Richmond Free Press June 22-24, 2023 edition

defeats Morrissey

Winning 13th Senate District, November’s general election likely a shoo-in

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Call it a special birthday present.

Just two days before turning 37, Lashrecse D. Aird celebrated in advance Tuesday by putting an election whipping on maverick Democratic state Sen. Joseph D. Morrissey in their head-to-head contest.

Pounding her rival for his avowed pro-life stance on abortion, Ms. Aird corralled 70% of the votes cast in the party’s nominating contest for the 13th Senate District and won in all eight localities, including Petersburg and Hopewell and Henrico County that had previously been significant areas of support for Sen. Morrissey. According to unofficial results, Ms. Aird received 14,605 votes to 6,456 for Sen. Morrissey.

Hanover residents hopeful after Virginia Supreme Court’s Wegmans ruling

By Debora Timms

A recent decision by the Virginia Supreme Court means residents are being given a second chance to make their case against a Wegmans distribution center — even though construction on the 1.7 million-square-foot facility located in Ashland is nearing completion.

“The blue sky kind of hope would be that [Wegmans] don’t get their certificate of occupancy and they have to return the land back to what it was,” said Henrico resident Renada Harris in a recent phone interview. She grew up in the Brown Grove community where

her parents and sister still live, and is a member of the Brown Grove Preservation Group.

“It was my sister Bonnica Cotman who founded the Brown Grove Preservation Group in 2020 to fight the Wegmans development that was going to be 50 feet from our backyard,” Ms. Harris said. “I say ‘ours’ because I go there every week. My sister and my parents live right next door to each other.”

A number of Brown Grove residents, community group Protect Hanover and the

Hanover NAACP filed a lawsuit against the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality arguing that the project’s environmental impacts to health and quality of life in the majority Black community were not adequately assessed. They cited not only loss of wetlands located on the 217-acre mostly wooded development site, but also contended that both the construction and operation of the proposed facility would result in noise and light pollution, increased flooding risk, diminished water quality and a significant increase to daily

Kenya Gibson begs RPS Board to act quickly to curtail violence among students

By George Copeland Jr.

Emotions ran high during Monday’s Richmond School Board meeting, as members discussed and argued over the proper path to improve school safety, following multiple security failures, shootings and deaths this year.

The meeting at Thomas Jefferson High School was the first since the June 6 shooting in Monroe Park following a graduation ceremony that ended with the deaths of Huguenot High School graduate Shawn D. Jackson and his stepfather, Renzo Smith.

For board member Kenya Gibson the current situation for RPS called for an immediate response and solutions from the board.

“As a parent, I’m scared,” Ms. Gibson said. “As a district, we are falling short, and failure at this point looks like loss of life.”

Ms. Gibson referenced not just the graduation shooting, but other instances of gun violence RPS has seen this year, including the discovery of loaded guns in schools, shootings at Westover Hills Elementary and George Wythe High, and more. She suggested the board hire an auditor focused on safety and

security, and encouraged thoughts from other board members.

“They are the district’s checks and balances, and it is glaringly obvious that there are things that are not getting checked,” Ms. Gibson said. “We’re only going to make a difference if we are honest that there are problems that need to be addressed.”

Board members Jonathan Young and Mariah White had their own ideas about improving school safety, including directly tackling the impact of gangs and increasing school security officers.

Others members cautioned not to placing the burden for solving what they saw as a community problem solely on the

trips by cars and trucks that would cause traffic congestion and air pollution.

While this suit remains active, it is a second suit that was filed against the Hanover County Board of Supervisors that came before the state Supreme Court.

That lawsuit, Morgan v. Hanover County Board of Supervisors, is based on the contention that county officials violated multiple state laws and local ordinances by granting a special exemption and making modifications to the site’s zoning designation in May

Joy and jubilation

Brian Palmer

A child enjoys the musical group WanMor during the second annual June Jubilation, Richmond’s Juneteeth celebration on June 18 at the James River. More photos on B2.

Approval looms for city’s revamped budget Plan includes retiree bonuses, overtime pay for firefighters

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Thousands of City Hall retirees will receive a one-time 5 percent bonus.

And the city is setting up a fund to buy property for development.

Both items are included in the $18.2 million in adjustments Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s administration has proposed for the 2022-23 fiscal year that will end June 30 and that City Council has put on its consent agenda for quick approval at the Monday, June 26 meeting.

Pegged to cost about $3.5

million, the bonus will benefit those who have been retired for at least one year and will be paid in the new 2023-24 fiscal year that will begin July 1, the ordinance states.

The payment would average about $831 for the approximately 4,200 eligible retirees, though the specific payment to any individual could be larger or smaller depending on the pension.

Lincoln Saunders, the city’s chief administrative officer, promised 7th District Councilwoman Cynthia I. Newbille during budget discussions in April

that sufficient funds would be found to cover the cost.

The bonus is a one-time payment to avoid impacting revenues of the Richmond Retirement System by turning it into a continuing cost, like a cost-of-living increase.

Retirees in the Richmond system have received only one small cost of living adjustment (COLA) increase in the past decade, and the city’s retirement system said that any future COLA’s would depend on the fund reaching 80 percent funding.

The retirement system com-

pleted the 2022 calendar year with funding 64.5 percent of the city’s full pension liability of more than $900 million, a rollback from 2021 when the city’s pension liability was 71 percent funded.

The adjustment plan also includes creation of a $1.75 million reserve, with the money used buy land primarily for major developments, according to the explanatory information included with the ordinance. A first for the city, the plan is to buy and then resell the

won her bid to unseat Virginia State Sen. Joe Morrissey in a Democratic primary for the newly redrawn 13th Senate District. Virginia State Sen. Joe Morrissey, left, greeted a voter at a polling precinct Tuesday in Henrico County.

Ms. Harris

Ms. Gibson

‘As a parent, I’m scared’

Political newcomer Rae Cousins upsets opponents for House bid

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Rae Cousins, a lawyer and fourth-generation Richmonder, handily won Tuesday’s primary in Richmond to become the Democratic nominee for the 79th House of Delegates District.

Ms. Cousins, 43, bested 3rd District City Councilwoman Ann-Frances Lambert, 47, and criminal justice crusader Richard Walker, 65, in the their contest in the L-shaped district that is anchored in the East End and takes in portions of South Side and North Side.

The district is one of three that includes portions of the city and the only one in which there was a party nomination contest. Incumbent Delegate Betsy B. Carr is unopposed in her bid for the 78th House District seat as is City Council President Michael J. Jones, who is running for the 77th House District seat.

In her first bid for public office, Ms. Cousins, who had raised nearly eight times more money as her two opponents, handily won the nomination contest in which about 11% of the district’s nearly 61,500 registered voters participated.

Unofficial results show she won 27 of the 28 precincts in securing 4,186 votes, or 63% of the 6,668 votes cast.

Ms. Lambert, who had hoped to follow her late father, Benjamin J. Lambert III, into the General Assembly, received 1,981 or 30% and Mr. Walker received 501 votes or 7%, according to the Virginia Department of Elections.

Ms. Cousins raised more than $500,000 to fuel her campaign, but still must get by independent Kyle Sundberg in the November general election to secure the House seat.

In a victory statement, she lauded her family, supporters, contributors and voters “for their confidence in me.”

Senior counsel at the BrownGreer law firm, Ms. Cousins said if she wins in the fall, she would focus on issues that would help create “a better Richmond,” including advocating for bigger investments in public schools, in affordable, accessible health care and affordable housing and finding ways to reduce the threat of gun violence.

A better Richmond, Ms. Cousins said, means a place where “my daughter will be raised with the same rights I was, with autonomy over her own body. The work of achieving a better Richmond has just begun, but we are on the way.”

New General Assembly building

Free Press staff report

Anticipating a possible special session, the Virginia General Assembly announced it won’t be moving into its new building until later this year.

Plans were to move into the new building last fall, but supply chain issues threatened completion of the building in time to fully prepare for a successful 2023 legislative session. The body decided to remain in the Pocahontas Building through at least this spring.

However, required life safety equipment failed testing and one of the building’s stairwells did not meet building code requirements. General Assembly members, their staff and House and Senate support staff will remain in the Pocahontas Building for now and move into the building later this year once all issues are resolved. The building opening will be announced to the public at a later date.

“Similar to last fall, we find ourselves faced with delivering to the General Assembly a building that is not fully operational, thoroughly tested and ready to conduct the important business of the body,” said Joe Damico, director of the Department of General Services. “While we could open the building by working around the issues we face, the General Assembly is making the prudent decision to delay until the facility is 100 percent ready to accommodate elected officials, employees and visitors.”

Mr. Damico said that the department remains committed to “working with our contractors to deliver a building worthy of the consequential work that will be conducted within its walls.”

Second gun buyback program for city targeted

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

City Hall plans to continue to invest in gun buyback programs despite clear evidence that the program has not worked, which studies have shown is the case in virtually every locality offering to pay people to turn in their guns.

City Council is expected to approve a request from Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s administration for $80,000 to cover the cost of the second gun buyback.

The ordinance that is on track to secure overwhelming approval calls for the city to again partner with Liberation Church on Midlothian Turnpike in South Side, which hosted the Richmond’s first event last August.

Gun violence has soared in Richmond since the first gun buyback event was held, with police reporting almost nightly on the discovery of one or more shooting victims. Police have reported that shootings and slayings have increased in the months since the first gun buyback took place in 2022.

The ordinance states the city has allocated $500,000 to support the buyback initiative from federal funding provided through the American Rescue Plan, and will have at least $340,000 to pay for additional events after the second one is held. Council, at the request of the administration, allocated $80,000 for the first event. The city teamed with the Robby Poblete Foundation to stage it. City police reported spending $67,500 to buy 481 weapons at the initial event.

Cityscape

Slices of life and scenes in Richmond

Charles Willis, the ‘first responder to first responders’, continues decades of community advocacy

By Darlene Johnson

On Tuesday, June 6, Charles Willis was on Cowardin Avenue going to get dinner when he saw police cars racing across the Lee Bridge toward Virginia Commonwealth University’s campus.

He knew something was wrong.

When he learned the reason for the speeding police cars and flashing lights, he was unable to eat until nearly two days later.

Mr. Willis got a call saying that there was a mass shooting and that the Trauma Healing Response Network, a nonprofit he works with, was on the scene. The organization provides resources to families during traumatic events.

Before the evening ended, Mr. Willis was among thousands of horrified Richmonders who heard that two men, Shawn Jackson and Renzo Smith, were shot and killed at Monroe Park after leaving Huguenot High School’s graduation ceremonies. Nearly a dozen others were injured. The alleged gunman Amari Ty-Jon Pollard, 19, soon was arrested and charged in Richmond court with two counts of second degree murder with additional charges possible, according to police.

Mr. Willis’ first response was to be there to assist the families and guide them to safe places. As a community leader and advocate, he was pleased with how the different police departments and private security entities for worked together in handling the crisis.

Mr. Willis describes himself as in his 60s with 34 years of experience as a community advocate. He grew up in Mosby Court and graduated from John F. Kennedy High School. He is the founder, CEO and executive director of United Communities Against Crime, a nonprofit organization founded in 2012. The group has worked with families throughout Virginia and has even spanned into North Carolina.

Mr. Willis formerly worked at Richmond Public Schools as an instructional assistant teaching and working with children with

special needs. He also has been a DJ. He has worked with grieving families for over 27 years.

Mr. Willis “provides a great service to the community,” said Tracey Hardney-Scott, board chair of the Help Me Help You Foundation. “I honestly think that he’s underappreciated,” she continued.

Ms. HardneyScott describes Mr. Willis as “the first responder to first responders” that works “relentlessly” for the Richmond community and is someone “who should be more appreciated and recognized for the work that he does,” she said.

It’s been challenging since the mass shooting, Mr. Willis said.

On June 11, United Communities Against

Crime held a prayer vigil at Abner Clay Park for victims Shawn Jackson, 18, and his stepfather, Renzo Smith, 36. Things do not end after the funeral – that’s when things begin, Mr. Willis said.

