‘Fighting for a space’

Deanna Reed and Monica Robinson reflect on hardships and accomplishments as first Black female leaders of Harrisonburg

By K. MAUSER contributing writer

Ten years ago, there had never been a Black woman on Harrisonburg City Council. Now, out of Harrisonburg’s five city council representatives, two of them are Black women: Deanna Reed and Monica Robinson.

Reed, mayor of Harrisonburg, became the first Black woman to be elected into the city council in 2016. She won with a margin of over 9,000 votes — the highest number in the city council’s history, according to Virginia Changemakers.

As for why she won, Reed puts it simply.

“Harrisonburg was ready for me,” she said.

A reflection of the city

Shortly after she was elected to city council, Reed was appointed mayor in 2017. Although Harrisonburg was composed mostly of Democrats, Reed said, both Independents and Republicans voted for her in order to win by such a margin.

“I was able to touch beyond the blue circle,”

Reed said. “And by me doing that, I was able to open the door for others.”

And so she has. The city council is both majority female — herself, Laura Dent and Monica Robinson — as well as majority African-American — herself, Chris Jones and Robinson.

“Now the council reflects the city,” Reed said. According to the United States Census Bureau, the African-American population in Harrisonburg is the second highest after white.

Upon graduating Harrisonburg High School back in 1984, Reed said she was one of only 11 Black students in her senior class, which totaled 150.

“The leadership reflected the community,” Reed said. “So when you would go to city council meetings … it was still white men that were running Harrisonburg when I was growing up.”

One of the reasons she decided to run for council, Reed said, was to create change within the predominantly white and male leadership.

Following her appointment as mayor,

Reed hired the first Black city manager, Eric Campbell; the first Black police chief, Eric English; and the first female police chief, Kelly Warner.

Reed has also overseen substantial changes to the local community, such as starting the construction of a new high school and renovation of an old church to provide a permanent space for a homeless shelter.

Rocktown High School, Harrisonburg’s second high school, is currently under construction now after being approved by city council. “

The high school and homeless shelter are probably my biggest triumphs,” Reed said. “I'm from Harrisonburg. I knew we needed a new high school.”

Reed said the high school would cost about $104 million to build, but that it was a necessity for the community.

“We were able to really take care of the more prominent issues,” Reed said. “And we were able to put that money all across the board and take care of people the way they should be taken care of.”

However, being mayor has its challenges, Reed said.

“If you asked me what my biggest challenges [were],” Reed said, “it was definitely being mayor during the time of a pandemic.” see CITY COUNCIL , page 15 from CITY COUNCIL, page 13

During this time, Reed said homelessness was a prominent issue. She said to keep these people safe, Harrisonburg partnered with JMU in 2020 as well as May through August of 2022 when Open Doors, a local homeless shelter, was temporarily located in JMU’s D-Hub.

“I don't want anybody living out on the street,” Reed said.

Reed said her vision’s “bigger than just a building,” and she hopes to implement various programs for the homeless like education and rehab to be both successful and independent.

Breaking down walls

Robinson is among the most recently elected councilmembers, coming into office Jan. 2. She became the second African-American woman to serve on Harrisonburg’s city council after Reed, Robinson said.

Robinson said she moved to Harrisonburg when she was 10 years old and attended Harrisonburg High School, where she said there was a very distinct divide between the white and Black communities.

“I think one of the biggest victories for me is being alive to see the change from the community as I saw it way back in the day, [the] change into this new community of people,” Robinson said. “Full of color, full of life, full of differences.”

Robinson’s also a JMU alumna. In 2003, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in history, and in 2004, she got her Master of Arts degree in Special Education.

In addition to serving on city council, Robinson said she also helps run the Shenandoah Valley Black Heritage Project and serves as the president of the NAACP chapter in Harrisonburg, which she helped bring to the city in 2002.

“I've always been into social justice,” Robinson said. “I remember, as a younger child, [my grandfather told] us different things about how important it was for us to fight for what was right — for our community and for our people.”

Since moving to Harrisonburg in the ’70s, Robinson said she’s watched Harrisonburg morph from its “not so inclusive

A Wealth Of Health A Wealth Of Health

Animal-assisted therapy’s impact on JMU community

By HANNAH LIFRIERI The Breeze

Francis Tennyson starts his mornings with a hearty breakfast before heading to work. When arriving at the JMU Counseling Center, he’s ready to provide company to JMU’s community.

Francis was the first therapy dog brought to the JMU Counseling Center; Colleen Tennyson, a psychiatrist at the center, is his handler. The idea of animal-assisted therapy (AAT) was first introduced to the center in February 2011.

Leslie Gerrard, associate director for training and licensed clinical psychologist at the Counseling Center, adopted her dog Wicket and trained him to become a therapy dog.

According to Healthline, AAT has many mental health benefits including reducing blood pressure and increasing endorphins that can decrease pain and stress and improve psychological well-being overall.

Where to find them

and accepting ideals” to the embraceful town it is today.

“We have been fighting for space at this table for a long time,” Robinson said. “And I think now that the tide has turned in our favor … it lets people know that this is a possibility that can exist. We no longer have to look at boards or commissions that are made up entirely of white males, or white males and one white female.”

Robinson also said it’s important to her to show young girls who “look like me” that having only one Black woman on city council shouldn’t mean that other Black women shouldn’t run.

“Harrisonburg voted for the candidates it wanted for city council, and two of them happened to be Black women,” councilmember Dany Fleming aid. “I think that says something about Harrisonburg. I think we’re making progress towards breaking down those walls that have historically been denied to people of color.”

Fleming said the fight for equality is not something that should only take place during Black History Month, but a fight that takes place “24/7, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.” He also said he feels like the council has made progress for people of color and other marginalized groups.

“Now I see more freedom for my grandchildren,” Robinson said. “More freedom for my son.”

CONTACT K.Mauser at mauserkk@dukes.jmu.edu. For more on the culture, arts and lifestyle of the JMU and Harrisonburg communities, follow the culture desk on Twitter and Instagram @Breeze_Culture.

Therapy dogs can often be confused with service animals. While both play important roles in many people’s lives, service animals are trained to aid one person who may have a physical or mental disability, according to the JMU Counseling Center’s website. The way to identify these dogs in most cases is by their vest, according to the site. Service dog vests typically say the dog is working and not to pet them.

JMU’s developed an outreach program that includes workshops surrounding the topic of mental health. The dogs can be brought in by their handlers and engage with the students as long as it’s a safe environment.

‘Good joy’

Gerrard said she encourages her clients to let go and forget about their worries when accompanied by the therapy dogs. She also said the Counseling Center encourages students to work with therapy dogs as it creates a human-animal bond. Gerrard explained in some cases, clients can even use the dog to learn how to set boundaries or learn how to be compassionate.

AAT plays a beneficial role here at JMU. Many dogs are willing to lend a helping hand — or paw — whatever the occurrence may be. These dogs go through countless hours of training to assist those on campus through communication skills, role playing or simply offering moral support. See for yourself by making an appointment to see them on the Counseling Center’s website.

Read the full article at breezejmu.org.