 12 touchdowns and a 5.4 yard per carry average.

Virginia State University, under new Coach Henry Frazier, was picked sixth overall and fourth in the Northern Division.

Trojans’ linebacker Zion Johnson from Woodbridge made the all-preseason squad.

Coming off a 6-4 campaign, VUU will open Thursday, Sept.

1 against Virginia University of Lynchburg at Hovey Field.

VSU will open Sept. 3 at Lenoir-Rhyne in Hickory, N.C. Bowie won last year’s CIAA title, defeating Fayetteville in the championship game. The Bulldogs then won two NCAA Division II playoff games before falling to Valdosta State in the quarterfinals.

Americans. But the public acknowledgment of the offer at a time when The U.S. has offered a deal to Rus- the U.S. has otherwise shunned Russia aimed at bringing home WNBA sia, reflects the mounting pressure star Brittney Griner and another jailed on the administration over Griner American, Paul Whelan, Secretary and Whelan and its determination of State Antony Blinken to get them home. said Wednesday. In a Griner, in Russian sharp reversal of previous custody for the last five policy, Blinken also said months, acknowledged he expects to speak with in court that she had vape his Kremlin counterpart cartridges containing for the first time since cannabis oil in her lugbefore Russia invaded gage when she arrived Ukraine. in Moscow in February Britney Griner The statement marked but contends she had the first time the U.S. no criminal intent and packed the government has publicly revealed cartridges inadvertently. any concrete action it has taken to At her trial Wednesday, Griner secure the release of Griner, who was said she did not know how the arrested on drug-related charges at a cannabis oil ended up in her bag Moscow airport in February and testi- but explained she had a doctor’s fied Wednesday at her trial. recommendation for it and had Blinken did not offer details on packed in haste. the proposed deal, which was offered Griner faces up to 10 years in weeks ago, and it is unclear if it will prison if convicted of transporting be enough for Russia to release the drugs.

HBCU United’s goal isn’t just about money An HBCU basketball squad with a Virginia scorer, was joined on United by former HU flavor left its mark on the winner-take-all $1 teammates Amir Smith and Malique Trent. million The Basketball Tournament, the 64Other players included Steve Whitley and team, single-elimination tournament Derrik Jamerson from Norfolk State, for a million dollars. and Richmond-area native James WilGames are played in July and liams from Howard. Williams played August and air on ESPN. locally at Millwood School.

With Norfolk State University All three of United’s games were Coach Robert Jones calling the shots at Rucker Park, not far from where from the sidelines, HBCU United won coach Jones grew up in New York. two games before being eliminated The HBCU team defeated YGC July 20 at Rucker Park in Harlem.

(Marcus Smart) and Skip to My Jermaine Leading scorer Jermaine Marrow, Lou before falling to Americana for Marrow a former Hampton University sensaAutism, 67-64, in front of ESPNU tion, said this year’s ninth tournament is not national cameras. just about the money.

A year ago, former L.C. Bird High and Boston “It’s the brotherhood,” Marrow said. “We College star Tyreese Rice led Boeheim’s Army/ all went to HBCUs. We get looked down on. Syracuse to the $1 million jackpot.

We’re the underdog. So we knew what we were This year’s Skip to My Lou was named up against.” after Rucker legend Rafer Alston, among the Marrow, who scored 2,680 points at HU, most entertaining players to ever play at the surpassing Rick Mahorn as the Pirates’ all-time outdoor court.

Spartans’ notable HBCU division ranking Norfolk State University will enter this coming football season with a national ranking.

Coach Dawson Odums’ Spartans are ranked ninth in the annual preseason BoxToRow poll for HBCU Division I programs.

Jackson State is ranked first, followed

by South Carolina State, Coach Odums Florida A&M, Alabama A&M, Prairie View A&M, Alcorn State, North Carolina A&T and North Carolina Central.

Tennessee State sits at the 10th spot behind NSU. Norfolk State will have 12 starters returning from last year’s 6-5 team. The Spartans will open Sept. 3 at Marshall University in Huntington, W.Va. The Spartans are members of the MEAC, along with South Carolina State and North Carolina Central. S.C. State defeated Jackson State in last year’s Celebration Bowl in Atlanta.

Jackson State, Florida A&M and Alcorn are Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) affiliates. North Carolina A&T is under the Colonial Athletic Association banner, while Tennessee State is an Ohio Valley Conference member.

Virginians mine Oregon gold Grant Holloway and Noah Lyles, right, have made the seismic leap from the Virginia High School League to the tip top of the track and field world.

Both former state standouts struck gold at last week’s World Championships in Eugene, Ore. Holloway, who won the 110-meter hurdles, hails from Grassfield High in Chesapeake.

Lyles, the 200-meter champ, shined his star at T.C. Williams High in Alexandria.

Holloway broke the tape in 13.03, just off his personal best of 12.81 set in 2021. The world record of 12.80 was set by Belgium’s Aries Merritt in 2012.

Olympic hurdles champ Hansle Parchment of Jamaica withdrew due to an injury. Also, American Devon Allen, who had this year’s top time heading into World’s, had a false start and was disqualified. Allen is now headed to the NFL Philadelphia Eagles camp to work out as a wide receiver.

Ripping off his shirt at the finish, Lyles led a 1-2-3 sweep for the Americans in the 200, setting a world record of 19.31.

That broke the existing mark of 19.32 set by American Michael Johnson in 1996.

Ken Bednarek took silver in 19.77 while 18-year-old Erriyon Knighton from Tampa finished third in 19.80.