“The birthdays, the holidays, the vacation days and all of this stuff that she had planned for and wished for and all the wonderful things the family had planned is a dream. It’s gone,” he said.

Violence prevention and conflict resolution must be taught within school systems and neighborhoods to alleviate violence in the community, Mr. Willis said.

“Parents, young folks, senior citizens, even our community leaders need to be taught by professionals and people that work in that field on how to resolve conflict without resorting to violence,” he said.

Mr. Willis encourages citizens to reach out to United Communities Against Crime for resources such as educational tools and mental health counseling. The group can be reached at (804)399-1111.

Sacred burial site to be marked by mural

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

A mural with a message embedded in large red, black and green stripes will soon mark an historic but largely unknown Black cemetery in North Side.

The mural is to cover an abandoned gas station that sits on top of graves in the Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground at 1305 N. 5th St., replacing the ugly graffiti that now mars the building while also calling attention to the sacred site.

The Richmond Planning Commission on Tuesday cleared the way for the city to repaint the building and embed the following words in the stripes on the front and back sides of the building:

“Beneath this old gas station, that billboard and I-95/64 is Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground Active 1816-1879.”

The first line is to be in the red stripe; the second line is to be in the black stripe; and the third line is to be in the green stripe.

The goal is to compete with a highway billboard that also is on the burial site.

Burt Pinnock, the principal architect for Richmond-based Baskervill, came up with the design as a way to replace the gas station eyesore with a prominent identifier for the burial ground where up to 22,000 enslaved and free Black people were interred over the 63 years the cemetery was open.

Two people who are now the most active in protecting the cemetery, Lenora McQueen and former City Councilwoman Kimberly B. “Kim” Gray, started the process.

“We just wanted to paint the building,” Ms. Gray said. “We had a store willing to donate 10 cans of gray paint, and we were ready to go.”

Mr. Pinnock, whom the city has hired to lead a team to consider how best to memorialize the portion of the cemetery the city has repurchased, then proposed the mural as an alternative.

“Most people are still not aware that the cemetery is there,” he said.

The proposal went to the Planning Commission in May.

At the request of 6th District Councilwoman Ellen F. Robertson, the commission held off acting until the design could be presented and approved by the community at a June 15 meeting, the staff of the Plan-

ning Commission reported.

Before it was closed 144 years ago, the Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground was the largest publicly owned and operated cemetery for Black people in the country, according Ms. McQueen’s research.

But after it closed, the City Hall allowed city streets, railroad tracks and the highway to be run through it and sold off a portion for the service station that was built on top of it.

Ms. McQueen, a Texas resident who has relatives buried in the cemetery, is credited with getting city officials involved to save the burial ground that once covered 33 acres and with help from Ms. Robertson, getting the city to repurchase the acre of land where the gas station stands in 2021.

Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

Grenda Smith, center, speaks at a June 11 vigil in Abner Clay Park for her son, Renzo Dell Smith, who was killed in front of the Altria Theater with his stepson, Shawn Jackson, following Huguenot High School’s graduation. Charles Willis, left, founder of United Communities Against Crime, shows his support for the grieving family.

Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

Mayor Levar M. Stoney, Richmond City Council President Michael J. Jones and Delegate Delores L. McQuinn, among others, recognize Juneteenth on June 15 at City Hall. For the first time, the Juneteenth flag was raised and flown throughout the weekend and on Monday, June 19, when the holiday was federally celebrated.

Ms. Cousins

Ms. Hardney-Scott

Winning 13th Senate District, November’s general election likely a shoo-in

She is now considered the odds-on favorite to win the Nov. 7 general election where she will face long-shot Republican Eric Ditri in the heavily Democratic district. Her win represents an important political comeback for the former Petersburg delegate, who served three terms in the General Assembly before suffering an upset loss in 2021 to the current Petersburg-area delegate, Kim Taylor.

“I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your support,” Ms. Aird said in her victory address. “It is truly a testament to our community and to our Commonwealth that I am standing here on this stage.

“As we set our sights beyond our victory tonight, I’m ready to hit the ground running,” Ms. Aird continued. “In Richmond, I’ll be a firewall for our reproductive rights in the face of Republican extremists who think they have the right to make decisions about our own bodies.”

A first-term senator, Sen. Morrissey was one of five members of the upper chamber of the General Assembly who were ousted in the primary contests, the most in 24 years, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.

Among the losers was a notorious archconservative Republican, Chesterfield County state Sen. Amanda F. Chase, the self-described “Trump in heels,” who narrowly lost to former state Sen. Glen H. Sturtevant Jr. in a race that included another conservative, Tina Ramirez.

Ms. Aird’s victory was part of a banner night for Black candidates, women and other non-white candidates.

In an apparent record, Black candidates won six of the 15 Democratic nomination contests for Senate seats and 11 of the 16 Democratic nomination contests for House of Delegate seats, with eight of the House winners assured of election as they have no challenger in the Nov. 7 general election. No Black candidates won a Republican primary.

“We had a good night,” said Richmond state Sen. Lamont Bagby, who won his own Democratic primary in the 14th Senate District while cheerfully noting other winners who are now on track to join the 21-member Virginia Legislative Black Caucus that he chairs and add to the group’s political influence.

“We went into this election with a goal of increasing our

membership by 25 percent,” or at last five seats, said Sen. Bagby, who easily defeated his challenger, campus minister Katie Gooch, by winning majorities in 72 of the 75 precincts in the Richmond/Henrico district.

He said the results indicate that the Caucus will achieve a net gain of at least five members, with the potential to add even more new members once results are in for the Nov. 7 general election.

The thumping he received could be the last hurrah for Sen. Morrissey, 65, a twice disbarred criminal attorney whose checkered and colorful record includes being the first General Assembly member to commute to the legislature on work-release from the jail where he was serving a 90-day sentence.

It was second straight embarrassing election loss for the senator, who also trailed far behind now U.S. Rep. Jennifer L. McClellan in the intra-party contest in late December that was held to fill the 4th Congressional District seat after the death of the late Congressman A. Donald McEachin.

After conceding to Ms. Aird, the controversial lawmaker told reporters he is bowing out of politics.

“I want to congratulate my opponent and her family,” said the senator, who also has been engulfed in a bitter, highly publicized divorce while seeking re-election.

“I’m moving on to my next chapter in my life, I want to be a full-time dad and coach to all my kids,” said the senator, who began his political career in 1989 when he successfully ran for Richmond commonwealth’s attorney.

“I cannot see running for office ever again.”

Ms. Aird, who raised twice as much money as Sen. Morrissey and had virtually the entire state Democratic Party united behind her, said she never took anything for granted given Sen. Morrissey’s reputation as a relentless campaigner.

As part of her strategy, she used his own words against him, particularly his statements on abortion that he aired on the radio talk show he hosts in which he expressed pride in being “prolife” and also talked up his willingness to vote with Republicans on imposing a ban after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

In late March, the six state Democratic women senators endorsed Ms. Aird and issued unusually harsh criticism of their colleague, hammering him for what they described as his out-of-step position on abortion and his history “of divisive and destructive actions.

“Sen. Morrissey has a long history of being on the wrong side of the values that matter to Virginia’s Democratic votes,”

the Senate Democratic Women’s Caucus wrote. “His public behavior has, for years, drawn attention to himself rather than to the needs of his constituents.”

“Never has it ever been done that the women in elected office rebuke a colleague but it had to be done,” Ms. Aird told her supporters Tuesday night.

“I stand before you and commit to not only fight to protect our reproductive rights but all of those things that I talked about: Our schools, our communities, making every single family feel valued. They deserve that. This will be the power of electing responsible leadership. That is what it will look like.”

Sen. Morrissey’s defeat was also a victory for abortionrights supporters, who heavily backed Ms. Aird, who supports the party’s renewed priority of preserving abortion access.

In a statement, Jamie Lockhart, executive director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia, said the voters of the district “were loud and clear.

“They demand to be represented by an outspoken advocate for reproductive rights,” Ms. Lockhart stated.

In another closely watched primary between two veteran Hampton Roads Democrats, Portsmouth state Sen. L. Louise Lucas, 79, triumphed over Sen. Lionell Spruill Sr., 76.

Known for her combative and occasionally offbeat Twitter presence, Sen. Lucas posted an image of herself Tuesday night with boxing gloves and the text: “MOMMA SAID KNOCK YOU OUT!”

In Northern Virginia, two senate veterans were unseated, George L. Barker and J. C. “Chap” Petersen. Sen. Barker lost to Fairfax County School Board member Stella Pekarsky while Sen. Petersen lost to financial reporting consultant Saddam Azlan Salim, who emigrated with his family from Bangladesh as a child.

In other races of note, former Delegate Jennifer Carroll Foy, who ran for governor in 2021, gained political redemption in winning in the 33rd Senate District in Prince William and Fairfax County. She defeated Hala Ayala, a former delegate and 2021 candidate for lieutenant governor.

Two other incumbent senators appear to have survived tough challenges, Sen. Creigh Deeds in the 11th Senate District in the Charlottesville area and Jeremy McPike in the 27th Senate District in Prince William County.

Hanover residents hopeful after Virginia Supreme Court’s Wegmans ruling

2020. The plaintiffs were denied the right to make that case when the Hanover Circuit Court declared they lacked standing because they had failed to meet a requirement to demonstrate “particularized harm.”

This past February, the state Supreme Court sent the case back to the lower court after finding that “the allegations of particularized harm made by the homeowners are fairly traceable to the Board’s 2020 decision.” Last month the court refused a request from Wegmans to reconsider the decision.

Chris French is a member of Protect Hanover who “lives about a mile as the crow flies away from the Wegmans facility” in Mechanicsville. He believes this decision is an important one.

“It does a lot. The state Supreme Court does not pick up any case willy nilly. They only pick up cases that have impact across the entire state of Virginia,” he said by telephone. “The citizens of the Commonwealth now have greater access to the courts when it comes to land use decisions.”

That’s important, especially for minority communities that have often been particularly harmed by patterns of locating industrial and public infrastructure projects in their backyards.

The Brown Grove community was founded about 150 years ago and many living there now are descendants of Caroline Dobson Morris, a midwife nicknamed the “mother of Brown Grove,” who settled there after being freed from enslavement. These residents saw the Wegmans deal as just one more that would be detrimental to their health and their quality of life, pointing to past decisions such as the routing of Interstate 95 through Brown Grove in the 1950s and 1960s, which split the community in half. Since then a landfill, a concrete plant, an airport and a

Free COVID-19 vaccines

Continued from A1

Call the Richmond and Henrico COVID-19 Hotline at (804) 205-3501 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday for more information on testing sites, or go online at vax.rchd. com.

The Virginia Department of Health also has a list of COVID-19 testing locations around the state at www.vdh. virginia.gov/coronavirus/covid-19-testing/covid-19-testingsites. Want a COVID-19 vaccine or booster shot?

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

• Thursday, June 22, 2 to 4 p.m. - Cary Street, 400 E. Cary St., Bivalent Moderna boosters for ages 6 and older, Bivalent Pfizer boosters for ages 5 and older, Novavax primary shots for age 12 and older, JYNNEOS shots and Moderna/Pfizer baby bivalent boosters. Walk-ups welcome but appointments encouraged.

• Wednesday, June 28, 2 to 4 p.m. - Henrico West Health Department, 8600 Dixon Powers Drive, Bivalent Moderna boosters for age 6 years and older, Bivalent Pfizer boosters for age 5 years and older, Novavax primary shots for age 12 and older, JYNNEOS shots and Moderna/Pfizer baby bivalent boosters. Walk-ups welcome but appointments encouraged.

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

Those who are getting a booster shot should bring their vaccine card to confirm the date and type of vaccine received. RHHD also offers at-home vaccinations by calling (804) 2053501 to schedule appointments.

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

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

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

truck stop off the nearby highway have also been built.

Ms. Harris says issues of dust, traffic congestion, road accidents and pollution the community already faces would be exacerbated further by Wegmans distribution center.

