Hanover’s Confederate school names eliminated By George Copeland Jr.
1959 during Massive Resistance. African-American students could not attend the school. Stonewall Jackson Middle, named for another Confederate general, opened in 1969, just months after the county submitted its school desegregation plan to the Please turn to A4
Richmond Free Press © 2020 Paradigm Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.
VOL. 29 NO. 30
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA
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The Hanover County School Board voted 4-3 Tuesday night to change the names and mascots of Lee-Davis High School and Stonewall Jackson Middle School. The vote signals a sea change in the overwhelmingly white
county with an ugly legacy of racial segregation and animosity, and follows months of pressure by students, advocates and the NAACP to remove the names honoring Confederates from the public school buildings. Lee-Davis High School, named for Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee and Confederate President Jefferson Davis, opened in
JULY 16-18, 2020
Online only Threat of COVID-19 keeping RPS students at home
Questions swirl around judge
By Ronald E. Carrington
By Jeremy M. Lazarus
Lawyers representing Mayor Levar M. Stoney and the city have rushed to the Virginia Supreme Court, requesting the state’s highest court overturn a Richmond Circuit Court judge’s 60-day injunction barring the mayor from using emergency authority to take down Confederate statues. The request was filed Tuesday. No date for a hearing has been set on whether Judge Bradley B. Cavedo overstepped his authority. The action followed a July 9 hearing at which Judge Cavedo, the silver-haired, 18-year court veteran who lives on Monument Avenue near the former site of the statue of Confederate Please turn to A4
Ronald E. Carrington/Richmond Free Press
Members of the Richmond School Board prepare to vote on a reopening plan for the fall during a virtual meeting via Zoom on Tuesday night. The four-hour meeting was viewed by more than 17,000 people.
Free COVID-19 testing Free community testing for COVID-19 continues. The Richmond and Henrico County health districts are offering testing at the following locations: DATE
Location
Address
Thursday, July 16, 9 to 11 a.m.
Tuckahoe Middle School
9000 Three Chopt Road in Western Henrico County
Tuesday, July 21, 9 to 11 a.m.
Hotchkiss Field 4701 E. Brookland Community Center Park Blvd., North Side
Thursday, July 23, 4 to 6 p.m.
Randolph Community Center
5121 Nine Mile Road, Eastern Henrico County
Saturday, July 25, 9 to 11 a.m.
Fairfield Middle School
5121 Nine Mile Road, Eastern Henrico County
People are advised to bring an umbrella in case of inclement weather or to use as shade from the sun while waiting in line. Appointments are encouraged by calling the Richmond and Henrico COVID-19 Hotline at (804) 205-3501 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Walk-up testing will be offered while test supplies last. The Chesterfield Health District is hosting free testing for those who are uninsured or underinsured at the following locations: DATE
Location
Address
Saturday, July 18 9 a.m. to noon
The Heights Baptist Church
17201 Jefferson Davis Highway Drive-thru testing only
Falling Creek Ironworks Park
6407 Jefferson Davis Highway
Crystal Lake Apartments
3501 Meadowdale Blvd.
Wednesday, July 22 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 29 5 to 7 p.m.
Testing is limited, with some walk-up testing available. People with COVID-19 symptoms should make an appointment for testing by calling the Chesterfield Health Department at (804) 318-8207. State officials are ramping up enforcement of mask and social distancing rules after a sudden rise in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in Virginia. On Wednesday, state Department of Health officials reported 1,084 new positive cases of the coronavirus, pushing the statewide total to 73,527. That’s an increase of 6,152 cases since last week at this time. Hospitalizations were up 328 from last week to 6,905, while deaths also increased by 87 to 1,992. In Richmond, the number of positive cases has increased by 152 since last week to 2,473, with a total of 36 deaths. Employees of the state health department and the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control will conduct unannounced visits to ensure that restaurants and businesses are adhering to face covering and social distancing rules, Gov. Ralph S. Northam said Tuesday. He encouraged businesses to actively enforce regulations or risk having their licenses revoked. He said patrons who refuse to abide by the rules are trespassing and businesses can choose to call the police, he said. Gov. Northam said officials also are considering reducing the permitted size of public gatherings.
