Richmond Free Press June 13-15, 2019 Edition by Richmond Free Press

Celebrating a hometown hero B2

VOL. 28 NO. 24

Mr. Morrissey

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA

www.richmondfreepress.com

Upset

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Denzel’s lifetime achievement B2

JUNE 13-15, 2019

Sen. Dance

Challenger ‘Joe’ Morrissey garners Petersburg support to handily beat incumbent Sen. Rosalyn Dance in Tuesday’s primary Only one other incumbent was ousted in the 35 General Assembly nominating contests around the state, first-term RepubChallenger Joseph D. “Joe” Morrissey, proving tougher and lican Delegate Bob Thomas of Stafford, who lost to a rival who more resilient than his critics anticipated, cruised Tuesday to a challenged the delegate’s conservative credentials and support surprisingly easy victory over incumbent state Sen. Rosalyn R. for expanding Medicaid in Virginia to cover a larger number of Dance of Petersburg in a Democratic primary election. low-income adults. The feisty, scandal-plagued 61-year-old Richmond resident The Dance-Morrissey contest took center stage in the Richput himself on track to enter the state Senate in January after mond area, and the outcome appeared to election observers as a voter revolt in the Senate district against the Democratic establishment that had pushed Sen. Dance’s re-election. Mr. Morrissey’s capture of the Democratic nomination virtually assures his election in November in a district that is so heavily Democratic that Republicans are not fielding a candidate. However, Mr. Morrissey is expected to have at least one independent challenger, Waylin K. Ross of Petersburg, owner of a business service center and Richmond Public Schools founder of the nonprofit DNA is turning out scholars. of Petersburg Excellence, who The highest-achieving stuqualified Tuesday to be on the dents in the Class of 2019 at November ballot. each of the city’s high schools At his victory party in Pewere celebrated at the annual tersburg, Mr. Morrissey, a forValedictorian Luncheon held mer Richmond prosecutor and May 30 at the Science Museum former member of the House of of Virginia. Delegates who commuted from Theme for the event: “Dream jail to the state Capitol after Big & Dare to Fail.” a misdemeanor conviction of The students were inspired contributing to the delinquency by the luncheon speaker, Richof a minor, described himself mond teacher Rodney A. Robinas “euphoric” but “ready to go Richmond Public Schools photo son, the 2019 National Teacher to work.” Richmond Public Schools valedictorians, from left: Jordan Baker of Community High, Lahjae White-Patterson of the Year. Sen. Dance came into the They were lauded by RPS of Huguenot, Laura Blackwell of Armstrong, William Wilkins of Franklin Military Academy, Alexis Stokes of John election with a huge money Superintendent Jason Kamras, Marshall, Chantal Hernandez of Open High, Majestic Colley of George Wythe and Cozette Bell-Ferguson of advantage and the endorseThomas Jefferson. members of the School Board ments of U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, Franklin Military Academy: William Wilkins, versity of Virginia. and other elected officials in attendance. Gov. Ralph S. Northam, former Open High: Chantal Hernandez, 4.88 GPA, The top scholars also were each awarded a laptop 4.35 GPA, Virginia Commonwealth University. Gov. Terry McAuliffe, the VirHuguenot: Lahjae White-Patterson, 4.63 GPA, University of Virginia. by sponsors Best Buy and CodeVa. ginia Legislative Black Caucus Richmond Community: Jordan Baker, 4.70 This year’s valedictorians, and where they plan Virginia Tech. and some elected officials in Thomas Jefferson: Cozette Bell-Ferguson, 4.87 GPA, University of Virginia. to matriculate in the fall, are: Richmond. George Wythe: Majestic Colley, 3.92 GPA, Old Armstrong: Laura Diara Blackwell, 4.06 GPA, GPA, Temple University. However, Mr. Morrissey John Marshall: Alexis Stokes, 4.57 GPA, Uni- Dominion University. Virginia Tech. By Jeremy M. Lazarus

receiving 56 percent of the vote in the majority-black 16th Senate District that stretches from Richmond’s East End to the Petersburg-Hopewell area. Cementing his reputation as the “comeback kid” of Virginia politics, Mr. Morrissey crushed Sen. Dance’s hopes of a second four-year term after winning what state election experts called an astonishing 72 percent of the vote in Sen. Dance’s hometown of Petersburg.

Top of the class

Please turn to A4

Armstrong graduation figures better than initial report By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Armstrong High School is providing best evidence that more seniors are graduating from Richmond Public Schools this year than the public could have expected given the pessimistic projections released three weeks ago by Superintendent Jason Kamras and his staff. Armstrong High was supposed to graduate only 108 seniors this year, according to a chart RPS Chief Academic Officer Tracy Epp presented to the Richmond School Board on May 20. Ms. Epp’s chart, which was published in the Free Press

May 23-25 edition and widely distributed on social media, also showed that another 54 Armstrong seniors would have to attend summer school or return next year to complete requirements for a diploma. But none of those figures proved to be correct when Armstrong held its graduation ceremony on Sunday, June 9, according to new information the Free Press obtained. Armstrong actually awarded 155 diplomas at the ceremony — a 43 percent increase over the projection. In addition, only 21 of the 176 seniors were notified that they would have to attend summer school or return next year.

Graduation figures for other city schools that held ceremonies this week could not be obtained before Wednesday’s Free Press publishing deadline. Ms. Epp is to present the School Board with updated figures next Monday, June 17. However, the Armstrong numbers are raising concerns about the administration’s ability to compile accurate data. The huge differences forced Mr. Kamras and Ms. Epp to apologize for putting out incorrect information and creating what both described as anxiety for students, families and Please turn to A4

Agelasto’s council fate may rest with June 18 hearing

children last summer from Floyd Avenue in the 5th District to a Franklin Street home Parker C. Agelasto’s service on Rich- in the 1st District. mond City Council is now in the hands of Mr. El-Amin also has filed a request with a Richmond Circuit Court judge the court for a declaratory judgafter months of controversy over ment that Mr. Agelasto has vacated the 5th District councilman’s move the seat as a result of the move. to a home outside the district. But a hearing on that request has Judge W. Reilly Marchant is not been scheduled. scheduled on Tuesday, June 18, Mr. Agelasto previously anto hear a request to issue a temnounced he would resign at the porary injunction to immediately end of November, and seven or bar Mr. Agelasto from continuing more people are now gearing up Mr. Agelasto to represent the district. to run to fill the final 13 months Should Judge Marchant issue the injunc- of his term that ends in December 2020. tion, Mr. Agelasto would be out, and City The special election will coincide with Council likely would need to temporarily the Nov. 5 general election. appoint someone to fill his seat until a special Mr. Agelasto’s resignation was arranged election is held in November. through a deal with outgoing CommonSa’ad El-Amin, a former 6th District wealth’s Attorney Michael N. Herring to council representative who currently spe- avoid Mr. Herring filing for a court writ to cializes in administrative law, is pushing have him removed. for the injunction as part of his overall Among those considering filing to run by strategy to force the immediate removal of Please turn to A4 Mr. Agelasto, who moved with his wife and

Saying goodbye

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

By Ronald E. Carrington

Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

The family of 9-year-old Markiya Dickson grieves during a vigil June 6 at Carter Jones Park, where the youngster was shot and killed. They are, from left, her dad, Mark Whitfield Sr., who is holding young Mark Jr.; mother Ciara Dickson; sister Samaya Dickson; and uncle Dion Tuell.

More than 1,000 people from across Metro Richmond came out to honor the life of 9-year-old Markiya Dickson, the Chesterfield County third-grader who was shot and killed at Carter Jones Park in South Side during the Memorial Day Weekend. The noon service, held June 7 at the Arthur Ashe Jr. Athletic Center in Richmond, started with great solemnity and tears, but grew into a celebration of the beautiful, spirited child who loved and was loved by her parents, family, schoolmates, teachers and friends. The Rev. Robert Winfree of New Life Deliverance Tabernacle in South Richmond recited Bible verses as a funeral cortege of more than 450 family members, friends and others walked Please turn to A4

A2 June 13-15, 2019

Richmond Free Press

Local News

‘Hill of Heroes’ Nearly 12,000 flags fill the “Hill of Heroes” at the Virginia War Memorial on Belvidere Street. Planted by nearly 80 volunteers next to the Shrine of Memory, the flags recall the Virginians killed in conflicts since the start of World War II in 1941. The display was put in place ahead of the war memorial’s celebration of Flag Day on Saturday, June 15. The 10 a.m. public program will mark the 242nd anniversary of the adoption of the Stars and Stripes as the nation’s official flag. While FriSlices of life and scenes day, June 14, is the actual in Richmond anniversary of the 1777 adoption, the Virginia memorial moved its event to the weekend to garner a bigger audience. U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, 7th District, is to deliver the keynote address. The ceremony also will include the ceremonial burning of retired flags and a tribute to the Omori Flag that captured Americans created during World War II while interned in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp.

Cityscape

Ava Reaves

Sledge named city’s director of economic development Leonard Sledge, who previously led economic development in Hampton and an Atlanta suburb, has been named the new director of economic and business development for Richmond. Mayor Levar M. Stoney announced Mr. Sledge’s appointment Monday as a permanent replacement for Peter Lee Downey, who left last year after seven years as the city’s chief development official. Since then, two people have held the job on an interim basis, Douglas Dunlap, now director of housing and community development, and Jane Ferrara, who will continue as deputy director under Mr. Sledge. Mr. Sledge, who began work Monday with a starting annual salary of $145,000, reports to Sharon Ebert, who was named Mr. Sledge in March as deputy chief administrative officer for economic and community development. “The city of Richmond is growing, and we need to pursue development that expands our tax base, is community-oriented and expands opportunity for our residents,” Mayor Stoney stated. He cited Mr. Sledge’s “background in local government and his record of informed, principled decision-making indicate he’s the right person.” Since November 2017, Mr. Sledge has served as executive director of the Henry County Development Authority outside Atlanta and previously spent four years as economic development director in Hampton. During his 13-year career, he also directed economic development for the College of William & Mary and served as a workforce development director for the Virginia Community College System and an Arizona community college. Now 46, Mr. Sledge earned undergraduate degrees from Morehouse College and Georgia Tech and a master’s in business administration from the University of Phoenix.

RPS official says LEED standards haven’t returned big savings Richmond Public Schools’ chief operating officer confirmed a Free Press finding that building new schools to a national energy standard has failed to pay off in energy savings. Darin Simmons told the Richmond School Board on June 3 that building Huguenot High and three other schools to the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED gold standard has not resulted in “significant” savings. His comments came as he joined Robert Steidel, the city’s deputy chief of administration for operations, in briefing the School Board on possible ways to save money on the escalating costs for three new schools that are under construction by a joint city-school construction team. The schools are now projected to cost a collective $148 million, or $38 million more than originally estimated. Mr. Steidel also confirmed that adhering to the lesser LEED silver standard, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, would add 8 percent to the cost, or about $12 million. He said eliminating LEED standards in the construction would save possibly $3 million of that because money would still need to be spent to provide quality doors, windows and lighting that would be energy efficient. The board is considering ways to save money and reduce the cost of the new schools, including recommendations Mr. Steidel presented to change the roofing system and to eliminate proposed electric car chargers in the parking lots. All three schools are to be equipped with solar energy panels, now seen as a better way than LEED to cut spending on electricity once the buildings open in 2020. — JEREMY M. LAZARUS

Corrections Virginia Beach recorded 18 homicides in 2018. A figure published in the editorial, “We must do more,” in the Free Press June 6-8 edition was incorrect. Virginia Beach has had 19 homicides so far in 2019, which includes the 12 people who were killed in the mass shooting at the city’s municipal center on May 31. The Free Press regrets the error. A Cityscape feature published in the Free Press June 6-8 edition contained an incorrect address for the City of Richmond’s new training center for emergency dispatchers. The center is located at 3516 N. Hopkins Road in South Side. An exterior photograph showed the entire building, of which only the right side is the new 4,300-square-foot addition housing the new training center. A second photograph showed staff working on equipment inside the existing Emergency Communications Center. The interior of the new training center contains similar equipment. The Free Press regrets the errors.

Bike lanes proposed for 1st Street By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Busy 1st Street in Jackson Ward would be reduced to one lane for traffic under a city proposal to install bike lanes on the west side of a roadway that is a significant link between North Side to Downtown and routes to South Side. The plan calls for reducing traffic to one lane on 1st Street between Duval and Broad streets in Jackson Ward and then between Broad and Franklin streets in Downtown, with installation projected to take place within a year or so, according to Jakob Helmboldt, city bicycle, pedestrian and trails coordinator. The installation is part of a planned expansion of cycling lanes that Richmond City Council previously approved. The city already has installed 32 miles of cycling lane, and an additional 25 miles are approved and awaiting installation, including several miles of Brook Road in North Side.

The 1st Street plan is among proposals for further expansion of the cycling infrastructure, despite little evidence of growth in commuter or recreational cycling on current bike lanes. The proposal shows the revamped section of 1st Street would include one lane for bikes, two lanes for parking and one lane for vehicles. City Councilwoman Kim B. Gray is concerned about the impact the bike lanes would have on existing businesses, traffic movement and emergency vehicle access. “I had proposed moving the bike lanes to 3rd Street, but that was rejected,” said Ms. Gray, whose joint proposal with Councilman Chris A. Hilbert, 3rd District, to halt the Brook Road bike lanes was rebuffed earlier this year. So far, the area’s main civic group, the Historic Jackson Ward Association, has yet to take a position on the 1st Street bike lanes, Ms. Gray said.

However, Trey Owens, a partner in the popular Soul Taco restaurant that opened in Jackson Ward last year, is concerned about the impact that a dedicated bike lane on 1st will have on parking, which he said is already a challenge. His restaurant is one of a row of eateries in the 300 block of North 2nd Street, and Mr. Owens said one of his biggest problems already involves parking. “That’s the biggest complaint from my customers,” he said. He is concerned that the city’s plan for bike lanes would eliminate existing street parking on 1st Street and push more people to seek parking on 2nd Street. “I don’t think enough consideration is being given to the parking needs of the area,” he said. He’s also concerned that reducing the traffic lanes would boost the perception of congestion in Jackson Ward, driving away potential customers.

Facial hair?

Richmond Police uniformed officers now have the OK By Jeremy M. Lazarus

If you see uniformed Richmond Police officers sporting beards and mustaches, they have the OK of the top brass. Interim Police Chief William C. Smith made it possible. He quietly amended the department’s grooming policy to allow patrol officers to grow and wear neatly trimmed beards, goatees and mustaches. The department’s detectives and civilian employees have long been permitted to grow facial hair, according to department spokesman Gene Lepley, but department guidelines have required officers wearing uniforms to be clean-shaven. The only exception was if the city’s medical service provider recommended beard growth. “In regards to the change,” Mr. Lepley stated in response to a Free Press query, “the department is consistently looking at the evolution of law enforcement and questioning whether certain traditions play a part in officers’ successful performance of the essential functions of the job. “Without tangible evidence that a

Ronald E. Carrington/Richmond Free Press

Richmond Police Officer Mervin Mayo, left, a school resource officer, and Maj. Darrell Goins, who heads Area 1 operations, show off their new bearded looks, grown since the policy change on Jan. 31. Officer Mayo estimates that about 70 percent of the officers now have beards and/or mustaches.

beard or goatee is a hindrance to an individual’s performance, (the chief) decided to revise our policy. Thus far, we haven’t had any issues, and many officers are enjoying the opportunity,” Mr. Lepley stated. Mr. Lepley said Chief Smith’s executive order, issued Jan. 31 with little fanfare, allows beards that are no more than one-half inch in length and are not

shaped in some fashion other than from natural growth. There are limits. The executive order bars handlebar mustaches, soul patches, lumberjack mustaches, Van Dyke or chinstrap-style beards or anything similar. The order also requires recruits enrolled in training to be clean-shaven unless they receive permission for facial hair on religious or medical grounds.

RPS attendance officers cut without placement assistance By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Butler Peterson has spent the past five years visiting families of truant Richmond Public Schools students to improve their attendance. That’s just one of the jobs he has held in his 18 years with RPS and why he hoped to be considered for one of the school-based attendance liaison positions that is to replace his role as an attendance officer. But RPS only wants people with college degrees to fill the seven higher-paid liaison positions that are being created after Mr. Peterson is laid off with 16 other attendance officers who work out of the RPS central office. “None of us were considered because we don’t have degrees,” Mr. Peterson said, “just a lot of experience and rapport with these families.” Despite winning praise for the attendance work they have done, Mr. Peterson said that he and the other attendance officers are being ushered out the door without any assistance.

While the Richmond School Board approved a 2019-20 budget last week that included $400,000 in severance pay to many of the RPS employees losing their jobs as part of Mr. Peterson a cutback in central administration, it is unclear if Mr. Peterson and the attendance officers will be included in the payout. Mr. Peterson said he has received no information that severance pay will be coming. He said that he and the other attendance officers have been given no information about vacant RPS jobs for which they might qualify, nor have they received assistance in finding positions outside the school system. RPS’ Human Resources office “has not met with us,” said another attendance officer, Breon Eppes. “We’re on our own.” The 21 attendance officer positions, of which only 17 are filled, are among 74

positions that the School Board cut as part of balancing the budget for the 2019-20 fiscal year that will begin July 1. The seven attendance liaison positions are among 25 new positions the School Board created under changes Superintendent Jason Kamras is ushering in. The school system beefed up the attendance operation in 2014 after regaining control of the operation from the city, and hired high school graduates to fill almost all the slots. Aided by a change in state law that makes truancy less of a priority, Mr. Kamras is ending the centralized attendance operation in favor of placing attendance liaisons at seven schools to work on reducing truancy. Mr. Kamras has said that college-trained liaisons would be able to better focus on the root causes of the problems that create truancy. The new liaisons will be paid more. Mr. Peterson said he was paid about $30,000 a year. The new liaisons, according to RPS, could each be paid up to $50,000 a year.

