Richmond Free Press September 14-16, 2023 edition

Richmond Free Press

FRee FRee

Sex for sale

By Sarah Rankin and Denise Lavoie The Associated Press

A candidate in a high-stakes legislative contest in Virginia had sex with her husband in live videos posted on a pornographic website and asked viewers to pay them money in return for carrying out specific sex acts.

Screenshots of Susanna Gibson on the website were shared with The Associated Press. The campaign for Ms. Gibson, a Democrat running for a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates in a district just outside Richmond, issued a statement Monday in which it denounced the sharing of the videos as a violation of the law and her privacy. Ms. Gibson called the exposure of

Control of the state legislature, a casino in Richmond top ballots in coming elections

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Abortion, clean energy, public education funding and state tax policy will all be on the ballot in the upcoming election for the General Assembly.

Voters soon will start to decide whether they want to continue a divided government or hand Republican Gov. Glenn A. Youngkin majorities in both houses as they fill the 100 seats in the House of Delegates and the 40 seats in the state Senate.

Early voting begins next Friday, Sept. 22, in what is being called a “jump ball” election for control of the legislature that will culminate Tuesday, Nov. 7.

The outcome could be determined by the winners in just four Senate districts and seven House districts, according to political observers.

Currently, Republicans control the house, with 50 members to 46 for Democrats and four vacancies. The state Senate has 22 Democrats and 18 Republicans.

However, in Richmond, the big issue for voters will be whether to approve a proposed $560 million casino-resort as there will be no competitive races on the city ballot.

On the Senate side, Richmond’s two incumbent Democrats appear to be shoo-ins.

Sen. Lamont Bagby, who represents most of the city in the 14th Senate District, is unchallenged for his first full term. Incumbent Ghazala Hashmi is facing only light opposition from little known Republican Hayden Fisher in her bid to represent the 15th Senate District, which includes a small portion of the city’s South Side and part of Chesterfield County.

Va. student test scores show no significant improvement

By George Copeland Jr.

Virginia students continue to struggle academically, according to the latest results from the state’s Standards of Learning tests.

The results, released last Thursday by the Virginia Department of Education, show a statewide student body whose grasp of reading, writing, history, math and science is largely unchanged or slightly improved from the previous school year, and that still falls below SOL results before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reading SOL tests across the 2022-2023 school year saw a 73% pass rate, a drop in overall results from 78% during the 2018-2019 school year. Roughly 69% of students in the state passed the math SOL test compared to 82% before the pandemic. Writing rates have also dropped by four percent for another year, and are at 65%.

The results underline what VDOE officials, writing in a statement, saw as “significant and persistent learning loss in reading and math” for third- to eighth-grade students, with more than half failing or at risk of failing the reading SOL tests and two-thirds failing or showing low proficiency on their math SOL tests.

African-American and Latino students from third to eighth grade experienced the largest declines in reading performance from pre-pandemic to 2023, with an 8% and7% decline, respectively. Both groups also had the biggest declines in math performance in that same timeframe, with both now at 20%.

The report also noted that instances of chronic absenteeism

On the House side, all three Democrats running for the city’s House seats are unopposed. That includes incumbent Delegate Betsy B. Carr in the 78th House District, current City Council President Michael J. Jones in the 77th House District, and Rae Cousins in the 79th House District.

Two of the most competitive races are close by in Henrico County, one in the state Senate and one for the House.

In the 16th Senate District, outgoing Democratic Delegate Schuyler VanValkenburg is challenging Republican incumbent Siobhan Dunnavant in a new district that has tended to vote for Democratic candidates since 2016.

The other three tight races include the 31st Senate

the videos “the worst gutter politics.”

“It won’t intimidate me and it won’t silence me,” she said in the statement. “My political opponents and their Republican allies have proven they’re willing to commit a sex crime to attack me and my family because there’s no line they won’t cross to silence women when they speak up.”

The Washington Post first reported the videos on Monday.

The revelation marked an explosive turn in a contest that will carry significant weight in determining the balance of power in the Virginia General Assembly. The race has attracted large amounts of spending and interest for an

After the storm

Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

Fallen and uprooted trees left several areas of Richmond looking like a disaster area last week after fierce rain and windstorms hit the city Thursday, Sept. 7. Remnants of the damage were evident in the 2900 block of Ellwood Avenue. Heavy winds, rain and lightning damaged homes and vehicles throughout Central Virgina, and left an estimated 90,000 residents without power as a result of the storm. Most power outages had been restored by noon on Friday.

Metropolitan Business League founder Neverett Alexander Eggleston Jr. dies at age 90

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Neverett Alexander Eggleston Jr., a well-known Jackson Ward entrepreneur and a founder of a Richmond trade association for Black businesses, has died.

Mr. Eggleston, who developed a motel and office building, ran a gas station and auto repair shop and was involved with family owned restaurants, died at age 90 Friday, Sept. 8, 2023. His death came just a few

months after the death of his wife, Jean A. Eggleston.

E. Martin “Marty” Jewell a former member of City Council and current president of the Richmond Crusade for Voters, said Mr. Eggleston worked behind the scenes on behalf of Black economic empowerment.

“He was part of a pioneering group of leaders that we still need today,” Mr. Jewell said.

Average value of Richmond homes hits new record

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Homeowners in Richmond can expect to pay bigger real estate tax bills in 2024 as the value of their property continues to rise, though at a more modest pace than the blistering double digit growth rates of the past two years.

Richie McKeithen, the city’s assessor

of real estate, just completed the reassessment of property and reported that property values grew 7.7%, down from the 13% rates of the past two years.

The overall rate includes homes, apartments, condos and billboard signs. He said the interest rate increases have help “calm the market,” though residential property values in some areas of the city

are still growing substantially faster.

Despite the calmer waters, Mr. McKeithen noted the average value of a Richmond home hit a new record, $377,787, up $23,170 from the 2022-23 average of $354,617, a 6.6 % increase.

The assessed values are generally based

Makeyon Hill, a senior member of the John Marshall High School basketball team, greets his 5-year-old sister, Traniyah Blakey, last week after his return from a trip to Angola with the high school’s other athletes, faculty and staff. Please see more

Neil Smith via Associated Press

Virginia legislative candidate Susanna Gibson addresses the Women’s Summit in Virginia Beach, in September of 2022.

Mrs. Gibson has denounced the disclosure of live videos on a pornographic website in which she and her husband engaged in sex acts.

Neverett A.Eggleston Jr.,center,who helped found the Metropolitan Business League in 1968, stands with Carla P. Childs and Gary L. Flowers on the site of the organization’s original home on 2nd Street near Jackson Street in Jackson Ward.

Fairfield District meeting includes housing, transportation talks

Henrico County Board of Supervisors Chairman and Fairfield District Supervisor Frank J. Thornton will hold a Constituent Meeting on Sept. 18 to discuss group homes and transportation challenges. Mr. Thornton will be joined by Michael Y. Feinmel, deputy county manager for public safety, and Steven J. Yob, deputy county manager for community operations.

The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Eastern Henrico Recreation Center, 1440 N. Laburnum Ave. For more information, please call (804) 501-4208 or visit henrico.us/ supervisors/fairfield-district.

SUN announces co-op solar initiative

Free Press staff report

The Nonprofit group Solar United Neighbors (SUN) announced the launch of the Metro Richmond 2023 Solar and EV Charger Co-op to help residents and small businesses in the Metro Richmond area go solar.

“The City of Richmond is excited to provide yet another tool to our community members to help deploy solar locally,” said Laura Thomas, director of sustainability for the City of Richmond. “Not only is this a cost-effective approach, it helps educate folks on the process, all with the aim to drive down our emissions and reach our shared goals outlined in RVAgreen 2050.”

The co-op is free to join and open to homeowners and business owners from Richmond and the counties of Henrico, Chesterfield, and beyond. Together, co-op members will learn about solar energy and leverage their numbers to purchase top-quality solar systems at a competitive price.

After a competitive bidding process facilitated by SUN, which remains vendor neutral, co-op members will select a single solar company to complete the installations. Joining the co-op does not obligate members to purchase solar. Members will have the option to individually purchase panels and electric vehicle chargers based on the installer’s group rate. Partners in addition to Richmond include Henrico County Energy Management Viridiant and Norfolk Solar SUN will host several free information sessions to educate community members about solar energy and the co-op. For more details, visit solarunitedneighbors.org/rva2023

VCU to host naturalization event

Virginia Commonwealth University will host up to 600 people in a naturalization ceremony 1 p.m. Monday, Sept. 18, in the Stuart C. Siegel Center at 1200 W. Broad St. Judge David J. Novak of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia will preside over the ceremony, according to a VCU announcement. Sanjiv Yajnik, president of Financial Services at Capital One, a member of the Capital One Executive Committee and a naturalized U.S. citizen, will deliver the keynote address.

Fotis Sotiropoulos, VCU provost, senior vice president for academic affairs and a naturalized U.S. citizen also will speak on behalf of the university.

“Participating in this ceremony is an honor that reminds me of when I became a proud, naturalized citizen some 23 years ago,” Mr. Sotiropoulos said in a statement.

“I am eternally grateful for the chance I received to pursue and realize my version of the American dream, and I wish our new fellow citizens all the best as they pursue the endless possibilities that are now opening to them.”

Free community testing for COVID-19 continues

The Richmond and Henrico County health districts are offering testing at the following locations:

• Thursday, Sept. 14, 1 to 5 p.m. - Henrico Arms Apartments, 1566 Edgelawn Circle.

• Friday, Sept. 15, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. - Southside Women, Infant and Children Office, 509 E. Southside Plaza.

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

The Virginia Department of Health also has a list of COVID-19 testing locations around the state at www.vdh.virginia.gov/ coronavirus/covid-19-testing/covid-19-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:

• Thursday, Sept. 21, 2 to 4 p.m. - 400 E. Cary St., Bivalent Moderna boosters for ages 6 years and older, Bivalent Pfizer boosters for age 5 years and older, Novavax primary shots for age 12 and older, JYNNEOS shots and Moderna/Pfizer baby bivalent boosters; appointment only.

• Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2 to 4 p.m. - Henrico West 8600

Dixon Powers Drive, Bivalent Moderna boosters for ages 6 years and older, Bivalent Pfizer boosters for age 5 years and older, Novavax primary shots for age 12 and older, JYNNEOS shots and Moderna/Pfizer baby bivalent boosters; appointment only.

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

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

The Pfizer booster is approved for age 12 and up, while the new Moderna booster is for age 18 and older.

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

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

Compiled by George Copeland Jr.

Cityscape

Slices of life and scenes in Richmond

GRTC

its new

million

Chesterfield-Colonial Heights announces housing assistance guide

Free Press staff report

In response to rising levels of housing insecurity, the Chesterfield-Colonial Heights Department of Social Services has created a digital housing assistance guide to help residents access critical resources at their convenience.

The guide provides resources to Chesterfield and Colonial Heights residents seeking information on housing due to the risk of being homeless, are homeless or in need of low- to moderate-income based housing can find resources in this section. It

includes emergency shelters for community members facing homelessness and in need of temporary residential assistance. It also includes information about income-based and supportive housing opportunities and educational programming on eviction prevention and diversion.

“Housing insecurity is a significant challenge for our community,” said Kiva Rogers, director of Social Services. “Even for many people who are working full time, rent increases have made their current residence no longer affordable. Once someone has an eviction on their record, they face

additional barriers to securing housing and it becomes a perpetual cycle.”

The guide also offers home ownership assistance and housing options for people with criminal records.

“We recognize that when residents are in crisis, they cannot wait to come into our office or call us during regular business hours to request assistance,” Ms. Rogers added. “By putting this information on the website, we are enabling them to connect with resources when they need it most.”

For more information, visit www.chesterfield.gov/5778/Housing-Assistance

RPS mechanics appeal to School Board

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Bus mechanics who service Richmond

Public School buses are appealing to the Richmond School Board for help.

They want the board to agree to provide the funding to replace their valuable tools that were destroyed when the school system’s bus depot on North Side went up in flames nearly 15 months ago. The tools included specialty wrenches, screwdrivers and hammers.

The board has not scheduled a meeting to consider the matter, despite the grievance process that has been underway for months.

RPS paid out fully to those with receipts,

but others whose receipts were lost over time or destroyed in the June 2022 fire only got $10,000. About $180,000 was paid out.

In general, the payment fell far short of what each of the RPS mechanics had each spent to build up their personal tool inventories through the years. Required to provide their own tools, the mechanics have said they spent $35,000 to $45,000 apiece.

By one estimate, the mechanics would need about $200,000 to replace their collective losses. Now unionized, the mechanics filed a grievance this summer seeking greater reimbursement after RPS, which initially promised full replacement, declined to

provide any additional funding above the $10,000 per person.

