Richmond Free Press August 19-21, 2021 edition

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Richmond Free Press Š 2021 Paradigm Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.

VOL. 30 NO. 34

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA

www.richmondfreepress.com

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Meet this week’s Personality B1

AUGUST 19-21, 2021

Who are we? Richmond’s population grew by 11 percent, according to the 2020 U.S. Census. But the number of city residents who identify solely as Black slides, while the white population rises slightly. Record numbers identify as multiracial, with 10.5 percent of residents listed as Hispanic. By Jeremy M. Lazarus

The 2020 U.S. Census did not surprise anyone when it confirmed what everyone can see with their own eyes— Richmond’s population is on the grow. According to census results released Aug. 12, Richmond’s population jumped 11 percent to 226,610 men, women and children in the past 10 years, the biggest increase in at least four decades. But there was a startling change in the information on race. That data showed a continuing decline in the number of people in the city self-

identifying solely as Black. Although Richmond remains a majority-minority city, only 40 percent of those who participated in the count self-identified as Black, the smallest percentage in at least a half-century. That’s a big change from the 2000 Census when 57 percent of the population self-identified as Black and 2010 when 50 percent did. Based on the new data, only 90,644 people reported themselves as Black, down from about 103,000 people in 2010 and 113,000 people in 2000. By contrast, those identifying as white increased by about 2 percent. In 2010, about 83,000

4 takeaways from the U.S. Census WHITE POPULATION DECLINED FOR FIRST TIME A U.S. headcount has been carried out every decade since 1790, and this was the first one in which the non-Hispanic white population nationwide got smaller, shrinking from 196 million in 2010 to 191 million in 2020. The data also showed that the share of the white population fell from 63.7 percent in 2010 to 57.8 percent in 2020, the lowest on record, though white people continue to be the most prevalent racial or ethnic group. Some demographers cautioned that the white population was not shrinking as much as shifting to multiracial identities. The number of people who identified as belonging to two or more races more than tripled from 9 million people in 2010 to 33.8 million in 2020. They now account for 10 percent of the U.S. population. People who identify as a race other than white, Black, Asian, American Indian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander — either

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people identified as white, or about 41 percent of the population. In the 2020 Census, about 43 percent of residents selfidentified as white, or 97,442 people. People self-identifying as white outnumber those who self-identify as Black for the first time since 1970, when Richmond’s annexation of a part of Chesterfield County kept the city from having a Black majority. However, another set of data suggests that it is the selfidentification that has changed. A record number of city residents self-identified as multiracial, or checked “other” on the census form, as was the case across the state and the nation. In Richmond, nearly 31,000 people identified either as multiracial or as other race, which is nearly triple 2020 when only about 12,000 residents checked either multiracial or other in responding to the question about race. That, too, is a big change for a city and state that has a long history of counting people as Black if they had the slightest relationship to someone who is Black, the so-called “one drop” rule. Based on the data, more people appear to have opted to provide a more nuanced portrayal of their race after the

Census Bureau provided more options. Another startling statistic is the growth of those who identify as Hispanic or Latino. In 2020, nearly 24,000 people included that ethnic identifier in their census response, which is nearly double the 12,803 city residents who did in 2010 and nearly five times the 5,074

F. Duckett/Associated Press

A map of the United States and Puerto Rico shows the percentage change in population from 2010 to 2020.

people who did in 2000. People identifying as Hispanic or Latino represent 10.5 percent of the current city population. Their numbers contributed to about half the city’s population growth in the past 10 years. The current percent-

age represents a considerable jump from 2000 when only 2.6 percent of city residents included that ethnic identification in their response. Those identifying as HisPlease turn to A4

Joseph Odelyn/Associated Press

More devastation in Haiti Earthquake survivors in southern Haiti huddle in a tent Tuesday trying to shield themselves from Tropical Storm Grace’s torrential rains. The storm hit just three days after the desperately poor country suffered major damage and loss of life from its latest devastating earthquake on Saturday morning. Nearly 2,000 people were killed, 9,900 others injured and 37,000 homes destroyed in a section of the Caribbean nation located 80 miles from the capital Port-au-Prince in the magnitude 7.2 quake.

Cardinal Elementary School officially dedicated By Ronald E. Carrington

It was a monumental moment Monday as the ribbon was cut officially opening Cardinal Elementary School in South Side. The $147 million school is one of three of Richmond’s newest public schools whose opening to students for in-person learning was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Located at 1745 Catalina Drive where it replaced E.S.H. Greene Elementary, Cardinal Elementary will be Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press the new home of 900 students this fall, 89 percent of The new $147 million Cardinal Elementary School, located on Catalina Drive in South Side, will have 900 students when it opens next month, 89 percent of whom are from foreign countries, according to Principal Juvenal E. Abrego-Meneses, who is from Panama. whom are from other nations.

