Richmond Free Press August 24-26, 2023 edition

After intense opposition and skepticism, two elementary schools opened 20 days early to help students make up for what they missed during the time of remote learning. The first question: Would kids show up in the middle of summer for extra schooling?

The scene outside Fairfield Court Elementary School at 7:40 last Thursday morning was so festive that one might have assumed it was the first day of school. Upbeat music blared from a speaker on the sidewalk. Sgt. Edward R. Gore II, the school’s “climate and culture special-

ist,” the district’s term for its school resource officers, opened his arms to the kindergartners and first graders who came running toward him, as well as to some who wavered. Also on hand to greet children and parents was the principal, Angela Wright.

But in fact, the first day of school was receding in the distance: Fairfield Court was one of two local schools that had started the year on July 24, as part of a hotly contested trial: Adding 20 days to the customary 180, to help make up ground lost after Richmond kept schools closed to in-person learning for 18 months

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Brian Palmer /Richmond Free Press

Principal Angela Wright of Fairfield Court Elementary School advocated for the extra days and even offered to pick up students whose parents couldn’t walk them to school.

UPAL, Sa’ad El-Amin partnership seeks to decrease high levels of lead in soil, water

By Caroline Reinhart

“While there, we had the opportunity to experience a formal tea ceremony, a beautifully choreographed and almost spiritual event,” he wrote. “Underlying the ceremony are four principles: Wa, Kei, Sei, and Jaku — which translate to harmony, respect, purity, and tranquility.

“I can’t think of four better principles to guide us this year. I pray that we all find harmony amidst the many competing professional and personal demands we face every day; respect for ourselves, and for our students, colleagues, loved ones, and for those with whom we disagree; purity of heart in our commitment to embracing every single student — no matter the language they speak at home, how much money their family has, the color of their skin, whether LGBTQ or not — with love and high expectations; and tranquility despite the storms that sometimes surround us.

“Harmony, respect, purity, tranquility — and, of course, love — is my prayer for the RPS family this year. Please hold these four principles tight — during the highs and the lows — and please hold me accountable for doing the same. If we do, I truly believe this is going to be our best year yet!”

Mr. Kamras and Mayor Levar M. Stoney were among city leaders who greeted students on the first day of the 2023-24 school year at John Marshall High School on Monday.

Richmond man seeks parole after nearly four decades in prison

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Since 2002, the Virginia Parole Board has approved the release of 69 people who were convicted of murder, including some serving two life sentences.

To increase awareness of lead hazards in water and implore the City of Richmond to support a full retrofit of lead service lines, United Parents Against Lead (UPAL) on July 15 joined forces with 1619 Inc., headed by former Richmond Councilman, Sa’ad El-Amin.

The collaboration focuses on keeping vulnerable populations safe from high lead concentrations found in contaminated paints, soil and water. Children with elevated blood lead levels can experience numerous neurological defects and physical ailments. Because of these adverse impacts, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) state that any amount of

lead over zero is detrimental to children’s health.

Unfortunately, lead still persists in drinking water systems around the United States. Nationwide, the EPA estimates there are still 6 to 10 million lead service lines, a portion of which expose approximately 400,000 schools and child care facilities to the harms of lead poisoning.

Many of these pipes are concentrated in older urban areas with aging infrastructure since Congress banned lead pipelines and solder in 1986. For example, Flint, Mich., a majority-black and impoverished city, continues to endure a water quality crisis that began in 2014 due to a switch in the water supply that contaminated their drinking water system with high concentrations of lead.

“Most cities including Richmond are Flints waiting to happen,” said Queen Zakia Shabazz, the founder and director of UPAL. “Our goal is to prevent thousands of children from experiencing lead poisoning like those in Flint, Michigan.”

Ms. Shabazz’s toddler was

poisoned by lead in her home, prompting her to establish UPAL organization in 1996. UPAL creates networks of parents with similar experiences in an effort to educate and spread awareness about the crisis and how to manage

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At March on Washington’s 60th anniversary, leaders seek energy of original movement for civil rights

But they didn’t feel no ways tired, as the Black spiritual says. The foot soldiers were on a “freedom high,” Mr. Young recalls.

“They wanted to keep on marching, they wanted to march from Birmingham to Washington,” he said.

Mr. Mundy

Marvin M. Mundy, who already has served 36 years for his role in the 1988 murder of the night manager and a guest at a Henrico County hotel, is keeping his fingers crossed that he will be next.

“I believe I’ve served long enough,” said the 60-year-old Richmond native, one of the dwindling number of inmates who remain eligible for release as their convictions occurred before

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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, speaks to thousands during his “I Have a Dream” speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in Washington on Aug. 28, 1963.