Richmond Free Press

June 13-15, 2019

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Richmond Free Press

A4 June 13-15, 2019

News

Armstrong graduation figures better than initial report Continued from A1

alumni of the school. Mr. Kamras apologized on June 6 at a town hall meeting organized by the Richmond Branch NAACP, while Ms. Epp apologized at the June 3 School Board meeting. Ms. Epp said she should have double-checked Armstrong’s numbers before presenting them to the board. “Lesson learned,” she told the board. Accurate data is important given RPS’ standing as having one of the lowest graduation rates in the state and a November audit by the state Department of Education showed that Richmond graduation rates have long been inflated. At the June 3 School Board meeting, Ms. Epp also sought to justify the chart’s figures, which she acknowledged deliberately low-balled the expected graduation figures for the city’s high schools. The chart projected only 810 students would receive diplomas from the nine schools with senior classes, or the lowest number since at least World War II. Another 280 seniors were projected to have to attend summer school or return next year, although the new numbers from Armstrong are calling that figure into question. Ms. Epp said the chart was only supposed to project graduation numbers for those students actually attending a specific school. Ms. Epp admitted the graduation numbers she presented did not include students who were enrolled at Armstrong or one of the other comprehensive Richmond high schools, but who actually attended Maggie L. Walker or Appomattox Governor’s School or completed course requirements through the state-approved virtual school. Ms. Epp reported that she and her counseling staff needed

Ronald E. Carrington/Richmond Free Press

Armstrong High School’s top seniors show off the framed certificates they received at the school’s second annual scholars luncheon held June 4 at the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia. The 24 scholars all have GPAs of 3.0 or higher. Armstrong Principal Willie J. Bell also presented them with an academic achievement medal and a copy of the Dr. Seuss book, “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” Armstrong seniors honored at the event: Tar’Quasia Bell, Laura Blackwell (valedictorian), Nia’Sha Burroughs, Alexis Burwell, Jamira Commander, Andromeda Cooper, Keshae Elliotte, Makiah Gayles, Alia Harris, Khaliq Harris, Talil Harvey, Jacob Heinrich, Andre Jackson, Shaijzuan Jones, Precious King, Kiera Lewis, Johnae Macklin-Terry, Kiaira McCray, Joi Miles, Sharnay Moore, Corvell Poag (salutatorian), Damon Robinson, Sameerah Seaman and De’Jah Waller.

to review the transcripts of potential graduates eight times before coming up with the projections she included in her report. Questions are being raised about whether Ms. Epp used software available in the database of student records that can track

student completion of state-required courses for graduation. The software is designed to simplify tracking. But a high-placed source told the Free Press that no one in the RPS administration has ensured the tracking feature is being used.

Morrissey upsets Dance with Petersburg support Continued from A1

found the former Petersburg mayor and former delegate highly vulnerable in her hometown of Petersburg and surrounding localities, where he ended up concentrating much of his time. Largely waging an energetic shoe-leather campaign in which he made face-to-face contact with voters, Mr. Morrissey won 3,354 votes in Petersburg to 1,320 for Sen. Dance, a 2,000-vote margin that proved too much after he also won in Hopewell and Dinwiddie County, though the voting was much lower in those localities.

Sen. Dance, 71, could not overcome the 2,000-vote lead from Petersburg with her narrow victories in the district’s portions of Richmond and Chesterfield and Prince George counties. For example, she won Richmond only by 400 votes out of the nearly 4,700 that were cast. In Richmond, Mr. Morrissey kept it close when he overcame City Councilwoman Reva M. Trammell’s endorsement of Sen. Dance to win in her 8th District. That helped him narrow Sen. Dance’s margin of victory in the 7th District where Sen. Dance had the backing of Delegate Delores L. McQuinn. Mr. Morrissey viewed his win as a message from voters that

Other Richmond area primary victors Around the state, the wave of primary contests included a Northern Virginia thriller in which the Senate’s top Democrat was almost unseated. Sen. Richard L. “Dick” Saslaw, 79, of Fairfax County, ended up edging two women challengers by about 500 votes, even though the 43-year General Assembly veteran outspent his challengers 20-1 in his Northern Virginia contest. In all, voters chose 16 nominees for the Senate seats and 19 nominees for House seats in clearing the way for the big November election battle for control of the General Assembly. All 140 seats in the House of Delegates and state Senate will be up for election on Nov. 5. Currently, Republicans are clinging to a two-vote majority in both the House

and the Senate. There were four Senate and two House primaries in the Richmond area, including the 16th Senate District contest that Joseph D. “Joe” Morrissey won. The list of winners includes community college teacher and administrator Ghazala F. Hasmi. She won a three-way Democratic primary to challenge 10th District Republican Sen. Glen H. Sturtevant Jr. in November in the district that includes western parts of Richmond. Amanda L. Pohl, an advocate for victims of sexual and domestic abuse, also won the right to carry the Democratic banner against controversial 11th Republican Sen. Amanda Chase in the largely Chesterfield County district. And first-term Delegate Debra Rodman

won her primary to be the Democratic challenger to 12th District Republican Sen. Siobhan Dunnavant in the HenricoHanover district. Meanwhile, African-American business executive Garrison R. Coward won the Republican nomination to take on first-term incumbent Delegate Dawn Adams in the 68th House District that includes western sections of Richmond. And Democrat Lindsey M. Dougherty, a Chesterfield budget analyst, will represent the party in challenging Republican Carrie Coyner, a Chesterfield School Board member, in the 62nd House District. Ms. Dougherty secured the nomination after squeaking past State Health Department employee Tavorise K. Marks in Tuesday’s voting. — JEREMY M. LAZARUS

Henrico’s Thornton, Gregory win primary contests Frank J. Thornton, who has represented the Fairfield District on the Henrico County Board of Supervisors since 1995, handily won a Democratic primary challenge Tuesday with 64 percent of the vote. Mr. Thornton, 76, won the Democratic nod by outpacing challengers Maurice Tyler, a longtime athletic coach, who received 20 percent of the vote, and Joseph W. Brown, a retired Henrico Transportation Department employee, who garnered 16 percent of the votes cast. The retired Virginia Union University professor will face independent candidate Delta R. Bowers, interim dean of VUU’s School of Business, in the Nov. 5 general election. He has said this will be his last four-year term in office. The entire five-person Henrico Board of Supervisors is up for election in November. Incumbent Supervisor Thomas M. “Tommy” Branin, who represents the

Three Chopt District, also easily fended off a challenge by Dishant G. Shah in that district’s Republican primary. Mr. Branin, who is not expected to have an opponent in the general election, Mr. Thornton received 65 percent of the vote compared with 34.7 percent for Mr. Shah. Mr. Thornton told the Free Press Wednesday that he is appreciative of Fairfield district voters and asked his opponents to align themselves with his general election campaign. “This was a victory for the people in making Henrico better for the future, especially the eastern corridor,” he said of his campaign. “There is an olive branch extended for all wanting to join us.” In the Democratic primary for Henrico County sheriff, Chief Deputy Alisa Gregory

won the three-way contest with 50 percent of the vote. Ms. Gregory, who had the backing of o u t g o i n g S h e r i ff Mike Wade, defeated Harold L. Ford, a Richmond Police Ms. Gregory officer, who received 30 percent of the vote, and James Layne, a retired Virginia Capitol Police lieutenant, who received 20 percent of the vote cast. Ms. Gregory, the county’s first female chief deputy sheriff, will face Republican Bob Matson, a Henrico police detective, in the Nov. 5 general election. Henrico election officials said voter turnout Tuesday was low and slow. Less than 5 percent of all registered voters had turned out to cast ballots well before the polls closed at 7 p.m. — RONALD E. CARRINGTON

Agelasto’s council fate may rest with hearing Continued from A1

the Friday, Aug. 16, deadline are former 5th District Councilman Henry W. “Chuck” Richardson and University of Richmond professor Thad Williamson, a former adviser to Mayor Levar M. Stoney. Ahead of next week’s hearing, Mr. Agelasto declined to comment on Mr. El-Amin’s legal action. He has declined to comment on any of the legal action involving his tenure on the council, including action filed by Mr. Richardson during the winter that is scheduled for a hearing on Monday, July 22. Like Mr. Richardson, Mr. El-Amin is not satisfied with the slow pace of Mr. Agelasto’s departure. Mr. El-Amin has been frustrated that neither City Council nor any other city officials are taking direct action on what sees as Mr. Agelasto illegally holding onto a seat to which he is not entitled. “This is a clear-cut case,” Mr. El-Amin said, adding that it is being ignored. Essentially, Mr. Agelasto is being allowed to participate on the council and cast votes while unlawfully occupying that seat, Mr. El-Amin stated in his request for an injunction. “All votes that he has cast since vacating the seat are invalid,” Mr. El-Amin asserts in the filing. Mr. El-Amin said he plans to call Mr. Herring as a witness at the injunction hearing to testify that he verified that Mr.

Mr. El-Amin

Mr. Richardson

Mr. Wiliamson

Agelasto has moved out of the district and about Mr. Herring’s preparations to seek a court writ and hearing to have Mr. Agelasto removed from office. Mr. El-Amin said he would urge the judge to take action to end what he believes is Mr. Agelasto’s illegal activity. In a revamped filing that includes the request for the temporary injunction, Mr. El-Amin points to sections of state and city laws that require elected representatives to live in the district they are elected to serve. An elected official who moves out of the district immediately vacates the office, according to state Code section 15.2-1526. In past statements, Mr. Agelasto has acknowledged that he and his family live outside the 5th District. However, he rents out the 5th District house and still uses that address for voting purposes. He has said he plans to return and live there at some point.

“we are not going to let the top folks at the Democratic Party determine who the candidates are going to be.” What is clear is that voters, particularly in the Petersburg area, were not daunted by the scandals that dogged his personal and professional life, including the two-time loss of his law license, the latest of which he is appealing to the Virginia Supreme Court. For Sen. Dance, the loss is a huge disappointment. A retired nurse and health care administrator, she has been a major figure in area politics for 27 years after winning a Petersburg City Council seat in 1992 and serving as mayor of that city. Sen. Dance said she did everything she could to win. “I put everything on the table,” she said after the results came in. “I didn’t hold anything back.” However, she was not prepared for the repudiation she received from Petersburg voters. “Maybe people pretended to be OK with me when they were not OK with me,” said the senator, who succeeded civil rights icon Henry L. Marsh III in the Senate seat in 2014 after serving nine years in the House of Delegates. Sen. Dance, who entered the race by telling listeners “God is on my side,” sought to entice voters by focusing on the legislative work she has done, particularly her role in effort to secure expansion Medicaid, in expanding funding to hire more school counselors and raise teachers pay, in pushing to raise the minimum wage, in sentencing reform and other areas. In the final weeks of the campaign, she began lambasting Mr. Morrissey over his past anti-abortion votes. He pushed back in calling her claims false while also telling voters he would focus on addressing their concerns over high water rates, decaying schools, failing infrastructure and the loss of jobs and businesses in Petersburg.

Saying goodbye Continued from A1

down the center aisle and approached the gleaming white casket with gold accents that was adorned and flanked by flowers and unicorn balloons. Her parents, Ciara Dickson and Mark Whitfield, sat in the front row holding Markiya’s older sister, Samaya, and younger brother, Mark Jr., as they listened to joyful words and praise about the youngster who had attended Elizabeth D. Redd Elementary School for two years before enrolling in Crestwood Elementary in Chesterfield. “Markiya was a lovely flower because she was watered by the love of our entire family,” her father said in addressing the crowd. He was overcome with emotion. “My baby is lying in a coffin and I am up here speaking to you,” Mr. Whitfield said. “It shouldn’t be this way. Every morning, I get up crying. Every night I go to bed, I cry. This is what will happen for the rest of my life.” He said he didn’t want anyone else to feel such pain. The family, along with many community members and police, called for an end to senseless violence. Gov. Ralph S. Northam, who also spoke at the funeral, called last week for state lawmakers to return to Richmond for a special General Assembly session on July 9 to consider a slate of proposals to tighten gun laws and make background checks a requirement for all gun purchases following Markiya’s death and the mass shooting of 12 people on May 31 at the Virginia Beach Municipal Center. “When we lose a child, we lose their hopes and dreams, their future and our own,” said Gov. Northam, a pediatric neurosurgeon and father of two. “I believe in God. He is in control. Death is not the end, but we are left struggling with His purpose, which is not easy to understand.” Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras, who has two sons ages 9 and 7, told the family, “Nothing could ease the devastation of losing and burying a child. Our children should be able to grow up in a world where they can be children.” Mayor Levar M. Stoney also spoke at the service, saying, “I cannot help but feel the loss and, frankly, the anger that accompanies the loss of this beautiful child and the senseless way her life ended — not at age 79, but at age 9. “I pledge that we will do everything in our power to bring those responsible to justice,” he continued. “We will bring justice to this family and community because playing in the park should not end this way.” Police are still looking for three young men in their teens or early 20s who are wanted in connection with the shooting. They were last seen running from the basketball court at Carter Jones Park on Bainbridge Street. Other speakers at the funeral included Crestwood Elementary School Principal Lindsay Porzio and 8th District City Councilwoman Reva M. Trammell.

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Retired judge honored with Carrico Award For 32 years, Judge Wilford Taylor Jr. served on the bench in his hometown of Hampton. State judges have saluted the retired jurist with the 2019 Harry L. Carrico Outstanding Career Service Award for his work on the bench. Judge Taylor, who retired from the bench in December 2017, was presented the top award of the Judicial Judge Taylor Council of Virginia May 15 during the council’s annual conference for state judges. The presentation to the African-American honoree was freighted with irony as the award is named for the late chief justice of the Virginia Supreme Court, a one-time segregation advocate who is best remembered for his ruling in the Loving case upholding a state law banning interracial marriage that the U.S. Supreme Court later struck down. Justice Carrico was an active justice on the state’s highest court for more than 42 years. He died in 2013. The 14-member council yearly presents the award to a Virginia judge who “has demonstrated exceptional leadership in the administration of the courts while exhibiting the traits of integrity, courtesy, impartiality, wisdom and humility.” Born in Hampton, Judge Taylor began his legal career after graduating from Hampton University and the College of William & Mary Law School. He worked in private practice and as a deputy city attorney for Hampton before the General Assembly elected him a Hampton General District Court judge in 1985. Ten years later, he was elected a judge on the Hampton Circuit Court. He served four terms as chief judge before his retirement in 2007. Since leaving the bench, he has joined the McGammon Group, which specializes in mediation, arbitration and other forms of alternative dispute resolution. He also is a retired U.S. Army colonel, with 28 years of service in the reserves, and serves as an adjunct professor at the College of William & Mary Law School. — JEREMY M. LAZARUS

Police arrest 6 in Ortiz assassination attempt in DR Free Press wire reports

Six men have been arrested in the ambush shooting of former Boston Red Sox slugger David “Big Papi” Ortiz, as he sat in a nightclub late Sunday in his native Dominican Republic, authorities said. Prosecutors in the Dominican Republic said Wednesday that the suspects set out to kill Mr. Ortiz and collect an $8,000 bounty placed on him. In a news conference, police showed reporters the handgun used in the attempted hit job and said a total of seven men were part of the murder plot that left Mr. Ortiz with a bullet wound to the back. David Ortiz Mr. Ortiz, a 43-year-old retired baseball player still beloved in Boston for his role on three World Series-winning teams, was recovering at Massachusetts General Hospital on Wednesday after being flown there late Monday on a plane provided by the team and undergoing surgery. He also had surgery in the Dominican Republic. His friend, Jhoel López, a television host, also was wounded in the incident, police said. Police said earlier that a pair of assailants drove up to the Dial Bar and Lounge, a nightclub in the capital, Santo Domingo, on a motorcycle late Sunday where one of them appeared to approach on foot and open fire, sparking a panic in which diners fled their tables, according to police and video of the incident posted by local media. Some at the club then nabbed and beat one of the suspects before police took him into custody. He was later identified as Eddy Vladimir Féliz García, who was treated at a hospital for his injuries. Mr. Ortiz started his career in 1997 with the Minnesota Twins, then played for the Red Sox for 14 seasons before retiring in 2016, according to Major League Baseball. The Red Sox held a moment of prayer for Mr. Ortiz prior to their home game Monday night against the Texas Rangers.

