NJG-Volume-124_No-05_February_1_2024

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Vol. 124, No. 5 | $1.50

February 1, 2024 - February 7, 2024

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PART ONE:

MUSIC:

The Roots of Black Art & Entertainment

2024

By Leonard E. Colvin

the contributions For centuries, Western intellectuals minimized of people of African descent to the arts as well as history, even Chief Reporter Emeritus denied or minimized the as African artistry in many New Journal and Guide genres was mimicked and or contributions of people of African stolen. There is an unbroken “African-American Art and Entertainment” is the theme descent to the arts as well as history, chain of Black art production from antiquity to the present. of the 2024 edition of Black even as African artistry in many The chain links to the New History Month (BHM). It is World began in Central Africa, influenced by the diaspora of genres was mimicked and or stolen.

Egypt, and Europe.

Black people from the African Continent to the Caribbean, South Americans, and the Black American experience.

The African-American influence has been paramount in visual and performing arts, literature, fashion, folklore, language, music, architecture, culinary, and other forms of cultural expression.

African-Americans used art to create culture, preserve history and community memory, and empower.

Artistic and cultural movements, such as the New Negro, Black Arts, Black Renaissance, hip-hop, and Afro futurism, have been

led by people of African descent and set the standard for popular trends around the world. In 2024, we examine the varied history and life of African-American arts and artisans.

For centuries, Western intellectuals denied or

One of the links was music and Africans in the Americas. In Virginia, where the first Africans appeared in an English Colony, despite enslavement, Blacks contributed their cultural genius to cultivating musical traditions. ...see BHM, page 2A

BLACK HISTORY MONTH 2024

Newport News Native Made A Name For Herself & Virginia

By Rosaland Tyler

The Pearl Bailey mural in Newport As some observe the News puts a 2024 Black History Month theme, “Africanfamiliar face on described the statue as “not league at the park which also salvageable” during a press offers educational programs. Americans and the Arts,” this year’s theme. conference that day.

“Yes, it’s really the Pearl Bailey mural

DESECRATED JACKIE ROBINSON STATUE FOUND BURNED FIVE DAYS AFTER THEFT WICHITA, KS Five days after a statue of Jackie Robinson was cut at the ankles and stolen from a public park, it was found burned in a trash can.

On Tuesday, January 30, fire crews found the burned remnants of the bronze statue that went missing on January 25, cut at the baseball hero’s ankles.

Robinson was the first Photo: Wikipedia player to break Major League Baseball’s color barrier in Jackie Robinson 1947.

According to the Associated Press, the Wichita discovered what appeared to fire department received a call be pieces of the statue. Police about a trash can on fire and spokesperson Andrew Ford

Photo: Wikipedia

Pearl Bailey

“If it turns out it was racially motivated, then obviously that is a deeper societal issue and it certainly would make this a much more concerning theft,” said Bob Lutz, Executive Director of the Little League nonprofit that commissioned the sculpture. “We’ll wait and see what this turns out to be.”

The statue was installed in 2022 in McAdams Park, paid for by League 42, which is named after Robinson’s Dodgers number. The AP noted roughly 600 children play in the youth baseball

disheartening to see the remnants of the statue and the disgraceful way in which it has been disrespected,” Wichita police Chief Joe Sullivan said.

“There will be arrests, but we’re going to make sure that when we do, we will have a solid case,” he said.

Jackie Robinson is not only a sports legend but also a highly regarded civil rights icon.

Fundraising through local businesses and online has begun to build and install a replacement statue.

Associate Editor New Journal and Guide

in Newport News puts a familiar face on this year’s theme, due to the fact that Bailey had a profound impact on her hometown and the nation.

The name of the Tonyand-Emmy Awards-winning singer graces the Pearl Bailey Library, located at 2510 Wickham Ave., in Newport News. The library offers numerous services including computer labs, literacy stations, printers, iPad kiosks, cell phone charging stations, and bike racks. Bailey’s face also graces an outdoor mural In Annapolis. It was erected

in 2021 in Annapolis’ 2nd Ward.

Bailey’s Annapolis mural is painted outside of the Whitmore Parking Garage. Located in a nowdemolished Black business district that was torn down during urban renewal, it once housed at least 33 minority businesses and numerous homes. Bailey used to perform at many Annapolis businesses including Susie’s Tea Room, Dixie Hotel, and The Washington Hotel. ...see Bailey, page 5A

BLACK PRESS SPARKS DIALOGUE BHM PROFILE: ON HISTORY OF BLACK-JEWISH TIES ZORA NEALE HURSTON

By Stacy M. Brown

Senior National Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia NNPA NEWSWIRE The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) orchestrated a transformative Town Hall between Black and Jewish leaders at the AfricanAmerican Research Library and Cultural Center in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, creating a pivotal moment during the trade association’s 2024 Midwinter Training Conference. The NNPA is a trade association representing the more than 250 AfricanAmerican-owned newspapers and media companies that comprise the original Black Press of America.

Photo: Courtesy

(L-R) Rep. Deborah Wasserman Schultz, Dr. Benjamin Chavis, Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick.

The Town Hall was an NNPA initiative conceived well before the Oct. 7 attack in Israel by Hamas.

The objective of the Town Hall was to delve into and fortify the relationship between Blacks and Jews

in America, an initiative conceived well before the October 7 attack in Israel by Hamas. The event explored

Plant-Based Diet Helps Reduce Health Risks NORFOLK – Participants in the Norfolk Healthy Living Center’s Plant Based Cooking class have completed their third of four weeks. The course was created to promote healthy plant-based living and offer diabetes prevention education. ...see ... see page 2B

historical connections in the Black-Jewish relationship and laid the foundation for ongoing dialogue and collaboration, which NNPA President and CEO and event moderator Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. called a beacon of unity in the face of rising hate.

Bobby Henry, the charismatic NNPA Chair and Westside Gazette Publisher, set the stage, emphasizing the urgent need to address diversity, equity, and inclusion in Florida. Recognizing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and state GOP lawmakers’ divisive stance towards various communities, Henry said he respected the decision of other organizations to boycott Florida. ...see NNPA, page 7A

JAN. 7, 1891 – JAN. 28, 1960

AUTHOR, ANTHROPOLOGIST & FILMMAKER “I think that you will discover that my viewpoint is that I do not consider Negroes as special additives among humanity. I see us as people, subject to the same desires and emotions as others ... That is the way I see Negroes, and that is the way I write about them.”

New Journal and Guide

2A | February 1, 2024 - February 7, 2024

Black slaves provided the music Rainbow PUSH Coalition Installs BHM dances for Christmas parties Dr. Frederick D. Haynes, III As CEO Continued from page 1A and and other events in “the Big House”

DALLAS Dr. Frederick D. Haynes, III assumes official duty as the President and CEO of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition as of Thursday, February 1, 2024, during a sold-out installation event.

This comes 6 months after the announcement of Dr. Haynes as Rev. Jesse Jackson’s successor during the Rainbow PUSH Coalition’s national convention.

The very next day, Feb. 2, under his new leadership, Dr. Haynes hosts the President’s Inaugural Social Justice Conference at Paul Quinn College. Rev. Jesse Jackson is expected to be in attendance at both the installation and conference.

The Rainbow PUSH Coalition President’s Inaugural Social Justice Conference is a call to action as well as a reminder that the fight for social justice is far from over and requires the collective effort of every individual to bring about meaningful change. Sessions include the Social Justice Master Class, Creating Economic Structures that are Just, the Disinherited Conference, and Curriculum for the 2024 Election, the last of which is applicable for churches, organizations, and individuals.

The Rainbow PUSH Coalition (RPC) is an international human and civil rights organization founded by Rev. Jackson in 1996.

R P C seeks to empower people through the effective use of grassroots advocacy, issue orientation, and connections between the greater community and the disenfranchised.

Dr. Haynes, a 2016 inductee to the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame, is already focused on making positive change in his new role, with a national agenda to address issues with courts, the end of affirmative action, economic justice, educational equity and justice, and the effects of climate change on communities of color.

He is best known as a social justice pastor and advocate for marginalized communities.

He has modeled his ministry and leadership like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., focused on the intersections of faith and justice.

The new Rainbow PUSH leader has received numerous awards and honors for his ministry and activism, which match his agenda. In 2012, Ebony Magazine named him to its Power 100 list of most influential AfricanAmericans. He was also

NEW JOURNAL AND GUIDE P.O. Box 209, Norfolk,VA 23501 Phone: (757) 543-6531 Fax: (757) 543-7620 PUBLISHER AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Brenda H. Andrews ASSISTANT TO THE PUBLISHER: Desmond Perkins ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Rosaland Tyler CHIEF REPORTER EMERITUS: Leonard E. Colvin STAFF REPORTER: Melissa Spellman PRODUCTION: Tony Holobyte New Journal and Guide (USPS 0277560/ISSN 8096) is published weekly on Thursday for $50 per year, $30 per year for six months by New Journal and Guide Publishing, Incorporated,5127 East Va. Beach Blvd., Suite 100, Norfolk, VA 23510. Periodicals Postage Paid at Norfolk, VA 23501. Postmaster: Send address changes to New Journal and Guide, P.O. Box 209, Norfolk, VA 23501. The New Journal and Guide is not responsible for any unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or related materials.

In addition to this new role at the helm of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, Dr. Haynes is the senior pastor of Dr. Frederick D. Haynes, III Friendship-West Baptist Church, inducted into the National Black College Alumni Hall a megachurch of Fame.

In 2022, Dr. Haynes in Dallas, Texas, was awarded the Joseph R. Biden Jr. Presidential with more than Lifetime Achievement Leadership Award in 13,000 members.

Community Service by President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. He also serves in various leadership capacities in organizations that champion social change and education. In 2003, he founded the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference along with Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. and Dr. Iva E. Carruthers. Dr. Haynes is on the board of the Conference of National Black Churches, the National Action Network, and the IC3 Church Growth and Development Conference.

In addition to this new role at the helm of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, Dr. Haynes is the senior pastor of Friendship-West Baptist

Church, a megachurch in Dallas, Texas, with more than 13,000 members. He teaches college courses and workshops at several institutions of higher learning, including Paul Quinn College and serves on the Board of Trustees for Paul Quinn College as well as various other boards, particularly those in underserved and minority communities. Additionally, he is the namesake of the Dr. Frederick D. Haynes, III Global Preparatory School, located on the campus of Paul Quinn College, which serves students grades 6-12 who seek to enter the International Baccalaureate program.

Recently, at the Slover Library in Norfolk, Dr. Gregg Kimball, former Director of Public Services and Outreach at The Library of Virginia, provided a multimedia presentation of the evolution of Black and other music genres in Virginia and this region.

Kimball featured rare photographs and period recordings highlighting some of the region’s significant stars and its most important musical contributions.

Initially, Kimball paid tribute to the pre-colonial musical traditions of the indigenous peoples of the 11 ‘recognized’ tribes, particularly the Nansemond Tribes of this region.

Kimball said natives had “their own sounds” musically and instruments such as “a long cane flute, rattles or drums used during pow-wows,” which created a terrible noise to the ears of the white colonists.

The drum circles and instruments are still heard today during the Nansemond tribes’ annual pow-wow in August.

Kimball noted the legacy of Black musical creation occurred at the same time when the English imported Black people to be slaves in Virginia.

He said Black slaves became skilled at playing the fiddle or the violin.

The difference, he said,

or corn shucking. The tunes were created in England or of the slaves’ own creation. between the two “was who was playing it.”