The grievance, though, has been rejected at three levels in the administrative process, according to Keon Shim, organizing director for the Mid-Atlantic Region of LIUNA or Laborers International Union of North America, which represents RPS transportation employees, including drivers and mechanics.

“We have now appealed this matter to the board,” Mr. Shim said, “Our hope is that our elected officials will see the importance of helping our members replace their lost tools. We’d love it if the board would agree to make up more of the difference, if not all of it.”

Chesterfield focuses on suicide prevention

By Darlene M. Johnson

During September, which is National Suicide Prevention Month, Chesterfield County and the Chesterfield Suicide Awareness and Prevention Coalition are raising awareness about how to recognize and respond to signs of suicide in older adults. Target populations of the campaign include older adults and children or friends of older adults.

Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in the United States. Data released in 2022 by the Centers for Disease Control in August indicated that people ages 85 and older had the highest rates of suicide (22.4 per 100,000) followed by people ages 75 to 84 (19.6 per 100,000).

In Virginia in 2021, people ages 75 to 84 had the highest rates of suicide (21.6 per 100,000), exceeding the national average (18.4 per 100,000).

Overall, about 49,500 people took their own lives last year in the U.S., the highest number ever, according to new government data from last month.

Although the CDC has not calculated a suicide rate for the year, available data suggests suicides are more common in the U.S. than at any time since the dawn of World War II.

Meanwhile, Chesterfield County and other localities are taking steps to drive down the rate of suicide among older populations.

“The recent CDC data regarding high rates of suicide in older adults is alarming,” said Melissa Ackley, manager of Prevention Services for Chesterfield Mental Health Support Services, and a member of the coalition. “It is important that older adults, their children, and those that work with older adults know that depression and thoughts of suicide are not a standard part of aging. It’s also important to be aware of signs of mental health concerns and connect to help if needed.”

It is important to ask if someone is contemplating suicide if they exhibit the following behaviors:

• Saying things like “The world would be better off without me” or “Nobody cares if I live or die.”

• Giving away special possessions.

• Becoming isolated from friends or family. By asking the person, and if their answer is “yes,” help can be initiated immediately by calling Chesterfield Crisis Intervention at (804) 748-6356, or calling or texting the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.

Through educational efforts, the Coalition seeks to help foster a community that is more ready, willing and able to help those who are struggling, or even contemplating suicide, to seek support and resources. The key message is that mental health is ageless.

“Involvement in meaningful recreational, creative and social activities contributes to positive mental health, especially in older adults,” said Alex van Aartrijk, manager of Chesterfield County’s Office on Aging and Disability Services. “There are a

wide range of resources and programs in Chesterfield County to help older adults be connected, active and involved.”

The Coalition will offer free Raise Your Voice About Suicide Prevention workshops to help teach common risk factors for suicide in older adults, how to spot warning signs in others and how to keep ourselves, our loved ones and those in our community safe. The next workshop will be held virtually via Zoom from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 25.

Manager of Prevention Services for Chesterfield Mental Health Support Services and member of the coalition, Melissa Ackley, also will give two presentations that cover statistics on suicide and older adults, as well as protective factors that encourage health and wellness for the mind. The presentations will be held at the North Courthouse Road Library, 325 Courthouse Road, on Thursday, Sept. 21 from 10 to 11 a.m. and Thursday, Sept. 28 from 9 to 10:30 a.m.

The events are free but advanced registration is required. To register or for more information, please visit www.chesterfield. gov/PreventSuicide.

Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

opened

$2.2

Downtown transfer station at 8th and Clay streets on Monday. The station, in a former city employee and courthouse parking lot, replaces the former station along 9th Street near City Hall. The new space features 24-hour lighting, charging ports for phones and computers, bus shelters, island platforms to make transfers easier from one bus to another and screens that will allow riders to track bus movements, GRTC has stated.

Candidate in high-stakes Virginia election performed intimate acts in live videos

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off-year legislative race.

Democrats control the Senate by a four-vote margin, and Republicans control the House of Delegates by the same margin, with four seats currently vacant. The parties are waging intense legislative battles as GOP rising national political star Gov. Glenn Youngkin looks to bolster his conservative agenda with full control of state government.

Mrs. Gibson said that exposing the videos is “an illegal invasion of my privacy designed to humiliate me and my family.” Her attorney, Daniel P. Watkins, said that disseminating the videos is a violation of Virginia’s revenge porn law, which makes it a crime to “maliciously” disseminate or sell nude or sexual images of another person with the intent to “coerce, harass, or intimidate.”

“A criminal act has occurred here, and that’s the dissemination of revenge porn by a Republican operative,” Mr. Watkins told the Associated Press.

Mr. Watkins cited a 2021 Virginia Court of Appeals ruling that found it was unlawful for a man to secretly record his girlfriend during a consensual sexual encounter even if he did not show the video to other people. The court found that consent to being seen is not the same as consent to being recorded.

Mrs. Gibson, 40, a nurse practitioner and married mother of two young children, won a Democratic primary in June and is running against Republican businessman David Owen in one of the most competitive districts in the state.

“I’m sure this is a difficult time for Susanna and her family, and I’m remaining focused on my campaign,” Mr. Owen said in a statement.

A top-ranking Virginia Democrat immediately came to Gibson’s defense after the videos were reported by the Post. “Now we are going to make this the biggest fundraising day of

her campaign,” Sen. L. Louise Lucas said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. Garren Shipley, a spokesman for Republican House Speaker Todd Gilbert, did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.

Mrs. Gibson and Mr. Owen are competing in the 57th District, an area that includes suburbs of Richmond in both Henrico and Goochland counties. The district chose Youngkin by a 51.2%-to48.3% margin in 2021, but in the 2022 congressional midterm elections, the split in the district was 50% Democratic to 49.1% Republican.

Mrs. Gibson has said the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade propelled her into the race.

Mrs. Gibson had an account on Chaturbate, a legal website where viewers can watch live webcam performances that feature nudity and sexual activity, according to the screenshots reviewed by the Associated Press. The videos show Mrs. Gibson and her husband, John David Gibson, having sex and at times looking into the camera and asking viewers for donations in the form of “tokens” or “tips” to watch a private show.

Chaturbate videos are streamed live on that site and are often archived on other publicly available sites, the Post reported. More than a dozen videos posted under Mrs. Gibson’s Chaturbate username were archived on one of those sites — Recurbate — in September 2022, the month after she announced her candidacy. The most recent were two videos archived on Sept. 30, 2022. It is unclear when the livestream occurred.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Gibson drew some early support in the high-stakes contest.

State Sen. L. Louise Lucas, a leading Democratic lawmaker in Virginia, quickly came to her defense, calling on voters to “make this the biggest fundraising day of (Mrs. Gibson’s) campaign.” Many women voters retweeted Mrs. Lucas with a link to donate to Gibson’s campaign.

Average value of city homes hits new record

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on sales in the particular area.

At the current tax rate of $1.20 per $100 of assessed value, that increase would boost the tax bill by $278.

The 2023 average tax bill was $4,255; the increase in value will move that tax bill to $4,533.

Mr. McKeithen splits the city into 112 neighborhoods and of those about 35 had double-digit increases. Richmond residents are finding out how much their home’s value increased through assessment notices that were mailed last week. Those are not bills. Those will be issued twice in 2024, once in January and once around June.

Hefty increases in value occurred in the multifamily and condo markets.

The hottest residential market was in Downtown, which led the city with a 23% increase in value, according to the Mr. McKeithen’s new report.

The 47 properties that were assessed jumped a whopping $101,000 in value, increasing from $348,106 to $449,787 from 2022-23 to the current assessment year.

Areas rated as more affordable also are seeing sharp increases.

For example, the Oak Grove neighborhood that includes 989 residential properties, home values jumped nearly 20% from, $147,000 last year to $176,000 this year, a nearly $30,000 increase based on sales.

The nearby Bellemeade North neighborhood saw an 18% rise in home values, with the average property rising to $164,000 this year, a $25,000 increase from last year’s $138,600, according to the report.

Residential areas near Creighton Court and Fairfield Court also experienced double-digit increases in home values of around 12%.

Mr. McKeithen’s report disclosed that the overall value of taxable real estate is $38.7 billion, up almost $3 billion from last year. If all the real estate tax were to be collected, that would increase city revenues by about $28 million over the real estate taxes collected this year.

That $38 billion figure does not include the value of new construction that is going on in the city, which Mr. McKeithen and his staff are now assessing.

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District in Loudoun County where Democrat Russet Perry is pitted against Republican Juan Pablo Segura for an open seat, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.

Also, the 27th Senate District in the Fredericksburg area where outgoing Republican Delegate Tara Durant is facing Democrat Joel Griffin and independent Monica Gary; and the 17th Senate District in the Suffolk-Portsmouth area where outgoing Democratic Delegate Clinton Jenkins is challenging outgoing Republican Delegate Emily Brewer.

On the House side, VPAP lists seven hotly competitive races, including the one in Henrico in

“Anybody who looks at this knows it’s a hit job,” said Amanda Linton, a 45-year-old defense contractor who donated $25 to Gibson’s campaign after reading about the videos. Ms. Linton said she plans to donate another $100 to Gibson’s campaign even though she can’t vote for her because she lives outside her district.

“It’s just nobody’s business. She didn’t break any laws by doing this. She had sex with her husband. I mean, my God,” Ms. Linton said.

Sen. Lucas said she assumes the videos were leaked by a Republican in an attempt to embarrass Mrs. Gibson and hurt her campaign.

“They’re looking for anything they can find on any candidate that they think might sway the voters,” Sen. Lucas said. “It all has to do with who is going to get control of the Senate and who is going to get control of the House. It’s all about control.”

Democrats now hold the Senate by a four-vote margin, and Republicans control the House of Delegates by the same margin, with four seats vacant. Emily’s List, an advocacy group for Democratic female candidates, also defended Gibson.

“Susanna originally ran for office because of the overturning of Roe and she’s been very outspoken on standing up for reproductive rights. People are coming out in support of Susanna because they know that Republicans are coming after her because she was standing up for them,” said spokesperson Lauren Chou.

Still, some observers of Virginia politics said it seems unlikely Gibson will entirely avoid backlash.

Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington, said that even in a more open-minded era for personal indiscretions, it’s highly unlikely Mrs. Gibson will win.

“Donald Trump has defined downward what is acceptable in public life, but this doesn’t seem like the kind of conduct that Democrats will be able to sell in a suburban Richmond district,” Mr. Farnsworth said.

Matthew Barakat contributed to this report.

the 57th House District.

Democrat Susanna Gibson and Republican David Owen are competing for the open seat. Ms. Gibson garnered unexpected attention after the Washington Post disclosed Monday that she had been a regular on a pornographic website having sex with her husband while pitching for contributions from viewers.

Another hotly competitive race is taking place in the Petersburg area where Democrat Kimberly Pope Adams is seeking to upset Republican Delegate Kim Taylor.

Other House races that VPAP has described as key include the 21st House District in Prince William County in which Democrat Josh Thomas and Republican

John Stirrup are vying for an open seat; the 22nd House District in Prince William County featuring Democrat Travis Nemghard vying with Republican Ian Lovejoy for the open seat; and the 65th House District in which Democrat Joshua Cole is taking on Republican Lee Peters III for the open seat.

Two other races that are gaining close attention include the 89th House District in the Chesapeake-Suffolk area where Democrat Karen Jenkins, wife of Clinton Jenkins, is taking on Republican Baxter Ennis; and the 97th House District, where Democrat Michael Feggans is challenging incumbent Republican Delegate Karen Greenhalgh.

Va. student test scores show no significant improvement

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had doubled from pre-pandemic levels. Students in grades three through eight who missed over 18 days of school scored 18 and 25 percent lower in reading and math SOL tests, respectively. It was this absenteeism, alongside learning loss from changes in instruction at the start of the pandemic, that education officials saw as the biggest factors in the SOL results.

“Grade three through eight Virginia students are still struggling to recover the learning loss from the pandemic and are not performing as well as their prepandemic peers,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Lisa Coons said. “The 2022-2023 SOL data demonstrates just how important school attendance is for students’ academic success.”

VDOE’s findings and data provoked several responses from officials locally and state-

wide. Richmond school officials discussed reading SOL results Monday evening during a School Board meeting. Reading foundational skills and language comprehension were cited as areas still in need of work to ensure improvement not just on reading SOL tests, which saw a 47% pass rate for the third year in a row, but other areas of learning that could be impacted by poor literacy.

In a statement, Richmond School Board Member Shonda Harris-Muhammed expressed her joy at seeing instances of improvement from Richmond students in writing, history, math and science, but was concerned about the “academic strength of our school division,” and saw a different cause for disappointing student performance. “We cannot blame our scores on the total impact of the pandemic,” Ms. Harris-Muhammed said. “Our 2021 school climate

and culture survey speaks volumes to the academic and operational work we need to do as a school division.”