The state of Virginia just missed a third medal when Britton Wilson finished fifth in the 400 hurdles behind World champ and world record holder Sydney McLaughlin.

Virginians can claim a small slice of McLaughlin’s success. On May 5 she married former University of Virginia football player Andre Levrone.

Wilson, from Mills Godwin High in Western Henrico, has an excellent chance or representing the U.S. in the 2024 Olympics in Paris. She is currently a student at the University of Arkansas.

July 28-30, 2022 B1

Richmond Free Press

Section

Happenings

B

Personality: Martinez Kelley Spotlight on board chairman of Atlantic Outreach Group More than a decade ago Martinez Kelley saw the beginnings of the Atlantic Outreach Group, which eventually led to his path in community service.

As an associate of Kheila Jones, AOG’s founder and executive director, Mr. Kelley saw her vision to create an organization that provides streamlined access to resources for the Greater Richmond area’s most vulnerable population.

That vision came to fruition when Ms. Jones founded AOG in 2010, and today the organization works with marginalized communities to provide resources for employment, mental health and substance abuse referrals, financial literacy, life skills, affordable housing solutions and more.

The experience was something to behold, Mr. Kelley recalls.

“I remember how passionate and focused she was about bringing this vision to life,” he says. “When approached with the opportunity to serve on the board, needless to say, I gladly welcomed the opportunity.”

As chairman of AOG’s board, Mr. Kelley helps guide its efforts amid ongoing change.

In addition to working with the group, he runs his own business, Kelley Enterprises, a technical integration and installation firm.

Like many outreach groups impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, AOG was required to make changes as it continued to serve the community.

In response, the group created two programs — Fresh Start and a Food Pantry — to more effectively tackle issues with food insecurity, housing, mental health and substance abuse.

“We realized that the only way to affect change was to target all of these barriers simultaneously,” Mr. Kelley says. “If a person is worrying about where they are going to lay their head or where the next meal is coming from, they are not making their mental health or sobriety a priority.”

Mr. Kelley supports AOG’s mission “to empower vulnerable communities by connecting them to resources necessary for their success.” He also wants to raise awareness about the needs of populations served by AOG, while helping to “create a community of supportive networks that allows for continued support in the Greater Richmond area.”

The first half of 2022 has brought unique challenges for AOG, with Fresh Start being significantly retooled. With high demand for the program and an effort to not rely on others for key aspects of their services, AOG shifted from outsourcing its housing to acquiring transitional homes. AOG also has opened a new day center and hired more staff, all of which requires more time and

attention for AOG’s board and administrators.

For Mr. Kelley, these adjustments, while difficult, are necessary for AOG’s growth and success. He also knows how important AOG’s services are for those who receive them, whether through food bank donations or “graduations” from Fresh Start.

Working with AOG is a constant reminder of why he joined the organization years ago.

“We’re definitely not getting smaller,” Mr. Kelley says. “I definitely have the reach that I need to have to get things done, and help the company connect and grow.”

Meet a local leader bringing aid to the vulnerable and this week’s personality, Martinez Kelley: Volunteer position: Boardchairman, Atlantic Outreach Group.

Occupation: Owner of Kelley Enterprises.

Place of birth: Columbus, Ohio.

Where I live now: Chesterfield.

Education: Staff sergeant for more than 10 years in U.S. Air Force. Graduate, Community College of the Air Force.

Family: Married with three children.

Atlantic Outreach Group is: A nonprofit organization that services the Greater Richmond area by connecting individuals to resources.

Mission: Atlantic Outreach Group strives to empower vulnerable communities by connecting them to resources necessary for their success.

When, where and why founded: Atlantic Outreach Group was founded in 2010 to provide viable resources to individuals re-entering society from incarceration in the Greater Richmond area. The organization quickly realized that the families of those individuals needed help obtaining the same resources as well. Through continued community outreach, we started to offer our resources to all vulnerable populations in the Greater Richmond area.

Meaning of name: The meaning behind the name Atlantic Outreach Group originated from us taking a grassroots approach to our outreach efforts.

It was important for us to make genuine connections to those we serve and that wouldn’t be possible without us building a presence in the communities we serve.

Describe support system/programs offered to individuals: We have provided marginalized communities with resources ranging from employment, mental health and substance abuse referrals, financial lit-

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food pantry, and preparing bags of food for our communities.

eracy and assistance, life skills, affordable housing solutions, transitional housing, scholarships and access to solutions for food insecurities. However, when the pandemic hit, we had to quickly align our organization to ensure we were meeting the needs of those we serve.

We adjusted the services we offered to two programs that would best serve our communities in need. Throughout our years of servicing vulnerable populations, there were four common barriers we continued to encounter over the course of the past decade: housing, mental health, substance abuse and food insecurities. We realized that they only way to affect change was to target all of these barriers simultaneously. If a person if worrying about where they are going to lay their head or where the next meal is coming from, they are not making their mental health or sobriety a priority. This realization led to the creation of our Fresh Start program. This innovative 90 to180-day transitional housing program has allowed us to truly give our participants a chance at Fresh Start. The second program we offer is our Food Pantry. With one in every 10 individuals being food insecure, it was pertinent that we work diligently to make our Food Pantry more accessible to the public. Our Food Pantry offers three ways to get food out to those in need: 1. Pick up food from our main pantry location.

2. Visit us at the weekly mobile food pantry.

3. Request a delivery.

Our pantry is open to anyone needing emergency food Monday through Friday during normal business hours.

