Richmond Free Press May 25-27, 2023 edition

Ben Crump, others demand better treatment for mental health patients

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

“We can’t keep treating mentally ill brothers and sisters as if they are degenerates. They have lives that are worthy of dignity and respect.”

So said renowned Attorney Benjamin L. “Ben” Crump as he brought his crusade for improved mental health care to Richmond Wednesday evening, just hours before the nation marks the third anniversary of the police murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, in Minnesota.

“If we don’t continue to talk about it, to speak

truth to power and act against the power,” Mr. Crump said, then deaths like George Floyd will continue to happen.

He spoke to more than 150 people who gathered on the campus for the event titled “Justice for Irvo Otenio” that promoted improvements in mental health care for those in crisis, particularly Black people.

Informally dubbed “Black America’s attorney general,” Mr. Crump, who represented George Floyd’s family, is representing the family of Mr Otenio, who

Park dedication provides lasting legacy for Markiya Dickson

By Debora Timms

For Ciara Dickson and Mark Whitfield Sr., Saturday, May 20, was filled with mixed emotions. They were in Fonticello Park for the dedication of the Markiya Dickson Imagination Zone, which recently was installed in honor of their deceased daughter.

Nine-year-old Markiya was shot in the park, then known as Carter Jones Park, during a community Memorial Day cookout in 2019. She later died at a hospital. An 11-year-old boy and man also were wounded by gunfire.

Three men were convicted in relation to the shooting that took Markiya’s life. Jesus Turner, convicted of first degree murder, malicious wounding and gun charges, was sentenced to 33 years in prison in October 2021. Jermaine Davis and QuinshawnBetts, who were

Please turn to A4

Voters may get second chance for casino vote

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

by Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press Richmond area youngsters enjoyed the new equipment during a May 20 dedication ceremony for the Markiya Dickson Imagination Zone playground in Fonticello Park. The play area commemorates the life of Markiya who was 9 years-old when she was killed by gunfire that erupted in the park four years ago. Her parents, Ciara Dickson and Mark Whitfield Sr., are pleased with the playground, yet admit that their daughter’s death remains painful. “We’ll never get past it or get over it, so we’re living through it,” said her mother. “We’re learning how to cope with it.”

Filing starts Morrissey divorce proceedings

By Debora Timms

the two did have a “sexual relationship” while Ms. Pride was still a minor – something that both parties have previously denied. The complaint outlines how her husband told her to “throw your phone in the river” to hide evidence of the relationship from a police

investigation. It also states he had a legislative staffer purchase “burner” phones so the two could keep in contact and he could be informed about the course of the investigation and that the existence of these phones was never revealed to authorities.

When reached by telephone

for comment, Sen. Morrissey said his wife had texted him that she would “ruin your life and your political career” following allegations of child abuse the senator had made against Ms. Pride’s boyfriend in January.

Please turn to A4

Ms. Pride

By Hillel Italie

The Associated Press NEW YORK

Tina Turner, the singer and stage performer who teamed with husband Ike Turner for a dynamic run of hit records and live shows in the 1960s and ’70s and survived her horrifying marriage to triumph in middle age with the chart-topping “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” has died at 83.

Ms. Turner died Wednesday, May 24, 2023, after a long illness in her home near Zurich, Switzerland, according to her manager. She became a Swiss citizen a decade ago.

“She was truly an enormously talented performer and singer,” tweeted Mick Jagger, whom Ms. Turner helped in shaping his own dynamic stage presence. “She was inspiring, warm, funny and generous. She helped me so much when I was young and I will never forget her.”

Photos

Rendering of Urban One Casino

Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

The mother of Irvo Otieno, Caroline Ouko, center, wipes a tear as his brother, Leon Ochieng, left, consoles his mother while Wednesday they are seated with Attorney Benjamin Crump during the Justice for Irvo Otieno Town Hall at Virginia Union University’s Claude G. Perkins Living & Learning Center.

Stories by Fred Jeter

The life and legacy of Jim Brown, all-time NFL great and social activist

If ever the term “larger than life” fit one individual, it would be Jim Brown, the athlete, actor and activist.

Arguably the greatest football player in history, Mr. Brown died Thursday, May 18, 2023, in Los Angeles. The College and NFL Hall of Fame fullback was 87.

The cause of Mr. Brown’s death was determined to be congestive heart failure related to pneumonia. There was no autopsy.

News of the football legend’s death brought tributes from the NFL and other sports standouts.

NFL star Paul Hornung: “If I could only pick one player as my teammate, I’d take Jim against anyone.”

NFL star Barry Sanders: “You can’t underestimate the impact he had on the NFL.”

NFL star Emmitt Smith: “He was and is a true legend in sports and the community, using his platform to help others.”

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell: “Jim Brown was a gifted athlete – among the best to ever step on a football field. But he was also a cultural figure who helped promote change.”

NBA star LeBron James: “We lost a hero today. Rest in paradise to the legend. We all stand on your shoulders.”

President Barack Obama: “Jim Brown spoke out on civil rights and pushed others to do the same.”

In the beginning: Jim Brown was born at St. Simon’s Island, Ga., but his family moved to Manhasset, N.Y. when he was 8. He was mostly raised by his grandmother. At Manhasset High, he won 13 varsity letters and, as a bas-

fifth in the NCAA decathlon. Brown finished fifth in the Heisman voting, behind four white players, including Notre Dame’s Hornung who won the award. The first Black Heisman was another Syracuse running back, Ernie Davis, in 1961. Like

At 6-foot-2 and 232 pounds, he was as big as most linemen of his era and faster than the defensive backs.

Between 1957 and 1965, covering just 118 games, he rushed for 12,312 yards and 80 touchdowns, averaging 5.2 yards per carry. His best season was 1963 when he ran for 1,863 yards and a 6.4 percarry norm.

His totals could have been much higher. Mr. Brown played in 12- and 14-game seasons. Now teams play 17 games.

Also, the hash marks were 10-feet, 9-inches wider then, meaning it was hard to run a sweep to the short side of the field. Defenders knew what was coming.

ramifications of being political or supporting civil rights causes.

Not Mr. Brown, who was one of only four Black players on his rookie 1957 roster.

Always outspoken, in 1966 he helped form Negro Industrial Economics Union (later Black Economics) to promote business opportunities for Black people.

Mr. Brown was a leader in the Cleveland Summit in 1967 that supported boxer Muhammad Ali’s decision not to fight in Vietnam. Others at the Summit were basketball stars Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Jimmy Brown (32), running back for the Cleveland Browns, is shown in action against the New York Giants in Cleveland, Ohio, on Nov. 14, 1965. NFL legend, actor and social activist Jim Brown passed away peacefully in his Los Angeles home on Thursday night, May 18, 2023, with his wife, Monique, by his side, according to a spokeswoman for Mr. Brown’s family. He was 87.

and the Crips during the Watts Truce or peace agreement in Los Angeles. This truce was a significant factor in the decline of street violence in Los Angeles after the 1990s.

Summing it up: Mr. Brown’s No. 44 was retired at Syracuse and his No. 32 was retired by Cleveland. He was named to the NFL Hall of Fame in 1971 and to the College Hall of Fame in 1995.

Mr. Brown was married twice. He had three children with his first wife, Sue Jones Brown, and two children with his second wife, Monique, who was at his bedside at the time of his death.

ketball playing senior, averaged 38 points per game, setting a Long Island record. Syracuse University: In just 24 games over three seasons (1954-1956) for the Orange, Mr. Brown, wearing No. 44, rushed for 2,091 yards and 21 touchdowns. He also played defensive back and was the placekicker.

In addition, he was an AllAmerican lacrosse player, was the second leading scorer on the basketball team, and finished

Squirrels announce

5 millionth fan

On May 20 Amie Stumbo of Richmond became the fifth million fan to watch the Richmond Flying Squirrels at The Diamond.

As a reward, she received a “Five Millionth Fan” jersey and two season tickets for the remainder of the 2023 season and all of 2024.

She also will throw out the ceremonial first pitch on July 4 and be able to watch fireworks from the field.

Business has been booming on Arthur Ashe Boulevard since the San Francisco Giants moved its AA Eastern League affiliate to Richmond.

The Squirrels lead all the 30 AA teams this season in total attendance and average per game.

Kenyan-born

Kuany leaves Bears for Rams

VCU’s latest basketball recruit is 6-foot-9 graduate transfer Kuany Kuany, who is coming from the University of California with one season left of eligibility.

As a Golden Bears’senior last season, Kuany averaged 9.3 points and 3.9 rebounds while hitting 92 of 113 free throws (82%). He logged 25 minutes per game while starting 26 of 32 contests.

It was a rough year in Berkeley. Cal struggled to a 3-29 record, including 2-18 in the Pac-12 Conference. This will be Kuany’s fifth season of college hoops.

Kuany was born in Kenya, and lived at one time in South Sudan before his family moved to Melbourne, Australia. An article in Cal Sports Quarterly explains that Kuany, named after his grandfather, means to “pick up another person’s legacy.”

He becomes at least the Rams’ third all-time player to be born in Africa, following Cameroon natives Franck Ndongo and Wil Fameni, from the early 2000s under Coach Anthony Grant.

Both were part of VCU’s iconic upset over Duke in the 2007 NCAAs in Buffalo.

Brown, Davis wore No. 44.

Cleveland: As the Browns’ first draft pick (fifth overall), Mr. Brown won NFL Rookie of Year in 1957 and would lead the league in rushing every year except 1962. He was a three-time MVP, helping the Browns to the NFL title in 1964 and runner-up finishes in 1957 and 1965.

It was said he “could give you a headache running over you, or a head cold blowing past you.”

Silver screen: Mr. Brown retired from the NFL at age 30 to pursue acting. The first of his more than 30 movies was “Rio Conchos” in 1957 in which he played a military officer. Playing himself, his last movie role was “Black Godfather” in 2019.

Mr. Brown starred in the 1967 “Dirty Dozen” action thriller and, in 1969, raised eyebrows across the cinematic world with the first biracial on-screen romance, with co-star Raquel Welch.

Activism: During the 1950s and 1960s, high-profile Black athletes were fearful of the

In 1988, he formed the Amer-I-Can Foundation to divert gang violence, and he later served as a peacemaker among rival gangs the Bloods

Charles Scott’s strategy for success at Huguenot

Huguenot High football has been spinning its wheels for longer than Falcons fans wish to think about.

The Forest Hill Avenue school is 24-102 since 2009, including 2-16 the past two seasons.

That’s the past. Charles “CeeJay” Scott represents the right now and future.

The Falcons’ new head coach hopes to kick the program back in gear and relive some longago glory.

“I’m very excited. I look forward to the challenge,” Coach Scott, 40, told the Free Press.

“I know the history. I’ve been around forever.”

By “history,” he means the Richard McFee coaching era when HHS went 143-73 between 1988 and 2008. That run included three region titles and a trip to state finals.

“I look up to Coach McFee for what he did as a ground breaker. I look forward to bringing that back,” Coach Scott said.

Since Coach McFee stepped down after the 2008 season, the Falcons have had six coaches –Ron Gundry, Kevin Allen, Bryan Jennings, Jared Tayor, James Riley and Addison Hayes.

So why might Coach Scott succeed when those before him stalled out? He may have an advantage – a built-in feeder system of sorts. He is founder and head coach of the Central Virginia Hurricanes, which is affiliated with the American Youth Football.

The program started in 2012 with one team and 12 players. It now has more than 200 players in ages U-6 to U-14.

Even with his Huguenot assignment, Coach Scott continues to coach the U-14’s in spring

and U9’s in fall. The U-9’s play on Saturdays.

The Hurricanes attract creamof-the-crop quality athletes with high ambitions.

“It’s not necessarily an advantage,” said Coach Scott of directing the Hurricanes.

“But I’ve built relationships and families and parents for many years. I’ve known a lot of the kids since they were babies.”

Will any of those players find their way into the Huguenot zone?

“If anyone comes to us, we’ll welcome them with open arms. Guess we’ll see,” Coach Scott said.

The Falcons’ new sideline boss does not work out of the building. His “day job” is as a mental health counselor with United Family Services.

Coach Scott is no stranger to multitasking. He continued to coach the Hurricanes during the past five years in which he was head coach of Life Christian Academy (LCA) in Chester.

LCA plays a far-flung, almost national schedule of mostly out-of-state, high-quality opponents. Last year’s foes were from Georgia, Florida, Maryland, New York, Tennessee and Ohio.

“I’d say we won about 35 percent,” said Coach Scott, whose road-warrior team was 3-6 a year ago.

On Jan. 1, 2013, he was named the Greatest College Football Player of all time by ESPN. He’s on the NFL’s 50th, 75th and 100th Anniversary All-Time teams.

During that time LCA produced at least 20 players who have gone on to Division 1 colleges. The list includes Kaleb Spencer (now at Miami, Fla.), Josh Miller (Georgia) and Trevyon Greene (North Carolina).