“I am convinced, as a school board representative, the school division must do better to obtain successful results. Until adult behaviors change, student outcomes will remain the same.”

The same day that the SOL results were released, Gov. Glenn A. Youngkin announced a new initiative, ALL IN VA, that seeks to address learning loss due to the pandemic and improve student academic performance through the $418 million in funds that is set to be allocated to districts in the state budget.

The plan recommends school divisions use 70% of the allocated funding for intensive tutoring programs, 20% to accelerate the use of the Virginia Literacy Act up to the eighth grade and 10% to create a response to chronic ab-

senteeism. VDOE will provide support across these three areas, including resource guides for school attendance, regional support networks, models of high dosage tutoring and more.

“The ALL IN VA plan fosters collaboration and partnership between school divisions, our Department of Education, community leaders and most importantly, students and their parents,” Gov. Youngkin said. “I challenge all of us to work together with urgency to create a brighter future and deliver the education our students in the Commonwealth were robbed of for far too long.”

Richmond education leaders have so far not discussed ALL IN VA, as questions around its implementation and other details still remain. Other education leaders in the state, however, expressed their skepticism of what the Youngkin administration had put forward

as a solution to improve student performance.

“For the second year in a row, rather than take accountability for his administration’s failures, Gov. Youngkin continues to blame languishing SOL scores on anyone but himself,” VEA president James J. Fedderman said in a statement. “The governor came into office promising to transform public education, but after two years all he has to show is a string of bungled proposals, administrative scandals, a proposed budget with cuts to K-12 spending in the second year, and stagnating test results.”

“We need lawmakers to come together in the coming year to adequately resource programs for intensive tutoring, reading specialists, and proven attendance interventions, rather than just paying lip service to the ideas.”

The school accreditation ratings for the 2023-2024 school

year are to be released by VDOE later this month. Local

Sciences: 39% Math: 44% Science: 35% Henrico County

Reading: 69%

Writing: 65%

History and Social Sciences: 56% Math: 65% Science: 68% Chesterfield County

Reading: 71%

Writing: 63%

History and Social Sciences: 64% Math: 65% Science: 65% Hanover County

Reading: 80%

Writing: 66% History and Social Sciences: 78% Math: 83% Science: 77%

MBL founder Neverett Alexander Eggleston Jr. dies at age 90

An easygoing, congenial man, Mr. Eggleston was long involved with the influential Metropolitan Business League, which he started in 1968 with three other now-deceased Richmonders that included banker Garfield F. Childs Sr., brick mason and teacher Stafford A. Flowers, and plumber and hardware wholesaler M.A. Motley Sr.

In a 2017 interview, Mr. Eggleston told the Richmond Free Press that among the reasons MBL formed was because Black people weren’t allowed to join the Richmond Chamber of Commerce or the Virginia Chamber of Commerce.

Thus, when MBL was created, people were eager to be part of the organization, which was linked to the National Business League founded in 1900 by Booker T. Washington as the National Negro Business League.

Floyd E. Miller II, MBL’s president and CEO, described Mr. Eggleston as “an inspiration to me with what he was able to do to start this organization.”

Born in 1933 in Richmond during

the Great Depression, Mr. Eggleston was the son of a waiter and country club chef who rose to own hotel in Richmond’s Historic Jackson Ward.

Renamed from Miller’s Hotel to Eggleston Hotel, the property served Black entertainers, sports stars, political figures and other travelers when they were barred from entertaining or frequenting white-owned establishments during the city’s era of segregation.

A 1951 graduate of Armstrong High School, Mr. Eggleston earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from North Carolina A&T State University in 1955.

As if predicting his future, he wrote this passage that same year: “I owe it to myself to be strong, that nothing can disturb my peace of mind. To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person I meet. To make all my friends feel that there is something in them. To look at the sunny side to things and make all my dreams come true. To think only of the best and to work only for the best and expect only the best. To just be as happy about the success of others as I am about my own.”

In 1959, Mr. Eggleston received a certificate from the General Motors Training School and was among participants in the Dale Carnegie Training Program from 1981 to 1982.

Listed on a copy of Mr. Eggleston’s 1990 résumé under “entrepreneurship” are no less than 50 businesses, memberships, board positions and awards received during his life. The neatly typed, three-page document states his interests and pursuits as a licensed private pilot, photography, model building radio control planes and chess.

Mr. Eggleston, who managed the hotel for nine years, was a gifted conversationalist and could list famous people such Red Foxx, Count Basie, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Moms Mabley who stayed at Eggleston when they were in Richmond to perform at the Hippodrome Theater.

He once recalled that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stopped in for breakfast before heading off to Washington to lead the great 1963 anti-segregation protest rally for jobs and freedom. Looking for new opportunities, Mr. Eggleston became the first Black

person in the area to secure a franchise for a Golden Skillet restaurant. He also became involved in other business opportunities, including a gas station at the corners of 2nd and Jackson streets, which doubled as his political headquarters.

He ran for City Council in 1964 on a ticket with tennis player Ronald Charity, and later organized a political action group with Mr. Charity and future Gov. L. Douglas Wilder called Voters Voice.

Mr. Eggleston later supported the Richmond Crusade for Voters.

Mr. Jewell noted the Crusade gained its first offices in the three-story building that Mr. Eggleston developed at 615 N. 2nd St. across from the gas station and next door to the Mocha Temple Shrine Club.

He always spoke proudly of the motel that he built next to the gas station. Both the motel, gas station and office building have been demolished.

Mr. Eggleston’s pride extended to his son, Neverett A. “Sugarfoot” Eggleston III, who helped establish several restaurant operations, including Croaker’s Spot, a popular seafood restaurant that

originated in Jackson Ward.

Most recently, Mr. Eggleston helped manage his son’s latest venture, Sugar’s Crab Shack in the 2200 block of Chamberlayne Avenue. The walk-up eatery opened in 2016, according to a Richmond Free Press article at the time.

In the 1990s, Mr. Eggleston was elected to develop a new building for the Richmond City Health District, but then-City Manager Robert C. Bobb canceled the contract.

Mr. Eggleston was predeceased by his wife, Jean A. Eggleston, and sisters Aurelia Ford and Jane E. Douglas, the late wife of former Richmond Judge Willard Douglas Jr.

Along with his son, survivors include his daughters, Jayne J. Eggleston-Vann and Shakita FoxBillingslea; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

Remains rest at Scott’s Funeral Home, 115 E. Brookland Park Blvd., where viewing will take place from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023. Funeral services will be held 1 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 20, at Wesley United Methodist Church, 1720 Mechanicsville Turnpike.

5 former officers charged with federal civil rights violations in Tyre Nichols beating death

The Associated Press MEMPHIS, Tenn.

Five former Memphis Police officers were charged Tuesday with federal civil rights violations in the beating death of Tyre Nichols as they continue to fight second degree murder charges in state courts arising from the killing.

Tadarrius Bean, Desmond Mills, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin and Justin Smith were indicted in U.S. District Court in Memphis. The four-count indictment charges them with deprivation of rights under the color of law through excessive force and failure to intervene, and through deliberate indifference; conspiracy to witness tampering; and obstruction of justice through witness tampering.

The charges come nine months after the violent beating during a Jan. 7 traffic stop near Mr. Nichols’ Memphis home, in which they punched, kicked and slugged the 29-year-old with a baton as he yelled for his mother. Mr. Nichols died at a hospital three days later. The five former officers, all Black like Mr. Nichols, have pleaded not guilty to state charges of second degree murder and other alleged offenses in the case.

“We all heard Mr. Nichols cry out for his mother and say ‘I’m just trying to go home,’” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a video statement after the indictment. “Tyre Nichols should be alive today.”

Kristen Clarke, who leads the U.S. Department of Justice’s civil rights division, said at the appearance that the five former officers used excessive force, failed to advise medical personnel about Mr. Nichols’ injuries and conspired to cover up their misconduct.

“In our country, no one is above the law,” she said, adding she met earlier Tuesday with Mr. Nichols’ mother and stepfather.

Caught on police video, the Nichols beating was one in a string of violent encounters between police and Black people that sparked protests and renewed debate about police brutality and police reform in the U.S.

Mr. Nichols’ mother, RowVaughn Wells, said she was surprised that the federal charges “happened so quickly.” The investigation that led to the indictment was announced in the weeks after the Jan. 7 beating death.

She said her son was a “free spirit.”

“He should be here today,” she said during a news conference at a Memphis church. “Because of those five officers, he’s not.”

Attorneys for several of the former officers said the indictment was no surprise, and some added that their clients will defend themselves against the charges.

The indictment states the officers failed to tell dispatchers, their supervisor and emergency medical technicians they knew Mr. Nichols had been hit repeatedly, trying to cover up their use of force and shield themselves from criminal liability.

Additionally, the indictment alleges instances where the officers used their body cameras to limit what evidence could be

scene.

At the arrest scene, the officers afterward discussed hitting Mr. Nichols with “straight haymakers,” even as Mr. Nichols’ condition deteriorated and he became unresponsive, the indictment said. Mr. Nichols could be seen on police video on the ground, slumped against a police car.

The indictment accuses the officers of gathering after the beating and saying, among other things, that “I thought when he wasn’t going to fall, we about to kill this man.” The indictment does not specify which officer made that statement.

The indictment also alleges the officers falsely stated Mr. Nichols actively resisted arrest at the beating scene and that

he grabbed on Mr. Smith’s protective vest and pulled on the officers’ duty belts.

A hearing was set for Friday morning in a federal lawsuit filed by Mr. Nichols’ mother against the five ex-officers, the city of Memphis and its police department. The former officers then have a scheduled appearance Friday afternoon in state court.

The Justice Department announced an investigation in July into how Memphis Police Department officers use force and conduct arrests, one of several “patterns and practices” investigations it has undertaken in other U.S. cities.

In March, the Justice Department said it was conducting a separate review concerning use of force, de-escalation strategies and specialized units in the Memphis Police Department.

The officers were part of a crime suppression team that officials disbanded after Mr. Nichols’ death. However, members of that “Scorpion” unit have been moved to other teams.

Your Primary Care Is

Tyre Nichols’ stepfather Rodney Wells, second from left, and Mr. Nichols’ mother, RowVaughn Wells, third from left, close their eyes in prayer before a news conference about federal charges filed against five former officers in Mr. Nichols’ death on Tuesday in Memphis, Tenn. captured at the scene: Mr. Martin moved his body camera where it wouldn’t show video of the beating; Mr. Haley and Mr. Smith activated theirs only after the assault; and Mr. Haley and Mr. Mills took theirs off when emergency medical personnel were on the

Shattered wings

City cuts bird-safe glass from new community centers

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

As plans for three new community centers in Richmond took shape, an internal City Hall review committee recommended that the windows and glazing on the buildings be designed in a way that would reduce the risk of birds being killed by smashing into them.

However, without any explanation, Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s administration rejected the modest change that the Urban Design Committee (UDC) sought.

The only reason given in city documents for stripping out any requirement for safeguarding birds is that the UDC can recommend “but not require” bird-safe glass, based on an opinion from the City Attorney’s Office.

Essentially, that means the administration has no interest in including that glass and cannot be required to do so. The administration and its chief planner, Dr. Kevin J. Vonck, have not responded

to a Free Press query about the decision.

As a result, bird-safe glass will not be incorporated into the the new T.B. Smith Community Center scheduled to be built in South Side and the Luck’s Field Community Center as well as other city building projects.

The new Southside Community Center also in the works is unlikely to include bird-safe glass.

The designation of bird-safe means the glass and glazing are less reflective of the surrounding landscape and sky, reducing the risk that birds will confuse the reflection with the real thing and fly into it.

Musician Charles Woodson, a UDC member and advocate for the glass, questions why anyone with the city would reject the use of bird-safe glass.

He said the UDC unanimously supports the use of the glass after being advised that changing the windows to be safer for birds could be

done for minimal cost on the buildings that will collectively cost at least $70 million.

He noted that the deletion of the bird-safe glass is even more inexplicable given that the community centers will incorporate landscaping and other elements to attract birds.

“North America has lost 30 percent of its bird population since 1970,” Mr. Woodson said. “We stand at a critical time in history regarding climate change and ecological issues. To encounter such an anti-environmental roadblock is heartbreaking. Ultimately, the community suffers from this kind of bad policy decision.”

The 11-member UDC is an advisory arm of the City Planning Commission. The committee, whose members include design professionals as well as citizen members, reviews plans for construction projects on public property or in the public right-of-way.

In reviewing the location, character and extent, the UDC seeks to hew to high standards of urban

design with aim of improving the appearance of the areas where the developments are to take place, its city web page states.

The UDC began including bird-safe glass in its recommendations two years ago.