Example of a service recently given to help a family: We recently had our fifth class graduate from our Fresh Start program. They may not be considered a traditional family, but we work hard to foster a familial environment where everyone serves as a support system for one another. Seeing that class graduate and the look of accomplish and pride that they displayed was moving. These were changed individuals that were given a new lease on life. When you see them in person and hear their stories of gratitude and accomplishment, you realize the impact that we are truly having with those we serve. It only solidifies my connection to this organization.

Who is eligible for Atlantic Outreach Group’s services?

Food Pantry: Our pantry is open to anyone in need. Fresh Start: Our transitional housing program is available to individuals with mental health and substance abuse barriers.

What one volunteer can do: Our volunteers are amazing.

They have stuck with us through the pandemic, which allowed us to increase our impact from feeding 100 individuals per week to over 600 individuals per week. We have several volunteer opportunities for delivery drivers, our mobile

Ways the pandemic continues to impact Atlantic Outreach Group: Our organization had to pivot rather quickly during the pandemic as we remained open throughout that time to ensure we were able to service those in need. We saw our greatest need for services over the past few years, so it was important to be able to continue to seamlessly provide much needed services during such a high time of need.

Our food pantry prior to the pandemic was set up for in-person shopping.

Individuals would be able to shop directly from our pantry, which allowed them the opportunity to pick the exact food items they needed. We had to adjust our shopping model and no longer offered in-person shopping once the pandemic happened. However, we were able to pivot and offer three ways to obtain food from our pantry: mobile food pantries, deliveries for individuals with transportation barriers or health barriers, drive-up for direct pantry pickups.

A hurdle Atlantic Outreach needs to surmount: A hurdle that we need to surmount is that we had a lot of vertical integration happening in the first two quarters of 2022 with our Fresh Start program. The demand for our program was high and we were no longer willing to put our outcomes in the hands of others. We went from outsourcing our housing needs to obtaining nine of our own transitional homes in six months. We also opened a new

day center to accommodate our programmatic needs as well as hired an additional eight (8) staff members.

How to become involved with Atlantic Outreach Group: Depending on your interests you can volunteer with us through our Food Pantry or our Fresh Start program. We have had yoga instructors, artists, nutritionists and life coaches, just to name a few, to engage with our program. It means a lot to our participants to be able to expand their knowledge and skills through those that would like to offer their time and talents. We also have internship opportunities for college students. Last, but certainly not least, we are always looking for dedicated individuals to join our board. If you are interested in learning more about board opportunities, please email me at martinez@aog4u.org.

How to become a recipient of Atlantic Outreach Group’s services: If you are in need of food, please contact our office to schedule an appointment for pick-up or delivery. You can also visit our website at www.aog4u.org/foodpantry to see where you can visit our weekly mobile pantry. For individuals interested in our Fresh Start program, you can give our office a call at (804) 308-2648 or complete our brief referral form at www.aog4u. org/freshstart.

A perfect day for me is: Spending time with my family.

What I am continuing to learn about myself during the pandemic: The pandemic shined a light on the importance of familial relationships. We sometimes take for granted that we will always be able

to reach out to our family and friends. I have family all over the country and the travel ban really hindered me being able to connect with my family and spend quality time together. Because of this, I truly learned the value of wanting to inspire those around me since I was unable to be with my family. For me, inspiring people to be the best version of themselves is the gift that keeps on giving.

Something I love to do that most people would never imagine: Even though most people know me to be a really tech savvy person, I also love to barbeque.

A quote that inspires me: It is never too late to be what you might have been.

My friends describe me as: Helpful and logical.

At the top of my “to-do” list is: Taking care of my family is at the top of my to-do list. They mean the world to me.

Best late-night snack: Popcorn or potato chips.

The best thing my parents ever taught me: You have the ability to accomplish anything if you put in consistent effort.

The person who influenced me the most: My father.

Book that influenced me the most: “The Richest Man in Babylon” by George Clason.

What I’m reading now: “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill.

Next goal: Our next goal as an organization is to increase our impact as follows: Food Pantry: Feed 1,000 individuals per week.

Fresh Start: Increase participant capacity from 60 to 88.

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Richmond Free Press

B2 July 28-30, 2022

Happenings A food fest for hearts and souls

Food, music and family fun will be among the highlights of the Heart and Soul Festival this weekend at City Stadium.

Staged by the Richmond Black Restaurant Experience, the foodies showcase will be from 3 to 10 p.m. Saturday, July 30, at Richmond City Stadium, 3201 Maplewood Ave. in the West End. At least 16 food trucks, craft breweries and vendors will feature offerings, and attendees can get their groove on to sounds from DJ Rayvon, Markus Gold, DJ Lonnie B and Aliyah the DJ. For those who enjoy live music, the Legacy Band and Orange Ice will have main stage performances.

The fun continues for the young and young at heart with miniature golf, inflatable play areas, a petting zoo, a mechanical bull, interactive art and other activities, according to the event’s organizers.

General admission is $10 per person, and is free for children 12 and under. VIP admission is $50 per person. Tickets are available at Eventbrite.com: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/heart-soul-fest-tickets-327667591587

Girls gain valuable lessons in selling their own products

Fun in the sun

The Camp Diva Leadership Academy will host its annual Market Day featuring Camp Diva Leadership Academy participants who make and sell their own products.

This year’s Market Day takes place from 1 to 5 p.m. on Friday, July 29, at the Girls For A Change center, 100 Buford Road.

For four hours, the community is invited to visit the market to shop, interact with the girls, and enjoy live entertainment.