The Associated Press file photo

And march they did, in the nation’s capital. Just four months later, they massed for what is still considered one of the greatest and most consequential racial justice demonstrations in U.S. history.

The nonviolent protest, which attracted as many as 250,000 to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, helped till the ground for passage of federal civil rights and voting rights legislation in the next

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Free Press announces new hires, summer interns from Stanford, VCU

Managing editor Bonnie Newman Davis recognized during Black journalists convention

Free Press staff report

Ms. Johnson

In addition, Free Press managing editor Bonnie Newman Davis received recognition during the recent National Association of Black Journalists Convention in Birmingham. Darlene M. Johnson, who will graduate from Virginia Commonwealth University in December, began her internship with the

Richmond Free Press in June.

Born and raised in Richmond, Ms. Johnson describes herself as a writer at heart, with a desire to master writing in its many forms, a passion for helping the marginalized and a desire to make an impact through her work.

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Meet this week’s Personality B1

Above, Principal Wright greets a returning student on July 24, the opening day of the extended 200-day school year.

Wa, Kei, Sei, and Jaku

Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

The Richmond Free Press continues to expand, with two summer interns helping to cover some of the most important topics for the Richmond community and longtime contributors joining the staff in a full-time or extended capacity.

By Alec MacGillis ProPublica

Back to School B3

Mr. Copeland

Queen Zakia Shabazz, the founder and director of United Parents Against Lead, is partnering with 1619 Inc., headed by former Richmond Councilman Sa’ad El-Amin., to help prevent high concentrations of lead in vulnerable communities.

The Associated Press

Sixty years ago, Andrew Young and his staff had just emerged from an exhausting campaign against racial segregation in Birmingham, Ala.

WREJ Rejoice sold

‘The

Gary Flowers Show’ host plans to ‘carefully consider options before me’

By Debora Timms

Jim Jacobs, the station’s current owner through Radio Richmond, LLC, confirmed that the $500,00 deal to sell WREJ 990 AM/101.3 FM to Relevant Radio is moving forward. An announcement on “The Gary Flowers Show” Monday morning made it official that the station’s current programming will cease effective Aug. 31.

“Relevant Radio has its own programming. It’s Catholic spoken word, so what we’re doing will be gone,” Mr. Jacobs said in a recent phone call. “Some of our clients have moved over to WBTK, so they will continue to broadcast from there.”

WBTK 1380 AM will broadcast Rejoice regular programs Hebrew Voice on Saturdays at 11 a.m., Reclaiming my Life with Coach Claudia Massey on Mondays at noon and Hope for Life Ministries with Chantelle Giles on Fridays at 11:45 a.m. said Randy Johnson, WREJ’s program and music director.

Mr. Johnson, who also hosts the weekday afternoon drive program “Afternoons with Brother Randy” will take a position behind the scenes at WBTK helping them to transition over. He said by phone that he plans to continue having an on-air presence with at least an internet radio station, but nothing has been finalized at this time.

As for Gary Flowers, whose show the announcement of the sale was made on, he said in a phone interview that he is still deciding his next steps.

“Given the suddenness of the announcement, I will carefully consider options before me and make a considered choice on a path forward. In any event, I will continue to connect people to good information in order to address the issues before them.”

Mr. Flowers is well known in his native Richmond. He has long been an activist, advocate and analyst of issues affecting civil rights, human rights and public policy on the local, national and global levels.

In just some of his many roles through the years, he served as a special assistant to Gov. L. Douglas Wilder in the early 1990s, was the national field director for the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson’s Rainbow PUSH Coalition from 1997 to 2007 and is the former executive director and CEO of the Black Leadership Forum, an alliance of national African-American civil rights and service organizations.

The fourth-generation Jackson Ward resident also puts his local knowledge to use. Groups can book to spend two hours “Walking the Ward with Gary Flowers” and touring his historic downtown neighborhood.

Mr. Flowers notes that his listening and viewing audience, his “voices of the village,” have been his motivation since taking over from the late Jack Gravely in 2016.

“I have been elated every day to enter the studio knowing that I’m prepared to give commentary on the issues of the day, but more so to receive commentary, perspective and opinions from the voices of the village,” he said.

VUU enrollment increases

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Virginia Union University is experiencing a surge in freshmen enrollment to start the fall semester, joining other area universities in reporting an increase in first-time students.

The Richmond HBCU that has been offering classes since 1867 reported enrolling 465 freshmen, a 34% increase over the 347 freshmen who enrolled in 2022 and the largest incoming class in seven years.

Including transfers, VUU reported 550 first-time undergraduate students are now taking classes, the largest number since 2015.

“Virginia Union has welcomed students for nearly 160 years, and this is one of our strongest years ever,” said Dr. Hakim J. Lucas, president and CEO.

“We know that students have choices, and we are proud they are selecting Virginia Union in rising numbers,” Dr. Lucas stated.