“Our history in Brown Grove is a history of dispossession of our land, dismissal of our opinions, defeat and oppression,” she added.

But now residents are hopeful of a different outcome.

When reached by phone for comment, the plaintiffs’ attorney Brian Buniva said “it was a glorious day” when the court ruled in favor of his clients and he is confident about their chances going forward.

“What is likely to happen is that the court will have no choice but to declare the rezoning was unlawful on at least two of the eight counts we have brought. That would mean starting over with the Board of Supervisors to obtain approval.”

Mr. Buniva added that several things could impact the chances of a different result should that happen, including recent elections, the death of the board’s longest serving member Aubrey M. “Bucky” Stanley, Jr. in December 2021, and the fact that Brown Grove has since been recognized as a rural historic district by the state and designated a National Historic Landmark.

Ms. Harris said one of the reasons Brown Grove fought for this historic designation is because “what Wegmans’ lawyers and Hanover County were saying is, ‘No, that’s not a Black community, it’s a white community so there’s no environmental justice protections in that area.

“We’re hopeful now that we have national recognition,” she added. “We’re telling the truth about how Hanover County has treated the community and it may be uncomfortable for them, but now we do have their attention. Now the Hanover officials are engaging with the community as a partner in their plans for the community. We hope that we continue to head in the right direction.”

As for whether or not Wegmans will be able to open on schedule, it is unclear. An email request for comment from the grocery giant was not returned. But Mr. French said should the residents be successful as they hope, Wegmans bears the responsibility for the decision to build while there were legal challenges ongoing.

“They chose to ignore everybody. They chose to go at it on their own with the viewpoint that they would be victorious,” he said. “If they lose, they made a very risky business decision and they have to pay the consequence of that decision.”

Kenya Gibson begs RPS Board to act quickly to curtail violence among students

School Board. Nor should the board be too quick in approving proposals to tackle this issue without a plan.

“This should not be a reactive conversation,” Nicole Jones said. “This is a conversation that should be happening on a regular basis because these are the situations that our young people are dealing with every day.”

“What goes on in the neighborhood, the community spills over into school,” Dawn Page said. “I do not want to make a hasty decision.”

In pushing against the reluctance of some board members to quickly implement proposed solutions and ideas, Ms. Gibson’s voice filled with emotion as she urged immediate action.

“We must make a hasty decision,” Ms. Gibson said. “We have had a student die, and we are going to sit on this stage and say ‘I’m not going to make a hasty decision’?”

Soon after, Ms. Gibson introduced a motion for the board to hire a safety auditor that failed 2-7, with only Ms. Gibson and Mr. Young voting in favor.

As noted by board member Shonda Harris-Muhammed, RPS Superintendent Jason Kamras has 30 days from the shooting to complete an internal investigation about the shooting. RPS also has hired John W. Beazley as the new director of safety and security. Further discussion about his role is scheduled for the next School Board meeting.

Board members also approved new names for Ginter Park Elementary School, John B. Cary Elementary, Binford Middle

School and George Wythe High School during Monday’s meeting to remove the schools’ association with their current, Confederate or slave-owning namesakes. Ginter Park Elementary will be renamed Frances W. McClenney Elementary. Mrs. McClenney’s name replaced Northside Elementary as the initial choice for Ginter Park. That choice had previously led to some contentious discussion during the School Board meeting weeks earlier, given Mrs. McClenney’s role in the clustering of white students in integrated schools decades earlier.

John B. Cary Elementary is now Lois Harrison-Jones Elementary. Dogwood Middle is the new name for Binford Middle.

George Wythe High is now the Richmond High School of the Arts.

Approval looms for city’s revamped budget

property, with the proceeds credited to a special fund that could be used over and over again for that purpose, the information states.

The ordinance also provides for the city to set aside nearly $1.8 million to cover potential unfunded liabilities, most notably the cost of health care for retirees too young to quality for Medicare, which Council Vice President Kristen M. Nye,

various increased expenses for 15 of the 45 departments and entities that are funded through the city’s general fund.

For example, the Fire Department is to receive $2.9 million to cover the extra overtime paid to firefighters to ensure proper staffing of stations and trucks, while the Office of Elections is to gain $1 million to recoup the costs of holding the two special elections that resulted from the late Congressman A. Donald McEachin’s death last November. The Department of Parks and Recreation is to gain $1.8 million to handle various increases in expenses that

came up this year.

One surprise, the administration is not proposing any new investment in the city Department of Social Services, despite state findings that the short-handed staff’s ability to process applications for food stamps, Medicaid and other benefit programs is well below the standards the state has set.

Another surprise, two other shorthanded public safety departments, Police and the Sheriff’s Department, apparently already have sufficient funding to cover their overtime costs. Neither is receiving any additional funds.

Sen. Bagby Sen. Lucas

Dominion, Library of Virginia honor ‘extraordinary people during challenging times’

By George Copeland Jr.

A Roanoke pastor and civil rights leader, the first Black woman nuclear engineer at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, and the first Black NASCAR race winner were among the six African-Americans honored during the 11th annual “Strong Men & Women in Virginia History” awards program June 15 at the Hilton Richmond Hotel and Spa. The annual awards ceremony recognizes the determination and perseverance displayed by extraordinary people during challenging times, according to the event sponsors.

The late Rev. R.R. Wilkinson of Hill Street Baptist Church, engineer Sheila Bowen Taylor and stock car driver Wendell Oliver Scott were recognized for their contributions to the state by Dominion Energy and the Library of Virginia.

Also honored were Appomattox County farmer and activist Ora Scruggs McCoy, retired Air Force Pilot Quentin J. Smith Jr. and Kendall N. Holbrook, CEO of Dev Technology Group and a mentor for women seeking roles in STEM fields and inner-city middle school students.

Rev. Wilkinson first served as pastor of Hill Street Baptist in 1958 following four years in the Navy during World War II, and earning degrees in divinity and education from Virginia Union University. Hill Street was the last in a long line of churches Rev. Wilkinson led including Mount Nebo Baptist, Little Union Baptist and Good Hope Baptist in his native Amelia County. During his 30 years with the church, Rev. Wilkinson also was president of the Roanoke Branch of the NAACP, leading the group from 1959 to 1968 in efforts to integrate Roanoke County and battles against urban redevelopment that threatened Black neighborhoods. In addition, Rev. Wilkinson is also the namesake for the Roanoke NAACP’s annual Citizen of the Year Award, The Rev. R.R. Wilkinson Memorial

Award for Social Justice.

A native of St. Juliens Creek community in Chesapeake, Ms. Bowen Taylor was the second woman and the first Black woman to work as a nuclear engineer at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, serving in 1981 in its Nuclear Engineering and Planning Department. There, she would not only work on submarines and aircraft carriers, but also be instrumental in organizing the Hampton Roads chapter of the Society of Women Engineers. The Society helps to connect women to roles in engineering, something Ms. Taylor continues in her own way to this day, as she mentors youths and others while promoting the value of diversity in STEM fields.

Mr. Scott, hailing from Danville, rose from previous work as a taxi driver, Army mechanic during World War II and moonshine runner to become the first African-American NASCAR driver and team owner to compete and win in its highest divisions. Originally becoming a stock car driver as a way to increase AfricanAmerican interest in the sport, Mr. Scott would race in 495 events across 13 seasons, finishing in the top 10 in 147 races. Despite his skill, he continued to face discrimination throughout his career, and wouldn’t be fully recognized for his accomplishments until after his retirement in 1973 and death in 1990.

Ms. McCoy has been a tireless defender of her family’s farm in Appomattox County and advocate for her community for decades. For her work on the farm, Ms. McCoy was recognized as Farmer of the Year in Virginia in 2021 by the National Resources Conservation Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Ms. McCoy also served on the Appomattox County School Board from 1986 to 1994, the Board of Historic Resources for the Commonwealth of Virginia from 2004 to 2012, and the Appomattox Voters League, among other roles. She currently chairs the board of the Carver-

Swansboro Elementary names auditorium for music teacher

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

For Wallesa Diane Coleman Jones, teaching elementary schoolchildren to appreciate music has been a labor of love.

But after 48 years in the classroom, the 71-year-old Richmond native is retiring.

Still, her legacy as a music teacher and choir director will live on at Swansboro Elementary School where she has taught for the past eight years.

Principal Theron Sampson saluted Ms. Jones’ work by ceremoniously renaming the auditorium that doubled as her choral music room, an impressive honor in a school with a strong musical program that also allows students to learn to play instruments and participate in a band and orchestra.

In a June 5 ceremony, Mr. Sampson posted a small flag bearing her name outside the auditorium door along with a large photograph of her.

“She brought so much love to her work,” said Mr. Sampson. “I wanted the children to see her and continue to be inspired.”

“It’s such an honor,” said Ms. Jones, who said “my greatest joy as a teacher has been seeing my students excel.”

Mr. Sampson also has hired her daughter, Chrissy J. Waddell, a music teacher who also sings and plays the piano and violin, to continue Ms. Jones’ legacy as both a music teacher and director of the school’s Concert and Boys’ choirs.

Ms. Waddell, who had been teaching in Henrico County, said that she sought the opportunity so she could carry on her mother’s work.

A graduate of Maggie L. Walker High School, Ms. Jones began her teaching career in 1974 after graduating from Virginia Union University, which she attended on full scholarship because of her music talent.

She spent her first 20 years

teaching in New Kent County, where she ultimately ran the band, orchestra and choral music programs at all of the schools, and then joined the Richmond Public Schools faculty.

Ms. Jones taught at six other elementary schools before joining the music program at Swansboro in 2015.

During her tenure in RPS, she was awarded Teacher of the Year honors five times at individual schools where she taught.

A composer as well as a teacher, she also wrote the school song for George Mason Elementary, now Henry L. Marsh III Elementary.

Teaching is just one facet of Ms. Jones’ musical life. She has been involved with music since she was a toddler, she said.

Her late mother, Judith L.

Coleman, was proud of her talent, she said, and would arrange for her to sing solos at various churches when she was just a child.

The granddaughter of church organist and music teacher Anthony Woolfolk of Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church in Richmond, Ms. Jones said she grew up singing in school choirs and at Fifth Baptist Church.

At age 16, then in her senior year at Maggie Walker, she was tapped to direct Fifth Baptist’s Mass Choir, a position she would hold for 52 years.

“As a teacher, all I have wanted to do is to ensure my students have a positive experience,” Ms. Jones said. “Music provides an escape from many of the challenges they face, and I have so appreciated their joy and excitement as they take part.”

Price Legacy Museum, which oversees the historical preservation of Carver-Price High School, one of many Rosenwald schools built to educate Black children barred from attending segregated schools. Mr. Smith grew up with an interest in flying planes from a young age, and earned a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from the Air Force ROTC in 1968. He was soon after commissioned as a second lieutenant, and received military awards for valor in combat during the Vietnam War. From there, Mr. Smith moved between roles as a Navy engineer in Dahlgren, work with the Federal Aviation Administration and more, retiring with over 8,000 flying hours logged. Once retired, Mr. Smith never lost his appreciation for planes, and currently serves as a consultant on safety

regulations for aircraft, as well as an educator for young people about the history and impact of the Tuskegee Airmen.

Ms. Holbrook has used a love of science and math, degrees from the University of Virginia and University of Maryland Smith School of Business, and more than a decade of work at Electronic Data Systems and Dev Technology Group to build a unique space as one of the few female African-American CEOs in the technology sector. Outside her work, Ms. Holbrook also serves as a mentor in Fairfax County Public Schools, is part of AnitaB.org and on the advisory board chair for After-School AllStars, D.C. These groups help provide career and academic support to women leaders and minorities in tech, and middle school students from underserved communities.

Care Is

Jeremy M. Lazarus/Richmond Free Press

Wallesa D.C. Jones stands with Swansboro Elementary

Principal Theron Sampson in front of the entry to an auditorium now named for her.

