“This is a liberation zone.”— Sereen Haddad
Virginia Commonwealth University students set up a “Liberated Zone for Palestine” on Monday beside the John Branch Cabell Library. Students and community activists gathered together making signs and expressing their views. Police were deployed to the protest later that evening, making several arrests.
Spring brings a mild warmup to the area
By George Copeland Jr.Richmond is starting to heat up, as spring finally brings warmer temperatures to the Metro Area. The week started with temperature highs in the 80s, with estimated peaks of 90 degrees on Monday and Thursday. While rain is expected later in the week, the weather has stayed bright and sunny without becoming overbearing.
For 25-year-old construction worker Jacob Oliver, the change in temperature has been noticeable as he performed infrastructure work at Soda Flats Apartments. Taking a break on Monday to buy a gallon of water from a nearby store, the Chester resident and Arizona native said the shift in temperature was clear, but his experience with hot climates and smart choices to keep himself cool meant that shift wasn’t too much trouble.
“For the most part, everyone’s doing
By George Copeland Jr.Six students at Virginia Commonwealth University were among the 13 people arrested by police Monday evening on VCU’s campus outside the James Branch Cabell Library during an antiwar, pro-Palestine protest and encampment focused on the ongoing conflict in Gaza, Palestine.
What started with chalk messages on the pathway outside the library in the late afternoon grew across hours as protesters built what they called a “liberation zone” for Gaza, using tents, tarps and other tools
on the library’s lawn.
Hundreds gathered, sang, chanted and collaborated in support of Palestenians and against the ongoing military actions by the Israeli government focused on Gaza following an attack by Hamas on Israel on Oct 7.
“This is a liberation zone,” said organizer and VCU student Sereen Haddad. “We are all here because we have heart, we are human and we care about human life.”
The protesters have called on VCU to defend Palestinians on campus, declare their support for a ceasefire in Gaza, condemn
working on the job for a month and acknowledges that the heat can make his job tough.
the U.S. government’s role in the conflict, and to disclose, divest or end any VCU expenditures and partnerships connected to the Israeli government.
The encampment continued to grow until almost 9 p.m. when VCU, Richmond and Virginia State Police declared the protest an unlawful assembly and ordered protesters to disperse. They then used riot shields and pepper spray to end what had been a peaceful assembly.
All 13 people arrested were charged
The AFL-CIO, a coalition representing 12.5 million workers across various unions, has released its 33rd annual report, “Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect, uncovering troubling racial disparities in workplace safety. The report’s findings, based on the most recent data available, underscore the urgent need for policymakers, regulatory bodies, and employers to confront the disproportionate rates of fatalities, injuries and illnesses faced by workers of color.
According to the report, Black workers’ job fatality rates have surged to the highest levels seen in nearly 15 years. Meanwhile, all right,” Mr. Oliver said. “It might get worse, going into the summer months, but right now I don’t think the humidity’s too bad.”
This sentiment was echoed by local and statewide groups whose work includes or is entirely focused on observing and responding to seasonal changes and the weather.
Richmond’s cooling stations have not opened to the public, and are contingent on the local temperature reaching 92 degrees, according to Richmond city officials. When the heat does reach that threshold, information and notification on the cooling stations and their locations will be available.
Larry Brown, a lead forecaster at the National Weather Service’s station in Wakefield, noted that, while the summer season has continued to see increases in
By Darlene M. Johnson
Bridget Blake and Katrina Clarke are on a mission to preserve their family history and honor their ancestors buried in Green Cemetery located in the Granite community near what is now Stratford Hills in Richmond’s South Side.
Mrs. Clarke, 49, is the president and one of four co-founders of the Granite Community Foundation. The foundation’s main purpose is to highlight Granite, tell the stories of the AfricanAmericans that have lived there and inform the public about “a family that prospered here for centuries,” she said. The GCF has 16 members who are all related by marriage or blood, and are descendants of the deceased buried in the Green Cemetery.
The GCF was formed through the planning of a family reunion and was established as a nonprofit on Jan. 11, Mrs. Clarke said, although the family began researching their history last year.
“While we were working on our history, I remembered as a little girl, a family member was telling us about gravesites in the (Granite) area with family members (buried),” Mrs.
Six different individuals and groups were recognized recently by the Board of Supervisors as recipients of 2024 Chesterfield Community Champions awards.
The program, which is managed by the Department of Community Engagement and Resources, was created in 2020 to honor residents who volunteer their time and resources to effect positive change in their communities.
These awards recognize the impact of volunteer service in the community and celebrates the outstanding residents who are making a difference.
Here are the six categories and the corresponding winners:
Youth: Mila Marrero developed an organization to provide girls in her community with mental health toolboxes. She handpicks the materials and makes the bracelets that go in the boxes. Through the creation and delivery of the boxes, she encourages the community to talk about mental health and help decrease the stigma around it.
Teen: Jonathan Dandridge participated in the leadership training program at Beulah Recreation Center. The program is designed to help youth ages 15-17 develop leadership and decision-making skills, problem-solving and conduct various mentoring activities through the Department of Parks and Recreation. Through the program, Jonathan volunteered 152 hours for children ages 5-12.
Adult: Nury Mojica is a champion for equality and growth. She works diligently within the community to foster partnerships and connections to resources many people are unaware of. Nury has coordinated food and clothing drives, outreach events and job training for employment.
Senior: Julie Grimes worked as a full-time librarian for Chesterfield County, where she organized and led programs for residents of the Juvenile Detention Center. After retiring, she immediately asked to be the center’s volunteer librarian. Julie volunteers at least once a week, seven to 10 hours a day, meeting with youth to make sure they have books to read. She attends their graduations and special events and even visits on Christmas Day to be with residents who don’t have family.
Group: Volunteers from Caring Canines bring dogs to the Chesterfield County Jail to spend time with inmates in the HARP program. This time is valuable to program participants because they’re able to connect with both the volunteers and service animals.
Organization: The primary mission of Launch for Life, a membership program for boys ages 9 to 16, is to empower, provide structure for and support young men in need of positive role models. Launch for Life focuses on delinquency prevention, skill development and academic achievement. It is designed to build connections, increase emotional competence, empathy, motivation and accountability while laying the foundation for resilience and growth.
Free community testing for COVID-19 continues
For the week of April 20, the city of Richmond and the counties of Henrico, Chesterfield and Hanover saw 35 confirmed hospital admissions of patients with COVID-19. Four deaths associated with COVID-19 were reported statewide during the same timeframe.
Free community testing for COVID-19 continues. The Richmond and Henrico County health districts are offering testing at the following locations:
• Thursday, May 2, 1 to 5 p.m. - Henrico Arms Apartments, 1566 Edgelawn Circle.
• Friday, May 3, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. - Southside Plaza WIC, 509 E. Southside Plaza.
• Wednesday, May 8, 8 to 10 a.m., East Henrico Recreation Center, 1440 N. Laburnum Ave.
RHHD’s Resource Centers are providing free at-home tests for pickup at select locations:
• Creighton Court at 2150 Creighton Road, 804-371-0433.
• Fairfield Court at 2311 N. 25th St., 804-786-4099.
• Gilpin Court at 436 Calhoun St., 804-786-1960.
• Hillside Court at 1615 Glenfield Ave., 804-230-7740.
• Mosby Court at 1536 Coalter St., 804-786-0204.
• Southwood Court at 1754 Clarkson Road, Unit #B, 804230-2077
• Whitcomb Court at 2106 Deforrest St., 804-786-0555 Call the Richmond and Henrico Call Center at (804) 2053501 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Monday through Friday for more information on testing sites, or go online at vax.rchd.com.
The Virginia Department of Health also has a list of COVID-19 testing locations around the state at www.vdh.virginia.gov. Want a COVID-19 vaccine?
Those interested can schedule an appointment with RHHD by calling (804) 205-3501.Vaccines.gov also allows people to find nearby pharmacies and clinics that offer the COVID-19 vaccine, and those interested can also text their ZIP code to 438829 or call 1-800-232-0233. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently recommends that children between the ages of 6 months to 4 years old may need multiple doses of the updated vaccines, depending on their COVID19 vaccine status and whether they had previously received Pfizer and Moderna.
Waiting periods for additional vaccines can range from three to eight weeks or four to eight weeks depending on the vaccine dose previously received.
Children between the ages of 5 and 11 who are unvaccinated or have received a vaccine before Sept. 12, 2023 should get one updated Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.
Those age 12 and older who are unvaccinated should get either one updated Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or two doses of the updated Novavax vaccine. People in that age range who received a vaccine before Sept. 12, 2023, should get one updated Pfizer, Moderna or Novavax vaccine.
People who are moderately or severely immunocompromised may get additional doses of updated COVID-19 vaccine, and are encouraged to talk with their health care providers about how and when to receive them.
Compiled by George Copeland Jr.
Karlee Clements was six months pregnant, “full on into addiction” and begging to go to jail because she was afraid she would kill her child.
Soon after, she was incarcerated at Riverside Regional Jail for a violation. Because of her baby’s low heart rate, she was sent to Chippenham Hospital, where she spent the remainder of her pregnancy.
Zip-tied to a hospital bed, with a Riverside officer next to her, Ms. Clements gave birth to a baby girl and spent three days with her, per Virginia law. Restraints are no longer allowed on inmates during labor, except under certain circumstances.
Ms. Clements went back to jail, and her
Progressively. She said security is the most beneficial thing she’s gotten out of HARP.
“I’m actually learning to love myself, and my feelings are coming back,” Ms. Clements said. “It’s okay to feel, I’m not used to feeling at all.”
The number of women with opioid-related diagnoses at the time of delivery increased by 131% between 2010-2017, according to a JAMANetwork study. In Virginia, the number of infants exposed to a substance — including drugs and alcohol cases — rose 533% between 2000-2018, with a spike that also parallels the increased use of opioids.
Finding Recovery Behind Bars
Chesterfield County Sheriff Karl Leonard started the HARP program after annual overdose deaths in the county hit double
baby experienced withdrawal for 30 days. Once she was released, Ms. Clements gave her baby up for adoption and started using drugs again.
“It became a way of living,” Ms. Clements said. “That’s the way I got through life.”
The number of jailed pregnant women fighting addiction has increased amid the skyrocketing opioid use in the past decade that led Virginia to declare a public health emergency in 2016. While the state has started to fund more recovery and treatment efforts, incarcerated mothers have fewer resources.
Women in jail say facing motherhood and addiction is a specific struggle that needs more attention, in addition to more uniform prenatal care.
There is no official census of how many pregnant women are incarcerated, or their overall maternal health, a data gap the U.S. Department of Justice acknowledges and is addressing.
Approximately 3% of women admitted to U.S. jails are pregnant, according to a 2020 peer-reviewed study published in the Obstetrics & Gynecology journal. If that number was applied to the national jail population, there could be an estimated 55,000 pregnant women in jail.
Spike in Rates of Pregnant Women Using Opioids
Ms. Clements is now incarcerated at Chesterfield County Jail and involved in its recovery program, Helping Addicts Recover
digits on March 8, 2016.