“This is especially gratifying at a time when some question the value of higher education,” he continued. “This enrollment is a testimony to our faculty who teach students, our alumni who inspire them and our community that guides students to a lifetime of success.”

Virginia Commonwealth University separately reported that about 4,500 freshmen enrolled for fall classes the largest number in five years.

Meanwhile, Virginia State University is hoping to match or beat the 2022 enrollment of 1,700 freshmen and transfers, which VSU stated was the largest class of first-time students on campus in more than 30 years. The total represented an increase of 550 first-time students over the 1,150 enrolled in the fall of 2021 or a 48 percent increase.

Cityscape

Slices

of life and scenes in Richmond

Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

After a fire on 2nd Street last week, the remains of a building stand next to the famous Hippodrome Theater in Jackson Ward. Originally built in 1913, the Hippodrome became part of Jackson Ward being known as the “Harlem of the South,” a reference to its Black heritage, culture and its musical tradition. In its heyday, entertainers such as Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington performed at the Hippodrome. More recently the venue hosted the RVA Rapper’s Delight event in homage to the 50th anniversary of hip-hop music in Richmond and elsewhere.

Woody Foundation, Military Retirees at odds over admissions tax

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

For at least 10 years, Christopher J. Woody Sr. raised money for his charity, The Woody Foundation, by throwing at least 17 parties and events a year at the Military Retirees Club of Richmond in North Side, a large private space that permits alcohol.

Mr. Woody, 38, a behavioral health technician, said he used the $15,000 or so in net income that the foundation’s events generated to buy and distribute Christmas gifts to needy city families and to salute cancer survivors at an early summer event.

But the fundraising has gone south amid a nasty dispute over the club’s collection of the 7% city admissions taxes on events that The Woody Foundation hosted at the 51-year-old building located at 2220 Sledd St.

The club’s president, Earl Reid, has barred The Woody Foundation from hosting events at the club for refusal to pay the tax even though assistant City Attorney Caitlin W. Weston has issued an opinion that the foundation’s events are tax-exempt.

The amount of tax the Military Retirees Club has collected is based on attendance and the entry fee, but ranges from $250 to $500 per event, cutting into the foundation’s revenue.

Emails obtained by the Free Press show Mr. Reid imposed the ban on Feb. 11, 2022, one day before a scheduled foundation event, though Mr. Woody later found that the club used his foundation’s state-issued banquet license and held an open-to-the public social event on Feb. 12 anyway.

In response to the ban, attorney Todd A. Knode has filed suit on behalf of Mr. Woody and his 14-year-old foundation

against the Military Retirees Club, Mr. Reid and the club’s vice president, Vester McCollum Jr.

The suit, alleging misappropriation of the purported tax money the club received from the foundation, seeks at least $30,000 in compensation for the foundation’s alleged loss of income from planned events and for the allegedly unwarranted disruption of the business relationship.

Mr. Woody said the foundation’s net income has dropped by nearly 90 % because replacement locations hold fewer people and are not as popular as the Military Retirees Club. He also said he has had to sharply cut back on the 17 to 20 events he used to host.

“It’s been a struggle,” said the Richmond native, who takes no pay from the foundation he started in 2008 as a way to give back and uplift the community, particularly its young people.

The Military Retirees Club and its two top officers have filed a strong denial of the suit’s allegations that the tax was wrongly collected and withheld from the city. A trial date has not been set in the suit that was filed in April 2022.

The dispute erupted in February 2022 after Mr. Reid notified Mr. Woody that the admissions tax for two events, including one on New Year’s Eve, had not been submitted.

“I had always paid the tax without question,” Mr. Woody said, but he said he stopped doing so after finally going to City Hall in January 2022 to check on whether the foundation had to pay it.

He said he was surprised to learn the city Finance Department had not recorded the receipt of any admissions tax money from the Military Retirees Club on behalf of his foundation.

And when a Finance Department staff

member inquired of the city’s legal department about whether the foundation had to pay the tax, Ms. Weston responded, “No.”

She stated that the city regards the fee that The Woody Foundation charged at the door as “a voluntary donation” rather than as a taxable admissions charge as “entry into the event (was) not dependent on the payment of the charge.” In other words, people could enter even if they did not pay.

Represented by attorneys Richard C. Baker and Alexander L. “Alex” Taylor, the Military Retirees Club as well as Mr. Reid and Mr. McCollum insist the tax still must be paid and also allege that contracts providing for the tax were made with Mr. Woody and not with his foundation.

Mr. Woody, though, said that he signed contracts as the president and registered agent of the foundation. “The foundation was always listed as the party making the contract,” he said, and an exhibit in the lawsuit lists the foundation as the party the Military Retirees Club contracted with.