In Africa, he said, a string instrument called the Akonting existed. Its descendant, the Banjo, was used by slaves in the colonies to create music.

During estate sales in this area, when slaves were sold, their mastery of musical instruments such as the violin was included in the list of their skills.

He said if they escaped, the master posted notices indicating many Black male slaves “may possess an instrument” like a violin.

Black slaves provided the music and dances for Christmas parties and other events in “the Big House” or corn shucking. The tunes were created in England or of the slaves’ own creation.

The early music of Virginia included the spirituals sung by slaves as a means to cope with the brutal work in the fields or worship services away from whites, which would restrict them, fearing slaves were plotting rebellions.

Kimball said that examples of those spirituals were captured in the 1930s at Hampton Institute (now Hampton University) by

Professor Roscoe Lewis for the Work Progress Administration (WPA), who recorded former slaves singing them in this area and in Petersburg for the Library of Congress. ◆◆◆ After the Civil War, former slaves formed churches and other institutions, such as the first public schools and colleges, to illustrate their desire for an empowering community.

On the Virginia Peninsula, Black former slaves who collected in Hampton and around Fort Monroe before the end of the war created Hampton Institute. It formed its version of Jubilee Singers, akin to the one at Fisk.

Whites were fascinated by music, and the schools used these groups to benefit themselves.

Kimball said educated Black music teachers trained at Virginia Union taught their students to perform more refined or “concertized” versions of the spirituals than those sung by the Black field hands. ...see BHM, page 7A

From The Guide’s Archives Archives taken from the pages of the (New) Journal and Guide Feb. 1, 1933 Edition of the Guide Essay Contest, Speakers And Prizes For Negro History Week NORFOLK Two prizes will be given for essays on Negro History in the latest feature of the Negro History Week observance February 1219 which is planned by committees throughout the city and the Journal and Guide. The contest is open to students attending Booker T. Washington High School and St. Joseph’s in Norfolk and I.C. Norcom High School in Portsmouth.

Papers (essays) of not more than 1,000 words are to be submitted to the principals of the respective schools not later than noon February 14, on the subject, “Why Study Negro History?”

The purpose of the essay contest is to get students to become interested in the subject and in recognizing the advantages of more attention to knowing all the facts concerning the part men and women of color have played in civilizationbuilding.

All organizations joining in any way with the observance of Negro History Week are requested to furnish plans to the Journal and Guide.

A detailed program of the varied activities’ time, speakers and groups sponsoring them will be published next week.

The first prize will be $5, made possible through the generosity of the Book Lovers Club, one of the oldest groups in Norfolk.

Lucille Douglass is the President. The second prize is a gift from Attorney J. Eugene Diggs, a club member.

Feb. 1, 1937 Edition of the Guide Expect large enrollment At Norfolk Unit NORFOLK As the third semester of the successful operation nears its close, the Norfolk Unit Virginia Union University completes plans

for the new term which from all indications will witness the largest enrollment in the history of the school. It is believed that the school will have a capacity enrollment of 130 students which will force the unit to acquire larger quarters.

During the new term the curriculum for both the day and evening classes will be enlarged with many courses appearing for the first time.

Among the new courses will be Botany, public speaking, sociology, and political science in the day session. The program for the evening school consisting of languages and social sciences will be formulated to meet the demands of registration.

Hearst Bans “Negro” From Big Headlines NEW YORK In response to a protest from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), William Randolph Hearst this week ordered his editors to refrain from using the word “Negro” in bold headlines.

The word will be used only as a means of indication in smaller headlines or in the body of news stories.

The NAACP protests grew out of the murder of Mary Harriet Case in the Jackson Heights section of New York City on January 11. The Hearst papers appearing January 12 carried a headline: “Negro citizens deeply resent racial labels in Crime stories especially since no racial designation is made for other criminals or suspects.”

The NAACP telegram cited the fact that the Nancy Titterton Murder, last spring, in New York did not headline the fact that her murderer was an Italian.

In his reply, Hearst wired, “You are perfectly right, and I am so instructing editors.”

Hearst papers this week policies, bankbook and have not used the word in money. any major headlines.

Feb. 1, 1964 Practically all the New Edition of the Guide York Dailies observed the same referring to the colored Norfolk Wants Passive prisoner in the murder case Resistance Made A Crime as “porter” or “suspect” or ‘Tube Killer.”

RICHMOND If Norfolk City Council has its way passive Man Believed To Have resistance, such as sitting or Escaped As Tenement lying down when police have Collapses invited you to come along to be locked up, is going to be a NORFOLK form of resisting arrest.

Where a two-story brick The Norfolk delegation tenement house once stood to the Virginia General only a pile of bricks is now Assembly has been asked at 823-825 Landing Street to sponsor legislation to in Norfolk. The house was amend the state law on resisting arrest. Civil rights a shell of bricks because demonstrators and others looters had taken all of the who declined to cooperate framework for firewood, in their arrest would have collapsing on Sunday night an additional charge against hurling hundreds of bricks them.

Another request by the across the street and against delegation with a racial twist neighboring houses. asks for amendment of the It was reported by state constitution to eliminate neighbors and passersby listings of poll tax and real that an unidentified man estate records according was chopping wood in the to race. The amendment’s house prior to the crash but proposal originated with the it was not known whether Norfolk Citizens Advisory or not he escaped. In one Committee. picture neighbors can be Dapper Beckworth On seen searching the wreckage Trial For Evers’ Death for wood.

Meanwhile in By Al Kuettner Philadelphia, a man is seeking $10,000 in JACKSON, MISS (UPI) Byron DeLa Beckwith, a damages from the Fidelity calm and dapper Mississippi Philadelphia Bank due to Delta fertilizer salesman, went injuries he sustained during on trial for his life charged a recent slum cave-in where with the 1963 slaying of civil six were killed. A suit was rights activist Medgar Evers.

Three members of the first filed in Common Pleas panel called into the jury box Court by Wardell Brown. He were excused from duty when is represented by Attorney they told Circuit Court Judge Raymond Pace Alexander.

Leon Henrick they had “moral Brown contends that scruples” against imposition because of the building’s of the death penalty in any collapse, he sustained burns case.

Dist. Attorney Williams all over his body. His coalWaller also questioned each burning stove crashed as jury prospect about his the building fell. The hot feelings on the racial issue. coals burned him about “There is a race element in the body, he said. He was this case, and we might as well buried for three hours under get down to it,” Waller said. the wreckage. He also There were no indications complained he lost all of as the trial of Beckwith began his earthly effects, including that any demonstrations four suits of clothing, against him were being planned by Negroes. Most two overcoats, shirts, of the spectators in the haberdashery, his insurance early hours of the trial were

Negroes who were allowed to enter the main courtroom after prospective jurors answered the roll call.

Beckwith arrived in the courtroom precisely at 9 a.m. and was as chipper as ever. He wore a freshly pressed blue suit with a white handkerchief in the lapel pocket.

Selection of a jury was expected to take several days because of the meticulous way in which each prospect was questioned.

There were seven Negroes among the total called for duty in the Beckwith case.

Spectators entering the main courtroom, or its upstairs balcony, were searched thoroughly by police and sheriff’s deputies.

The judge said, “I am sorry, but we are not going to have another Dallas in Jackson,” referring to the killing of Lee Harvey Oswald, the alleged assassin of President Kennedy before he stood trial for the case.

Negro Guests Walk Out On “Darkie’ Joke RICHMOND Five Negroes attending the annual banquet of the Richmond Chamber of Commerce walked out last week in protest of a joke they regarded as insulting.

Two of the guests are members of the chamber.

The group left objecting to a joke which used the word “darkey” which is a byword among white people.

The joke was told by John W. Smith, outgoing president of the Chamber and president of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad.

The incident occurred just before an address by Senator George A. Smathers (D-Fla).

Smith forgot to make his annual report while introducing new Chamber of Commerce officers.

When he remembered his oversight, he said he took the microphone again and told a short impromptu story to add a light touch to his forgetfulness.

The chamber recently admitted three Negroes to membership for the first time.

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New Journal and Guide

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EATONVILLE:

The Historic Town of Zora Neale Hurston

PROFESSOR EMERITUS OF SOCIOLOGY VIRGINIA TECH

Dr. E. J. ERNEST WILKINS JR. – By Faye Williams, Esq. (Ret.) AFRICAN-AMERICAN SCIENTIST

Jesse Ernest Wilkins, Jr. is often described as one of America’s Jesse Ernest Wilkins, Jr. is often described as most important contemporary one of America’s most important contemporary mathematicians. When he finished mathematicians. When he finished his Ph.D. at 19, he his Ph.D. at 19, he was hailed by the was hailed by the national national press as a “negro genius.” press as a “negro genius.”

By Wornie Reed, Ph.D.

Wilkins (1923-2011) was a prominent AfricanAmerican mathematician and physicist who worked at the University of Chicago Met Lab during the Manhattan Project.

The Manhattan Project was the research and development mission during World War II that produced the first nuclear weapons.

Wilkins was a math prodigy. He entered the University of Chicago in 1936, and within six years he obtained three degrees in mathematics (BA in 1940, MS in 1941, and Ph.D. in 1942).

After graduation, Wilkins taught mathematics at the Tuskegee Institute before joining the University of Chicago Met Lab in 1944 at age 21 and soon began working with the top physicists of the time on what was perhaps the most consequential physics research project of the century. Working in collaboration with Arthur Compton and Enrico Fermi, Wilkins researched methods for producing fissionable nuclear materials, focusing on plutonium. Compton was a previous Nobel Prize winner in physics and Fermi was the creator of the world’s first nuclear reactor.

Like many scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project, Wilkins was interested in the potential peaceful applications of atomic energy. In 1945 Wilkins, along with seventy other Manhattan Project scientists working at the Met Lab, signed a petition to President Truman.

The petition argued for restraint in the use of atomic bombs: “The war has to be brought speedily to a successful conclusion and attacks by atomic bombs may very well be an effective method of warfare. We feel, however, that such attacks on Japan could not be justified, at least not until the terms which will be imposed after the war on Japan were made public in detail, and Japan were given an opportunity to surrender.”

As he worked on the Manhattan Project, Wilkins’ contributions to nuclear reactor physics uncovered three scientific effects--named the Wilkins effect, the Wigner-Wilkins spectra, and the Wilkins spectra.

From 1950 to 1960, he worked at the Nuclear Development Corporation of America (NDA).

Remarkably, he continued his education at New York

University, obtaining a BA in mechanical engineering in 1957 and an MA in the same field in 1960.

In 1970, Wilkins became the Distinguished Professor of Applied Mathematical Physics at Howard University and founded the university’s doctoral program in mathematics.

Wilkins had a long and distinguished career in nuclear physics, including serving as president of the American Nuclear Society from 1974-1975.

The American Nuclear Society (ANS) is the premier professional society serving the nuclear industry, with approximately 11,000 scientists, engineers, educators, students, and other associate members.

Wilkins received many awards during his 61year career; however, an honor from his first alma mater might stand out.

Room 209, aka the “Tea Room,” in Eckhart Hall at the University of Chicago is a place of mathematics department gatherings, historically presided over by a portrait of the department’s founding chairperson.

However, in 2007, a picture of J. Ernest Wilkins, Jr. was prominently added to the wall.

The organization holds its annual (TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM) meeting in Growing up, I learned a lot about Black History.