As a player himself, Coach Scott starred as a fullback and linebacker at Thomas Dale High in Chester, and later played fullback at Chowan, N.C., University where he set a record for most touchdowns in a game and was named team captain. He got into coaching with the Falling Creek and Chalkley Associations of the Chesterfield Quarterback League.

One player Coach Scott can count on for sure at Huguenot is his son, Charles Jr., a talented quarterback who now is at LCA. Scott Jr. hopes to play on the Falcons’ JV team this fall as an eighth-grader and then join the varsity in 2024 as a freshman.

It is reasonable to believe other talented players will follow. Huguenot has by far the best facilities of the five city schools and the top “Friday Night Lights” atmosphere.

All that’s missing has been victories. That’s where Coach Scott, a big man with big dreams, comes in.

In looking for a motto, how about “Restore the thrill on Forest Hill.”

Butler grows VUU’s recruiting roster

Jay Butler continues to beat a path on the basketball recruiting trail.

Virginia Union Panthers went to the NCAA’s last year and Coach Butler plans to return, despite losing several seniors including CIAA Player of Year Robert Osborne.

That’s why the veteran coach continues to hit the road for fresh talent for the 2023-24 season.

Coach Butler’s latest list of signees includes an established Division II scorer and three promising freshmen.

Jakobe Williams, a 6-foot-3 guard, is headed to Richmond after averaging 15 points and five rebounds last season for SIAC affiliate Paine College of Augusta, Ga.

Williams should have two seasons of VUU eligibility. He has proven he can score against CIAA competition. Last season he had 24 points against Shaw, 21 against Ellizabeth City and 17 against Claflin.

Freshmen on the way include 6-foot-9 Anthony Davenport from Richard Montgomery High in Maryland, 6-foot-7 Joshua Caine from La Plata High, Md., and 6-foot-1 Bobby Gardner from Fluvanna High. Gardner averaged 26 points this past season for Fluvanna while earning Region Player of year and second team All-State Class 3. He scored 1,192 for his career.

Earlier, Coach Butler signed 5-foot-10 guard O’Mauntre Harris, who averaged 25.4 points

this past season for State Class 4 runner-up E.C. Glass of Lynchburg.

NCAA Division II schools are allowed only nine scholarships, but Coach Butler spreads the riches.

“We might have 35 to 40 players on minor scholarships,” Coach Butler said. “That includes players we might red-shirt and also players for our junior varsity team.”

VUU had hoped Osborne might return but he apparently won’t. “It was the semesters thing that got him,” Coach Butler said.

The power forward from Hermitage High has had 10 college semesters, or five years. The 2023-24 season would be his sixth season out of high school.

Osborne attended Hampton University for three years before transferring to VUU where he excelled. He never played at Hampton.

Kuany Kuany

Coach Scott

The Associated Press

Coach Butler Jakobe Williams

Additional homeowners to enjoy city property tax exemption

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

More Richmond homeowners are joining the list of people who will not have to pay property taxes due to their age or certification as totally disabled.

On Monday, City Council unanimously approved a significant expansion of its long-standing tax relief program, which currently benefits nearly 2,100 property owners who are 65 or older or totally disabled.

Among the changes, council extended the 100% exemption is to homeowners with income up to $30,000 a year and a net worth of $450,000 or less, excluding the value of the primary home.

Until now, complete exemption from real estate taxes was only available to qualifying homeowners with an income of $20,000 a year or less, with a 75% exemption provided to those with household incomes between $20,001 and $30,000 a year.

Richmond Department of Finance data show 1,289 homeowners now qualify for full exemption, which city officials said represents an increase of about 300 homeowners.

Separately, the new ordinance extended a 25% exemption to homeowners with incomes up to $70,000 a year, up from the current $60,000 income limit. About 160 homeowners qualified for the 25% exemption, according to the Finance Department. It is unknown how many additional owners with income higher than $60,000 a year would seek to qualify for that exemption.

The ordinance left unchanged the 75% exemption that 393 elderly and disabled homeowners with incomes between $30,001 to $40,000 a year qualified for and the 50% exemption that 256 property owners with incomes of $40,001 to $50,000 qualified for.

This is the second expansion of the program since 2020. With property values continuing to rise, the program is now budgeted at around $4.6 million, up from $3 million in 2017.

Richmond’s program is the only one in the state, the city has found, that accepts applications 12 months a year. That change went into effect in January 2022.

Those who qualify also get another benefit: Free trash service and recycling pickup. The city does not charge for those services for those who qualify for the tax relief program. Renters who reach age 65 or those who are totally disabled also can apply to the program to eliminate those service charges.

RPS superintendent opposes new contract for beleaguered school social worker

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

First, Richmond Public Schools accused her of beating a child in her care, but that charge was twice dismissed in court after witnesses who saw the incident testified that it never happened.

Then, Richmond Public Schools sought to fire her for failing to show up to work in position that she was never offered.

Now Superintendent Jason Kamras, in a final bid to get rid of social worker Robin Spears, a 15-year RPS employee, has recommended to the School Board that she not receive a new one-year contract.

The School Board, which has the final say in personnel matters, could reject the superintendent’s decision at its meeting next Monday, June 5, although that happens only in rare situations despite the current shortfall in staff.

Ms. Spears has been on paid leave since November 2021 when the incident occurred involving a 6-year-old student who was participating in an after-school program at Fox Elementary.

Ms. Spears was in charge of the program and drew a complaint for her efforts to halt the child from overturning chairs and a table in the room that served as her office. Before he was brought to her office, he had been walking on tables in the cafeteria.

Along with an internal finding against her which Ms. Spears disputed, she also was charged with battery of the child.

But in Richmond General District, the charge was dismissed after a judge heard testimony from two other adults who were in the room that Ms. Spears never touched the child while seeking to bring him under control.

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Elisabeth Linka refused to accept that verdict and used her position to take the case to Circuit Court, where another judge heard the evidence and found Ms. Spears not guilty.

Earlier this year, the RPS Human Resources Department sought to charge her with failing to report to a position. However, Ms. Spears provided evidence that she was never offered a specific job nor given the name of the school to which she was supposed to report.

Sa’ad El-Amin, who has represented Ms. Spears in the administrative proceedings, said the only hope for Ms. Spears is for the School Board to take a deeper dive and consider whether the superintendent is making an appropriate recommendation in her case.

“She has been put through the wringer,” said Mr. El-Amin, a former member of City Council who now operates Employee Rights Advocates that mostly defends government employees facing disciplinary action in administrative hearings. “Given her record, she doesn’t deserve what is happening. She has been a loyal employee with an excellent record; just the kind of person you would want on the payroll.”

RVA Bike Share shuts down

Free Press staff report

Richmond’s bike share program shut down abruptly Monday after the Canadian operator, Bewegen Technologies, ended service, according to a city statement.

There are now 22 stations across the city where people can check out a bike for a fee, with most of the cycles coming with electric motors. All of the bikes are locked and unusable, the city reported.

In the statement, the city said that a new operator is now being sought for the RVA Bike Share program, and that a month of free rides would be offered once Bewegen is replaced.

Richmond is not alone in experiencing difficulties with Bewegen. In April, bike service was suspended n Raleigh, N.C., when the company halted service. And Baltimore ended a trouble-plagued program operated by Bewegen.

RVA Bike Share started service in August 2017 with 17 stations and was later expanded in a second phase. The bikes at first were all pedal and then were mostly replaced with Bewegen’s electric bikes.

The program initially started with federal funding. According to the bike program’s internal financial reports, the program has broken even for the past several years and has not needed any city subsidy to support operations.

Cityscape

Slices

Trail

of life and scenes in Richmond

RPS aims to limit exits with hiring bonuses

By George Copeland Jr.

Richmond

Public Schools leadership

is continuing efforts to address an ongoing shortage of teachers and support staff throughout the city’s school system.

During last week’s meeting at Thomas Jefferson High School, the Richmond School Board voted 8-0 to approve a measure increasing the bonus for teachers who work at schools with a large number of staff vacancies from $2,000 to $4,000. This increase will go into effect after June 1.

Teachers interested in the now $4,000 early hiring bonus would have to be hired by RPS before June 1 to receive it. The board’s plan will also provide separate bonuses to teachers that relocate to work in the school system and are bilingual.

The measure is part of a multipronged effort by RPS to address a shortage in teachers and staff across the school system due to resignations and retirements. Recent data collected by RPS showed 158 teacher vacancies and 49 support staff vacancies.

The schools with the highest vacancies, as detailed by RPS Superintendent Jason Kamras to the board, include Henry L. Marsh III Elementary School, which had six teacher vacancies according to his data, Woodville Elementary, eight vacancies; George W. Carver Elementary, 11

vacancies; Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School, eight; Thomas C. Boushall Middle, six; Thomas H. Henderson Middle, 11, and River City Middle, 16 vacancies.

While he acknowledged the shortages and their potential effect, Mr. Kamras stressed that the numbers available were slightly out of date, and didn’t reflect the recent work done to address this issue.

“Hires are continuing to be made, and so these numbers continue to come down,”

Mr. Kamras said. “We are moving on a lot of different fronts to continue to close out these vacancies.”

This effort has included the signing bonuses, a physical and digital advertising campaign, and further investment in a HBCU residency program with Virginia Union University and Virginia Union University, the Richmond Teacher Residency (RTR) and the RPS Build Our Own Teachers (BOOT) Program.

According to the data Mr. Kamras presented, advertising has led to 82 new hires, the HBCU residency will add seven elementary teachers and four special education teachers, and 64 teachers, through RPS BOOT and RTR, will be ready ahead of the 2023 and 2024 school year. Board members still had concerns.

A major point of worry was the impact teacher retention issues have on some of the middle schools, where vacancies are most significant, particularly at smaller schools such as Henderson, which initially had 15 vacancies.

Concerns also were raised about ensuring teachers would be commit to working at the schools in the long term, and not potentially quit shortly after getting their bonus, as well as the need for greater investigation into these retention issues.

“When there are 15 positions that are vacant, our students are suffering and academics suffer,” said 3rd District Representative Kenya Gibson, who suggested exit interviews and evaluations could be employed to tackle this issue. “There’s a core problem in the schools that is leading to staff leaving, and a pretty ad is simply not addressing it.”

“We have to figure out how to stop the leak.”

Mr. Kamras agreed with her suggestions, and pointed to leadership changes in the works at some of the high-need schools as a meaningful step in that process.

Virtual hiring events for high-need schools began last week, with more planned for Wednedsay, June 14, Thursday, June 15 and throughout the rest of the summer. Additional information, including online job application, can be found at www. rvaschools.net/talent.

Alexandria High School diversity program passes test

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

One of the state’s best high schools has won a court case this week over a revamp of its admission process to increase enrollment of Black and Latino students.

The U.S. 4th District Court of Appeals issued the finding in a split 2-1 decision on Tuesday upholding controversial changes to admissions policies for nationally ranked Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria.

The ruling, rejecting claims from AsianAmerican parents claiming the policies discriminated against their children, has drawn wide attention from civil rights groups, educators and state governments facing similar questions of fairness in admissions.

Although it is expected to be appealed to the full appeals court or the U.S. Supreme Court, the decision could prove influential for similar schools such as the Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School in Richmond in its attempts to diversify enrollment.

The Fairfax School Board approved the admissions changes in late 2020, and the changes first impacted student admissions in 2021.

Prior to the admission changes, AsianAmerican students constituted at least 70 percent of the students enrolled, according to data from the Fairfax board. After the new admissions policy went into effect, Asian-American students comprised about 54 percent of a student body that numbers more than 900, the data show, while Black student numbers increased from less than onetenth of one percent to 7 percent and Latino

The Associated Press

Pacific Legal Foundation Attorney Erin Wilcox speaks at a news conference outside the federal courthouse on March 10, 2021, in Alexandria, Va., where her organization filed a lawsuit against Fairfax County’s School Board, alleging discrimination against Asian Americans over its revised admissions process for the elite Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. A divided federal appeals court on Tuesday, May 23, 2023, upheld the constitutionality of a new admissions policy at the elite public high school in Virginia that critics say discriminates against highly qualified Asian Americans.

student numbers tripled to 11 percent.

Writing for the majority, Judge King found the Asian-American parents organized as the Coalition for TJ failed to make the case that the new admission’s approach was illegally designed to reduce enrollment of their high-achieving children who have long been the dominant ethnic group at the school.

“After consideration of the record and the contentions,” he wrote, “we are satisfied that the challenged admissions policy does not disparately impact Asian-American students and that the Coalition cannot establish that the Board adopted its race-neutral policy with any discriminatory intent.”

Essentially, the school board, in trying

to diversify the student body while being race-neutral, set up a general admissions policy then allowed each of its 28 middle schools to select a share of students under that policy, with 100 seats left for county-wide competition under the policy criteria.