Use of such glass also is part of an environmental rating program that the city seeks to adhere to in developing public buildings, the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design or LEED program.

Despite that, the Planning Commission voted to eliminate bird-safe glass from those buildings at the request of the staff led by Dr. Vonck, director of planning and development review. The decision runs counter to other elements of the approved plans, which focus heavily on a series of environmental factors, including a requirement ensuring that light pollution will be reduced as much as possible.

Ornithologist and wildlife ecologist J. Drew Lanham to address racism and the great outdoors

Free Press staff report

McArthur Fellow J. Drew Lanham, an ornithologist and wildlife ecology professor at Clemson University, will deliver VCU Libraries’ 2023 Social Justice Lecture to discuss “Coloring the Conservation Conversation.”

Dr. Lanham writes and speaks powerfully on the implicit and overt racism people of color often face when engaging with their natural surroundings. He bridges the arts and sciences to create a new model of conservation and care for nature that includes space for diverse perspectives.

At VCU, he will discuss what it means to embrace the full breadth of his African-American heritage and his deep kinship to nature and adoration of birds. The convergence of ornithologist, college professor, poet, author and conservation activist blend to bring our awareness of the natural world and our moral responsibility for it forward in new ways. Dr. Lanham will examine how conservation must be a rigorous science and evocative art, inviting diversity and race to play active roles in celebrating our natural world.

The talk, which is free and open to the public, will take place 7 p.m. Sept. 28 in person at the James Branch Cabell Lecture Hall and remotely via Zoom.

He emerged as a national figure after Orion magazine published his “Nine Rules for Black Birdwatchers.” The 2013 essay, later adapted for video, is a satirical take on some of the challenges he’s faced as a birder. His experiences have included veiled threats and encounters with armed passersby while in the field. Dr. Lanham also provides specific ways to

bring social justice principles into conservation work. His recent “Nine Rules for the Woke Birdwatcher” not only calls out overt racism but recommends adopting Harriett Tubman (who used an owl call to identify herself) rather than James Audubon as a

bird-loving inspiration and renaming birds that are named after slave owners.

In his 2016 book, “The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man’s Love Affair with Nature,” Dr. Lanham traces his love of birds and nature back to his family’s small farm in rural South Carolina. His lyrical descriptions of childhood explorations around the farm are a hallmark of Dr. Lanham’s conservation ethos: the head to heart connection. Dr. Lanham believes that the combination of scientific facts and emotional connections to nature can more effectively encourage conservation action. A critical component of the head to heart connection is understanding people’s historical and cultural associations with land, a point he illustrates through an affecting account of the painful legacy of slavery attached to the farm.

Like much of the land in the South, before his family owned, shaped, and nurtured the farm, slavers forced Dr. Lanham’s ancestors to work it. Jim Crow segregation is a frequent topic of his grandmother’s stories of life on the farm, which his family lost after his father’s death. The loss is all too common in a region where policies and practices frequently deprive African-American families of their land.

Dr. Lanham continues to investigate how AfricanAmericans’ historical relationship to land influences their present perceptions of nature, and its appreciation and stewardship. This work is part of a larger effort to broaden, diversify and sustain engagement with the natural world.

To register to attend in person or via Zoom, visit https://www. support.vcu.edu/event/SocialJusticeLecture2023

J. Drew Lanham, an ornithologist and wildlife ecology professor at Clemson University, will deliver VCU Libraries’ 2023 Social Justice Lecture to discuss “Coloring the Conservation Conversation.” The talk, which is free and open to the public, will take place Sept. 28 at 7 p.m. in person at the James Branch Cabell Lecture Hall and remotely via Zoom

An ode to self

About six years ago, Neverett Eggleston Jr. sat in a narrow back entry of Sugar’s Crab Shack, the popular Chamberlayne Avenue eatery that his son, Neverett A. Eggleston III, opened in 2016.

The seafood walk-up, like most new Richmond restaurants that elicit a buzz, seemed to always be crowded with people lined up throughout the day to place their orders.

And rightly so. Everything on the menu— fried whiting, fried oysters and homemade crab salad sounded oh-so-delicious!

But on this particular day, Mr. Eggleston wasn’t really focused on the food or the restaurant. Rather, he was prepared for the job at hand – talking to a newspaper reporter about the Metropolitan Business League and why he helped create the organization in 1968. In his hands were copies of his neat, three-page résumé dated 1990, a weathered newspaper photo, and an ode that he wrote in 1955, the same year he graduated from North Carolina A&T State University with a degree in business administration.

Beautifully and simply stated, with some words capitalized for emphasis, Mr. Eggleston’s 22-year-old self had written:

“To THINK ONLY OF THE BEST and to WORK ONLY FOR THE BEST and EXPECT ONLY THE BEST. TO just be as happy about the success of others as I am about my own. To FORGET THE MISTAKES OF THE PAST and PRESS ON TO GREATER THINGS OF THE FUTURE. To wear a cheerful smile at all times. To give so much time to the improvement of myself that I do not have time to criticize others.”

Certainly Mr. Eggleton’s choice of prosaic words at such a young age, are prophetic.

“To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to greater things.”

Throughout his life, Mr. Eggleston, who died on Sept. 8 at age 90, started or was involved in more than one dozen businesses. In doing so, he followed his own voice.

Whether it was working as the manager of his father’s Eggleston’s Hotel in Jackson Ward in the 1950s and early 1960s, as an investment securities salesman, running a gas station, or opening one of the first Black-owned Golden Skillet restaurants, Mr. Eggleston obviously was fearless. That was no small feat given the segregated era in which he was born and endured a good part of his life.

Despite any barriers he may have encountered —and as a business man there no doubt were many—Mr. Eggleston persevered. And while building successive enterprises, he also found time to secure a private pilot’s license while also indulging in photography, building model radio control planes and playing chess.

He was, in short, a renaissance man.

Again his words, perhaps, provide a clue to his drive.

“To give so much time to the improvement of myself that I do not have time to criticize others. To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.”

That day at Sugar’s Crab Shack, Mr. Eggleston said one reason he, along with Stafford Flowers and Garfield F. Childs Sr., started the MBL was because African-Americans weren’t allowed to join the Richmond Chamber of Commerce or the Virginia Chamber of Commerce.

Thus, when the MBL was created, he said, black business owners were eager to join the organization, which was linked to the National Business League founded in 1900 by Booker T. Washington.

In addition to the programs, training and networking that MBL provided, its members wanted a sense of unity, said Mr. Eggleston.

His final sentence on that stained sheet of plain worn white paper provides further proof of his intention.

Rest well, Mr. Eggleston. And thank you for all that you provided Richmond for nearly 70 years.

Wealthy extremists attacking

“In the face of persistent, systemic discrimination against Black people and all people of color arising from our country’s long history of racism, Ed Blum and his recently created front group are bent on dismantling programs benefiting the Black community. They seek to kneecap any effort to undo entrenched racial inequalities and further cement the status quo of inequitable market access.”— Damon Hewitt, president and executive director of Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

In recent years, women entrepreneurs of color have started companies at more than four times the rate of the overall population.

In 2021, 17% of Black women were in the process of starting or running new businesses, compared to 10% of white women, and 15% of white men.

While Black women represent 14% of the female

population, they account for 42% of net new women-owned businesses.

Black women business owners who apply for funding are rejected at three times the rate of white business owners. Only 3% of Black women-owned companies mature and survive longer than five years. Last year, only 0.1% – one tenth of

1% – of venture capital funds went to Black and Latino women founders.

Anti-racial justice activist Edward Blum, backed by wealthy, dark-money foundations, contends the system is rigged – in favor of Black women.

Mr. Blum has filed suit against the Fearless Fund, a venture capital firm that has awarded $26 million in investments and $3 million in grants in the last four years to more than 40 businesses led by women of color.

Mr. Blum, who was behind the lawsuit that resulted in the U.S. Supreme Court decision that ended affirmative action

in college admissions, is on a well-funded and increasingly successful crusade to preserve systemic racial inequities and the advantages they afford people like himself and his backers.

As if to add insult to injury, he is suing under a post-Civil War law intended to protect Black Americans from racial discrimination.

His lawsuit – like his many others – makes a mockery of both the law and the very idea of racial equity.

The National Urban League has joined in filing an amicus brief in the case, along with Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, National Action Network, NAACP, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, and LatinoJustice PRLDEF. As the brief explains, Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 was explicitly designed to further the aims of the 13th Amendment by creating a remedy for discrimination against Black people that hampered their ability to enter into contracts and fully participate in the nation’s economy.

Programs like the Fearless

Haters, you don’t know Black women

Like many of our sisters who are doing their very best to do the right thing, I’ve had my fill of threats, too—one as late as the past week.

Mine was simply a telephone call, but the person on the call let me know he knows who I am, what I represent, and how to reach me at home.

It doesn’t bother me that the caller has my telephone number, but what is the point of all this sudden harassment of Black women?

We’ve listened to what our sister, District Attorney Fani Willis, has had to endure as she tries her best to do her job. As she follows the law faithfully, she is facing scared, small-minded men who try to change the laws to fit their purposes and try to frighten her so that she will allow obvious criminals to go free.

As Ms. Willis works to uphold the laws of our land, she has to contend with the Jim Jordans of Congress using his platform to try to harass her for doing her job. She has to contend with a person who never should have been president of the United States in the first place.

We must speak up and speak out for her protection full-time,

and Black male law enforcers should be volunteering to be on her security force around the clock until these scared men get off her back.

Why should Ms. Willis have to write a nine-page letter to the likes of Jim Jordan about invoking congressional authority to intrude upon and interfere with an active criminal case which she is more than qualified to handle? She warned him to deal with reality

or reality will deal with him. She lets him know he is out of his league since he is not a lawyer and that he should read the laws. She went on to give him the price of a law book. She suggested he contact the Department of Justice about stopping threats against her staff and her, and stop trying to obstruct criminal proceedings in the Trump case.

Who is this Mary McCord, who criticizes Ms. Willis about how she responded to Jim Jordan when it’s about time he gets the wrath of all Black people? When a Black woman has had enough, she’s had enough, and it’s time Ms. Willis put him in his place!

New York Attorney General Trish James has had more than her share of threats and craziness. Atlanta’s former Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has had her share. The list of threats on

Black women must stop.

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson had to endure the foolishness of members of the U.S. Senate like Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee when she was being questioned to become a member of the Supreme Court. Thanks for Sen. Cory Booker for speaking up.

Why does Vice President Kamala Harris have to take the abuse she is faced with daily as she speaks out on issues that matter to Black people?

How can Texans allow Ted Cruz to spew vulgarity on television, telling people to kiss parts of his body nobody I know would even want to see, and still have the people of Texas vote for him?

How do Floridians allow Ron DeSantis to remain in office with the ignorant acts and words he comes up with to injure Black people, and take away their opportunity to learn the truth about slavery, about Black History and advise them to be against wokeness on every subject he wants to hide?

When will Donald Trump go where criminals go so these otherwise probably decent people are no longer led to do stupid things on his behalf?

How can you have respect for anybody who doesn’t even do the right thing to respect our laws and our democracy?

The writer is author of “Wake Up and Stay Woke.”

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.

Fund, that strengthen Black Americans’ rights to equal participation in the marketplace, are indisputably authorized under federal law.

Fearless Fund founders Ayana Parsons and Arian Simone, both Black women with deep experience in business, estimated they took 300 meetings with potential investors before getting their first $5 million in funding.

Blum and his extremist backers apparently don’t think 300 is enough.

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

“I LOVE LIFE, THE PEOPLE AND THINGS AROUND ME. I AM THANKFUL FOR BEING WELL BLESSED.”

Marc H. Morial

Dr. E. Faye Williams

When will we raise the minimum wage?

By Julianne Malveaux

The federal minimum wage has been stuck at $7.25 an hour since 2009. Several states have a higher minimum, but a predictable few, including Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Alabama, are stuck at that low minimum. If the minimum wage kept up with inflation, it would be at least $10 an hour today. However, 22 states are stuck on exploitation and refuse to raise their minimum wage.

Restaurant workers get even shorter shrift. The minimum wage for tipped workers is $2.13 an hour, which means they are expected to earn up to the minimum wage or more with their tips. But tips are discretionary and arbitrary; sometimes people tip the expected 15 to 20 percent, and sometimes they don’t.

How can they eke out a living wage on other people’s arbitrary judgment? Were they likable? Friendly? Kind? It doesn’t matter. Did you get your food? Was it hot and delivered in a timely way?

If I had my way, I’d charge enough for food to pay workers properly. Tipping is a practice that harkens back to enslavement. People should be paid for their work and not have to skin and grin to make a living wage. The recent Labor Day holiday left us considering how workers experience exploitation and what we must do about it. Workers throughout the country are resisting exploitation, whether it is Hollywood writers or on university campuses.