“Market Day is an important part of Camp Diva because it helps the girls develop public speaking skills as they interact with shoppers, and teaches them pricing and marketing skills, says Angela Patton, founder of Camp Diva Leadership Academy and CEO of Girls For A Change. “They also gain networking skills as they interact with the community and learn about entrepreneurship.”

This year’s Market Day also will include participants of a newly launched Girls For A Change Budding Black Girl Incubator program. The incubator offers an immersive experience for girls who are interested in starting and growing a retail-based business, according to a news release.

In addition to shopping and supporting Camp Diva and Immersion Lab participants, attendees may shop the Diva Bag Pop-Up Shop. GFAC recently hosted a Diva Bag Auction to raise money for its One Million Reasons to Build Campaign.

As part of the Diva Bag Auction, GFAC has a number of gently-used designer bags from which to shop. For more details, please visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/camp-diva-market-day2022-tickets-366053514917

Brandon Lee gives a cool blast to children who lined up to enjoy the inflatable slide during the RPS Summer Fest at George Wythe High School on July 23. Families and students attending the event learned what to expect during the 2022-23 school year, and also met teachers, staff and school administrators.

Adding to the festivities were cool food and beverage treats, art stations, the RPS Lit Limo and loads of laughter.

Olivia Beatty, 8, glides down a giant slide at, right top, the fun-filled RPS Summer Fest.

Dr. Shonda Harris-Muhammed, right, board chairwoman for Richmond Public Schools, chats with

Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

River safety A James River Park System official helps a group navigate the James River on River Safety Day on July 23. The event is designed to help river visitors feel comfortable in the water as they learn critical safety measures.

Museum crawl includes five Richmond venues

Richmond’s Second Intersecting History Museum Crawl will provide free admission and transportation to five area museums from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, July 31.

The Initiatives of Change USA has partnered with Intersecting History, a group of museums and history enthusiasts who create events that bring together different historical perspectives.

In doing so, participants experience narratives about history in ways they may not typically experience regarding race, justice and events of the past.

This year’s museum crawl attendees may visit their museums of choice, and a shuttle bus will transport them between the participat-

ing museums. There is no fee for the museum visits or the shuttle bus.

Participating museums include: • The American Civil War Museum at Historic Tredegar, 480 Tredegar St. • The Virginia Holocaust Museum, 2000 E. Cary St. • The Valentine Museum, 1015 E. Clay St. • The Virginia Museum of History and Culture, 428 N. Arthur Ashe Blvd.

• Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 200 N. Arthur Ashe Blvd.

Registration is required at https://www. eventbrite.com/e/intersecting-history-museum-crawl-tickets-377358979867.

National Night Out events announced The Richmond Police Department will celebrate National Night Out, the biggest citywide party of the year, and all city residents are invited to participate.

The annual event, this year on Tuesday, Aug. 2, brings police and neighbors together in support of crime prevention during an evening full of fun for all ages. A strong partnership between the community and law enforcement is a powerful tool in preventing crime, according to police

officials.

Richmond residents are invited to join Richmond Police for the National Night Out Kickoff Event from noon to 3 p.m., this Saturday, July 30, at the Walmart Supercenter, 2410 Sheila Lane.

Officers, specialized units

BARKY’S

and other first responders will be on hand with crime prevention materials and interactive displays including raffles and giveaways.

Anyone who wants to host a National Night Out event may register online at rva. gov/police/about-us.

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Richmond Free Press

July 28-30, 2022 B3

Faith News/Directory

Sons and Daughters of Ham Cemetery rededication ceremony this week The Sons and Daughters of Ham Cemetery, a historic Black cemetery that neighbors the University of Richmond and the city’s Bandy Field Nature Park, will be rededicated on Thursday, July 28, it has been announced.

The Rev. Jeannette Brown, an associate minister at Westwood Baptist Church, will conduct the 7 p.m. public ceremony at the burial ground that the post-Civil War fraternal group established in the mid-1870s.

The event also includes a wreath-laying ceremony honoring Private Moses Bradford Jr., a Buffalo soldier who is buried in the cemetery.

A member of the Bradford family that once owned what is now Bandy Field, he served with the 25th Infantry in the Spanish-American War, according to Carolyn Bradford Winston

Moten, a descendant and president of Friends of the Sons and Daughters of Ham Inc. The Henrico Police Honor Guard is to cap the ceremony with a three-volley salute to the veteran.

The event is to include speakers on the history of the area.

Participants are to include Boy Scouts who have installed a footbridge on the site and joined volunteers from the University of Richmond and elsewhere to remove trees and overgrowth.

The cemetery had largely been forgotten after the last burial in the 1940s, as was the Sons and Daughters of Ham after the group merged with another Richmond fraternal group, the now defunct Independent Order of St. Luke that Maggie L. Walker once led.

In the 1950s, the Bradford family’s residences next to the

cemetery were wiped out when the city used its condemnation powers to acquire and raze the homes to make way for a school that was never built. The land, located in Henrico County, later became Bandy Field.

Interest in the cemetery was revived after UR sought to buy the property and ran into opposition from descendants of those buried in the cemetery.

Retired pharmacist Marianne R. Rollings of Richmond assisted Ms. Moten and other descendants to form the Friends group and begin the push for restoration.

Grants from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the National Endowment for the Humanities have assisted the volunteer effort, the Friends of Sons and Daughters of Ham noted.

In Canada, Pope Francis apologizes to Indigenous peoples, says it’s only ‘first step’

By Claire Giangravé Religion News Service

MASKWACIS, Canada Pope Francis issued his first apology to the Indigenous peoples in Canada for the Catholic Church’s role in administering residential schools, which robbed many of their families and culture.