The new approach scrapped selection of students for Thomas Jefferson based on results on a standardized test on which Asian-Americans had generally excelled.

The county board installed the new policies under pressure from the state, which during Gov. Ralph S. Northam’s tenure was scrutinizing the lack of diversity in admissions at all of the 19 public Governor’s schools, including Thomas Jefferson and Maggie Walker.

Virginia Career Works hosts job fair May 31

Former Tyson workers, immigrant communities encouraged to attend

Free Press staff report Virginia Career Works-Capital Region will host a job and resource fair Wednesday, May 31, that is open to all job seekers, but largely tailored to former employees of the closed Tyson plant in Glen Allen and members of immigrant communities, the organization has announced.

The fair will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Eastern Henrico Recreation Center, 1440 N. Laburnum Ave. More than 40 employers and community organizations will be onsite, including GRTC, AutoZone, Walmart Distribution, The Jefferson, Direct Mail Solutions, MedExpress, Stone Brewing, Henrico County general government and Henrico County Public

Schools. Translation assistance will be available for those speaking Arabic, Dari, Pashto and Spanish.

In addition to Virginia Career WorksCapital Region, the fair will be hosted by Henrico County and the City of Richmond’s Office of Community Wealth Building. For more information, visit vcwcapital. com

James Haskins/Richmond Free Press

running, mountain biking, kayaking, SUP, skimboarding, riverside yoga, fishing and more were among the highlights of Dominion Energy Riverrock May 19-21. The annual event helps promote Richmond’s riverfront, Downtown trails and whitewater rapids for outdoor enthusiasts and others who don’t mind getting wet every now and then. Highlighted by the James River, surrounding trail network, and numerous parks, this year’s Riverrock was a crowd pleaser for the young, old and in between.

Mr. Kamras

Ben Crump, others demand better treatment for mental health patients

has become another high-profile example of a Black man suffering mental illness being killed in custody.

Mr. Otenio’s mother, Caroline Ouko, and brother Leon, sat up front with Mr. Crump during the discussion.

Mr. Otenio, a high school athlete and rap recording artist, was suffocated to death like George Floyd while being admitted to Central State Hospital March 6 following three days of abuse at the Henrico County Jail, where video evidence shows he was pepper-sprayed and beaten while being held naked in a cell.

In Mr. Otenio’s case, 10 people, including seven Henrico sheriff’s deputies, are facing charges up to murder for piling onto Mr. Otenio’s body for nearly 12 minutes while he was handcuffed and shackled in a front lobby of the hospital.

“Just as George Floyd said, ‘I can’t breathe,’ Irvo Otenio said, ‘I can’t breathe,’” Mr. Crump said, calling the two parallel

Park dedication provides lasting legacy for Markiya Dickson

Continued from A1

convicted of charges including second degree murder, were sentenced to 33 years and 22 years separately.

In a telephone interview on May 24, Markiya’s mother said the family’s healing process has been “an emotional roller coaster” filled with highs and lows.

“We have to take it day by day because it’s hard,” Ms. Dickson said. “We’ll never get past it or get over it, so we’re living through it. We’re learning how to cope with it.”

Mr. Whitfield agreed.

“It’s hard to sit and think about my baby,” Mr. Whitfield added. “I always wonder about how she’d be doing or what she’d be doing.”

Attending the dedication ceremony was full of ups and downs as well.

“It was a lot of emotions,”

Ms. Dickson said. “I was happy that they honored her in that way, but then it’s kind of like we shouldn’t even be out here at all for this because my child should still be here.”

As they opened up with memories of Markiya — the stories she made up, songs she wrote and recorded, her love for sister, Samaya, and

brother, Mark Jr., her parents’ voices were filled with pride and love for the daughter they miss every day.

The creation of the play space was a collaboration between family and city leaders. Her parents say its naming will mean that their daughter — a little girl who loved butterflies, singing and dancing, and who believed unicorns were real — will have her name live on in the community.

During the dedication, Councilwoman Stephanie Lynch said the playground was a “symbol of this community coming together, a symbol of friendship, of adventure, of imagination, of a world without hate.”

Mr. Whitfield said that it embodies the child his daughter was. He said the family’s vision for the park was one where people can go and have fun, but he wanted it done “the Markiya way — with compassion and caring for people because she was selfless like that.”

Ms. Dickson added that the main goal was a space where kids could play together out of harm’s way, and she believes that Markiya would have loved the playground that bears her name. “I feel like she was out there with us in spirit.”

Free COVID-19 vaccines

Continued from A1

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 COVID19 testing locations around the state at www.vdh.virginia.gov/ coronavirus/covid-19-testing/covid-19-testing-sites.

Want a COVID-19 vaccine or booster shot?

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

Wednesday, May 31, 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. - Health Brigade event, Dinwiddie Street and Richmond Highway, adult COVID boosters, JYNNEOS and Hepatitis A shots; 2 to 4 p.m.Henrico West, 8600 Dixon Powers Drive, Bivalent Moderna boosters for ages 6 and older, Bivalent Pfizer boosters for ages 5 and older, Novavax primary shots for ages 12 and older, JYNNEOS shots and Moderna/Pfizer baby bivalent boosters. Walk-ups welcome but appointments are encouraged.

Thursday, May 25, 2 to 4 p.m. - 400 East 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 are 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) 205-3501 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 are now offering bivalent Pfizer and Moderna boosters to children between the ages of 5 and 11 in clinics in the near future. Children in this age range will be eligible after at least two months since their last vaccine dose.

A total of 32 new cases of COVID-19 were reported statewide Tuesday for the 24-hour period, contributing to an overall state total of 2,307,070 cases in Virginia since the pandemic’s outbreak. As of Tuesday, there have been 459,919 hospitalizations and 23,758 deaths reported statewide.

State data available at the time also shows that AfricanAmericans comprised 21.7 percent of cases statewide and 21.1 percent of deaths for which ethnic and racial data is available, while Latinos made up 9.8 percent of cases and 3.7 percent of deaths.

As of Tuesday, Richmond reported a total of 60,020 cases, 1,320 hospitalizations and 547 deaths; Henrico County, 94,283 cases, 1,801 hospitalizations and 1,095 deaths; Chesterfield County, 101,055 cases, 1,792 hospitalizations and 873 deaths; and Hanover County, 29,372 cases, 953 hospitalizations and 348 deaths.

Compiled by George Copeland Jr.

cases “horrifying examples” of what people, particularly Black and Brown people, can suffer at the hands of authorities during a mental health episode.

Just like Mr. Otenio, Mr. Floyd, too, met his end while in crisis. He was claustrophobic, Mr. Crump said, but was treated cruelly when he balked at being consigned to the narrow confines of a police rear seat and died when an officer knelt on his neck for nearly 10 minutes.

“It can happen to anyone. It can happen to your loved ones,” Mr. Crump said, who cited other high-profile cases in which families have engaged him to seek justice.

He spoke of Brianna Grier, a 28-year-old Georgia mother who was fatally injured in 2022 when she fell out of a unsecured rear door of a moving police car as officers took her away for mental evaluation, and of mentally ill LaShawn Thompson, who succumbed last September in an Atlanta jail psychiatric ward after suffering thousands of bed bug bites over 90 days without any relief.

He also spoke of Gershun Freman, 33, who was beaten to death in October by his jailers in Memphis as he suffered a psychotic episode.

“We need to give our children a better America where (those suffering with mental illness) have an opportunity to live without having being killed by excessive force by those who are sup-

posed to serve and protect them,” Mr. Crump said.

“I imagine the agony of the mother and father of Brianna Grier who called the police seeking help for their daughter only to have her die as a result,” he said.

The town hall moderator, Allan-Charles Chipman, a community organizer, said the focus has to be on breaking the stigma of mental illness that makes people suffering from a breakdown targets of abuse and cruelty that sometimes results in their death.

Monica Hutchinson, vice president of the Henrico Branch NAACP, said that any change will require people to become more politically active and willing to lobby elected officials at the local, state and federal levels and vote.

Other s panelists included James Harris, a licensed counselor and founder and leader of mental health organization called Men to Heal; Lawrence West, leader of Black Lives Matter RVA; Joanne Oport, founder of Maryland-based Africans for Mental Health; Denisha Potts of the Chesterfield Branch NAACP who has worked and supervised staff in state mental health operations in Virginia; and Esther Thompson, a registered nurse.

Though they offered different perspectives in their turn, they all agreed with Mr. Crump that, “We need to give our children a better world, a better America” where the mentally ill “are treated with dignity and respect. Is that too much to ask?”

Filing starts Morrissey divorce proceedings

Continued from A1

He called the allegations “absolutely false,” saying he still loved his wife and was only interested in the welfare of his children.

Retired Judge Robert S. Brewbaker, Jr. found no evidence of abuse and dismissed protective orders. On Sen. Morrissey’s request, he issued orders prohibiting the parents from speaking about the case to the press; however, Ms. Pride’s attorneys and family members did make public statements.

“The judge made an order that the parents could not speak to the press, but I’m not a parent,” Mary Elizabeth White, counsel for Ms. Pride said by phone about her statements calling the case made by the senator an “abuse of the legal system.”

The family also made statements saying Ms. Pride and her boyfriend had been “completely vindicated” in court. This led to the senator’s attorney filing five contempt proceedings against Ms. White, her co-counsel Darcey Geissler, Ms. Pride, and Ms. Pride’s sister, Christina Davis, and father, Coleman Pride.

On May 18, the same day divorce proceedings were filed, Ms. White says “the judge threw them all out.”

“What was most striking, even though Myrna was a party to the order – they never put on any evidence that she had done anything wrong,” she added. “It was pure harassment to shut her up, and I have to admire her for finally speaking up.”

When asked about this dismissal, Sen. Morrissey responded by saying the judge called the gag order he made on only the parents “my bad,” and that he would “never let that happen again.”

Voters may get second chance for casino vote

Continued from A1

to issue the order to the city registrar to put the casino issue on the Nov. 7 ballot.

The only apparent way the proposed vote could be halted is if the General Assembly reaches a budget deal that includes language barring Richmond from holding a second vote this year, as happened in 2022.

A key House budget negotiator, Virginia Beach Republican Delegate Barry Knight, has already indicated he supports adding the language.

A review of the papers Mayor Stoney introduced shows this casino deal is the same one that was defeated in 2021, with no update in cost to reflect the surge in construction costs or the hikes in the interest rate.

The city is taking the risk that casino supporters will turn out to approve the development this time when voter turnout in November is projected to be low, given that only General Assembly candidates are on the ballot.

According to the proposal, the city would not have to contribute any taxpayer money to the development.

The total cost of the casino project, including a $25.5 million payment from Urban One to the city if the vote is positive, will be undertaken borne by the revamped team that is to undertake the casino.

As before, the lead partner is Marylandbased Urban One, a major Black-owned media company known for its stable of radio stations. This time, Urban One’s partner is Churchill Downs, a racetrack and casino company best known for the Kentucky Derby.

Churchill Downs bought Urban One’s former partner, Peninsula Pacific Entertainment, last year, which was to operate the casino.

Details of the financial arrangements between Urban One and Churchill Downs have not been disclosed.

“This is about more than a casino,” Mayor Stoney stated Monday after submitting the papers to council. “This is about the 1,300 good-paying jobs and the $30 million in additional revenue that would enable us to provide an abundance of new opportunities for our residents.”

Along with the work opportunities, he noted the community benefits would include an audio and visual production studio that would provide training for young people and aspiring producers as well as content for Urban One’s TV and radio outlets.

He also cited the potential of the project to fuel business growth, noting the opportunities for local restaurants to offer food and beverages and for other local businesses to provide goods and services

to the casino-resort.

“That’s why I am excited about another shot at this game-changing development,” Mayor Stoney said.

Eighth District Councilwoman Reva M. Trammell, who has led the push for the casino, said she is pleased that the ordinances have been introduced and hopeful that “our residents will come together to do what is best for all, and that is to allow the casino project to move forward.”

“The proposed casino in Richmond offers an opportunity to promote economic growth and inclusivity for all residents,” said Council President Michael J. Jones, 9th District.

Alfred C. Liggins III, CEO of Urban One, is optimistic that a firm majority of Richmond voters will support the development.

“We continue to be very excited to work with the City of Richmond to bring this opportunity that will provide jobs and tax revenue that can support city priorities, especially education,” Mr. Liggins said.

Bill Carstanjen, CEO of Churchill Downs Inc., said that if voters approve, his company will do in Richmond what it has done elsewhere. “We pride ourselves,” he said, “in taking part in projects and partnerships that provide real benefits to the communities in which we operate.”