People would get clean and sober in jail and then go back to the community. In reality, nothing was being done to help them, Sheriff Leonard said.
“We wanted to start releasing recovered addicts back into the community with the tools, the knowledge, the equipment to be able to deal with all those issues that led them to use drugs before they got into the jail,” Sheriff Leonard said.
HARP currently does not offer programs geared toward pregnant women, but does offer parenting classes.
The Chesterfield jail does not provide prenatal care, so pregnant inmates are sent to Riverside in Prince George County. Riverside had 475 pregnant inmates in a little over eight years, according to the jail.
HARP predates the Opioid Abatement Authority, an organization created by the GeneralAssembly in 2021 to handle incoming opioid lawsuit settlement money. Virginia is beginning to receive millions of what will be an estimated $1.1 billion, according to the OAA.
“One of the rules for the use of the funds, which we disagree with very much, is that the funds cannot be used for any existing programs,” Sheriff Leonard said.
A locality cannot use OAA money to supplant existing expenditures but can receive funding if they expand existing programs or implement new programs, according to
its website.
Support for Incarcerated Pregnant Women
Many women do not even know they are pregnant when they enter jail, according to Henrico County West Jail Capt. Pamela Dismuke. Female inmates are required to take a pregnancy test when they enter.
“I like to say a lot of the time jail kinda saved them, because had she not known she was pregnant she’d probably still be doing drugs and hurting the baby even more,” Capt. Dismuke said.
Capt. Dismuke started a program for pregnant inmates two years ago. She contacted someone who works for the Department of Corrections and is a doula, or a person who provides guidance and support to a pregnant woman during labor.
Incarcerated pregnant women need specific food, supplements, exercise and even postpartum help that is not common practice throughout the system.
The nonprofit Virginia Prison Birth Project pairs pregnant women in the Henrico jail with a doula and also shares nutritional food and information on a baby’s development and care, in addition to a weekly yoga class. Doulas also offer support by delivering breastmilk to the baby’s caretaker.
The organization provided the first doulasupported birth for a pregnant inmate in Virginia in 2019, according to its website
Many women learn through the program how drugs hurt their babies, and it helps them take better care of themselves, Capt. Dismuke said.
Bobbie Jo Lashway, a pregnant inmate at Henrico County West Jail, said there are few programs aimed at her subgroup, despite large numbers of incarcerated pregnant women.
Ms. Lashway enjoys the yoga program and is thankful people take time out of their day to share experiences.
“It’s good on a human connection level that we don’t get in here,” Ms. Lashway said.
Funding Efforts to Combat the Epidemic
The OAA distributes 55% of incoming settlement funds to state agencies and localities that apply for funding, according to OAA director of finance Adam Rosatelli. A grants committee decides how to distribute the funds, in line with opioid abatement efforts and Virginia code
The OAA has not funded any programs related to incarcerated pregnant or parenting women, but has funded jail programs, according to Rosatelli.
“It was a pretty powerful thing to observe about the work we do and it being put into action,” Mr. Rosatelli said, about a visit last year to an OAA-funded recovery center for women in Washington County.
The OAA has distributed about $34 million, which has been used for initiatives such as recovery homes, education and prevention efforts and marketing campaigns, according to Rosatelli.
VCU InSight journalist Jimmy Sidney contributed to this report. Capital News Service is a program of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Robertson School of Media and Culture
A growing group of community members is trying to save the shuttered historic Richmond Community Hospital, Richmond’s first Black hospital. The hospital, which sits on the campus of Virginia Union University, may be lost to a $42 million affordable housing project. Working with The Steinbridge Group, a New York-based real estate investment, development and asset management firm, the VUU plan calls for 200 apartment units on their North Side property.
When civic leader Viola Baskerville saw that the plans for the housing project required tearing down Richmond Community Hospital, she and others formed “Save Community Hospital.” The group maintains a Facebook page that provides extensive history of the hospital and testimonies from community members who want not only to save the building but honor its history.
“This isn’t a fight about a dilapidated old building, it is a fight to preserve and honor those who came before us,” says Ms. Baskerville, a former member and vice chair of Richmond
City Council and a former delegate the Virginia General Assembly. Their mission, she says, is to increase awareness of what is at stake should the university decide to destroy the 1932 art-deco building, “built by Black hands for Black people.” The group gathers on the first Sunday of each month to educate and make their opposition to VUU’s plans known. This Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m. at 1209 Overbrook Road, the group is hosting a history and healing session to honor the nurses who were a part of the original Richmond Community Hospital.
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“Yesterday’s events outside of Cabell Library remind us of the complexities we face as a university committed to free speech, safety and operating our university,” VCU President Michael Rao said in a Tuesday statement posted on the college’s website. “While our community cherishes the right to peaceful protest, setting up structures on our campus lawn violated our policy.”
“It’s essential to recognize that the vast majority of events at VCU occur without incident. It’s in this spirit of togetherness that I believe our community will move forward.”
Roughly 1,100 Israelis were killed and about 250 people were abducted by Hamas on Oct. 7, and around 9,000 Israelis have been injured in the time since. While the exact number of Palestinians in Gaza impacted by Israel’s military response is unknown and contested by some, the city’s health ministry has reported at least 34,000 deaths and over 77,000 injured since it began.
It was those deaths, injuries and other suffering reported in the months since the conflict began that drew people to the campus protest on Monday.
“I could never sit in my house or just be on social media and see everything and not do anything,” said a junior at VCU who said his name was Xavier. The student said he sees similarities between the treatment of Palestenians, and African-Americans and indigenous communities throughout American history. “There’s families being broken apart, there’s people dying out here and I just think that something needs to be done.
“I’m always for revolution, I’m always for evolution, and I want generations ahead of me to see a change, to see a better world.”
The VCU campus protest was the latest organized in Virginia and across the country in response to the ongoing conflict and toll it has taken on Gaza and the Palestenians.
A protest in Fredericksburg at the University of Mary Washington ended in the arrest of 12 people, including nine students, on Saturday. Over 80 people were arrested at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg the same day protests began at VCU.
Students at the University of Virginia, meanwhile, set up a liberation zone of their own on the lawn of their campus Tuesday, ahead of a larger organizing effort on Wednesday.
Gov. Glenn A. Youngkin weighed in on the VCU protest in a social media post Tuesday evening, reiterating his earlier support of law enforcement in handling campus protests and encampments. Other Republican legislators would echo his remarks in response to the VCU protest.
“After repeated warnings and refusal to disperse, law enforcement must protect Virginians,” Gov. Youngkin said. “My administration will continue to fully support campus, local and state law enforcement and university leadership to keep our campuses safe.”
Other Virginia politicians would also chime in, with several Democratic legislators pushing back against the use of force
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Latino workers continue to endure the most significant risk of death on the job compared to any other demographic group. In 2022, 734 Black workers lost their lives while on the job, a significant increase from the 543 deaths recorded in 2003. Similarly alarming trends were observed among Latino workers, with the number of deaths rising from 794 in 2003 to 1,248 in 2022. Shockingly, 60% of those killed were immigrants.
“These alarming disparities in workplace fatalities among workers of color are unacceptable, symptomatic of deeply ingrained racial inequity and the need to pay increased attention to the dangerous industries that treat workers as disposable,” remarked AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler in a statement.
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temperature over the years, that increase in heat index has not spread to months outside the summer season.
“It’s been a little above average, but we really haven’t had humidity yet,” Mr. Brown said. “The temperatures are just a little bit more consistent.”
“A lot of our summers and the warmer season have been a little bit longer but not necessarily more extreme, not to the level of getting a high heat index in April.”
Regardless of the current temperature, the importance of staying cool was still clear to those observing the changing weather and those on the ground experiencing it firsthand.
Staying hydrated, wearing appropriate clothing, avoiding going outside during very high temperatures and checking on the elderly and pets were some of the ways shared that people can use to stay safe and healthy in warm weather, and will only become more important in the months to come.
The revelations are particularly stark when compared to the racial breakdown of the American workforce. Recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that as of 2021, white workers comprised 77% of the U.S. workforce, while Latino workers accounted for 18%, and Black employees represented 13%. The proportions don’t align with the rates of fatalities among workers of color.
“This report exposes an urgent crisis for workers of color and reaffirms what we’ve long known: When we talk about justice for workers, we must prioritize racial equity,” the authors emphasized.
The report identified specific hazards and industries where workers of color
by police against the protesters.
included
Former college professor and lieutenant governor candidate Sen.
also weighed in on the protest and the police response, alongside statements from Richmond City Councilmember Katherine Jordan and Richmond School Board member and City Council candidate Kenya Gibson.
“Our academic institutions have a long legacy of cultivating freedom of thought and expression,” Sen. Hashmi stated. “This legacy cannot and must not be overturned in efforts to suppress student voices.”
Congresswoman Jennifer L. McClellan and City Council member and mayoral candidate Andreas Addison criticized the police’s escalation of the situation by using chemical agents. They drew direct comparisons between the response to the encampment to the police response to protests against police brutality the city saw several years ago following the murder of George Floyd and other African-Americans by police across the country.
“Instead of repeating history by issuing apologies after the fact,” Mr. Addison said, “let’s learn from those lessons by listening and answering calls to action with lasting policy solutions that address the underlying issues at the center of protest.”
are most vulnerable. For Black workers, fatalities often result from transportation accidents, homicides, or exposure to harmful substances or environments. Meanwhile, Latino workers face significant risks in industries such as construction, agriculture, and manufacturing, where workplace hazards are prevalent. Furthermore, the report highlights the systemic challenges workers of color face in accessing adequate protections and resources. Instances of employer retaliation for reporting unsafe conditions or injuries are rampant, creating a culture of fear and silence among workers. Weak penalties and enforcement mechanisms further exacerbate these issues, failing to hold non-compliant employers accountable for endangering their employees’ lives. Despite advancements in safety regulations and enforcement, systemic issues persist, threatening the well-being of workers across various industries.
Comparing records on safety and health, the report noted that the Biden and Trump administration’s records differ drastically. The authors determined that the Biden administration’s job safety agencies have had to repair and rebuild after “four years of decimation rife with understaffing, repeal of worker safety laws, limits on public access to information and the inability to issue even the most basic of long-overdue protections.” They concluded that the Biden administration improved transparency of information about loved ones lost on the job to honor them and to prevent the tragedies for other families, bolstered
enforcement initiatives to hold accountable the employers who violate the law and put workers in danger, strengthened policies to protect vulnerable workers with the greatest risks of dying on the job and facing retaliation, and issued milestone regulations to save workers’ lives and improve their livelihoods.
The authors noted that the Biden administration recently used the first action under the amended Toxic Substances Control Act to ban current uses and imports of chrysotile asbestos, after decades of weak laws and inaction that have put the United States behind other countries; issued a rule to protect communities from facilities that store, use or manufacture chemicals; clarified the rights of workers to choose their own representation during inspections; issued a rule to protect mineworkers from silica exposure; issued a rule to require large employers to fall in line with other-sized employers on injury reporting to OSHA and anti-retaliation measures for workers who report injuries; and worked across agencies to protect immigrant workers whose employers are involved in a workplace safety and health investigation.