HOME challenges Chesterfield apartment complex policy in federal court By Jeremy M. Lazarus

How far can a landlord go in banning people with felony or serious misdemeanor convictions as tenants? A new federal lawsuit seeks to find out. The fair housing watchdog Housing Opportunities Made Equal filed the suit in U.S. District Court in Richmond June 4 to challenge a Chesterfield County apartment complex’s policy banning anyone “who has ever been convicted of any felony” from becoming a tenant. The complex, Somerset Glen Apartments, also “bars applicants with misdemeanor arrests or convictions, including drug possession charges and sex crimes,” according to the suit. The suit, which appears to be the first test case of its kind in the area, claims that the blanket ban violates federal and state fair housing laws because it would be a barrier to potential tenants who are AfricanAmerican due to a higher percentage of African-Americans in the county having criminal arrests and convictions. The suit asks the court to enjoin the complex from imposing such a sweeping ban and to require the complex to consider

each applicant on the basis of their record since their release. According to the suit and court records, about 10,000 people in Chesterfield County currently have felony records, with about 5,000 being Caucasian and about 4,500 being African-American. However, white felons represent just 2.5 percent of the county’s white population of 207,000 people, while African-American felons represent about 6.7 percent of the county’s smaller black population 68,000 people, according to data in the suit. HOME’s suit developed after potential renters sent by the nonprofit to test Somerset Glen’s policies were rejected based on their criminal histories. HOME has legal help in the suit from the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Virginia and a Washington-based civil rights law firm, Relman, Dane & Colfax. Charles Wisely of Staunton, whose companies own and manage the complex, could not be reached for comment. He has not yet responded to the suit. Bans of tenants with criminal convictions are not unusual. The government has long had such policies on housing it subsidizes, although the ACLU and HOME apparently have never challenged

their application. Following those policies, the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority bans people from its properties based on their criminal records, regularly evicts families with a member who is convicted of a felony and also can evict tenants who have guests with felony records. Under the government policy, registered sex offenders cannot rent taxpayer subsidized housing, nor can anyone convicted of producing methamphetamines in subsidized housing or who uses illegal drugs. However, unlike Somerset Glen’s policy that provides for no exceptions, federal policy since 2016 has given RRHA and other government-supported local housing agencies “discretion” to reject or admit “applicants with a history of drug-related offenses, violent crimes or crimes that threaten the health, safety or peaceful enjoyment of the property.” According to Jennifer Safstrom, an attorney with the ACLU of Virginia, such bans “not only pose a housing barrier to people re-entering the community after release from jail or prison, but also those with records who have been living and working in the community for years or even decades.”

Rally calls on Gov. Northam to remove Lee statue from Monument Ave. By George Copeland Jr.

More than two dozen people called on Gov. Ralph S. Northam to remove the statue of Confederate Robert E. Lee from Monument Avenue during a recent rally in Richmond. The contingent, which included members of the Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality, held a protest June 1 to counter a band of about 25 neo-Confederates who staged their own rally in support of the Lee statue. It was the sixth such rally organized around the Richmond statue by the Tennessee-based CSA II: The New Confederate States of America in the last two years. The neo-Confederates and counterprotesters were separated by a lane of traffic and the presence of about 16 law enforcement officers from the Richmond Police Department and the Virginia Capitol Police, with both groups trying their best periodically to shout down the other. The Virginia Defenders read an open letter they had sent to Gov. Northam requesting he take action. “These statues do not represent history or even heritage,” stated the letter, which included the signatures of leaders of the Sacred Ground Historical Reclamation Project, Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church, the Virginia State NAACP Youth Division and the Virginia Defenders. “If you are truly serious about working toward racial justice in Virginia, you can take the simple step of declaring that you want the Lee statue taken down, and then take concrete action to make that happen.” While the competing rallies

George Copeland Jr./Richmond Free Press

Neo-Confederates and counterprotesters face off on Monument Avenue at the statue of Confederate Robert E. Lee during competing rallies on June 1.

were nonviolent and without any arrests, the mood between both groups was contentious and combative. Most of the neoConfederates, which included the Virginia Task Force of Three Percenters, also known as the Dixie Defenders, were heavily armed, carrying military-style weapons and combat gear as cars and trolley tours navigated the busy traffic circle at Monument and Allen avenues. Police eventually convinced both groups to leave the area around an hour after the rally’s start, a far cry from the nearly seven-hour rally just blocks away at the Jefferson Davis Monument last August. “We’re just happy everybody can exercise their First Amendment rights,” Richmond Police Maj. John A. O’Kleasky Jr. said of the day’s events. “There was no violence, no arrests and now we can resume our normal business in the city and get back to it.” Richmonder Rachel Robinson, who called herself a “friend of the Virginia Defenders,” expressed concern about the financial toll the repeated

rallies have incurred for Richmond taxpayers. The first of these neo-Confederate rallies, held in September 2017 less than a month after the deadly violence in Charlottesville by white supremacists supporting that city’s public statues of Confederates, cost the City of Richmond more than $500,000 for police protection. “This money should be going towards the schools,” Ms. Robinson said. “And all Richmond residents should be, regardless of what side they fall on, appalled that our tax dollars and our money is going towards this.” When asked about the expense put on Richmond taxpayers, Jenna Bernstein, a Florida native supporting the neo-Confederates, blamed Mayor Levar M. Stoney and the Monument Avenue Commission he established to make recommendations about the Confederate monuments. Last summer, the commission recommended that the Jefferson Davis Monument be removed and signs be erected to provide context for the Lee statue and

three others to Confederates. While Gov. Northam voiced his opposition to the Lee statue during his gubernatorial campaign, he has been quiet on the matter since, despite recent actions against other Confederate memorials in the state. In April, he requested that the Jefferson Davis Memorial arch be removed from Fort Monroe, site of part of the commemoration in August recognizing the 400th anniversary of the first Africans in Virginia. Gov. Northam’s support also was cited as one of the key factors behind the recent renaming of Jefferson Davis Highway in Arlington County to the Richmond Highway. Richmond has yet to see similar advances, with Richmond City Council recently voting down an ordinance seeking city control of the monuments from the state government. Ms. Robinson said progress is needed in Richmond on removing the statues. “We’re hoping that Gov. Northam follows his promise that he is going to work against slavery and oppression,” she said.

Richmond Free Press

June 13-15, 2019

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Editorial Page

June 13-15, 2019

The deliverables Like many, we were surprised by the outcome of Tuesday’s Democratic primary election between state Sen. Rosalyn Dance of Petersburg and challenger Joe Morrissey of Richmond. Mr. Morrissey, whose past legal and professional ethics troubles are too numerous and well known to recite in the limited space here, defeated Sen. Dance quite handily with 56 percent of the vote compared to Sen. Dance’s 44 percent. Sen. Dance, a 71-year-old former nurse and health care administrator, has spent decades in public service. A former mayor of Petersburg, she served in the House of Delegates from 2005 to 2014, when she won a special election to replace former Richmond Sen. Henry L. Marsh III in the state Senate. Her record in the Senate has been solid overall — working to raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour, increasing funding for public education at all levels, supporting women’s reproductive health rights and spearheading a “ban the box” bill that called for state agencies to remove from employment applications questions that would disqualify job seekers on the basis of a criminal record. But Sen. Dance also failed initially to support Medicaid expansion in Virginia and embraced donations from corporate interests such as Dominion Energy to, as some claim, the detriment of her constituents and her area’s environmental health. Others say she was absent physically from the schools and neighborhoods in Petersburg that were struggling and needed her help. Despite her many years of service, Sen. Dance was beaten largely by voters in her own hometown of Petersburg, although the majority black district includes Hopewell and portions of Richmond and Chesterfield, Dinwiddie and Prince George counties. In the election post-mortem, which is certain to go on for days and perhaps weeks, we believe there are several immediate takeaways: • That a district’s elected representative needs to be visible and present and actively addressing the basic needs of the people in order to be successful and/or to stay in office. • That the big money of special interests cannot and should not supercede or co-opt the needs of the voters. • That areas like Petersburg, with high concentrations of AfricanAmerican voters, are so starved for attention and assistance that voters will respond to a candidate who gives them that — no matter how egregious his or her record of transgressions may be. Mr. Morrissey, 61, a former city prosecutor who served in the House of Delegates, is a convicted criminal who has twice been disbarred from the practice of law in Virginia. He reportedly has a home in the 16th Senate District and one outside the district where his family lives. He successfully employed the tried-and-true campaign tactic of tirelessly going door-to-door to connect with voters in the district. By winning Tuesday’s Democratic primary, he is pretty much assured a seat in the state Senate — and a paycheck — because Republicans have fielded no candidate for the November general election, and his only challenge could come from an independent candidate. Mr. Morrissey, who won the primary by more than 1,800 votes, now must live up to the expectations he created for voters during the campaign. In this age of Trump, where a shady and dishonest past is the new normal, we hope that Mr. Morrissey can deliver, for the sake of the people.

Vexed Our spirit is vexed by President Trump, whose words and actions seem to undermine the U.S. Constitution, the safety and security of our nation and the ideals we stand for. Where to begin? The president was questioned Tuesday about a Wall Street Journal report that Kim Jong Nam, the half-brother of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, was a CIA informant before he was assassinated in a chemical weapon attack at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in February 2017. According to reports, security camera footage from the trip showed him in a hotel elevator with a man who was said to be a U.S. intelligence operative. Mr. Kim’s backpack held $120,000 in cash, which, according to reports, could have been payment for intelligence-related activities or earnings from his casino businesses. President Trump’s response: “I see that, and I just received a beautiful letter from Kim Jong Un. I think the relationship is very well, but I appreciated the letter. I saw the information about the CIA with regard to his brother or half brother, and I would tell him that would not happen under my auspices. I wouldn’t let that happen under my auspices. I just received a beautiful letter from Kim Jong Un.” In 2018, the United States expelled 60 Russian diplomats after Russian operatives poisoned Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Great Britain. Mr. Skripal, a former Russian military intelligence officer, had acted as a double agent for the UK’s intelligence services in the past. Yet, President Trump says and does nothing about a U.S. intelligence operative being murdered. Instead, he seems to want to console or assure Kim Jong Un that he won’t let U.S. spying against the unstable leader take place again. This is another example of President Trump’s actions and remarks betraying America’s formidable national security and intelligence agencies in favor of one of America’s greatest adversaries. Last summer in Helsinki, he stood just feet from Russian President Vladimir Putin and publicly dissed U.S. intelligence agencies and their findings that Moscow interfered in the 2016 presidential election. Again, it calls into question just who President Trump is working for — the American people or the despots of America’s adversaries. What interests are really controlling the president? While the lily-livered Democrats in Congress are petrified to open impeachment proceedings against a president who unequivocally needs to be removed from office, we are heartened by a Quinnipiac poll released this week showing that six Democratic contenders for president in 2020 would beat President Trump in a head-to-head matchup. Those Democrats are former Vice President Joe Biden; U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren and Corey Booker; and Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind. Mayor Buttigieg and another 2020 Democratic contender, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, will be in Richmond on Saturday, June 15, as keynote speakers at the annual state Democratic Party’s Blue Commonwealth Gala. We will be interested to hear what they have to say. If the Democrats in Congress won’t do their job to remove President Trump, then we’ll push to remove him and the yellowbellied Democrats at the ballot box in November 2020. Bring it on.

Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

Central Park Five: Harrowing, humanizing Many know them as the Central Park Five, but filmmaker Ava DuVernay forces us to see the five wrongfully convicted men as individuals. Their names are names we must remember, as individual, courageous, principled black and brown men. They are Korey Wise, Raymond Santana, Yusef Salaam, Antron McCray and Kevin Richardson. Ms. DuVernay’s new Netflix miniseries, “When They See Us,” asks what “they” see when they see young men of color. They see criminals. They see violence. They don’t see their precious youths. These are youths who were snatched away by a racist criminal injustice system that railroaded them. The 1989 rape of Trisha Meili horrified New York City. But there was no evidence that the five accused young men were the perpetrators. Indeed, much later, another man confessed to her rape. Meanwhile, Raymond, Yusef, Antron, and Kevin were sentenced to five to seven years in prison, with each serving at least five. Korey was 16, and was tried and convicted as an adult. He served 12 years and was brutalized and beaten throughout his incarceration. The racial dynamics of prison life were such that Korey was a target for abuse. “When They See Us” is harrowing and humanizing. It digs into the marrow of the bones of the accused men and their families. It reminds us that the

cost of unjust incarcerations is felt not only by the incarcerated but also by their families. We see the ways families dealt with the unlawful imprisonment of their loved ones. Some hover and hug, some distance themselves, and all of the lives are complicated by the economic challenges that lower-income families face. Who can pay for a decent lawyer? For visits that

Julianne Malveaux may be hundreds of hours, and too many dollars, away from a home base? Who writes? Who can’t write? How do incarcerated people maintain dignity and equilibrium? “When They See Us” is important, not because it tells the story of five young men who were scapegoated, but because it reminds us that this case is but the tip of the iceberg. Thanks to the Innocence Project and other dedicated people, these men were exonerated, their convictions vacated and a financial settlement awarded to them, providing them with about $1 million for every year incarcerated. How many young men of color are unjustly arrested, tried and convicted. How many have been so railroaded that after of hours of interrogation (as with Raymond, Yusef, Antron, Kevin, and Korey), they choose to confess to crimes they did not commit because they are frightened? Their vacated sentences and their financial settlement is some form of vindication, but as they all have said, nothing can bring those years back. Some are angry, some are depressed and some have offered themselves as speakers to talk about the flaws

in the criminal just-us system. Korey Wise, who got the most substantial financial settlement because of the longest time he spent in jail, generously donated $190,000 to the Colorado Innocence Project. The ugly underbelly of this story is the white women who insisted that these young men must have been guilty of something. Linda Fairstein, the prosecutor in the case, is depicted as benign of the rules and withholding evidence. Why? Because she could. She is the epitome of Becky, of Miss Ann, of a white woman who was prepared to ruin young lives, even though there was no evidence to tie them to the rape of Trisha Meili. Ms. Fairstein has been spanked in the court of public opinion, being so vilified that she has stepped down from the board of her alma mater, Vassar College. But she is adamant in her insistence that she did nothing wrong. Even though she lied. Even though there was a weak train of evidence, with no DNA. But she is a privileged white woman who took her ticket to ride into author stardom. The Mystery Writers of America chose to rescind her award. Good for them! And then there is the victim, Trisha Meili. No one should have experienced the brutality that she did. She is entitled to grace, understanding and compassion. She is not entitled to accuse young men whose DNA was not on her, whose alleged attack was not verified. Even as we applaud her survival, we abhor the ways she supports the corrupt Ms. Fairstein and the police officers who coerced false confessions from the accused young men.

Who represents black women?

I can’t remember a time in my adult life when I wasn’t working on justice issues on behalf of people in my community. I’ve worked for the benefit of women who shared my views and some who don’t. But it’s rare that I’m embarrassed about something women are doing. L a t e l y, I’ve taken the time to view a lot of videos of various rappers and tried to give them the benefit of the doubt. I understand the argument about what they do is the life they live. Some say it’s their reality. Well, “My life ain’t been no crystal stair” as the saying goes. I’ve had my ups and my downs, but I’ve always wanted to do better and I’ve tried to help others do the same. We’re better than a lot of what I see. I’ve sat for hours viewing videos that made me sick, but I had a purpose. I didn’t just want to say, “Rapping is the style and some young people who do the really hate-filled and vulgar stuff don’t know any better or aren’t capable of doing something reputable to make a living. Then I began viewing videos that explain how people of

other races lure young people into contributing to their own oppression because they’re so caught up in being a star. They’re lured into horrible things, given money, flashy cars and everything they could ever hope for except decency. They’re introduced to drugs and crime and spending on things they’ll never need — but it becomes a part of their lifestyle.

Dr. E. Faye Williams Then one day they think they’re a star, and get “uppity” enough to ask for their own money instead of having things issued out to them. They then find that other people have gotten rich on them while the rapper, with few exceptions, is actually in debt. I see beautiful and supposedly smart young women resorting to a low life that their parents never taught them. I identify with them simply because they are black and women. I cringe and become drained when I see a group like the one called “City Girls” dancing and prancing and shamelessly using vulgarities in front of white men who appear to be shocked by the sight of what the women are doing. I keep saying to myself, “We’re better than that.” I ask

myself if this is why our ancestors often died to gain opportunities for all of us, including our sisters to be able to be free to do anything we want. Some argue with me, saying they’re exercising their freedom of speech or freedom of expression. I think you will agree those are not freedoms that advance any of our righteous causes. Please look up City Girls Act Up. Look up Cardi B and Nikki Minaj. Ask yourself if this is what the Essence Festival should be promoting as the essence of a black woman. This year, City Girls are invited to the Essence Festival along with former First Lady Michelle Obama. On the one hand, Essence has invited a woman of substance, along with a group with no class. Essence Festival leaders need to hear from you about their choices of who represents black women. Lately, J.T., a member of City Girls, has been forced to experience the “success” of her group behind federal prison bars for a case of fraud. Her lawyer is trying to get her out on good behavior. Look at the City Girls video and see if you can find the good behavior. The writer is national president of the National Congress of Black Women.

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.

I remember 1989. I remember the inflammatory press describing young black and brown men as animals off “wilding.” I remember writing and talking about the inhumanity of their descriptions and about the lies the press inflamed. And I remember one Donald Trump who was so outraged that he spent $85,000 to take out fullpage ads asking that five young men get the death penalty for a crime they did not commit. He has yet to apologize. I am grateful to Ms. DuVernay for her sensitive production of this story, as well as to Ken Burns for an earlier documentary. I am mindful that these accused men are the tip of the iceberg. The coercion that they experienced happens every day. And I am thankful that the Innocence Project supports the wrongfully incarcerated. But I’m mad as hell. What can we do about it? The writer is an economist and author.