“I am here because the first step of my penitential pilgrimage among you is that of again asking forgiveness, of telling you once more that I am deeply sorry,” the pope said on Monday, July 25, to a crowd that included thousands of Indigenous peoples gathered at the circular arbor at Maskwacis, a traditional ceremonial site of the Cree, Dene, Blackfoot, Saulteaux and Nakota Sioux people, located just south of Edmonton.

“Sorry for the ways in which, regrettably, many Christians supported the colonizing mentality of the powers that oppressed the Indigenous peoples. I am sorry,” Pope Francis continued.

The pope asked for forgiveness for the role Church

Moore Street Missionary Baptist Church

1408 W. Leigh Street · Richmond, Va. 23220 (804) 358—6403

members played “in projects of cultural destruction and forced assimilation promoted by the governments of that time.” Residential schools often forcibly removed Indigenous children from their families and communities.

Recently, thousands of unnamed remains were found on the properties of the residential schools in Canada and the United States, sparking renewed outcry over the mistreatment and alienation of Indigenous peoples.

“The Church kneels before God and implores his forgiveness for the sins of her children,” Pope Francis said in his speech, which took place not far from the Ermineskin residential school. “I humbly beg forgiveness for the evil committed by so many Christians against the Indigenous peoples,” he repeated, adding that the apology comes with “shame and unambiguously.”

The pope circled the area aboard his popemobile before sitting on the stage to witness the arrival of the Indigenous leaders. Chief Wilton Littlechild, a former member of the Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission and once a student at a residential school, welcomed the pope.

“You have said that you

Dr. Alonza L. Lawrence, Pastor

E-n-t-h-u-s-i-a-s-m Say it three times

Enthusiasm…

Enthusiasm…

Gregorio Borgia/ Associated Press

Pope Francis meets Monday with Indigenous communities at Our Lady of Seven Sorrows Catholic Church in Maskwacis, near Edmonton, Canada. Pope Francis visited Canada to beg forgiveness from survivors of the country’s residential schools, where Catholic missionaries contributed to the “cultural genocide” of generations of Indigenous children by trying to stamp out their languages, cultures and traditions.

come as a pilgrim, seeking to walk together with us on the pathway of truth, justice, healing, reconciliation and hope,” Chief Littlechild said. “We gladly welcome you to join us on this journey.”

Pope Francis brought to the meeting a pair of moccasins that were given to him by Indigenous delegations at the Vatican as a reminder of the suffering endured by their people at residential schools. He said

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

“BACK IN SERVICE” Our doors are open again every Sunday @ 11:00 am.

“BACK IN SERVICE” Our doors are open again

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Live Streaming Every Sunday At: BRBConline.org or YouTube(Broad Rock Baptist Church)

Enthusiasm!

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Write: I’ll Listen Ministry “MAKE IT HAPPEN” Post Office Box 16113 Richmond, VA 23222

“Your Home In God’s Kingdom”

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”

Mask required • Must provide vaccination card Every Sunday @ 11:00 am.

“MAKE IT HAPPEN”

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.

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Pastor Kevin Cook

7M\XL &ETXMWX 'LYVGL A 21st Century Church With Ministry For Everyone

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Sunday School - 9:30 A.M. Morning Services - 11 A.M.

Sermon by: Rev. Kassandra Elder Hodge

Come worship with us!

Live on Facebook @sixthbaptistrva Live on Youtube @sixthbaptistrva Or by visiting our website www.sixthbaptistchurch.org

Riverview Baptist Church Sunday, July 31, 2022

We Embrace Diversity — Love For All! Back Inside Sundays Join us for 10:00 AM Worship Service

https://youtu.be/qqzhnIEQyQc for inspirational messages from Pastor Smith

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

“The Church With A Welcome”

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they were a symbol that kept alive in him a “sense of sorrow, indignation and shame.”

In his speech, the pope spoke of the “deep sense of pain and remorse” he felt in the days leading up to the

trip. He voiced his hope that this visit will serve not only as a reminder of the enduring pains of the past but also as the beginning of a journey of healing and dialogue.

Even though remembering can bring discomfort and hurt, the pope said, “it is right to remember, because forgetfulness leads to indifference,” which he said is the opposite of love, quoting the philosopher and Auschwitz survivor Elie Wiesel.

Pope Francis then listed the devastating effects and consequences of residential schools, from abuse to marginalization and the severance of family relationships. He thanked attendees for sharing their “heavy burdens” and “bitter memories” with him.

The pope’s words were met with tears and silence by those who were present, many of whom were wearing traditional clothing and regalia.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also was present at the gathering.

The pope also acknowledged that apologies are not enough.

“Dear brothers and sisters, many of you and your representatives have stated that begging pardon is not the end of the matter. I fully agree: That is only the first step, the starting point.”

400 South Addison Street Richmond, Va. 23220

(near Byrd Park)

(804) 359-1691 or 359-3498 Facebook Fax (804) 359-3798 sixthbaptistrva www.sixthbaptistchurch.org

Rev. Dr. Yvonne Jones Bibbs, Pastor

Worship With Us This Week!

Morning Worship On Site & Virtual July 31, 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 *Faith Formation/ Church School (Sat. @ 9:00 AM) Zoom Meeting ID: 952 9164 9805 /Passcode: 2901 *Bible Study (Wed. @ 7:00 PM) Zoom Meeting ID: 854 8862 2296

Antioch Baptist Church “Redeeming God’s People for Gods Purpose”

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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

Richmond Free Press

B4 July 28-30, 2022

Legal Notices/Employment Opportunities Continued from previous column

Divorce VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF HANOVER KEVIN ROUSEY, Plaintiff v.