The authors said urgent steps are needed to address the root causes of workplace fatalities, injuries, and illnesses, particularly those disproportionately affecting marginalized communities. They urged policymakers, employers, and stakeholders “to prioritize racial equity to improve workplace safety and health outcomes for all workers.”
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Clarke said.
Mrs. Clarke and Emmanuel Hyde, who is documenting and writing a book about the community’s history, then reached out to Bridget Blake, 63, and her mother. The Blakes were excited to delve into the family history and get more information about the area and their lineage.
Bridget Blake’s mother’s property is in front of Green Cemetery and connected to Gravel Hill Baptist Church. The family land was Ms. Blake’s great-grandfather Robert Green’s and his brothers’, dating back to the 1800s. The property will be passed down to Ms. Blake.
Granite was “all slave property,” Ms. Blake said. Over time, outside families bought property in Granite, which led to gravesites being on other properties. At least 50 people are buried on the Blake property. More graves are on two other properties across from the Blake property, Ms. Blake said.
Ms. Blake’s mother and her mother’s cousin, who is deceased, were the only two people maintaining the cemetery up until 15 years ago. The cemetery was unkempt for years, but things are turning around.
A work in progress
Ms. Blake began these efforts to preserve
Green Cemetery around 2015 when she and a few of her cousins made a path to the cemetery, she said. With the help of contractors, the family was able to clear trees on the path and around the gravesites. A landscaper also donated lights to put along the path.
More recently, the GCF had a group cleanup of the cemetery on March 16. The cleanup crew of about 20 people included Ms. Blake, Mrs. Clarke and other relatives. The group cleared debris from the concrete headstones and tried to identify some of them with faded engravings, Mrs. Clarke said. The headstones with names were hand-engraved by Ms. Blake’s greatgrandfather. Ms. Blake plans to clean and restore some of the hidden graves in the cemetery. A majority of the graves do not have headstones, she said. The Virginia Department of Historic Resources, who surveyed the area around 2020, placed markers on some of the graves without them. Many were displaced due to trespassers running dirt bikes over the graves, Ms. Blake said. She wants to buy cement bases with epitaphs engraved to replace the missing headstones.
The DHR returned to Green Cemetery on April 24, Ms. Blake said. After a few weeks, the graves will be recorded and
the documentation will be sent back to the family for final approval. The cemetery will then be entered into the historic registry.
“The reason I wanted DHR to record (the graves) is so there’s that (record) when I’m gone. Nobody can dispute those graves were there,” Ms. Blake said. “They’ve been there. I wanted to record it in history.” Looking ahead
While it is warming up outside, some family members will make sure the cemetery is maintained until the fall, when the family will come together as a group, Ms. Clarke said. She hopes to “make sure we maintain it at least yearly, but on a regular basis … and make sure everything is clear.” The GCF is looking into grants and donations to help fund the upkeep of the cemetery.
As the foundation is only in its first year, Ms. Clarke hopes word of mouth and promotion, with the backing of Gravel Hill Baptist Church, will help with community outreach. She looks forward to meeting with other organizations and informing the public about the purpose of the foundation.
“That is one of our goals, not just to be a name but to be able to reach out to the community and to be able to help the community in any kind of way they need,” Ms. Clarke said.
It has been almost 50 years since the U.S. government established that Asian-Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders and their accomplishments should be recognized annually across the nation.
What started as just one week in May has evolved over the decades into a monthlong tribute of events in cities big and small. The nature of celebrations also evolved. Asian-American and Pacific Islander or Asian-American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month is not just about showcasing festive fare like food and fashion, but hard subjects like grief and social justice. The rise of anti-Asian hate during the pandemic only heightened that effort.
“I think the visibility and the level that the increased participation of organizations in Asian Pacific Heritage Month activities is also an indication of the increasing voice of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in civic life more generally,” said Karen Umemoto, director of the UCLAAsian American Studies Center. “And also an indication of the spaces that we’ve come to collectively enter to be able to create those.” Indeed, Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month celebrations are not relegated just to ethnic enclaves or culturally specific venues. Across the U.S. this year, events are planned at public libraries, parks and museums either highlighting a specific Asian culture or a myriad of them.
Many credit the observance’s origin to Jeanie Jew, a co-founder of the congressional Asian-Pacific staff caucus. In 1977, the Chinese American shared a moving story with New York Republican Rep. Frank Horton about how her grandfather had helped build the transcontinental railroad in the 1800s and then was killed amid
anti-Asian unrest.
Ms. Jew believed Asians should appreciate their heritage and “Americans must know about the contributions and histories of the AsianPacific American experience,” Rep. Horton said in 1992, according to congressional archives. At that time, Black History Month and Hispanic Heritage Month already had been instituted. Yet, Asian-Americans were described as the fastest growing racial group. Rep. Horton and California Democratic Rep. Norm Mineta proposed President Carter issue a proclamation that the first week of May be “Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week.” Hawaii Sens. Daniel Inouye and Spark Matsunaga, both Democrats, brought up a similar bill in the Senate.
May was chosen because of two significant events. The first Japanese immigrants to the U.S.
arrived on May 7, 1843. Then on May 19, 1869, the final spike for the transcontinental railroad track, in which Chinese laborers played a crucial role, was embedded.
Ms. Umemoto recalls hearing talk of Asian Pacific Heritage Week as a college student. But it wasn’t something that was mainstream.
“I think it was more of a kind of cultural celebration in the early days,” she said. “And so a lot of student groups, I remember as doing programming around the different histories, cultural traditions and issues in the community.”
In May 1990, President George H.W. Bush expanded the designation to the entire month. In 2009, President Obama changed the name to Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Now, President Biden’s administration refers to it as Asian-American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
“As artists and journalists, doctors and engineers, business and community leaders, and so much more, AA and NHPI peoples have shaped the very fabric of our Nation and opened up new possibilities for all of us,” President Biden said in an official Asian-American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders Heritage Month proclamation issued Tuesday.
The White House will hold a celebration in Washington on May 13 to commemorate 25 years since the inception of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders.
Asian-American and Pacific Islander advocacy groups have long used the month as a platform to bring resources to underserved communities and educate the public. But, the one-two punch of COVID-19 and assaults on Asian people in the U.S really gave some a new appreciation for the heritage month’s purpose.
Pre-pandemic, Amber Reed, of Montclair, N.J., didn’t really think about Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. A KoreanAmerican adoptee who grew up one of few Asian children in rural Michigan, she said she didn’t feel a strong connection to her Asian ancestry. That changed after the March 2021 Atlanta spa shootings that left eight dead, including six Asian women.
In response to the shootings, Ms. Reed and around 50 others started the nonprofit AAPI New Jersey — originally AAPI Montclair. Their advocacy began with surveys of local schools and other institutions’ recognition of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
The group then quickly organized the Lantern Festival for Justice and Remembrance for May. The Chinese tradition of lighting lanterns became a vehicle to honor victims of hate or injustice, Ms. Reed said. The event is now in its fourth year.
The variety of subjects and cultures feted during Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month has flourished. There are events happening this month that include more narrow topics, such as a panel on the Asian American Church in Pasadena, Calif. There’s an Asian Comedy Fest in New York. And in Wisconsin, the state will celebrate May 14 as Hmong-Lao Veterans Day, which was signed into law in 2021. Thousands of Hmong-Lao soldiers fought alongside U.S. forces during the Vietnam war. Many Hmong and Laotian families resettled in Wisconsin.
These heritage month celebrations are helping to erode the notion that the whole population is a monolith, Ms. Umemoto said.
May 2-4, 2024
Last week, we reported that Gov. Glenn Youngkin had tapped beverage industry veteran Dale Farino as the new chief executive officer of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority (ABC). Mr. Farino, who most recently served as the vice chair of the ABC Board, seems to have the experience and knowledge for the position. A brief look at his resume shows stints at Breakthru Beverage Virginia,The Coca-Cola Bottling Company and serving as president of the Wine Wholesalers Association. We applaud the governor for hiring a qualified applicant for this position – and we he hope this positive change continues.
However, juxtaposed against this selection are two instances that raise questions about the thoroughness of the governor’s vetting process and his true intentions. You may recall, about a year ago, a man the governor chose to be the state’s chief diversity officer, Martin D. Brown, proved he wasn’t the right choice for the gig. He announced “DEI is dead,” at an employee training program at Virginia Military Institute. A look at his résumé for experience in matters of inclusion and diversity won’t turn up much. We haven’t heard from him since his comments led to calls for his resignation. Did he fire himself?
And then there’s the governor’s recent choice as a special adviser to the CEO of the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority. She’s Elizabeth Shultz, a former assistant superintendent of public instruction for the state. Ms. Schultz has no experience with cannabis policy. Granted, it’s a relatively new science, but something tells me the governor didn’t search high and low to fill the position. As you may recall, the governor vetoed a bill that would’ve allowed the retail sale of marijuana in March.
The hiring of Mr. Farino shows that the Youngkin administration can find capable and knowledgeable people to work in our state government — when they are inclined to do so.
Filming has begun on a biopic of producer and Virginia native Pharrell Williams, with a shoot happening at Henrico’s Seven Gables Apartments recently. The film, a musical featuring Halle Bailey and Oscar winner Da’Vine Joy Randolph, is reportedly set in the summer of 1977 in Virginia Beach. The producers estimate they will spend around $42 million in the state while they’re here.
We welcome the crew, actors and actresses who are making this happen in our area. And Pharrell, if you’re looking for a place to put “something” in our water, you should know that a nice, 7,500- seat amphitheater is being constructed along the James River.
Longtime reader, first time managing editor — of the Richmond Free Press. I’m Craig Belcher. You may have seen my byline in Richmond Magazine, Style Weekly, or a few other publications. According to my research, I’m the first person not named Boone or Bonnie to have this role. Look for a more formal introduction next week. In the meantime, I’m open to ideas on how the Free Press can better serve its audience. If you have some, contact me at craigbelcher@ richmondfreepress.com
When a friend reminded me that it’s almost time for the Democratic National Convention, I wanted to say, “That’s OK, I’m good with the last one.”
But, I didn’t. I’m too much of a political junkie to ignore this level of political his tory while it’s being made.
As a matter of historical importance, it’s not the party that mat ters to me as much as the role these events play in making political history. But I also am a Chicagoan who cares about the city and the image it presents to the world.
As such, I felt great apprehension before the last Democratic convention in Chicago in 1996, especially in light of the fiasco that erupted during the party’s convention in 1968.
Yes, the 1968 convention, in case you weren’t around, was the one widely and unpleasantly remembered for violent clashes between police and protesters, a chaotic scene that set the party up for what became nominee Hubert Humphrey’s loss in the fall to Republican Richard Nixon.