RPS mandates vaccinations for teachers, staff By Ronald E. Carrington

Richmond Public Schools teachers, staff, cafeteria workers, bus drivers, volunteers, contractors and anyone else working with the district must be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus by Friday, Oct. 1.

That is the mandate issued Monday night by the Richmond School Board. It is the first public school system in Virginia to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations across the board. The board’s 8-1 vote to approve the mandate proposed by Superintendent Jason Kamras

Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

Helping hands Londyn Pair, 2, gets assistance from her uncle, Jason Johnson, as she tries on her new backpack, one of the giveaways at last Saturday’s CAHN Block Party at the Manchester Medical Center in South Side. The event, sponsored by the Capital Area Health Network, or CAHN, was in celebration of National Health Center Week and featured health and wellness vendors providing information and resources to the community. CAHN, a nonprofit, operates seven low-cost health clinics in the Richmond area, including one in the medical building at 101 Cowardin Ave.

comes roughly three weeks before the city’s schools are set to open for in-person learning on Wednesday, Sept. 8. The more than 20,000 RPS students have been learning virtually since March 2020, when schools were shut down to prevent the spread of the potentially fatal virus. With the advent of effective vaccines for those ages 12 and older, local and state health and school officials are encouraging all eligible to get inoculated. Gov. Ralph S. Northam also issued a public health order late last week requiring the use of masks by everyone in Virginia’s K-12 public schools to help protect against infection, particularly the highly contagious delta variant. At Monday’s meeting, Mr. Kamras reiterated the medical data, saying, “The vaccine is the most effective mitigation strategy available to all of us age 12 and over. It is strongly encouraged as a team strategy to fight the spread of the delta variant.” He said it’s reasonable to assume that slightly more than 50 percent of RPS teachers and staff currently are fully vaccinated, mirroring inoculation statistics from the broader

Richmond community. “That assumption poses some concern, not just for students, but for the rest of the staff,” he told the board. School Board Chairwoman Cheryl L. Burke, 7th District, supported the mandate along with a majority of the board. They said the school district’s No. 1 priority is the health and safety of all students, as well as all teachers and staff. The sole vote against the mandate was cast by board Vice Chair Jonathan M. Young, 4th District, who said he was concerned that it would send a message of distrust to teachers and staff.

“Cardinal Elementary is a United Nations,” said Dr. Abrego-Meneses. “We have students from Mexico and Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, Ghana and South Africa, Afghanistan and other Middle East countries.” Parents, public officials, students and someone dressed as the school mascot gathered in the gymnatorium, wearing masks and social distancing, for the official grand opening Monday morning. Five students welcomed the group as they did an interpretative performance of the school’s song read by Dr. Abrego-Meneses. The third-graders also closed Please turn to A4

‘I think she’s out,’ deputy says after violent arrest By Christopher Weber Associated Press

A woman who pulled off a road to change drivers during a trip with her father and three young children was knocked unconscious and arrested by two Northern California sheriff’s deputies, who then lied about the encounter to responding paramedics and on official reports, according to a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday. Body cameras worn by the deputies with the Solano County Sheriff’s Office recorded them pulling guns on Nakia Porter before slamming her to the pavement while handcuffing her along a rural road in the town of Dixon, Calif., on the night of Aug. 6, 2020. Ms. Porter’s father, Joe Powell, also was placed in handcuffs and briefly detained. Please turn to A4 Ms. Porter was jailed overnight on suspicion of resisting arrest, but never charged. She said the ordeal was confusing Free COVID-19 testing, vaccines and dehumanizing. “I was doing my best to do Free community testing for COVID-19 continues. everything right, giving no reaThe Richmond and Henrico County health districts are son to be treated like this,” said offering testing at the following location: • Thursday, Aug. 19, 4 to 6 p.m., Henrico Government Center Ms. Porter, 33, who is Black. West, 4301 E. Parham Road, Motor Pool Parking Lot on Prince The lawsuit brought by attorHenry Drive, drive-thru testing. ney Yasin Almadani accuses the Appointments are not necessary, but can be made by calling deputies of violating state and the Richmond and Henrico COVID-19 Hotline at (804) 205-3501 federal civil rights statutes by from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, or by registering engaging in “unlawful seizure, online at https://bit.ly/RHHDCOVID. assault and excessive force.” Testing will be offered while test supplies last. “Thankfully, the video eviPlease turn to A4

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