Tina Turner, unstoppable superstar whose hits included ‘What’s Love Got to Do With It,’ dead at 83

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Few stars traveled so far — she was born Anna Mae Bullock in a segregated Tennessee hospital and spent her later years on a 260,000 square foot estate on Lake Zurich — and overcame so much. Physically battered, emotionally devastated and financially ruined by her 20-year relationship with Ike Turner, she became a superstar on her own in her 40s, at a time when most of her peers were on their way down, and remained a top concert draw for years after.

With admirers ranging from Mick Jagger to Beyoncé to Mariah Carey, Ms. Turner was one of the world’s most popular entertainers, known for a core of pop, rock and rhythm and blues favorites: “Proud Mary,” “Nutbush City Limits,” “River Deep, Mountain High,” and the hits she had in the 1980s, among them “What’s Love Got to Do with It,” “We Don’t Need Another Hero” and a cover of Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together.”

Her trademarks included a growling contralto that might smolder or explode, her bold smile and strong cheekbones, her palette of wigs and the muscular, quick-stepping legs she did not shy from showing off. She sold more than 150 million records worldwide, won 12 Grammys, was voted along with Ike into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991 (and on her own in 2021) and was honored at the Kennedy Center in 2005. Her life became the basis for a film, a Broadway musical and an HBO documentary in 2021 that she called her public farewell.

Until she left her husband and revealed their back story, she was known as the voracious on-stage foil of the steady-going Ike, the leading lady of the “Ike and Tina

Turner Revue.” Ike was billed first and ran the show, choosing the material, the arrangements, the singers. They toured constantly for years, in part because Ike was often short on money and unwilling to miss a concert. Tina Turner was forced to go on with bronchitis, with pneumonia, with a collapsed right lung.

Other times, the cause of her misfortunes was Ike himself.

As she recounted in her memoir, “I, Tina,” Ike began hitting her not long after they met, in the mid-1950s, and only grew more vicious. Provoked by anything and anyone, he would throw hot coffee in her face, choke her, or beat her until her eyes were swollen shut, then rape her. Before one show, he broke her jaw and she went on stage with her mouth full of blood.

Terrified both of being with Ike and of being without him, she credited her emerging Buddhist faith in the mid-1970s with giving her a sense of strength and self-worth and she finally left in early July 1976. Ms. Turner snuck out of their Dallas hotel room, with just a Mobil credit card and 36 cents, while Ike slept. She hurried across a nearby highway, narrowly avoiding a speeding truck, and found another hotel.

“I looked at him (Ike) and thought, ‘You just beat me for the last time, you sucker,’” she recalled in her memoir.

Ms. Turner was among the first celebrities to speak candidly about domestic abuse, becoming a heroine to battered women and a symbol of resilience to all. Ike Turner did not deny mistreating her, although he tried to blame Tina for their troubles. When he died, in 2007, a representative for his ex-wife said simply: “Tina is aware that Ike passed away.”

But by the end of the 1970s, Ms. Turner’s

career seemed finished. She was 40 years old, her first solo album had flopped and her live shows were mostly confined to the cabaret circuit.

Rock stars helped bring her back. Rod Stewart convinced her to sing “Hot Legs” with him on “Saturday Night Live” and Mick Jagger, who had openly borrowed some of Ms. Turner’s on-stage moves, sang “Honky Tonk Women” with her during the Stones’ 1981-82 tour.

More popular in England at the time than in the U.S., she recorded a raspy version of “Let’s Stay Together” and by the end of 1983, the song was a hit throughout Europe and on the verge of breaking in the states. An A&R man at Capitol Records, John Carter, urged the label to sign her and make an album. Among the material presented to her was a reflective pop-reggae ballad initially dismissed by Ms. Turner as “wimpy.”

“I just thought it was some old pop song, and I didn’t like it,” she later said of “What’s Love Got To Do With It.”

Ms. Turner’s “Private Dancer” album came out in May 1984, sold more than 8 million copies and featured several hit singles, including the title song and “Better Be Good To Me.” It won four Grammys, among them record of the year for “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” the song that came to define the clear-eyed image of her post-Ike years.

Ms. Turner had two sons: Craig, with saxophonist Raymond Hill; and Ronald, with Ike Turner. In a memoir published later in 2018, “Tina Turner: My Love Story,” she revealed that she had received a kidney transplant from her second husband, former EMI record executive Erwin Bach. Associated Press Writer Hilary Fox contributed to this report.

Carlos Bernate

Richmonders and U.S. service members attend last year’s Memorial Day Ceremony at the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond. Below, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears greets veterans during the Memorial Day Ceremony.

Virginia Department of Veterans Services to host Memorial Day ceremonies

Free Press staff report

Memorial Day will be commemorated at four special ceremonies hosted by the Virginia Department of Veterans Services (DVS) on Monday, May 29. The events are free and open to the public.

In Richmond, the Commonwealth’s Memorial Day Ceremony will take place at 11 a.m. in the E. Bruce Heilman Amphitheater at the Virginia War Memorial, 621 S. Belvidere St.

This is the 67th consecutive year that the Virginia War Memorial has hosted this official state tribute to all American service members who served in the Armed Forces from the Revolutionary War to today and to remember the family members they left behind, according to the DVS.

Scheduled speakers at the Commonwealth’s Memorial Day Ceremony include Virginia Secretary of Veteran and Defense Affairs, the Honorable Craig Crenshaw and the Adjutant General of Virginia, Maj. Gen. Timothy Williams. Virginia War Memorial Director Clay Mountcastle will serve as master of ceremonies and patriotic music will be provided the 29th Division Band of the Virginia National Guard.

Veterans services organizations and other groups are invited to participate in the annual laying of wreaths in the Memorial’s Shrine of Memory—20th Century. Prospective attendees should contact the Virginia War Memorial for more details at (804)786-2060.

Members of the public attending the Commonwealth’s Memorial Day Ceremony are advised to arrive by 10:30 a.m. to be seated in the Heilman Amphitheater. Free parking is available on site and in the Afton Chemical Company surface lot at Belvidere and Spring Streets. The Commonwealth’s Memorial Day Ceremony also will be broadcast live on CBS6 television in Richmond and livestreamed on Facebook. For more information and updates, please visit www.vawarmemorial.org or www. dvs.virginia.gov or call (804)786-2060.

Memorial Day ceremonies also will be held at Virginia’s three state veterans cemeteries.

In Amelia at the Virginia Veterans Cemetery, the ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. The speaker will be Col. Bobby Arnold (US Army, Retired). The cemetery is at 10300 Pridesville Road, Amelia Court House.

In Dublin at the Southwest Virginia Veterans Cemetery, the ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. The speaker will be former Chief Master Sgt. Rodney McKinley (US Air Force, retired). The cemetery address is 5550 Bagging Mill Road, Dublin, 24084.

In Suffolk at the Albert G. Horton Jr. Memorial Veterans Cemetery, the ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. The speaker will be Maj. Gen. Jerry F. Prochaska, U.S. Army, Deputy Director for the Joint Force Development and Design Center, J-7, Joint Staff, Suffolk. The address of the cemetery is 5310 Milners Road, Suffolk.

NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC OF VIRGINIA ELECTRIC AND POWER COMPANY’S REQUEST TO REVISE ITS FUEL FACTOR CASE NO. PUR-2023-00067

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PRIMARY CARE FOR THE UNIVERSE OF YOU

Beginning at 10 a.m. on September 5, 2023, the Hearing Examiner will telephone sequentially each person who has signed up to testify as provided above.

16850RICPRI

this case, Dominion’s total fuel factor consists of a current period factor (“Current Period Factor”) rate of 2.8587 cents per kilowatt-hour (“¢/kWh”), and a prior period factor (“Prior Period Factor”) rate of 1.4716 ¢/kWh, which together result in a total fuel factor rate of 4.3303 ¢/kWh.

• Dominion seeks implementation of only the Current Period Factor rate at this time, and recommends suspending implementation of the Prior Period Factor rate pending the Commission’s consideration of a future petition by Dominion to nance certain deferred fuel costs through fuel cost bonds, which Dominion intends to le on July 3, 2023.

• Implementation of the Current Period Factor beginning July 1, 2023, results in a 0.679 ¢/kWh decrease to the fuel factor rate, which, for a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours (“kWh”) per month, represents a decrease of $6.79 per month. A Hearing Examiner appointed by the Commission will hold a telephonic hearing in this case on September 5, 2023, at 10 a.m. for the receipt of public witness testimony.

An evidentiary hearing will be held on September 6, 2023, at 10 a.m., in the Commission’s second oor courtroom located in the Tyler Building, 1300 East Main Street, Richmond, VA 23219, to receive the testimony and evidence of the Company, any respondents, and the Commission Staff. Further information about this case is available on the SCC website at: scc.virginia.gov/pages/Case-Information

according to the Company, implementation of only the Current Period Factor rate of 2.8587 ¢/kWh on an interim basis would result in a 0.679 ¢/kWh decrease to the fuel factor rate. For a residential customer using 1,000 kWh per month, this represents a decrease of $6.79 per month beginning July 1, 2023. However, as noted above, if the Company’s Fuel Securitization petition is approved, in addition to the Current Period Factor rate decrease of $6.79 per month, beginning in early 2024 customers would be charged for the fuel securitization bond.

For purposes of judicial economy, the Company proposes that the current proceeding and the Fuel Securitization proceeding, which the Company anticipates ling with the Commission on or about July 3, 2023, be consolidated.

1.4716 ¢/kWh. Together, these components result in a total fuel factor (“Total Fuel Factor”) rate of 4.3303 ¢/kWh for the Rate Year. According to Dominion, the projected fuel deferral balance continues to be substantial due to signi cant commodity price increases during the prior period and implementation of a mitigation plan approved by the Commission in Case No. PUR-2022-00064. The Company states that recent legislation has authorized the ability to nance certain deferred fuel costs through fuel cost bonds (“Fuel Securitization”). Dominion asserts that approval of Fuel Securitization could mitigate the near-term impact customers would otherwise bear due to the sizeable projected fuel deferral balance and, therefore, the Company intends to le for approval of Fuel Securitization once the legislation becomes effective on July 1, 2023.

Given that the Prior Period Factor recovers the fuel deferral balance that, according to the Company, will be the subject of its future Fuel Securitization petition, Dominion recommends an alternative to implementing the Total Fuel Factor rate of 4.3303 ¢/ kWh on an interim basis beginning on July 1, 2023. Speci cally, Dominion supports implementation of only the Current Period Factor rate of 2.8587 ¢/kWh on an interim basis beginning on July 1, 2023, and recommends suspending implementation of the Prior Period Factor rate of 1.4716 ¢/kWh pending the Commission’s consideration of the Company’s Fuel Securitization petition. If the Company’s Fuel Securitization petition is approved, Dominion asserts the Prior Period Factor would not be implemented – instead, beginning in early 2024 customers would start to pay the fuel securitization bond, which the Company currently estimates will be approximately $2.50 per month for a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatthours (“kWh”) per month over the rst year, based on a ten-year securitization. If the Commission denies the Company’s Fuel Securitization petition, then the Prior Period Factor rate of 1.4716 ¢/kWh would be implemented following disapproval.

If the Company were to implement the Total Fuel Factor rate of 4.3303 ¢/kWh rather than just the Current Period Factor rate, it would increase the bill of a residential customer using 1,000 kWh per month by $7.92 per month over the Rate Year. In contrast,

Dominion is also seeking approval in this proceeding of an accounting change as it relates to the funding of base rates and the fuel factor for customers taking service under the approved marketbased rate (“MBR”) schedules, Rate Schedule MBR, and the SCR Rate Schedule (collectively, the “MBR Customers”). Speci cally, the Company is proposing to alter the order in which revenues collected from MBR Customers is attributed to base rates and fuel. As proposed, revenue from MBR Customers would rst fund all approved generation riders and cost-of-service base rates, with the remaining revenues being allocated to fuel. Dominion believes this change would result in a lower fuel factor in the nearterm and more stable, less volatile fuel factor rates over the long-term.

Interested persons are encouraged to review the Application and supporting documents in full for details about these and other proposals.

The hearing on this matter will occur subsequent to July 1, 2023 – the beginning of the Company’s 2023-2024 Rate Year. Consequently, the Commission has directed the Company to place its proposed Current Period Factor rate of 2.8587 ¢/kWh into effect on an interim basis for usage on and after July 1, 2023.

The Commission entered an Order for Notice and Hearing in this proceeding that, among other things, scheduled public hearings on the Company’s Application. On September 5, 2023, at 10 a.m., the Hearing Examiner assigned to this case will hold a telephonic hearing, with no witness present in the Commission’s courtroom, for the purpose of receiving the testimony of public witnesses. On or before August 29, 2023, any person desiring to offer testimony as a public witness shall provide to the Commission (a) your name, and (b) the telephone number that you wish the Commission to call during the hearing to receive your testimony.