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Richmond Free Press

June 13-15, 2019

Letter to the Editor

President Trump is no aberration those who fought in the Civil War, World War I, World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars respectively. No. 45 also is a direct descendant of those presidents who sat by passively as thousands of black folks were lynched and otherwise murdered by white supremacists and racists, mostly in the former Confederate States of America. Their victims included black combat veterans. Therefore, No. 45, a draft dodger, is by no definition an aberration. As for the American voting public, through the years, the overwhelming majority of them looked on, often with relish, as atrocities were committed against black people. They voted for politicians who did little, if anything, to stop or punish the white supremacist-racist terrorists. It was overwhelmingly white American men and

women who put No. 45 into the White House. Not one of them can say that he or she was deceived by him. He made it very clear in the Republican primary campaigns and in the general election campaign who and what he was and is. In fact, that’s one positive thing that can be said about him. No. 45 is the personification of most white males in this country and, unfortunately, a sizable number of black men for whom I have coined

the name “Blawhis,” i.e. black-whites. When, if ever, is the American media going to tell it like it is? No. 45 is not an aberration, and the white American voting public is not composed of bamboozled innocents. A. PETER BAILEY Washington The writer is an author, journalist and lecturer.

Good news, Richmond. It’s your time to choose. Medicaid and FAMIS Open Enrollment is April 19 – June 30.

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About 1 in 12 African Americans have

UnitedHealthcare covers 70 state Medicaid programs across 30 states, serving more than 6 million members.

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Services that are covered include: Assistance for Asthmatics We offer hypoallergenic mattress covers and pillowcases that help. KidsHealth Our KidsHealth resource center provides culturally competent health and wellness resources to educate children, teens and their parents/guardians. Pregnancy Care Get help finding a doctor or OB/GYN you trust in our network and receive the care you need before your baby is born.

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Transportation Coordination of transportation to help you get to and from trips to your doctor and the pharmacy.

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Vision Enhanced Benefit We will provide members under the age of 21 with additional vision services to complement the limited Medicaid vision benefit, that include: exam for all members every 12 months; glasses (or medically necessary contact lenses) for adults — one pair every 24 months; and replacement of glasses once per 12 months if there is a change in vision of +/- 0.5.

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Well Visits Annual physical exams, checkups, shots and lab tests.

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Important help for moms-to-be The Baby Blocks program helps keep members healthy during pregnancy and their baby’s first 15 months of life. The program includes email appointment reminders, a fun program to keep track of appointments and reward cards for clothing and more.

The power to control diabetes is in your hands. Lots of people with diabetes test their own blood sugar regularly. This helps them know if the things they do to control diabetes are working. Then, they can make changes in their diet or activity plan if needed. At your next visit, ask your doctor if testing your own blood sugar should be part of your treatment plan. To learn more about diabetes care, call 1-800-438-5383. Control Your Diabetes. For Life.

Looking for more information about UnitedHealthcare Community Plan? Call 1-844-752-9434, TTY 711 Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. Or visit UHCCommunityPlan.com/VA

Where can I find more information? Eligibility and enrollment information can be found at coverva.org or by calling Cover Virginia at 1-855-242-8282, Monday – Friday from 8 a.m. – 7 p.m.

To learn more about diabetes care, call 1-800-438-5383. Control Your Diabetes. For Life.

NATURAL GAS & OIL: RESPONSIBLY MEETING AMERICA’S ENERGY NEEDS

2⁄3 SUPPLYING

OF AMERICAN ENERGY

NATURAL GAS PRODUCTION IS UP

MORE THAN

57%

(1990–2017)

MORE ENERGY – LESS ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

14%

DECREASE IN CARBON

DIOXIDE EMISSIONS (2007–2017)

The American news media is deceiving the world when it consistently describes No. 45 as an aberration in the history of the United States presidency. Equally deceiving is its describing and romanticizing the American voting public as some kind of godly people devoted to liberty and justice for all citizens of this country. Rather than being an aberration, No. 45 is a direct descendant of the presidents, including Saint George Washington and Saint Thomas Jefferson, who bought, sold, owned and exploited African men, women and children. No. 45 also is a direct descendant of those presidents who did absolutely nothing from the Reconstruction Era through the 1960s as leaders in the former Confederate States of America for economically and politically oppressed black people, including

A10 June 13-15, 2019

Richmond Free Press

Sports Stories by Fred Jeter

Warriors hope to go the distance after Game 5 squeaker Even without Durant, the “Dubs” Inside their blue and gold jerhave plenty of firepower. Game 5 seys still beats the heart of a heroes included the “Splash Brothchampion. ers” — Steph Curry (31 points, The Golden State Warriors are eight rebounds and seven assists) hobbling and clinging to survival, but vs. and Klay Thompson (26 points, six they’re still kicking — or more acrebounds and four assists). curately — and swishing 3-pointers And don’t forget Draymond in a valiant bid for a third straight Green, who had 10 points, eight NBA title. NBA Finals rebounds and the defensive play On Monday night, Coach Steve The Toronto Raptors lead the Golden State of the season — a partial block of Kerr’s squad forced the NBA Finals Warriors 3-2 in the best of seven series. Games Toronto player Kyle Lowry’s lastto a Game 6 with a 106-105 victory televised on ABC. second corner shot that would have over the upstart Toronto Raptors in given the Raptors the title. Canada. Game 6 Thursday, June 13, Toronto at Golden State, 9 p.m. Also in the Warriors’ corner is the It wasn’t without high drama revenge factor — revenge against north of the border. Game 7 the Raptors’ fans. When Durant In gaining the victory, the War(if necessary) tumbled to the floor in obvious pain, riors’ Kevin Durant — MVP of the Sunday, June 16, Golden State at Toronto, 8 p.m. the Toronto fans cheered. past two NBA Finals — suffered “That was classless,” Green said. an Achilles tendon injury in the second quarter and had to be “Trash,” added DeMarcus Cousins. helped off the floor. After the Raptors’ players and superfan Drake pleaded with Among the greatest players in NBA history, Durant will miss the remainder of the finals and may face what could be the fans for better sportsmanship, the crowd at ScotiaBank Arena began to chant, “KD! KD!” career-altering surgery. But the damage was done. “It’s a bizarre feeling we have right now,” Coach Kerr said A barrage of 3-pointers was enough to overcome another in his postgame news conference. “An incredible win and a other-worldly performance by the Raptors’ Kawhi Leonard. The horrible loss all at the same time.” Game 6 will be played Thursday, June 13, at Oracle Arena NBA All-Star had 26 points, 12 rebounds and six assists and in Oakland, Calif. It will be the final game at the facility that surely would have been named MVP of the NBA Finals had the Raptors prevailed. opened in 1966 as Oakland-Alameda Coliseum. The Warriors remained afloat with their usual recipe — threes, The Warriors are moving to the new Chase Center in San threes and more threes. Francisco next season.

Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP

Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant, No. 35, glances up at the stands as he is helped off the court Monday night after sustaining an injury to his Achilles tendon during Game 5 of the NBA Finals.

The visitors were 20-for-42 behind the arc, with Curry and Thompson accounting for 12 hits. Durant was 3-for-3 from the distance before his injury. Overall, 42 of the Warriors’ 82 shots were launched from behind the arc. The Warriors hope to add an exclamation point to their farewell season at the Oracle. The Californians are eyeing a third straight title and the fourth in five years. The Oakland arena is the oldest in the NBA and the team doesn’t want to depart as losers. On April 7, the Warriors closed their regular season at the Oracle by pulling out their throwback “We Believe” uniforms from 2010. Based on the spirited play in Game 5, nothing — not even a crushing injury to one of the sports’ all-time greats — has shaken that belief.

4 John Marshall basketball players sign with college teams Years ago, the basketball coaches and players at Richmond’s John Marshall High School sowed the seeds of success, which have been watered with the perspiration of hard work. Now the players are harvesting the rewards. Four members of the John Marshall Justices basketball team signed full scholarship offers in a trumpeted ceremony June 5 in the school library that drew an overflow audience of family, friends and media. Under Coach Ty White, the seniors helped the North Side school to the State Class 3 championship in 2018 and to the state semifinals this past season. The signees are: • DeMarr McRae — The four-year starter will continue his education and basketball at Livingstone College in Salisbury, N.C. The Blue Bears won CIAA titles in 2011, 2014

MJBL Inner City Classic set for July 30-Aug. 4 The Metropolitan Junior Baseball League Inner City Classic is returning to the Richmond area. Games featuring youngsters in age groups from 19 and under are set for July 30 through Aug. 4 at a variety of diamonds in Richmond and Henrico County. The Inner City Classic was last played in the Richmond area in 2014. The event also features the Bobby Bonds Memorial Symposium focusing on issues that plague youths in African-American communities. Founded in Richmond, the MJBL is now in its 53rd year of operations. While the MJBL focuses on the inner city, its programs are open to all youth baseball organizations. Details: www.mjbl.org.

Mariah Stackhouse narrowly misses LPGA win Mariah Stackhouse’s bid to become first African-American to win an LPGA event came up a few shots short. The 25-year-old, former Stanford University standout flirted with the lead and finished in a tie for fifth at the ShopRite Classic in Galloway, N.J., last Sunday. Stackhouse was just one shot off the lead starting Sunday’s final round in the 54hole event that was won by Lexi Thompson. E a r n i n g $60,758, Stackhouse had rounds of 66 and 67 before slipping to a final Mariah Stackhouse round 74. It was her top performance in three seasons on the tour. Stackhouse, a cousin of former University of North Carolina and NBA standout Jerry Stackhouse, was born in Charlotte, N.C., and went to high school in Riverdale, Ga. The 5-foot-6 righthander helped Stanford to the 2015 NCAA women’s golf title. In 2014, she became the first African-American to be selected to the Curtis Cup team. Currently, the only other African-American on the LPGA tour is Cheyenne Woods, niece of Tiger Woods. There is a short list of African-American women with LPGA résumés. Althea Gibson was the first in 1964. Renee Powell was on the circuit from 1967 to 1980. LaRee Sugg of Matoaca High School in Chesterfield County also competed on the circuit from 1992 to 2001.

Ava Reaves

Four John Marshall basketball players reveal their college choices at a ceremony June 5 at the North Side high school. They are, from left, Aubrey Merritt, DeMarr McRae, Levar Allen and Tre Harris-McKenzie.

and 2015 under Coach James Stinson. • Levar Allen — A four-year starter, the play-making guard is headed to Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven. The Owls compete in the NCAA Division II Northeast 10 Conference. • Aubrey Merritt — The quick, do-it-all guard has signed with Life University in Marietta, Ga. The Running Eagles compete under the NAIA umbrella in the Mid-South Conference.

• Tre Harris-McKenzie — After serving as a key man coming off the John Marshall bench, he is headed to Thomas Nelson Community College in Hampton. The Gators compete on the junior college circuit. There’s more to come. A fifth senior on the team, Jairus Ashlock, is still involved in the recruiting process and will announce his collegiate destination in the coming weeks.

Vanderbilt’s Kumar Rocker throws no-hitter to land in NCAA record book

Kumar Rocker

Kumar Rocker is the talk of college baseball as the NCAA World Series is set to begin in Omaha, Neb. The Vanderbilt University freshman threw a no-hitter with 19 strikeouts in the Commodores’ 3-0 win over Duke University on June 8 in the NCAA Super Regional in Nashville. It was only the eighth no-hitter in NCAA Tournament history. Rocker’s fastball was timed as fast as 99 mph. Rocker is a 6-foot-4, 225-pound, right-hander from Athens, Ga. His seasonal record is 10-5, with a 3.50 earned run average and 97 strikeouts in 87.1 innings. Rocker’s father is Tracy Rocker, a former football standout at Auburn University who later played with the Washington NFL team in 1989 and 1990. The College World Series is June 15 through 25 at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha.

Benedictine’s Jamari Baylor drafted in MLB third round by Philadelphia Phillies Jamari Baylor is about to become a wealthy teenager. The former Benedictine College Preparatory school shortstop soon will sign a professional baseball contract with the Philadelphia Phillies. Baylor was selected by the Phillies on June 4 in the third round of the Major League Baseball draft. He was the 91st pick overall. MLB suggests signing bonuses based on the slot taken in the draft. The suggested bonus for the 91st pick is $647,300, although it can vary. The 5-foot-11, 190-pound Baylor likely will launch his pro career with the Advanced Class A Clearwater Threshers of the Florida State League. If successful, the next rung up the Phils’ minor league ladder would be Jamari the Class AA Reading Fightin’ Phils of Reading, Penn., in the Eastern League. That would set up possible homecomings at The Diamond against the Richmond Flying Squirrels. Baylor hit .412, with seven homers and 21 runs batted in, this past spring in helping Benedictine to the Virginia Independent Schools state title.

Had the draft not gone so well, Baylor likely would have enrolled at Louisburg College in North Carolina. Baylor shines in all areas. In addition to his hitting and smooth glove, he has run the 60-yard dash in 6.59 seconds at Perfect Game showcases and has been timed throwing a baseball at 92 mph. The Phillies haven’t decided what position he will focus on professionally. He also could play second base or move to the outfield. Philadelphia’s first round and overall 14th pick also was a shortstop, Bryson Scott from the University of NevadaLas Vegas. Baylor won’t be Benedictine’s first baseball standout to go pro. Former Cadet Granny Hamner was a big league Baylor infielder from 1944 to 1962. Frank Carpin pitched in the majors in 1965 and 1966. Also infielder Tracy Woodson played big league ball from 1987 to 1993 and was a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 1988 World Series champions. Tom Lukish pitched in the minor leagues from 1980 to 1984, advancing as high as the AAA Syracuse Chiefs.

June 13-15, 2019 B1

Richmond Free Press

Section

Happenings

Personality: Anne Moss Rogers Spotlight on recipient of 2019 Pat Asch Fellowship for Social Justice Anne Moss Rogers wants to foster a “culture of connection” to help prevent suicide. Being selected as the 2019 recipient of the YWCA’s Pat Asch Fellowship for Social Justice will help her achieve that goal. The award is designed to support the work or professional development of a woman age 50 or older with a vision for change in her own life and the drive to make positive change in the Greater Richmond community. Ms. Rogers, a professional speaker and writer, plans to use her fellowship and $17,500 to further the cause of youth suicide prevention, a cause she took up following the 2015 death of her 20-year-old son, Charles. After his death, she started a blog, EmotionallyNaked. com, and chronicled her family’s tragedy. She writes openly about her son, his struggles and triumphs, as well as the impact his death has had on their family. Her posts have gone viral. One young woman, Ms. Rogers reports, messaged her saying one of the blog posts helped save her life. Ms. Rogers says she then sold her digital marketing business to pursue writing and speaking about taboo topics of mental illness, addiction and suicide. She says it has been a lonely journey at times, and expresses gratitude for the YWCA’s support with awarding her the Asch Fellowship.

She says she will use the award toward more education, workshops and personal training. “To teach some of the workshops I teach and grow that avenue, I need training so that I will have more credentials other than lived experience,” Ms. Rogers says. “And I need to make connections at major conferences and attend sessions related to the topics of youth suicide.” Already, Ms. Rogers is moving toward her goals. She says she was the first suicide loss survivor ever invited to speak at the National Institute of Mental Health. And her book about the loss of her son, “Diary of a Broken Mind,” is due out in October. All of this is geared toward fostering a “culture of connection,” she says. “Had anybody talked to me about suicide, it may have registered to me in Charles’last phone call that he was asking for help.” “The key,” she says, “is to get people to listen to what other people say and react to that strange gut feeling listeners have. Then recognize what that person said is not normal while realizing the need to act on that feeling. Then ask that person if they would like to talk.” When Ms. Rogers sees postings on her blog or Facebook page where someone says something that is not normal or indicates something is afoot, she goes behind the scenes

They were someone suffering an unimaginable amount of emotional pain and, in that moment, thought the world would be better off without them. They were not sinners. “Those conversations are the foundation for healing,” she says, “because the more you try to avoid your pain, the more it will hurt and the longer you will be stuck in that hurt.” Meet suicide prevention activist and this week’s Personality, Anne Moss Rogers:

and sends them a private message. “I ask, ‘How are you doing? Are you thinking about suicide?’ About 50 percent of the time, I have gotten back an answer saying, ‘Yes, I am. What do you think I should do?’ ” In many cases, face-to-face interactions or connecting with a person through social media when they are feeling that way, “gives you the opportunity to talk to them in private or sit down to just listen. That alone can prevent suicide in many cases,” she says. Her message for families and friends left in the wake of a suicide? “It’s OK to talk about that person and remember them.

Latest accomplishment: Recipient of YWCA 2019 Pat Asch Fellowship for Social Justice. Occupation: Owner, Emotionally Naked LLC. Date and place of birth: 1962 in Fayetteville, N.C. Current residence: Richmond. Family: Husband, Randy Rogers, and two sons, Richard and Charles. Charles died by suicide in 2015. Education: Bachelor’s in journalism, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. First reaction to learning I was awarded the Asch Fellowship: Shock, thrill, then back to shock. “I really won? Is this real?” Then I ran upstairs to tell my husband because

he was working at home that day, told my mom, then my in-laws. Meaning of fellowship to me: For the first time, I feel the support of a major organization, the YWCA, for a topic that has not traditionally been easy to talk about or garner support for given myths about this cause of death. As a Pat Asch Fellow, I will pursue: The prevention of youth suicide by taking a closer look at the trauma in youth that often leads to the mental illness and addiction that are triggers to this cause of death. Impact I hope to have: I want to foster a culture of connection to prevent suicide and for that to happen, a whole lot of education needs to happen. It’s not just me but all of us who can prevent suicide if we know what to look for and what people say and how to react. People think they are not qualified. But the single most important thing any of us can do is to use our ears. The guidance and exposure through the YWCA will allow me to get my message in front of more people and open doors for speaking that will help move that message forward.