He also noted that the foundation had to be on the contract in order to qualify for banquet license from the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Department to sell beer and wine.

While there are exceptions, state law that the Virginia ABC enforces generally only allows nonprofits and charitable associations to hold fundraising events with an admissions charge where alcohol is sold or guests bring their own bottles.

“I just wish this didn’t have to wind up in court,” Mr. Woody said. “It would be great if everything could go back to the way it was. But it looks like that is not going to happen. The tax issue seems to have made that impossible.”

Demands for better staffing, racial literacy course continue as VCU begins semester

By George Copeland Jr.

Virginia Commonwealth University students moved into the residence halls last weekend amid ongoing calls for the university’s leadership to address issues regarding firings, hirings tuition increases and on-campus living conditions.

“VCU students and faculty alike stand together and demand better,” VCU senior Harley Salmen said. “We demand a VCU that chooses us over a bigger check and demands higher education for a higher good.”

The Higher Ed for Higher Good rally was the latest action taken by faculty, students and others as part of a larger effort by the United Campus Workers of Virginia’s VCU chapter, in response to recent decisions and ongoing problems at the university they have criticized as devaluing students and teachers.

In addition to inadequate staffing and overcrowded classes, concerns about mold and other issues in the buildings and residence halls were noted.

“Without the voices of faculty and staff this university would never be able to provide the up-to-date informed education the students have come here for,” Delegate Wendy Gooditis, 10th District, said. “Without the voices of the students, the university would risk falling behind other fine schools in attracting a great student population.”

UCWA-VCU previously sought answers from VCU officials several weeks ago after a racial literacy course, created by VCU students and faculty and approved in 2021, was removed as a required course for undergraduates in late July. A delayed implementation plan instead was offered.

VCU’s actions triggered criticism and concern from inside and outside the university, including the State Council of Higher Education of Virginia, and the American Association of

University Professors.

In response, administration officials have explained that only two courses have been created so far that meet the racial literary criteria established in 2020, with not enough space to accommodate the typical number of incoming students.

“The university needs more courses, and more course sections, to offer before this requirement can be fully implemented,” Provost Fotis Sotiropoulos wrote in a July blog post to

students and faculty.

“When you consider the typical number of entering, first-time students and transfer students, VCU has an annual need of approximately 5,000 student seats. We cannot, in good faith, require of students something they have no opportunity to meet.”

A response from a VCU spokesman to the other issues raised by UCWVA-VCU offered similar explanations, pointing to inflation, utility costs and other needs as responsible for the tuition increase.

The spokesman also noted the nature of nonrenewable contracts for faculty and encouraged those who find facility issues and problems to report them to the Facilities Self Service and the VCU Facilities Management Customer Service.

Last Friday’s rally is just one of several campaigns planned to run on campus this semester, said Kristin Reed, VCU professor and UCWVA-VCU chair, and all are focused on “ensuring VCU and its resources are meeting the needs of students, not executive admin and their private contractors.”

“This means ensuring accountability for student housing and classroom safety, reinstating the contracts of fired faculty, ensuring fair compensation for all workers, and ensuring the fully staffing and rapid implementation of the Racial Literacy requirement,” she said.

Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

Sophmore Carrington Smith helps direct move in student traffic at Gladding Residence Center as families and friends help Virginia Commonwealth University’s Class of 2027 moved into campus residence halls on Saturday August 19 ahead of the 2023-24 academic year.

Right, Kendall Adams of Chesapeake gets help from her mother Kimberly and father Todd as families and friends help Virginia Commonwealth University’s Class of 2027 move intro Gladding Residence Center on Saturday August 19 ahead of the 2023-24 academic year.

Mr. Flowers

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“It brings a smile to put on their face every morning,” he said. “I’m out here every day.”

Beneath the good cheer of the greetings were weighty implications. The results of the 200-day academic years at Fairfield and Cardinal elementary schools will help determine whether Richmond adopts a similar approach at more schools across the 22,000-student district.

For nearly three years, district leaders have been proposing to add days to the school calendar for some or all students or keep the same number of days but with a shorter summer break, to reduce what educators call “summer slide.” But, as ProPublica recently reported, that plan ran into stiff resistance from some school board members, teachers and parents. In the end, only two of the district’s 50-odd schools adopted the extended calendar for the coming year. The pilot is being watched more widely too, as one of the highest-profile examples nationwide of schools taking aggressive action to address the unprecedented declines in student achievement since the pandemic’s onset.

The first big test has been simply seeing whether students

Free Press announces new hires, summer interns

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Outside of her writing, Ms. Johnson helps the homeless and animals in need, and enjoys taking care of her plants, arts and crafts, learning new hairstyles and teaching herself new things in her free time.