AIPAC’s role in the war between Israel and Palestine Is Chicago ready for the next Democratic convention?
Let me begin with the obligatory statements. What happened on Oct. 7, 2023, was horrible. Hamas launched an attack on Israel that some describe as “unprovoked.” But at an AIPAC (American Israel Political Action Committee) conference during the 2020 presidential campaign, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu bragged about annexing Palestinian land.
While decrying the loss of life from Oct. 7, one might also look at the provocation that prompted extreme action by Hamas. There is another obligatory statement. Israel has a right to exist. But under what terms and on what land? When the prime minister encourages Jewish settlers to occupy Palestinian land, that’s an act of aggression. No wonder there are so many angry Palestinians, victims of Israel, who demand self-determination but deny self-determination to others. And if anyone dares question these tactics, they become a target for AIPAC. This rabidly pro-Israel organization refuses to recognize that Palestinians are human beings who also have rights. The organization has gone after those calling for a cease-fire and peace in the Middle East. They are raising $100 million to defeat progressive members of Congress who do not toe the narrow Israel line. And they are indifferent to the fact that as many as 13,000 children have been murdered by Israel’s aggression.
Fortunately, the 1996 convention came off well enough to be remembered less for the reasonably peaceful protests outside than for the sight of first lady Hillary Clinton, later the U.S. secretary of state, clapping along with other delegates doing the Macarena during an intermission.
Ah, talk about the politics of joy.
But I was sensing flashbacks to chaotic 1968 last week when about 40 people were arrested for blocking roads leading into O’Hare International Airport, one of the world’s busiest, for more than an hour.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker later reassured the public that the city and state are ready to stop any disruption to the big event.
“Look, we believe in free speech, and we’re going to allow people to protest,” he told Dana Bash on “CNN Sunday Morning.” “But the reality is we’re going to make sure people have ingress and egress and that they’re safe in our state.”
Well, good luck, governor, and to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson too. Here’s hoping our political leaders have learned
AIPAC and its co-conspirators spent nearly $7 million to defeat progressive Donna Edwards because she was not sufficiently pro-Israel. Instead, in a safe Democratic district, AIPAC supported the more moderate Glen Ivey, who was the state attorney for Prince George’s County. Except for his blind support of Israel, Mr. Ivey and Ms. Edwards are politically similar, though Ms. Edwards’
positions are often to the left of Ivey’s. AIPAC’s political interference meant that Maryland’s congressional delegation is now entirely male.
AIPAC is up to its old tricks in this election cycle. They’ve targeted New York Congressman Jamal Bowman, Pennslyvania Congresswoman Summer Lee, and Missouri Congresswoman Cori Bush because they aren’t pro-Israel enough for them. These are all African American members of Congress who have the best interest of the Black community at heart. AIPAC has placed itself in direct opposition to the African-American community, but why should it care about the African-American community?
Ms. Lee, Mr. Bowman, and Ms. Bush aren’t the only targets of AIPAC’s ire. They’ve gone after “The Squad,” especially Congresswomen Ilhan Omar (Minnesota) and Rashida Talib (Michigan). And they attempt to define anti-Semitism broadly so that even the slightest criticism of Israel is considered objectionable. But members of Congress abdicate their responsibility to
some important lessons from our past convention experiences, including the missteps.
A special commission headed by Dan Walker, general counsel for Montgomery Ward who later would become Illinois governor, famously blamed the 1968 chaos in the streets on a “police riot.”
The report confirmed the widespread public impression that the Chicago police, in a classic Daley understatement, “overreacted.” But it also pointed out the provocations they suffered, as well as examples of police showing proper restraint.
The success of the 1996 convention under Mayor Richard M. Daley, son of Richard J., showed how much the son and the city had learned from the mistakes of 1968. It’s hard to remember now, because 1996 went so well, but there was palpable nervousness beforehand.
So it is in 2024. The reasons are different this time. In 1996, what caused the angst was the pressure of exorcising the demons of 1968. In 2024, what is prompting the worry is a new generation of activists and protesters using a level of aggression we haven’t really seen since the late ‘60s. Once again, Chicago’s 1968 demons have returned to fray our nerves. It’s only the issues fueling the
raise budget issues if they don’t question why, even before the April 20 Congressional action sending more weapons to Israel, our country allocated $3.3 billion to Israel’s so-called “selfdefense.”
I object to my tax dollars being used to murder Gazan children. Those members of Congress who are raising questions are doing the right thing. Those calling for a cease-fire are responding to a moral imperative about the value of human life. Israel is using food as a weapon, blocking supplies to Palestine and killing innocent relief workers and people who are simply trying to provide food for the hungry in Palestine.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, Jewish himself, described AIPAC as a “platform for those who express bigotry and oppose basic Palestinian rights.” He has described Mr. Netanyahu as a “reactionary racist.”Many in Israel oppose Netanyahu’s strong-arm tactics and would love to topple his government. He has cynically used the war with Hamas to maintain his political position. I consider AIPAC and its affiliated groups enemies of humanity and decency. Their take-no-prisoners support for Israel ignores the humanity of the Palestinian people. Their fatwa against those who criticize Israel amounts to censorship. As the conflict continues to rage and more children die, Israel has much to be ashamed of. They are aided and abetted by the powerful AIPAC lobby that believes that Israel can do no wrong.
Dr. Julianne Malveaux is an economist, author and educator.
anger that have changed. Brandon Johnson is about as far from Richard J. Daley in terms of ideology as a mayor can get. But he is likely to be confronted with similar quandaries over how much force to allow his police force to employ. A nervous city for now can only wait for August. It won’t provide any comfort to him that Daley’s reputation never recovered from the brutal scenes in Grant Park. Chicago has been hosting party conventions since the Republican National Convention that nominated Abraham Lincoln in 1860. The vast majority of those gatherings have reflected well on the city and pumped money into the local economy. It’s your turn now, Mayor Johnson. It’s not that the whole world is watching, as the young protesters chanted in 1968. But a whole country will be. The writer is a columnist for the Chicago Tribune.
Labor union says it’s filing FOIA suit over secretive Petersburg casino process Unite Here says public notice for April 24 meeting was inadequateBy Graham Moomaw
A hospitality workers union
trying to ensure Petersburg picks a labor-friendly developer for its planned casino says it will sue the city over alleged transparency violations after the City Council appeared to make major decisions on the casino project behind closed doors.
Unite Here, a union that represents casino workers across the country, announced Tuesday that it will file a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against Petersburg City Council over its surprise decision to cancel a competitive bidding process and give the casino project to The Cordish Companies, a development company based in Baltimore.
That vote occurred in a matter of minutes at an April 24 meeting after City Council spent more than an hour and a half in closed session. The stated purpose of the closed meeting was for the council to receive legal advice related to the casino process, but Unite Here alleges the meeting was illegal because the public was given no notice of the significant decision that was made that day almost entirely outside of public view.
In its brief open session on April 24, Petersburg City Council canceled a request for proposals it had issued on Feb. 12 and voted to select Cordish as the city’s casino operator, without reading or providing copies of the resolution the body was passing. Council members then left the meeting without explaining what they had just done to the few reporters that attended the meeting in a mostly empty auditorium.
“The City of Petersburg’s actions show a shocking disregard for the law and democratic norms,” Sam Epps, political director of Unite Here Local 25, said in a news release. “Petersburg had begun a competitive RFP process that should have proceeded with transparency and fairness. Instead, City Council apparently abused a closed session to discuss the selection of the casino operator.”
The union said its lawsuit will allege that the council used the closed session to discuss the recommendations of a consulting firm the city hired to vet proposals, a discussion that the suit will claim didn’t align with the legally required motion stating the purpose of the closed meeting.
“A billion-dollar development project cannot be decided in secrecy,” said Paul Schwalb, executive secretary-treasurer of Unite Here Local 25. If the union’s lawsuit succeeds, it could have ramifications beyond technical violations of open government laws.
In a six-page letter the union sent to Petersburg officials asking them to preserve all documents relevant to the upcoming litigation, a lawyer for Unite Here said any decisions made at the April 24 meeting are “clearly void.”
Because of that, the letter states, the city should not move
forward with its casino plans by signing a contract with Cordish or beginning the process of scheduling a voter referendum in November that will determine whether the project will or won’t happen.
The union’s letter also takes issue with the council’s decision to rescind a previous letter naming Bally’s Corporation as Petersburg’s preferred casino operator.
The Bally’s letter has stoked controversy at the General Assembly after Petersburg City Council alleged it was only issued after Sen. Lashrecse Aird, D-Petersburg, told the city it had to sign a document naming Bally’s in order for the legislature to pass a bill giving Petersburg permission to have a casino. Sen. Aird has disputed that characterization but has not laid out her own explanation for why the letter was drafted and her alleged role in it.
Unite Here had a labor agreement in place with Bally’s, and the union’s efforts to file a legal challenge over the way the project was awarded to Cordish underscores the alliance between the union and Bally’s.
Cordish has work agreements with a rival labor group, the Seafarers Entertainment & Allied Trades Union.
Unite Here’s letter to Petersburg officials specifically alleges that the public notice for the April 24 meeting was inadequate because it didn’t convey enough information about what business the council was actually conducting.
“A person reading the notice would have no idea that the closed session meeting would discuss the selection of Cordish, or what ‘particular case, controversy, or issue’ was to be the meeting’s subject,” Mr. Paul More, an attorney representing Unite Here, wrote in the April 29 letter instructing Petersburg officials to preserve “all documents, emails, text messages and other communications” related to the casino process. The attorney specifically said Petersburg officials should
retain all records of commu nications with Cordish.
Joanne Williams said the city had no comment on Unite Here’s lawsuit announcement.
Anthony Williams said last week that the council would need to approve a correction to the resolution it approved on April 24, but it’s unclear if that’s the purpose for Wednes day’s meeting.
stated the date of a public meet ing Sen. Aird hosted on April 14 about the five casino proposals
Petersburg had received as part of the since-canceled competi-
The council’s resolution indicated the meeting took place on March 22 and implied the city’s financial consultant, Davenport & Company, recommended Cordish that same day. The proposed change to the resolution states that Davenport communicated its initial findings to Petersburg City Manager John “March” Altman Jr. after the April 14 public meeting
Davenport made an initial recommendation that the
Cordish project was best for Petersburg. Cordish developed the Live! Casino & Hotel in Maryland’s Anne Arundel County and the Power Plant Live! Entertainment district in Baltimore, as well as two Hard Rock casinos in Florida.
However, Davenport told Petersburg officials it wanted to ask follow-up questions of Cordish, Bally’s and another bidder, Rush Street Gaming, before making a final recommendation. The city scrapped the bidding process before those questions were answered.
The secrecy surrounding
Petersburg’s decision-making also has frustrated some local residents like Barb Rudolph, who runs a government watchdog Facebook page called Clean Sweep Petersburg. A longtime city resident, Ms. Rudolph said the city still could have picked Cordish without torpedoing the process and holding mysterious meetings.
