Serena wins
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Richmond Free Press © 2015 Paradigm Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.
VOL. 24 NO. 24
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA
www.richmondfreepress.com
Men who lead
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Rayvon to sing in Richmond
JUNE 11-13, 2015
Giving circle aims to strengthen community By Jeremy M. Lazarus
Under a big tent in Mosby Court in Richmond’s East End, dozens of children are painting and participating in other cultural enrichment endeavors in an afterschool program set up by Kinfolks Community, a nonprofit group. The program will continue to operate during the summer and into the fall. A few miles away in the Fulton section of Richmond, the nonprofit Neighborhood Resource Center has set up a recording studio where budding stars can cut their first recordings. Each of the programs has received a $20,000 grant from a new style of philanthropy that is springing up in Richmond and across the country — the giving circle. While Richmond’s Impact 100 — a women’s group in which each member puts up $1,000 — is best known, Kinfolks and NRC secured grants from Richmond’s first African-American giving circle, the Ujima Legacy Fund. Ujima is the creation of three African-
American men concerned about the level of giving among their peers. Their goal is to get more African-Americans, particularly successful men, to start making their presence felt in supporting young people. The founders are Robert L. Dortch Jr., director of community innovation at the Robins Foundation; Reginald E. Gordon, chief executive officer of the Greater Richmond Chapter of the American Red Cross, and Damon S. Jiggetts, executive director of the Peter Paul Development Center in the East End. One day over lunch, they talked about how to build African-American giving. Inspired by the example of the late Thomas Cannon, a postal worker who gave away $100,000 in $1,000 donations, they started the Ujima circle in 2012. Similar to 23 African-American giving circles that now operate in cities across the country, the Richmond men dubbed their circle after the Kwanzaa holiday’s Ujima principle. Ujima is a Swahili word for Please turn to A4
Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press
From left, Robert L. Dortch Jr., Reginald E. Gordon and Damon S. Jiggetts are the founders of the Ujima Legacy Fund. Their goal: To boost the impact of successful African-American men on Richmond philanthropy. Their current focus benefits nonprofits that seek to increase success options for inner-city children.
Woman power
Female candidates claim victory in Tuesday’s primary elections By Jeremy M. Lazarus
James Haskins/Richmond Free Press
Jubilant state Sen. Rosalyn R. Dance hugs a supporter at a Petersburg restaurant Tuesday night after her Democratic primary victory over Delegate Joseph E. Preston in the 16th Senate District.
Female political power was on display in Tuesday’s primary elections in the Richmond area. In separate Democratic and Republican party contests, women repeatedly emerged as the candidates of choice among the voters who went to the polls, leaving male rivals in the dust. Women already hold three of the five House of Delegate seats representing the city, and the new results appear to continue a trend of change in the area’s once male-dominated political scene. Nowhere was woman power more evident than in the contested races for party nominations in three area Senate districts. The winners included Democratic Sen. Rosalyn R. Dance in the 16th Senate District that includes part of Richmond, and two Republican newcomers, Amanda Chase in the 11th Senate
District in Chesterfield County and Dr. Siobhan Dunnavant in the 12th Senate District in Henrico County. Currently, only eight of the 40 state Senate members are women, including Sen. Dance. And only one of the eight is a Republican. Men did win, notably Chesterfield County Supervisor Daniel A. Gecker in the 10th Senate District that includes part of Richmond. Mr. Gecker led in party endorsements and money and captured the three-way Democratic primary with 46 percent of the vote. He had to overcome a strong challenge from environmental lobbyist Emily C. Francis, who beat Mr. Gecker in the Richmond precincts. She wasn’t able to beat his strong showing in the Chesterfield portion of the district. Former Delegate Alex Please turn to A4
Texas cop resigns over pool party debacle Free Press wire reports
MCKINNEY, Texas A white policeman seen in a cellphone video tossing a 14-year-old, bathing suit-clad black girl to the ground and burying his knees in her back resigned Tuesday from the McKinney police force. Former McKinney Police Cpl. Eric Casebolt had been placed on administrative leave as the department undertook an investigation of his actions during the June 5 disturbance in the city about 30 miles north of Dallas. The incident raises new questions about racial bias in U.S. policing and excessive use of force by police — in this instance, against children. In the video, Mr. Casebolt is seen shouting obscenities at black youths in a multiracial crowd, shoving a black teenage girl, briefly pointing his gun at black youths and violently slamming Dajerria Becton, 14, to the ground, pinning his knee in her back. At one point, he had both knees on her back. The seven-minute video posted on YouTube had been viewed 9 million times as of Tuesday morning. It shows officers responding to the incident, which police said started when scores of young people attended a party with a disc jockey at a community pool and refused requests to leave. According to neighbors, a woman who lives in the community reserved the pool for a party, said Benét Embry, a black local radio personality who witnessed the incident. The homeowners association limits the number of guests each homeowner may have at the pool to two. But about 130 people, mostly kids, showed up. At one point, several kids began jumping over the fence to get into the pool area and were causing a disturbance, Mr. Embry said. A couple of fights broke out.
“This was a teenage party that got out of hand,” Mr. Embry said. Police said some of the young people did not live in the area and did not have permission to be at the pool. A white teenager captured the events on the video that went viral. In the video, Ms. Becton repeatedly cries out, “Call my momma!” as Mr. Casebolt pins her to the ground, only moments after drawing his handgun on other teens. “On your face!” he yelled at the girl, amid screaming from a crowd of onlookers. After Mr. Casebolt’s resignation, McKinney Police Chief Greg Conley called Mr. Casebolt’s actions “indefensible.” Chief Conley said at a news conference Tuesday that Mr. Casebolt, 41, resigned “on his own will” while under investigation and will get to keep his pension and benefits. “Our policies, our training and our practice do Please turn to A4
Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press
Gone fishing Cousins Kalen Gilliam, right, and Kynedy Jackson enjoy time together as they fish Saturday in Shields Lake at the annual Family Fishing Fair in Byrd Park. They were among hundreds of people who turned out on the beautiful sunny day to cast their lines. The event was organized by the city’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities. Please see more photos on B2.
VSU rejects critical state audit By Jeremy M. Lazarus
Virginia State University has politely, but firmly rejected many of the findings in a scathing state audit and ignored others in stoutly defending its financial practices. The 133-year-old historically black university was put on the hot seat when a draft copy of the state auditor’s report for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2014, was provided to the Free Press and other media. Interim VSU President Pamela V. Hammond issued a mild public statement accepting the critical audit that was made official last week — just a few weeks before the current fiscal year 2015
closes on June 30. But she and her staff took a different, tougher tack in the school’s written response that is included with the 2014 audit. The audit spotlighted problems that arose during the tenure of Dr. Keith T. Miller, who resigned as president last Dr. Hammond fall, and VSU’s former chief financial officer, David J. Meadows. Rather than throwing his predecessor under the bus, the school’s current chief financial officer, Kevin Davenport, directly challenged
the auditor’s findings in VSU’s response to the report. For example, Mr. Davenport rebuffed the auditor’s claim that VSU risked having to heavily subsidize its cafeteria operations because it might not sell enough meal plans to students to cover its contractual obligation to the provider, Thompson Hospitality. “The goals of the food services contract are realistic and attainable,” Mr. Davenport, VSU vice president for administration and finance, stated. Under Thompson’s new contract that goes Please turn to A4