As a VCU student in the Robertson School of Media and Culture, Ms. Johnson is majoring in mass communications, with a concentration in digital journalism and a minor in Spanish. She has beena VCU Capital News reporter, and is treasurer for the VCU Chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists.

Caroline Reinhart, who became a Free Press intern in July, is a recent graduate of Stanford University, where she earned a bachelor’s in science, technology and society. She will return to Stanford to work on her master’s in sustainability. Her work for other publications has focused on lead service pipelines, water reuse in California and military-related pollution.

Also born and raised in Richmond, Ms. Reinhart is happy and eager to connect her interests to the city, and has a passion for animals, water quality issues and environmental justice.

George Copeland Jr. has been hired as a full-time reporter after working as a freelance reporter for the newspaper for several years.

Born in Richmond and raised in the city and Henrico County, Mr.Copeland started working with the Free Press during the summer of 2019, shortly after graduating from VCU’s Robertson School with a bachelor’s in mass communications.

Mr. Copeland’s reporting in the years since has varied greatly, from housing to health to education and more, while also taking up whatever roles, stories and assignments are necessary for the paper.

In addition, Debora Timms joined the Richmond Free Press in July 2022 as a freelance contributor. For more than a decade, she has written about current events, culture and politics for various publications. Born in New York, Ms. Timms grew up in Connecticut’s Naugatuck Valley. She moved to Australia in 1987 and lived in and around Sydney and Brisbane for 20 years. Since returning to the U.S., Ms. Timms has lived in the High Point, N.C., Granby, Conn., and currently in Frederick, Md. Married with four children, she also has two granddaughters.

Meanwhile, Ms. Davis, who joined the Free Press in May 2022, was part of the National Association of Black Journalists’ Authors Showcase for her book, “Truth Tellers: The Power and Presence of Black Women Journalists Since 1960.” The book, which chronicles the careers and lives of 24 Black women journalists from throughout the United States, was published in November 2022.

The showcase took place during NABJ’s annual convention Aug. 2-6 in Birmingham, Ala. This year’s convention drew more than 3,100 journalists from throughout the U.S. Ms. Davis’ book was selected from a competitive entry process and, as a result, she was among 16 NABJ members/authors to earn the 43-yearold organization’s “Outstanding Book Award.”

show up. To qualify for the pilot, Fairfield Court, which has 217 students this year, had to demonstrate backing from its families, who are almost entirely African-American and many of whom live in an adjacent public housing development. But a survey was one thing, warned skeptics of the proposal; getting kids to come to school in midsummer was quite another.

The turnout lagged initially, with about 80% attendance in the first week, below Fairfield Court’s average rate of 91% last year. The school’s “attendance engagement team” made repeated calls and even some home visits to absent students, trying to discern why they were out. In some cases, it was simply a matter of lacking money for new clothes or a haircut. With these targeted efforts, which included Ms. Wright herself offering to pick up kids whose parents weren’t able to walk them to school, they lifted the rate to an average of 87% by last week. “We’re down to the ones that aren’t here, we know exactly why they aren’t here,” Ms. Wright said.

The other school in the pilot project, Cardinal Elementary, which is three times larger than Fairfield Court and has a heavily Latino population, had strong attendance from the very start, 95% in the first week of the pilot, according to district data.

Not that everyone at Fairfield Court had needed cajoling. Several parents said their kids had been eager to return, a judgment buttressed by the alacrity with which the kids ran toward the music and into the building, where free breakfast awaited all. “They like going to school,” said Kay Brown, after her sons, a first grader and kindergartner, had dashed in. “Some kids give their parents a hard time. My kids love it.” Renarda Bacon’s daughter, who is in third grade, had spent most of her summer break at a day care program, but Ms. Bacon was glad to see her back at Fairfield Court, where she would be getting more actual instruction. “I’m all about progressing,” she said. “If they’re going to get in a couple more days of learning, it’s not going to hurt them.”

Ashley Martin had driven her own two kids, a third-grader and kindergartner, as well as three others from the neighborhood before heading to her job in a call center. She had been a staunch supporter of an extended school year from the get-go, she said, after seeing the news about Richmond’s plunging test scores during the past two years. She also thought that adding instructional time could help reduce the city’s high levels of youth violence. (Last year, a 17-year-old boy was fatally shot and found in a garbage can in the adjacent housing development, and the school year ended two days early in June after a graduating senior and his father were shot and killed outside one high school’s commencement ceremony.)

“I definitely love this program,” Ms. Martin said. “They should keep it, and hopefully the school board expands it, so we can get these kids back on track.”

Inside school, veteran teacher Philip Canady started the day with math lessons for a dozen fifth-grade boys. (This year, for the first time, the school had decided to separate fifth-graders by sex, thinking it might improve outcomes.) Mr. Canady, regallooking with a trim gray beard and wooden bowtie, moved back and forth among the desks, coaxing the boys through worksheets on identifying place value in numbers ranging to the millions.