Ellis Henderson II/Richmond Free Press

Robert Blue, chairman, president and CEO of Dominion, right, stands with Sandra Treadway, left, librarian of Virginia, and Danita Gail Wilkinson, middle, COO of the R.R. Wilkinson Foundation that is named after her father, the late Rev. Raymond Rogers Wilkinson, the Baptist minister and civil rights leader. Rev. Wilkinson and several other Virginians were honored during Dominion’s and the Library of Virginia’s “Strong Men & Women in Virginia History” awards program June 15 at the Hilton Richmond Hotel and Spa.

Mr. Scott Rev. Wilkerson Ms. Holbrook

Ms. Taylor Ms. McCoy Mr. Smith

No more drama

The collective sigh of relief sweeping through the newly redrawn state 13th Senate District on Tuesday was palpable.

Unofficial voting results showed that Lashrecse D. Aird garnered 70 % of the votes, winning in all eight localities, including Petersburg, Hopewell and Henrico County that previously leaned toward Sen. Joe Morrissey.

“I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your support,” Ms. Aird said in her victory address. “It is truly a testament to our community and to our Commonwealth that I am standing here on this stage.

Having formerly served three terms in the House of Delegates before losing her re-election bid in 2021, Ms. Aird’s comeback speaks to her determination and tenacity.

Groomed by Roslyn Dance, a former state senator, delegate and Petersburg mayor, Ms. Aird, who turns 37 on June 22, first ran for office in 2016. In winning, she became the youngest woman elected to the Virginia House of Delegates. Her legislative accomplishments are admirable: Funding for education, advocating for environmental criminal justice reform, making history with the passage of the nation’s first Breonna’s Law (prohibiting the use of no-knock search warrants); housing reforms and a focus on healthcare to include medicaid expansion, and leading Virginia to become the first southern state to declare racism a public health crisis.

Although her campaign website makes no mention of abortion, Ms. Aird wooed voters with her public declarations of a woman’s right to choose. Mr. Morrisey took a more pro-life stance on abortion, and that alone was enough for voters to say no to Joe.

It also spared Ms. Aird from having to endure a knockdown, drag out fight with the senator who once billed himself as “Fighting Joe.” After ringing in the 2023 new year with a host of front-page stories that detailed his marital woes, the now dethroned Sen. Morrissey has suddenly decided that not winning may not be so bad after all.

Perhaps losing his senate race two days after Father’s Day suddenly makes being a dad not so bad.

“I’m moving on to my next chapter in my life,” the senator is quoted in today’s Free Press. “I want to be a full-time dad and coach, to all my kids. I cannot see running for office ever again.”

And to that we say, “Goodbye and good riddance.”

Summer up

Summer 2023 arrived Wednesday, and although the purported longest day of the year was accompanied by rain, cheer up. The wetness won’t last long! After all, this is Richmond.

So, what to do during the long hot and humid days ahead? We have some ideas and would love to hear yours, too. Our list is fairly predictable but hey, give it a try anyway. You may be surprised what you see, do or learn. Here’s a list we lifted from Richmond’s various cultural and tourist websites:

Blackish

Check out the Black History Museum and Cultural Center Virginia. It’s in Richmond’s Historic Jackson Ward on Leigh Street and celebrates the rich culture and moving histories of African-American people in Virginia and their contributions to our magnificent country.

Take a food tour Richmond has a killer food scene, but it can be so hard to pare down the options. Discover Richmond Tours solves that problem for you! Join a tour in Carytown, Church Hill, Scott’s Addition or The Arts District to explore the food and history of this great city. On each tour, you’ll try tasty dishes, meet new people, and see Richmond like an insider.

Find Dead Rock at Belle Isle

Every park has its own little legend, and Dead Rock is Belle Isle’s secret claim to fame. This elusive rock is said to be where the Grateful Dead would party after playing shows in the ’70s (and before they were banned from Richmond in the ’80s). Take a swim in the James River and explore Belle Isle till you find it, or take the guess work out and do a quick Google search. We’ll keep the location a secret so you can decide, but here’s a hint: The rock has a huge skull painted on it.

Book a guided hiking tour

Explore the James River and its beautiful surrounding areas on a guided hiking tour! You’ll discover the hidden Pipeline Walk, the park’s most unique feature; cross the James via two separate pedestrian bridges; see Civil Warera ruins on Belle Isle and learn how they used to function; and best of all, be in the middle of nature, right in the heart of downtown RVA.

Rent a climate-controlled bus

Did you know Discover Richmond Tours has a climatecontrolled, 14-passenger shuttle bus? Rent it for a day with your favorite people and let us take you around the city, or even outside RVA! We know all of the good drinking spots within a one-hour drive, and you already know about our food expertise. Plan your own event or let us help you craft a fun day on our bus. Did we mention it’s got great AC?

Catch a movie at a drive-in

Imagine sitting on the hood of your car (or inside your car if it’s too hot outside, because of summer) while watching a movie on the huge screen in front of you, and the nighttime sky above you. There aren’t many drive-ins left, but the Goochland Drive-In Theater remains a great place for a now-unique experience and new releases.

Explore Three Lakes Nature Center

Explore an extensive set of nature trails and then visit the nature center to understand what’s happening beneath what the eye can see. With an aquarium and free admission, the Three Lakes Nature Center and Reserve is an inexpensive and educational way to entertain children or spend an afternoon alone. And for just being a short distance outside the city, it sure is quiet and tranquil.

Pride Month marred by anti-LGBTQ+ bills

“We are powerful because we have survived, and that is what it is all about—survival and growth.” A udre Lorde

Pride Month should be a time for celebrating love, the freedom to love whom we choose, and triumph over the prejudice, ignorance and fear of the past. The prejudice, ignorance and fear of the present, however, have cast a dark shadow over this year’s celebration.

In the past few years, there has been an astonishing increase in the bills restricting the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning people of the community (LGBTQ+). In this legislative session alone, state legislators have introduced a record 491 proposals to undermine and weaken nondiscrimination laws, limiting access to books and performances like drag shows, blocking medically-necessary and gender-affirming health care.

Nearly half of the bills target our most vulnerable young

people, attempting to prevent trans students from participating in school activities such as sports, to force teachers to out or identify LGBTQ+ students, and to censor any in-school discussions of LGBTQ+ people and issues.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed four bills on May 17 as well that expanded on Florida’s

“Don’t Say Gay” law. This law has restricted sexual orientation and gender identity discussions in the classroom from kindergarten to third grade. The updated law will expand the prohibited discussion to eighth grade. How will our youths express their authentic selves if it is illegal?

On June 28, 1969, in New York, police raided a gay bar called the Stonewall Inn. Such raids were commonplace, as the expression of LGBTQ+ identity — cross-dressing, holding hands, kissing or dancing with someone of the same sex — was illegal. This time, however, instead of complying, the crowd fought back. This spark ignited a fire, which led to five days

of rioting to defend LGBTQ+ rights in America. History is being reversed. Politicians hoping to ride a wave of hatred and ignorance into higher office are driving the nation backward toward the dark days of shame before Stonewall.

Black, indigenous, and people of color LGBTQ+ individuals experience far more discrimination than their white counterparts. They already face systemic hurdles in employment and the justice system. They also experience discrimination in situations that impact their basic needs: 24% reported discriminatory treatment from a health care provider, 44% share that discrimination has impacted them from renting or buying a home, and 48% have an income of less than $40,000 a year.

While not all of the antiLGBTQ+ bills will become law, they all have a devastating effect.

In 2022, 41% of LGBTQ+ youths contemplated suicide. This rate is twice as high as the general population of youth. Further, 11% of white LGBTQ+ youths attempted suicide while double the amount of BIPOC LGBTQ+ attempted suicide.

Why teachers need to fight against adult supremacy

As educators, we often talk about the importance of empowering students and giving them agency in the classroom. However, there is a darker reality that we must confront: The pervasive influence of adult supremacy, which takes away agency from kids by restricting their access to freedom and controlling their bodies, especially in schools. This issue is even more intense for students of color, as the need for control is often justified under the guise of “safety” and “discipline.” As teachers, it is our responsibility to combat adult supremacy in the classroom and give power and agency back to our students.

At its core, adult supremacy is rooted in the belief that adults are inherently superior to children and therefore have the right to control and dominate them. This manifests in a number of ways in schools, from strict dress codes to zero-tolerance discipline policies to the use of physical force to maintain control. In each case, the message is

clear: Children are not capable of making their own decisions and must be controlled for their own good.

For students of color, the need for control is often even more intense, as they are viewed as inherently more dangerous or disruptive. This can lead to

Ashley Clerge

harsher punishments, greater surveillance, and a lack of trust on the part of teachers and administrators. The result is a toxic environment that strips students of their agency and leaves them feeling powerless and marginalized.

As educators, we must work to combat adult supremacy in the classroom and give power and agency back to our students. This means rethinking our approach to discipline, moving away from punishment and control, and toward restorative justice and community building. It means listening to our students, valuing their opinions and experiences, and empowering them to make decisions about their own lives and education.

One way to do this is through the use of student-led

classrooms, where students have a say in everything from the curriculum to the rules to the physical layout of the classroom. This not only gives students agency but also helps to build a sense of community and ownership in the classroom.

We also can work to create safe spaces where students feel comfortable sharing their experiences and expressing their opinions. This means creating an environment where all voices are heard and valued, and where students feel free to challenge the status quo and advocate for themselves and their peers.

Ultimately, combating adult supremacy in the classroom requires a fundamental shift in our approach to education. We must move away from a model that views children as passive recipients of knowledge and toward one that values their agency, their experiences, and their voices. Only then can we create a truly empowering and equitable education system for all students.

The writer is a fifth grade humanities teacher for Boston Public Schools and a 2023 International Literacy Association 30 Under 30 Literacy Champion.

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.

The legislation that wishes to ban important conversations about the LGBTQ+ community will not witness progress, only children’s deaths.

Throughout history, figures such as Audre Lorde, Marsha P. Johnson, James Baldwin, Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, Gladys Bentley, Ron Oden, Lorraine Hansberry, and Phill Wilson have paved a path of hope. They will continue to inspire today’s LGBTQ+ youths of color and their needed allies. These icons will not be forgotten; we will fight for their history and our youth’s futures.

The writer is president and CEO of the National Urban League.

aprilcoleman@richmondfreepress.com

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Empathy for families with ‘difficult days ahead’

To the Richmond community: My condolences and empathy to families as they face the difficult days ahead without their loved ones.

My heart aches for their pain from losing two family members so suddenly on June 6 during the shooting deaths of Shawn D. Jackson and his stepfather, Renzo Smith, after Huguenot High School’s graduation ceremony.

I am saddened thinking about everyone’s pain, how traumatized the families, grandparents, babies, children and the community were during

the chaos and confusion of June 6.

I am saddened for all the graduate, and staff who worked so hard for their special day, but didn’t get the chance to enjoy their special day.

I pray everyone who was in attendance will seek mental health counseling. My family and I didn’t grieve for a long time after my son was murdered; it was too painful (and) I kept my pain inside for years until one day I was hosting a memorial for homicide

survivors and (my) tears (came) without warning, flowing like a river. To everyone who witnessed the tragedy, seek counseling as soon as possible. This could be long term for everyone present.

Thank you to everyone who responded so quickly:

The Richmond Police Department

Virginia Commonwealth University Police Department

Mayor Levar M. Stoney

First Responders

Richmond Public Schools Superintendent

Jason Kamras

Community leaders and public officials

A special thank you to the Richmond Free Press for their quick reporting on the tragedy.

LInDA JoRDAn

The writer was founder of the Richmond Coalition Against Violence for Homicide Survivors, which dissolved in 2022 after 31 years.

In affirmative action and student loan cases, some see backlash to racial progress in education

By Annie Ma and Aaron Morrison

The Associated Press WASHInGTon

As a Black student who was raised by a single mother, Makia Green believes she benefited from a program that gave preference to students of color from economically disadvantaged backgrounds when she was admitted over a decade ago to the University of Rochester.

As a borrower who still owes just over $20,000 on her undergraduate student loans, she has been counting on President Biden’s promised debt relief to wipe nearly all of that away.