“It’s very disillusioning for citizens to find out we’re all being played,” Ms. Rudolph said in an interview. “Secrets can’t be kept. That’s the stupid part.” This story originally appeared on Virginiamercury.com
Stories by Fred Jeter
Hailey Darrington proves an athlete doesn’t have to be a high school star to become one in college. After skipping varsity softball at Manchester High, she’s blossomed into one of the CIAA’s top performers for Virginia State University.
“My goal, as the leadoff hitter, is to get on base and set the tone,” she said. “I need to show an attitude and energy … stay upbeat. If I look nervous, it could make the others nervous.”
The left-handed center fielder bats first in Coach Jameshia Smith’s order, which is fitting. She’s first in almost everything she does. In sparking VSU to a 22-3 regular season, Darrington was first among Trojans in average (.487), hits (38), runs (41), triples (four), stolen bases (12 for 12), and walks (19).
She struck out only eight times in her first 97 plate appearances. Darrington uses her speed and judgment to run down just about anything stroked to center.
At the plate, she is considered a “slapper,” meaning
she tries to lay down a bunt for a single or “power slap,” if the infielders are in.
The “power slaps” account for the triples.
May 3-5
The 5-foot-7 social work major is no one-season wonder or overnight sensation, either. She hit .459 as a freshman and .357 as a sophomore. “Basically, I’ve played about every inning of every game since I’ve been here, batting leadoff,” she said. That wasn’t the case at Manchester. After playing JV as a sophomore, one season was lost to COVID-19 restrictions and another when “I was cut from the team as a senior.”
The eight-team CIAA Softball Tournament will be held at RF&P Park in Glen Allen. The doubleelimination event will qualify the champion for NCAA regional play.
Her physical ability was never in question. She said that her problem with the coaches resulted from her choice of travel teams and a desire to “double” as a track and field performer. During the spring of her senior year, she did score for Manchester … not on the diamond, but in the high, long, and triple jumps and hurdles. She also played basketball for Manchester and was a sideline
cheerleader. While it wasn’t for school, she played softball for Xzone Storm and Richmond Diamonds.
But youth travel ball runs out, and, as a MHS graduate, the curtain was closing on her softball career, it seemed. “It was crunch time,” she recalled. “It was a couple of months before school started, and I wasn’t enrolled anywhere. JMU offered a walk-on spot, and even that wasn’t for sure. “I might have gone somewhere and not played softball … or not gone to college at all.”
She was rescued by VSU, where Smith arrived as coach the same semester as Darrington. “An umpire recommended me, and they came out to see me,” she recalled. It’s clear now; the scouts must have liked what they saw.
Despite her glowing career stats in Ettrick, the young lady who leads in so many firsts has never been AllCIAA. This season could be a first for that, too.
The Washington Commanders are now two deep in Heisman Trophy winners at the quarterback position. With the second selection of the April 25 NFL Draft, the Commanders chose Heisman winner Jayden Daniels out of LSU.
The 6-foot-4, 210-pound Daniels led the NCAA in total offense last season, piling up 4,946 yards (3,812 in the air) with 50 touchdowns, 40 passing and 10 running. Daniels was selected by Washington after the Chicago Bears made Southern California quarterback Caleb Williams the overall No. 1 pick.
As it stands now, Washington’s likely backup is journeyman Marcus Mariota, the 2014 Heisman recipient out of Oregon. Mariota was drafted by Tennessee (second overall) and has also played for Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Las Vegas. The native Hawaiian, 30, signed a one-year deal with Washington in March. The probable third-string QB figures to be Jeff Driskell, 31, (Louisiana Tech) now with his eighth NFL franchise in eight seasons.
There was a QB vacancy in D.C. when the franchise traded the 2014 starter, Sam Howell, to Seattle following a 4-13 season. Washington has a long history with the Heisman champs. Others drafted by Washington were Vic Janowicz (halfback out of Ohio State in 1950), Ernie Davis (running back from Syracuse) in 1961, Desmond Howard (wide receiver out of Michigan in 1991), and Robert Griffin III
Welcome to The District Commanders’ draft picks
After some struggles, the United States Women’s National Team is showing signs of returning to its past glory. The team representing the stars and stripes in Paris includes eight women of color, including Trinity Rodman, daughter of former basketball star Dennis Rodman. In claiming this season’s CONCACAF Gold Cup in San Diego and SheBelieves Cup in Columbus, Ohio, the Americans posted a 10-1-3 record. The U.S. will fly to Paris as the world’s fourth-ranked team, behind Spain, England, and France. It’s rare for the U.S. to be an underdog in such competition.
(quarterback from Baylor in 2011). Other Heisman winners to play for Washington, via trades/free agency, were quarterbacks Danny Wuerffel (from Florida) and Gary Beban (UCLA), and running back George Rogers (South Carolina).
Whether it be Daniels, Mariota, or Driskell, Washington will have its eighth straight opening day starting QB in eight seasons.
HBCU Note: There were no HBCU players picked in this draft, although many will sign free-agent contracts with NFL teams.
Quarterback
Round One/Second Overall: Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU
Round 2/36: Jer’Zhan Newton, DT, Illinois
Round 2/50: Mike Sainristil, DB, Michigan
Round 2/53: Ben Sinnott, TE, Kansas State
Round 3/67: Brandon Coleman, T/G, TCU
Round 3/100: Luke McCaffrey, WR, Rice
Round 5/139: Jordan Magee, LB, Temple
Round 5/161: Dominique Hampton, S, Washington
Round 7/222: Javontae Jean-Baptiste, DE, Notre Dame
Since women’s soccer was introduced in the 1996 Games, the Americans have won four golds, in 1996, 2004, 2008, and 2012. Since then, they have backpedaled, falling to Sweden in the 2016 quarterfinals and to Canada in the 2020 semis.
Before heading to France, the U.S. will play four international friendlies: June 1 vs. South Korea in Denver, July 4 vs. Korea in St. Paul, Minn., July 13 vs. Mexico in Harrison, N.J., and July 16 vs. Costa Rica in Washington, D.C.
The Olympics begin July 26. In Paris, the U.S. will play in Group B against Zambia, Germany, and Australia.
Putting together a winning basketball program is like solving a puzzle. With that thought, newly named Hampton University coach Ivan Thomas is adding two new pieces — sophomore transfers Trevor Smith and Etienne Strothers. Smith is headed to HU from the University of Richmond while Strothers attendedAppalachian State. The transfer to HU will be a homecoming of sorts to the Peninsula.
Smith, a 6-foot guard, was Class 5 State Player of the Year in 2023, leading Woodside High of Newport News to the state crown at the Siegel Center. The 6-foot-2 Strothers earned a variety of postseason honors in 2023 as a senior at Newport News’ Menchville. Both have well-known fathers.
Tim Smith is the all-time scorer at East Tennessee State with more than 2,300 career points.
Lamont Strothers scored 2,709 points at Christopher Newport and is among the few players from a Division III school to play in the NBA. He is now a coach at Menchville.
Hampton has struggled on the hard court since leaving the MEAC in 2019 for the Big South Conference and now for the Coastal. The Pirates have been 26-67 the past three seasons under outgoing Coach Buck Joyner. Hampton has known better days, having gone to the NCAA tournament six times between 2001 and 2016 while in MEAC.
Last year it was Frenchman Victor Wembanyama who burst onto the NBA scene. This time it’s Alexandre Saar, a 7-foot-1 native of Bordeaux, who has the pro scouts buzzing. Saar turned 19 on April 26 and is the brother of Olivier Saar of the NBA Oklahoma City Thunder.
The younger Saar, who played this past season for the Perth Wildcats of the National Basketball League in Australia, figures to have his name called at or near the top of the NBA Draft on June 26 in Brooklyn. The Draft Lottery, determining the first 14 picks, will be on May 12. There is no clear-cut No. 1 pick like Wembanyama was a season ago (by San Antonio), but Saar is first on the mock draft boards for NBA Draft Room, Bleacher Report, and CBS Sports. He’s listed as No. 5 by Draft Express. Before joining the Australian team, Saar played for Team Overtime and YNG Dreamerz of the Atlanta-based Over-
time Elite League for prospects 16 to 20. His NBA stock has soared since announcing he was entering the draft on April 12. It’s all about his 7-foot-5 wingspan, general athleticism, and performance last September in two G-League Ignite exhibitions in Nevada. Facing a bevy of NBA-bound talent, Saar averaged 22 points, nine rebounds, and six blocked shots for Perth. As one of the NBL’s youngest players, Saar
averaged a modest 10 points and five rebounds overall this past season while playing about half the minutes. A player with Richmond connections might be drafted later in the first round. Jamir Watkins played two seasons at Virginia Commonwealth University before transferring to Florida State. The 6-foot-7 native of Trenton, N.J., averaged 16 points, six rebounds, and three assists this past season for the Seminoles and announced he was entering the draft. NBA Draft Room predicts Watkins will go 27th overall.
Joanna Suzanne Lee has been writing poetry since elementary school. Some of Ms. Lee’s schoolteachers encouraged her to write and think creatively, but it all started with her mom.
“My mom was an English teacher and I just sort of grew up loving words and loving reading and loving writing.”
Along her natural talent in poetry, Ms. Lee also gravitated toward challenges that were often unrelated to language or writing.
During her second or third year of college, Ms. Lee thought of medical school as a career path. She wanted to “do some good in the world” that was challenging and medical school seemed like a straightforward way to do so. Then a personal loss created other challenges for her.
“I was halfway through my Ph.D. when my mom passed and it just made me step back from a lot of things and rethink as well as [made it] very hard to be in a challenging academic program at that exact moment,” she said.
Ms. Lee moved from Williamsburg back to Richmond following her mother’s passing. She took to photography and writing while grieving, unaware that she was taking a “very long detour” from pursuing a career in medicine. (She would eventually earn her MD from the Medical College of Virginia in 2007.) She got involved with local nonprofits, and did more community engagement and writing. Along the way, she met her husband, John Cherenzia.
Ms. Lee’s husband was diagnosed with cancer at the end of 2021, went into remission but had a recurrence this past year. The poet says the past few years have been challenging, with “blow after blow” from health issues.
Becoming Poet Laureate for the city of Richmond makes Ms. Lee hopeful that this year may bring a change. Her first priority is to inform people that there is a Poet Laureate for the city. She also wants to figure out how to make poetry a part of anyone’s life, by engaging as many people as possible.
In Richmond, Ms. Lee finds that the “biggest connection for enrichment with writing and with inspiration” is in the “wildness,” the river and the richness of the city. She hopes to do work that focuses on these aspects of Richmond.
“That’s such a gift and how that can inspire creativity, even if you weren’t necessarily planning on finding inspiration or creating but maybe should,” Ms. Lee said.
Meet the City of Richmond’s Poet Laureate and this week’s Personality, Joanna Suzanne Lee:
Top honor: Poet Laureate of the city of Richmond, 2024-26.
Occupation: Café owner (Café Zata in Manchester).