“How many hundreds in that number?” he asked one boy. “Five? OK, put five in the hundreds column. How many tens do I have? OK, add two tens. No, no, that’s not tens. Put a two

there. How many ones do I have? Four ones. Now I want you to create 2,034 for me. Do you have any hundreds? No. So what are you going to put there? Zero. You got it.”

And so on, on and on around the room, with only a few interruptions to address some minor squabbling at one table. If any calming was needed, a YouTube video waited on the big computer screen at the front of the room: “3 Hours of Amazing Nature Scenery and Relaxing Music for Stress Relief.” Nearby, some small fish swam in a tank.

For this extra month in the classroom, Mr. Canady and his fellow teachers were receiving an extra month of salary — roughly 10% of the usual annual sum — plus a $10,000 incentive and the chance at an additional $5,000 if the school met certain “accelerated learning goals” set by its leadership team. The district was paying for this, a total of a couple million dollars between the two schools, out of its slice of the $190 billion in pandemic recovery funds that the federal government has sent schools since 2020. (District Superintendent Jason Kamras has said that if the district chooses to expand the initiative, it could apply for special state funding for innovative programs or other outside funding.)

To qualify for the pilot, Fairfield Court also had to show support for it among its staff; only two employees had opposed it and transferred to other schools. In a room across from Mr. Canady’s, the operational base of the school’s academic dean and the instructional leaders for math and reading, the three educators said that they were liking the pilot. It had meant adjusting their vacation plans, but they had made good use of their five weeks off (faculty had started school a week before the kids, for professional development and classroom preparation), including going to a conference in Las Vegas with some R&R attached. And now, they were getting the satisfaction of seeing students get a head start on the year.

“I know there were a lot of naysayers, but I see a lot of happy children every morning,” said the academic dean, Nsombi Morrison.

It was time for one of the trio’s regular check-ins with the teachers for each grade level, this time with the third grade team. The three teachers came in, and together the six women reviewed tables with each student’s progress toward grade-level metrics in math and reading, and discussed upcoming assessments to gauge whether the school was reaching the goals it had set for the extra month. The educators were so fully into the stride of the year’s instructional march it was hard to believe that nearly all of the district’s other schools remained closed, with some 21,000 students not returning until Aug. 21.

Back in the principal’s office, Ms. Wright said she was keenly aware of the responsibility the school bore in showing the rest of the district that the extra time can make a difference. She had recently attended a meeting with other principals, she said, and her message to them had been this: “My whole goal is for this to run so effectively and to see that data increase so much that when two or three schools come on board next year, that here’s a blueprint. Here’s what you need to do to make it.”

She added: “I would love to hear, OK, this has now gone so well at these two schools, we’re bringing in four more schools next year.”

To read this original story online, please visit: https://www. propublica.org/article/richmond-experiment-fight-pandemiclearning-loss

An experiment to fight pandemic-era learning loss launches in Richmond UPAL, Sa’ad El-Amin partnership seeks to decrease high levels of lead in soil, water

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their children’s health. The strong support system and parent advocacy group has grown, being funded millions of dollars by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. With this funding, UPAL conducts residential lead tests and remediation efforts. The organization has also certified contractors, painters, and other tradesmen in EPA’s Renovation Repair and Painting and created a Lead Dust Sampling Technician course.

Now, UPAL is working with 1619 Inc., an organization that corrects misinformation regarding the history of Enslaved Africans, to spread awareness about child lead poisoning due to water contamination.

“[Lead poisoning] is a problem of people not knowing and not trying to get their water fixed because they don’t know they have a problem with their water,” Mr. El-Amin said. “This is a tragedy in progress with no public awareness.”

To help residents identify any water hazards, the organizations’ collaboration also distributes water testing kits targeting

those living in high-risk ZIP codes — 23219, 23220, 23221, 23222, 23223, 23224, 23225. If their water is contaminated, the team helps them to fill out a grant application to replace their lead service pipelines. Each replacement has an average cost of $4,700, ranging from $1,200 to $12,300 depending on the pipeline’s length and ownership of the property. The Richmond Department of Public Utilities’ Lead Service Line Replacement Grant Program pays up to $2,500 for a certified plumber to replace the pipeline that runs from the main line to the individual house. According to Louisville Water Company, a replacement typically takes a day, yet times can vary depending on what is above the line on the surface.

While Free Press inquiries to various city officials regarding UPAL’s partnership received no response, various elected officials such as U.S. Rep. Jennifer McClellan addressed the ongoing risks of lead exposure.