A quote that inspires me: I have two: “Even in darkness, sometimes sunshine shines through the blinds.” — Charles Aubrey Rogers (my late son) and “Well-behaved women seldom make history.”— Laurel Thatcher Ulrich. Something I love to do that most people would never imagine: I love to look at website statistics because they are so telling of future trends and what people are thinking. The best thing my parents ever taught me: Do what you say you are going to do. At the top of my “to-do” list: Take a little time for me first because if I don’t, I won’t have anything in my gas tank for others. The person who influenced me the most: I study all successful women — local to international — and look at that which makes them successful and put those traits in a file in my head to pull out that resource when I need it. Book that influenced me the most: “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Viktor E. Frankl.

Three words that best describe me: Emotionally naked, passionate and bold.

What I’m reading now: “American Fix: Inside the Opioid Addiction Crisis – and How to End It” by Ryan Hampton.

How I start the day: Despite the fact I’ve suffered the loss of a child to suicide, I wake up thinking about that for which I am grateful.

Next goal: To sell my book so people understand suicide and addiction and their loved ones who suffer from these diseases.

Forensic Science in an Opioid Landscape Featuring

MICHELLE PEACE, MFS, PhD Associate Professor, Department of Forensic Science, Virginia Commonwealth University

MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2019 The Hof • 2818 W. Broad St, Richmond, VA Doors Open 6:00 PM • Program Begins 7:00 PM FREE Event • 21 & Up • Limited Seating • Food and Drink Available for Purchase Designer opioid abuse is not new in the United States, yet the current epidemic brings new and more widespread challenges. Small towns, big cities, town courthouses and federal agencies are all grappling with defining the problem and finding solutions across the sectors of public health, public safety and criminal justice. Dr. Peace will share the history of opioid abuse in the United States and define the current challenge and efforts to combat the epidemic, particularly as it pertains to U.S. crime labs.

For more information go to ideastations.org/sciencepub Presented by

Richmond Free Press

B2 June 13-15, 2019

Happenings

City to host 3-day celebration honoring Arthur Ashe Jr.

Arthur Ashe

Three days of celebrating Arthur Ashe Jr. Next week, Richmondâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s focus will be on honoring the late hometown tennis star and humanitarian. The celebration that starts on Thursday, June 20, will be capped at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 22, with the ceremonial unveiling of new street signs for Arthur Ashe Boulevard between Westwood Avenue, the Arthur Ashe Center and the once whites-only Byrd Park tennis courts from which Mr. Ashe was turned away as a youth. Thousands of people are expected to turn out for the main event as the Ashe family joins elected officials and a host of others to celebrate the renaming of the 2.5-mile street long known now as The Boulevard. Georgia Congressman John R. Lewis, a civil rights icon, is to deliver the keynote address at the event that will take place at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture,

Friends of Battery Park to celebrate Mr. Ashe Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not on the official schedule, but Richmondâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Battery Park will be offering its own salute to the late Arthur Ashe Jr. next weekend, it has been announced. The Friends of Battery Park, a park support group, is planning a public celebration of the tennis great, humanitarian and hometown hero 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 22, at the North Side park at Overbook Road and Hawthorne Avenue whose tennis

courts are named for Mr. Ashe. The festive event will include tennis skill games for ages 5 and up, music and the dedication of a park tunnel that features murals created by artist Sir James Thornhill and others to tell the story of Mr. Asheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life and impact. The celebration is free and open to the public. Details: (804) 329-9779, www.enrichmond. org/partners/friends-of-battery-park.

428 Arthur Ashe Blvd. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Arthur Ashe is one of Richmondâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s true champions,â&#x20AC;? Mayor Levar M. Stoney stated. Along with reaching the pinnacle of the sport with three grand slam wins, Mr. Ashe was a â&#x20AC;&#x153;champion for equality and social justice who is more than worthy of this honor,â&#x20AC;? the mayor noted. Mr. Ashe battled racism at home, apartheid in South Africa and oppression in Haiti. He also brought awareness to the AIDS epidemic and the need for research funding after contracting the disease through a blood transfusion during heart bypass surgery. He died of complications from the disease in February 1993. He also launched the now defunct Virginia Heroes mentoring program for Richmond Public Schools students and sought to bring recognition to long ignored black sports heroes. The family is proud of Richmondâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s latest recognition for Mr. Ashe, who also is honored with a statue on Monument Avenue. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is an extremely moving time for my family, but I think itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also a tremendous success for Richmond as a progressive city,â&#x20AC;? said David Harris, a concrete company executive whose helped push the third and ultimately successful effort to get the street renamed for his uncle. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Not only will everyone be coming together to celebrate our local, world-renowned tennis legend, but weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re also putting a stake in the ground for Arthur Asheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s legacy of social justice, which is good for all of us.â&#x20AC;?

Denzel receives AFIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Lifetime Achievement Award

LOS ANGELES Denzel Washington was the man of the hour June 6 with everyone from Spike Lee to Julia Roberts turning out to celebrate him as this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recipient of the American Film Instituteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Life Achievement Award. But when Mr. Washington finally took the stage to accept the honor, he did something unexpected. At his own award ceremony, he turned the spotlight away from himself and gave his wife of 40 years, Pauletta Washington, her own standing ovation. The crowd of multigenerational Hollywood A-listers, from Michael B. Jordan and Mahershala Ali to Cicely Tyson and Morgan Freeman, readily obliged. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I would not be alive without Pauletta Washington,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t survive.â&#x20AC;? Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a difficult task to have a moment stand out in an evening that included a surprise appearance by BeyoncĂŠ, who was there briefly to present an honor to director Melina Matsoukas, and an earth-shattering rendition of Sam Cookeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;A Change is Gonna Comeâ&#x20AC;? by Jennifer Hudson that brought Mr. Washington to his feet, but he managed to do it. As Ms. Tyson and others attested throughout the evening, two-time Academy Award-winner Mr. Washington is a family man first. Seated alongside Pauletta Washington, his son Malcolm Washington, Mr. Lee, Ms. Tyson and directors Carl Franklin and Ed Zwick, the 64-year-old was for two hours taken on an emotional tour through his storied career in Hollywood â&#x20AC;&#x201D; from eager newcomer to movie star to acclaimed director â&#x20AC;&#x201D; by those who were by his side. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re all here because we love Denzel,â&#x20AC;? said Mr. Lee, who has directed Mr. Washington in four movies (â&#x20AC;&#x153;Moâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Better Blues,â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;He Got Game,â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Malcolm Xâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;Inside Manâ&#x20AC;?). â&#x20AC;&#x153;Denzel represents our black manhood.â&#x20AC;? Mr. Lee, the final speaker of the evening, likened Mr. Washington to other â&#x20AC;&#x153;G.O.A.Tsâ&#x20AC;? (greatest of all time) like Michael Jordan,

Ella Fitzgerald and Miles Davis. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the rarefied air that Denzel Washington lives and breathes in,â&#x20AC;? Mr. Lee said. Mr. Lee also said that, although he might be biased, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Malcolm X is the greatest performance ever committed to celluloid.â&#x20AC;? And others were just as effusive. Ms. Roberts recalled that working with him on â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Pelican Briefâ&#x20AC;? was like â&#x20AC;&#x153;working with The Beatles.â&#x20AC;? He is, as Jamie Foxx put it, â&#x20AC;&#x153;someone who is just better than everybody else ... when it comes to acting!â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Even Leonardo DiCaprio is like, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;I am really frightened of Denzel,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;? Mr. Foxx added. The American Film Institute brought out a host of the next generationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s brightest talents to talk about Mr. Washingtonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s impact on them. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mr. Washingtonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s arrival was a seismic moment for my generation. You paved the way,â&#x20AC;? Mr. Ali said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Your influence, your reach, transcends race without ever denying it.â&#x20AC;? Michael B. Jordan said he was inspired by the story that while filming â&#x20AC;&#x153;Glory,â&#x20AC;? Mr. Washington kept wearing his fake scars in a scene where he had his shirt on. Mr. Jordan employed the same technique for his â&#x20AC;&#x153;Black Pantherâ&#x20AC;? character. Chadwick Boseman even went so far as to say, â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is no â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Black Pantherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; without Denzel Washington.â&#x20AC;? Issa Rae brought Mr. Washington to tears of laughter as she recounted the very adult noises she remembers her mom and aunt making while watching his movies when she was a little girl. She came to understand it, she said, when she watched â&#x20AC;&#x153;Devil in A Blue Dressâ&#x20AC;? when she was a little older. Mr. Washington stayed alert and amused throughout the evening, laughing heartily when Jodie Foster yelled, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Let it out, Morgan!â&#x20AC;? when Mr. Freeman took a long pause after announcing with an expletive how jealous he was. He and Mr. Lee were as playful as schoolboys during the

Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

Denzel Washington addresses the audience during the American Film Institute ceremony honoring him on June 6.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;hoodwinked and bamboozledâ&#x20AC;? speech from â&#x20AC;&#x153;Malcolm X,â&#x20AC;? reciting the lines along with the reel, and he accepted a long line of well-wishers during the dinner break. And when it finally came time for him to speak, in addition to thanking his wife for â&#x20AC;&#x153;40 years of sacrifice and 40 years of forgiveness,â&#x20AC;? Mr. Washington used his moment on stage to talk about God and those who have helped him along the way. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If nothing else, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m living proof of the power of God,â&#x20AC;? Mr. Washington said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I like acting. I like making movies ... But my love for God is stronger than anything else.â&#x20AC;? The 47th AFI Life Achievement Award Gala, put on with the support of Audi, also recognized Ms. Matsoukas with the Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal, providing everyone with an early thrill when BeyoncĂŠ came out to speak about her friend and collaborator, who directed her â&#x20AC;&#x153;Formationâ&#x20AC;? video among others. â&#x20AC;&#x153;She is holding up a mirror for people who look like you and me to see ourselves, saying, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;You are beautiful and your stories matter,â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? BeyoncĂŠ said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;She stays authentic to her roots and femininity in an industry dominated by men.â&#x20AC;? The ceremony will be broadcast on TNT at 10 p.m. on Thursday, June 20.

A Master-plan Update and Community Conversation

Tuesday, June 18th 6:00-7:00 p.m. Richmond Public Library 101 E. Franklin St. Richmond, VA

Enjoying the music Richmond band Mahogany Soul entertains the crowd at Chimborazo Park last Saturday for the RVA East End Festival. The two-day, free event featured a broad range of musical groups â&#x20AC;&#x201D; from Richmond Public Schools groups to the Richmond Symphony. This was the fourth year for the festival, which raises money through individual donations and corporate and foundation support to bolster music and arts programs in city schools in the East End.

Thursday, June 20 â&#x20AC;˘ Arthur Ashe Boulevard Social Justice Forum, 7 to 9 p.m., Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 200 Arthur Ashe Blvd. Program examines Mr. Asheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s legacy in social justice. Friday, June 21 â&#x20AC;˘ Arthur Ashe Boulevard Tennis Under the Lights Event & Movies at the Park, 6 to 9 p.m. Byrd Park Tennis Courts. Doubles tennis play for all on the courts, plus a showing of â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Lego Movie 2: The Second Partâ&#x20AC;? at 8 p.m. â&#x20AC;˘ Arthur Ashe Boulevard Kickoff Celebration & Bowling Party â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 7 p.m. to midnight, River City Roll, 939 Myers St. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Free family bowling, 7 to 9 p.m., and live music, 9 p.m. to midnight. Saturday, June 22 â&#x20AC;˘ Arthur Ashe Boulevard Unveiling Ceremony, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Virginia Museum of History & Culture, 428 Arthur Ashe Blvd. â&#x20AC;˘ Opening of exhibit â&#x20AC;&#x153;Determined: The 400-Year Struggle for Black Equality,â&#x20AC;? 12:30 to 5 p.m., Virginia Museum of History & Culture, free tour of new exhibition on the black experience in Virginia. â&#x20AC;˘ Arthur Ashe Boulevard Community Celebration, 1 to 5 p.m., Arthur Ashe Jr. Athletic Center, 3001 Arthur Ashe Blvd., community celebration with tennis clinics for youngsters and adults. â&#x20AC;˘ Arthur Ashe Boulevard After Party, 8 to 11 p.m., The Graduate Richmond, 301 W. Franklin St. All events are listed as being family friendly and open to the public without charge.

63rd Festival of Arts opens this weekend at Dogwood Dell

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Sunday, June 30th 12:30-1:30 p.m.

Corey El, an up-and-coming local R&B, urban pop and soul singer, songwriter and music producer, will be among the headliners when the city-sponsored 63rd Festival of Arts at Dogwood Dell opens this weekend at the amphitheater in the Byrd Park. The son of multi-instrumental jazz musician Carl Lester-El with five albums and multiple tracks to his credit, Corey El is scheduled to bring his contagious melodies, playful beats and sharp lyrics to the Dogwood Dell stage at 8 p.m. Sunday, June 16. Festival of Arts is a free showcase of music, dance and entertainment presented by the Richmond Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities that runs through Aug. 31. The first weekend will open 8 p.m. Friday, June 14, featuring British pop group English Channel. On Saturday, June 15, the beach pop music group KOS Band will perform at 8 p.m. The weekend shows will continue with the reggae group Mighty Joshua appearing at 8 p.m. Friday, June 21, and the celebrated funk and jazz fusion group Plunky & Oneness performing at 8 p.m. Saturday, June 22. That weekend will wrap up with a variety show, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Cabaret Night Under the Stars,â&#x20AC;? at 7 p.m. Sunday, June 23. Seasonal highlights also include the showing of a silent movie, romance-thriller â&#x20AC;&#x153;Safety Last!â&#x20AC;? on June 30; an Independence Day concert and fireworks on Thursday, July 4; and Sheilah Belleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 10th Annual Gospel Festival on Sunday, July 14. The season also will include â&#x20AC;&#x153;Matilda the Musical,â&#x20AC;? opening Friday, July 26, for a two-weekend run; dance performances by the African dance group Ezibu Muntu on Thursday, Aug. 8, and the City Dance Theatre on Friday, Aug. 9, and an AfroFest grand finale from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 31. The menu of 18 different shows and events also will include Richmond area performers of rock, jazz, bluegrass, Latino and Appalachian and Roots music. Details and a full schedule: www.richmondgov.com/parks or (804) 646-1437 or (804) 646-3355. DIAMONDS â&#x20AC;˘ WATCHES JEWELRY â&#x20AC;˘ REPAIRS 19 EAST BROAD STREET RICHMOND, VA 23219 (804) 648-1044

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Richmond Free Press

June 13-15, 2019 B3

Happenings Remembering Dads on Father’s Day Father’s Day is Sunday, June 16. It’s a day for letting dads, or the father figures in our lives, know how much we appreciate them by taking them out to eat and just kicking back and remembering the good times shared.

Aside from the dad jokes, fathers are usually known for their priceless nuggets of advice and teachable moments. The Free Press recently asked people around town:

What is the most important lesson your father taught you?

Linnea Nelson, 26, North Chesterfield, freelance writer: “To always value and appreciate beauty, whether in the natural world or in the arts or in any form — to always respect beauty.”

Levern “Moose” Flemming, 50, Highland Park, moving company operations manager: “He taught me respect — to take care of your family. I have eight kids and I’m taking care of all of them. And to always respect women and respect your elders.”

Nandhitha Agaram, 44, Glen Allen, librarian: “Value everybody the same, be respectful of what they do or what position they have in their life. It’s not about how much they earn or what religion they are. Everybody is the same and you treat everybody the same.”

Bobby Williams, 50, Downtown, property manager: “To work hard, stay out of trouble and put family first. You’ve got to work hard (and) help out around the house. You’ve got to take care of your children. And respect people.”

Lt. Andrea McCoy Garrett, 41, Downtown, U.S. Navy: “My father always taught me to go after math and science and never to stop learning. And I think I keep that alive.”

Interviews and photos by Nia Tariq

Gabriel Dixon, 24, North Side, intern in health care administration program: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. My father is the type to give the clothes off his back right then and there and then go out and buy you a whole other wardrobe … I’ve definitely grown from that and practiced it, and I like to instill it in the people I come across.”

Brianna Thomas, 6, Hanover County, elementary school student: “To ride a bike with no training wheels, so I can ride my bike every single day.”