Date and place of birth: May 31 in Winchester, Va.
Where I live now: Brookland Park.
Education: Undergraduate degree in chemistry from UVa; MD from VCU (MCV); master’s in applied science, William & Mary. No, I never studied English or creative writing in college.
Family: Husband, John Cherenzia. Dad, Stephen Lee in Winchester. Younger brother Andy lives in Chesterfield.
Being named the Poet Laureate of the City of Richmond means: Maybe my luck is finally turning around, and 2024 will be a better year than the previous several.
Process of applying to be considered Poet Laureate of the City of Richmond: This was a while ago (over a year), but I believe there was an online
form where you submitted [a] resume, samples of work, and talked a little about why you wanted to be considered.
How I learned I was named Poet Laureate of the City of Richmond and my reaction: I got a call from the [Deputy Chief Administrative Officer] while I was at work, about a week before they announced it. It was kinda pure shock.
Length of my tenure: Two years 2024-2026.
First Poet Laureate of the City of Richmond and tenure: Roscoe Burnems, 2021-2023. Why the City of Richmond establish a Poet Laureate position: The position was established on the heels of the worst of the pandemic, during a time when it was easy to feel isolated and disconnected. The idea was to inspire commu-
nity and foster creative expression.
Role of Poet Laureate of the City of Richmond: To showcase the creative talent Richmond has to offer and encourage people to create and to connect.
How Richmond shapes my poetry: In so many ways. Geographically, the juxtaposition of the wild natural landscape of the James River cutting through a vibrant urban center provides a grounding for a lot of my work. I draw inspiration from the neighborhoods and the people I interact with day to day. And the wealth of community I’ve found in groups like the James River Writers and my own River City Poets continuously makes me a better writer.
How poetry can help people during difficult times: In so many ways! When we hear or read a poem, it has the potential to unlock new ways of thinking or processing, allows us to consider a new perspective … or to realize that we are not alone in the ways we think or feel. Seeing the words on the page or hearing them across a crowded room can open up a space for grief, for healing, for connection. When we do the writing, the “work,” ourselves, it can make the same magic: sometimes putting the words/ thoughts/feelings – whatever they are: past trauma, fears, anger – physically on the page can create a distance between us and whatever the “it” is, making it less consuming, less
all-encompassing, less heavy.
Who I hope to inspire with my position: Anyone who doubts they have a voice worth sharing with the world.
Where Richmonders can engage with my poetry and me: Online – joannasuzannelee. com; Instagram: la_poetessa.
Or in person any River City Poets event! (listings on rivercitypoets.com); Also, if anyone just wants to come by and say hey or swap favorite poems, they can find me most afternoons behind the counter at Café Zata.
How I start the day: Full glass of water, vitamins, espresso. In that order. A few minutes with the cat (Karma), check in on plants, call my dad. If we can share a laugh before I get to work, it’s going to be a good day.
The three words that best describe me: Thoughtful, creative, empathetic.
Best late-night snack: Cheetos (crunchy, not puffy).
My music playlist: A little all over the place. Everything from early 2000’s Spanish rock to old-school country to Taylor Swift, with spates of classical thrown in.
I love to: Run! (eight full marathons since 2020; 10 half marathons, and my first ultramarathon last December.)
I even started a small group for those of us who have the same crazy overlap in passions: Poets Who Run.
The best thing my parents ever taught me: My dad: Never expect to be handed anything – that you make your
own way, your own successes … and your own failures. My mom: To trust in and focus on my talents (instead of always trying to make things harder for myself)
The person who influenced me the most: This is hard. There are many. Probably my maternal grandfather, who was a person always of quiet authority, reserved but affectionate and commanding respect. As a kid he grew up with very little, farming on the Eastern Shore, but he persevered in his education to become highly successful and a provider, physically and spiritually, for his family.
Favorite poet and why: Again, there are many! Some (randomly ordered in time and space) names: Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, Kim Addonizio, Rafael Campo, Ocean Vuong, Pablo Neruda, Jimmy Santiago Baca, William Carlos Williams.
Book that influenced me the most: J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings.” My mom got it for me for Christmas when I was very young, and it inspired a love of reading that probably has a lot to do with the writer I am now.
Next goal: Writing: A fulllength collection. I have a couple of book projects that I really would like to see come to life. Running: Ultimately, to qualify for [the] Boston [Marathon]! (I’ve got some work to do but am definitely making progress!) Life: be a better advocate for myself and, as necessary, for those around me who need it.
Associated Press NEW YORK
Two Broadway shows celebrating the origins of sonic creativity — the musical “Hell’s Kitchen fueled by Alicia Keys songs, and the play “Stereophonic” about a ’70s rock band at the edge of stardom — each earned a leading 13 Tony Award nominations Tuesday, a list that also saw a record number of women nominated for best director.
A total of 28 shows earned a Tony nod or more, with the musical “The Outsiders,” an adaptation of the beloved S.E. Hinton novel and the Francis Ford Coppola film, earning 12 nominations; a starry revival of “Cabaret” starring Eddie Redmayne, nabbing nine; and “Appropriate,” Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ searing play about a family reunion in Arkansas where everyone has competing motivations and grievances, grabbing eight.
The nominations marked a smashing of the Tony record for most women named in a single season. The 2022 Tony Awards had held the record for most female directing nominees, with four total across the two races — musical and play. Only 10 women have gone on to win a directing crown.
This year, three women were nominated for best play direction — Lila Neugebauer (“Appropriate”), Anne Kauffman (“Mary Jane”) and Whitney White (“Jaja’s African Hair Braiding”) — while four were nominated in the musical category — Maria Friedman (“Merrily We Roll Along“), Leigh Silverman (“Suffs”) Jessica Stone (“Water for Elephants”) and Danya Taymor (“The Outsiders”).
“The one thing I feel is it’s starting to feel less remarkable, which is great news,” Ms. Stone said after her nomination. “We are directors and not women directors. I’m noticing it more and more and that’s a wonderful thing to think about. It’s a wonderful place to be.”
Rachel McAdams, making her Broadway debut in “Mary Jane,” earned a best actress in a play nomination, while “Succession” star Jeremy Strong, got his first ever nomination, for a revival of “An Enemy of the People” and Liev Schreiber of “Ray Donovan” fame nabbd one for leading “Doubt.” Jessica Lange in “Mother Play,” Sarah Paulson in “Appropriate” and Amy
Ryan, who stepped in at the last minute for a revival of “Doubt, also earned nominations in the best actress in a play category.
“The Big Bang Theory” star Jim Parsons earned a supporting nod for “Mother Play,” and Daniel Radcliffe on his fifth Broadway show, a revival of Stephen Sondheim’s “Merrily We Roll Along,” won his first nomination.
Mr. Redmayne in his second show on Broadway got a nod as best lead actor in a musical, as did Brian d’Arcy James for “Days of Wine and Roses,” Brody Grant in “The Outsiders,” Jonathan Groff in “Merrily We Roll Along” and 73-yearold Dorian Harewood in “The Notebook,” the adaptation of Nicholas Sparks romantic tearjerker. Mr. Harewood, in his first Broadway show in 46 years, landed his first Tony nomination.
It was one of three nominations for “The Notebook,” but the musical’s composer, Ingrid Michaelson, didn’t earn a nomination, nor did Barry Manilow for his show “Harmony.” Will Butler, formerly of Arcade Fire, was expected to earn a nod for his music for “Stereophonic”
Asian Festival returns to Convention Center Event celebrates Asian culture
The Greater Richmond Convention Center hosts the 26th Annual Asian American Celebration on May 4, showcasing the cultural richness and diversity of over 15 Asian communities in Central Virginia.
Set from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., this free event offers attendees an opportunity to explore and appreciate various aspects of Asian cultures and traditions.
Activities include performances, traditional games at the kids’ village, and cultural exhibitions. Additionally, cultural booths will provide insights into the customs and heritage of participating Asian groups.
A highlight of the celebration is the culinary experience, featuring authentic dishes prepared by community members. These dishes, often not readily available in local restaurants, offer attendees a chance to sample the diverse flavors of Asian cuisine.
Participating Asian communities encompass Afghan, Bangladeshi, Bhutanese, Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Japanese, Korean, Laotian, Lebanese, Malaysian, Nepali, Myanmar (Burmese), Pakistani, Singaporean, Thai and Vietnamese.
Throughout the day, the festival will feature with dance, music and martial arts performances.
On May 4, Norfolk native and guest conductor Anthony Parnther leads the Richmond Symphony at the Carpenter Theatre for a night of classical music performances.
Mr. Parnther, known for his multifaceted career including classical, contemporary and film music, brings a wealth of experience and artistry to the podium. In addition to his orchestral work, Mr. Parnther has made significant contributions to the world of film music, collaborating with well-known filmmakers to bring their visions to life through music. Notable films he has worked on include “Inception,” “The Dark Knight Rises,” “Star Trek” and “Frozen.”
The May 4 performance with the Richmond Symphony begins at 8 p.m. and audiences can expect a musical journey, from the exuberance of Beethoven’s Eighth Symphony to the melodies of Black composer Florence Price’s Third Symphony. Joining Mr. Parnther on stage will be Principal Horn Dominic Rotella. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., with a pre-concert talk at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 to $86. For more information, please visit richmondsymphony.com.
and it came through.
Mr. Redmayne’s “Cabaret” co-star Gayle
Rankin earned a nomination for best actress in a musical, as did Eden Espinosa in “Lempicka,” Maleah Joi Moon in “Hell’s Kitchen,” Kelli O’Hara in “Days of Wine and Roses” and 71year-old Maryann Plunkett, who plays the elderly wife at the heart of “The Notebook.”
Steve Carell in his Broadway debut in a poorly received revival of the classic play “Uncle Vanya” failed to secure a nod, but starry producers who earned Tony nods include Ms. Keys, Angelina Jolie (for “The Outsiders”) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (for “Suffs”).
The best new musical crown will be a battle between “Hell’s Kitchen,” “The Outsiders,” the dance-heavy, dialogue-less stage adaptation of Sufjan Stevens’s 2005 album “Illinois,” “Suffs,” based on the American suffragists of the early 20th century, and “Water for Elephants,” which combines Sara Green’s 2006 bestseller with circus elements.
The best new play Tony will pit “Stereophonic” against “Mother Play,” Paula Vogel’s play about
a mother and her kids spanning 1964 to the 21st century; “Mary Jane,” Amy Herzog’s humanistic portrait of a divorced mother of a young boy with health issues; “Prayer for the French Republic,” Joshua Harmon’s sprawling family comedy-drama that deals with Zionism, religious fervency and antisemitism; and “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding,” Jocelyn Bioh’s comedy about the lives of West African women working at a salon. Lamar Richardson, an actor-turned-producer, had many reasons to smile Tuesday. He helped produce the new revivals of “The Wiz, ““Merrily We Roll Along“ and “Appropriate.”