This information may be provided to the Commission in three ways: (i) by lling out a form on the Commission’s website at scc.virginia.gov/pages/Webcasting; (ii) by completing and emailing the PDF version of this form to SCCInfo@scc.virginia.gov; or (iii) by calling (804) 371-9141. This public witness hearing will be webcast at scc.virginia.gov/pages/Webcasting

On September 6, 2023, at 10 a.m., in the Commission’s second oor courtroom located in the Tyler Building, 1300 East Main Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219, the Hearing Examiner will convene a hearing to receive testimony and evidence related to the Application from the Company, any respondents, and the Commission’s Staff. To promote administrative ef ciency and timely service of lings upon participants, the Commission has directed the electronic ling of testimony and pleadings, unless they contain con dential information, and required electronic service on parties to this proceeding.

An electronic copy of the public version of the Company’s Application may be obtained by submitting a written request to counsel for the Company, Elaine S. Ryan, Esquire, McGuireWoods LLP, Gateway Plaza, 800 East Canal Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219, or eryan@mcguirewoods.com. Interested persons also may download unof cial copies of the public version of the Application and other documents led in this case from the Commission’s website: scc.virginia.gov/pages/Case-Information

On or before August 29, 2023, any interested person may submit comments on the Application electronically by following the instructions on the Commission’s website: scc.virginia.gov/casecomments/Submit-Public-Comments. Those unable, as a practical matter, to submit comments electronically may le such comments by U.S. mail to the Clerk of the State Corporation Commission, c/o Document Control Center, P.O. Box 2118, Richmond, Virginia 23218-2118. All comments shall refer to Case No. PUR-2023-00067.

On or before June 30, 2023, any person or entity wishing to participate as a respondent in this proceeding may do so by ling a notice of participation at scc.virginia.gov/clk/e ling. Those unable, as a practical matter, to le a notice of participation electronically may le such notice by U.S. mail to the Clerk of the Commission at the address listed above. Such notice of participation shall include the email addresses of such parties or their counsel, if available. The respondent simultaneously shall serve a copy of the notice of participation on counsel to the Company. Pursuant to 5 VAC 5-2080 B, Participation as a respondent, of the Commission’s Rules of Practice, any notice of participation shall set forth: (i) a precise statement of the interest of the respondent; (ii) a statement of the speci c action sought to the extent then known; and (iii) the factual and legal basis for the action. Any organization, corporation or government body participating as a respondent must be represented by counsel as required by 5 VAC 5-20-30, Counsel, of the Rules of Practice. All lings shall refer to Case No. PUR-2023-00067.

On or before August 9, 2023, each respondent may le with the Clerk of the Commission, at scc.virginia.gov/clk/e ling, any testimony and exhibits by which the respondent expects to establish its case. Any respondent unable, as a practical matter, to le testimony and exhibits electronically may le such by U.S. mail to the Clerk of the Commission at the address listed above. Each witness’s testimony shall include a summary not to exceed one page. All testimony and exhibits shall be served on the Staff, the Company, and all other respondents simultaneous with its ling. In all lings, respondents shall comply with the Commission’s Rules of Practice, except as modi ed by the Commission’s Order Establishing 2023-2024 Fuel Factor Proceeding, including, but not limited to: 5 VAC 5-20-140, Filing and service, and 5 VAC 5-20-240, Prepared testimony and exhibits. All lings shall refer to Case No. PUR-202300067.

Any documents led in paper form with the Of ce of the Clerk of the Commission in this docket may use both sides of the paper. In all other respects, except as modi ed by the Commission’s Order Establishing 2023-2024 Fuel Factor Proceeding, all lings shall comply fully with the requirements of 5 VAC 5-20-150, Copies and format, of the Commission’s Rules of Practice.

The Commission’s Rules of Practice, the public version of the Company’s Application, the Commission’s Order Establishing 20232024 Fuel Factor Proceeding, and other documents led in this case may be viewed at: scc.virginia.gov/pages/Case-Information

VIRGINIA ELECTRIC AND POWER COMPANY

Tennis greats’ donations to help save VIA records

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Tennis legends Billie Jean King and Ilana S. Koss have donated essential funds to computerize the paper athletic records of Black high schools in Virginia.

Virginia State University, the repository of the records of the Virginia Interscholastic Association (VIA), on Monday announced the gift from Ms. King, an all-time great who won 39 major tennis titles and Ms. Koss, a former top player who has led World Team Tennis for 22 years.

VSU President Makola

M. Abdullah welcomed the gift. He said the project would make the photos and records more available to “our students and the broader community to inspire them and serve as an example

of what is achievable.”

The VIA operated from 1954 to 1970, providing competition in football, basketball and other sports and in band, math, science and music during an era when Black and white students were barred from competing.

Tennis great Arthur Ashe, basketball star Bobby Dandridge and football standout Bennie McRae are among the legions of VIA high school standouts who earned college scholarships and went on to pro careers before the VIA was merged in the Virginia High School League.

Ms. Koss said she and Ms. King regard it as “a pleasure to do something to support an organization that has honored Arthur Ashe and Doug Smith,” a tennis pro who went on to lead a vibrant

River guide book inspires ballet performance

By Craig Belcher

Author John Bryan knew it was time to update his first book about the James River, a guide to enjoying “America’s best urban waterway,” published back in 1997. So he started working on an update a few years ago that takes into account the changes to the water, the city and the kinds of people who come to enjoy it. But he didn’t know the new book, “The James River in Richmond: Your New Guide to Enjoying America’s Best Urban Waterway,” would inspire a performance by the Latin Ballet of Virginia.

“No, it never crossed my mind,” said Mr. Bryan, who has been friends with the ballet company’s founder Ana Ines King for several years. “I haven’t seen the script. I’m confident that they’ll do a wonderful job. I’m as excited as anyone else.”

Ms. King said she learned about the book when Mr. Bryan asked her to help translate a section of the guide book that is in Spanish. Preparing the section led to developing the Latin Ballet’s “Aguas,” a free performance at Ancarrow’s Landing on June 3 at 4 p.m.

“Ours is a dance theater performance that celebrates the history, the cultures and the James River … [the] commemoration of the end of the war and the freedom of African-American people,” Ms. King said.

The site of the performance, Ancarrow’s

Landing, is named after entrepreneur and environmentalist Newtown Ancarrow, and is also part of the Richmond Slave Trail. Ancarrow owned a boat building company and relocated it there in the late 1950s. He was one of the first persons to advocate for the environmental health of the River.

“So it’s a nice place for a lot of historic reasons, a nice place because it’s lots of parking,” Mr. Bryan said. “It’s a nice place, because it has a big open area where they can perform.”

The free performance coincides with the philanthropic aspect of Mr. Bryan’s guide. He said more than 600 copies have been given to museums and other organizations “whose missions help all sorts of communities in Richmond.” All of the writers and photographers who contributed to the book weren’t paid for their efforts and all of the proceeds from sales will be donated.

“So, we’re very pleased that, not only are the contents of the book helping people with their understanding of the river and their enjoyment of the river, but the sales proceeds are helping nonprofits make people’s lives better,” Mr. Bryan said.

The James River in Richmond: Your New Guide to Enjoying America’s Best Urban Waterway,” is available at local bookstores and via jamesriverlovers.com, and at the June 3 performance of “Aguas.”

IMPORTANT TAX

NOTICE

City of Richmond Individual Personal Property, Business Personal Property and Machinery & Tools Taxes are due June 5, 2023. Payment(s) for Individual Personal Property, Business Personal Property, and Machinery & Tools Taxes are due on June 5, 2023. Payment(s) must be received and/or postmarked on or before June 5th. Payments postmarked or received after June 5th will be assessed a 10% late penalty and will accrue interest charges at a rate of 10% per annum. Please mail your notice and payment in the envelope provided with your bill. Failure to receive a billing notice will not relieve the penalty and interest added if your payment is not made on time. If you require a billing notice please call 646-7000 or visit us online at www.rva.gov

For your convenience, you may pay online at www.rva.gov or pay via telephone at 1-866-890-5269. A convenience fee may be charged for use of these payment options. You may also pay in person at City Hall, 900 E. Broad Street Room 102 M-F 8-5; at our , 4100 Hull Street M-F 8 – 5; or at our East at 701 N. 25th Street, M-F 8-5. You may also deposit your check payment in the payment drop box at each location.

youth tennis program in St. Louis.

According to VSU, the school will work with Teaching for Change on the initiative to transform the VIA collection into digital records.

Deborah Mankart, TfC’s executive director, said the project will allow “young people to learn about the African-American administra-

tors, teachers and students who collectively ‘made a way out of no way.’”

James Hollins, chair of the VIA Heritage Association, said he and the membership consider the project a “blessing” that ensures the information will be “made accessible for generations to come.”

Blaise Davenport

Joy Watson and

VSU names two women students as co-valedictorians

Joy Watson and Blaise Davenport both earn a perfect 4.0 GPA

Joy Watson and Blaise Davenport have been recognized by Virginia State University as Class of 2023 co-valedictorians. The announcement marks the first time in VSU’s history that two women, both STEM majors, have received this academic honor. They were recognized as part of the 2023 Commencement Ceremony on May 13, 2023.

Ms. Watson, who also was Miss VSU 2022-2023 and 2023 Miss National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame, carried a double major in mathematics and mechanical engineering technology while maintaining a perfect 4.0 GPA throughout her college career.

She will continue her education in graduate school at VSU.

Ms. Davenport maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA while majoring in computer information systems with a minor in Cybersecurity and Forensics. She studied abroad in England as a visiting student at Oxford University and won numerous cybersecurity awards and honors from the Department of Defense. She will continue her education at Columbia University and Carnegie Mellon University on a full scholarship.

Both young women also are former members of the Trojan Explosion Marching Band.

Jon Furniss/Invision/AP, File Billie Jean King and Ilana Koss

Mr. Bryan

Photo courtesy of The Latin Ballet

The Latin Ballet’s founder Ana Ines King decribes the company’s upcoming performance as “a dance theater performance that celebrates the history, the cultures and the James River … [the] commemoration of the end of the war and the freedom of African-American people.”

City pools to open early

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

City Hall will open five outdoor swimming pools for the Memorial Day holiday.

The pools that will open for the holiday include Battery Park, 2719 Dupont Circle; Blackwell, 1500 block of Maury Street; Fairmount Pool, 2000 U St.; Powhatan, 5051 Northampton St.; and Randolph, 1507 Grayland Ave.

According to city officials, all five will operate from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday, May 27; Sunday, May 28; and Monday, May 29.

This is the third year that the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities has launched the outdoor pools during the holiday. Previously, the department operated four pools for the holiday weekend.

“We are excited to open most of our

pools early,” Christopher Frelke, department director, said.

He added that he “is delighted to report” that the department has hired and trained a full complement of lifeguards this year. Lifeguard numbers dwindled in Richmond and across the country during the pandemic, creating staffing problems for public and private pools.

The five pools also will operate from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday, June 3, and Sunday, June 4, according to the department.

Two additional pools, Hotchkiss at 701 E. Brookland Park Blvd. and Woodville at 2305 Fairfield Ave., will open on Saturday, June 10, the day after Richmond Public Schools closes for students on Friday, June 9.

All seven pools will be open seven days a week through Labor Day, with longer hours on weekdays, according to the city.

Chesterfield’s Memorial Day event to unveil Tomb of the Unknown Soldier replica

Free Press staff report

During a Memorial Day ceremony on Monday, May 29, Chesterfield County will include the unveiling of a replica of the iconic Tomb of the Unknown Solider and present a live re-enactment of the changing of the guard by the Chesterfield County Sheriff Honor Guard. The ceremony will take place at 2 p.m. on the Historic 1917 Courthouse Green.

The tomb unveiling ties in with the ceremony’s keynote speaker, Lt. Col. Stephan Ruppel-Lee, a highly decorated Army veteran who most recently served with the 29th Infantry Division in Kuwait. Along with his deployments and overseas

operations in numerous countries, Col. RuppelLee also spent 18 months as the Commander of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery. He will speak to that experience during his address.

“The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is Arlington National Cemetery’s most iconic memorial,” states Arlington’s website. “The neoclassical, white marble sarcophagus stands atop a hill overlooking Washington, D.C. Since 1921, it has provided a

Memorial Day 2023 holiday closings

final resting place for one of America’s unidentified World War I service members, and Unknowns from later wars were added in 1958 and 1984. The Tomb has also served as a place of mourning and a site for reflection on military service.”

Lt. Col. Ruppel-Lee has been awarded the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Department of the Army Staff Badge, Combat Infantrymen’s Badge, Expert Infantrymen’s Badge, Ranger Tab, and Airborne wings.

Ceremonial remarks also will come from Board of Supervisors Chair Kevin Carroll (Matoaca District), along with the tolling of the Historic 1917 Courthouse Bell, and the presentation of wreaths.

Petersburg city pool opens Memorial Day weekend

Free Press staff report

Petersburg’s public swimming pool located at 1216 Farmer St. will open for the season on May 27, it has been announced. The pool will remain open through May 29, from 12 to 6 p.m. each day for the holiday weekend.