‘Juneteenth: A Freedom Celebration’ set for this weekend On June 19, 1865, U.S. Gen. Gordon Granger took control of Texas, the last major element of the defeated Confederacy, and immediately announced, “All slaves are free.” His words triggered celebrations. Those June 19th freedom celebrations are marked today with “Juneteenth” celebrations in Richmond and cities around the country. Richmond will host a three-day “Juneteenth: A Freedom Celebration” this weekend under the leadership of the Downtownbased Elegba Folklore Society, it has been announced. “This event is about acknowledgment of the Africans who were brought to Richmond in bondage,” said Janine Y. Bell, founder and executive director of the Elegba Folklore Society. Juneteenth also is an opportunity “to reclaim and learn about the hidden history” of those who were forcibly brought here, about the challenges they and their children faced and about the contributions during the now 400 years in which Africans have been part of this state, she said. The celebration will kick off 7 p.m. Friday, June 14, at Main Street Station, 1500 E. Main St., with a symposium featuring

African culture expert and author Dr. Molefi K. Asante, chair of the Department of Africology and African-American Studies at Temple University. Dr.Asante said he would use the opportunity to educate about and advocate forAfrocentricity as a way to address issues that linger from the separation ofAfricans from their “philosophies, languages, religions, myths and cultures” after Dr. Asante being brought to America. “Finding a way to reorient our thinking is essential to the presentation of an African cultural reality,” he said. Tickets for Dr. Asante’s talk are $10 in advance and $11 at the door; $5 for youths ages 12 to 18. Children under 12 accompanied by an adult are free. The main event will take place Saturday, June 15, at Ancarrow’s Landing- Manchester Dock, once infamous as a landing site for slave ships on the James River at 1308 Brander St. off the eastern end of Maury Street in South Side. Tagged “Independence Day Our Way” the family friendly, music-

THE NEXT

filled event will begin at 3 p.m. and end with a torchlight walk along the Richmond Trail of Enslaved Africans, according to Ms. Bell. Featured activities will include heritage crafts and jump rope and hula hoop contests for children, African dance and drum workshops and the party sounds of DJ Drake, she said, while Dr. Asante will led a “Get Woke Youth Summit” at 3 p.m. at the site for young people ages 10 to 20, she said. Admission is free on Saturday and at the final event, “Homage to Ancestors” at 3 p.m. Sunday, June 16, at the historic African Burial Ground, 1601 E. Broad St. Sunday’s event will include a spiritual ceremony, drumming and song and altar offerings brought by participants. Mayegun “Baba Femi” Obafemi Fayemi, leader of a Houstonbased spiritual institute, and followers from a Norfolk-based branch of the institute are to lead the program, Ms. Bell said. Supporters of Juneteenth include Richmond Region Tourism, Dominion Energy and the City of Richmond and its Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities. Details and tickets: Elegba Folklore Society, (804) 644-3900 or www.efsinc.org.

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B4 June 13-15, 2019

Faith News/Directory

Boston church stamping Harriet Tubman on its $20 bills Aysha Khan Religion News Service

Three years ago, the Treasury Department announced that it would put Harriet Tubmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s face on the front of the $20 bill by 2020. A portrait of the abolitionist, championed by activists, would replace that of President Andrew Jackson, who would be moved to the back of the bill. Then, in late May, the government walked back its plan. The imageâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s redesign likely would not come up until 2028, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin declared. But that didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t end the matter at Hope Central Church in Boston. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The U.S. Treasury said they will not,â&#x20AC;? the Rev. Laura Ruth Jarrett told her congregation in the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s diverse Jamaica Plain neighborhood last week. â&#x20AC;&#x153;And we say we will.â&#x20AC;? Since May 2, the church, affiliated with the United Church of Christ and Disciples of Christ, has been stamping all $20 bills from its offering plates with Ms. Tubmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s face. It is, Rev. Jarrett said, a â&#x20AC;&#x153;worthy replacement.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m taking such pleasure in this. Mr. Trail of Tears, gone!â&#x20AC;? laughed Ann Potter, who counts offerings for HCC, as she covered the former presidentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s face on bill after bill. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Andrew Jackson is not my favorite president.â&#x20AC;? Records show that President Jackson, the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s seventh president and a staunch antiabolitionist, owned as many as 160 slaves. His role in the forced relocation of an estimated 60,000 Native Americans, in part to expand U.S. slave ownership and make room for more plantations, led to the death of tens of thousands of native people. More than 4,000 Cherokees, who nicknamed him â&#x20AC;&#x153;Indian killer,â&#x20AC;? died on their march west along the Trail of Tears. Ms. Tubman, who was chosen from thousands

Aysha Khazn/RNS

A U.S. $20 bill from the offering plate at Hope Central Church in Boston is stamped with the face of abolitionist Harriet Tubman on June 2.

of nominations as the new face of the $20 bill, would have become the first African-American on paper money. The addition of Ms. Tubman to the bill was planned for next year, to mark the 100th anniversary of womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s suffrage in America. After Ms. Tubman escaped the Maryland plantation where she was born into slavery, she returned to the South to help hundreds of other enslaved people to freedom through the Underground Railroad. Later, she worked as a Union spy during the Civil War. Congregant Marylou Steeden said she has noticed the number of $20 bills in the churchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Sunday plate increase since the church began stamping them. On Sunday, June 2, after their Ascension Day service, they collected eight $20 bills. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Everyone who does this just gets giddy about it,â&#x20AC;? Ms. Steeden said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It just feels so

good, like a little rebellion.â&#x20AC;? The stamps were originally created by Brooklyn, N.Y., designer Dano Wall two years ago as part of an effort to ignite conversation about the delayed plan to replace President Jacksonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s image. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Putting Harriet Tubman on the front of the $20 bill would have constituted a monumental symbolic change, disrupting the pattern of white men who appear on our bills,â&#x20AC;? he told The Washington Post. Mr. Wall has sold hundreds of the stamps online, giving the proceeds to charity. His blueprint of the stamp for a 3D printer is available for free. Hope Central Church congregant Greg Buckland, who teaches at a community makerspace known as a Fab Lab in the nearby Dorchester neighborhood, printed out the 3D design for the church, a process that involves about $2

worth of 3D printer filament and $2 worth of rubber, he said. Another local minister has already reached out to ask Mr. Buckland to produce another stamp for his congregation. The project makes for a great pairing between congregations and local makerspaces, he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When Rev. Laura Ruth approached me about making the Tubman Stamp, I was excited, because our Fab Lab serves predominantly low-income and people of color communities, and this aligns with our values of justice and inclusion,â&#x20AC;? Mr. Buckland explained via email. Hope Central Church is considering becoming a stamping station for anyone seeking to stamp their dollar bills with Ms. Tubmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s image. The mostly white congregation, formed in the spring of 2010 through the merger of two local church communities, prides itself on its inclusivity and commitment to racial equity. A large â&#x20AC;&#x153;Black Lives Matterâ&#x20AC;? poster hangs above the entrance to the church, and a â&#x20AC;&#x153;Stand Against Racismâ&#x20AC;? poster hangs inside. The churchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s volunteer racial justice team meets with Rev. Jarrett monthly to brainstorm ways to serve local communities. Last week, church leaders participated in a Black Lives Matter vigil, and next year, they hope to lead a pilgrimage to Alabamaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new memorial to victims of lynching. The Ascension Day service included prayers for all people affected by gun violence, debt, addiction, the school-to-prison pipeline and other local crises and began with a welcome message to â&#x20AC;&#x153;people of all colors, cultures, abilities, sexual orientations and gender expressions.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;We do not value the colonialism of white supremacy,â&#x20AC;? Rev. Jarrett told her congregants. â&#x20AC;&#x153;â&#x20AC;Ś Our work is not to provide charity, but rather to provide reparation, to give back what we stole.â&#x20AC;?

SBC president: Racial insensitivity disregards the gospel dining with Christians from Gentile backgrounds. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The gospel teaches us that BIRMINGHAM, Ala. thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s only one kind of person Speaking at a black church â&#x20AC;&#x201D; human,â&#x20AC;? Dr. Greear said. last Sunday in a city that is nearly â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve all got the same problem 75 percent Africanâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; sin.â&#x20AC;? American, the presiAs some 8,000 dent of the Southern Southern Baptists Baptist Convention, arrive in a city once Dr. J.D. Greear, said called by experts white Christians who â&#x20AC;&#x153;the most segregated are racially insensiin the country,â&#x20AC;? Dr. tive are disregarding Greear expressed the gospel. hope that Southern â&#x20AC;&#x153;I do not need to Baptists also may tell this church the amend their conDr. Greear church of the West stitution to remove has had a horrible history of churches that affirm racially racism,â&#x20AC;? Dr. Greear, a pastor discriminatory behavior. in North Carolina, told Sixth â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m praying that even with Avenue Baptist Church. our past history on it, that Birâ&#x20AC;&#x153;And thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s one primary rea- mingham for us this year will son that that happened: Christians be a big step forward in the hope lost touch with the gospel.â&#x20AC;? and the healing,â&#x20AC;? Dr. Greear said Dr. Greear, who had come to in an interview following the Birmingham for the upcoming church service. annual meeting of the Southern In his 40-minute sermon, Dr. Baptist Convention, cited a Greear preached that Jesus was verse from the New Testament an equal-opportunity savior. book of Galatians in which he â&#x20AC;&#x153;In Christ, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re capable of said the Apostle Paul issued a the same gifting and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re derebuke about â&#x20AC;&#x153;segregated eat- serving of the same dignity,â&#x20AC;? he ingâ&#x20AC;? when some Christians from said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Jesus was not resurrected Jewish backgrounds stopped as a white man or a black man

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Union Baptist Church

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ď&#x20AC;&#x2014;ď&#x20AC;&#x152;ď&#x20AC;&#x2DC;ď&#x20AC;&#x160;ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;&#x2018;ď&#x20AC;?ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;&#x2122;ď&#x20AC;&#x2022;ď&#x20AC;&#x201C;ď&#x20AC;&#x161;ď&#x20AC;&#x201A;ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;&#x2021;ď&#x20AC;&#x203A;ď&#x20AC;&#x201E;ď&#x20AC;&#x2022;ď&#x20AC;&#x2022;ď&#x20AC;&#x203A;ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;&#x153;ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;?ď&#x20AC;&#x201C;ď&#x20AC;&#x2026;ď&#x20AC;&#x201A;ď&#x20AC;?ď&#x20AC;&#x2C6;ď&#x20AC;&#x17E;ď&#x20AC;&#x;ď&#x20AC; ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;Ąď&#x20AC;&#x17D;ď&#x20AC;?ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;˘ď&#x20AC;Łď&#x20AC;˘ď&#x20AC;˘ď&#x20AC;&#x2DC;ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;&#x2020; ď&#x20AC;¤ď&#x20AC;&#x160;ď&#x20AC;&#x2DC;ď&#x20AC;&#x152;ď&#x20AC;Ľď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;Łď&#x20AC;?ď&#x20AC;&#x160;ď&#x20AC;Śď&#x20AC;§ď&#x20AC;&#x152;ď&#x20AC;&#x2DC;ď&#x20AC;Łď&#x20AC;&#x2020;

1813 Everett St., Richmond, Va. 23224 804-231-5884 Reverend Robert C. Davis, Pastor

ď&#x20AC;&#x201C;ď&#x20AC;&#x192;ď&#x20AC;&#x201D;ď&#x20AC;&#x2026;ď&#x20AC;&#x2022;ď&#x20AC;&#x2013;ď&#x20AC;&#x201A;ď&#x20AC;&#x160;ď&#x20AC;&#x2014;ď&#x20AC;&#x2039;ď&#x20AC;&#x2026;ď&#x20AC;&#x2DC;ď&#x20AC;&#x201D;ď&#x20AC;&#x2026;ď&#x20AC;&#x2DC;ď&#x20AC;&#x2039;ď&#x20AC;&#x2122;ď&#x20AC;&#x192;ď&#x20AC;&#x201E;ď&#x20AC;&#x160;ď&#x20AC;&#x2019;ď&#x20AC;&#x201E;ď&#x20AC;&#x161;ď&#x20AC;&#x2026;ď&#x20AC;&#x203A;ď&#x20AC;&#x2039;ď&#x20AC;&#x2030;ď&#x20AC;&#x2021;ď&#x20AC;&#x201A;ď&#x20AC;&#x192;ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;

ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;&#x2018;ď&#x20AC;&#x160;ď&#x20AC;&#x153;ď&#x20AC;&#x2039;ď&#x20AC;&#x152;ď&#x20AC;&#x2030;ď&#x20AC;&#x2020; ď&#x20AC; ď&#x20AC;&#x201A;ď&#x20AC;&#x192;ď&#x20AC;&#x201E;ď&#x20AC;&#x2026;ď&#x20AC;&#x201A;ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;&#x2021;ď&#x20AC;&#x2026;ď&#x20AC;&#x201A;ď&#x20AC;&#x2C6;ď&#x20AC;&#x2C6;ď&#x20AC;&#x2030;ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;&#x160;ď&#x20AC;&#x2039;ď&#x20AC;&#x152;ď&#x20AC;?ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;&#x17D;ď&#x20AC;?ď&#x20AC;?ď&#x20AC;?ď&#x20AC;&#x2020; ď&#x20AC;&#x2018;ď&#x20AC;&#x2C6;ď&#x20AC;&#x201E;ď&#x20AC;&#x2019;ď&#x20AC;&#x201A;ď&#x20AC;&#x201C;ď&#x20AC;&#x201D;ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;&#x2021;ď&#x20AC;&#x2022;ď&#x20AC;&#x201E;ď&#x20AC;&#x2013;ď&#x20AC;&#x201C;ď&#x20AC;&#x2026;ď&#x20AC;&#x2022;ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;&#x2014;ď&#x20AC;&#x2DC;ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;&#x17D;ď&#x20AC;?ď&#x20AC;?ď&#x20AC;?ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;

Fatherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day

ď&#x20AC;?ď&#x20AC;&#x2018;ď&#x20AC;&#x201E;ď&#x20AC;&#x2030;ď&#x20AC;&#x153;ď&#x20AC;&#x2039;ď&#x20AC;&#x152;ď&#x20AC;&#x2030;ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;

Sunday, June 16, 2019

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Theme:

Celebrating Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Gift of Fatherhood

9:30 AM â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Sunday School 11:00 AM â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Morning Worship Preacher: Rev. Robert C. Davis

or a Jew or a Gentile. He was resurrected as the lord of a new humanity.â&#x20AC;? His statement drew applause from a crowd of nearly 1,000 visiting Southern Baptists. Sixth Avenue Baptist has a long history of involvement in the Civil Rights Movement. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. preached from its pulpit more than once, most notably at the funeral of three of the four little girls killed in the 1963 bombing of Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. Sixth Avenue Baptist is dually aligned with the Southern

Baptist Convention, a mostly white denomination that once defended slavery, and the National Baptist Convention USA, a predominantlyAfrican-American denomination. Dr. Greear said he also visited the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and traveled to Montgomery, Ala., to view the year-old National Memorial for Peace and Justice, which displays the names of thousands of African-Americans who were lynched from the mid-1800s to the mid-1900s. After the service, Senior Pastor John L. Cantelow III said he

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Good Shepherd Baptist Church 1127 North 28th St., Richmond, VA 23223-6624 s Office: (804) 644-1402 Dr. Sylvester T. Smith, Pastor â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s A Place for Youâ&#x20AC;?

Now Enrolling!

For A Great Long Running Summer Camp WEDNESDAYS 6:00 p.m. ..... Prayer Service 6:30 p.m. ..... Bible Study (The Purpose Driven Church)

6:30 PM Prayer Meeting

Ages 5 - 12

For more information contact the church Rev. Dr. Yvonne Jones Bibbs, Pastor

WEDNESDAY 12:00 p.m. Bible Study 7:00 p.m. Bible Study

ALL ARE WELCOME

St. Peter Baptist Church Thursdays:

Mid-Day Bible Study 12 Noon Prayer & Praise 6:30 P.M. Bible Study 7 P.M. (Children/Youth/Adults)

Broad Rock Baptist Church 5106 Walmsley Blvd., Richmond, VA 23224 804-276-2740 â&#x20AC;˘ 804-276-6535 (fax) www.BRBCONLINE.org

Early Morning Worship ~ 8 a.m. Sunday School ~ 9:30 a.m. Morning Worship ~ 11 a.m. 4th Sunday UniďŹ ed Worship Service ~ 9:30 a.m. Bible Study: Wednesdays, 11:30 a.m. & 7 p.m. Sermons Available at BRBCONLINE.org

â&#x20AC;&#x153;MAKE IT HAPPENâ&#x20AC;? Pastor Kevin Cook

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Come Join Us! Reverend Dr. Lester D. Frye Pastor and Founder

To empower people of God spiritually, mentally and emotionally for successful living.

â&#x20AC;Ś and Listen to our Radio Broadcast Sundays at 10:15 a.m. on WQCN 105.3 FM

Jesus went throughout Galilee teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness among the people. - Matthew 4:23

Fatherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day Unity Service 3UNDAY *UNE AT A M

We will also emphasize â&#x20AC;&#x153;Go Purpleâ&#x20AC;? Sunday, in recognition of Alzheimerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Awareness.

Thirty-first Street Baptist Church

The Senior & The S. H. Thompson Memorial Choirs

11:00 AM Mid-day Meditation

(near Byrd Park)

(804) 359-1691 or 359-3498 Fax (804) 359-3798 www.sixthbaptistchurch.org drbibbs@sixthbaptistchurch.org

Sunday Morning Worship 11:00 a.m.

$R +IRKLAND 2 7ALTON 0ASTOR

Worship Opportunities

400 South Addison Street Richmond, Va. 23220

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2300 Cool Lane, Richmond, Virginia 23223 804-795-5784 (Armstrong High School Auditorium)

&BTU #SPBE 4USFFU 3JDINPOE 7JSHJOJB r

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Tuesday Sunday 10:30 AM Bible Study 9:30 AM Church School 6:30 PM Church-wide Bible Study 11:00 AM Worship Service 6:30 PM Men's Bible Study (Each 2nd and 4th) (Holy Communion Thursday each 2nd Sunday) Wednesday (Following 2nd Sunday)

DAY

Message by: Rev. Joe Young Minister of Christian Education

Serving Richmond since 1887

During the month of June, all Sunday Worship Services will be held at 10 a.m. Church School will be held at 8:30 a.m.

SUNDAY SCHOOL - 9:45 A.M. SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICE 11:00 A.M.