Now, both affirmative action and the student loan cancellation plan — policies that disproportionately help Black students — could soon be dismantled by the U.S. Supreme Court. To Ms. Green and many other people of color, the efforts to roll them back reflect a larger backlash to racial progress in higher education.

“I feel like working people have been through enough — I have been through enough,” said Ms. Green, a community organizer. “From a pandemic, an uprising, a recession, the cost of living price going up. I deserved some relief.”

The rulings could also have political consequences among a generation of young voters of color who took Presient Biden at his word when he promised to cancel debt, said Wisdom Cole, director of nAACP’s youth and

college program. “Year after year, we have elected officials, we have advocates, we have different politicos coming to our communities making promises. But now it’s time to deliver on those promises,” he said.

The president’s plan forgives up to $10,000 in federal student debt for borrowers, and doubles the debt relief to $20,000 for borrowers who also received Pell Grants. About half of the average debt held by Black and Hispanic borrowers would be wiped out, according to the White House. Six Republicanled states filed a legal challenge questioning whether the president, a Democrat, has authority to forgive the debt.

In the affirmative action cases, the court is considering the use of race-conscious admissions policies that many selective colleges have used for decades to help build diversity on their campuses. The cases were brought by a conservative activist who argues the Constitution forbids the use of race in college admissions.

The high court is expected to rule in each of the cases by the end of June.

Both cases focus on policies that address historic racial disparities in access to higher education, as Black borrowers tend to take on disproportionately more debt to afford college, said Dominique J. Baker, an education policy professor at Southern Methodist University.

Backlash to racial progress tends to follow periods of social

control and oppress us.”

In the 1960s and 1970s, many colleges developed affirmative action plans to address the fact that many predominantly white schools struggled to attract people from historically disadvantaged and underrepresented communities. Policies were also created to promote greater inclusion of women.

The Associated Press

racial justice.”

The Associated Press

The Justice Department on June 16 issued a scathing assessment of Minneapolis Police, alleging that racial discrimination and excessive force went unchecked before George Floyd’s killing because of inadequate oversight and an unwieldy process for investigating complaints.

The probe began in April 2021, a day after former officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, was convicted of murder and manslaughter in the May 25, 2020, killing of Mr. Floyd, a Black man. Mr. Floyd, who was in handcuffs, repeatedly said he couldn’t breathe before going limp as the officer knelt on his neck for 9½ minutes. The killing was recorded by a bystander and sparked months of mass protests as part of a broader national reckoning over racial injustice.

Here are six takeaways from the report:

What was the purpose of the investigation?

The focus of the probe was to examine whether there has been a pattern or practice of unconstitutional or unlawful policing in the Minneapolis Police Department. It examined the use of force by officers, including during protests, and whether the department engages in discriminatory practices. It also looked at the handling of misconduct allegations, treatment of people with behavioral health issues and systems of accountability.

What were the key findings?

Investigators found numerous examples of excessive force, unlawful discrimination and First Amendment violations. They reviewed 19 police shootings and determined that officers sometimes fired without first determining whether there was an immediate threat of harm to the officers or others.

In 2017, for example, an officer fatally shot Justine Ruszczyk Damond, an unarmed white Australian-born woman who “spooked” him when she approached his squad car, according to the report. She had called 911 to report a possible rape behind her house. The city paid $20 million to settle with her family.

In another case, officers shot a suspect after he started stabbing himself in the neck in a police station interview room.

Officers also used neck restraints like the one Derek Chauvin used on Mr. Floyd 198 times between Jan. 1, 2016, and Aug. 16, 2022, including 44 instances that didn’t require an arrest. Some officers continued to use neck restraints even after they were banned in the wake of Mr. Floyd’s killing, the report said.

At protests, it found, people were sometimes shot with rubber bullets when they were committing no crime or were dispersing.

According to the report, one journalist was hit by a rubber bullet and lost her eye, while another was shoved to the pavement while filming and pepper-sprayed in the face. One protester was shoved so hard that she fell backward, hit the pavement and lay unconscious for three minutes.

What did investigators find about racial bias in policing?

The report documented rampant racism and racial profiling in the department, with Black drivers more than six times more likely to be stopped than white drivers.

The racism also extended to arrests.

When one Black teen was held at gunpoint for allegedly stealing a $5 burrito, the teen asked the plainclothes officer if

Makia Green stands outside her Washington home on June 12. As a Black student who was raised by a single mother, Ms. Green believes she benefited from a program that gave preference to students of color from economically disadvantaged backgrounds when she was admitted over a decade ago to the University of Rochester. As a borrower who still owes just more than $20,000 on her undergraduate student loans, she has been counting on President Biden’s promised debt relief to wipe nearly all that away. Now, both affirmative action and the student loan cancellation plan — policies that disproportionately help Black students — could soon be dismantled by the U.S. Supreme Court. change and advancement, Dr. Baker said. In a study published in 2019, Dr. Baker and her co-authors found states were more likely to adopt bans on affirmative action when white enrollment at public flagship universities dropped.

“These are policy tools that have an explicit aim around reducing the power of white supremacy,” Dr. Baker said. The two court challenges, she said, can be seen “as linked backlash to two attempts toward

Ms. Green, who grew up in a low-income household in Harlem, n.H., graduated from Rochester with about $40,000 in federal loan debt. Some of that was erased under a public service forgiveness program when she completed two terms with Americorps, and she whittled it down further with monthly installments until the government paused repayment due to the pandemic. Ms. Green said she sees both

court cases as connected to conservative attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Critics say opposition to such programs is rooted in questions of fairness and in white grievances over the advancement of nonwhite people.

“This is white supremacy at work,” Ms. Green said. “This is a long tactic of conservative, white supremacist-leaning groups to use education and limit Black people’s access to education, as a way to further

Since the late 1970s, the Supreme Court has three times upheld affirmative action in college admissions on grounds that institutions have a compelling interest to address past discrimination that shut nonwhite students out of higher learning. Justices have also agreed with arguments that more diverse student bodies promoted crossracial understanding. But with the Supreme Court skewing more ideologically conservative, some former students and advocates worry how a ruling against affirmative action might affect diversity on campuses.

Tarina Ahuja, a rising senior at Harvard College, said being part of a diverse student body has been a crucial part of her undergraduate experience. She recalled classes where students discussed their lived experiences on topics such as police violence, colonialism and labor movements — discussions that would have fallen flat without a diverse range of student perspectives.

“The decision is going to very likely be something that is scary to a lot of us,” she said.

Six key points from the scathing report on Minneapolis Police after George Floyd’s killing

he was indeed police. “Really?” the officer responded, according to a video recording. “How many white people in the city of Minneapolis have you run up against with a gun?”

In another case, a woman reported that an officer said to her that the Black Lives Matter movement was a “terrorist” organization. “We are going to make sure you and all of the Black Lives supporters are wiped off the face of the Earth,” she recalled him saying. Her complaint against the officer was closed by the department with a finding of “no merit.”

How did the department treat the mentally ill?

Mental health crises often were made worse when police responded, investigators found.

In 2017, for instance, officers encountered an unarmed man in the midst of what neighbors described as a mental health episode. He initially paced around his yard, yelling. After complying with orders to sit on his front steps, an officer fired his taser without warning.

In another case, a mother called 911 to report that her adult daughter, a Black woman with bipolar disorder, was attempting to hurt herself by lying in the road. By the time officers got there, the woman was calmly walking through a park. The officers nevertheless grabbed her, and she began yelling and pulled away. The woman was then put in a neck restraint as her

mother pleaded, “Don’t choke her like that!”

How did officers get away with misconduct?

Investigations into police misconduct took months and sometimes years, according to the report. And those conducting the inquiries frequently failed to view video corroborating public complaints.

Supervisors also were quick to back their subordinates. In one case, an officer tased a man eight times without pausing even as the man protested that he was doing “exactly” what he was told. The supervisor found no policy violations and told the man after the fact that if he hadn’t been resisting, “they wouldn’t have had to strike you.”

The report also highlighted the case of John Pope, who was just 14 when Derek Chauvin struck him in the head with a flashlight multiple times and pinned him to a wall by his throat. He then knelt on the Black teen, as his mother pleaded, “Please do not kill my son.” Officer Chauvin, the report found, kept his knee on the teen’s neck or back for over 15 minutes.

But due to poor supervision and a failed internal investigation, commanders did not learn what had happened to Pope until three years later, after Chauvin killed Floyd, the report said. The city ultimately agreed to settle a lawsuit in the case for $7.5 million.

SICKLE CELL ASSOCIATION

RICHMOND - OSCAR

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

African American blood donations are best for these patients.

Please call the RED CROSS at 800-733-2767 or go to www.redcrossblood.org and make an appointment to donate.

Stories by Fred Jeter

Dennis Parker Jr.’s ascension to N.C. State fueled by academics, athletics, family ties

John Marshall High School’s Dennis Parker Jr. ranks among the most talented and decorated basketball players in Richmond history.

It might have never happened, however, if not for a bold family decision in the summer of 2019.

The son of Dr. Dennis Sr. and Andrea Parker grew up in Chesterfield County and was on track to attend Clover Hill High until everything changed.

The Parkers moved from Western Chesterfield to Richmond’s North Side so their talented son would play for JM Coach Ty White and the perennially powerful Justices.

The transfer from county to city was more about books than basketball, the elder Parker insists.

“Dennis (Jr.) wasn’t always a strong student. We were looking for more academic support and we found it with JM and Coach White,” said Parker Sr.

“Between 4 and 6 each day, we knew exactly where he’d be –study hall,” Parker Sr. added. And he wound up making the National Honor Society.”

The younger Parker was 14 when he enrolled at JM, and found himself at times nervous about leaving behind old classmates for new ones.

“(It was) an interesting trip,” he said of the transfer. At first I was skeptical about how I would fit in, but then everything I thought might go wrong went right.

“I exceeded my own expectations.”

On the court, Parker Jr.’s résumé speaks for itself.

In three seasons (with the exception of a sophomore season due to COVID-19), Parker Jr. was a major part of three state titles and an overall record of 74-6. The JM Justices won the last 37 games he played.

The consensus four-star prospect was two-time All-Metro Player of Year and State Player of the Year this past season.

As a senior, he averaged 20 points, five rebounds and three steals, while hitting 58 percent from the floor and 38 percent behind the arc.

Understandingly, with all that success came a flock of recruiters.

The 6-foot-7 wing chose North Carolina State over a long list of suitors and will soon enroll in summer classes in Raleigh to get a head start on the fall semester.

Wolfpack Coach Kevin Keatts recruited Parker Jr. for more than his jump shot and theatrical dunks.

“Dennis can score in a variety

of ways, and on defense, he can lock down his opponent,” Coach Keatts told Pack Power, an N.C. State in-house publication. “And off the court he is all you could ever want in a studentathlete.”

Parker Jr. plans to major in business administration while also playing hoops at N.C. State.

The Wolfpack is coming off a 23-11 season in which it lost to Creighton in the opening round of the NCAAs.

Much to his credit, JM Coach White places academics at the top of his players “to-do list.” Rarely does an interview go by that Coach White doesn’t mention his team’s sparkling GPA. Parker Jr., by the way, finished with a 5.0 GPA, fourth in his class. Little of this is by accident.

JM takes part in a federally funded program called TRIO Tal-

ent Search. TRIO provides “one-on-one” tutoring and mentoring assistance to students.

“Every single day,” said Coach White of the program. “It’s mandatory — non-negotiable.”

Parker Sr. and Andrea Parker didn’t just take someone’s word for it when making the decision to relocate to Richmond.

“They (parents) came to school and sat in class,” said Coach White. “They saw for themselves” what the school offered.

It helped that the Parkers had family roots in the North Side school.

Dennis Sr. played football at JM from 1985 to 1988 under Lou Anderson, and later lined up at Virginia Union University under Coach Joe Taylor.

While at JM, the elder Parker became close friends with twotime All-Metro basketball star Milton Bell, who later played at Georgetown.

Bell is Dennis Jr.’s godfather, and was instrumental in his early skills development.