Orlando, Florida, Of course, I learned some things about Zora Neale a few miles from Hurston, but nothing about Eatonville, Florida – her Eatonville ... This hometown. It was not until year we held I began visiting Bus Boys and Poets Restaurant in Washington, DC that I Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq. (Ret.) our meeting in learned about Eatonville.

Eatonville and I met the owner Andy HER COMMUNITY. Shallal. He named rooms The annual festival is learned so much in his restaurant for named for Zora Neale historic places and figures Hurston. history. and I became curious about the town. Later I became a member of the Board of the World Conference of Mayors and learned about Historic Black Towns and Settlements.

The organization holds its annual meeting in Orlando, Florida a few miles from Eatonville, and we always attend the Zora Festival after our conference. This year we held our meeting in Eatonville and learned so much history!

Zora Neale Hurston. If you don’t know Zora, let me introduce her. She is the sister who said “I think that you will discover that my viewpoint is that I do not consider Negroes as special additives among humanity.

I see us as people, subject to the same desires and emotions as others…That is the way I see Negroes, and that is the way I write about them.” I suggest you read a book compiled and edited by Dr. N.Y. Nithiri – our host.

The name of the book is ZORA! A WOMAN AND

This year we held our meetings in this small town. What a perfect place it was! A lot of history was added when numerous visitors came from Africa.

Other highlights from the conference were speakers Dr. Kenneth Harris, President of the National Business League, Dr. Charles DeBow, President of the National Black Chamber of Commerce, and Shaquane Teasley, CEO of Agate Solutions. They gave us an impressive number of ideas for community building and success.

We had a speaker from USAID, Assistant Administrator, Monde Muyangwa who eloquently explained the work the United States does in Africa. She was informative on projects in which both Africans and African-Americans may participate in the programs.

During the preconference, Dr. Abdoulaye Mbengue who is the WCM VP for Africa, Executive

Director for the late Mayor John Smith Executive Leadership Institute and the WCM African office, held a leadership training session for mayors in remembrance of the late Mayor John Smith. Hobson City, Alabama mayor Alberta McCrory chairs this Committee and Dr. Mbengue chairs the Africa Committee.

We had speakers who gave lectures on Artificial Intelligence, Agriculture, raising resources for running towns, climate change and water management systems.

Commissioner Samuel Ings served as Chair of the Conference, as well as Chair of the Resolutions Committee. I served as Vice Chair of the Resolutions Committee.

We passed resolutions of support and recognition on many subjects. The first one was for the restoration of Haiti. ...see Eatonville, page 5A

Miscarriage is Not a Crime, Medically Necessary Abortion Should Not be Either Biden’s LNG Decision: Yvette Cabrera, The Hope Young People wrote When Pregnancy Have Been Waiting For Becomes A

By Julianne Malveaux

By Ben Jealous

(TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM) James Hiatt lives in an area along the Mississippi River in Louisiana that has been dubbed “Cancer Alley.” Teeming with chemical plants and oil and gas refineries, the air the residents of this area breathe contains more carcinogens than anywhere else in the country.

One of those oil and gas facilities is the Calcasieu Pass liquified natural gas (LNG) terminal, which has further devastated public health, local livelihoods, and marine wildlife.

Last week the BidenHarris administration’s Department of Energy (DOE) paused the permitting of new LNG projects. The decision stops the gas industry’s plans for the even larger CP2 LNG terminal right next store.

This move was perhaps the boldest rebuke ever from a US president against the oil and gas industry. President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Secretary of Energy Granholm – whose support for the move was especially crucial – did the right thing.

Millions of us are celebrating along with James Hiatt, who says, “I’m thankful for this pause in granting gas export licenses; the DOE has finally heard the wakeup call. The gas industry was planning to inundate my hometown with LNG terminals.”

For years, activists, along with scientists and others, have been sounding the alarm to get those in power to wake up. Some of Ben Jealous the most powerful American families’ voices have been pocketbooks will be thankful as well. Any those of young word you hear from the fossil fuel industry or people the politicians in their pockets about how this decision harms American consumers or the economy is a lie.

As Hiatt points out, “exporting LNG drives up domestic energy costs, affecting everything from home heating to food prices.”

Pausing the LNG boom will keep global energy markets more stable. It will help move economies and electric grids towards using less expensive and more resilient renewable energy sources. It will keep 681 coal plants worth – or 548 million gasoline-powered cars worth – of planet-warming greenhouse gasses out of our atmosphere each year.

All of this is critically important. But so is James Hiatt’s point about the “finally heard wake-up call.”

For years, activists, along with scientists

and others, have been sounding the alarm to get those in power to wake up.

Some of the most powerful voices have been those of young people. And we should all appreciate what it has taken for those young people to maintain their determination.

The American Psychological Association defines “eco-anxiety” as “a chronic fear of environmental doom.” In 2021, Lancet Planetary Health surveyed more than 10,000 young people, ages 16 to 25, in 10 countries. Anxiety about climate change impacted the ability of more than 45 percent of these young people to function in their daily lives; 75 percent were “frightened” of the future. And it exposed a key feature of eco-anxiety: hopelessness. ...see Biden, page 5A

Brittany Watts wasn’t seeking an abortion. At 21 weeks, she sought medical care at nearby Mercy Health-St. Joseph’s Hospital in Warren, Ohio.

A doctor told Ms. Watts that her water had broken prematurely, that her fetus was dead, and that she had to have labor induced.

Then doctors entered into a morality debate and kept the pregnant 33 year old, who was in excruciating pain, waiting for eight hours. She left the hospital, not knowing when she would be seen, and went home.

Brittany returned to the hospital the next day.

Again, she waited for hours without being seen.

Again, she went home.

At home, she miscarried, pushing her fetus out into the toilet. When she returned to the hospital for a third time, disclosing that she had miscarried, and a nurse called the police, suspecting that she had self-aborted. She was charged with felony abuse of the fetal remains that she passed in the toilet, although the fetus was dead when it passed from her body.

Instead of focusing on grieving and healing, Ms. Watts was plunged into a legal labyrinth that started with her December 19 arrest, and ended when a grand jury declined to charge her. For a month, this young woman was in a legal limbo that might have resulted in a year in jail and thousands of dollars of fines. The inhumanity that a Trumbull County prosecutor imposed on this woman is not unusual.

Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade,

Crime for the Center for Public Integrity. She Julianne Malveaux notes that states have increased abortion bans have forced women to endanger criminal their lives by continuing dangerous pregnancies investigations that would be ended but for rabid anti-abortion of pregnancy legislation.

Antiabortion legislation loss, “including criminalizes ordinary miscarriages, pregnancy complications.

According to some studies, stillbirths, and as many as one in five pregnancies result in self-induced miscarriage, and one in 175 babies are stillborn. abortions.”

Yvette Cabrera, wrote When Pregnancy Becomes A Crime for the Center for Public Integrity. She notes that states have increased criminal investigations of pregnancy loss, “including miscarriages, stillbirths, and self-induced abortions.”

Guess who they are most likely to investigate?

Poor women, women of color, young women, and people with substance abuse issues. Those who advocate for the “right to life” seem to feel little for the lives of women they persecute because of their pregnancy outcomes.

Brittany Watts was blessed.

A community rallied around her, raising more than $190,000 for her legal fees and for counseling.

While the grand jury declined to indict, Ms. Watts has been through quite an ordeal. If

anyone should be indicted, it should be the doctors who debated the morality of inducing birth, while Watts waiting for hours for attention. At the same time, some doctors fear performing abortions lest they be charged and incarcerated.

Kate Cox left Texas to get a medical abortion when she learned that her pregnancy would have fatal consequences both for her and her child. She actually sued Texas to get the abortion she needed, but when the courts sided against her, she left the state to receive necessary medical care. She had the resources both to sue Texas and to leave the state when necessary. What would have happened to a less resourced woman? ...see Abortion, page 5A

New Journal and Guide

Eatonville Continued from page 4A Others were regarding Human and Sex Trafficking, peace in various nations, the work of Africa’s Brain Bank, Literacy, health care, support for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, women’s right to choose, fight against gun violence, replacing confederate statues representing slavery in the United States, and erecting statues representing AfricanAmerican and indigenous people of color.

Also, welcoming South Korea as a trading

Biden Continued from page 4A Half the young people in the study described feeling helpless and powerless. Now, we know that despite the fear, young activists have been among our fiercest leaders in the fight against the climate crisis. They have not given in to the lingering despair. But, as a piece on eco-anxiety in the Harvard Political Review pointed out, young people have felt like they are alone in the fight. And, “if no one is listening and no change is happening, then pushing forward can feel hopeless.”

That is why, aside from the emissions numbers … aside from the economic and energy security benefits … the BidenHarris administration’s

Abortion Continued from page 4A I am reminded of Regina McKnight, the first woman charged and convicted of child abuse because she gave birth to a stillborn child. Ms. McKnight was sentenced to twenty years, and required to serve twelve years of her sentence. Her conviction was overturned after eight years, but those years cost her dearly. She had other children, who she missed and was unable to nurture and raise. Her life came to a hard stop.

The National Advocates for Pregnant Women, an organization that has been researching the increase in criminalized pregnancies, championed her.

The repeal of Roe allows the courts to criminalize pregnancy, and the zeal to unearth “criminal” behavior by those who miscarry or give birth to dead children is abhorrent.

The fact that so many Black women find themselves criminalized and, with

February 1, 2024 - February 7, 2024 | 5A partner, end to all forms of racism locally and globally, and support of Taiwan as a major trading partner. Also, addressing climate change, support of the restoration of the relationship between the U.S. and Cuba, support of peace in the Middle East and more, supporting the John Lewis Voting Rights legislation, supporting Global Foster Care and making a Federal holiday in honor of Rosa Parks.

Travel, reading and participating in conferences like that of the World Conference of Mayors and Historically Black Towns and Settlements Alliance, you will learn a lot!

Dr. E. Faye Williams is president of the Dick Gregory Society.

LNG decision is a win for hope. And hope is a powerful thing.

In his statement about the decision, President Biden said, “We will heed the calls of young people and frontline communities who are using their voices to demand action from those with the power to act.”

This victory for climate-concerned people the world over – and the planet itself – is proof that organizing works.

Grabbing the bullhorn and telling your story – even if the crowds don’t listen right at first – matters.

This LNG decision is a momentum builder. And a clarion call for even more organized action on the climate crisis – especially from young people.

Ben Jealous is the Executive Director of the Sierra Club and a Professor of Practice at the University of Pennsylvania.

limited resources, being pushed into courts speaks to the antipathy that our nation has for women, especially Black women.

More than thirty years ago, a group of Black women, including Dr. Dorothy Height, Essence editor Susan Taylor, Planned Parenthood leader Faye Wattle ton, Rev. Willie Barrow, and about a dozen others (I was among them), came together to assert our right to reproductive freedom. Essence and Ms. Magazine editor Marcia Ann Gillespie wrote the powerful statement that began with the sentence “Choice is the essence of freedom.” Repealing Roe takes away our choice.

Criminalizing pregnancy limits our choice.

Those who use pregnancy and women’s health as a political football don’t see the faces behind their rhetoric, like Regina McKnight who lost eight years of her life behind political nonsense, Brittany Watts who faced criminal incarceration for miscarrying, Tricia Cox who had to leave her state to get medical system.

Enough!

LEGAL NOTICE

KING BELIEVED TRUTH STILL WILL RISE ABOUT FATHER’S KILLING

By Dr. Barbara Reynolds (TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM) Not another King dying far too soon. This was the immediate reaction of many at the news that Dexter King, the youngest son of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King had died from prostate cancer at age 62 . In 2007 his sister Yolanda died at age 52.

