Tragedy inspires ‘Smiles’ B3
Richmond Free Press © 2018 Paradigm Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.
VOL. 27 NO. 24
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA
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Meet winner of Governor’s Youth Volunteer Award B1
June 14-16, 2018
Father’s Day advice Ms. Simmons
What is the most important lesson your father taught you?
Ms. Stroman
Interviews and photos by Ronald E. Carrington
In honor of Father’s Day on Sunday, June 17, the Free Press took to Richmond streets to ask people that question. Here are some of the answers. “Don’t be afraid. Step up to the plate in life. Nya Simmons, 17, of Boulder, Colo., student
“Always be a man and a leader. Stand on your own feet and think wisely.”
Courtesy of Virginia Department of Historic Resources
Kelonjee Adkins, 23, of Richmond, maintenance worker
Mr. Adkins
Mr. Watson
“My dad taught me the value of the dollar. Every dollar you earn, you have to work for it and spend it wisely.” Eric Philipkosky, 35, of Richmond, political professional
“My dad taught me how to change the oil in my car and to be self-sufficient.” Kurtshel Stroman, 37, of Chesterfield, school bus driver
“My dad taught me to do well in school, get an education and how to cook.” Raheim Watson, 39, of Richmond, car washer
“Do the right thing by people. Treat them the way you want to be treated.” Mr. Philipkosky
Cynthia Powell, 70, of Richmond, retired Virginia Commonwealth University employee
Ms. Powell
Primary election results set up contests for November By Jeremy M. Lazarus
President Trump won’t be on the Virginia ballot in November. But results from Tuesday’s primary races for state seats in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives strongly indicate that the fall election will serve as a referendum on the president and his policies. That’s most evident in the Republican choice of a challenger for incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, the former governor, former Richmond mayor and former vice presidential candidate who is seeking a second term. Corey Stewart, a staunch supporter of President Trump and a champion of Confederate statues and anti-immigration policies, narrowly won the three-way Republican primary. The archconservative chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors received 44.8 percent of the vote to defeat Culpeper Delegate Nick Freitas and Hampton Roads minister E.W. Jackson in the primary contest. About 300,000 people cast ballots statewide, according to figures from the state Department of Elections.
Mr. Stewart will face Sen. Kaine in the Nov. 6 general election. In the 2016 presidential contest, Sen. Kaine’s running mate, Democrat Hillary Clinton, won Virginia.
Sen. Kaine, who is regarded as the front-runner in the Senate contest, already is girding for a tough battle with Mr. Stewart, who is promising to wrap himself in the Trump mantle and run a campaign of
non-stop attacks against the Democrat. In a post-primary statement, Sen. Kaine showed he is ready for the upcoming give and take. Please turn to A4
Dorothy F. Cotton, a lion in the Civil Rights Movement, dies at 88 Free Press wire report
ATLANTA Dorothy F. Cotton, who worked closely with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., taught nonviolence to demonstrators before marches and sometimes calmed tensions by singing church hymns, has died. She was 88. Ms. Cotton died Sunday, June 10, 2018, at the Kendal at Ithaca retirement community in New York, said Jared Harrison, a close friend who was at her bedside. Mr. Harrison said she had battled illnesses recently, but didn’t specify a cause of death.
This Craftsman-style house at 211 E. 18th St. in South Side was once the home of Dr. James H. Blackwell Jr., a physician and son of the educator for whom the Blackwell neighborhood is named. The home was demolished last year after a fire. It exemplifies one of the wide range of home styles — from Queen Anne to folk Victorian, Italianate and bungalow — in the neighborhood now up for historic designation.
Blackwell community poised for historic designation By Jeremy M. Lazarus
Two members of Richmond City Council who represent the Blackwell area criticized Mayor Levar M. Stoney this week for failing to share information with them about a proposal to put the South Side neighborhood on the state and federal registers of historic places. At Monday’s City Council meeting, Councilwomen Ellen F. Robertson, 6th District, and Reva M. Trammell, 8th District, publicly dinged the mayor and his administration for keeping them out of the information loop. “This has been in the works for more than a year, and we’re just learning about it,” Ms. Trammell told her colleagues. “I don’t think that’s right.” Michael and Laura Hild, who are investing in the Blackwell area among other places in the city, have pushed the application and covered the expenses involved, including the required Please turn to A4
Please turn to A4
Civil rights leader Dorothy F. Cotton, a Virginia State University alumna, speaks at VSU’s Founders Day convocation in March 2014. Patrick Kane/The Progress-Index/AP
Sister of police shooting victim pushes City Council for police reform By Jeremy M. Lazarus
Christopher Smith
Princess Blanding, center, speaks to Richmond City Council Monday about the fatal police shooting of her brother, Marcus-David Peters, as supporters stand with her, Joseph Rogers, left, and Rebecca K.W. Keel.
Princess Blanding took her campaign for police reform to Richmond City Council on Monday. Joined by supporters, she urged the council to promote changes to prevent people who are suffering a mental health crisis from being fatally shot by a police officer like her brother, Marcus-David Peters. Mr. Peters, a 24-year-old Essex County high school science teacher and part-time Richmond hotel security guard, was fatally shot May 14 by a Richmond Police officer during an episode in which he clearly was suffering some kind of break with reality, which his Please turn to A4
Photos by Clement Britt
Ready for the future Armstrong High School senior Destiny Pleasants gets some help with her commencement regalia from her former history teacher, Graham Sturm, who then gives her a congratulatory hug outside the Altria Theater on Tuesday. Destiny, who plans to attend Virginia Tech in the fall, is among more than 1,100 students graduating this week from Richmond Public Schools.