“No Virginian should have to worry if their water is safe to drink,” U.S. Rep. McClellan said in an email. “ Unfortu-

nately, aging infrastructure means there is a risk of lead exposure, particularly for homes built prior to the mid-1980s. That’s why it is imperative that we continue to allocate the necessary resources to modernize outdated infrastructure and remediate lead-ridden pipes.”

Rep. McClellan further noted the action taken by the the Biden-Harris administration and congressional Democrats in responding to what she said is an environmental justice issue. “Federal investments for lead pipe remediation were provided through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, where significant amounts of funding flow through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund to be dispersed by states.

“In the Commonwealth, the Virginia Department of Health incorporates public input to develop the intended use plan and project priority list for DWSRF funding and handles the application process and timeline,” she continued. “I remain supportive of any federal efforts to provide sufficient funding to remediate lead pipes and ensure our localities have the resources they need to address this issue.”

Richmond man seeks parole after nearly four decades in prison

Continued from A1

1994 when Gov. George Allen gained General Assembly approval to abolish parole.

He is one of more than 3,000 incarcerated people who are applying for parole in a state with a tough policy of rarely granting release, even to those who no longer pose a threat to others.

Mr. Mundy, whose supporters include Department of Corrections employees, is one example.

He believes he has a powerful case to be granted freedom and has put it in writing with help from the Virginia Capital Case Clearinghouse (VCCC) at Washington and Lee University Law School.

According to the VCCC report, there are multiple reasons why Mr. Mundy should no longer be in prison.

Among them is the key role he played in saving the lives of two Department of Corrections employees, including a former warden at the Buckingham Correctional Center and a guard at the Greensville Correctional Center.

In 1996, he closed a door to keep inmates from further injuring Buckingham Warden Eddie Pearson, whose face had been slashed with a knife. Three years earlier, Mr. Mundy pulled away an inmate as the inmate tried to choke the life out of a Greensville guard.

Mr. Mundy also has expressed deep remorse for his crimes in a personal letter to the board, in which he stated that he left behind the immature person he was when came.

Instead, by his actions, he wrote, he has shown that he has been “on a journey of self improvement.”

Along with becoming a licensed barber and cutting other prisoners’ hair, the Muslim convert has obtained his GED, taken all the counseling programs the Department of Corrections has

offered and completed vocational training for administrative clerk, auto detailer, cosmetologist, computer operator, drywall installer, forklift driver, paralegal and sound system installer.

Mr. Mundy also is credited with developing self-help counseling programs to enable fellow prisoners to take responsibility for the actions that put them behind bars, prepare for release and deal with parole rejection, according to the VCCC report.

The Parole Board has received emails and letters of support for his release from U.S. Congresswoman Jennifer L. McClellan and 14 employees of the Department of Corrections, including the assistant warden at Greensville, T. Jarrell, whose email to the Parole Board described Mr. Mundy as a “model offender and a man of excellent character.”

In addition, the VCCC report suggests that Mr. Mundy might have been wrongly sentenced to two life terms plus 36 years based on his conviction of being the mastermind of the botched robbery in which two were killed.

As the report details, two of the people convicted with him, Norris Timmons and Keith Cox, who already have been paroled, have recanted in statements to law enforcement their testimony pinning the blame for the killings on Mr. Mundy. They now say that Mr. Mundy did not shoot anyone that terrible night.

If he were released, he has a fully developed plan for where he would live. He has a fiancée waiting for him as well as a supportive family. He has a transitional residence waiting for him through the REAL LIFE program in Richmond that helps released individuals adjust to life outside prison walls.

And now that he is 60, he also is eligible for geriatric parole, about the only type of parole for adult prisoners that was not abolished.

But his chances of leaving prison anytime soon, despite his

health issues, appear to be slim.

According 2022 statistics, the state Parole Board received more than 3,300 applications for parole, but granted only 78 releases or less than 3%. The board currently receives about 280 applications a month, but grants an average of only eight releases per month.

One reason the pace has slowed is that the Parole Board has only seven investigators to review cases, meaning that applications pile up. More than 2,000 still await review, board statistics show.

In addition, the five-member Parole Board has two vacancies. Given that at least three members must approval parole, that means an inmate currently must receive unanimous support to secure release.

The cost of keeping Mr. Mundy and others with records indicating they would not be a public safety risk is expensive.

The Department of Corrections reports spending an average of $42,000 a year to house each of the more than 25,000 inmates currently in the various state prisons. That compares to the average annual cost of $1,600 for parole supervision, according to the department.

Other states push parole because of the cost differential, including rock-ribbed Republican Texas, where parole is granted to about 30% of applicants, or 10 times the Virginia percentage.

Mr. Mundy, who has seen the Parole Board release others with two life sentences and far less positive records than his, has made his annual application for parole.

He is still waiting to hear back from the board, but remains confident that he will one day receive the life-changing word that he will be allowed another chance to live in civil society.