At the time of his death, Dexter had served as both chairman of The King Center and President of the King Estate. In that capacity he engaged in legal intellectual property fights with corporations, federal agencies, and court suits with family members to protect his parents’ legacy. His strongest crusade, however, was his battle to bring to justice those responsible for his father’s murder.

Born in Atlanta on Jan. 30, 1961, he was named after Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, where his father served his first pastorate and helped launch the famous Montgomery Bus Boycott. He was the second-born son of Dr. King and Mrs. King and was only 7 years old when his father was assassinated in Memphis in 1968.

For years, Dexter King – who had an amazing resemblance to his globally acclaimed father, confessed that when he “looked in the mirror he saw his father’s face trapped in mine.” In his memoir “Growing Up King,” he spoke of gazing upon the writing on his father’s crypt, “Free At Last,” and feeling that same sense of freedom.

Yet he was freed in a different way- not in deathbut in the resolution of living his best life on his own terms and not becoming a prisoner of the King name.

As a journalist and later biographer of Coretta Scott King, I was in and out of the King household since the seventies watching their becoming years. As a teenager Dexter used to love talking about one day becoming a businessman and he started his first enterprise, a music company where he hired himself out as a disc jockey for

Bailey Continued from page 1A Not bad for the daughter of the Rev. Joseph James Bailey, a Newport News pastor, who nurtured his daughter’s musical talents in his church.

“From him,” she once told an interviewer, “I got the wisdom, the philosophizing, the soul.”

Her parents divorced when she was young.

She grew up at her mother’s home, which moved from Newport News, to Philadelphia, to

Dexter King weddings. In later years, his zest for business skills took root at the King Center, where he sometimes took the reins of the King Center with his siblings helping it to become a Beloved world house of peace and nonviolence.

Coretta King said all four siblings – Martin III, Yolanda, Dexter, and Bernice had inherited specific qualities from her and their father. Yolanda had a love for the performing arts and became an actress; Martin III, a social justice activist; Bernice, a Call to ministry and pastoral and organizational leadership, and Dexter, a drive to master the complexities of life by pushing forward, overcoming the most difficult problems, even when at the very root he had to overcome himself.

Confronted with the fear of death, instead of running from it, he freed himself by running into it . At age 16, he started working at a funeral home, the same one that buried his father.

The experiences in the mortuary he attributed to his quest to come to terms with death and dying. To understand the intricacies of the criminal justice system, in 1982, for a short spell he became a police officer in Atlanta. His stance to wear a uniform with a sidearm shocked the principled nonviolent, anti-gun workers at the King Center. But he was determined to understand the system from the inside out.

Dexter also wanted to test his acting abilities. With his uncanny resemblance to his father, he portrayed him in the 2002 television movie “The Rosa Parks Story.” His love for the creative arts drew him to Washington, D.C. Bailey often traced her acting talents to her mother, Ella Mae Bailey.

“She could say more with a flick of a wrist ... than any words,” she once said.

Bailey was 15 when she quit high school, left home, and soon landed gigs with Count Basie, Cab Calloway and first performed on Broadway in 1946.

“Pearl Bailey pulls the show up by its shoestrings every time she makes an entrance,” a Broadway critic wrote. She won the 1946 Donaldson Award as Broadway’s best newcomer.

The next year, she appeared in her first film, “Variety Girl.” Her second film was “Isn’t It Romantic.”

But it is important to point out that her name graces a Newport News library that contains cutting-edge electronic equipment that did not exist when she was born in Newport News in 1918.

The point is Bailey had a habit of transforming the world around her, which describes this year’s Black History Month theme.

According to the Association for the Study of African-American Life and History which selects the annual theme for Black History Month, this year’s theme aims to focus on Black artists who highlight “the art of resistance and the artists who used their crafts to uplift the race, speak truth to power and inspire a nation.”

In a sense, this year’s theme mirrors Bailey’s attitudes during the vaudeville era.

Bailey once said, “I have

Both mother and son shared an intense determination to prove to the nation that James Earl Ray did not kill Martin Luther King Jr., that his murder was the result of a conspiracy involving the U.S. government and the assassins should be held accountable. relocate to California but he also continued his work with the King Center and commitment to the King family legacy.

As deftly as he helped free himself from fear and tradition, he also took responsibility for freeing his family, especially his mother, from digging their graves with their forks. He became a strict vegetarian, giving up sugars and starches until his body craved natural foods. He said he was bothered that his grandfather, Daddy King, might have lived a longer life had he eaten differently.

At her son’s insistence, Coretta, who had mastered the art of rich Southern style cooking, became a vegetarian. Once when I traveled with her to a Florida spa, I was dismayed that for a week, they served nothing but raw vegetables and veggie smoothies. Yet, she also believed her strict regimen eased her pain from gout and other discomforts prolonging her life. She died at the age of 78.

Both mother and son shared an intense determination to prove to the nation that James Earl Ray did not kill Martin Luther King Jr., that his murder was the result of a conspiracy involving the U.S. government and the assassins should be held accountable.

In the early 1990s I picked Dexter up at the DC airport and took him to the National Press Club where I had helped arrange a briefing on the assassination.

He spoke about his plans to meet with Ray and that he believed Ray’s claim of innocence and, based on other evidence, felt along with other family members that Ray was not the lone

assassin.

On December 8, 1999, Dexter and Mrs. King, on behalf of the family, pursued a civil suit in Memphis. A jury of six Whites and six Blacks unanimously implicated U.S. government agencies in the wrongful death of Dr. King. The shocking evidence convinced the jury that Dr. King had been the victim of assassination by a conspiracy involving the Memphis Police Department as well as local, state, and federal government agencies, and the Mafia. The Jury also concluded, just as Dexter had argued all along, that Ray was not the shooter, but had been set up as a patsy to take the blame.

This news, where both Dexter and Mrs. King testified, should have rocked the world, but unfortunately it landed like the noise of a feather hitting the ground.

The verdict and shocking testimony were virtually ignored by the media – as it is today.

Dexter was often criticized for his insistence on following up on details ignored by the press, but he argued that it was hard for him to believe looking into his father’s murder was somehow illogical.

Yet, even in this failure, Dexter believed as his mother did, that they had both freed themselves of the guilt of not pushing for the truth. So many times, they had heard their father and husband say, “Truth crushed to Earth Shall Rise Again.”

And they left this world believing one day it would.

The Rev. Dr. Barbara Reynolds is co-author of the new memoir, Coretta Scott King: My Life, My Love, My Legacy.

Photo: Courtesy

Newport News Pearl Bailey Library

… it is important to point out that her name graces a Newport News library that contains cutting-edge electronic equipment that did not exist when she was born in Newport News in 1918. a go-for-it attitude about education, about life, about everything. You can’t spend your life waiting around.

You go for it.”

Bailey’s impact on her hometown and the nation comes sharply into focus, as you scroll through her bio.

Five years before Bailey passed in 1990 at the age of 72, at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia after collapsing at a hotel where she had been staying – Newport News named a public library after her.

“In 1985, Newport News Public Library opened the Pearl Bailey Library at its current location,” according to a statement on the Newport News Library website. “The name was chosen by the community after the Library Board ran an ad campaign in the Daily Press for suggestions.”

Artist Asa Jackson completed Bailey’s outdoor mural in Newport News.

It was unveiled on March 29, 2018, on what would have been Bailey’s 100th birthday.

6A | February 1, 2024 - February 7, 2024

New Journal and Guide

New Journal and Guide

February 1, 2024 - February 7, 2024 | 7A

NNPA Continued from page 1A However, he declared, “The Black Press will continue to call out injustice no matter where it is.”

“In 2027, the Black Press will celebrate its 200th anniversary,” Henry further noted. “The Jewish community gave Freedom’s Journal financial support to help start that newspaper.”

Panelist and U.S. Democratic Rep. Deborah Wasserman Schultz echoed the sentiment, emphasizing personal responsibility in strengthening the relationship between the Black and Jewish communities.

Drawing parallels to several historical instances, Schultz said, “Like Jews did when they came down to help in the civil rights; like HBCUs did when in the ‘30s and ‘40s, no universities in America would employ Jewish refugee professors who immigrated from Europe; HBCUs did; our fight continues, including the oppression that goes on under this government in this state.”

U.S. Democratic Rep.

Photo: Courtesy

Panelists (L-R): Dr. Marvin Dunn, U.S. Democratic Rep. Deborah Wasserman Schultz, Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., U.S. Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Max Sevilla.

Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick also proved an influential voice in the discussion. The Florida congresswoman highlighted the necessity of coalition-building. She shared a personal experience.

“When I was growing up and

By the 1920s, BHM Black artists Continued from page 2A often performed secular music, The Hampton Jubilee like the emerging Singers and a Quartet traveled throughout the Blues genre, on nation, representing the school and raising money street corners. to operate and construct buildings such as the An example was historic Virginia Hall on Norfolk’s James that campus.

Dr. Kimball explained Simmons, better that the Black Worship services gave birth to the known as “Blues Spirituals and, later, the Gospel and talent.

Bird Head,” was

accompanied by The first Black musical the Harmonica superstar, Matilda Sissieretta Joyner Jones and Piano. was born in 1868 in Portsmouth, Virginia.

Her family later moved to Providence, Rhode Island. Her father opened an AME church where she performed until she enrolled for training at the Providence Academy of Music and the New England Conservatory of Music to become a soprano.

She made her professional debut in 1888 in New York and emerged as the highest-paid Black artist in the nation by the end of the 19th century.

Due to Jim Crow segregation, she could not perform in many white-owned venues. But she did perform at the Norfolk Music Academy, controlled by whites, and received high regard.

She was the “Black

intentionality to fight back.”

anti-Semitism over the past country in the military, and

interconnectedness of hate and the need for collaborative efforts to combat it.

“Anti-Semitism today is at record levels,” he stated. “Since October 7, what we have measured is alarming. There have been almost 4,500 incidents of

anecdotes about racial dynamics and positive interactions with Jewish individuals. He expressed profound concern about the worsening race relations in the state, particularly under DeSantis.

“I’m 83; I served my

Max Sevilla, ADL three months, which is a 300 here we are,” Dunn remarked.

Chavis concluded the event with Senior Vice President of percent increase.”

“However bad race relations a rallying cry, emphasizing the National Affairs, delivered Dr. Marvin Dunn, were in our state, it got worse account of professor emeritus in the when DeSantis was made importance of the upcoming elections athe compelling alarming surge in anti- Department of Psychology governor. He went further Semitism. Citing a 300 at Florida International than Trump.” and the collective responsibility to percent increase in incidents University, reflected on Chavis concluded the over the past three months, his childhood experiences event with a rallying cry, bring about positive change.

Sevilla underscored the and shared intimate emphasizing the importance I had the first opportunity to go to law school, who gave me the opportunity to intern?

It was one of my Jewish mentors,” she asserted.

“Somewhere,there’sadisconnect with the generations. It’s going to take a level of

Photo: Courtesy

Matilda Sissieretta Joyner Jones

of the upcoming elections and the collective responsibility to bring about positive change. We need to get out the most significant vote in history,” Chavis demanded.

“The future of our country is on the ballot. We have work to do.”