Richmond Public Schools students will continue learning online this fall when the 2020-21 academic year starts Sept. 8. The Richmond School Board voted 8-1 Tuesday night to reopen schools only virtually this fall for all grade levels as a matter of health and safety during the coronavirus pandemic. The vote confirmed reopening under Option E — fully virtual learning — that was supported by the Richmond Education Association. The association, which represents the school district’s educators, called for 100 percent virtual instruction in a letter last week to Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras. The letter detailed the concerns about teachers going back to the classroom to teach during COVID-19, citing many of the environmental shortcomings of the buildings – poor air quality, HVAC issues and open-concept classrooms — that could put Please turn to A4
Chief Smith embraces police reform, but wants to control it from the catbird seat By Jeremy M. Lazarus
Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press
Richmond Police Chief Gerald M. Smith is getting to know the Richmond community, learning the department and working to boost the morale of officers in the wake of recent protests.
New Richmond Police Chief Gerald M. Smith is raising a yellow caution flag for those pushing to reform the department and support budget cuts to “defund the police.” In his first news conference since taking the helm July 1, Chief Smith told reporters Tuesday that he and ranking officers would need to play a major role in any discussion of reforms or budget reductions and that he would have to have the final say on putting recommendations in place. “We are the professionals,” Chief Smith said. “We are the
ones who know how the profession works, what will work, what the rate of change can be and how fast it should go.” Chief Smith, 51, served 29 years with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department in North Carolina before taking the Richmond job. He is still learning the Richmond police force while trying to build up the sagging morale of front line officers and getting out in the community so people can get to know him. He said he is not opposed to vigorous discussion of police reform, and sees that it likely Please turn to A4
Washington NFL team drops racist name Free Press wire report
The most polarizing name in North American professional sports is gone. Washington’s NFL team announced Monday that it will retire its offensive name and Indian head logo in a decision made after sponsors stepped up pressure to scrap a name that the franchise has used since 1933 but long has been criticized as racist by Native American rights groups. Team owner Dan Snyder, who bought the franchise in 1999, previously said he would never change the name but softened his stance after FedEx, which owns the naming rights to the team’s suburban stadium in Landover, Md., urged the NFL club to rebrand. The team said on July 3 it would conduct a thorough review of the club’s name. “Today, we are announcing we will be retiring the … name and logo upon completion of this review,” the team said in a statement. The team did not provide a timeline for when the review
would be completed. Its statement did not specify a reason for the name change, but it comes at a time of reckoning over racial injustice, iconography and racism in the United States. Mr. Snyder and Ron Rivera, the team’s new head coach, “are working closely to develop a new name and design approach that will enhance the standing of our proud, tradition rich franchise and inspire our sponsors, fans and community for the next 100 years,” the team said. “We commend the Washington NFL team for eliminating a brand that disrespected, demeaned and stereotyped all Native people,” the National Congress of American Indians said in a statement on Monday. “And we call on all other sports teams and corporate brands to retire all caricatures of Native Americans that they use as their mascots.” Critics have ramped up pressure on the team to change its name following nationwide and global racial justice protests in the wake of George Floyd’s killing on May 25 at the hands of a
Minneapolis police officer. In June, a group of more than 80 socially minded investment firms, collectively with more than $620 billion in assets under management, urged FedEx, Nike and PepsiCo to terminate relationships with the team unless it changed its name. PepsiCo and Nike both fol-
lowed FedEx’s lead and said they welcomed the call for a review of the team’s name. The pressure from FedEx was particularly important because Frederick Smith, the company’s chief executive officer, owns part of the team. Please turn to A4
Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press
Mommy and me Patricia Robinson, 29, and her daughter, Dejahna Tyler, 7, enjoy the sunshine and each other’s company during a recent outing at Jefferson Park in Church Hill. The family lives in North Side.