“I really think this is Broadway at its best,” he said. “There’s really something for everyone. There’s the quintessential big jukebox musical. There’s the niche moving three-hander plays. I think that this really is a smorgasbord of what Broadway can offer up, and showing it still, of course, is a major player on the art scene. And it’s here to stay.”
A spring barrage of new shows — 14 shows opened in an 11-day span this year — is not unusual these days as producers hope their work will be fresh in the mind of voters ahead of the Tony Awards ceremony on June 16.
There were some firsts this season, including “Here Lies Love with Broadway’s first allFilipino cast, which earned four nominations, including best original score for David Byrne and Fat Boy Slim. And seven openly autistic actors starred in “How to Dance in Ohio, a first for Broadway but which got no Tony love.
Academy Award winner and Tony Awardnominee Ariana DeBose, who hosted both the 2023 and 2022 ceremonies, will be back this year and will produce and choreograph the opening number.
This year’s location — the David H. Koch Theater — is the home of New York City Ballet and in the same sprawling building complex as Lincoln Square Theater, which houses the Broadway venue Beaumont Theater.
Like last year, the three-hour main telecast will air on CBS and stream on Paramount+ from 8 to 11 p.m. EDT, with a pre-show on Pluto TV on June 16.
This season’s Broadway numbers — about $1.4 billion in grosses and 11.1 million tickets — is running slightly less than the 2022-23 season, off about 4% in grosses and down 1% in tickets.
In 1911, Booker T. Washington met Julius Rosenwald. This meeting between the leading Black educator in America and the president of the world’s largest department store—Sears, Roebuck and Company—would be the foundation of the Rosenwald Schools. The institutions transformed education for hundreds of thousands of Black children in the segregated South.
The Virginia Museum of History & Culture (VMHC) is preparing a new exhibition that honors the legacy of this unique school program established to provide educational opportunities for African-Americans during the Jim Crow era. “A Better Life for Their Children: Julius Rosenwald, Booker T. Washington, and the 4,978 Schools That Changed America” will be on display at the VMHC May 25, 2024 through April 20, 2025.
donation from Julius Rosenwald. students—one-third of Black children in the region—and employed thousands of teachers. In many locations, they were the only schools that Black children could attend. In Virginia, 382 Rosenwald buildings were constructed in 86 counties and four cities between 1917 and 1932.
The Rosenwald program was a rural school building program that helped educate Black children during a time of deep racial inequalities in public schools. Seed money was provided to help build the schools, while local governments and Black communities, despite facing significant hardships, came together to contribute money, land, building materials and labor to provide educational opportunities for their children.
Between 1912 and 1937, the Rosenwald program created 4,978 schools, as well as shop buildings and teacher housing, for a total of 5,357 structures across 15 Southern states. The schools often were named after local places and individuals, but collectively were referred to as “Rosenwald Schools.” These schools served more than 663,000
Tickets for the second annual Iron Blossom Music Festival go on sale this week. The year’s event includes indie folk group Mt. Joy, the R&B/Americana band Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Caamp, and Turnpike Troubadors. Also on the bill are
When the Atlanta-based photographer Andrew Feiler learned of the Rosenwald story, he was inspired to embark on a three-year journey across the South to document the remaining school buildings and their alumni. This work formed the basis of an award-winning book and a traveling exhibition “A Better Life for Their Children: Julius Rosenwald, Booker T. Washington, and the 4,978 Schools That Changed America.”
The exhibition’s cornerstone are 26 photographs taken by Andrew Feiler, along with his stories of Rosenwald schools and their communities. The Virginia Museum of History & Culture
The California
She She, SG Goodman, Julia Pratt and local singer Kenneka Cook. Once again, the festival will be held at The Training Center on Leigh Street. Along with the musical performances, the
partnered with the Bray School Lab at the College of William & Mary and various Rosenwald school community groups across the Commonwealth to curate a special section of the exhibition that showcases the history of Rosenwald Schools in Virginia. This section will feature a variety of historical artifacts, images, oral histories with alumni and a recreation of a classroom.
“Rosenwald Schools educated generations of Black Virginians and were a source of pride and hope for many communities,” Jamie Bosket, president and CEO at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture said in a statement. “This exhibition allows for us all to reflect on the lasting legacy of the Rosenwald schools program and be reminded of the power of education and its ability to break down barriers.”
For more information, please visit VirginiaHistory.org/RosenwaldSchools
event offers food from local caterers and an artisan bazaar. The presale tickets for the 2024 Iron Blossom Music Festival opens May 2. For more information, please visit ironblossomfestival.com/.
The owner of Tarrant’s Cafe in Downtown Richmond is a 20-year veteran of the city’s food scene. She started out waiting tables –now she owns four Richmond area restaurants and is the CEO of RVA Hospitality.
Liz Kincaid maintains her urban locations, And Dim Sum, Tarrant’s and Bar Solita, but she’s also found success in the Henrico County suburbs with Tarrant’s West.
“Compared to my Downtown restaurants, it’s more successful with sales, its guest counts are higher, people are more willing to go out there,” Ms. Kincaid said.
The restaurant industry has experienced significant technology and operational changes since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. Restaurant owners reconsidered their location in proximity to customers, and in the face of rising costs and evolving consumer choices.
In recent years, nearby suburban markets have competed with the city’s nationally recognized culinary scene. The number of food permit requests have decreased in the city compared to pre-pandemic numbers. Meanwhile, food permits in suburban Henrico and Chesterfield counties have trended up compared to 2019, according to data from the Virginia Department of Health.
Both of Ms. Kincaid’s Tarrant’s locations have the same menu, so parking and meals taxes are two factors customers consider when they choose which location to dine at, according to Ms. Kincaid.
Richmond charges a 7.5% meals tax on all tabs collected within city limits, while Henrico’s tax is 4%. Both collect a 6% local sales tax.
That means any item in Richmond receives a 13.5% cost increase once the bill hits the table.
A beer in Henrico isn’t considered a meal, whereas the same customer’s beer in Richmond would get the meals tax.
Nearby Chesterfield does not have a meals tax. It recently celebrate d its first annual restaurant week to showcase local eateries.
Market Impacts
Richmond’s dining scene took a hit during the pandemic as more office employees began, and continue, to work from home.
“We used to do a lot of catering, Our lunch business was really thriving,” Ms. Kincaid said. “It was 30% of our sales at Tarrant’s Cafe and it’s just never returned, we just don’t have enough people down here in the office to maintain that.”
Food service employees do not have remote work options, which posed a unique problem during
lockdowns, according to Eric Terry, president of the Virginia Restaurant Lodging & Travel Association.
At least 67,000 fewer Virginia employees worked in the food and beverage industry in July 2020 when compared to the previous year. That is an almost 22% drop, based on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics dat a Employment numbers that took mere months to drop have taken years to climb back.
Washington, D.C., business owners have similarly cited a slow return of in-person government work, according to a repor t by Restaurant Business.
Closures have amounted to 3,700 industry jobs lost in the district,
according to Mr. Terry.
“We also had closure of a restaurant a week in Washington, D.C.,” he said.
The district recently passed legislatio n to change the tip credit system, which allows employers to pay below the minimum wage if tips cover the difference. The base wage for restaurant workers in the district will be raised in July to $10 an hour, plus tips. The base wage was previously $8. Minimum wage for non-tipped workers is $17 an hour, going up 50 cents in July.
Prices increased in almost all Washington area restaurants following the pandemic, with an average menu price increase of 16%, according to data from the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington. The increases followed higher wages and restaurant costs.
Increased menu prices drive away potential customers, which has negatively impacted tip wages, according to Mr. Terry.
“The way that the tipping world has been set up is that you, the consumer, pay the wages of the server,” Mr. Terry said.
Mr. Terry points to a price increase of “anywhere from 12% to 18%” to explain why Virginia restaurants have been able to keep doors open.
“Most restaurants are probably seeing their revenues about stable from before, but the customer counts are down,” Mr. Terry said. Restaurants and Customers Try New Things
The food industry had to pivot due to changes in labor, food selection and technology, according to Mahmood Khan, a Virginia Tech
professor of hospitality and tourism management. His most recent book covers restaurant franchising.
Many workers left the industry for other jobs and the workforce has only recently climbed near pre-pandemic counts. Many restaurant hours have changed and employees have asked for more scheduling flexibility.
Workers now earn more. Average hourly earnings for Virginia’s leisure and hospitality employees, which includes food services, bumped up to $18.93 last year, from $14.82 in 2019, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The coronavirus spurred innovations to the dining experience in an industry historically slow to adopt changes. Established spots were motivated to adapt and new concepts debuted.
During the height of the pandemic, some restaurants gave out their recipes for quarantine chefs to cook themselves. Others sold groceries when they had supplies stores lacked, according to Mr. Khan. Everyone pivoted to takeout.
Delivery services like DoorDash and Uber Eats have become ubiquitous with the food scene. Restaurant designers now incorporate parking spaces for delivery driver, and shelves at the front for food pickup.
Tips were “significantly sadder” for Amanda Philipp when Sheppard Street Tavern stopped dine-in service. A bartender in Richmond for 10 years, Ms. Philipp says patronage and tips have begun to return.
Ms. Philipp hopes customers will approach this return to normalcy with patience for the employees who provide food, drinks, care and hospitality.
“As long as we’re here, we’re still gonna be that smiling face,” Ms. Philipp said. “We’re your friends, we’re that face of humanity that hopefully will never go away.”
Richmond Area Dining Community
Customers respond to these changes with their wallets. Many are more conservative with their funds than before the pandemic, according to Robey Martin, a longtime local food writer and host of the Eat It, Virginia! podcast.
“Discretionary dollars are not what they were,” Ms. Martin said.
Ms. Martin covers the food scene in Richmond and other areas of Virginia. She knows the industry’s challenges, ebbs and flows — and impact of the “relatively large food tax.”
“It’s killing our city restaurants,” Ms. Martin said.
“It’s astronomical.”
Breweries and distilleries help support fledgling suburban markets, according to Ms. Martin. These community spaces gave new op -
portunities for restaurant concepts to visit the suburbs.
“Those have brought a lot of liveliness to the suburban areas,” Martin said. “It gives a place you can gather, get food you wouldn’t normally get because it’s a food truck or a pop-up.”
Experienced chefs relocating past city limits are another boon to the suburbs.
This trend began before the pandemic. Walter Bundy, former executive chef at Lemaire, opened Shagbark in 2016 in the midtown Libbie Mill area, just west of city limits. Acacia Midtown also opened nearby last year, run by Richmond Restaurant Week founders Dale and Aline Reitzer.
Michael Lindsey’s Lindsey Food Group opened Farm + Oak West End in Henrico late last year.
“He’s probably the largest Blackowned restaurant group on the East Coast,” Ms. Martin said. “He’s pushing some wonderful restaurants out into those areas that don’t often see local ownership.” The experience is what it’s all about, regardless of location, according to Ms. Martin.
“It’s never, ever about the food –it is always about the companion,”
Ms. Martin said. “It’s always about the service and it’s always about what the memory is.”