“This is the first time since COVID that the city has been able to open the pool on time,” said Marquis Allen, director of Petersburg Recreation and Special Events. “We are pleased to offer a full season of swimming for our citizens, especially our youths.”

While school is in session, the city pool will open on the following weekends from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.: June 3 – 4, June 10 – 11 and June 17.

Beginning on June 20 through Aug. 26 the pool will open Tuesday through Saturday from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. The pool will remain open for the Labor Day holiday weekend, September 2 – 4, from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Parents or guardians (adults) must always accompany children 13 and under while at the pool.

For more information, please contact Recreation and Special Events at: (804) 324-4015 or recreation@petersburg-va. org.

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.

available in select market areas

• Available for purchases and eligible refinances

• Gift funds can be used

• Household income limits apply

• Homeownership counseling certificate required prior to closing if a First Time Homebuyer

• Can be used in conjunction with other down payment assistance

Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

Blooms at the Virginia Museum of

Arts

Flawed football great

Some of us are too young to remember when Jim Brown ruled the gridiron from 1957 to 1965 as a powerful fullback for the Cleveland Browns. We also may have missed his attempts at becoming “the black John Wayne,” by appearing in low-budget action movies, which began before his brief career in the National Football League ended.

We learned about his outspokenness during the Civil Rights Movement and his push for black economic independence, long after they occurred in the 1960s. These were the things Jim Brown would want people to know about him and remember him.

But if you were born in the 1970s, you have been introduced to the Georgia native with his portrayal of “Slammer,” a character in the 1988 film “I’m Gonna Git You Sucka.” The film is a send-up of the so-called Blaxploitation movies popular in the 1970s and Jim Brown plays a parody of the kind of role he typically played in those films: A tough guy who isn’t afraid to use violence to solve a problem. Slammer was the part-owner of a restaurant whose slogan was “Our Meat is Tougher Than We Are,” and later joins his compadres to take down the neighborhood criminal known as “Mr. Big.”

We now know that off the field, Mr. Brown’s behavior often wasn’t a laughing matter. He was charged with assault with intent to commit murder in 1968 after model Eva Bohn-Chin was found under the balcony of his second floor apartment in Los Angeles. Police said he threw her; he said she had fallen. He was arrested at least seven times for assault, in incidents that usually involved women of color, but was never convicted of domestic violence. Those kind of accusations would be enough to end a career these days. Just ask actor Johnathan Majors.

Then there were the politics of Jim Brown. He was a civil rights advocate, but didn’t like the idea of marching. He was down with the Black Panthers, yet endorsed former President Richard Nixon. In recent years, he talked about his fondness for Donald Trump, who has also faced domestic violence allegations. At least that last part was predictable.

Jim Brown would like us to remember how he played the game. And those of us who remember can do that. But the rest of us can’t forget how he lived his life, leaving behind a complicated legacy that remains tough to tackle.

In remembrance

The Memorial Day holiday is once more upon us and with it arrives ceremonies and programs that honor the military men and women who died while defending the United States.

In this week’s Free Press you will discover a Monday, May 29, Memorial Day program in Chesterfield County that will unveil a replica of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the iconic memorial in Arlington National Cemetery which, since 1921, has provided a final resting place for one of America’s unidentified Word War I service members.

And in Downtown Richmond, the Virginia Department of Veterans Services will host Memorial Day ceremonies with high-ranking officials such as Virginia’s Secretary of Veteran And Defense Affairs and the Adjutant General of Virginia. Patriotic music will be performed by the 29th Division Band of the Virginia National Guard. Similar events will take place at three state veterans cemeteries.

Such ceremonies elicit all sorts of emotions whether attending them in person or observing them on television or social media. Pride, joy, pain and sorrow.

In observing these memorable moments, please be reminded not only of those in the military who sacrificed their lives for all of us. Remember, it was just three years ago, on Memorial Day May 25 when George Floyd lost his life in a battle against racism that far too many Black people, as Attorney Ben Crump points out in our front-page article, continue to experience daily.

Jim Brown and social activism

Since most players in professional basketball and football are Black, it should come as no surprise that many high-profile Black athletes have become role models to young admirers who are also Black. Athletes such as football legend Jim Brown reached the professional ranks by overcoming tremendous odds with determination, perseverance, and commitment.

Any confident and successful pro athlete can easily become an example for a child or young adult to look up to.

Charles Bark-

ley is a former NBA star whose 16-year career covered stints in Philadelphia, Phoenix, and Houston. The outspoken Mr. Barkley once declared in a Nike commercial that kids should be taught to emulate their parents, not athletes or celebrities. “Just because I dunk a basketball doesn’t mean I should raise your kids,” Mr. Barkley concluded. In a 1993 issue of Sports Illustrated, Utah Jazz star Karl Malone wrote that being a role model was not Mr. Barkley’s decision to make. “We don’t

choose to be role models, Malone wrote. “We are chosen. Our only choice is whether to be a good role model or a bad one.”

I agree with Mr. Malone’s assessment that being a role model means not always knowing when a child has chosen your example to follow. The danger of a child looking up to the wrong individual is a risk that automatically comes with the position being in the public arena.

Long before the infamous

“shut up and dribble” kerfuffle, it has been widely believed that sports and politics should remain separate. Some see sports as a refuge to escape the mental exhaustion of politics and social conflicts. Former NBA coach Phil Jackson is well known for having won 11 championships as a player and coach.

Yet, Mr. Jackson, 77, recently said he no longer watches the NBA due to politics. He references the slogans used in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Mr. Jackson believes the NBA has evolved since his time and has become too political for his liking. “They even had slogans on the floor and the baseline,” Jhe said. “People want

to see sports as non-political. Politics stays out of the game; it doesn’t need to be there.”

While it is desired that athletes refrain from bringing political messages into the games, some players cannot simply put on a jersey, play ball, and then go home and remain publicly silent about the injustices we face. It is not wrong if a player is compelled to speak out on social issues. It just needs to be calculated and strategic to be effective.

Jim Brown was not silent when it came to separating his athletic dominance on the football field from being a relevant voice in addressing the social matters impacting the Black community. He was never hesitant to speak out publicly, as many athletes were during the 1950s and 1960s.

Mr. Brown was a social activist who often took a stand for Black citizens and other minorities whose rights were denied. Because he believed in Black empowerment, He was a key player with the Black Economic Union, an organization focused on creating careers for minorities by helping them get business loans to be self-sufficient. He played a key role in organizing the “Cleveland Summit” in 1967, which concluded with a group of prominent players

When vigilantism becomes a campaign stunt

On his way to see whether his expected presidential bid can play in Peoria, Fla., Gov. Ron DeSantis upstaged himself with a news making tweet.

“We stand with Good Samaritans like Daniel Penny,” he tweeted Fri day about the former Marine accused in the May 1 killing of Jordan Nee ly, a homeless man who had been shouting in the faces of other passen gers on a New York subway.

“Let’s show this Marine ...” Gov. DeSantis tweeted, “America’s got his back.” At least Gov. DeSantis does—and he’s not alone.

When I last visited the sad case of the “subway vigilante,” as some are calling Mr. Penny, he was not yet arrested or charged, despite a groundswell of people calling for it after the video was broadcast. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, among others, wanted Penny charged with murder.

But I agreed with Mayor Eric Adams that simple justice requires that we wait for police to investigate before jumping to conclusions. Mr. Penny deserved to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, I felt. I’m kind of old-fashioned that way.

But, by the time the Manhattan district attorney’s office charged him with second degree manslaughter, Mr. Penny found a bigger groundswell of financial and online support from high-profile Republicans such as Gov. DeSantis, Fox News personalities and other

conservatives.

Many hailed Mr. Penny as a “hero” and “Good Samaritan” and raised nearly $2 million from Kid Rock and others for his legal defense through an online fund.

Gov. DeSantis similarly joined many others on the right who sought to turn Mr. Penny

into a martyr being punished by the “deep state” for supposedly defending public order. Mr. DeSantis in this fashion joined former President Donald Trump as a leading contender for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination celebrating vigilante “justice” in the fashion of Charles Bronson in “Death Wish.” Did we, as a country, ask for this? Like it or not, that’s what we have in today’s political world as “tough on crime” has taken on a particularly ruthless odor.

There are cases, such as Edward Gallagher, the Navy SEAL accused by members of his own unit of killing multiple unarmed civilians. Mr. Trump pardoned him.

More recently, Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott promised to pardon a man convicted of the 2020 murder of a Black Lives Matter protester.

It would be easy to cast these episodes of trial-by-media as election year excesses, except this isn’t an election year. Not quite, although for some people it seems the “election year” never ends.

So far, there is no evidence that Mr. Neely assaulted anyone on the subway, but Mr. Penny acted to restrain him in a choke-

hold anyway, and at least one other passenger acted to assist him by grabbing Mr. Neely’s arms. Mr. Neely also may have been turned on his side in an effort to prevent him from choking on his saliva. But when he was taken to the hospital, he was pronounced dead.

To prove guilt of second degree manslaughter, prosecutors will have to demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Penny “recklessly” caused Mr. Neely’s death. Under New York state law, The New York Times reports, a person is deemed to have acted recklessly when he engages in conduct which creates or contributes to a substantial or unjustifiable risk that another person’s death will occur.

Considering the circumstances, there’s a good chance that the outcome won’t satisfy very many of us, regardless of which side we’re on. As a lawyer friend of mine put it, “Justice? You’re not going to have any real justice as long as there’s no way to bring that dead man back to life.”

Indeed, there’s no way around the simple truth in these instances that the system has failed, especially for Mr. Neely, a homeless street performer who had a long sheet of arrests and treatments in a social service system that wasn’t there when he needed it most.

Now the state’s justice system must decide whether Mr. Penny was criminally “reckless” or just trying to help. The system needs to seek justice, not just revenge.

The writer is a member of the Chicago Tribune’s editorial board and a columnist for the newspaper.

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.

such as Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Willie Davis, and Bobby Mitchell providing public support for Muhammad Ali, who refused to be drafted based on his religious beliefs. On the football field, Jim Brown often is ranked as one of the greatest NFL players to play the game. Off the field, his leadership and messages of motivation inspired future players and prepared them for future activism.

Mr. Brown’s politics were not radical. He believed that Black people do not achieve advancement through the politics of protest but through the politics of earning as much money as possible to build economic self-sufficiency. We lost another icon. Rest in peace, Jim Brown.

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

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Tim Scott launches 2024 presidential bid seeking optimistic contrast with other top rivals

The Associated Press

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C.

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott launched his presidential campaign Monday, offering an optimistic and compassionate message he’s hoping can serve as a contrast with the political combativeness that has dominated the early GOP primary field.

The Senate’s only Black Republican, Sen. Scott kicked off the campaign in his hometown of North Charleston, on the campus of Charleston Southern University, his alma mater and a private school affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. He repeatedly mentioned his Christian faith in his kickoff speech, crying, “Amen! Amen! Amen!” and at several points elicited responses from the crowd, who sometimes chanted his name.

But Sen. Scott also offered a stark political choice, saying “Our party and our nation are standing at a time for choosing: Victimhood or victory.”

He added that Republicans will also have to decide between “grievance or greatness.”

“I choose freedom and hope and opportunity,” Sen. Scott said. He went on to tell the crowd that “we need a president who persuades not just our friends and our base” but seeks “commonsense” solutions and displays “compassion for people who don’t agree with us.”

That was a far cry from former President Donald Trump, who has played to the GOP’s most loyal supporters with repeated lies about his 2020 election loss as he campaigns for a second term in office. Florida

Gov. Ron DeSantis, who could launch his own bid as soon as this week, has pushed Florida to the right by championing contentious new restrictions on abortion and LGBTQ rights and by seeking to limit the corporate power of Disney, one of his state’s most powerful business interests.

Sen. Scott, 57, planned to huddle with home state donors Tuesday, then begin a two-day campaign swing to Iowa and New Hampshire, which go first on the GOP presidential voting calendar.

His announcement event featured an opening prayer by Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the No. 2 Senate Republican, who said, “I think our country is ready to be inspired again.” Republican Sen. Mike Rounds, South Dakota’s other senator, already has announced his support for Sen. Scott.

A number of high-profile GOP senators have backed Donald Trump’s third bid for the White House, including Sen. Scott’s South Carolina colleague, Lindsey Graham.

Mr. Trump nonetheless struck a conciliatory tone Monday, welcoming Sen. Scott to the race and noting that the pair worked together on his administration’s signature tax cuts.

A source of strength for Sen. Scott will be his campaign bank account. He enters the 2024 race with more cash on hand than any other presidential candidate in U.S. history, with $22 million left in his campaign account at the end of his 2022 campaign that he can transfer to his presidential coffers.