Photo: Courtesy

Golden Gate Quartet The first Black musical superstar, Matilda Sissieretta Joyner Groups such as the Suffolk Jubilee Singers, The Jazz and Jones was born in 1868 in Portsmouth, Virginia. She made her professional debut in 1888 in New York and emerged as the Jubilee, Silver Leaf, and Golden Gate Quartets of Norfolk highest-paid Black artist in the nation by the end of the 19th performed from 1919 and decades later became nationally known.

Patti,” called so after century. white Italian opera singer Adelina Patti. She did secular music, like the not like it, but she used emerging Blues genre, on the title to promote her street corners. An example James performances of grand and was Norfolk’s Simmons, better known light opera and popular music. She perfumed in as “Blues Bird Head,” the West Indies, South was accompanied by the America, Australia, India, Harmonica and Piano. southern Africa, and According to a 1931 article in the Norfolk Journal and Europe.

Kimball said Jones Guide, he could make his returned to her native harmonica cry, smile, and Portsmouth yearly sigh” in recordings he and performed at area made in 1929.

Many of these artists churches. Unfortunately, Kimball said, her work and made it northward from to big-time that of many other Black Norfolk stardom as part of the artists was not recorded.

Fortunately, many Black migration.

Photo: Courtesy At the same time, artists historians gather their popularity information about such used Hampton Institute Jubilee Singers artists at that time from the and newfound wealth to On the Virginia Peninsula, Black former slaves who collected in Hampton and around promote social activism Fort Monroe before the end of the war created Hampton Institute. It formed its version pages of the Black Press.

By the 1920s, Black against Jim Crow. of Jubilee Singers, akin to the one at Fisk. Whites were fascinated by music, and the ...see BHM, page 8A artists often performed schools used these groups to benefit themselves.

New Journal and Guide

8A | February 1, 2024 - February 7, 2024

OPERA REVIEW

Sanctuary Road: Brave Souls Given Strong Voice From A Dark Past If you have a love of history, the arts and, specifically affinity for The Virginia Symphony Orchestra’s overture was opera, it’s worth the effort to led by maestro’s Everett McCorvey, an exhilarating see “Sanctuary Road” at its next musical commentary Virginia stops in Northern Va. (Feb. to Kimille Howard’s compassionate visual 4) or Richmond (Feb. 9 and Feb. storytelling through her direction. Howard is a 11.). For details, visit voa.org

By Glen Mason Special to the Guide

New York based director, writer and filmmaker.

Howard is the Assistant Stage Director of the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

Leading off as the documentarian, William Still was reenacted by baritone Damien Geter in his VOA (Main Stage) debut.

His commanding presence was transformative. His disciplined perseverance, haunting, as he commands himself to record first hand the harsh realities of slavery and escape of those enslaved, “Write it down.”

Also making a VOA debut was Laquita F. Mitchell, Soprano Soloist.

With Mezzo-Soprano Soloist Tesia Kwarteng, Tenor Soloist Terrence Chin-Loy, and Baritone

BHM Continued from page 7A The Gospel-Blues music tradition, Kimball said, spawned “hundreds of mostly male Gospel Quartets” throughout the region. They were based in churches around the area, and most were never recorded.

Pictures of them do exist in

Adam Richardson made for a near ensemble cast presentation were it not the choreography and synergy of the 39-member chorus.

According to its production notes, Sanctuary Road is based on the “remarkable” writings of William Still – an abolitionist, historian, and conductor of the Underground Railroad who helped nearly 800 enslaved Blacks escape to freedom. This moving piece includes locally originated stories of Clarissa Davis, who fled Portsmouth, VA, Henry “Box” Brown, who fled Richmond, VA, along with the account of several other men and women who risked it all in pursuit of freedom.

With music by Paul Moravec, Libretto by Mark Campbell, were actually based on the writings of William Still, who was considered a conductor, moreover, a documentarian for the Underground Railroad.

If you have a love of history, the arts and, specifically affinity for opera, it’s worth the effort to see “Sanctuary Road” at its next stop this weekend in Fairfax, VA Saturday, February 3 and Sunday’s matinee performance February 4 at George Mason University or Richmond the following weekend Friday, February 9 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, February 11 @ 2:30 p.m.

For details visit voa.org.

“Write it down!”

the Library of Virginia.

Groups such as the Suffolk Jubilee Singers, The Jazz and Jubilee, Silver Leaf, and Golden Gate Quartets of Norfolk performed from 1919 and decades later became nationally known.

The Norfolk Jubilee Quartet had a smash hit called the “Queen Street Rag.” Queen Street is now Brambleton Avenue.

The quartet’s vocal technique was the basis of doo-wop, rock and roll, jazz,

and R&B and Soul music groups around the world years after.

“The slave era Spirituals, Blues, Gospel, and early jazz are the roots of the music we enjoy today. It was crafted here in Virginia and notably in Hampton Roads,” said Kimball.

“Today, you see Hip hop artists and groups sampling the works of Soul artists such as James Brown and early jazz artists who built their artistry on these building blocks.”

New Journal and Guide

February 1, 2024 - February 7, 2024 | Section B

SECTION B NORFOLK PROGRAM OFFERS FIRST TIME HOMEBUYERS $40,000

By Rosaland Tyler Associate Editor New Journal and Guide

At a time when Commerce Department records show the economy is vigorous and the GDP expanded 3.1 percent in 2023, some first-time homebuyers in Norfolk may qualify for $40,000 to buy their first home.

It’s a big increase from the $20,000 previously offered over the past few years through Homeward Norfolk, a program of the Norfolk Redevelopment

and Housing Authority and the city.

Norfolk City Council approved $959,000, which recently took effect.

Here are the guidelines for potential first-time Norfolk homebuyers. To qualify, a one-person household can make between $55,450 and $83,150; a two-person household can make between $63,400 and $95,050; and a three-person household can make between $71,300 and $106,900.

Firsttime homebuyers can choose homes in three neighborhoods: Ingleside,

Portsmouth And Partners Prepare City-wide Events, Displays For BHM PORTSMOUTH Works by Black artists, filmmakers, musicians, and changemakers will be on display in Portsmouth during Black History Month, thanks to a partnership launched by Home Studios the City of Portsmouth and Portsmouth Museums.

The four-week, citywide art display is called “Black History Now! Art is Revolutionary.” The event kicks off on Feb. 2 at The Famous in Portsmouth, a Black-owned Neo-Soul cuisine restaurant. During the second week, local artist and author Nikkolas Smith will appear at four local schools and the Children’s Museum of Portsmouth.

On week three, a documentary on gun violence

by Sundance Institute Fellow Kyra Knox and Home Studios will be presented on Feb. 16 and 17.

The monthlong celebration will also include a discussion with local Portsmouth musicians, a fashion show organized by Hamilton Perkins, as well as creative workshops that feature New York Times best-selling authors and rising stars.

Portsmouth Interim City Manager Mimi Terry said in a recent press release, “We, as a city, are proud to invest in and champion initiatives that foster inclusivity and empower all members of our community.”

Monticello Village and Oakdale Farms.

The initial costs and the down payment are “typically the biggest stop,” said local realtor Ashley McDougal.

“This is a much-needed increase to help families gain access to homeownership in a real estate market where low inventory and high interest rates are pricing out middle-income families.”

Buyers should know that the median sales price of existing homes rose has risen 6 percent from $275,000 to $292,000 from year to year.

Community Economic Development Director LaShawn Fortes, who

works with NRHA, said, “This initiative is a crucial resource for our community.

Potential homebuyers will work with a dedicated, certified housing counselor to find the path forward to the missing middle.”

“We have funding for households under 80 percent, but we were like, we really need something for the missing middle, because they can be right over 80 percent, but there was no type of funding for them,” Fortes said.

For more information, contact the HomeNet Homeownership Center at (757) 314-4202.

Norfolk Sheriff’s Office Hosting Book Drive For Jail’s Library NORFOLK The Norfolk Sheriff’s Office is hosting a book drive to refresh the books available to inmates inside the Norfolk City Jail. The new and gently used books collected during this event will be added to the jail library for inmates to check out and read while incarcerated.

The book drive began on Monday, January 16 and has been extended until Friday, February 16, 2024. Citizens are welcome to drop-off paperback books in the bin located on the first floor of Norfolk

SMALL BUSINESS DIRECTORY

City Hall (by the front entrance) Monday through Friday between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. or in the bin located in the lobby of the Norfolk Sheriff’s Office Administration Building located at 140 East Street Norfolk, VA 23510 Monday through Friday between the hours of 7 a.m. and 4 p.m.

In order to be added to the jail library, all books must be paperback, cannot contain nudity or photos with undergarments showing, and cannot include drawings or pictures of weapons.

New Journal and Guide

2B | February 1, 2024 - February 7, 2024

PART 3 OF 4-PART SERIES

HLC Diabetes Prevention: Cooking Class

Plant-Based Diet Helps Reduce Health Risks

By Melissa Spellman

Week Three Meal: Participants made a spinach salad with apples, pecans, crasins, tomatoes, and red onion. The salad was topped with a made-fromscratch dressing of olive oil, vinegar, minced garlic, Dijon mustard, honey, and pepper. Next, the class sliced a sweet potato into fry sized pieces, lightly drizzled the fries with olive oil, sprinkling half with garlic powder, and the other half with cinnamon.

Staff Reporter New Journal and Guide

Participants in the Norfolk Healthy Living Center’s Plant Based Cooking class completed its third week in the four-week course on January 25, 2024. The class is instructed by Dr. Olivia Newby of Primary Care Specialists. Their offices and HLC operations are located at 930 Majestic Avenue in Norfolk, VA near Norfolk State University.

The course was created to promote healthy plantbased living and offer diabetes prevention education.

February is American Heart Health Month.

February 2nd is Wear Red Day for woman’s heart health. Women and heart disease is a passion of Dr. Newby’s. When it comes to heart disease, Newby says, “Yes, gender matters! Black women and Latina women we have the highest risk.”

Six out of 10 people of color don’t even know they have heart disease and it’s the biggest risk to their health. The participants were met with several devastating realities about heart disease.

Newby stated that not only is race a factor, but gender plays a major role.

Women of color are more likely to die of heart disease than any other ethnicity.

Dr. Olivia Newby Black women have a 40% likelihood of heart disease and Latina woman a 30% chance of heart disease compared to other races.

64% percent of women die with sudden coronary heart disease with no previous symptoms. Women have a higher lifetime risk of stroke than men. Newby added that smoking puts your chronic ailments more at risk.

Most people know someone who has suffered a stroke. The doctor stated that stroke is the leading cause of death and major disability in the United States. Knowing the signs of a stroke is important.

Symptoms can range from numbness, weakness, sudden confusion, trouble speaking, or understanding speech, trouble seeing, dizziness, and sudden severe headaches. Newby pointed to the presentation screen, “This is the keyword I want you all to see ‘Preventable’.

It’s treatable but we want to prevent it,” she asserted.

Photos: Courtesy

Chef Patricia Louis and the plated salad This week Dr. Newby’s discussion centered around making sure your risk factors for heart disease remain low or stay in a manageable place. “The number one reason people have heart disease is high blood pressure,” said Newby. She emphasized the importance of reading labels and taking note of the content of sodium and fats in the foods we eat.

She stressed that there are things we can control like reading labels, watching our sodium intake, cholesterol, blood pressure are controllable. Things that are not controllable are our age, conditions we inherit, and our ethnicity. While

a person’s age can’t be controlled, blood pressure can with increased physical activity.

In the class third week praise report Dr. Newby asked participants had anyone started moving more and the reports rained in.