MELISSA ROUSEY Defendant.

Case No.: CL22002161-00 ORDER OF PUBLICATION The object of this suit is to obtain a divorce from the bond of matrimony from the defendant on the ground of living separate and apart without any cohabitation and without interruption for a period exceeding twelve months.

It is ORDERED that the defendant, whose whereabouts are unknown, appear here on or before the 12th day of September, 2022 at 9:00 AM, and protect her interests.

A Copy, Teste: FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR., Clerk I ask for this: Law Office of Dorothy M. Eure, P.C. Dorothy M. Eure, Plaintiff’s Attorney VSB# 27724 8460 Mount Eagle Road Ashland, VA 23005 (804) 798-9667 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF HANOVER LISA WILSON, Plaintiff v.

EDWARD WILSON, Defendant.

Case No.: CL22002165-00 ORDER OF PUBLICATION The object of this suit is to obtain a divorce from the bond of matrimony from the defendant on the ground of living separate and apart without any cohabitation and without interruption for a period exceeding twelve months.

It is ORDERED that the defendant, whose whereabouts are unknown appear here on or before the 12th day of September, 2022 at 9:00 AM, and protect his interests.

A Copy, Teste: FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR., Clerk I ask for this: Law Office of Dorothy M. Eure, P.C. Dorothy M. Eure, Plaintiff’s Attorney VSB# 27724 8460 Mount Eagle Road Ashland, VA 23005 (804) 798-9667 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF HANOVER BEATRICE OWENS, Plaintiff v.

ROBERT OWENS, Defendant.

Case No.: CL22002166-00 ORDER OF PUBLICATION The object of this suit is to obtain a divorce from the bond of matrimony from the defendant on the ground of living separate and apart without any cohabitation and without interruption for a period exceeding twelve months.

It is ORDERED that the defendant, whose whereabouts are unknown appear here on or before the 12th day of September, 2022 at 9:00 AM, and protect his interests.

A Copy, Teste: FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR., Clerk I ask for this: Law Office of Dorothy M. Eure, P.C. Dorothy M. Eure, Plaintiff’s Attorney VSB# 27724 8460 Mount Eagle Road Ashland, VA 23005 (804) 798-9667 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF HANOVER ANNETTE ARRINGTON, Plaintiff v.

ROOSEVELT ARRINGTON, Defendant.

Case No.: CL22002164-00 Continued on next column

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

It is ORDERED that the defendant, whose whereabouts are unknown appear here on or before the 12th day of September, 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 Law Office of Dorothy M. Eure, P.C. VSB# 27724 8460 Mount Eagle Road Ashland, VA 23005 (804) 798-9667 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE COUNTY OF HENRICO JOHN LEE RICKS, Plaintiff, v.

LOUDORIS CAUTHEN RICKS, Defendant Civil Law No.: CL22-3920 ORDER OF PUBLICATION The object of the abovestyled suit is to obtain a divorce from the bonds of matrimony from the defendant on the grounds that the parties have lived separate and apart without interruption and without cohabitation for a period of more than one year, since April 12, 2012.

And it appearing by Affidavit filed according to law that the above-named defendant, is not a resident of this state and that due diligence has been used by or in behalf of plaintiff to ascertain in what county or city the defendant is, without effect.

It is therefore ORDERED that the said Loudoris Cauthen Ricks do appear in the Clerk’s Office of the Law Division of the Circuit Court of Henrico County, 4301 East Parham Road, Henrico, Virginia 21273, on or before September 19, 2022 and do whatever necessary to protect their interest in this suit.

I ask for this: Rudolph C. McCollum, Jr. VSB# 32825 P.O. 4595 Richmond, Virginia 23220 Phone -(804) 523-3900 Fax -(804) 523-3901 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE CITY OF RICHMOND REINA ZULMA RIVERA ALVARADO, Plaintiff v.

RONAL WALDEMAR PEREZ DE LA CRUZ, Defendant.

Case No.: CL22-2753-2 ORDER OF PUBLICATION The object of this suit is to obtain a divorce a vinculo matrimonii from the bond of matrimony from the Defendant on the ground of having lived separate and apart for a period of more than a year, pursuant to §20-91(A) (9) of the Code of Virginia; and It appearing to the court that the Defendant Ronal Waldemar Perez De La Cruz, cannot be found, and that diligence has been used with effect to ascertain the location of the party to be served; it is, therefore.

ORDERED that the D e f e n d a n t , R onal Waldemar Perez De La Cruz, appear at the abovenamed court and protect his interests on or before the 7th day of September, 2022.

I ask for this: Taylor R. Fisher (VSB #96130) Evolution Divorce & Family Law, PLLC 1500 Forest Avenue, Suite 117 Richmond, Virginia 23229 (804) 793-8200 (main) Counsel for Plaintiff

Continued from previous column

VIRGINIA: IN THE JUVENILE AND DOMESTIC RELATIONS DISTRICT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND Commonwealth of Virginia, in re EN’NAJA MYBLESSYN LEE RDSS v.

ERNEST LEE, UNKNOWN FATHER & SHANIKA CHANTEL NICHOLS File No. J-99663-10-11-12 ORDER OF PUBLICATION The object of this suit is to: terminate the residual parental rights (“RPR”) of Ernest Lee (Father), Unknown Father (Father), Shanika Chantel Nichols (Mother) of 16En’Naja Myblessyn Lee, child DOB: 4/16/2021, “RPR” means all rights and responsibilities remaining with Parent after transfer of legal custody or guardianship of the person, including but not limited to rights of: Visitation; adoption consent; determination of religious affiliation; and responsibility for support and that: It is ORDERED that the defendants, Ernest Lee (Father), Unknown Father (Father), Shanika Chantel Nichols (Mother) to appear at the above-named Court and protect his/her interest on or before 9/20/2022, at 9:00 A.M., Courtroom #2 MCG.