“One reason my son went to JM was to be as good as his ‘Uncle Milton,’” said Parker Sr.

Parker Jr. even patterned his appearance after Bell, who was known for his flowing dreadlocks.

As a Justices freshman, Parker Jr. wore his long hair in braided pigtails during games. He since has cut his locs shorter of late but says “I’m going back” to the Bell look.

Parker Jr. always has been a winner. During his Manchester Middle School days, he helped lead the Majestic Lions to consecutive Chesterfield County titles.

As an eighth-grader, he was on the Boo Williams travel team that won a national AAU crown. From Boo Williams, he played on a series of top-of-the-line outfits for Team Loaded.

Parker Jr. finishes with 1,396 career points for JM, despite not playing in his sophomore season.

Other city standouts have scored more. Tyree Evans had 2,251 points for George Wythe, Clyde Austin 2,158 for Maggie Walker, Kendrick Warren 2,134 for Thomas Jefferson and Travis McKie 2,094 for JM, 2007-10. All came in four full seasons.

Still, none of those fine athletes won three state titles, a total that almost surely would have been four if not for a canceled season due to COVID-19 in 2020-21.

Based on his stellar skills on the basketball court and his near straight A performance in JM classrooms, it’s easy to make a case that Parker Jr. is the top city baller ever based on high school play alone.

Jokic in conversation for greatest center

History books will show the Denver Nuggets are the 2023 NBA champions. Let there be no doubt about that.

But what about the Nuggets’ Rocky Mountain-sized center, Nikola Jokic? What will his place be on the all-time list of great centers?

Still just 28, the 6-foot-11, 284-pound native Serbian has many years — perhaps even another decade — to further polish his résumé.

Already he has two MVP Awards, an MVP runner-up (this season to Joel Embiid) and his first NBA crown, although more could follow.

“The Joker” is coming off a scintillating season in which he averaged 24.5 points, 11.9 rebounds and 9.8 assists. In so doing, he coined the name of a new position — “point center” — for his sleight-of-hand passing on the perimeter.

But comparing the former second round draft choice to the legends is dicey at best.

For starters, the statistics

accompanying this article are mostly about offense. Jokic is not a great leaper and not considered a fearsome shot blocker. Still, his bulk makes him hard to get around.

It’s hard making generational comparisons. Blocked shots weren’t even kept during the George Mikan, Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell years, and the 3-point shot wasn’t added by the NBA until 1979. The game has evolved. Jokic is as much a threat from a distance (38.3 percent) as he is from close in.

So, who deserves to be called the top big man of all time?

Mikan was considered “the first big man,” when he came out of DePaul at 6-foot-10 and overwhelmed the league with the Minneapolis (later Los Angels) Lakers.

Russell won the most titles, by far, but in a much smaller league (just eight teams in 1960) and while surrounded by other Hall of Fame Celtics.

Chamberlain was truly a colossus at a muscular 7-foot-1, averaging 50 points per game in 1962.

Then there was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who dominated the college game at UCLA (under the name Lew Alcindor)

Track star Wilson going pro

Britton Wilson has decided to run for cash instead of medals and ribbons. The former Richmond athlete is leaving the University of Arkansas to pursue a professional career sponsored by HSI Sports Agency.

Wilson starred locally for Mills Godwin High before enrolling first at the University of Tennessee and more recently at Arkansas.

She ranks among the fastest women in the world for the 400 hurdles and flat 400. Her personal bests are 53.04 for a quarter mile over sticks and 49.13 for the flat 400.

Wilson, 22, is the daughter of former VCU basketball guard Vince Wilson. She finished fifth in the 400 hurdles at last year’s World Championships in Eugene, Ore., and raced a leg on the

U.S. winning 4x400 relay.

Wilson suffered a minor setback at the recent NCAA championships in Austin, Tex. She was second in the 400 hurdles and a disappointing seventh in the hurdles.

The schedule offered her little recovery time. There were only 25 minutes between the end of the hurdles and the start of the open 400.

Her first pro runs could be July 6-9 at the USATF Outdoor championships in Eugene. There she will likely compete against Sidney McLaughlin-Levrone, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics’ 400-meter hurdles champ. Wilson also will likely begin competition on the international Diamond Tour. Certainly a goal will be to qualify, possibly in 400 and 400 hurdles, for the 2024 Olympics in France.

and ultimately won six MVP trophies while scoring an alltime record 38,387 points.

Artis Gilmore, like Moses Malone, came from the old ABA to become a powerful NBA figure. Gilmore stands about 7-foot-3 and towered even higher with one of the NBA’s all-time Afros.

What if Bill Walton had never been injured? “The Grateful Red” was on a path to the summit when chronic foot problems dulled his skills.

Shaquille O’Neal may have been even more physically dominant than Chamberlain at nearly 300 pounds.

Hakeem Olajuwon, the “Nigerian Nightmare,” is likely the all-time defender with 3,830 blocked shots.

And how about Malone, who came out of Petersburg High with no college experience to become a three-time MVP and 12-time all-star.

Pat Ewing was the pride of the Big Apple, earning 11 All-Star rings with the New York Knicks.

The “Admiral,” David Robinson was a 10-time All-Star and one-time MVP who kept

San Antonio near the top of league for 14 seasons. Not mentioned here is 6-foot-11 Giannis Antetokounmpo. The “Greek Freak” is too much of a perimeter player, as much a guard as a center. Also not mentioned is former Virginia Union sensation Ben Wallace, who later starred with Detroit. Wallace was elected to the Naismith Hall of Fame, but his career averages of 5.7 points, 9.6 boards, 1.3 assists and 41.4 percent foul shooting doesn’t make “the greatest” cut.

Going head-to-head in the same era with Jokic is Embiid, who was runner-up MVP in 2021 and 2022 before taking top honors this go-round.

There is no easy answer to is “the greatest.” It depends on what you’re looking for, and from what generation.

Jokic, in time, might deserve the highest honors. But there’s no reason to rush judgment — check back about 2033.

And by then there may be another contender. French teenager Victor Wembanyama, aka “Wemby,” is coming soon to an NBA arena near you.

‘Spike’ originator dies at 82

Homer Jones, famous for his long receptions and spiking the ball after a touchdown, died Wednesday, June 14, 2023, in his hometown of Pittsburg, Texas. Mr. Jones was 82 and had been suffering from lung cancer.

Out of HBCU Texas Southern University in Houston, he was big (6-foot-2, 215 pounds) and fast (doubled as college sprinter) and was a defensive back’s nightmare.

Playing mostly with the New York Giants in the 1960s, Mr. Jones caught 224 passes for 38 touchdowns and 4,936 yards.

That’s an average of 22.3 yards per reception and ranks first all time in the NFL. By comparison, Jerry Rice ( all time leader in receptions) averaged 14.8 per catch.

A two-time All-Pro, Mr. Jones’ best season was 1967 with New York when he hauled in 49 passes for 1,209 yards, averaging 24.7 a snag, and scored 13 TDs.

Following TDs, he drew much attention for throwing the ball down — spiking it — with a determined motion. There was a reason for it. Then-NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle had been fining players for throwing balls into the stands to celebrate TDs. His Giants quarterbacks included Earl Morrall and Fran Tarkenton.

Tarkenton insisted that, in full pads and wearing cleats, Jones was faster than the Cowboys’ Bob Hayes, who was the 1964 Olympic 100-meter champ.

Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

Dennis Parker Sr. and his son, Dennis Parker Jr., are both athletic standouts in the history of John Marshall High School. The elder Parker played football at JM from 1985 to 1988 under Coach Lou Anderson and at Virginia Union University under Coach Joe Taylor. Parker Jr. helped lead JM’s team to the 2023 state title for the third year in which the team has played since COVID-19. The younger Parker was named high school basketball player of the year in Virginia and will play for North Carolina State University.

James Haskins/Richmond Free Press

James Haskins/Richmond Free Press

Wilson

Kareem

Bill Walton

Jokic

Homer Jones

Personality: Larry Williams

Spotlight on 6th Annual Black Pride RVA Weekend planning committee co-chair

An end of college trip in 2014 with a former partner brought Larry Williams to Richmond, but the Black Pride community he found here made him stay. He became a part of the community himself. Now he lives on the South Side in the home he bought in 2019.

“The very first thing that makes my neighborhood so special is that my mom is my neighbor,” he said by phone recently, explaining that when his next-door neighbors moved and the house went up for sale, his mother jumped on it.

The other thing he loves about Richmond is its vibe. Mr. Williams has watched it grow and develop over nearly a decade. He moved around a lot growing up the son of a military mother, and now he is enjoys laying down roots and building social connections within the community. That is something he says he learned from his mother.

“She definitely influenced me through her work ethic and her dedication to her local community,” he adds. “She’s from Florida originally. To this day when she goes back to visit, she makes time to volunteer.”

Mr. Williams has definitely taken that to heart. In addition to his job as a territory executive with Mako Medical Labs, he has volunteered as a program assistant with Us Giving Richmond Connections (UGRC) since its inception six years ago. The nonprofit was founded by Black LGBTQ+ community leaders Rev. Dr. Lacette Cross, Luise “Cheezi” Farmer and Zakia McKensey to improve the health and well-being of Black LGBTQ+ communities in Greater Richmond.

“UGRC helps give people the connection piece — the social connection that they need,” Mr. Williams said. “It helped me to connect the dots when I first relocated here. I was able to rediscover myself as part of a community.”

This year, he is co-chairing the planning committee for the 6th Annual Black Pride RVA Weekend with Samuel Patterson. When UGRC started the event in 2018, it was the first of its kind in Richmond.

“Before [co-chairing] the first time, I was doing some side work with Lacette Cross. She told me she had a position for me that I would really enjoy,” he recalled. “Although I was totally “voluntold,” I really loved it. This is my second year as co-chair.”

Making those connections, especially within the business community, “has been a challenge, but it’s a fun challenge,” he said.

The reward has been seeing just how much Richmond can be impacted by a dream and a vision.

“I have met people I never thought I’d meet,” Mr. Williams said. “I never thought that I’d be talking to Mayor

Stoney and that the mayor and the city would be paying attention to us.

UGRC expects about 5,000 people from near and far to attend the July weekend’s events. In addition to their hallmark Day of Purpose, there will be awards, a Pride Brunch, the Blacktopia Ball and a community block party. Award recipients also will participate in a “Queer Talk” panel about LGBTQ+ issues with Mr. Williams as moderator.

Learning that her son is gay was an adjustment for his mother, but Mr. Williams is proud that she involves herself in the events and volunteers alongside him.

“Black Pride RVA has helped my mom a lot too,” he said. “It has been difficult for her sometimes, but she has learned a lot meeting people across the spectrum.”

“We have a great relationship,” he adds, crediting his sense of humor and laughter is love attitude to his upbringing.

“My family’s sense of humor is ridiculous,” Mr. Williams said, before he added, “I’m not the person to tell bad news to though because I’ll probably laugh.”

He encourages anyone and everyone to come out and be a part of UGRC events.

“To be involved in your community is really to learn about yourself,” says Mr. Williams. “It’s a great way to make connections, have a good time and be educated.”

Meet a strong advocate for the LGBTQ+ community and this week’s Personality, Larry Williams:

Volunteer position: Co-chair, Black Pride RVA Planning Committee.

Occupation: Territory executive, Mako Medical Labs.

Date and place of birth: April 26, Anchorage, Alaska. Where I live now: Richmond.

Education: Bachelor’s in communications.

Family: Mother.

When and why Black Pride RVA was founded: The mission of Us Giving Richmond Connection is to improve the health and wellness of Black LGBTQ communities of the Greater Richmond Region. During the summer of 2016 Us Giving Richmond Connection was born. Black Pride RVA Weekend is a program of the Organization. The program’s intention is to foster the Inclusion and advancement of equality within the Black LBGTQ+ community through education and social connection. The event is hosted annually on the third weekend of July. Events are generally free and include the “The Day of Purpose”

“Pride in the Park” and the “Root Awards.”

