5 student honorees at VUU gala

By George Copeland Jr.

Virginia Union University students will take center stage and five honorees will be recognized for their contributions during the upcoming Legacy Awards and Scholarship gala on Friday, March 31.

VUU’s eighth Legacy Awards gala is hosted by Mayor Levar M. Stoney at the Greater Richmond Convention Center at 7 p.m. The event allows VUU students to highlight their skills and share their post-graduation plans, while the university raises revenue for scholarships.

“It is imperative that those of us who are blessed give back to others,” said VUU President and CEO Hakim J. Lucas in a statement. “This event is just one of many ways we can tangibly, financially contribute to the lives of our students and ensure that financial barriers do not prevent students from receiving a quality education.”

Honorees will include Lucille M. Brown, the first woman superintendent of Richmond Public Schools, who will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award, and Virginia Hispanic Chamber Founder and CEO Michel Zajur, who will receive the Community Leader Award.

Victor Branch will receive the Corporate Leader Award for his work as the first African-American president for the Bank of America’s Richmond region, and the HBCU Impact Award will recognize the Altria Group. Also, the VUU National Alumni Association will receive the Beacon of Light Award.

For more information, please visit www.vuu.edu/giving/ legacy-awards-gala, or call 804-342-3938.

Upcoming exhibits seeks Vietnam War stories

Free Press staff report

March 29 was National Vietnam War Veterans Day, and this year the day marked the 50th anniversary of the withdrawal of the last American troops from South Vietnam. As Americans reflect on the service and sacrifices of Vietnam War veterans, the Virginia Museum of History & Culture (VMHC) is asking Virginians with personal connections to the Vietnam War to share their stories for a new exhibition.

“Virginia and the Vietnam War” is a temporary exhibition that will invite guests to immerse themselves in the choices, perspectives, and experiences of Virginians during the Vietnam War era. Although the Vietnam War ended with the fall of Saigon in 1975, Virginians continue to be divided over America’s participation.

The exhibition will explore the long-term impacts of the war on Virginia’s people, politics and culture and facilitate a greater understanding of this tumultuous time in American history. “Virginia and the Vietnam War” will open to the public on November 23, 2024 and remain on view through April 27, 2025.

The VMHC is seeking Virginians who experienced the war to interview for inclusion in the exhibition - including veterans, pro and anti-war activists, Vietnamese American refugees, military family members. The recorded interviews and transcriptions will be added to the VMHC’s oral history collection and made available to students, scholars and the general public.

For more information, please visit VirginiaHistory.org/ VAVietnam

2 Richmond principals recognized for leadership

Free Press staff report

Richmond Public Schools Principal Ta’Neshia Ford is the recipient of the 2023 R.E.B. Award for Distinguished Educational Leadership.

Mrs. Ford has been a principal at Virgie Binford Education Center since 2013, where she is recognized as strong advocate for some of the division’s most at-risk students who she has inspired and helped overcome barriers.

Under her leadership, the school had a 90 percent graduation rate for under-credited seniors, stated an RPS news release.

Shayla Holeman, the principal at Overby-Sheppard Elementary since 2019, is described as a “passionate and dedicated administrator,” using a team approach with parents to educate the whole child. This has led to increases in both reading and math scores, according to an RPS news release.

The award by the R.E.B Foundation and the Community Foundation recognizes principals who have gone above and beyond to create an exceptional educational environment for students, parents, faculty and staff.

1. The official dedication will take place May 7, 2023. A local Church spokesperson says this temple will serve at least 40,000 members from Virginia and West Virginia. This does not mean

Cityscape

Slices of life and scenes in Richmond

Forty thousand people will be in attendance at one time. Around the state there are numerous church buildings where members of the church attend their regular Sunday services. This property also has a smaller red building that will serve as an area meeting house people throughout the state, nation and world. Temple talking points

Property size: 12 acres.

Building size: 39,202 square feet.

Building Height: 164 feet, 9. Inches, including the statue of the Book of Mormon prophet Moroni.

Architect: The Richardson Deign Partnership.

Church architect: Lanny Herron.

Cost: The Church does not discuss money with the public.

RRHA seeks additional funds to maintain public housing

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

The city’s public housing authority needs to invest $42 million to fix the most urgent problems with roofs, boilers, plumbing, wiring and other aging infrastructure in the apartment communities it operates in Richmond, according the chief executive, Steven B. Nesmith.

Mr. Nesmith said the only problem is that annual federal appropriation to make the improvements will only cover about one-third of the cost, or about $14.2 million, that the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority faces.

“It’s just not enough money,” he said.

That’s why he said RRHA will seek grants from foundations and other private housing sources to increase the total funding available. “We need public-private partnerships,” he said.

Mr. Nesmith spoke during an East End ceremony Monday afternoon to present RRHA with its annual funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for capital needs.

U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner came to Richmond to highlight the funding going to RRHA, and drew Mayor Levar M. Stoney, four members of City Council, HUD officials and the staffs from RRHA and nonprofits engaged in affordable housing development. The senator presented an oversized check for $14 million, just shy of the actual $14.27 million that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development an- nounced last month would be coming to RRHA during the current year to use for infrastructure repair and replacement.

HUD reported RRHA’s appropriation along with the specific funding for the more than 2,700 housing authorities across the country which manage public housing for the federal department. In all, $3.3 billion is being distributed nationally to address infrastructure needs in public housing, HUD stated in the Feb. 23 release.

The 2023 appropriation to RRHA represents a $2 million increase from the 2022 appropriation of $12.2 million for capital needs, according to HUD’s figures.

Mr. Nesmith said that RRHA’s problem is more severe than most “as we have the oldest public housing infrastructure” between Miami and New Hampshire on the Eastern seaboard, with the earliest public housing in the city dating to the 1940s.