PROPERTY Legal Public Notice Claim of Rights to my Heirs I, Michael Prince Hodges Competent to speak, of sound Mind, claim all rights and title To my heirs as follows: their Names Khaiden Malachi Shackleford Cevallos, Kai Avery Shackleford Cevallos, Makeibe Lamar Harris Hodges with respect to any derivatives of the name thereof Anyone With any proof, knowledge to rebut my claim, shall state and Declare by public notice there Higher Claim and forward a copy To the following: notary Brittney Beo 3502 unit J Within 30 days of the first publishing date of this notice Note: All claims are subject to The Laws and Statues of the State of Virginia VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR HENRICO COUNTY In re; The Estate of Julia A Michaelyan, deceased Complainant, v.

David A. Shanahan and Parties Unknown Respondents.

Case Number CL22-3461 ORDER OF PUBLICATION The object of this suit is to effect final distribution of the Estate of Julia A. Michaelyan, deceased, a resident of the County of Henrico.

And an affidavit having been made and filed that David A. Shanahan, if living is not a resident of this State and the Complaint having been filed that there are or may be persons interested in the subject to be distributed whose names are unknown and making them parties defendant by the general description of “parties unknown,” Now therefore it is ORDERED that the said nonresident defendant, David A. Shanahan, if he be living, said the said persons by the general description of “parties unknown” do appear on September 13, 2022 at 9 a.m. and do what is necessary to protect their interests.

The Estate of Julia A. Michaelyan

By Counsel I ask for this: Eppa Hunton, Esq. VSB #19135 Eppa Hunton, PC 8401 Patterson Ave., Suite 101 Henrico, VA 23229 804-747-4547 Fax 804-747-4951

custodY

VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND

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RITA J. COUSINS and LeJENE COUSINS Plaintiffs v.

UNKNOWN HEIRS, DEVISEES, AND SUCCESSORS IN INTEREST OF HAYES COUSINS UNKNOWN HEIRS, DEVISEES, AND SUCCESSORS IN INTEREST OF OLIVIA COUSINS UNKNOWN HEIRS, DEVISEES, AND SUCCESSORS IN INTEREST OF ANNE C. MORRIS UNKNOWN HEIRS, DEVISEES, AND SUCCESSORS IN INTEREST OF EDNA COUSINS Defendants Case no.: CL22-2368 ORDER OF PUBLICATION The object of this suit is to find that Rita J. Cousins and LeJene Cousins are the rightful owners of 1922 Princess Anne Avenue, City of Richmond, Virginia, and further identified as Tax Map #E000-0251-025 (the “Real Estate”), having acquired ownership by adverse possession, and grant such other relief as may be proper.

It is ordered that the fact of such petition be advertised, and notice is now given that on September 1, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. in the Circuit Court of the City of Richmond located at 400 North Ninth Street, Richmond, VA 23219 the Court will hear evidence on this matter from any interested individual.

I ask for this: Hugh T. Antrim, VSB # 14721 ThompsonMcMullan, P.C. 100 Shockoe Slip Richmond VA 23219 (804) 649-7545 (804) 649-0654 facsimile

Ray. An Affidavit having been filed that said owners, CASSANDRA CALENDERRAY, who has been served by posting and by mailing a copy of the complaint to her last known address, has not been personally 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 CASSANDRA CALENDERRAY, and Parties Unknown, come forward to appear on or before SEPTEMBER 15, 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 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND JOHN MARSHALL COURTS BUILDING CITY OF RICHMOND, Plaintiff, v.

VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND JOHN MARSHALL COURTS BUILDING CITY OF RICHMOND, Plaintiff, v.

CASSANDRA CALENDERRAY, et al, Defendants.

Case No.: CL22-2280 ORDER OF PUBLICATION The object of this suit is to subject the property briefly described as 801 North 38th Street, Tax Map Number E000-1552/001, Richmond, Virginia, to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owner of record, name Cassandra Calender-

LEON W. HAYES, et al, Defendants.

Case No.: CL22-2494 ORDER OF PUBLICATION The object of this suit is to subject the property briefly described as 3210 Utah Place, Tax Map Number N000-1074/019, Richmond, Virginia, to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owner of record, Leon W. Hayes, Marynia L. Hayes, George Cecil Hayes and Annie V. Hamilton.

An Affidavit having been filed that said owner, LEON W. HAYES, upon information and belief deceased, or his heirs, devisees, assignees or successors in interest, have not been located and have not filed a response to this action; that said owner, MARYNIA L. HAYES, upon information and belief deceased, or her heirs, devisees, assignees or successors in interest, have not been located and have not filed a response to this action; that said owner, GEORGE CECIL HAYES, upon information and belief deceased, his heirs, devisees, assignees or successors in interest, have not been located and have not filed a response to this action; that said owner, ANNIE V. HAMILTON, upon information and belief deceased, or her heirs, devisees, assignees or successors in interest, have not been located and have 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

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VIRGINIA: IN THE GENERAL DISTRICT COURT-CIVIL OF HENRICO Commonwealth of Virginia, in re WHITES TOWING INC v.