One participant reported, “I started going to the YMCA. Then I started walking around the job every day.

When I have down time I just walk around the site.”

Dr. Newby praised him for his efforts and encouraged everyone to do the same. “I love that because you made time where you are. You didn’t say let me wait till I get to the gym. Exercise right where you are.”

Beyond Burger and Sweet Potato Fries She suggested participants time themselves when they walk.

“If it takes you 15 minutes to walk that area then next time try to cut it down to 14 minutes,” she said. Newby says by timing yourself on

how long it takes you to walk an area, once your body becomes accustomed to it and your weight stalls, you want to walk the same area in less time to increase weight loss. ...see HLC, page 3B

NEW COLUMNS FOR 2024

INTRODUCING WEEKLY TIPS FOR NON-PROFITS Welcome to FUNdraising Good Times, your place for how-to information on the often mysterious topic of fundraising. FUNdraising Good Times is written for those who manage, work for, or provide volunteer leadership for nonprofit organizations and institutions. The column is designed to help you and the organizations and institutions you believe in attract and retain resources and leadership needed for success.

It’s written by the two of us – Mel and Pearl Shaw. We are a husband and wife team with over 50 years combined experience in the fields of fundraising and marketing. We work with organizations and institutions across the country. Many of our clients are historically Black colleges or universities, some are churches, others are local organizations, hospitals and professional associations.

We have seen firsthand how non-profits play a key role in local communities.

They provide emergency services, educational and recreational programs, healthcare, legal services, job training and mentors to generation-aftergeneration.

Colleges, universities, churches and hospitals play a

key role in educating, saving, and healing our family members and the community. Nonprofits are staffed by people – paid employees and volunteers – who are knowledgeable, skilled, committed and passionate about making a difference.

For many non-profits nothing is guaranteed, and an organization’s or institution’s financial health often lies in the hands of its top leadership – its executive director, president or CEO, fundraising personnel, and those who serve as board members, trustees and volunteer fundraisers. This is true of local programs that counsel people with HIV/ AIDS, those that provide after school programs, as well as more established institutions such as our historically Black colleges and universities.

Board members are committed and skilled, coming together to provide guidance, oversight, policy and direction, often after the end of a long day at work.

Executive directors, presidents, and CEOs are visionary, talented, and often overworked. Volunteers at all levels look for ways they can make a difference.

These are the people that FUNdraising Good Times

is written for.

Fundraising is all about people and money. These are the keys to a nonprofit’s success, and both need to be used wisely and with great care. In this column you will find tips for successful fundraising including easy-to-use, how-to information on topics such as: a. Prerequisites for fundraising success b.

Creating your fundraising plan c. How to write a proposal d. Building your board of directors – the key to fundraising success e. The thrills and perils of special events We will also feature interviews with funders, donors, executive directors, presidents, board members, and fundraising professionals as well as commentary on key issues in the nonprofit sector. We will also look to hear from you and learn the issues you are grappling with.

We want to support your fundraising success. © Copyright Mel and Pearl Shaw – Comprehensive Fund Development Services.

Video and phone conferencing services always available. Let us help you grow your fundraising. Call us at (901) 522-8727 or visit www.saadandshaw.com.

H

ello and welcome to The Bridge Corner.

Bridge enthusiasts always promote bridge as a challenging and fun game to play. So, how do other special interest groups, institutions, and organizations view playing bridge? The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) states “Looking for a fun way to spend some time with friends or family? Check out Bridge! This classic card game is perfect for players of all ages, and it’s a great way to test your skills and strategy. Plus, it’s a great way to stay sharp and keep your mind active. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned pro, Bridge is a great game to play.” (games.aarp.org/ games/bridge).

In our last session, we learned that it takes two pairs (four people) to make up a bridge table. North and South are partners sitting opposite of each other and East and West are partners sitting opposite of each other. There are 52 cards in a deck; each of the four players is dealt a hand that has 13 cards. There are 40 points in a deck of cards; Ace = 4 points, King = 3 points, Queen = 2 points, Jack – 1 point. From our last session, we know that it takes AT LEAST 12 points to open the bidding. We also discovered that bridge is about ANSWERING partner’s questions. Let’s take a look at the statements and questions that a bid is making (learning to de-code a bid). First, the four (4) things EVERY onelevel (1) OPENING bid says: 1) Point count.

A. If opening 1 Club (C), 1 Diamond (D), 1 Heart (H), or 1 Spade (S), then opener is showing AT LEAST 12 points. Opener could have as much as 21 points (opener will show the top of his points on his rebid or second bid) but for opening, he is guaranteeing AT LEAST 12 points.

B. If opening 1 No Trump (N/T), opener is showing exactly 15 to 17 points. In our later session, we will cover the No Trump

opening and responses in detail.

2) The opening bid MUST show whether or not there is AT LEAST a five card Major suit (Spades or Hearts) in the hand. The opening bid of 1 Spade (or 1 Heart) indicates the hand contains AT LEAST 5 Spades (or AT LEAST 5 Hearts). The opening bid of 1 Club or 1 Diamond (the Minor suits) shows NO 5-CARD Spade or Heart suit.

3) The opener must ask his partner (the responder) for information about responder’s hand: A. If opener bids 1 Club, 1 Diamond, or 1 No Trump, then opener is asking his partner if he has AT LEAST a four-card Spade or Heart suit (a four-card Major suit).

B. If opener bids 1 Spade or 1 Heart, then opener is asking his partner if partner has at least 3 cards in the opening Major suit 4) If opener bids 1 Club, 1 Diamond, 1 Heart, or 1 Spade, then opener is asking partner if partner has AT LEAST 5 points in order to respond to opener’s bid.

If opener bids 1 No Trump, then opener is asking partner if partner has AT LEAST 8 points in order to respond to opener’s bid.

Now that we know the four (4) things EVERY one-level (1) opening bid is saying, let’s de-code a few one-level opening bids: • 1 Spade opening bid means = 1) partner I have AT LEAST 12 points. I could have as many as 21 points, but I promise you at least 12; 2) partner I have AT LEAST 5 Spades in my hand; 3) partner, do you have AT LEAST 3 Spades? 4) partner, do you have AT LEAST 5 points needed to respond to my bid?

(Same code for a 1 Heart opening bid) • 1 Club opening bid means = 1) partner I have AT LEAST 12 points. I could have as many as 21 points, but I guarantee you at least 12 points; 2) partner, I DO NOT have a 5-card Spade or Heart

suit in my hand; 3) partner, do you have AT LEAST a 4-card Spade or Heart suit in your hand? 4) partner, do you have AT LEAST 5 points needed to respond to my bid? (Same code for a 1 Diamond opening bid) • 1 No Trump opening bid means = 1) partner, I have EXACTLY 15 to 17 points.

I have NO LESS than 15 points and NO MORE than 17 points; 2) partner, I DO NOT have a 5-card Spade or Heart suit in my hand; 3) partner, do you have AT LEAST a 4-card Spade or Heart suit in your hand? 4) partner, do you have AT LEAST 8 points needed to respond to my bid? In our next meeting, we will cover the responses to opening bids.

TIDEWATER BRIDGE CLUB The Banks at Berkley 701 South Main Street, Norfolk, VA 23523 WEDNESDAYS 10:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

This is a locked building.

An assigned person will be at the door to let you in until 11 a.m. Take the elevator up to the second floor Community Room. The game fee is $4 for 2 ½ or more tables. Bring your lunch. Light packaged snacks/water will be provided.

Winning Pairs from the January 24, 2024, Bridge Game Aldis Raymond – Leon Ragland; Sandra Starkey – Marshall Hutto; Lillye Holley – Lawrence Owes; Elva Taylor – Shirley Nottingham; Rose Ward – Gillis Watson; Rodney Smith – Jennifer Douglas Any question, concerns, or comments, please feel free to contact Lawrence Owes, President, Tidewater Bridge Club at l.a.owes1@gmail.com.

New Journal and Guide

February 1, 2024 - February 7, 2024 | 3B

LOCAL BLACK HISTORY PROFILE

MS. CORA LEE GOODMAN, VIRGINIA BEACH TRAILBLAZER

Submitted

by Christopher Sr. and Violet S. Goodman, and The Goodman Family

Ms. Cora Lee Goodman is lovingly called “Aunt Cora” by her family. The lifelong native of Princess Anne County, Virginia Beach, will celebrate her 90th birthday on February 4, 2024.

Her family says she is a true testament of a life filled with joy as she attests her view of her life being “Nothing But Joy.” “She is a kind, selfless jewel in the Goodman Family and deeply loved and respected,” say family members Christopher, Sr., Violet and others.

They continue, “She has set a stellar example of standing up and being an advocate and voice for her family, community, and church.”

In all truth, Ms. Goodman has seen and made Black History along her 90-year journey. She retired from Virginia Beach City Public Schools as the longest serving employee with 49 years of service. She witnessed the desegregation of the Beach schools as the first Black students enrolled at the all-white Thoroughgood Elementary School where she was a Custodian.

At the school, Ms. Goodman became an advocate for classified city employees who were not receiving retirement benefits or insurance.

She was instrumental in securing retirement benefits for Custodians, Cafeteria Workers, and Bus Drivers of Virginia Beach City Public Schools.

In 1974, after a conversation with a Bus Driver who had to leave

Ms. Cora Lee Goodman employment to care for an ill husband, she learned in dismay that the Bus Driver would not receive retirement benefits. During that time, Custodians, Cafeteria Workers, and Bus Drivers were not eligible to receive retirement benefits.

The thought of such inequity incensed Ms. Cora Lee Goodman and she began in May 1974 to send letters citing inequity to Virginia Beach City Public School Board members requesting equal benefits for all. In September 1974, she continued by sending letters to State of Virginia lawmakers and because of her fearless voice and advocacy, a new retirement policy for all Virginia Beach City Public School employees was instituted by the new school term.

She received numerous recognitions and honors from the Virginia Beach City Public Schools.

On May 5, 1994, she was premiered in the Custodian Rap Newsletter, Team Member Profile. On May 21, 1997, the Virginia Beach Education Association recognized her with a token of appreciation for dedicated service on Custodian Appreciation Day. On April 29, 2000, she received recognition as “Tagged by the

Superintendent of Virginia Beach City Public Schools” for exceptional job performance and ensuring an excellent work environment for all staff members. Before retirement at 49 years of service, Ms. Goodman received Certificates of Appreciation for 25, 39, 45 and 48 years of dedicated service. She was also presented with a Certificate of Service on June 22, 2007.

Ms. Goodman was a trailblazer for voting rights.

After the Voting Rights Act of 1965, she was among the legions who fanned out in neighboring communities to register Black adults to vote. After a day’s work at Thoroughgood Elementary School, she donned boots and flashlight to knock on doors along the dark, unpaved communities to register residents to vote.

She was recognized in the March–April 2007 edition of the New Journal & Guide and Virginian Pilot. On March 17, 2007, she was one of five local women, honored as Women of Distinction, by the St. Paul Christian Methodist Episcopal Church Special Recognition, ‘100 Women in White’ Banquet at Grand Affairs in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Ms. Goodman is a lifelong member of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Virginia Beach. She attended Ebenezer Elementary School, Union Kempsville Elementary School and is a graduate of Princess Anne County Training School which was the first and only high school for Black students in Princess Anne County.