As of this writing, the United Auto Workers is on the cusp of a strike, which will have significant repercussions for our economy. A United Parcel Service Strike was narrowly averted, and it, too, would have weakened the economy. With labor productivity up, workers are unwilling to settle for paltry 2% and 3% annual increases when food and gas prices are rising by 5% and 6%. There seems to be no willingness to increase wages to keep workers “even”, and President Biden, with his “Bidenomics” seems to see the big picture, but not the small one. People are hurting, and employers are pocketing profits and exploiting workers.

The Institute for Policy Studies released a report, Executive Excess 2023, in which they highlight the 100 companies that have the lowest pay and the greater ratio of CEO pay to median worker pay. Some of these companies have federal contracts, which means when they offer low pay to workers, they also get subsidies from the rest of us, the taxpayers who

support food stamps, medical care, and other amenities that workers who earn little qualify for.

The report shows that the ratio between CEO and median worker pay is 603-1. The average CEO in the Low Wage 100 earned $15.3 million a year, while the average worker earned a scant $31,672 a year.

times more than the average worker who earned $25,673 a year. Amazon, a large federal contractor, is among the most exploitative. But they aren’t alone. Too many companies rip their workers off and also enjoy federal largesse.

Julianne Malveaux

The most significant offender was Live Nation Entertainment. CEO Michael Rufino earned $139 million, 5,414

Given these massive paychecks and massive profits, why can’t we raise the federal minimum wage, and why can’t we pay workers more? Predatory capitalism suggests that employers must extract surplus value from workers. That means that, despite rising worker productivity, employers should

attempt to pay as little as they can. The outrageous CEO-toworker pay ratios suggest that companies benefit from paying so little. Will workers revolt? Can they?

Too many workers are frightened to strike. They need their jobs and their unions may not have sufficient strike funds to allow them to be out for a long period of time. Do they need their jobs with exploitative

terms and conditions of work? Must they work with unfair pay? Is it time for workers to unite?

What would happen if you went to your morning coffee shop to find no one there?

Waited for a bus to find no driver, no bus? Managed to get to work to find no co-workers?

Wandered to lunch to find no one serving? Tried to stop at a supermarket heading home to

find no one working and no food available? Managed home to sort out a mess? We depend on workers but we don’t want to pay them. We agree with their labor actions but don’t want to manage inconvenience. We thought about Labor Day, but we don’t think about workers. When will we raise the federal minimum wage?

The writer is an economist, author and educator.

NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC OF THE APPLICATION OF VIRGINIA ELECTRIC AND POWER COMPANY FOR REVISION OF RATE ADJUSTMENT CLAUSE: RIDER US-4, SADLER SOLAR FACILITY, FOR THE RATE YEAR COMMENCING JUNE 1, 2024 CASE NO. PUR-2023-00138

•Virginia Electric and Power Company (“Dominion”) has applied for approval to revise its rate adjustment clause, Rider US-4.

•In this case, Dominion has asked the State Corporation Commission (“Commission”) to approve Rider US-4 for the rate year beginning June 1, 2024, and ending May 31, 2025 (“2024 Rate Year”).

•For the 2024 Rate Year, Dominion requests a revenue requirement of $14,185,401, which would decrease the bill of a typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per month by $0.04.

•A Hearing Examiner appointed by the Commission will hold a telephonic hearing in this case on February 14, 2024, at 10 a.m., for the receipt of public witness testimony.

•An evidentiary hearing will also be held on February 14, 2024, at 10 a.m., or at the conclusion of the public witness portion of the hearing, whichever is later, in the Commission’s

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

facility located in Greensville County, Virginia (“US-4 Solar Facility” or “Facility”).

On January 22, 2020, the Commission approved Dominion’s construction and operation of the US-4 Solar Facility. On April 13, 2020, Dominion also received approval of a rate adjustment clause, designated Rider US-4, for the Company to recover costs associated with the construction of the Facility. The Commission’s approval was subject to certain conditions and requirements, including a performance guarantee for the Facility, which were accepted by the Company. The US-4 Solar Facility began commercial operations on July 6, 2021.mission for purposes of the performance guarantee. Dominion further notes that the 21.5% capacity factor for calendar year 2022 is below the 22% target capacity factor under the the applicable performance guarantee credits.

In this proceeding, Dominion has asked the Commission to approve Rider US-4 for the rate year beginning June 1, 2024, and ending May 31, 2025 (“2024 Rate Year”). The two components of the proposed total revenue requirement for the 2024 Rate Year are the Projected Cost Recovery Factor and the Actual Cost True-Up Factor. The Company is requesting a total revenue requirement of $14,185,401 for the 2024 Rate Year.

If the proposed Rider US-4 for the 2024 Rate Year is approved, the impact on customer bills would depend on the customer’s rate schedule and usage. According to Dominion, implementation of its proposed Rider US-4 on June 1, 2024, would incrementally decrease the bill of a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours per month by approximately $0.04 compared to the current Rider US-4. The Company indicates that it has calculated the proposed Rider US-4 rates in accordance with the same methodology as used for rates previously approved by the Commission. Interested persons are encouraged to review Dominion’s Application and supporting documents in full for details about these and other proposals.

The Commission entered an Order for Notice and Hearing in this proceeding that, among other things, scheduled a public hearing on Dominion’s Application. On February 14, 2024, at 10 a.m., the Hearing Examiner assigned will hold the telephonic portion of the hearing for the purpose of receiving the testimony of public witnesses. On or before Febwebsite at scc.Virginia.gov/pages/Webcasting; (ii) by completing and emailing the PDF version of this form to SCCInfo@scc.virginia.gov public witness hearing will be webcast at scc.virginia.gov/pages/Webcasting

Beginning at 10 a.m. on February 14, 2024, the Hearing Examiner will telephone sequentially each person who has signed up to testify as provided above.

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, Mceryan@mcguirewoods.com the Commission’s website: scc.virginia.gov/pages/Case-Information scc. virginia.gov/casecomments/Submit-Public-Comments 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-2023-00138. Commission at: the Commission 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

U.S. Open champ Coco Gauff wants to get better and win more major titles — don’t doubt her

By Howard Fendrich The Associated Press NEW

YORK

Now that Coco Gauff is a Grand Slam champion, she’s ready for stardom.

“100%,” she said, without a hint of hesitation. “That was the dream since I started this sport.”

She’s also eager.

“I know that this feeling is incredible and I want to experience it again,” the 19-year-old from Florida said in an interview with The Associated Press at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Saturday night, a few hours after she defeated Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the U.S. Open final. “So I guess what’s next is trying to keep going even further.”

And what, in her mind, would that entail?

“To keep winning more of these,” she said with a laugh. “That would be the biggest goal. I’m not going to put a number (on) how many I want to win. But as many as I can.”

Anyone who would doubt Gauff clearly has not been paying attention. To the way she plays, to the way she can think her way through a match, to the way she handles herself the rest of the time.

It’s not easy to be in the spotlight from 15, her age when the transformation began from someone people in tennis knew about to someone the world knew about, thanks to a win over Venus Williams and a run to the fourth round at

Wimbledon in her 2019 Grand Slam debut. Maybe that fame, and accompanying expectations, will help navigate what’s to come.

She thinks so.

“I’m still me. ... I don’t think I’ll ever (see) myself as a celebrity. I’m just a person who plays tennis, and millions of people like to watch me play tennis,” Gauff said. “But I think I’m going to be the same person after this. Yes, my life has changed. But I don’t think it’s going to affect how I approach my day-to-day life.”

Plenty of athletes say that. With Gauff, it’s easy to believe.

The first American teenager to triumph at Flushing Meadows since Serena Williams in 1999 is hardly the first tennis player to succeed before turning 20. Two who left New York as champs recently — Bianca Andreescu was 19 in 2019; Emma Raducanu was 18 in 2021 — have not recreated that sort of magic, thanks in part to injuries.

Gauff is a special talent, to be sure, and her health has never been an issue. What really should serve her well is the beyond-her-years maturity displayed in moments with a racket in her hand and, importantly, in those without one.

She is, in many ways, her sport’s first standout who is Gen Z, through and through. On Saturday, she derived motivation from negative comments on social media she read in the locker room before facing Sabalenka, then filmed a TikTok post (soundtrack: DJ Khaled’s “All I Do Is Win”)

on court with the trophy afterward. Gauff also is always willing to speak from the heart.

After protesters interrupted her semifinal for 50 minutes to bring attention to climate change, Gauff said she agreed with the cause and would never tell someone not to stand up for what they believe in. After reaching her first major at last year’s French Open, Gauff called out the gun violence in the United States. When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Gauff discussed it at Wimbledon. When she was handed a $3 million check Saturday, Gauff thanked Billie Jean King for her role in getting equal prize money for the U.S. Open women’s champion 50 years ago.

Gauff often credits her parents, Corey and Candi, with whom she shared tear-filled embraces in the stands after the final, and her grandparents with helping mold the person she is. That is part of why she is the player she is, and why Coach Pere Riba talks about what a good listener and learner Gauff is.

“When you say something to her, she analyzes it and she puts in the work,” Riba said. “She is

willing to make changes.”

When the new rankings come out Monday, based on results over the past year, Sabalenka will be No. 1. Gauff will be No. 3 in singles and No. 1 in doubles.

Not that she cares all that much about those numbers.

As for one day being No. 1 in singles, Gauff said, “I know that’s what people want next. But it’s honestly not a huge aspiration of mine. I just want to win as many Slams as I can win.”

So she aims “to keep getting better and better,” because the performance against Sabalenka, Gauff declared, “is nowhere near the best that I can play. It was a match that I won just off my athleticism. But I think there’s a lot of improvements with ball-striking and handling the pace and serving.”

Maybe so. There will be time to devote to that.

First, though, Gauff has other things on her to-do list.

“I’m just looking forward to just going on the beach,” Gauff said with a chuckle, “and sleeping in my own bed and not in a hotel room.”

- OSCAR

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

African American blood donations

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

Joseph White

White brings win to NSU

By Fred Jeter

Norfolk State has its first football win of the season and Joseph White is a crucial reason why.

White, a transfer from the University of Virginia, was named HBCU National Player of the Week after helping the Spartans defeat Hampton, 31-23, Sept. 9 in the Battle of the Bay.

The graduate school defensive back had five tackles, an interception and broke up four passes as NSU improved to 1-1.

NSU travels to Philadelphia this Saturday to play Temple at 2 p.m.

Bailey’s VSU performance sparkles with speed

Scoring touchdowns is “no problem, mon” for Upton Bailey.

Born in Kingston, Jamaica, the Virginia State University junior running back has a new jersey number (No. 1) and fresh image (starting ball carrier) for the 2023 Trojans.

“Upton’s speed is something else,” VSU Coach Henry Frazier III said. “He’s the fastest on our team … the kind of back that can score from anywhere on the field.”

Norfolk State will attest to that.

On his second carry from scrimmage Sept. 2 at NSU, Bailey took a handoff from Romelo Williams and didn’t stop striding until he was celebrating in the end zone.

The 80-yard TD gallop ranks with VSU’s longest carries in recent seasons.

“I’d fumbled on my first carry (a 24-yard gain that resulted in a lost possession),” Bailey said. “I went back to the bench, and everyone told me to relax … to take it to the house the next time I touched the ball.”

Known as “Juice,” he did what his teammates asked while offering a tribute to his offensive linemen.

“I didn’t have to break any tackles … just green grass in front of me,” he said.

Not many defensive backs can run the sculpted 6-foot, 210-pound Jamaican down from behind.

“When I see green, it’s over … time to kiss

the baby,” he said with laugh.

VSU went on to prevail, 33-24, in a rare contest where a visiting Division II (CIAA Trojans) upsets a homestanding FCS (MEAC/NSU).

Bailey finished with 211 yards on 19 carries, good for 10.9 yards per tote.

Bailey’s bio

Height 6 feet

Weight 210 lbs.

Position: Running back

Class: Redshirt junior

Hometown: Petersburg

Birthplace: Kingston, Jamaica

Now about that Jamaican background.

Bailey, the son of Novelette and Upton Sr., moved with his siblings from Kingston to Petersburg when he was 9 years old.

It was a bit of a transition, starting with the language. While English is the official Jamaican language, its citizens speak the national language of Patois — a mix of English, French, Spanish and other West African dialects.

Then there was the switch from Jamaican football to the American style known as soccer.

“I played soccer in Jamaica but never American football until I got here,” he said. “When I first saw an American football, I thought all you did was kick it.”’

At Petersburg High School, Bailey continued to play soccer while adding basketball and American football, where he earned All-Region honors as a sophomore and junior. His senior season was wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bailey began his VSU career wearing No. 26 and playing behind Darius Hagans, who was second in CIAA rushing last year only behind Virginia Union’s Jada Byers.