Although there are some “burgeoning” suburban food scenes, Martin’s reviews don’t have as much impact beyond city limits, she said. The city is still hungry for its food scene and the competition and community it brings. Richmond’s Downtown restaurants have benefited from an increase in tourism in recent years, according to Ms. Kincaid. A strong percentage of her business comes from out-of-town visitors to the nearby convention center and hotels.
Yet, Ms. Kincaid appreciates being part of a close-knit restaurant community in the Richmond area. She is in an email chain with over 50 owners, where they ask for recommendations and can count on each other for help if needed.
“I don’t always see that in some of the bigger cities; it can be very competitive,” Ms. Kincaid said. “So I think we’ve still got that small town mentality to help each other out.”
Capital News Service is a program of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Robertson School of Media and Culture.
Community businesses honored by Metropolitan Business League Winners of 34th Annual MBL Awards announced
Against the backdrop of the Altria Theater Ballroom and a crowd of more than 500 guests, local businesses got their moment in the spotlight for the impactful work they’re doing in the RVA region. The 34th Annual Metropolitan Business League Awards Dinner & Reception was held Friday, March 8. The winners were announced recently by the nonprofit membership-based business association.
“More than 90 entrepreneurs were nominated for their work in the community and strengthening our business ecosystem. The judges had an extremely tough task of deciding who would walk away with the awards in 14 categories,” MBL’s Director of Strategic Events Darricka Alexander said.
The following recipients were honored: Young Entrepreneur of the Year (tie): Isaiah Aminzia of Lovely Lawns
Young Entrepreneur of the Year (tie): J.T. Logan of Fourdeep Trailblazing Partnership: Dr. Kim Evans and Dr. Addie Briggs of fitness Dawgs and Hopewell City Public Schools
Social Vision Award: Shemicia Bowen of Richmond Black Restaurant Experience Nonprofit of the Year: Bridging
Virginia Vision of Excellence: Virginia Housing Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year: Danielle Taylor of Strategic Disruption Consulting City of Richmond Minority Business of the Year:
Carol Walker Reese of Reesources, Inc.
Youth Entrepreneur of the Year
(tie): Christian Washington of Cookies & Crust
Youth Entrepreneur of the Year (tie): J’ana Price of Price Solutions Mbl Member of the Year: Eboni Jones of Tint My Ride 804
People’s Choice Award:
Male
The Associated Press
No woman had ever preached the keynote sermon at the Joint National Baptist Convention, a gathering of four historically Black Baptist denominations representing millions of people.
That changed in January when the Rev. Gina Stewart took the convention stage in Memphis, Tenn., — the Southern city home to Christ Missionary Baptist Church where she serves as senior pastor — and delivered a rousing message, asserting that Jesus not only included women in his ministry, but identified with their suffering.
But what happened next put a spotlight on the obstacles women in Christian ministry continue to face as they carve out leadership space within the patriarchal culture of the Black Church in America. Several women pastors told The Associated Press that it should serve as the breaking point.
“This is an example of no matter how high you rise as a woman, you’re going to meet patriarchy at the top of the hill,” said Martha Simmons, founder of Women of Color in Ministry, which helps women navigate the process of getting ordained.
“The next Norton Anthology of African-American preaching is probably 20 years away, but that sermon will be in there.”
Despite the enthusiastic reception for Rev. Stewart, the original recording of her historic sermon disappeared from the convention’s Facebook page, setting off a social media firestorm – driven mostly by women – protesting its removal.
A recording of the sermon later appeared, but it was followed by accusations the convention edited her closing remarks, which challenges the four allied denominations to support
women in ministry.
National Baptist Convention, USA, President Jerry Young did not reply to requests from The Associated Press for comment. He said at another January meeting that he believed the Facebook page had been hacked and he planned to involve the FBI.
“I still don’t know what happened with the sermon, but what is clear is that this was a form of erasure,” Rev. Stewart said. “I was just as shocked, stunned and surprised as everyone else.”
It is symptomatic of a larger problem, according to several Black women pastors interviewed by the AP. They emphasized how they were worn down by the physical and psychological toll of working in a male-dominated culture.
In some denominations, women have made progress. The African Methodist Episcopal Church estimates that one-fourth of its total staff are women, including 1,052 ordained ministers.
In the Black Church as a whole, male pastors predominate, though there’s no comprehensive gender breakdown.
The conditions aren’t new, but the public discourse over women’s equality in ministry has rapidly gained ground due in large part to the bullhorn social media provides, said Courtney Pace, scholar-in-residence with Memphis-based Equity for Women in the Church. Ms. Pace noted how Facebook afforded Eboni Marshall Turman a venue to publicly share her grievances before filing a gender discrimination lawsuit in December against Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York.
The late theologian and civil rights activist Prathia Hall underscores this dynamic, said Pace, who wrote “Freedom
Faith: The Womanist Vision of Prathia Hall.” In the book, she details how Ms. Hall was a key inspiration for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.
“The kind of thing that happened to Gina Stewart happened a lot to Prathia Hall,” Ms. Pace said. “When she was doing her work, we did not have social media, or cell phones with voice recorders and cameras in every hand. So who knows what the response to Prathia would have been with an empowered public like we have today.”
Ms. Hall was born in Philadelphia in 1940, the daughter of a Baptist preacher. As a youth, she took part in local speech competitions where she melded folk religion and liberation theology.
But not all of Ms. Hall’s relationships within the insular preaching fraternity of the National Baptist Convention were as collegial as her relationship with Dr. King, whom she said in later years did more with “I have a dream” than she could have.
Many theologically conservative Christian churches, including some Black Protestant denominations, prohibit women from preaching. They frequently cite certain biblical passages, including one they interpret as saying women ought to “be silent” in churches. Even in denominations without explicit bans, women with leadership aspirations often must contend with a patriarchal culture.
Last month, the audience was dotted with young Black women at an event hosted at the Howard Divinity School in Washington. A group convened a panel about the evolution of Black women’s role in the church.
Inside the cavernous Dunbarton Chapel that Howard Divinity shares with the Howard School of Law, a half-dozen Black women representing a range of independent churches and Black Protestant denominations spoke about persevering through instability and transition.
Their current duties, some of the women said, left them
exhausted and unable to grieve the members they lost to COVID-19.
One speaker was the Rev. Lyvonne Briggs. In 2019, she was being overworked and underpaid as an assistant pastor of a large Baptist church in California. Her marriage dissolved.
She restarted her life in Atlanta. During the lockdown one Sunday morning in her apartment, Rev. Briggs went live on Instagram and held a self-styled worship space for 25 people to share their experiences. It became known as The Proverbial Experience, which Rev. Briggs describes as an “African-centered,
womanist series of spiritual gatherings to nourish the soul.”
In two years, Rev. Briggs grew her church into a digital community of 3,000. She also wrote “Sensual Faith: The Spiritual Art of Coming Back to Your Body,” a treatise on liberation from the sexual politics and objectification of Black women’s bodies in the church setting.
“I don’t ascribe to this idea that the Black Church is dead,” Ms. Briggs told the AP. “But I do acknowledge and promote that we have to eulogize what it used to be so that we can birth something new.”
B6
Trays
FIC.002820a-c Tripod
FIC.002832 Trivet
FIC.007529-7530 Trolley Parts
FIC.001921, 1927, 1945; V.75.343.07-.08 Trophies
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FIC.001251-1257; FIC.001375; FIC.001528; FIC.015692-5693; FIC.001946; FIC.002060; FIC.006447; OM.85.59; V.69.188-.191, .799; OM.522.04a-.08a,b Vases
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parts
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FIC.003403; V.88.112a,b; V.89.52 Waffle irons FIC.0264723; X.46.06.15 Waistcoats
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FIC.015106; FIC.027930; X.2019.34; X.2019.35.01.24 Watercolors
FIC.001501.1-.3; FIC.001902a-h; FIC.002665a-d; FIC.007334-7335a,b Weights
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FIC.001215a-d; FIC.006632; FIC.001488; FIC.001491.1,.2; FIC.002332; FIC.0026782679; FIC.002717, 27202721, 2736-2742, 27752777; FIC.002815, 2899;
FIC.004075; FIC.004903, 4918, 4960; FIC.007303, 7310, 7314, 7329, 7342, 7345; FIC.007520, 7535; FIC.007718, 7734; FIC.015670; FIC.020422 Wooden Fragments FIC.007553, 7556-7557 Worked rock fragments FIC.007541; FIC.007728 Wrenches FIC.004929 Yardsticks FIC.007346, 7379 Yarn Please visit website or contact museum for information on how to make a claim: The Valentine Museum Rachel Asbury Cole, Collections Project Manager/ Registrar 804-649-0711 ext. 329 rasburycole@thevalentine.org https://thevalentine.org/learnand-research/collections/ undocumented-property/ ABC LiCENsE Chez Nahalie LLC Trading as: Nahalie’s Taste of Lebanon 2825 Hathaway Road Richmond, VA 23225
The above establishment is applying to the V IR g I n IA Al CO h O l IC Be V e RA ge C O n TRO l (ABC) AUT h ORITY for l imited Caterer license to sell or manufacture alcoholic beverages. Anne-Marie Irani, owner n OT e : Objections to the issuance of this license must be submitted to ABC no later than 30 days from the publishing date of the first of two required newspaper legal notices. Objections should be registered at www. abc.virginia.gov or (800 5523200. Continued from previous column
The City of Richmond announces the following project(s) available for services relating to: IFB No. 240008789: E. Main St. – Williamsburg Ave. Intersection Improvements (UPC No. 108649)
For all information pertaining to this IFB, please logon to the Richmond website (www.RVA.GOV).
Bid Due Date: May 28, 2024/Time: 2:00 PM
Pre-Bid Meeting: May 7, 2024/Time: 2:00PM
Information or copies of the above solicitations are available by contacting Procurement Services, at the City of Richmond website (www.RVA. GOV), or faxed (804) 646-5989. The City of Richmond encourages all contractors to participate in the procurement process.
The City of Richmond announces the following project(s) available for services relating to:
For all information pertaining to this IFB, please logon to the Richmond website (www.RVA.GOV).
Information or copies of the above solicitations are available by contacting Procurement Services, at the City of Richmond website (www.RVA. GOV), or faxed (804) 646-5989. The City of Richmond encourages all contractors to participate in the procurement process.
The City of Richmond announces the following project(s) available for services relating to: IFB – 240011315 – 2nd & 3rd Street Bike Infrastructure Phase 2
Pre-Bid Conference Call Meeting: May 8, 2024, at 2:00 P.M. For all information pertaining to this IFB conference call, please logon to the Richmond website (www.RVA.GOV).
Bid Due Date: Wednesday May 29, 2024, Time: 2:00 P.M.
Information or copies of the above solicitations are available by contacting Procurement Services, at the City of Richmond website (www.RVA. GOV), or faxed (804) 646-5989. The City of Richmond encourages all contractors to participate in the procurement process.
EmpLOymENT OppORTuNiTiEs