Sen. Scott also won reelection in firmly Republican South Carolina—which has an early slot on the Republican presidential primary calendar— by more than 20 points less than six months ago. Advisers bet that can make Sen. Scott a serious contender for an early, momentum-generating win.

But Sen. Scott is not the only South Carolina option. The state’s former governor, Nikki Haley, who once served as Mr. Trump’s former United Nations ambassador, also is running.

Ben LeVan, a business professor at Charleston Southern who attended Monday’s event, said he hadn’t decided whom to support in the GOP primary but didn’t plan to back Mr. Trump. “I really do hope that we can bring some civility back in politics,” Mr. LeVan said.

“That’s one of the nice things about Tim Scott, and quite frankly, Nikki Haley, and some of the other candidates as well. They’re more diplomatic, and that is something that I appreciate.”

Like others in the GOP race, including former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and “Woke, Inc.” author Vivek Ramaswamy, Sen. Scott’s initial task will be finding a way to stand out in a field led by Mr. Trump and Gov. DeSantis.

One way Sen. Scott hopes to do that is his trademark political optimism. He said Monday that America’s promise means “you can go as high as our character, our grit, and our talent will take you.”

The Democratic National Committee responded to Sen. Scott’s announcement by dismissing the notion that Sen. Scott offers much of an alternative to Mr. Trump’s policies.

DNC chair Jaime Harrison, who ran unsuccessfully for Senate in South Carolina in 2020, released a statement calling the senator “a fierce advocate of the MAGA agenda,” a reference to the former president’s “Make America Great Again” movement.

On many issues, Sen. Scott does indeed align with mainstream GOP positions. He wants to reduce government spending and restrict abortion, saying he would sign a federal law to prohibit abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy if elected

The Associated Press

Republican presidential candidate Tim Scott delivers his speech Monday announcing his candidacy for president of the United States on the campus of Charleston Southern University in North Charleston, S.C. president.

But Sen. Scott has pushed the party on some policing overhaul measures since the

killing of George Floyd, and he has occasionally criticized Mr. Trump’s response to racial tensions. Throughout their dis-

APPLICATION BY VIRGINIA ELECTRIC AND POWER COMPANY D/B/A DOMINION ENERGY VIRGINIA FOR APPROVAL OF A RATE ADJUSTMENT CLAUSE PURSUANT TO § 56.585.1 A 4 OF THE CODE OF VIRGINIA CASE NO. PUR-2023-00065

agreements, though, Sen. Scott has maintained a generally cordial relationship with Mr. Trump, saying in his book that the former president “listened intently” to his viewpoints on race-related issues.

When he was appointed to the Senate by then-Gov. Haley in 2012, Sen. Scott became the first Black senator from the South since just after the Civil War. Winning a 2014 special election to serve out the remainder of his term made him the first Black candidate to win a statewide race in South Carolina since the Reconstruction era. He has long said his current term, which runs through 2029, would be his last.

•Dominion Energy Virginia (“DEV”) has applied for a revision of its rate adjustment clause, Rider T1, by which it recovers certain transmission and demand response program costs.

•DEV’s request represents an increase of $124,774,775 annually, which would increase a residential customer’s monthly bill using 1,000 kilowatt hours per month by $2.67.

•The Hearing Examiner assigned to this case will hold a telephonic hearing in this case on June 21, 2023, to receive public witness testimony.

•The Hearing Examiner will hold an evidentiary hearing in this case on June 22, 2023.

•Further information about this case is available on the SCC website at: scc.virginia.gov/pages/Case-Information

On May 1, 2023, Virginia Electric and Power Company d/b/a Dominion Energy Virginia (“Dominion” or “Company”), pursuant to § 56-585.1 A 4 (“Subsection A 4”) of the Code

Subsection A 4 deems to be prudent, among other things, the “costs for transmission services provided to the utility by the regional transmission entity of which the utility is atered by the regional transmission entity of which the utility is a member.”

The Company has been a member of PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. (“PJM”), a regional transmission entity that has been approved by FERC as a regional transmission organization, since 2005. Dominion, as an integrated electric utility member of PJM, obtains transmission service from PJM and pays PJM charges for such service at the rates contained in FERC and administered by PJM.

In this proceeding, Dominion seeks approval of a revenue requirement for the rate year September 1, 2023, through August 31, 2024 (“Rate Year”). This revenue requirement, if approved, would be recovered through a combination of base rates and a revised increment/decrement Rider T1. Rider T1 is designed to recover the increment/decrement between the revenues produced from the Subsection A 4 component of base rates and the new revenue requirement developed from the Company’s Subsection A 4 costs for the Rate Year.

The total proposed revenue requirement to be recovered over the Rate Year is $878,758,118, comprising an increment Rider T1 of $368,484,898, and forecast collections of $510,273,220 through the transmission component of base rates. This total revenue requirement represents an increase of $124,774,775, compared to the revenues projected to bementation of the proposed Rider T1 on September 1, 2023 would increase the total monthly bill of a typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours per month by $2.67.

The Commission entered an Order for Notice and Hearing that, among other things, scheduled public hearings on the Company’s Application. On June 21, 2023, at 10 a.m., a Hearing Examiner appointed by the Commission will hold a telephonic hearing, with no witness present in the Commission’s courtroom, for the purpose of receiving the testimony a form on the Commission’s website at scc.virginia.gov/pages/Webcasting; (ii) by completing and emailing the PDF version of this form to SCCInfo@scc.virginia.gov; or (iii) by calling (804) 371-9141. This public witness hearing will be webcast at scc.virginia.gov/pages/Webcasting

An electronic copy of the Company’s Application may be obtained by submitting a written request to counsel for the Company: David J. DePippo, Esquire, Dominion Energy Services, Inc., 120 Tredegar Street, RS-5, Richmond, Virginia 23219, or david.j.depippo@dominionenergy.com

Commission’s website: scc.virginia.gov/pages/Case Information

On or before June 16, 2023, any interested person may submit comments on the Application electronically by following the instructions on the Commission’s website: scc.virginia.gov/casecomments/Submit-Public-Comments Clerk of the State Corporation Commission, c/o Document Control Center, P.O. Box 2118, Richmond, Virginia 23218-2118. All comments shall refer to Case No. PUR-2023-00065.

sion at:

mission at the address listed above. Such notice of participation shall include the email addresses of such parties or their counsel, if available. A copy of the notice of participation as a respondent also must be sent to counsel for the Company. Pursuant to 5 VAC 5-20-80 B, Participation as a respondent, of the Commission’s Rules of Practice and Procedure then known; and (iii) the factual and legal basis for the action. Any organization, corporation or government body participating as a respondent must be represented by counsel as required by 5 VAC 5-20-30, Counsel , any testimony and exhibits by which the respondent expects Filing and service, and 5 VAC 5-20-240, Prepared testimony and exhibits Copies and format, of the Commission’s Rules of Practice.

Commission’s website at: scc.virginia.gov/pages/Case-Information.

VIRGINIA ELECTRIC AND POWER COMPANY

We stand for Equality Justice Opportunity Freedom and we fearlessly ght for Equality Justice Opportunity Freedom

Lok Lam’s passion for a community’s welfare is clear from her work with the Neighborhood Resource Center of Greater Fulton since she became board president last October. “You can be in these roles, without being an older person or very professionally accomplished,” Ms. Lam, who is in her mid-30s, says. “Anyone can do these things, if you’re passionate about something.”

Ms. Lam began working with NRC Fulton in 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. She was struck by the institutional failures that the disease and the systemic response highlighted locally, nationally and globally. She ultimately decided to address such issues in her own way.

“I thought a lot about how my friends and family and people I don’t know in Richmond, around the country, and around the world were doing,” Ms. Lam says. She also spent time thinking about “how the pandemic exposed the ways that governments and institutions deny people their right to live in dignity.”

Ms. Lam was encouraged to reach out to NRC Fulton by friends who volunteered with the nonprofit organization, which works to improve the lives of more than 500 families through education, employment and nutrition programs.

Ms. Lam was a volunteer with NRC Fulton before joining its board of directors in 2021. Today, she helps shape the group’s advocacy as evictions and rent increases displace many of Richmond’s underserved citizens. “As the socioeconomic makeup of Greater Fulton changes, many former residents who may benefit from our programming have been pushed east and we want to reach them,” Ms. Lam says, adding that community members in east Henrico County face a lot of the same issues.”

As board president, Ms. Lam is leading NRC Fulton amid a three-year strategic plan centered on expanding the group’s geographic reach, donors and partnerships. This growth will

Personality: Lok Lam

Spotlight on Neighborhood Resource Center’s board president

allow NRC Fulton to provide support to its staff and the community.

A focus on expansion led Ms. Lam to accept the role of board president, and she is intent on seeing the group grow and diversify during her two-year term.

This diversity would extend not just to funding and resources, but also to its leadership and area representation, ensuring that a “diversity of experiences” in terms of race, gender, wealth and more are helping to guide NRC Fulton’s decisions.

“That’s really important for us,” Ms. Lam says, “to make sure that, strategically and operationally, what we’re doing is deeply informed by our communities and we actually are all in it together.” Ms. Lam’s work with NRC Fulton comes with an awareness that it can’t directly change the systemic issues that affect the community. But it can help reduce the harm that often results from such issues.

“I would like, if someone were to read this, to think ‘this person is young and like me and can still do this stuff’,” Ms. Lam says. “I hope it inspires people to join us or find something that they’re really passionate about and use that time to improve Richmond or society in some way.”

Meet a leader in community aid and improvement and this week’s Personality, Lok Lam: Volunteer position: Board president, Neighborhood Resource Center of Greater Fulton.

Occupation: Corporate restructuring consultant. Place of birth: Hong Kong. Where I live now: Richmond.

Education: Bachelor’s and master’s in finance from Tulane University.

Family: My partner, cat, our neighbors in our “block fam-

ily.”

Neighborhood Resource Center of Greater Fulton is:

Neighborhood Resource Center of Greater Fulton, or NRC Fulton, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts and cultural education center in Greater Fulton in Richmond’s East End. Our mission is to build relationships, share resources and develop skills to enhance lives in Greater Fulton and Eastern Henrico County through our core programs of education, nutrition, employment, and community organizing. Our motto is: “We are all connected.”

Location: 1519 Williamsburg Road, Richmond.

When and why founded:

NRC Fulton was founded in 2002 by Greater Fulton neighbors and non-neighbor volunteers to create a place where its programs would help to remove barriers to education and income in the community. The community of Greater Fulton is one of Richmond’s neighborhoods that has been most impacted by decades of disin-

vestment. Lack of access to resources translates into lack of stability for families. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, it’s estimated that 40% of our neighbors in Greater Fulton are considered to be living below the poverty level.

Founder: Mary Lou Decossaux. Who does the Neighborhood Resource Center of Greater Fulton serve: Community members living in Greater Fulton and Eastern Henrico County.

No. 1 goal or project as board president: Our top priorities are to increase and diversify our funding so that we have the resources to support more community members, and to compensate our staff commensurate to the value of their work and the increasing cost of living.

Strategy for achieving goals: Our three-year strategic plan boils down to growing our donor pool and relationships, expanding our geographic reach while growing and deepening our partnerships to provide resources to the community, and ensuring that we deeply support our staff and the communities we serve.

No. 1 challenge facing the Neighborhood Resource Center of Greater Fulton: As a nonprofit, the Neighborhood Resource Center of Greater Fulton cannot fix the systems that create the inequality that disproportionately impacts the families that we serve. We recognize this limitation and work very hard to reduce the harm that exists as a result of systematic disinvestment. We also are engaged in addressing the root causes of violence and we believe that forms of violence include a lack of affordable housing, food,

and other basic resources that help families thrive.

How the Neighborhood Resource Center of Greater Fulton makes a difference:

In March, we worked with a nonprofit called RIP Medical Debt to cancel $3.4 million of medical debt for thousands of people in Richmond, Petersburg, and surrounding counties. We raised $19,552 dollars to be able to abolish this debt. In the first quarter of this year, our NRC WORKS members have made incredible strides toward financial freedom – they have achieved on average: $7,715 net worth increase, $10,189 debt reduction, and $1,404 net income increase. In addition, our members have avoided evictions and foreclosures, and credits scores have increased 184 points on average. The Neighborhood Resource Center of Greater Fulton partners with: Our motto is “We are all connected” and we believe that our relationship with partner organizations is crucial as we serve our members. Over the last few years, we’ve worked closely with staff from Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME), Central Virginia Legal Aid Society, Legal Aid Justice Center, Virginia Poverty Law Center, Shalom Farms, the Daily Planet, and Henrico County government.

Upcoming events: We’re hosting an event in June for donors and friends of NRC Fulton where we will share our strategic plan – follow us on Instagram @nrcfulton and Facebook “Neighborhood Resource Center of Greater Fulton” to stay up to date!