Sunday, June 16, 2019 9:00 AM Fatherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day Breakfast 11:00 AM Worship Celebration

Rev. Dr. Paul A. Coles, Pastor

SUNDAY 9:00 a.m. Sunday School 10:00 a.m. Worship Service

2604 Idlewood Avenue Richmond, Va. 23220 (804) 353-6135 www.riverviewbaptistch.org Rev. Dr. Stephen L. Hewlett, Pastor Rev. Dr. Ralph Reavis, Sr. Pastor Emeritus

FATHERâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S

500 E. Laburnum Avenue, Richmond, VA 23222 www.sharonbaptistchurchrichmond.org (804) 643-3825

10:00 a.m. ...Morning Worship

"APTIST #HURCH

Theme for 2018-2020: Mobilizing For Ministry Refreshing The Old and Emerging The New We Embrace Diversity â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Love For All! A 21st Century Church Come Worship With Us! With Ministry For Everyone

3HARON "APTIST #HURCH

Theme: FATHERâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S DAY â&#x20AC;&#x153;A Fatherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s SUNDAY, JUNE 16, 2019 8:30 a.m. ....Sunday School Loveâ&#x20AC;?

2IVERVIEW

Sixth Baptist Church

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Church With A Welcomeâ&#x20AC;?

ď&#x20AC;&#x17E;ď&#x20AC;&#x201E;ď&#x20AC;&#x153;ď&#x20AC;&#x160;ď&#x20AC;&#x201E;ď&#x20AC;&#x2030;ď&#x20AC;&#x153;ď&#x20AC;&#x2039;ď&#x20AC;&#x152;ď&#x20AC;&#x2030;ď&#x20AC;&#x2020; ď&#x20AC;Ťď&#x20AC;&#x2022;ď&#x20AC;Źď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;ď&#x20AC;&#x2022;ď&#x20AC;&#x201E;ď&#x20AC;&#x2026;ď&#x20AC;&#x201C;ď&#x20AC;&#x2022;ď&#x20AC;&#x2019;ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;ď&#x20AC;&#x201C;ď&#x20AC;&#x17E;ď&#x20AC;&#x201C;ď&#x20AC;&#x2019;ď&#x20AC;&#x203A;ď&#x20AC;&#x201E;ď&#x20AC;Şď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;§ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;&#x17D;ď&#x20AC;?ď&#x20AC;?ď&#x20AC;?ď&#x20AC;&#x2020; ď&#x20AC;Žď&#x20AC;&#x;ď&#x20AC;&#x192;ď&#x20AC;&#x2030;ď&#x20AC;&#x203A;ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;¨ď&#x20AC;&#x201C;ď&#x20AC;Šď&#x20AC;&#x2030;ď&#x20AC;&#x2022;ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;&#x2021;ď&#x20AC;&#x203A;ď&#x20AC;&#x192;ď&#x20AC;&#x;ď&#x20AC;Şď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;§ď&#x20AC;&#x2039;ď&#x20AC;Łď&#x20AC;&#x2DC;ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;ď&#x20AC;&#x201D;ď&#x20AC;?ď&#x20AC;?ď&#x20AC;?ď&#x20AC;&#x2020;

thought it was significant that Dr. Greear made efforts to visit and learn about aspects of the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s racial history while he was in Alabama. â&#x20AC;&#x153;That represents his desire, his interest to bring the body of Christ together,â&#x20AC;? Dr. Cantelow said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a positive, I think, move forward.â&#x20AC;?

Adelle M. Banks Religion News Service

-OUNTAIN 2OAD s 'LEN !LLEN 6IRGINIA /FlCE s &AX s WWW STPETERBAPTIST NET

Ebenezer Baptist Church 1858

Âą4HE 0EOPLEÂ´S #HURCHÂ˛

216 W. Leigh St. â&#x20AC;˘ Richmond, Va. 23220 Tel: 804-643-3366 â&#x20AC;˘ Fax: 804-643-3367 Email: ebcofďŹ ce1@yahoo.com â&#x20AC;˘ web: www.richmondebenezer.com Sunday Worship Sunday Church School Service of Holy Communion Service of Baptism Life Application Bible Class Mid-Week Senior Adult Fellowship Wednesday Meditation & Bible Study Homework & Tutoring Scouting Program Thursday Bible Study

11:00 a.m. 9:30 a.m. Every 3rd Sunday 2nd Sunday, 11 a.m. Mon. 6:30 p.m. Tues. 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. Wed. 6:45 p.m. Wed. 4:30 p.m. Wed. 6:00 p.m. Thurs., 11:45 a.m.

Dr. Wallace J. Cook, Pastor Emeritus Rev. Dr. James E. Leary, Interim Pastor

e with Reverence elevanc R g in Dr. Alvin Campbell, Interim Pastor bin â?&#x2013; om

SUNDAYS

Church School 9:30 a.m. Morning Worship 10:30 a.m. â?&#x2013;

WEDNESDAYS Bible Study 7:00 p.m. â?&#x2013;

THIRD SUNDAY 10:30 a.m. Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Church Higher Achievement 823 North 31st Street Richmond, VA 23223 (804) 226-0150 Office

Richmond Free Press

June 13-15, 2019

Obituary/Faith News/Directory

Farewell to a friend Left, Greg Roland and other comrades of George Edward â&#x20AC;&#x153;Busterâ&#x20AC;? Booth scatter his ashes May 29 in Byrd Parkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Swan Lake in a final farewell to a lifelong friend. Below left, James â&#x20AC;&#x153;Plunkyâ&#x20AC;? Branch, one of the close-knit group that grew up together in Richmondâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Randolph and Maymont neighborhoods, plays â&#x20AC;&#x153;Amazing Graceâ&#x20AC;? on his saxophone ahead of the ash-scattering ceremony. Below right, a small memorial includes Mr. Boothâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s obituary and photo. Former NBA star Bobby Dandridge and the Rev. Robert Winfree, who preached Mr. Boothâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eulogy, are among those who attended the ceremony that began at Byrd Parkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Shelter No. 1, one of Mr. Boothâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s favorite places. Every year around Mr. Boothâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s May 26 birthday, his friends would bring the longtime paraplegic to the shelter for an outing. Mr. Booth died Nov. 6, 2018, but friends waited to scatter his ashes near what would have been his 72nd birthday. Longtime friend Jerome F. Hughes, who helped organize the ceremony, said Swan Lake was chosen because as children, they were banned from what was then a whites-only place to swim.

Photos by Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

Dr. Patricia Bath, whose patents advanced cataract treatment, dies at 76 Free Press wire report

SAN FRANCISCO Dr. Patricia Bath, a pioneering ophthalmologist who became the first African-American female doctor to receive a medical patent after she invented a more precise treatment of cataracts, has died. She was 76. Dr. Bath died Thursday, May 30, 2019, from complications of cancer at a University of California San Francisco medical center, said her daughter, Dr. Eraka Bath. Dr. Bath was born in Harlem in New York. Her mother was a domestic worker and her father worked on the city subway system. Dr. Bath won a National Science Foundation scholarship while a teenager. She graduated from the Howard University College of Medicine and interned in New York. Dr. Bath moved to California, where she became the first African-American surgeon at the University of California Los Angeles Medical Center and the first woman ophthalmologist on

Barkyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

the faculty of UCLAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Jules Stein Eye Institute. basic human right.â&#x20AC;? She also co-founded an ophthalmology residency Dr. Bath also pioneered a new medical disprogram and in 1983, Dr. Bath was appointed cipline, community ophthalmology, to deal with chair of the King-Drew-UCLA Ophthalmology such preventable blindness through education, Residency Program, becoming the public health outreach and local first woman in the United States provision of medical services. to head such a program. Her daughter remembered beâ&#x20AC;&#x153;I had a few obstacles but I ing taken along on her motherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s had to shake it off,â&#x20AC;? Dr. Bath told missions to Nigeria and PakiABCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;Good Morning Americaâ&#x20AC;? stan. last year. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Hater-ation, segregaâ&#x20AC;&#x153;I remember taking time off tion, racism. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the noise you from fifth grade to do so,â&#x20AC;? she have to ignore and keep your eyes said. focused on the prize. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just like In the 1980s, Dr. Bath joined Dr. Martin Luther King said, so in researching the use of lasers Dr. Bath thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what I did.â&#x20AC;? in ophthalmology. In 1988, Dr. Bath was concerned by epidemic levels she patented the Laserphaco Probe, short of blindness from preventable causes among for â&#x20AC;&#x153;laser photoablative cataract surgery.â&#x20AC;? It underserved, often minority communities in uses a laser to dissolve cataracts. The device the United States and also in poor countries offered less painful cataract treatment and overseas. In the 1970s, she co-founded the restored the sight of patients who had been American Institute for the Prevention of Blind- blind for decades. ness, a nonprofit that declares â&#x20AC;&#x153;eyesight is a Dr. Bath held five U.S. patents. She also

Usher Badges â&#x20AC;˘ Clergy Shirts â&#x20AC;˘ Collars â&#x20AC;˘ Communion Supplies â&#x20AC;˘ Much More!

18 East Broad Street Richmond, VA 23219 â&#x20AC;˘ (804) 643-1987 Hours M-F 9:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Sat. 9:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Honoring God ... and serving people THANKS TO YOU for over 64 years and looking for 64 more years

New Deliverance Evangelistic Church

1701 Turner Road, North Chesterfield, Virginia 23225 (804) 276-0791 office (804)276-5272 fax www.ndec.net

Remember... At New Deliverance, You Are Home! See you there and bring a friend.

Bishop G. O. Glenn D. Min., Pastor

Mother Marcietia S. Glenn First Lady

SUNDAY 8:00 a.m. Sunday School 9:30 a.m. Worship Service

WEDNESDAY SERVICES Noonday Bible Study 12:00 p.m. (Noon) Sanctuary - All Are Welcome! Wednesday Evening Bible Study 7:00 p.m. (Bible Study)

SATURDAY 8:30 a.m. Intercessory Prayer

You can now view Sunday Morning Service â&#x20AC;&#x153;AS IT HAPPENSâ&#x20AC;? online! Also, for your convenience, we now offer â&#x20AC;&#x153;full online giving.â&#x20AC;? Visit www.ndec.net.

Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: Hebrew 12:14 (KJV) www.ndec.net Tune in on Sunday Morning to WTVR - Channel 6 - 8:30 a.m.

CHRISTIAN ACADEMY (NDCA)

Upcoming Events & Happenings Fatherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day Worship

June 16, 2019 @ 10:30 A. M. Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ministry Cookout

June 15, 2019 From 11:00A.M. ~ 2:00P.M.

The righteous man walks in his integrity; His children are blessed after him. Proverbs 20:7

authored more than 100 papers. But her daughter remembered her as unassuming. â&#x20AC;&#x153;She wore sneakers and jeans ... she was casual and not pretentious,â&#x20AC;? Dr. Eraka Bath said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;She came from humble roots.â&#x20AC;? Even so, she stood out in a field where there still are relatively few African-Americans or women. â&#x20AC;&#x153;So even if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not seeking to be a role model, you are one,â&#x20AC;? her daughter said. Dr. Bath retired from UCLA in 1993, but continued to lecture and travel worldwide. She also had plans to mentor medical students and get younger people interested in science and technology. â&#x20AC;&#x153;She almost had a second career as a humanitarian,â&#x20AC;? her daughter said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;She just was very vigorous and tireless.â&#x20AC;? In addition to her daughter, Dr. Bath is survived by a granddaughter, Noa Raphaelle Bath Fortuit of Los Angeles, and a brother, Rupert Bath of New York.

St. Johnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s United Holy Church / UI 4USFFU r 3JDINPOE 7" ELDER VIOLA WILLIAMS, Pastor-Elect

Celebrates its

TH #HURCH !NNIVERSARY

Sunday, July 14, 2019 Morning Worship 11:00 am

Weekly Worship: Sundays @ 10:30 A.M. Church School: Sundays @ 9:00 A.M. Bible Study: Wednesdays @ Noon & 6:30 P.M.

2901 Mechanicsville Turnpike, Richmond, VA 23223 (804) 648-2472 ~ www.mmbcrva.org Dr. Price London Davis, Senior Pastor

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Working ForSermon You InofThis Difficult Hourâ&#x20AC;? Initial Bro. Avi Hopkins March 24, 2019 @ 3:00 P.M.

Join Us as We Celebrate this Important Moment in the Life of Our Church Family. Weekly Worship: Sundays @ 10:30 A.M. Church School: Sundays @ 9:00 A.M. Bible Study: On Summer Break

â&#x20AC;&#x153;I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism ENROLL NOW!!! 2011-2049 Grayland Avenue and war that the bright Accepting applications for daybreakRichmond, of peace and Virginia 23220 children 2 yrs. old to 5th Grade brotherhood can never become Our NDCA curriculum also consists (804) 358-9177 a realityâ&#x20AC;Ś. I believe that of a Before and After program. unarmed truth and unconditional Now Enrolling for our Nursery love will have the final word.â&#x20AC;? Ages 6 weeks - 2yrs. old. LentenKing, Season Luther Jr. Joseph Jenkins, Jr., Founder (Dec. 19, 1938â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Martin - Dec. 9, 2006) For more information Mosby joins with the larger Christian Community III. â&#x20AC;˘ Jason K. Jenkins â&#x20AC;˘ Maxine T. Jenkins Joseph Jenkins, Rev. Dr. Price L. Davis, Pastor Please call (804) 276-4433 in celebrating the Lenten season as a time of Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm reflection, fasting & prayerful consecration. Join us on the journey and follow along with our Lenten Calendar at www.mmbcrva.org

WeHome, Pray Inc. Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Richest Blessings Joseph Jenkins, Jr. Funeral for You & Your Family in The New Year!

Guest Preacher:

Dr. Mary Hunter Young (former pastor of St. Johnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s)

Director of Leadership Education The Association of Theological Schools The Commission on Accrediting In the United States and Canada

Richmond Free Press

B6 June 13-15, 2019

Legal Notices/Employment Opportunities City of Richmond, Virginia CITY COUNCIL PUBLIC NOTICE Notice is hereby given that the City of Richmond Planning Commission has scheduled a public hearing, open to all interested citizens, on Monday, July 1, 2019 at 1:30 p.m. in the Fifth Floor Conference Room of City Hall and the Council of the City of Richmond has scheduled a public hearing on Monday, July 22, 2019 at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chamber on the Second Floor of City Hall, located at 900 East Broad Street, Richmond, Virginia, to consider the following ordinances: Ordinance No. 2019-159 To authorize the special use of the property known as 2711 East Broad Street for the purpose of a dwelling unit within an accessory building, upon certain terms and conditions. The property is situated in an R-6 Single-Family Attached Residential District. The City of Richmondâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Master Plan designates a future land use category for the subject property as Singleâ&#x20AC;&#x2018;Family Medium Density. Primary uses for this category include singleâ&#x20AC;&#x2018;family and twoâ&#x20AC;&#x2018;family dwellings, both detached and attached, at densities of 8 to 20 units per acre. The density of the parcel if developed as proposed would be approximately 12 units per acre. Ordinance No. 2019-160 To authorize the special use of the property known as 1515 Hull Street for the purpose of an artist woodworking studio, upon certain terms and conditions. This property is situated in a B-5 Central Business District. The City of Richmondâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Downtown Master Plan designates the subject property as a Downtown Urban Center Area which is characterized by higher d e n s i t y, m i x e d â&#x20AC;&#x2018; u s e development, typically arranged on a fine grained street network, with wide sidewalks, regular tree planting, and minimal setbacks. Ordinance No. 2019-161 To rezone the property known as 1039 West Grace Street from the R-73 Multifamily Residential District to the B-5 Central Business District. The Master Plan calls for community commercial uses for the property. Primary uses include office, retail, personal service and other commercial and service uses, intended to provide the shopping and service needs of residents of a number of nearby neighborhoods or a section of the City. Interested citizens who wish to speak will be given an opportunity to do so. Copies of the full text of all ordinances are available by visiting the City Clerkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s page on the Cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Website at; the Main City Library located at 101 East Franklin Street; and in the Office of the City Clerk, City Hall, 900 East Broad Street, Suite 200, Richmond, VA 23219, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Candice D. Reid City Clerk

City of Richmond, Virginia CITY COUNCIL PUBLIC NOTICE Notice is hereby given that the Council of the City of Richmond has scheduled a public hearing, open to all interested citizens, on Monday, June 24, 2019 at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chamber on the Second Floor of City Hall, located at 900 East Broad Street, Richmond, Virginia, to consider the following ordinances: Ordinance No. 2019-121 As Amended To authorize the special use of the property known as 20 North Belmont Avenue for the purpose of up to two dwelling units as well as the principal and accessory uses permitted in the B-1 Neighborhood Business District, upon certain terms and conditions. Ordinance No. 2019-144 To authorize the Chief Administrative Officer, for and on behalf of the City of Richmond, to execute a Certificate of Completion for the benefit of Church Hill North Phase I LLC and the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority at such time as the Chief Administrative Officer has determined that a certain deed condition requiring the construction and development of certain parcels of land as an affordable housing development has been fulfilled and completed. (COMMITTEE: Land Use, Housing and Transportation, Tu e s d a y, J u n e 1 8 , 2019, 1:00 p.m., Council Chamber) Continued on next column