Founders: Lacette Cross, Luise “Cheezi” Farmer, Zakia McKensey. How long I’ve been involved with UGRC: I have been involved since 2016 at the time of their inception, working as the program assistant. Why this organization is meaningful to me: This organization is meaningful to me because it has become a foundation for me. Black Pride created a space where I can exist and express my true self. Black Pride has helped me acknowledge who I am and how I show up in the world as a beautiful human being.

Why I accepted the Black Pride RVA Weekend co-chair role: I accepted the position because I wanted a challenge. I wanted to learn about who and how our community can be impacted in a positive way. I wanted to focus on building a stronger bond with my community. No. 1 goal as co-chair: My No.

1 goal has been to help foster connection to our community by providing a social environment where the community can feel supported, heard, honored and lastly can party with a purpose.

Upcoming events:

July 14, Root Awards/Queer Talk, Virginia Union University, 1500 N. Lombardy St., 7 p.m., free of charge.

July 15: Day of Purpose, 11 a.m., Greater Richmond Convention Center, 5th and Marshall streets. Free.

July 15: Blacktopia Ball, Diversity Richmond, 1407 Sherwood Ave., 5 p.m., cost: $20-$200.

July 16: Pride Brunch, Diversity Richmond, 11 a.m., cost: $20.

July 16: Community Block Party, Diversity Richmond, 2 p.m.

Why this is a hot ticket to grab: The Blacktopia is a hot ticket to grab because awards, prizes and special guests will be all available in one night!

Anticipated number of attendees: 5,000.

How I start the day: With a daily spiritual practice of reading and meditation.

The three words that best describe me: Genuine, funny and cosmopolitan.

If I had 10 extra minutes in the day: I would take those 10 minutes to sleep and or journal more.

Best late-night snack: French fries.

The music I listen to most is: Indie artists. Dawn Richard is my favorite.

Something I love to do that most people would never imagine: I love watching movies with French subtitles. A quote that inspires me: “All things are lessons that God would have me learn.” Iyanla Vanzant.

At the top of my “to-do” list: Travel to Toulouse, France.

The best thing my parents ever taught me: Laughter is an expression of love.

The person who influenced me the most: My mom. Book that influenced me the most and how: Acts of Faith: Meditations for People of Color” by Iyanla Vanzant.

Next goal: Save $5,000 and travel to Alaska with my mom.

Americans mark Juneteenth with parties, events and quiet reflection on the end of slavery

Free Press staff, wire report

Americans across the country this weekend celebrated Juneteenth, marking the relatively new national holiday with cookouts, parades and other gatherings as they commemorated the end of slavery after the Civil War.

While many have treated the long holiday weekend as a reason for a party, others urged quiet reflection on America’s often violent and oppressive treatment of its Black citizens. Still others have remarked at the strangeness of celebrating a federal holiday marking the end of slavery in the nation while many Americans are trying to stop parts of that history from being taught in public schools.

the bloody Civil War. For generations, Black Americans have recognized Juneteenth, but it only became a federal holiday two years ago.

In Fort Worth, Texas, the woman known as the “grandmother of Juneteenth,” Opal Lee, led her annual Walk for Freedom.

The 96-year-old former teacher and activist is largely credited for rallying others behind a campaign to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. This year, Ms. Lee became only the second Black person to have her portrait placed in the Senate chamber of the Texas Capitol.

Vice President Kamala Harris said in brief remarks on a CNN special that also featured musical guests, including Miguel and Charlie Wilson, that the holiday honors Black excellence and celebrates freedom, one of the country’s founding principles.

“America is a promise, a promise of freedom, liberty, and justice,” Vice President Harris said. “The story of Juneteenth, as we celebrate it, is the story of our ongoing fight to realize America’s promise, not for some, but for all.”

More about Juneteenth

“Is #Juneteenth the only federal holiday that some states have banned the teaching of its history and significance?’ author Michelle Duster asked on Twitter, referring to measures in Florida, Oklahoma and Alabama prohibiting an Advancement Placement African-American studies course or the teaching of certain concepts of race and racism.

The holiday commemorates June 19, 1865, when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, learned they had been freed — two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued during

At a Sunday Mass in Detroit, one Roman Catholic church devoted its service to urging parishioners to take a deeper look at the lessons from the holiday. “In order to have justice we must work for peace. And in order to have peace we must work for justice,” John Thorne, executive director of the Detroit Catholic Pastoral Alliance, said to the congregation at Gesu Catholic Church while standing before paintings of a Black Jesus and Mary.

It was important to speak about Juneteenth during the service, the Rev. Lorn Snow told a reporter.

“The struggle’s still not over with. There’s a lot of work to be done,” he said.

Meanwhile, in Richmond, numerous celebrations and events commemorated the holiday. Music, dancing, food and laughter marked the city’s second annual Juneteenth event known as “June Jubilation” on Wharf Street. Henrico County’s Division of Recreation & Parks Dorey Park celebrated Juneteenth at Dorey Park as “Emancipation Day” or “Day of Freedom” – on June 17, with live performances, a vendor fair, historical and educational exhibits, a kids’ zone and fireworks.

The event also featured food trucks and performances by

community groups, local drumlines, Akoma De Gado, Desirée Roots, Bak N Da Day, and a concert by Mighty Joshua.

Other Juneteenth weekend events included the opening of The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts’ “Benjamin Wigfall and Communications Village” and “Whitfield Lovell: Passages.”

The exhibition, which opened June 17 and continues until Sept. 19, celebrates Mr. Wigfall, who was from Richmond’s Church Hill neighborhood, and his life’s work as a barrier-breaking abstract artist, educator and mentor to future artists, and Whitfield Lovell, whose work contemplates the ordinary lives and extraordinary journeys of the anonymous African-American individuals Mr. Lovell depicts, while raising universal questions about identity, memory and America’s collective heritage.

Mr. Lovell further pushes the boundaries of the visitor experience when he incorporates his assemblage works into immersive installations, according to a VMFA news release. Two such works, “Deep River” (2013) and “Visitation: The Richmond Project” (2001), begin and end the exhibitions.

While Juneteenth may have ended for some, Chesterfield County continues its recognition on June 24 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Perkinson Center For The Arts and Education as it partners with the Richmond Night Market to host its first Pop-Up Market in Chesterfield.

Several of the vendors will be Black-owned businesses, along with food trucks and a DJ. Chesterfield County also notes its historic connection to Juneteenth in Episode 50 of the “Chesterfield Behind The Mic,” podcast in which historian John Pagano of Henricus Historical Park explains how Black Union soldiers stationed locally were part of the forces that arrived in Galveston on June 19, 1865, as word finally came about the abolition of slavery throughout the former United States of the Confederacy. Listen at: https://www. chesterfield.gov/5483/Chesterfield-Behind-the-Mic-Podcast Also on June 24, The 3rd Annual Caribbean American Heritage Festival comes to Henrico’s Dorey Park and Recreation Center from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The free event includes a performance from Local Image Band, Caribbean food vendors and children’s activities. Eventbrite.com

Brian Palmer

Street vocalist Kamauu was among the performers during Juneteenth.

Brittany Powell Elegba Folklore Society drummers celebrate during at the Virginia Museum during the Juneteenth weekend.

Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

Valerie Cassel Oliver, center, curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, greets visitors during a media preview of two new VMFA exhibitions, “Benjamin Wigfall and Communications Village” and “Whitfield Lovell: Passages.” The exhibitions opened to the public June 17 and will end in September.

Brian Palmer

Mayor Levar M. Stoney welcomes Richmonders to “June Jubilations,” the city’s Juneteenth celebration on June 18 on the banks of the James River on Wharf Street. Hundreds of people, below, attended the festivities, which included an artwork display by University of Richmond student Alexis Rogers.

Brittany Powell

Brittany Powell

Brian Palmer Brian Palmer

Akoma De Gado dancers and Sparkle Cheer and Danz (below) perform during Henrico County’s Juneteenth celebration at Dorey Park.

Fourth Baptist receives historic preservation grant

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Fourth Baptist Church in Richmond’s East End has been awarded a $150,000 grant to support preservation of the education wing as the church prepares to mark the 164th anniversary of its founding.

The grant, from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, will enable the church to secure a structural report on and make limited repairs to the 61-year-old building whose designer, the late Ethel Bailey Furman, was the first Black female architect in Virginia.

The aim of the grant is “to enable the congregation to preserve the building for future generations,” the Trust stated in

announcing the award to the historic church at 2800 P St. in Church Hill.

The grant arrived just before the church’s celebration of its founding in 1859 before the Civil War. The anniversary program, which is open to the public, is scheduled for the 10 a.m. worship service Sunday, June 25.

The event will include the unveiling of a portrait of Ms. Furman that will hang in the church’s parlor, the church has announced.

The grant is the latest good news for the historic church that is continuing to recover from a contentious battle over pastoral leadership that split the congregation.

The good news includes City Council’s recent approval of

the creation of an honorary street sign to recognize one of the church’s best known pastors, the late Rev. Robert L. Taylor Sr., who played a key role in the Civil Rights Movement in Richmond.

The grant to Fourth Baptist was one of 40 that the Trust collectively awarded in June through its African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund.

Hampton University, which sought a grant to create a landscape plan, was the only other Virginia recipient of the $3.8 million in preservation grants that Trust provided.

Since its founding in 2017, the Action Fund has awarded more than $20 million to 242 Black heritage sites across the country.

A Black preacher, ‘no longer at war with her body,’ on connecting flesh with the divine

By Emma Ryan Religion News Service

Lyvonne Briggs describes herself as “a Black woman spiritual leader who is no longer at war with her body.” Her mission, in her new book, “Sensual Faith,” is to help other women stop being at war with their bodies too.

If that sounds dark, that misapprehension is dispelled in the first words of “Sensual Faith”: “Hey Boo!” Pastor Briggs addresses her readers as if they were in the room with her, and her enthusiasm rarely wanes over the course of 200 pages as she talks about pain and pleasure, healing, hurting and how our bodies are connected with the divine.

Pastor Briggs, 40, says she does not preach about anything she hasn’t personally experienced — the roller coaster of marriage and divorce, conception and miscarriage. She writes about surviving sexual assault.

A New Yorker, Pastor Briggs attended Yale Divinity School and Columbia Theological Seminary. She worked as an assistant pastor in New Orleans before founding Beautiful Scars, Religion News Service spoke with Pastor Briggs about her

audience, her journey and the act of spiritual, sensual and sexual healing.

RNS: The voice you use in the book is unexpected but refreshing. How did you decide to write it this way?

Pastor Briggs: I’m a Black woman writing for Black women, and Black women have vernacular, colloquialisms and an energy about us. There’s very Black girl-specific language — even, in some parts, very Black church girl-specific language — that I use intentionally because

Good Shepherd Baptist Church

The Rev. Sylvester T. Smith, Ph.D., Pastor “There’s A Place

IT HAPPEN”

St. Peter Baptist Church

I wanted Black women to know that, one, I’m writing to you. That we can carve out this really beautiful, authentic, sacred space together to explore really big, hard, tough issues. There’s something to be said about writing a book about radical hospitality using language that’s a tool and an invitation into said radical hospitality.

RNS: So you’re writing primarily for Black women?

Pastor Briggs: In my mind’s eye, I’m talking to Black women, 18 to 45, currently

or formerly “churched,” who always had this hunch that there’s got to be more to it than this — religion, faith, God, spirituality. Growing up hearing sermons about, “If you have sex before marriage, you’re going to hell.” Why I gotta go to hell if I’m having consensual sex? There are harmful ideologies that attack our queer kin, right? Why I gotta hate gay people if I love God? That doesn’t make sense.

When I think of specific readers, I’m thinking of women,

like me, in their 20s, in grad school, being introduced to new concepts and thinking, “I really want to go to a yoga class, but I heard yoga is demonic. Can I go to yoga or not?” Women in their 30s navigating engagements, marriage, divorce, all kinds of reproductive health things. I’m thinking of women in their 40s navigating divorce and owning their sexuality now that they’re thinking about life after the kids leave the nest.

It’s for women who want to feel full, whole, at ease and at home in their bodies, no matter what age they’re at.