As a backup sophomore, he carried 91 times for 661 yards (6.8 per carry) and seven TDs.

Reid’s reach is real in VUU win over Shaw

Panthers beat Bears

26-13

Virginia Union University began this season with a question mark at quarterback.

Christian Reid has turned any questions into resounding answers.

“I’m ecstatic,” said VUU Coach Alvin Parker of his left-handed graduate student from Newman, Ga.

“He’s managed the offense well and hit the open receivers.”

In just his second career start, Reid (wearing No. 1) was 21 for 32 for 232 yards in a 26-13 win over Shaw on Sept. 9.

The week before Reid led VUU to a rousing win over Morehouse in Canton, Ohio. After two games Reid is 32 for 47 for 385 yards and two touchdowns.

Reid being a southpaw makes no difference in the VUU attack, Coach Parker said.

“We’re not just a left-handed team,” he

said. “We’re using the whole playbook.” Up next for the 2-0 Panthers is a 6 p.m. kickoff against Livingstone Sept. 16 in Salisbury, N.C. Livingstone is 0-2 after losses to Bluefield State (41-7) and this past week to Catawba (55-15).

VUU trounced Livingstone, 42-6, last season at Hovey Field.

Reid transferred to VUU from NCAA Division I/FCS Charleston Southern and played last season behind Jahkari Grant.

His favorite target against Shaw was Said Sidibe, who made six receptions for 91 yards and a TD.

Jada Byers, VUU’s junior All-American running back, had 41 yards on 14 carries with

He made his mark as a freshman, too, As a true freshman, backing up Hagans, he ran 12 times for 165 yards (13.8 per). The highlight was a 74-yard TD run against Bowie and then Bulldogs’ assistant coach (now VSU Coach) Frazier.

Now Coach Frazier and Bailey are focused on increasing last year’s win total of six, pursuing a CIAA title and a possible return to the NCAA playoffs. For Trojans foes, stopping them might be a “big problem, mon.”

VSU faces St. Augustine’s in Raleigh

Upward bound Virginia State University is 2-0 and heavily favored to make it 3-0 this Saturday in Raleigh.

Next up for Coach Henry Frazier’s Trojans is a 6 p.m. kickoff against CIAA rival St. Augustine’s.

After upsetting Norfolk State in its opener, VSU bagged its second victory Sept. 9, 2117, over visiting Tusculum, Tenn., at Rogers Stadium.

St. Augustine’s is 0-2 with losses to LenoirRhyne (45-7) and this past week to Elizabeth City, 13-0.

A year ago in Ettrick, VSU pounded the Falcons, 42-7. In taking down Tusculum, Kimo Clarke, a

transfer from Jackson State, ran 20 times for 54 yards and Upton Bailey 13 times for 37 yards, with a touchdown.

Bailey was used sparingly due to a slight injury he referred to as a “tweak.” Bailey also had a 35-yard pass reception.

Romelo Williams was seven for 20 in the air for 118 yards.

On defense, Tyrone Fisher from nearby Park View High School in South Hill, had six tackles, including two losses, and All-CIAA defensive back Willie Drew had four pass breakups to go with eight tackles.

VSU improved from 3-6 in 2021 to 6-4 last season in Coach Frazier’s first season. The win total looks to go even higher this campaign.

Richmond Kickers sign Simmonds to USL Academy contract

Nicholas Simmonds isn’t your average 16-year-old athlete.

While most soccer players his age would be happy to just make their school team, Simmonds has gone pro with the Richmond Kickers.

He’s produced, too, for the USL League one club.

a touchdown, but sat out the second half due to a coach’s decision. Coach Parker would not elaborate on a possible minor injury.

Answering the call as Byers’ backup was Curtis Allen, a bruising 6-foot-2, 215-pound sophomore from Prince George High. Allen scored nine touchdowns last season on only 28 carries.

“Curtis is not just a short-yardage runner; he’s a complete back; we’ve got so many weapons,” Coach Parker said. “It’s nice to see a lot of guys making plays.”

Thomas Jefferson High alumnus Shamari Grant, making a case for CIAA Defensive Player of the Year, had eight tackles to lead a dominating defense.

Armstrong whomps John Marshall 54-0

The James River High junior was 16 years, eight months and 13 days on Aug. 31 when he scored the tying goal for Richmond in a 3-3 tie over Central Valley Fuego, Cal., at City Stadium.

In so doing the 6-foot-3 phenom became the youngest player in franchise history to put the ball in the back of the net. His goal came in the 84th minute off a corner kick.

The name Simmonds is well known in local soccer circles. Nicholas Simmonds’ father, Greg, played for the Kickers in the early 2000s.

In other Kickers news, forward Kharlton Belmar was asked to play for Grenada’s national team in the CONCACAF tournament. Belmar, who starred at VCU before joining the pro ranks, is the son of Grenadian parents. He played for Grenada in 2021 in the World Cup qualifying tournament.

The Kickers’ next home game will be 6 p.m. Sept. 23 against the Greenville, S.C., Triumph. It will be Hispanic Heritage Night.

Anthony Allen Jr., A.J. Byrd are exciting duo

Life is good these days on Cool Lane in Richmond’s East End.

The Armstrong High School Wildcats are 3-0 after a 54-0 win over visiting John Marshall High School and looking to continue the domination this Friday against 0-3 Goochland.

“It’s a great feeling,” said Armstrong thirdseason Coach Jeremy Pruitt.

The AHS-Goochland game will be at 7 p.m. under the lights and on the artificial turf at Virginia State University’s Rogers Stadium.

Rogers is the Wildcats’ home away from home.

It’s fitting that Coach Pruitt is a former VSU linebacker and that VSU and Armstrong have the same colors, blue and orange.

Armstrong played its region playoff game against Caroline last year at Rogers.

“A perk of being an alumnus,” Coach Pruitt said.

In quarterback Anthony Allen Jr. and receiver

A.J. Byrd, the ’Cats may have the most exciting combination since peanut butter and jelly.

The seniors were at their best against crosstown rival John Marshall.

Allen, wearing jersey No. 1, passed for 228

yards and four touchdowns.

Byrd, No. 5 on the program, had four receptions for 111 yards and three TDs.

“They’ve been doing that for two years,” Coach Pruitt said. “And the good thing is that you can’t double (cover) A.J. because we have other speeders running routes, too.”

Jah’kei Chavis added two catches for another 91 yards on Allen’s spirals.

Summing up the convincing win over the Justices, Coach Pruitt was clear.

“We had a great day on offense and threw a

Out of Africa

John Marshall High School’s basketball teams returned from Luanda, Angola, a country in Southwest Africa, on Sept. 5. The team, along with administrators, coaches, teachers, staff members, family and friends of the teams, visited the country to play Angolan basketball teams and tour parts of the country to learn about its history. The trip was made possible through the Tucker Family HeritageTour, which features untold narratives about the transatlantic slave trade as told by Angolans, histories of Angola and its liberation from Portugal after nearly 500 years of colonization. Upon returning to Richmond, John Marshall’s basketball Coach Ty White exits a motorcoach bus.

shutout on defense,” he said. “Our defensive goal each week is to throw a shutout (allowing no points.)”

He calls his defense “The Zero Gang.”

Armstrong defeated McKinley Tech of Washington, D.C., 40-0, and Petersburg, 21-8, before thrashing JM. The Wildcats have a 115-8 accumulative edge after three outings.

The momentum favors the Wildcats. The team went 2-8 in his first season coaching and then 4-6 a year ago.

Coach Pruitt doesn’t predict this season’s winloss record other than saying “we hope to go 1-0 each week.”

Following the win over JM, the ’Cats were back on the practice field Saturday morning at 9:30.

Armstrong plays in Class 2, the second smallest of the Virginia High School League’s six classifications.

Gone from the schedule are suburban heavyweights from Highland Springs, Varina and Hanover.

There is no game on the ’Cats schedule they can’t win. After Goochland comes a home game against 0-3 Manassas Park.

Again, Coach Pruitt was clear.

“We should do fine if we do what we have to do.”

Stories by Fred Jeter

Nicholas Simmonds

Photos by Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

Upton Bailey

Alycia and Steven Wright began homeschooling their children about a decade ago. While their two eldest daughters attended Richmond Montessori School — Alexandra until the fourth grade and Jordan for kindergarten — their younger daughters, Kennedy and Stevie have always been homeschooled. Mrs. Wright says because there is no separation between learning and education, the family is able to be “life learners with no limits.”

“We are eclectic homeschoolers, which means we don’t primarily use a traditional boxed curriculum,” she explains. “We learn every day and outside of traditional school hours.”

Mrs. Wright says she saw a need for a homeschool community that celebrated the diversity of BIPOC children and families. She founded Cultural Roots Homeschool Cooperative in 2016 to meet that need by centering the cultural attributes, traditions and histories of Black and Brown communities.

The number of families homeschooling their children has increased significantly in Richmond and throughout the nation. The onset of COVID-19 increased the number of students who are homeschooled.

The Virginia Department of Education reported nearly 57,000 homeschooled students and religious exemptions for the 2022-2023 school year. Although these numbers dipped from the previous year, they still represent a 30% increase over the 2018-2019 school year.

With the rise in homeschooling, Mrs. Wright says there are important things to consider when a child is homeschooled, including the commitment it requires and the challenges involved.

“Our biggest challenge lately has been balancing all of my children’s interest/passionbased learning with the time needed for core foundational skills and daily practice,” she

Personality: Alycia Wright

Spotlight on Cultural Roots Homeschool Cooperative’s director, founder

said.

“Gaining access to programs and partners for homeschooled youths is a challenge at times. A lot of programs are geared toward public schoolchildren and so dispelling myths about homeschoolers is a constant effort.

“One stereotype is that homeschoolers are at a kitchen table for six hours a day and lack socialization. The reality is that homeschoolers spend a lot of time out and in the community engaged in activities with other homeschoolers,” she added.

The Cultural Roots Homeschool Cooperative has about 125 homeschoolers participate in the educational classes and experiences that the families work together to select and fund each year. Mrs. Wright says many of the classes are developed according to students’ interests and passions such as African drumming, robotics, nature studies and personal finance.

At the high school level, there is a full curriculum of academics and exploratory classes.

Mrs. Wright said the coop will continue to provide friendship and support to homeschooling families. She also hopes to expand some of the co-op’s offerings into surrounding communities and provide more formal mentoring to new homeschool parents.

“I am excited by the number of families considering and beginning on this home education journey as well as so many who are creating new spaces for themselves in the community,” Mrs. Wright said. “I am energized by watching young people make connections to what they are learning through experience and access.”

Meet an advocate for ho

meschooling and this week’s Personality, Alycia Wright.

Occupation: Founder and director, Cultural Roots Homeschool Cooperative.

Place of birth: Richmond.

Where I live now: Henrico County.

Education: Bachelor’s in psychology, master’s in education, special education and disability policy.

Family: Husband, Steven, and four daughters, Alexandra, 19, Jordan, 15, Kennedy, 13, and Stevie, 9.

Cultural Roots Homeschool

Co-op is: A culturally centered and liberated educational space for BIPOC homeschooling families.

Why there is a need for the Co-op: I saw the need for a homeschool community that centered and celebrated the diversity of BIPOC people, with

turally centered and liberated educational space for families. We intentionally center the cultural attributes, traditions and histories of Black and Brown communities. Most important thing to consider when a child is homeschooled: Homeschooling takes a lot of commitment. Consider the needs of the child and what your family vision for homeschooling is. What is it that you want to be different from what they are receiving currently? Think about your relationship with the child and how you can best support them emotionally, academically and socially toward your vision.

How Cultural Roots Homeschool Co-op works: Families collectively choose classes for the upcoming year, we bring in instructors and collectively fund the instructors. We are a nonprofit organization and one goal is to make access to high quality experiences and classes available to BIPOC homeschooling families, no matter the size of the family.

Our home base is: Pine Camp Cultural Arts Center and Ginter Park Presbyterian Church. No. 1 goal or project of Cultural Roots Homeschool Co-op: To continue building out a high quality high school program for homeschooling teens that includes community, college and corporate mentors.

Strategy for achieving goal: We are working to establish relationships within the community, at local universities, and with some of Richmond’s

and to build partnerships to support them.

No. 1 challenge facing Cultural Roots Homeschool Coop: Space. We are in need of a facility that looks more like a school, with lots of room. The need is overwhelming to support the large increase of BIPOC homeschooling families looking for places where they can go to work with their child 1:1, take group classes, have access to mentors and socialize — all in a setting that feels safe and affirming.

How Cultural Roots Homeschool Co-op is funded: The co-op is self-funded by the parents and community giving.