GREGORY STEWART Case No. GV22004008-00 ORDER OF PUBLICATION The object of this suit is to: Petition this Court to order the sale of 2020 Ford Escape valued at $22,950 located in Henrico County.

It is ORDERED that the defendant appear at the above-named Court and protect his or her interests on or before 9/12/2022, at 10:00 A.M.

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LEON W. HAYES, upon information and belief deceased, or his heirs, devisees, assignees or successors in interest, MARYNIA L. HAYES, upon information and belief deceased, or her heirs, devisees, assignees or successors in interest, GEORGE CECIL HAYES, upon information and belief deceased, his heirs, devisees, assignees or successors in interest, ANNIE V. HAMILTON, upon information and belief deceased, or her heirs, devisees, assignees or successors in interest, and Parties Unknown, come forward to appear on or before SEPTEMBER 15, 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 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND JOHN MARSHALL COURTS BUILDING CITY OF RICHMOND, Plaintiff, v.

Carla Burno, et al, Defendants.

Case No.: CL22-1941 ORDER OF PUBLICATION The object of this suit is to subject the property briefly described as 5506 Jahnke Road, Tax Map Number C005-0618/032, Richmond, Virginia, to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owner of record, Carla Burno.

An Affidavit having been filed that said owner, CARLA BURNO, who has been served by posting and by mailing a copy of the complaint to her last known address, has not been personally 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 CARLA BURNO, and Parties Unknown, come forward to appear on or before SEPTEMBER 15, 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 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND JOHN MARSHALL COURTS BUILDING CITY OF RICHMOND, Plaintiff, v.

LORRAINE FORD, et al, Defendants.

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The City of Richmond announces the following project(s) available for services relating to: IFB No. 220013890: Maymont Area Sidewalk- Phase I (UPC 111163) Pre-Proposal Conference Call Meeting: August 01,2022 at 2:00 P.M. For all information pertaining to this IFB conference call, please logon to the Richmond website (www.RVA.GOV).

Proposal Due Date: Monday, August 22, 2022 Time: 2:00 P.M.

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

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The object of this suit is to subject the property briefly described as 3135 Griffin Avenue, Tax Map Number N000-1036/043, Richmond, Virginia, to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owners of record, Lorraine Ford, Lastarza Howard, Sandra Jackson, Erica Bratton, David Berkley, Olivia Corbett and Paul Bratton.

An Affidavit having been filed that said owners, LORRAINE FORD, L A S TA R Z A H O WA R D , SANDRA JACKSON, and ERICA BRATTON, who have been served by posting and by mailing a copy of the complaint to their last known address, have not been personally located and have not filed a response to this action; that said owner, DAVID BERKLEY, has not been located and has not filed a response to this action; that said owner, OLIVIA CORBETT, owner of record of said property, who is not a resident of the Commonwealth of Virginia, has not been located and has not filed a response to this action; that THE PACESETTER CORPORATION, an entity not listed in the records o f t h e Vi r g i n i a S t a t e Corporation Commission, BENEFICIARY of a Deed of Trust filed in the records of the Richmond Circuit Court at Deed Book 427 page 1788 on January 24, 1995, has not been located and has not filed a response to this action; that ZACHARIAS BROTHERS REALTY, an entity listed as inactive in the records of the Virginia State 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 LORRAINE FORD, L AS TAR ZA H O WA R D , S A N D R A JACKSON, ERICA B R AT TO N , D AV I D B E R K L E Y, OLIVIA C O R B E T T, THE P A C E S E T T E R CORPORATION, an entity not listed in the records o f t h e Vi r g i n i a S t a t e Corporation Commission, BENEFICIARY of a Deed of Trust filed in the records of the Richmond Circuit Court at Deed Book 427 page 1788 on January 24, 1995, ZACHARIAS BROTHERS REALTY, an entity listed as inactive in the records of the Virginia State Corporation

Commission, which may be a creditor with an interest in said property, and Parties Unknown, come forward to appear on or before SEPTEMBER 15, 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

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VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND JOHN MARSHALL COURTS BUILDING CITY OF RICHMOND, Plaintiff, v.

MARY JANE B. ANDERSON, et al, Defendants.

Case No.: CL22-1899 ORDER OF PUBLICATION The object of this suit is to subject the property briefly described as 3308 Gloucester Road, Tax Map Number N000-1225/012, Richmond, Virginia, to sale in order to collect delinquent real estate taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owner of record, Mary Jane B. Anderson.

An Affidavit having been filed that said owner, MARY JANE B. ANDERSON, who has been served by posting and by mailing a copy of the complaint to her last known address, has not been personally 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 MARY JANE B. ANDERSON, and Parties Unknown, come forward to appear on or before SEPTEMBER 15, 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

BID COUNTY OF HENRICO, VIRGINIA CONSTRUCTION BID ITB #22-2375-6JL Henrico County Public Utilities Renovation Due: August 16, 2022 at 2:00 p.m.

For additional information visit: https://henrico.us/ finance/divisions/purchasing/ solicitations/

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

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 Great Hope Baptist Church is seeking an experienced Minister of Music to lead and direct its Music Ministry. Individual must be competent to teach various forms of gospel music to inspire the congregation through musical ministry; direct choirs; play by ear; capable of playing the keyboard, organ, and piano; possess strong work ethics; demonstrate strong leadership, organizational, and communications skills by effectively collaborating with church staff, administrators, and choir members; and, have a spiritual background. Compensation: $30,000.00 annually.

If interested, please send your resume to: ghbcsec1@outlook.com 3RVLWLRQ RSHQHG XQWLO VXFFHVVIXOO\ ¿OOHG

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