RNS: What does “sensual faith” mean to you?

Pastor Briggs: It’s a framework that’s been in the making for decades. No matter where I was in life, at home, church, school, questions about my being and my experience would always come up. There would be walls put up, whether it was in the classroom or the sanctuary, when I wanted to talk about really hard things. I started to

learn that the things the church was teaching me were bad, or evil or demonic, were what I needed to be at home in my body. I realized that when I felt comfortable in my power, that was a problem for the church and for society.

RNS: You write about recovering from sexual assault and that the church told you “It’s in God’s plan” or “The Lord is testing you.” What should they have said?

Pastor Briggs: “I believe you.” It boggles my mind as a pastor, that there are people who will believe that God split open the Red Sea, a prophet survived an encounter with a whale, but when a person comes forward about assault, they don’t believe that. All of the rationalization goes out the window the moment I honor and see you. “I believe you” says: “You don’t have to prove here, you’re not on trial. I support you, I may not know how to support you, but I’m gonna figure it out.”

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

“BACK IN SERVICE” Our doors are open again Mask required • Must provide vaccination card Every Sunday @ 11:00 am.

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

“MAKE IT HAPPEN”

Pastor Kevin Cook

In a new book, womanist theologian Lyvonne Briggs counsels women to “unlearn” the shame the church has historically attached to their physical selves and “feel full, whole, at ease and at home in their bodies.”

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 31st day of July, 2023 at 9:00 AM, and protect his

MArTiNEZ, Plaintiff, v. JAMES rOBErT MOrENO, Defendant. case No.: cL23-299 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, James Robert Moreno, whose last known address was 5316 Hull Street Road, Apt. 1, Richmond, Virginia 23225, has since relocated outside the Commonwealth of Virginia, and his current whereabouts are unknown, it is therefore ORDERED that Defendant, Robert Moreno, appear before this Court on or before the 11 day of July, 2023, and do what is necessary to protect his interests in this suit.

An Extract, Teste: Edward F. Jewett, clerk i ask for this:

Jesse Baez, Esq. (VSB #85986) BROOKS & BAEZ 9100 Arboretum Pkwy., Suite 190 Richmond, VA 23236

T: (804) 570-7473 F: (804) 548-4215

Counsel for Plaintiff

virGiNiA iN THE circUiT cOUrT OF THE cOUNTY OF HENricO cHUNG TAN NGUYEN, Plaintiff, v. cHAU TAN BUi Defendant. case No. cL23-4032 OrDEr OF PUBLicATiON The object of this suit is to obtain a divorce.

It appearing from an affidavit that diligence has been used by or on behalf of the plaintiff to ascertain in what county or city the defendant is, without effect, it is Ordered that the defendant appear before this Court on August 7, 2023, at 9:00 a.m., and protect her interests herein.

I ASK

or before

case No. cL23-1266 OrDEr OF PUBLicATiON

The object of the above-styled 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, BENJAMIN VARGAS, JR., cannot be located within the State of Virginia and that his last known address is unknown, it is therefore ORDERED that Defendant, BENJAMIN VARGAS, JR., appear before this Court on or before the 10th day of July, 2023, and do what is necessary to protect his interests in this suit.

I ask for this:

Mary P. Adams, Esq.

bond

divorce from

from

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, 2023 at 9:00 AM, and protect his interests.

A Copy, Teste: FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR., Clerk I ask for this:

Law Office of Dorothy M. Eure, P.C. Dorothy M. Eure, Plaintiff’s Attorney VSB# 27724 8460 Mount Eagle Road Ashland, VA 23005 (804 798-9667

virGiNiA: iN THE circUiT cOUrT FOr THE cOUNTY OF HANOvEr KENYETTA cArTEr Plaintiff v. rOOSEvELT JOHNSON iii, Defendant. case No.: cL23001870-00 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 18th day of July, 2023 at 9:00 AM, and protect his interests.

A Copy, Teste:

FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR.,

Clerk I ask for this:

Law Office of Dorothy M. Eure, P.C. Dorothy M. Eure, Plaintiff’s Attorney VSB# 27724 8460 Mount Eagle Road Ashland, VA 23005 (804 798-9667 virGiNiA:

iN THE circUiT cOUrT FOr THE cOUNTY OF HANOvEr KiSHA TAFFE, Plaintiff v. EvErTON TAFFE, Defendant. case No.: cL22000173-00 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 14th day of July, 2023 at 9:00 AM, and protect his interests.

A Copy, Teste: FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR., Clerk I ask for this:

VSB No. 24551 Hairfield Morton, PLC 2800 Buford Road, Suite 201 Richmond, Virginia 23235 (804) 320-6600 - telephone (804) 320-8040 - facsimile madams@hmalaw.com Counsel for the Plaintiff cUSTODY virGiNiA: iN THE JUvENiLE AND DOMESTic rELATiONS DiSTricT cOUrT OF THE ciTY OF ricHMOND commonwealth of virginia, in re MicHAEL JAMES FOrD rDSS v TrAcEY LEE FOrD MicHAEL JAMES STrASBUrG Jr. & UNKNOWN FATHEr File No. J-102608-02, J-102608-03, J-102608-04 OrDEr OF PUBLicATiON

The object of this suit is to: terminate the residual parental rights (“RPR”) of Unknown Father (Father) & Tracey Lee Ford (Mother) & Michael James Strasburg, Jr. (Father), of Michael James Ford, child DOB: 4/9/2023 “RPR” means all rights and responsibilities remaining with Parent after transfer of legal custody or guardianship of the person, including but not limited to rights of: Visitation; adoption consent; determination of religious affiliation; and responsibility for support and that:

It is ORDERED that the defendant Unknown Father (Father) & Tracey Lee Ford (Mother) & Michael James Strasburg, Jr. to appear at the above-named Court and protect his/her interest on or before 8/15/2023, at 2:00 P.M., cOUrTrOOM #2 (McG) virGiNiA:

iN THE JUvENiLE AND DOMESTic rELATiONS DiSTricT cOUrT OF THE ciTY OF ricHMOND commonwealth of virginia, in re ANAESiA LADANETTA YOUNG rDSS v rEGiNALD FiSHEr File No. J-100215-07

OrDEr OF PUBLicATiON

The object of this suit is to: terminate the residual parental rights (“RPR”) of reginald Fisher (Father) of Anaesia LaDanetta Young, child DOB: 8/15/2021

“RPR” means all rights and responsibilities remaining with Parent after transfer of legal custody or guardianship of the person, including but not limited to rights of: Visitation; adoption consent; determination of religious affiliation; and responsibility for support and that:

It is ORDERED that the defendant, reginald Fisher (Father) to appear at the above-named Court and protect his/her interest on or before 8/2/2023, at 9:00 A.M., cOUrTrOOM #5 (AKT) PrOPErTY virGiNiA:

iN THE circUiT cOUrT OF THE ciTY OF ricHMOND

taxes assessed thereon in the name of the owner of record, Aaron Massenberg An Affidavit having been filed that said owner, Aaron Massenberg, who has been served by posting and by mailing a copy of the complaint to his last known address, has not been personally located and has not filed a response to this action, and that any heirs, devisees, assignees, successors in interest, successors in title and/or any creditors with a current or future interest in said property, have not been identified and/or served despite diligent efforts to do so and are defendants to this suit by the general description of Parties Unknown. i T i S O r DE r ED that Aaron Massenberg , and Parties Unknown , come forward to appear on or before AUGUST 17, 2023 and do what is necessary to protect their interests in this matter.

An Extract, Teste: Edward F. Jewett, Clerk Gregory A. Lukanuski, Esq. City of Richmond, Office of the City Attorney 900 E. Broad Street Richmond, VA 23219 804-646-7949 virGiNiA: iN THE circUiT cOUrT OF THE ciTY OF ricHMOND JOHN MArSHALL cOUrTS BUiLDiNG ciTY OF ricHMOND, Plaintiff, v. HErMAN M. JONES, et al, Defendants. case No.: cL23-17

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

To

Dvlp &

Work

&

expert consultation to employees; Dvlp documentation & implementation info; Plan, dvlp & ensure implementation of projects w/ program support; Mail resumes to M. Munden, VA Dept of Transportation, 1221 E. Broad St., Richmond, VA 23219.

Bus. Data Anlyst, Richmond, VA. Assist w/ AASHTOWare Proj. dvlpmt, implementation, data mgmt, wrkflw automation, & migration to new Proj. platforms; Create, maintain, & enhance AASHTOWare Proj. apps, customizations & reports; Create & update various types of reports & report on performance metrics; Mail resumes to M. Munden, VA Dept of Transportation, 1221 E. Broad St., Richmond, VA 23219. The University of Virginia seeks a firm to provide: Sports Turf Installation, Repair, Replacement, and Maintenance Services, RFP-UVA00077-FM062023 https://bids.sciquest.com/ apps/Router/PublicEvent? CustomerOrg=UVa or email: pur-rfp@eservices. virginia.edu

The St. Peter Baptist Church Child Development Center - Glen Allen invites applications for a Child Care Center Program Director. If you believe that your skills, talent, and desire to continue the development of young people meet our standard of excellence, please download, and complete an Employment Application and submit it along with your resume. Description and further details are located on our website; www.stpeterbaptist.net.

PART-TIME POSITIONS AVAILABLE

St. John’s United Holy Church is seeking to fill

(3) part-time positions, Finance Team Member, Pianist and Drummer. The Finance Team Member will be responsible for monitoring, recording, and managing church financial accounts and records. The Pianist and Drummer will provide musical support and accompaniment for scheduled worship services and other activities of the music ministry. Complete details for each position can be found on our website at www.sjuhcrichmond.org or contact Trustee Wilbert Jones at (804) 733-4590 or E-mail at stjohnsuhc1915@gmail.com

BRINK’S INC. SEEKS ONE ASSISTANT

TRANSIT SYSTEM

GREATER RICHMOND TRANSIT COMPANY

STORMWATER MANAGEMENT SERVICES

INVITATION FOR BID

GRTC Transit System is seeking bids for Stormwater Management Services. Interested firms may download a copy of IFB 221-23-06 from GRTC’s website www. ridegrtc.com (menu options: About Us, then Procurement) or obtain a copy by calling Antionette Haynes at (804) 358-3871 Ext 375. Bids are due prior to 3:00 pm on August 1, 2023. All inquiries pertaining to the request or any questions in reference to the solicitation documents should be directed to:

Antionette Haynes Procurement Services Administrator (804) 358-3871, extension 375

GRTC’s Supplier Diversity Program –“providing equal opportunities for small businesses”

GENERAL COUNSEL: Responsible for managing & overseeing the drafting & negotiation of customer, vendor, subcontractor & real estate contracts for the company. Review company activities to ensure compliance. Oversee & develop the creation of standard forms of contract. Position requires 5 yrs. of exp. drafting & negotiating contracts for a publicly traded company, developing internal corporate policies & procedures, analyzing compliance with Money Services Business, AntiMoney laundering laws, & Bank Secrecy Act, & conducting training on compliance w/ various regulatory matters; & Candidate must be a licensed attorney. Position located in Richmond, VA. Work from home permitted. Applicants should apply at bsnell@brinkscompany.com.

John Mezzalingua Associates LLC d/b/a

JMA Wireless (Henrico, VA) seeks Software Engineer to partcip in all phases of SDLC. Reqs MS in CompSci or Comp Engg +3yrs exp in pos offrd or sftwre engg role or Bach in CompSci or Comp Engg +5yrs post-Bach prgrssv exp in pos offrd or sftwre engg role. All reqd exp mustve incld utlzng clnt-side UI framewrks incl Angular & bootstrap; utlzng unit test framewrks incl Jasmine, Karma, Mockito & PowerMock; integratng w/ back-end srvces via REST & HTTP; dsgng & implmtng data modls; dsgng APIs usng OpenAPI & Swagger; dvlpng & testng sftwre APIs; & profilng & optmzng sys prfmnce. Apply online at https://jmawireless. com/careers/, Job Code SE46