A memorable moment that Cultural Roots Homeschool Co-op has experienced: The youth worked with a film teacher and friend from Virginia Commonwealth University to make a documentary about Mr. Richard Stewart, lovingly known as “Mayor” of Pocahontas Island and the owner of the Black History Museum in Petersburg. We raised over $3,000 and surprised him with a giant check. It was a wonderful moment and completely youth led. We did the same at Pine Camp (created a short 90-second interview) for Dr. Beatrice Motley Cole, who stayed at the segregated Pine Camp TB Hospital many years ago as a teen. The youth conducted research about her, made a film, and invited her to see it.

How I see Cultural Roots Homeschool Co-op transforming in the next few years: We hope to offer formal mentoring

ing counties and create other Cultural Roots communities for BIPOC families.

Ways to become involved as a homeschooler: Join our Friends of the Co-op Group. We have a website culturalrootscoop.com and email culturalrootshomeschool2@gmail.com

How I start the day: Positive and with the affirmation that my steps have already been ordered and ordained.

Three words that best describe me: Innovative, easygoing, curious.

If I had 10 extra minutes in the day, I would: Sit in nature.

If I hosted a dream dinner party, what one special guest would I invite: My grandmother and great-grandmother. I have a lot of questions about life in general and family history and stories.

Best late-night snack: Bread pudding.

The music I listen to most is: ’90s rap and R&B.

A quote that inspires me:

“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”— Ralph Waldo Emerson

At the top of my “to-do” list: Finish preparing for the first day of classes!

The best thing my parents ever taught me: Try to make the best out of every situation and find the lessons to be learned.

Book that influenced me the most: “Parable of the Sower” by Octavia Butler. It’s such a story of resilience and hope for a better future and humanity even when the world around you is literally burning.

What I’m reading now: “Bush Craft 101: A Field Guide to the Art of Wilderness Survival”

TO WHAT MATTERS. As Virginia’s home for public media, we bring you relevant news and local storytelling  to foster a greater understanding of our state, our neighbors and our world. VPM.org

TO WHAT MATTERS. As Virginia’s home for public media, we bring you relevant news and local storytelling to foster a greater understanding of our state, our neighbors and our world. VPM.org

CONNECTED TO WHAT CHALLENGES THE STATUS QUO.

By Errin Haines The Amendment

We have just witnessed the Summer of the Black Woman. Beyoncé, Simone Biles, Sha’Carri Richardson and Coco Gauff headlined a season of history-making success shared and celebrated by Black women at concerts, on the court, the mat, the track and on social media. Our collective joy and agency were acts of resistance amid a hostile social and political climate, a triumph over the trauma that has long defined Black women’s existence in America.

The phenomenon wasn’t limited to culture. Vice President Kamala Harris appeared to hit her stride after her own tour of sorts, which her office called the “Summer of Action.”

Along the way, she forcefully went on offense against Republican attacks on reproductive and voting rights and book and history bans, making the case for a second term.

Black women have always had to be resilient, resourceful, exceptional. But this summer’s renaissance was not limited to a concert tour; it was the rebirth of Black women in our politics and culture. It’s an energy they could channel as we head into a consequential presidential election, unbound by old, fixed ideas about their race and gender.

“At a moment when so much is being thrown at us, we’re saying, ‘We know our power, we know who we are, and we have to continue to be at the center of our own liberation and freedom,’” said Jotaka Eaddy, founder of the political action collective Win with Black Women. “You’re going to see a real crescendo in our power, in how we lead and what we’re able to do, and it’s going to be evident at the ballot box.”

That power comes amid setbacks and struggles, especially among LGBTQ+ Black women, and the summer came with highs and lows.

The Supreme Court struck down affirmative action and ended plans to cancel some student loan debt — both decisions with disproportionate consequences for Black women, among the most degreed people in the country and the group that holds the most student loan debt.

Black women have always been collaborative and natural strategists but because of social media, Black women are getting and taking the credit for their accomplishments, said cultural strategist Maya Peterson.

“Black women are able to fully take that center stage and hold the center of cultural gravity for a long time,” Ms. Peterson said. “We’re able to

The Summer of the Black Woman

The renaissance wasn’t just a concert tour

celebrate other Black women and hold each other up. That happens more quickly and with more velocity than before.”

Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour — her first solo tour since 2016 — is already the highestgrossing tour by a woman and a Black artist in history, bringing in more than $460 million worldwide so far. The entire show is political — from the performers, including a pregnant woman and nonbinary dancers, to the millions in tour proceeds that have supported marginalized entrepreneurs and HBCU students.

The tour is also a cultural phenomenon: the mother of three shares the stage with her oldest daughter, Blue Ivy; the album is an homage to the Black and Latinx LGBTQ+ ballroom culture started in the 1990s; it is a rejection of racism, homophobia and misogyny, and an embrace of community and freedom.

“It’s a safe space for Black women and girls, however you define that,” said political scientist Leah Wright Rigueur, who recently attended the concert in Los Angeles with her mother and plans to go again in Houston this month.

Sha’Carri Richardson — who was banned from the 2020 Summer Olympics after testing positive for cannabis — let her performance speak for itself when she dominated the World Athletics Championships last

month, becoming one of the fastest women in the world.

This summer also saw the return of Olympic legend Simone Biles, regarded as the greatest gymnast of all time.

At the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo, the seven-time medalist pulled out of most competitions that she was heavily favored to dominate. Ms. Biles showed her championship spirit in her vulnerability, sharing how the weight of competition impacted her mental health.

But on Aug. 27, Ms. Biles made a triumphant return to the mat, winning a record eighth national all-around title at the U.S. Gymnastic Championships at 26 — becoming the oldest woman ever to win the title.

And we are still in the midst of Coco Gauff’s brilliant run at the U.S. Open. The 19-yearold is the youngest American to reach the semifinals since Serena Williams won her first major title at the 1999 U.S. Open. When Gauff challenged a chair umpire she felt was unfairly favoring an opponent who was taking too much time between points, the moment of advocacy was widely praised in a viral social media moment.

Ms. Gauff made history Saturday, becoming the youngest American to win the U.S. Open women’s title since Serena Williams in 1999.

That everyday Black women identify with the struggles and successes of their famous counterparts taps into a common language and shared experi-

ence, Ms. Peterson said.

“She and I are connected, even though we’ve never met,” Ms. Peterson said of these women. “She’s speaking for me, she’s speaking about me.”

Political movements and motivations are often centered around community — and this summer has harnessed that, Ms. Eaddy said.

“When we win we cheer each other on. We will be a push for that sister, whether she’s on a comeback or being attacked. That is the essence of what it means to be a Black woman: there’s a part of you that sees yourself in her, and you just want her to win.”

Vice President Harris’ fullthroated defense of democracy and rights stems from her identity as the child of civil rights protesters and a trailblazing Black woman in politics. Her 17-state blitz this summer included stops in front of large Black audiences at the annual Essence Festival in New Orleans, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition Convention in Chicago, Delta Sigma Theta’s National Convention in Indianapolis, the NAACP convention in Boston and a convening of women members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Orlando.

After years of criticism in the media for a perceived lack of visibility or clear message, Vice President Harris ended the

summer drawing praise from the press for her performance — and the adulation from Black Americans at these events proud of her historic leadership. She heads into 2024 seen as a key player if Democrats are to win, able to speak directly to Black women, harnessing the power of this summer into a feeling of connection and community that could translate into votes. It is a test she seems ready to meet.

Hundreds of Black women elected officials and organizers gathered at the vice president’s residence recently. As they headed into the Labor Day weekend, they bid farewell to summer “with joy and in celebration,” said Glynda Carr, co-founder of Higher Heights for America, the political action group that works to put Black women in office.

“It’s such a politically toxic and racially divisive time, and Black women are at the center of a lot of that venom,” Ms. Carr said. “This summer reminded us of our individual power, but also that we are supporting each other’s leadership for this season. It’s a perfect time to remind us about the power that we can wield as Black women to move this country forward. People are tired, physically and politically. To have a summer rooted in joy and excellence is the summer we didn’t know we needed to prepare for the

fight ahead.”

The question now is what Black women will do with that power headed into 2024, said Ashley Etienne, longtime political strategist and Vice President Harris’ former communications director.

“The last cycle, we demanded a Black vice president — and we got it,” Ms. Etienne said. “That’s just how powerful we are. What are we going to be demanding this time of the system as a whole?

We’ve got clarity about what we want; we’ve just got to verbalize it and stand behind it.”

How the energy of this summer will translate or if it will settle down remains an open question, but Ms. Rigueur predicts it isn’t likely to fade, pointing out that the leadup to the election will coincide with the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris and another U.S. Open that could see Ms. Gauff’s return to the court.

“I don’t know if it will manifest around a particular set of binary politics, like Democrat or Republican,” she said. “It may be more about mobilizing around the protection of Black womanhood, which was the theme of the summer. What does that mean politically? We’re going to cheer them on, and that will have an intensity that will be even more protective.”

This column first appeared in The Amendment, a new biweekly newsletter by Errin Haines, The 19th’s editor-at-large.

Beyoncé

Simone Biles Vice President Harris

Coco Gauff

Errin Haines

Sacrifice for success

Parents of student athletes willingly go, and pay for, the extra mile(s)

By Darlene M. Johnson

Willie Starlings, 50, became a sports parent when his son, Joel Starlings, played flag football as a 4-year-old at Hotchkiss Field Community Center in Richmond.

Joel went on to play baseball, basketball, soccer and T-ball, but decided to focus on football in the ninth grade, Mr. Starlings said. Over the years, the younger Mr. Starlings has played with AAU groups such as Dreamchasers and VA Havoc Basketball. Today, Joel is a defensive tackle for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s football team.

Keeping his son involved in sports required juggling time, energy, and money, particularly since Mr. Starlings was a single parent.

Many parents throughout the United States invest significantly in their children’s sports activities. A 2019 Ameritrade survey found that parents around the country spend an average of 12 hours per week on their children’s sporting activities. The average family spends almost $900 each year for one child to participate in his or her main sport, according to a 2022 report by Project Play at the Aspen Institute. Richmond area parents are no different.

Evette Wingfield-Woodley’s son, Dana “Woo”Woodley II, 20, also started playing sports at age 4. And, like Joel, her son also played football at Hotchkiss Field and played football and basketball until his 10th grade year in high school.

He then decided to focus solely on basketball, said Ms. Wingfield-Woodley, 54.

Dana played with the AAU groups Team Loaded, Upward Stars and Boo Williams Summer League in Hampton. He currently plays basketball as a shooting guard at Bryant & Stratton College after transferring from Norfolk State University.

The road to collegiate sports required sacrifice.

While Dana was with Team Loaded from fourth to sixth grades and for two years in high school, Ms. WingfieldWoodley paid about $500 per year, which covered uniforms, shoes, travel for the students and fees for weekend tournaments with the team, she said. There were other travel and lodging expenses for trips to places such as Nevada and Florida. Ms. Wingfield-Woodley covered many of her expenses by hosting fish frys, car washes and similar fundraisers.

Joel Starlings’ participation in sports has been a regular expense for Mr. Starlings from pre-K through high school, Mr.

Starlings said. He estimated that he has spent a total of $30,000 on his son’s sports career. Costs hovered around $500 in the beginning years but jumped to $2,500 per year in high school, he said.

Expenses increased when Joel participated in travel

wing. Milton Bell, 53, who stands at 6 feet, 8 inches tall, started working with Joel Starlings at age 12 as part of Mr. Bell’s basketball school, The Milton Bell Team.

Joel “had his head on straight,” Mr. Bell recalled as one reason he enjoyed working with the Benedictine High School graduate. Mr. Starlings said that his son admired Mr. Bells’ accomplishments as a former high school basketball standout and as an international professional player.

Known to many throughout Richmond, Mr. Bell graduated from John Marshall High School and later played basketball for the University of Richmond and the Georgetown University Hoyas. He also played professionally in South America and Europe, and in 2022, was inducted into the John Marshall High School Athletics Hall of Fame.

Along with his wife, Sharad Bell, Mr. Bell began sending players overseas and bringing pro coaches to Richmond from Argentina in 2008. Since founding their company, he has worked with more than 100 youth and professional athletes.

American basketball player from Richmond,” he said. “It’s my duty to help create the next All American, the next Hall of Fame student or the next mayor or governor. I’m supposed to produce and spearhead and lead the next generation. I will do my part to teach them basketball and life skills. I feel like I owe it because so many people poured into me.”

Mr. Bell also began mentoring Mr. Woodley during his sophomore year of high school. Her son now considers Mr. Bell an uncle, Ms. WingfieldWoodley said.

Having known Mr. Bell since high school, she asked him to mentor Dana after he had previously mentored Mr. Woodley’s older brother, Devin. Dana Woodley and Joel Starlings were both athletes that “embodied” what The Milton Bell Team did as a company, Mr. Bell said. “Both of them are children of single parents, as I was,” said Mr. Bell, whose father died in 1981.