In a show of love, recognition, and appreciation for her many years of ministry and life-long service, Ms. Goodman was appointed by

Pastor Russell Perez Gatling, on February 12, 2023, as the ‘Mother’ of Ebenezer Baptist Church. On March 23, 2002, she had received a plaque by the Deacon Ministry for her faithful services.

Ms. Goodman has a wealth of her church’s history and was appointed Ebenezer Baptist Church Historian in early 1940 until November 2020.

Ebenezer presented her the “Power of the Pen” Plague on March 2019. Her ‘power of the pen’ gifts included serving as one of the recording secretaries for Civil Defense in World War II. During Black History Month in February 1980, as Historian, Ms. Goodman, and classmate, Brother Autaban Wilson, presented the history of Ebenezer Elementary School, in Princess Anne County. It opened in 1872, housed in the log cabin church of Ebenezer Baptist Church, where she attended until it closed in 1946.

Until closing, she emphasized how she had to walk to school and make a fire for warmth in the two classrooms. She and a fellow classmate would sweep the classrooms each evening prior to going home. She noted that the first teacher of Ebenezer Elementary School was Mr. Everett Williams. Rev. Joseph J. Hill, a White man, was the first Pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church during slavery and Rev. Marshall was the first Black Pastor after slavery.

Ms. Cora Lee Goodman has a historical video in the Princess Anne County Training SchoolUnion Kempsville High School Museum inside the Renaissance Academy in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Happy 90th Birthday to our “Nothing But Joy” Aunt Cora Ms. Cora Lee Goodman From Christopher Goodman, Sr., Violet S. Goodman and The Goodman Family

HLC Continued from page 2B This week participants had an A1C test performed. An A1C test is a simple blood test that measures a person’s average blood sugar levels over a three-month period.

“If you are not a person with Diabetes and your A1C is 5.7 to 6.4 you have joined the group called pre-diabetes,” Newby explained. She said you don’t want to join that group, but if you do, now it becomes how do I get out of being pre-diabetic. Newby says to move away from prediabetic status, “That’s just diet, exercise, and lifestyle changes.”

One lifestyle change is reading the food nutrition labels. Newby had the class review the nutrition facts from some of the food chains we have come to love. The class was shocked at the amount of sodium found in the food.

The daily recommended serving size of sodium is 1500 mg total. However, the average burger from your favorite chain is 2800 mg of sodium not including fries or a drink. Newby said, “If you take nothing else from this class, you don’t shop without looking at that label.” The doctor posed the question where and when you are eating? Are you taking your medicine? Or are you blaming it on forgetfulness or being too busy?

The education portion of the class ended with Newby’s final thoughts “My words to

you are, are you ready to get rid of the old habits of just eating or follow the new habits of lifestyle change.” She went on to say, “I tell patients it is not a matter of if, it becomes when for chronic problems.”

She added that walking helps with stress and improves function. She urged the group to get two to three days of exercise and good sleep. “I buy energy through exercise; that is my way,” said Newby.

The doctor closed saying, “As we age exercise improves our muscles and lung function and there is nothing like a good sleep. You don’t have to join a gym, you can walk wherever you are.”

The week three meal prepared by Chef Patricia Louis may be the class’s best meal yet. Participants made a spinach salad with apples, pecans, crasins, tomatoes, and red onion. The salad was topped with a made-fromscratch dressing of olive oil, vinegar, minced garlic, Dijon mustard, honey, and pepper.

Next, the class sliced a sweet potato into fry sized pieces, lightly drizzled the fries with olive oil, sprinkling half with garlic powder, and the other half with cinnamon.

The sweet potatoes baked in the oven while the class grilled their plant-based burgers, seasoning the patties with garlic powder and pepper.

The class sliced and grilled white onions to add extra flavor to the Beyond burger patties with an option of colby jack or vegan cheese.

The burgers were placed on a toasted potato bun with a slice of cheese, grilled onions, and spinach leaves. Most of the class ate one burger and took

Photo: Courtesy

Marvin and Rita Hall the remainder of the meal to go. The take home ingredients this week were minced garlic, garlic powder, and cinnamon.

Husband-Wife Team Discuss Their Experience After the class, husband and wife Marvin and Rita Hall, two participants and patients of Dr. Newby’s, discussed their experience in the plantbased cooking class thus far.

Rita Hall shared she wanted to take the class, “because of health concerns. I am a patient of Dr. Newby’s. She told me that I was pre-diabetic, and my husband has hypertension and high cholesterol. She offered this class to me to learn some healthier ways to cook and eat.”

Ms. Hall said it was more helpful taking the class as a couple. “So now when I cook and feed it to him it is not some strange food, he is familiar with the new foods.”

When asked about her favorite meal, she stated, “My favorite meal has been the burgers.

Surprisingly this week we

had the sweet potato fries and usually I don’t like them at the restaurants, but these were good.”

When questioned how he is enjoying the class Marvin Hall professed, “Man, I love it!”

He replied, “My wife signed me up for the class. We are both patients of Dr. Newby. I figured let’s give it a shot and it has actually been a blessing.”

Mr. Hall has lost 10lbs so far. He says that learning the process of layering the flavors into your meal has destroyed the myth of eating healthy lacking taste. “I can definitely put a change into my lifestyle,” said Mr. Hall. Next week Marvin and Rita and all the participants enter the fourth session of the course and will cook their final recipe.

The class is free and open to the public. If you are interested in attending the Diabetes Prevention: Plant Based cooking class you can register for the next session at www.hlcnorfolk.com, call (757) 622-0542, or email hlcnorfolk@gmail.com for more information.

P.E.A.R.L.S. Reschedule Nikki Giovanni BHM Event CHESAPEAKE Due to a family emergency, Nikki Giovanni has postponed her appearance at the Black History Month & Scholarship Celebration originally scheduled for February 3 at the Attucks Theatre. The event has been rescheduled for February 24 at 12:08 p.m. at the Attucks Theatre.

The Chesapeake P.E.A.R.L.S, Incorporated in partnership with Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated® Omicron Pi Omega chapter is hosting the Celebration at the historic Attucks Theatre, featuring the legendary poet, writer, and activist Nikki Giovanni. It will be hosted

by WTKR News Anchor Jessica Larché, The annual celebration highlights the rich history, culture, and experiences of African Americans while honoring the scholastic achievements of promising

young students from Chesapeake high schools. The event also allows P.E.A.R.L.S. to raise funds to support its mission to provide students with financial assistance to attend college.

In 2023, The Chesapeake P.E.A.R.L.S., Incorporated awarded more than $25,000 in scholarships to graduating seniors attending Chesapeake Public Schools.

This year, P.E.A.R.L.S. plans to award scholarships to seven graduating seniors from Chesapeake Public Schools.

In addition to featuring Ms. Giovanni, the event will be a showcase up and coming talent from the Hampton Roads region.

Chesapeake P.E.A.R.L.S., Inc. officers are President and CEO Melinda Gainer and Vice CEO Rasha Shankle.

Tickets are available at Ticketmaster.

LOCAL VOICES

Verb Bender’s Grand Slam Poetry Finals February 7th, 2024

By Sean C. Bowers After 6 long months of qualifying poetry slams, it’s that time of year again! We have made it to the moment we’ve all been waiting for!

THE VERB BENDERS GRAND SLAM FINALS! Please plan to join us Wednesday, February 7th, 2024 at the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts located at 110 W. Finney Ave Suffolk, VA 23434 where the top poets of the 757 (area code) from this season will be competing for a spot on our nationally ranked slam team! Last years Verb Benders team placed 3rd, nationally.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m., the poetry slam will start promptly at 7:30 p.m. The cost is $20.

Tickets will be available for purchase at the door!

The top four poets of this slam will make up our 2024 travel team who will compete at the Southern Fried Poetry Slam in Pompano Beach, Florida in mid-June, 2024.

Early arrival is suggested as the space is going to be PACKED! Plan accordingly!

If you have never been to a poetry slam, you are in for a treat! We will see you on Wednesday the 7th!

The Twelve Poets qualified and competing: Destiny Sharion, Daniel, TheGYEXP, Symay, Maddie G, Breeanna, Atlas, Patricia, Ahne, Sawyer, Sean C, and Breeze.

Steph Love, who will be our Poetic slam master, is in charge of things running “the most smooth,” and all of us staying in our poetic groove.

All poems will be original material spit in three-minute windows to our souls, for three rounds. All the official rules will be covered and presented before the slam.

Bring a friend, make a friend, or share friendship with the Verb Benders poetic community in our poetic local climatic event of the year.

We hope to be blessed by your presence, fandom, and support. The poets feed off the room’s energy so we are making the entire 757 aware.

The time has come and is now

Sean C. Bowers to come out and show your love for our local poets as they begin their quest for their poetic immortality locally first, then nationally.

Poetry is where people are thinking, not just drinking.

Spoken word poetry is the last bastion of free speech, with unlimited reach, and the ability to both inspire and teach.

Come be a witness, to greatness.

Words performed, seen, and heard, allow individuals to separate themselves from the herd.

Slam Poetry, improves heart-flow-try.

Show and share your heart, from our 7:30 p.m. prompt, start.

For all those who dare, to care, we’ll see you there.

Verbs are bent over time by constant reasoned practice and use, With the ability to graduate to taking audiences beyond, the obtuse.

Sean C. Bowers has written the last 26 years, as a White Quaker Southern man, for the nation’s third oldest Black Newspaper, The New Journal and Guide, of Norfolk, Virginia, about overcoming racism, sexism, classism, and religious persecution. Some of his latest NJ&G articles detailing the issues can found by searching “Sean C. Bowers” on the NJ&G website. Contact him directly on social media at Linkedin.com or by email V1ZUAL1ZE@aol. com NNPA 2019 Publisher of the Year, Brenda H. Andrews (NJ&G 36 years) has always been his publisher.

New Journal and Guide

4B | February 1, 2024 - February 7, 2024

MOMENTS of MEDITATION

By Rev. Dr. Archie L. Edwards, Sr.

CONTENDING FOR THE TRUTH Read: Jude The letter of Jude, like those of John, is built on the foundation of the truth of God, which has been revealed through Jesus Christ.

SALUTATION. Jude was “a brother of James” (Jude 1), who became the leader of the church at Jerusalem (Acts 15:13-21) also wrote a letter that is part of the New Testament.

Jude and James were halfbrothers of Jesus, but they had not believed on Him as Messiah and Savior prior to His resurrection (John 7:5). Later, however, they recognized and accepted Him, now both men refer to themselves as His servants (James 1:1; Jude 1).

HOW UNBELIEVERS D E M O N S T R AT E FAITHFULNESS. Throughout his letter, Jude, compiles a description of men who, though claiming to be part of the church, demonstrate by their teaching and their lives that they are enemies of the faith. Despite their religious veneer, these false teachers are without God (v.

4b); they “do not have the spirit” (v. 19c); they deny the true humanity and deity of Jesus Christ (v. 4d); and

they speak mockingly of anything having to do with “celestial beings” (v. 8c) – i.e., heavenly things. These false teachers are deceptive.

They have “secretly slipped in” among believer (v. 4a). Once in, they make promises on which they cannot deliver. Jude calls them “clouds without rain” and “autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted – twice dead” (v. 12).