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Ordinance No. 2019-145 To authorize the Chief Administrative Officer, for and on behalf of the City of Richmond, to execute a Certificate of Completion for the benefit of Church Hill North Phase 2A LLC and the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority at such time as the Chief Administrative Officer has determined that a certain deed condition requiring the construction and development of certain parcels of land as an affordable housing development has been fulfilled and completed. (COMMITTEE: Land Use, Housing and Transportation, Tu e s d a y, J u n e 1 8 , 2019, 1:00 p.m., Council Chamber) Ordinance No. 2019-148 To authorize the Chief Administrative Officer, for and on behalf of the City of Richmond, to execute a Standard Project Administration Agreement between the City of Richmond and the Virginia Department of Transportation to provide funding for the upgrading of the Cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s traffic signal system by integrating it with regional automated vehicle location systems to control the timing of traffic signals for transit, emergency, and other City-operated vehicles equipped with automated vehicle location systems for the purpose of maintaining transit schedules, improving emergency vehicle response, enhancing multimodal operations, and lowering vehicle emissions, to modify the terms of the Standard Project Administration Agreement; and to repeal Ord. No. 2018330, adopted Jan. 28, 2019. (COMMITTEE: Land Use, Housing and Transportation, Tu e s d a y, J u n e 1 8 , 2019, 1:00 p.m., Council Chamber) Ordinance No. 2019-149 To authorize the Chief Administrative Officer, for and on behalf of the City of Richmond, to execute a Standard Project Administration Agreement between the City of Richmond and the Virginia Department of Transportation to provide funding for the installation of pedestrian access and safety improvements including crosswalks and traffic speed controls, and street enhancements including decorative paving, public art, landscaping, signage, and lighting on that portion of U.S. 360 known as Hull Street, between its intersection with West 9th Street and the southern terminus of the Mayo Bridge, to modify the terms of the Standard Project Administration Agreement; and to repeal Ord. No. 2018331, adopted Jan. 28, 2019. (COMMITTEE: Land Use, Housing and Transportation, Tu e s d a y, J u n e 1 8 , 2019, 1:00 p.m., Council Chamber) Ordinance No. 2019-150 To authorize the Chief Administrative Officer, for and on behalf of the City of Richmond, to execute a Standard Project Administration Agreement between the City of Richmond and the Virginia Department of Transportation to provide funding for the installation of pedestrian access and safety improvements including crosswalks, refuge areas, continuous routes, and traffic channelization on the streets surrounding the park at Kanawha Plaza, to modify the terms of the Standard Project Administration Agreement; and to repeal Ord. No. 2018332, adopted Jan. 28, 2019. (COMMITTEE: Land Use, Housing and Transportation, Tu e s d a y, J u n e 1 8 , 2019, 1:00 p.m., Council Chamber) Ordinance No. 2019-151 To authorize the Chief Administrative Officer, for and on behalf of the City of Richmond, to execute a Standard Project Administration Agreement between the City of Richmond and the Virginia Department of Transportation to provide funding for the design and construction of the fully accessible pedestrian infrastructure necessary to improve access to Greater Richmond Transit Company transit stops, to modify the terms of the Standard Project Administration Agreement; and to repeal Ord. No. 2018333, adopted Jan. 28, 2019. (COMMITTEE: Land Use, Housing and Transportation, Tu e s d a y, J u n e 1 8 , 2019, 1:00 p.m., Council Chamber) Ordinance No. 2019-152 To authorize the Chief Administrative Officer, for and on behalf of the City of Richmond, to execute a Workforce Development Grant Performance Continued on next column

Continued from previous column

Agreement between the City of Richmond, Owens & Minor Medical, Inc., and the Economic Development Authority of the City of Richmond, Virginia, for the purpose of providing Owens & Minor, Medical, Inc., with incentives to assist Owens & Minor Medical, Inc., with the hiring and workforce development for the employees at the customer engagement center in the city of Richmond. (COMMITTEE: Finance and Economic Development, Thursday, June 20, 2019, 1:00 p.m., Council Chamber)

of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and that due diligence has been used by or on behalf of MARJORIE REZVYI, plaintiff, to ascertain in what county or city the defendant is without effect; UPON CONSIDERATION WHEREOF, this order of publication is granted and the Defendant, VIKTOR REZVYI is hereby ORDERED to appear before this Court, on the 5th day of August, 2019, at 9 a.m., and protect his interests. A Copy Teste: Heidi S. Barshinger, Clerk Scott D. Cardani, VSB# 39976 Bowen Ten Cardani PC 3957 Westerre Parkway, Suite 105 Richmond, Virginia 23233 Telephone: (804) 755-7599

Ordinance No. 2019-153 To authorize the Chief Administrative Officer, for and on behalf of the City of Richmond, to execute an Assignment and Assumption of License Agreements between the City of Richmond and the Richmond Metropolitan Transportation Authority for the purpose of transferring license agreements for certain events held at Main Street Station from the Richmond Metropolitan Transportation Authority to the City. (COMMITTEE: Finance and Economic Development, Thursday, June 20, 2019, 1:00 p.m., Council Chamber) Ordinance No. 2019-154 To amend ch. 8 of the City Code by adding therein a new art. XIII consisting of Â§ 8-545, concerning the establishment of licenses to temporarily use of Main Street Station or portions thereof, and to amend Appendix A of the City Code by adding therein new fees for Â§ 8-545, concerning the fee schedule for Main Street Station, for the purpose of establishing license fees for Main Street Station. (COMMITTEE: Finance and Economic Development, Thursday, June 20, 2019, 1:00 p.m., Council Chamber) Ordinance No. 2019-155 To amend City Code Â§ 26-518, concerning the tax exemption for certified pollution control equipment, for the purpose of reflecting amendments to Va. Code Â§ 58.13660. (COMMITTEE: Finance and Economic Development, Thursday, June 20, 2019, 1:00 p.m., Council Chamber) Ordinance No. 2019-156 To amend City Code Â§ 26-983, concerning pawnbrokers and pawnshops, for the purpose of reflecting amendments to Va . C o d e Â§ 5 4 . 1 4000. (COMMITTEE: Finance and Economic Development, Thursday, June 20, 2019, 1:00 p.m., Council Chamber) Ordinance No. 2019-157 To amend City Code Â§ 12-18, concerning requirements for strategic action plans, for the purpose of modifying the annual date on which plans are to be submitted and imposing the requirement to submit strategic action plans on the Richmond Retirement System. (COMMITTEE: Finance and Economic Development, Thursday, June 20, 2019, 1:00 p.m., Council Chamber) Ordinance No. 2019-158 To c r e a t e a n e w reservation of fund balance called the 2019 Capital Projects Replenishment Reserve intended to be categorized as a committed fund balance and used to restore funding to certain capital projects for which funding was reduced in the Fiscal Year 2019-2020 capital budget. (COMMITTEE: Finance and Economic Development, Thursday, June 20, 2019, 1:00 p.m., Council Chamber) Interested citizens who wish to speak will be given an opportunity to do so. Copies of the full text of all ordinances are available by visiting the City Clerkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s page on the Cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Website at www.Richmondgov. com and in the Office of the City Clerk, City Hall, 900 East Broad Street, Suite 200, Richmond, VA 23219, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Candice D. Reid City Clerk

Divorce VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE COUNTY OF HENRICO MAJORIE REZVYI, Plaintiff, v. VIKTOR REZVYI, Defendant. Case No.: CL19-1108 ORDER OF PUBLICATION The object of this suit is to obtain a divorce from the bond of matrimony from VIKTOR REZVYI on the grounds that the Parties have lived separate and apart continuously and without cohabitation or interruption for a period in excess of one year. An affidavit having been filed that VIKTOR REZVYI, defendant, is not a resident Continued on next column

VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF HANOVER RODNEY LEE, Plaintiff v. MECHETE LEE, Defendant. Case No.: CL19000853-00 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 22nd day of July, 2019 at 9:00 a.m. and protect her 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 FOR THE COUNTY OF HANOVER JAIME MENDOZA LOPEZ, Plaintiff v. CAROLINA SALVADOR REYES, Defendant. Case No.: CL19000743-00 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 22nd day of July, 2019 at 9:00 a.m. 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 FOR THE COUNTY OF HANOVER LISA CORBETT, Plaintiff v. CHARLES JONES, JR., Defendant. Case No.: CL19001247-00 ORDER OF PUBLICATION The object of this suit is to obtain a divorce from the bond of matrimony from the defendant on the ground of living separate and apart without any cohabitation and without interruption for a period exceeding twelve months. It is ORDERED that the defendant, who has been served with the Complaint by posted service appear here on or before the 17th day of July, 2019 at 9:00 a.m. and protect his interests. A Copy, Teste: FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR., Clerk Continued on next column

Continued from previous column

I ask for this: Dorothy M. Eure, Esquire VSB# 27724 Law Office of Dorothy M. Eure, P.C. 8460 Mount Eagle Road Ashland, VA 23005 (804) 798-9667 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF HANOVER KENYA GAGE, Plaintiff v. TERRANCE ROBINSON, Defendant. Case No.: CL19001062-00 ORDER OF PUBLICATION The object of this suit is to obtain a divorce from the bond of matrimony from the defendant on the ground of living separate and apart without any cohabitation and without interruption for a period exceeding twelve months. It is ORDERED that the defendant, who has been served with the Complaint by posted service appear here on or before the 17th day of July, 2019 at 9:00 a.m. and protect his interests. A Copy, Teste: FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR., Clerk I ask for this: Dorothy M. Eure, Esquire VSB# 27724 Law Office of Dorothy M. Eure, P.C. 8460 Mount Eagle Road Ashland, VA 23005 (804) 798-9667 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF HENRICO DULCE CELESTE JOLON YAT Plaintiff, v. WILLIAM ALFREDO RAMIREZ PAZ Defendants. Case No.: CL19-2351 ORDER OF PUBLICATION The object of the abovestyled suit is to obtain a divorce from the bond of matrimony from the Defendant on the grounds that the parties have lived separate and apart, without any cohabitation and without any interruption, for a period of more than one year. It appearing by affidavit filed according to law that the Defendant, WILLIAM ALFREDO RAMIREZ PAZ, is not a resident of the State of Virginia and that his last known address is unknown, it is therefore ORDERED that Defendant, WILLIAM ALFREDO RAMIREZ PAZ, appear before this Court on or before the 8th day of July, 2019, at 9:00 a.m., and do what is necessary to protect his interests in this suit. An Extract Teste: Heidi S. Barshinger, Clerk VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF HANOVER KEVIN BROWN, Plaintiff v. NICOLE ROSS, Defendant. Case No.: CL19001651-00 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 17th day of July, 2019 at 9:00 AM, Courtroom #2 and protect her interests. A Copy, Teste: FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR., Clerk I ask for this: Law Office of Dorothy M. Eure, Plaintiffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Attorney VSB# 27724 8460 Mount Eagle Road Ashland, VA 23005 (804) 798-9667 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF HANOVER SHAWN LITTLEJOHN, Plaintiff v. Continued on next column

CRICKET WILLIAMS, Defendant. Case No.: CL19001583-00 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 8th day of July, 2019 at 9:00 AM, Courtroom #2 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, Plaintiffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Attorney VSB# 27724 8460 Mount Eagle Road Ashland, VA 23005 (804) 798-9667 VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF HANOVER FREDDIE HAMPTON, Plaintiff v. JOCELYN HAMPTON, Defendant. Case No.: CL19000090-00 ORDER OF PUBLICATION The object of this suit is to obtain a divorce from the bond of matrimony from the defendant on the ground of living separate and apart without any cohabitation and without interruption for a period exceeding twelve months. It is ORDERED that the defendant, who is a nonresident, appear here on or before the 8th day of July, 2019 at 9:00 AM, and protect her interests. A Copy, Teste: FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR., Clerk I ask for this: Dorothy M. Eure, Esquire VSB# 27724 The Law Office of Dorothy M. Eure, P.C. 8460 Mount Eagle Road Ashland, VA 23005 (804) 798-9667

CUSTODY VIRGINIA: IN THE JUVENILE AND DOMESTIC RELATIONS DISTRICT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND Commonwealth of Virginia, in re ETHIE BRENT File No. JJ-095414-08 ORDER OF PUBLICATION The object of this suit is to: Terminate the residual parental rights (â&#x20AC;&#x153;RPRâ&#x20AC;?) for Unknown (Father) of Ethie Brent, child DOB 01/20/2018, â&#x20AC;&#x153;RPRâ&#x20AC;? 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. It is ORDERED that the defendant Unknown (Father) to appear at the abovenamed Court and protect his/her interest on or before August 5, 2019, at 2:00 PM, Courtroom #4

REQUEST FOR BIDS For Certain Easements Upon, Over, Under and Across 3502 North Hopkins Road and 3516 North Hopkins Road In the City of Richmond The City of Richmond is seeking bids for certain easements upon, over, under, and across certain properties located at 3502 North Hopkins Road and 3516 North Hopkins Road for the construction, installation, operation, maintenance, inspection, repair, replacement, and removal of communication lines and associated appurtenances in accordance with a certain Deed of Easement, for a duration of 40 years, subject to certain responsibilities to be imposed by the Deed of Easement and subject further to all retained rights of the City of Richmond. All bids for the easements hereby offered to be granted must be submitted in writing to the City Clerkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s office by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, June 24, 2019. Bids will be presented to the presiding officer of the Council of the City of Richmond on Monday, June 24, 2019, at 6:00 p.m. in open session and then will be presented by the presiding officer to the Council and be dealt with and acted upon in the mode prescribed by law. The City of Richmond expressly reserves the right to reject any and all bids. The successful bidder shall reimburse the City for all costs incurred in connection with the advertisement of this ordinance in accordance with section 15.2-2101 of the Code of Virginia and shall post the bond required by the ordinance. A copy of the full text of the ordinance is on file in the City Clerkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s office, and the full text of the ordinance and Deed of Easement to be executed is available at: https://richmondva.legistar.com/LegislationDetail. aspx?ID=3947219&GUID=FF615E6B-542B-4912-9CD68629D0225F72&Options=ID|Text|&Search=2019-130 Please address any questions or bids to: Candice D. Reid, City Clerk City of Richmond 900 East Broad Street, Suite 200 Richmond, Virginia 23219 (804) 646-7955

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

Applications are now being accepted for the following positions: PCA or CNA â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Licensed Medication Tech Experience working with Alzheimerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s & Dementia Residents Please bring a current TB report when applying All references will be checked. Good pay â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Good days oďŹ&#x20AC;. Call for appointment (804) 222-5133

Janitorial (PT) Evenings General Cleaners and Floor Techs

Peninsula Cleaning Service is looking to ďŹ ll all positions. Primary responsibilities are cleaning & sanitizing. Must have exp., cleaning medical/ commercial facilities. Valid DL & background check reqĂd. Apply @www.peninsulacleaning.com or call

757-833-1603 EOE AA M/F Vet Disability

EBENEZER BAPTIST CHURCH 216 West Leigh Street, Richmond, VA 23220 The Peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Church

Opening for the Position of Pastor Ebenezer Baptist Church, of Richmond, Virginia, seeks a Pastor, called by God, who will lead, direct and guide the ministry of this historic church. The applicant must be a trained, licensed and ordained minister, must have served at least three years as a pastor, assistant or associate pastor and must have earned the Master of Divinity Degree. The applicant must also be a biblical scholar, understand church business principles and be of impeccable character. The closing date for submitting application is July 8, 2019. Contact information and detailed application instructions are found at Ebenezerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website, www.richmondebenezer.com

LICENSE Sumita Das/Dasbrothers Inc Trading as: Liberty Market 523 S. Washington Hwy Ashland, Hanover 23005 The above establishment is applying to the Virginia D epartment of Alcoholic Beverage C ontrol (ABC) AUTHORITY for a Wine and Beer permits license to sell or manufacture alcoholic beverages. Sumita Das, Owner NOTE: Objections to the issuance of this license must be submitted to ABC no later than 30 days from the publishing date of the first of two required newspaper legal notices. Objections should be registered at www. abc.virginia.gov or 800-5523200.

EBENEZER BAPTIST CHURCH, Richmond, Virginia, seeks full-time Financial Secretary. Responsibilities include conďŹ dential receipt, maintenance, accounting and disbursement of Church funds; to include the accounting for all investments/endowments, accounting for all Church property â&#x20AC;&#x201C; list of all physical assets- accounting for payroll, providing Financial Statements for individual funds, as well as, consolidated Financial Statements for all funds. The Financial Secretary prepares records for annual review by outside auditors. Applicants must have minimum two-year Associate degree in accounting. A four-year degree in Accounting preferred. Minimum 3-5 years work experience in Accounting. Call Church oďŹ&#x192;ce/see Church website for complete job description and application (www. richmondebenezer.com). Send completed application and resume to ebcoďŹ&#x192;ce1@yahoo.com. Deadline June 25, 2019.

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Amended Public Notice City of Richmond 2016-2020 Consolidated Plan & FY 2020 Annual Action Plan Public Hearing July 22, 2019 at 6:00 p.m. Richmond City Council will hold a public hearing on the Cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 20162020 Consolidated Plan and its FY 2020 Annual Action Plan on Monday July 22, 2019 at 6:00 p.m. (this is a change in date from previous notice, no public hearing will be held on June 24, 2019) in Council Chambers located in City Hall, 900 E. Broad Street. These documents combine the planning, application, and reporting requirements for the four HUD entitlement programs, for which the City of Richmond receives funds: Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME), Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG), and Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA). The 30 day public comment period which began on May 13, 2019 will be extended to July 18, 2019. Comments, written and verbal, may be provided to Mr. Yong Hong Guo at the Richmond Department of Housing and Community Development, 1500 E. Main Street, Room 400, Richmond, VA 23219, (804) 6466713, Yong.guo@richmondgov.com.

AVAILABLE Downtown Richmond first floor office suite 5th and Franklin Streets 422 East Franklin Street Richmond, Virginia 23219

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The City of Richmond does not discriminate on the basis of disability status in the admission or access to, or treatment in its federally assisted programs or activities: Virginia Relay Center â&#x20AC;&#x201C; TDD users 1-800-828-1120.

Raffi Bandazian

Principal Broker, GRI

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