How I start the day: Coffee on my porch, pet my cat, and get to work. The three words that best describe me: I surveyed my friends and they said: savvy,

engaged, well-traveled.

If I had 10 extra minutes in the day: I would sleep more.

Best late-night snack: Cup of noodles, seaweed, chips.

The music artists I listen to most is: Bill Callahan and David Berman.

Something I love to do that most people would never imagine: Watching “Love Island UK” and dissecting it with my friends in Sweden.

At the top of my “to-do” list: Set up my peer-to-peer fundraising page for our new campaign at NRC Fulton.

The best thing my parents ever taught me: Put yourself in someone else’s shoes.

The person who influenced me the most: My mother.

Book that influenced me the most: I don’t have just one, but the most fun I had in 2021 was reading “Dune,” then “Dune Messiah” by Frank Herbert. My favorite part of the series is when Duncan Idaho climbs a wall. What I’m reading now: “The Dispossessed” by Ursula K. Le Guin. “The bond that binds us is beyond choice. We are brothers. We are brothers in what we share. In pain, which each of us must suffer alone, in hunger, in poverty, in hope, we know our brotherhood. We know it, because we have had to learn it. We know that there is no help for us but from one another, that no hand will save us if we do not reach out our hand. And the hand that you reach out is empty, as mine is. You have nothing. You possess nothing. You own nothing. You are free. All you have is what you are, and what you give.”

Next goal: Our next goal is to preserve and secure housing for our members. We have a new fundraiser — our goal is to raise $25,000 by June 30 to help 25 families preserve or acquire housing. We’re hoping to sign up recurring donors to support our efforts, so please visit our website at nrccafe.org to join us!

Movie review: Disenchantment under the sea in live-action ‘The Little Mermaid’

The Associated Press

It’s not Rob Marshall’s fault that Disney’s latest live-action retread doesn’t really sing. “The Little Mermaid,” a somewhat drab undertaking with sparks of bioluminescence, suffers from the same fundamental issues that plagued “The Lion King,” “Aladdin” and “Beauty and the Beast.” Halle Bailey might be a lovely presence and possesses a superb voice that is distinctly different from Jodi Benson’s, but photorealistic fins, animals and environments do not make Disney fairy tales more enchanting on their own.

The essential problem is that the live-action films have prioritized nostalgia and familiarity over compelling visual storytelling. They try to recreate beats and shots from their animated predecessors, defiantly ignoring the possibility that certain musical sequences and choices were enchanting and vibrant because they were animated, not in spite of it.

There was, in the 1989 film, a sparkling awe to everything. The underwater castle. The mermaids. Eric’s ship. Even Ariel’s bright red hair. Combined with the wonderful songs and lyrics by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, it’s not hard to understand why it helped fuel a Disney Animation renaissance.

Anyone who has gone through the recent Disney’s live-action library would be right to approach “The Little Mermaid” with caution. For all its pizazz, everything about this “Little Mermaid” is just more muted. Miranda’s new songs are odd, too, and don’t seem to fit. Prince Eric’s (Jonah Hauer-King) makes sense, maybe even Ariel’s in-her-head anthem after she gives her voice to Melissa McCarthy’s Ursula, but did Scuttle really need a song, too?

Speaking of Scuttle, the cute cartoons that stood in for Ariel’s seagull, crab and fish friends have been replaced with horrifyingly accurate depictions of said animals. Awkwafina’s comedy charms can only go so far while looking like an actual seagull who might be after your chips at the beach. Close-ups of its beady blue eyes are unsettling, though it was probably a

Halle Bailey is a lovely presence with a superb voice in Disney’s “The Little Mermaid,” which opens in theaters on May 25.

good call to go blue over gold, which looks a bit demonic even in the cartoon. Visibility is a problem for more than just Flounder, too. Sometimes “The Little Mermaid’s” underwater sequences just look too underwater. Things are cloudy and dull and hard to see, once again probably in the name of authenticity, but straining to see what Marshall and the scores of VFX teams have labored on for years is not a pleasant experience.

A celebration of cultures

Panida Perez, left, of Amelia County helps her friend Piyamitra Thanasophon of Henrico put finishing touches on their traditional Thai dresses prior to their performance with the NE Thai Folk Dance of Virginia during the 25th Annual Asian American Celebration on May 20, at the Greater Richmond Convention Center. The event was hosted by the nonprofit Asian American Society of Central Virginia Communities, which seeks to advance the integration of Asian Americans into the local community, while maintaining ethnic traditions, culture and identity. Afghan, Bangladesh, Cambodian, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese were among more than a dozen communities celebrating the festive event. In addition to cultural performances, the celebration included heritage exhibits, hands on activities, food vendors, fun, family and friendships. Below, Sheila Rodgers, second from left, of Richmond, posed with some of her friends, Alice Daniel left, of Henrico, Rowena Colina, third from left, of Hanover, and Lani Delos Santos, of Henrico, are members of the Richmond Pilipino Class, a Richmond-based Filipino American organization that helps educate others about the culture and language of the Philippines.

Exhibition opens at BHMCCV

A new art exhibition showcasing the works of Virginiaborn and Virginia–based artists has opened at the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia

Titled “Art of Freedom II,” the exhibition at the museum located at 122 W. Leigh St. features the works of painters, sculptors, illustrators, photographers, printmakers, jewelry designers, fabric artists and glass and wood artisans, the museum stated. The works focus on a wide range of positive and negative issues that impact society, according to the museum.

“Our hope is that those who

experience the exhibition and participate in the related programs will examine their own

interpretations of freedom and the Black experience,” according to the announcement.

Disney via The Associated Press

This could be a projection issue — I wasn’t in an especially high-tech theater with color enhancing upgrades. But that also means anyone without access to things like Dolby Vision around the world will have this issue, too.

“The Little Mermaid,” a Walt Disney Co. release in theaters Friday, is rated PG by the Motion Picture Association for “action/peril, some scary images.” Running time: 135 minutes. Two stars out of four.

East Marshall Street Well Project

Please join us for updates on VCU’s work to reconcile the university’s past and share your input on planning for the memorialization and interment of the remains found in the East Marshall Street Well.

Saturday, June 3, 2023 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. St. Paul’s Episcopal Church

815 E. Grace Street, Richmond, Virginia

The EMSW Project was created over 10 years ago, after the remains of more than 50 African Americans from the 1800s were discovered during construction on the VCU health sciences campus. Since then, the university has worked with the community to shape and implement research to better understand the individuals whose remains were found, as well as to develop plans for memorialization and interment.

Preregistration is encouraged at emsw.vcu.edu/events by May 25.

Seating is limited and available on a rst-come, rst-served basis.  Refreshments and a light lunch provided.

Funded by the American Council of Learned Societies in partnership with Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church.

Made possible by ACLS Sustaining Public Engagement through funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities. For special accommodations, email EMSWell@vcu.edu.

VCU is an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution.

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Photos by Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

John Blake, journalist on religion and race, goes personal with new memoir

By Adelle Banks Religion News Service

Journalist John Blake, who has long written about religion and race in America, is the author of “More than I Imagined: What a Black Man Discovered About the White Mother He Never Knew.” The book recounts how multiracial churches helped lead him to learn to love and forgive the white side of his family.

Such lessons about race, said the CNN senior writer and producer, should be heeded by churches across the country.

“Let’s be blunt about it: It’s really about white churches dealing with their racism,” he said in an interview. “If white leaders are willing to share power, I know they can be successful because I’ve seen them do it. They will not survive if they don’t learn how to accept and integrate nonwhite Christians into their communities of worship.”

Mr. Blake, 58, a member of a Presbyterian Church (USA) congregation in Atlanta, talked with Religion News Service about why he decided to reveal his story and how he hopes to model how the church and the country can overcome racial division.

When you were a child, your typically nonreligious father placed you in a foster home that he considered a gift from God, but you described it as a vile, hate-filled place. How did that experience affect your sense of God?

It was hard to believe in God as a kid when you have this entire side of your family who wants no contact with you. I’m staying in these foster homes and always wondering: Where is my mom, and where is her family? However, it was in those foster homes that I was introduced to the power of the Black church, and that gave me spiritual tools to cope with a lot of what I was dealing with, and it would later give me spiritual tools to reconcile with the white members of my family — the focus on how do you deal with suffering, how to be resilient, how to still have joy, how to still have hope for tomorrow.

You wrote of growing up with hostility toward white people, saying, “It’s easier to

despise a group of people you have no personal contact with.” How does that relate to your becoming a “closeted biracial person,” who didn’t want to acknowledge that your mother was white?

When I grew up in this all-Black neighborhood in Baltimore that would later become the setting for the HBO series “The Wire,” nobody

mark of shame, and so I would mark her race as “Black” on school forms.

You mentioned that you were drawn to the stories of Jesus and his “obliterating any divisions — ethnic, gender, class — that stood between people.” Did your study of the Bible help you develop a new way of thinking about your identity?

You cite the concept of “contact theory,” which showed that racial prejudice can decline if, in some circumstances, different racial groups were less isolated from one another. How do you think that applies to churches and other religious spaces?

The church is one of those few communal spaces left in our country today that has a chance to bring together people of different races because people are so self-sorting now. They’re retreating into their ideological, their racial camps. But for contact theory to work, churches must understand there’s a huge difference between a racially mixed church and an integrated church. A racially mixed church is when people of different colors share a pew. An integrated church is where people share pews, and people of different races share power.

You write about how your father’s family did not share with you for a long time that your mother had a mental illness. When you met her in the mental institution where she was housed, she asked for St. Jude (the patron saint of hopeless causes) prayer books. What did that mean to you?

came to me and said, “You should hate white people.” They didn’t have to. It was just in the environment. It was like humidity. I couldn’t help but absorb it. Because of that, I didn’t want anyone to know I had a white mother. It was a

It was indispensable to developing my new identity when, for example, people began to reach out to me in college about being a Christian, and I started going to churches. All this talk about salvation and cross and redemption — that didn’t mean that much to me. But when I saw white, Black and brown people in those churches hugging one another, praying with one another and calling each other brother and sister, that was the thing that converted me. And as I began to learn more about Jesus, I no longer saw some white dude who lived 2,000 years ago. I saw a man of color, who knew what it was to be exploited, to be oppressed, and yet he didn’t give in to the hatred, the ethnic divisions of his time.

Alphas trailblazers — again

Free Press staff report

When Tyler Parker, a member of the Henrico County Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, was informed by the Virginia Board of Historic Resources on Sept. 15, 2022, that its application for a “Trailblazers of a New Era” highway marker was approved, he knew the organization’s next steps.

As chairman of the Jones Burial Plot Restoration at Evergreen Cemetery, Mr. Parker then helped organize a ceremony to highlight the marker and recognize the trailblazers it soon would be erected to honor, Dr. Joseph Endom Jones and Rosa Kinckle Jones, prominent

educators whose son, Eugene Kinkly Jones, would go on to co-found Alpha Phi Alpha. The sign, installed at the cemetery on Evergreen Road in Richmond reads:

Dr. Joseph Endom Jones and

Riverview Baptist Church

For the first time in my life, I developed empathy for a white person. In that moment when I saw my mom and realized she had been in this place for much of her life and had suffered, I began to realize, wow, Black people aren’t the only ones that suffer. And it also meant a lot to me that I could see how much her faith meant to her, that she saw herself as a hopeless cause. My mom, in fact, was not a hopeless cause because she had faith and because she did things that were so courageous for a young white woman in that time. I began to see her not as a hopeless cause but in fact as a very powerful, inspirational woman.

You call this book a “nontraditional story on race and faith.” What do you want people to carry away when they close your book?

I think people have become so disenchanted. They feel like these type of racial, political divisions are a permanent part of our future. But I’ve seen people change in incredible ways in my family. I’ve seen people change in incredible ways in the churches I attend. I’ve seen myself change in incredible ways. I just don’t want people to give up.

St. Peter Baptist Church

Rosa Kinckle Jones, prominent educators in post-Emancipation Richmond, are buried here. Joseph Jones, enslaved at birth, taught at Virginia Union University for 45 years. A minister, he served as corresponding

secretary of the Baptist Foreign Mission Convention and installed many Black clergymen in pastorates. His wife, Rosa, earned a teaching degree from Howard University and studied at the New England Conservatory of Music. She taught music at Hartshorn Memorial College for decades and led the Woman’s Union Beneficial Department, an insurance company. Their son Eugene Kinckle Jones led the National Urban League and in 1906 co-founded Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. On Saturday, May 20, several members of various Alpha Phi Alpha chapters attended a ceremony in recognition of the marker and the Joneses.

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To

Broad Rock Baptist Church 5106 Walmsley Blvd., Richmond, VA 23224 804-276-2740 • 804-276-6535

“MAKE IT HAPPEN”

Pastor Kevin Cook

Courtesy of John Blake

John Blake, right, with his mother, Shirley Dailey, and brother Pat.

Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press