Furthermore, they mislead people. The sea land stars were means by which one might move from one place to another, using a ship for transportation and the stars for navigation. But these men are “wild waves of the sea” and “wandering stars” (v. 13). To follow them with only lead to shipwreck and destruction. These false teachers “change the grace of our God into a license for immorality” (v. 4c), polluting their own bodies (v. 8a) by loose living in the name of Christian liberty. They are selfcentered – they grumble and find fault when thing do not go their way (v. 16ab). They also boast about their achievements (v. 16c) and use of flattery to get

Public Education From A Christian Perspective

By Thaddaeus Elliott Justice and Peace Policy Fellow United Church of Christ

What is the purpose of education?

For many, it is economic advancement.

We pursue education to get better employment opportunities, which (theoretically) lead to better earnings and a better quality of life. But education serves a greater function in society than that. Writing for the Pictorial Review in 1930, Eleanor Roosevelt claimed education had two objectives: to produce well-informed and intelligent citizens and to press upon them “the realization that we are all responsible for the trend of thought and the action of our times.”

In an essay he wrote for the Morehouse Maroon Tiger in 1947, Martin Luther King, Jr. posited that the purpose of education was not only to build intelligence, but also good moral character. As “[w]e are prone to let our mental life become invaded by legions of half-truths, prejudices, and propaganda,” King proclaimed that education “must enable one to sift and weigh evidence, to discern the true from the false, the real from the unreal, and the facts from the fiction.”

With these words in mind, I reflect on my own education and the educators who not only nurtured my what they want (v. 16d).

They are “scoffers who … follow their own godly desires” (v. 18).

GOD’S PAST JUDGMENT ON FA I T H L E S S N E S S .

Jude reminds his reader (v. 5a) that throughout history God has judged faithlessness. Three Old Testament occasions illustrate this: (1) During the Exodus, God judged those who failed to believe that He would successfully take them into the land of

mind but my character as well. My 8th-grade U.S. history teacher, Ms. Ellison, stands out as the exemplar.

For Ms. Ellison, history was not a series of past events and dates to commit to rote memory. It was our prelude with throughlines to our present problems. Like Ms. Roosevelt, Ms. Ellison believed it necessary to study the figures in our history who not only made a “constructive contribution,” but also “those who held us back, in order that we may know what qualities of mind and heart formed the characters which have left a mark on their time,” because they have also marked our time for better and for worse.

She didn’t teach to instill shame or to be “woke.” She taught us the truth – both good and bad – so that we would hopefully become the good citizens who could make America the beacon it could be and not stay stuck in what it was. Ms. Ellison’s lessons were a labor of love not just for the well-being of her students, but for this nation.

Unfortunately, our public education system and educators like Ms. Ellison are being encumbered by legislation and education standards being introduced and approved in many states as part of an anti-multiracial democracy agenda concocted by

promise (v. 5; Numbers 14; Hebrews 8: 16-19); (2) the angels who “did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home” are now in chains awaiting God’s final judgment (Jude6); (3) Sodom and Gomorrah suffered a fiery death because of their perverted behavior (Jude 7; Genesis 19:1-29).

GOD’S FUTURE JUDGMENT ON FAITHLESSNESS. The fourfold repetition of the

minds fueled on half-truths, prejudice, and propaganda.

I’ve read their arguments of why “multiculturalism” will be the death knell of America as we know it, which reminded me of 1 John 4:5-6: “They are from the world. So they speak from the world’s point of view and the world listens to them.” (CEB) I was then unnerved thinking of the number of people who have been enraptured by white Christian nationalism to the extent they proclaim the world’s point of view as God’s point of view. They would be swayed to support the agenda that seeks to change curriculums, ban books, abolish affirmative action and diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, and distort truth.

I believe it incumbent upon those of us who proclaim to know and be from God to confront and dismantle white Christian nationalism and the threat it poses to the liberty of a true multiracial democracy by ensuring that our public education system fulfills its purpose of building up good citizens with strong, well-informed minds and the moral character to recognize the Spirit of Truth from the spirit of error.

Thaddaeus Elliott is the Justice and Peace Policy Fellow at the Washington, DC office of the United Church of Christ.

term “ungodly” (Jude 1415) serves as a reminder that the basic fault of faithless mankind is its ungodliness. When people refuse to acknowledge God and insist on doing “their own thing,” they are subject to God’s judgment, whether in this life or at the time of His return.

HOW BELIEVER S H O U L D D E M O N S T R AT E FAITHFULNESS. Jude mentions six ways in which Christians can

show their loyalty to the faith. With regard to themselves, he urges them to: (1) build themselves up in the faith (v. 20a), suggesting familiarity with the scriptures and faithful participation in Christian work and worship; (2) pray in the Holy Spirit (v. 20b), recognizing His presence in their lives and seeking His direction; and (3) keep themselves in God’s love (v. 21) by living in ways pleasing to Him. ...see Edwards, page 6B

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New Journal and Guide

February 1, 2024 - February 7, 2024 | 5B

6B | February 1, 2024 - February 7, 2024

New Journal and Guide

DAVE HOLLISTER TALKS ‘MATTERS OF Truth THE HEART’ WITH CITY WINERY TOUR Continued from page 4B

corrupted themselves with immoral behavior – but also to be careful lest they themselves be infected by this plague of godlessness (v. 23b).

In these ways, believers can and should be living demonstrations of faithfulness while they anticipate the glorious outcome of their life of faith.

THE ULTIMATE SOURCE OF FAITHFULNESS. Jude brings his letter to a close (vv. 24-25) by directing our attention to “the only God our Savior,” who can keep us faithful and bring us, perfect and joyful into His glorious presence.

By Stacy M. Brown

Now, he embarks on the With regard to others, they are to: (1) show “Matters of the Heart mercy to those who doubt NNPA NEWSWIRE Tour,” a poignant journey and waver (v. 22), helping Some voices define an era within the them establish themselves confines of R&B, and Dave Hollister he reflected on in an in the faith; (2) act with is undoubtedly one of them. Hollister’s vigor and determination in exclusive interview with the case of some who may soulful voice has left an indelible mark on the music industry, from his roots in imminent danger of the National Newspaper be in the platinum-selling R&B quartet turning away from the faith Blackstreet to a flourishing solo order, if possible, to Publisher’s Association’s in career. Hits like “My Favorite Girl” save them from judgment Dave Hollister and “One Woman Man” resonate with 23a); (3) show mercy (NNPA) “Let It Be Known,” (v. audiences, making him a timeless to some who have already figure in music. hosted by NNPA’s social succumbed to the lure of Born into a family steeped in (Original Gangster) in the industry. the false teachers and have musical talent, including cousins K-Ci “Kind of a shock to me when they say media correspondent and JoJo Haley, Calvin Richardson, you can’t mention R&B without me; I CLASSIFIEDS and Fantasia Barrino, Hollister’s never aspired to be a star; I just really Totally Randie.

Senior National Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia

journey was destined for greatness. His distinctive voice emerged in the ’90s and continues to captivate audiences today. The trajectory of his solo career soared with the gold-selling album “Ghetto Hymns,” featuring the charttopping single “My Favorite Girl.”

Hollister’s musical evolution extends beyond classic R&B; he has embraced the gospel world with albums like “The Book of David: Vol. 1 The Transition” and “Witness Protection.” One standout release, “Chicago Winds: The Saga Continues,” showcased the growth and wisdom he gained throughout his musical odyssey.

However, Hollister is not just a musician but a man of transformation.

Overcoming struggles with substance abuse, he found solace in becoming a pastor. Now, he embarks on the “Matters of the Heart Tour,” a poignant journey he reflected on in an exclusive interview with the National Newspaper Publisher’s Association’s (NNPA) “Let It Be Known,” hosted by NNPA’s social media correspondent Totally Randie.

At 55, Hollister reflected on the surprise of being labeled an “OG”

wanted to put my feelings on record and hopefully change someone’s life.”

He dismisses aspirations of stardom, expressing a genuine desire to share his feelings and impact someone’s life through his music. In discussing his age and the “OG” label, Hollister humorously notes, “I’m an OG now, that’s crazy, they call me an OG. I turned 55 in August, and I still feel like OGs are Frankie Beverly, Charlie Wilson, and Ron Isley types.”

The tour, aptly named “Matters of the Heart,” delves into Hollister’s experiences, including his two divorces. He candidly discusses the toll it took and the realization that personal growth is crucial for relationship success. “When we start looking at us in a relationship, we have a better percentage rate of making it.”

In his intimate City Winery setting, Hollister revisits familiar tunes, allowing his audience to connect with the music they love. Despite requests for new material, he values giving fans what they paid for and cherishes the connection with his supporters.

“To sum it up, [R&B music] is missing heart,” Hollister remarked.

“They go viral when they’re talking

about [the anatomy] and [sex acts], or getting money. The funny thing to me is that, at my concerts, there are 25, 27, and 30-year-olds, and I know they’re there because of their parents.

Their parents listen to my music.”

Beyond music, Hollister shared personal aspects of his life, from his love of cigars and pipes to reflections on relationships. As a hopeless romantic, he acknowledges the joys of being in a committed partnership and the challenges of navigating the single life after six years of solitude.

“I’m not meant to be alone. I am a hopeless romantic with the right one,” Hollister insisted. “I enjoyed being married … when you get to this part of our life, it seems more emotional for us now. Sex means more to me now because I have to have some kind of attachment. It’s about the connection.”

Hollister’s journey involves resilience, growth, and a commitment to genuine connections. As he continues to touch the hearts of fans on the “Matters of the Heart Tour,” his music remains a testament to the enduring power of soulful storytelling in the world of R&B.

FUN PUZZLE FOR YOUR LEISURE

INVITATION FOR BIDS

INVITATION FOR BIDS # CRHA 24-B-002

Chesapeake Redevelopment and Housing Authority is soliciting bids from qualified and licensed firms to provide Contractor Services for rehabilitation of building 5 in the Geneva Square Community in Chesapeake, VA 23323. IFB document download and Submittal Return: may be downloaded from the CRHA website under the Procurement Section at crhava.org/bids IFB documents will be ready for download Friday, January 26, 2024, at 8:00 am local prevailing time. The bid submittal must be received in-hand and time-stamped in the CRHA Central Office, 1468 South Military Highway, Chesapeake, VA 23320 no later than Friday March 15, 2024, by 2:00 p.m. prevailing local time. CRHA contact person: Art Harbin, Procurement Officer, 757-233-6412 fax: 757-5231601, art_harbin@crhava.org. Minority and/ or women-owned businesses are encouraged to submit bids.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

The Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority (NRHA) will receive proposals for 2153-153-24: Project Based Vouchers (PBV) for Projects within the Boundaries of the City of Norfolk from property owners and developers for new housing developments in Norfolk, Virginia and neighboring jurisdictions. The PBV program is a tool to promote the expansion of quality, affordable and accountable housing opportunities to low income families, homeless persons, elderly persons and person with disabilities, in order to meet mixed-income community objectives. The PBV shall be deployed in new construction, rehabilitated housing, or adaptive reuse of existing structures for residential housing developments or mixed income rental communities.

Multiple, resultant contracts may be offered up to 20 year terms.

Proposals will be received at NRHA, 555 E. Main Street (17th Floor drop Box) Norfolk, VA 23510 no later than 3:00 p.m. local prevailing time, on February 8, 2024. Solicitation documents are available for review at www.nrha.us and the E-Virginia Procurement website (www.eva.virginia.gov).

NRHA does not discriminate against individuals because of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status or national origin. Small businesses owned by women and minorities, and Section 3 certified businesses are encouraged to submit proposals.

... answers to this week’s puzzle.

New Journal and Guide

February 1, 2024 - February 7, 2024 | 7B

8B | February 1, 2024 - February 7, 2024

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