Mr. Bell also is a sports parent, so he understands the costs. For his son, Maximillion Milton Bell, he spent almost $3,000 on basketball camps and travel the summer after his sophomore year of high school. Such costs led Mr. Bell to make his basketball school as affordable as possible.

“I’m from an era where basketball was free,” he said.

Ms. Wingfield-Woodley does not miss any of her son’s games and has traveled across the country to support her son’s sports obligations. She has had the role of the “team mom,” making travel arrangements for other parents, she said. But this comes at a price.

Ms. Wingfield-Woodley has experienced health complications and currently requires dialysis while she waits for a new kidney, she said. However, she has not let her health affect her support for her son and his basketball career.

Passing the ball John Marshall basketball hall of famer now trains youths for global stages

By Darlene M. Johnson

Milton S. Bell Jr., 53, began playing basketball at age 7 in the Randolph Community in Richmond’s West End where he grew up.

At the time, he didn’t realize that basketball would lead to him becoming fluent in Spanish and take him around the world to play professionally for nine different countries.

In high school, he was a standout player known for shot blocking. He played center for the Marshall-Walker Cavaliers and the John Marshall High School Justices in the late 1980s.

As a senior, Mr. Bell averaged 17 points, 11 rebounds and 9 blocks per game. He was named 1988 Metro Player of the Year, and became the only player from Richmond named a McDonald’s All-American.

Mr. Bell then played guard and forward for the Georgetown University Hoyas under famed coach, the late John Thompson Sr. According to hoyabasketball.com, he played for Georgetown from 1988-1990. Following a brief stint at the University of Richmond, he later was drafted in the second round into the Continental Basketball Association in 1993. He played for Tri-City Chinook in Kennewick, Wash., and went on to play all positions professionally in Europe and South America.

After he retired from playing at age 40 in 2011, Mr. Bell cofounded his basketball school, The Milton Bell Team, with his wife, Sharad Bell. The goal: to “turn kids into pro-players who value themselves, their education, and their community,” he said.

His first mentee was his godson, Dennis Parker Jr., whose father, Dennis Parker Sr., attended high school with Mr. Bell.

The younger Parker, who now plays for North Carolina State University, was named All-Metro Player of Year in 2022 and 2023. He also went on to be named Virginia Class 2 State High School Player of theYear and his team, the John Marshall Justices, won its second straight state title in 2023.

basketball in elementary and middle school, with costs averaging roughly $2,000 each year for training, gear and travel expenses.

Mr. Starlings said he also spent $1,000 per year on fees, cleats and training while Joel played football in the fall from third through eighth grades. Now that he is in college, scholarships lightened the load by covering most expenses, Mr. Starlings said.

Both Mr. Starlings and Ms. Wingfield-Woodley experienced financial challenges and leaned on their sons’ schools for academic support along the way.

“I had to sacrifice my social life because I had to work.

Then, after work, my son played sports all year round,”

Mr. Starlings said. Midway through his son’s sports activities, a towering force stepped in and took the younger Starlings under his

After traveling overseas and playing basketball, Mr. Bell said he felt drawn to contribute to the community from which he came.

“It’s my obligation being the first McDonald’s All

“Mothers who support their kids, we do whatever we need to do to fight,” she said. “I think if anything, it’s given me that fight and that ‘oomph’ to want to make sure I stay as healthy as I can. For 15 years, we’ve been putting in work for him to be in this position, so I thank God.”

Dennis Parker Sr., Ph.D., attributes his son’s success to seeing Mr. Bell’s success. Growing up, he showed his son newspaper clippings of Mr. Bell in high school, when he played in the McDonald’s All-American games and when he attended Georgetown. “My son tried to break Milton Bell’s records. He didn’t try to break mine,” Dr. Parker said. “My son’s desire to be the very best version of himself in basketball stands for him competing with his Uncle Milton.”

The Milton Bell Team expanded to train and represent professional basketball players who wish to play overseas. “I’m blessed to have a global network after playing 20 years. I have so many friends and brothers whom I played with or against. They have moved on to coaching or to the front office. These friends now call me looking for players,” Mr. Bell said.

Mr. Bell’s school has signed more than a dozen players to professional basketball contracts in Argentina, Chile, and Venezuela, including his son, Maximillion Milton Bell, 24, who graduated from Lane College in Jackson, Tenn. Like his father, Maximillion will play in Argentina and Venezuela.

Milton

Ray Neblett, founder of the Ray Neblett Inner City Foundation, served as another mentor to Mr. Bell. “He showed me how to give back to the community through basketball. He gave me the inspiration and encouragement,” Mr. Bell said. The support of his wife, the parents of his mentees, and many others in the community have also aided in his success. The Bells also have a media company, Milton Bell Global Media, which promotes its professional players, and a wellness company, Lion Energy Wellness, which teaches their players about healthy eating. He credits his lifestyle, not eating red meat, with allowing him to play basketball until age 40.

“It is God,” Mr. Bell said. “I can’t take credit for any of it.”

Gary Flowers takes his show national

By Debora Timms

Beginning this Sunday, radio listeners can tune in again to “The Gary Flowers Show.”

The show will go national with Urban One and air live on Washington D.C.’s WOL AM 1450/FM 95.9 every Sunday from 10-11 a.m. starting Sept. 17.

Mr. Flowers said in an interview that the show will continue to be based around its weekly themes of education, health, finance, civics and culture. And while “The Gary Flowers Show” will now have a national audience, he will continue to be a presence on local radio as host of a new program on another Urban One station — WPZZ Praise

104.7 FM in Richmond.

The new radio show, the “Richmond Grand Update,” will air weekdays from 9 to 11 a.m. beginning Sept. 18. Mr. Flowers said the radio show will feature guests, callers and daily themes.

The show also will be a vocal supporter for Urban One and Churchill Downs’ $562 million dollar Richmond Grand Resort and Casino, he said. The Urban One and Churchill Downs proposal for the project, which was unveiled last month, promises to bring 1,300 permanent jobs, provide a public park and attract an estimated 250,000 tourists to the city.

A Richmond Circuit Court judge signed an

order in late July to allow the city’s top election administrator to add a citywide referendum on the Nov. 7 ballot asking voters if they want a casino.

“I am committed to moving forth a critical economic development proposal for my beloved hometown,” Mr. Flowers said. “But beyond Richmond, the proposed Richmond Grand Resort will not only benefit the region, but will be a national model in many ways with respect to its workforce, its pay scale and the recreational amenities associated with it.”

Mr. Flowers compares Urban One’s founder Cathy Hughes to Maggie L. Walker, a business

pioneer who created jobs in Richmond. He believes the Richmond Grand resort “will change lives for many Richmonders.”

“Given my experience in the United States and around the world, on every issue upon which I’ve worked it was never just a matter of Black and white,” said Mr. Flowers, a longtime civil rights activist, human rights advocate and public policy analyst. “Issues that were perceived to be Black benefited whites, and that is the potential for the resort proposal by Richmond Grand.” His commentary and experiences also will be captured in a forthcoming podcast. Currently in production, “Primary Sources with Gary Flowers” is planned for release in early 2024.

Regina H. Boone/ Richmond Free Press

Milton Bell, 53, stands Friday on the courts where he honed his basketball skills as a child growing up in the Randolph Community. After playing basketball at the University of Richmond and Georgetown University, Mr. Bell played on professional teams in Europe and South America. He is the founder and director of the Milton Bell Basketball School, which helps Richmond area youths gain basketball skills.

Regina H. Boone/ Richmond Free Press

Bell takes time on the court with one of his mentees and godson, Jeremiah Neblett, 7, of Richmond. Also on the court is Bo Jones, 44, left, a coach with Mr. Bell and a former VCU basketball player from 1998-2001. Looking on also is Coach Raymond Neblett, 59, of Ray Neblett’s Inner City Basketball Camps, father of Jeremiah.

Photo courtesy of Willie Starlings

Willie Starlings has watched and paid for his son, Joel Starlings’, football career since his son was age 4. Today, Joel Starlings is a defensive tackle for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s football team.

Photo courtesy of Evette Wingfield-Woodley Evette Wingfield-Woodley’s son, Dana ‘Woo’ Woodley II, 20, started playing sports at age 4. He currently plays basketball as a shooting guard at Bryant & Stratton College after transferring from Norfolk State University.

Dennis Parker Jr. and Sr.

Mr. Flowers

Milton S. Bell Jr.

Key Awareness publisher Robert W. Evans Sr. dies at 77

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Robert Wright Evans Sr. described life as “a never-ending journey” that is best done with the aim of using God-given gifts and talents “as uplifting blessings with the many souls and spirits encountered along the way.”

The husband of Richmond City Councilwoman Cynthia I. Newbille, Mr. Evans sought to carry out his vision through the Key Awareness newspaper he published for 25 years.

Mr. Evans was his publication’s sole employee. He considered his work, in which he handled everything from selling advertising, writing, editing, photography and delivery, as a “labor of love.”

Mr. Evans

Mr. Evans used the newspaper to highlight people and places in Richmond that normally did not get attention. The publication also featured graduations, new businesses and other community milestones.

The Henrico County resident also included a popular column that allowed people to write about their challenges with addiction and their journey to recovery.

He always “used his writing and other talents to foster dialogue, raise awareness and support programs throughout our community,” his family wrote following his

death.

Mr. Evans, who also was a songwriter and musician, succumbed to illness on Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023. He was 77.

Family and friends celebrated his life on Saturday, Sept. 9, at St. Paul’s Baptist Church, with the Rev. Dwayne Whitehead delivering the eulogy.

Born in Gilpin Court, Mr. Evans played sports in high school. He later counseled and mentored Richmond area athletes, his family said.

Along with his wife, survivors include three sons, Rodney Evans, Randall Evans and Ethan Evans; three sisters, Karol W. Eddleton, Lorraine White and Pauline W. Mitchell; 13 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

Harvard Divinity School selects first Black woman as dean

By Yonat Shimron Religion News Service

A cultural anthropologist of the Black religious experience has been named dean of the Harvard Divinity School, effective Jan. 1.

Marla Frederick, a professor of religion and culture at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology, will succeed David Hempton, who has served as dean of the divinity school since 2012.

Dr. Frederick will become the first woman and the first Black woman to lead the school in its 207-year history. (Preston N. Williams, acting dean from 1974-75, was the first African-American to lead the school.) For Dr. Frederick, it is a return of sorts. She previously served on the Harvard faculty for 16 years as a professor in the Department

of African and African-American Studies.

“I am thrilled to welcome Marla back to Harvard,” said Claudine Gay, the president of Harvard, in an email to the Harvard Divinity School students and alumni. “I am confident that Marla’s leadership qualities, her academic stature, her wideranging curiosity, her collaborative mindset, and her thoughtful and caring approach to all she does will combine to make her an excellent new dean.”

The author or co-author of four books, Dr. Frederick’s expertise has been in religion and media, religion and social activism in the U.S. South and the sustainability of Black institutions. She recently served as president of the American Academy of Religion in 2021 and has been president of the Association of Black Anthropologists.

Riverview Baptist Church

A native of Sumter, S.C., Dr. Frederick earned her bachelor’s degree from Spelman College and her Ph.D. in cultural anthropology from Duke University. Harvard Divinity School, the first nonsectarian theological institution in the country, was established in 1816. For the 2022-23 school year, it enrolled some 333 full-time students in five degree programs. It has 34 full-time faculty, according to the Association of Theological Schools, its accrediting body.

Dr. Frederick is the author of the book

“Colored Television: American Religion Gone Global,” “Televised Redemption: Black Religious Media and Racial Empowerment” and of an ethnography of Black women churchgoers

in North Carolina, “Between Sundays: Black Women and Everyday Struggles of Faith.”

A 2007 book, a collaborative examination of American democracy in an ordinary North Carolina community written with six other academics, “Local Democracy Under Siege: Activism, Public Interests, and Private Politics,” won the book prize of the Society for the Anthropology of North America in 2008.

“I am honored to return to Harvard as the next dean of Harvard Divinity School,” Dr. Frederick said in a news release. “It is a place bustling with conscientious faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends who are committed to the work of justice and human flourishing informed by deep study.”

BRBConline.org or YouTube (Broad Rock Baptist Church) “MAKE

Dr. Frederick

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P.M, COURTROOM #1 PROPERTY VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF HENRICO RAYMOND E. DAVIS, JR., Plaintiff, V. RUSSELL B. DAVIS, et al., Defendants. Case No. CL23-5842 ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is for partition by sale or allotment of certain real property briefly described as 1321 Oakland Road, Henrico County, Virginia, GPIN 804-706-3750 (as more particularly described in the Complaint, the “Property”). It appearing unto the Court, by affidavit filed according to law by the plaintiffs, that there may be

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