“It can’t come soon enough,” he said.

Ms. Davis

Ms. Timms

The doctors you chose, the plan to match

Keep your doctors with an in-network plan

You chose your Bon Secours care team — a team whose focus is, and always has been, on providing quality, compassionate care for those we serve. Now it’s time to choose the Medicare plan to match. Due to stalled negotiations between Bon Secours and Anthem (otherwise known as Elevance Health), your coverage may be impacted.

Our Medicare Advantage contract with Anthem Virginia was terminated effective August 1 and Bon Secours providers are considered out-of-network for nearly 13,000 Richmond-area patients who have Anthem Medicare Advantage health insurance.

If you are a Bon Secours patient with Anthem Medicare Advantage coverage, here is what you can do to make your voice heard:

1. Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment opens October 15. Talk to your broker, or call the Centers of Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) at 1-800-633-4227, and understand your options to pick a plan that keeps your Bon Secours providers in-network. Bon Secours remains in-network with all other major Medicare Advantage health plans in Virginia.

2. Call Anthem at the number on the back of your insurance card and tell them how important it is for you to keep you uninterrupted in-network access to Bon Secours.

Bon Secours is committed to continue doing our part and working hard to reach a new agreement with Anthem on behalf of our patients and the communities we serve — so nothing comes between you and the caregivers you know and trust.

Back to school

richmond area students are back in the classroom, a new experience for those of us who are used to public schools starting after labor Day.

We are excited about this fresh educational start and wish each student well.

And we especially applaud the local businesses, churches, charities and efforts led by City hall to provide every student the resources and supplies necessary to start the new school year.

Our hope is that our children and youths will seize this opportunity to learn all they can to prepare themselves for future success.

learning loss can be made up, but it takes a willingness on the part of the learner to accept the challenge of filling in the knowledge gaps.

Teachers can lead students to the pool of knowledge, but no one can force them to drink. Our children must do that on their own.

While that is not always easy, there is no reason to make excuses for failing to do so. A recent social media post celebrated a homeless Black youth who lived in a tent for two years and by dint of effort became the valedictorian of his high school class. he made a way out of no way with pluck and determination. Too often such positive stories are overlooked by negative reporting.

We know that our young people are capable and have the energy and vigor to achieve. We call on them to commit themselves to learning, not for the grades, but for the challenges that will await them all too soon as adults.

If not now, when?

Hurray for compromise

Good news.

Virginia lawmakers are reportedly on the verge of a budget deal that would ensure increased funding for public schools and mental health services, while restoring a subsidy that will protect against a projected leap in health insurance premiums.

Dealmakers from the republican-controlled house and the Democrat-controlled senate are expressing confidence in reaching a tentative agreement and were only waiting to receive updated revenue numbers from republican Gov. Glenn A. Youngkin to finalize that agreement.

What makes this so heartening is that it flies in the face of the new preference in American politics of spending more time bashing opponents than in governing for the benefit of constituents.

In Virginia, the adults are in control on the budget and are prepared to, dare we say it, compromise.

republican Delegate Barry Knight of Virginia Beach along with outgoing Democratic sen. Janet howell of Fairfax exemplify the senior legislators who want to reach an agreement, rather than remaining in stalemate over the spending of nearly $4 billion in surplus revenue.

No agreement seemed possible after the house and senate locked horns over the proposals that Gov. youngkin advanced to further cut taxes for businesses and higher-income earners on top of tax cuts approved last year.

The house was supportive, but the senate was opposed as it wanted more of the surplus to spend on boosting education, improving pay for government workers and upgrading mental health services.

A committee that included senior house members led by Delegate Knight and senior senators led by sen. howell was set up – and that’s where the deal-making is happening.

Essentially, the house had to give up its insistence on permanent tax cuts. The senate refused to go along with it, remembering how two decades ago Gov. Jim Gilmore had nearly sunk the state treasury by insisting that the state cover the car tax that localities charged on vehicles.

The deal then was to cap the amount the state provided, with vehicle owners having to pick up the rest.

The deal now involves scrapping the governor’s tax cuts in exchange for providing taxpayers with one-time rebates of $200 for individuals and $400 for couples of income tax they have already paid. Meanwhile, the senate might have to shrink some of its spending proposals.

Wednesday, Gov. youngkin said he would accept the rebates, but also added he would be back with proposals for permanent tax cuts in the next session.

This is how the legislative process is supposed to work. This is how we hope that it can continue to work in the Commonwealth.

Are you the sort of aging baby boomer who can’t hear the opening notes of rossini’s “William Tell Overture” without thinking of the lone ranger?

That’s me. similarly, I can’t hear news about the federal racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations law, or rICO, without think ing of Edward G. robinson’s dying words as Chicago crime boss Johnny rico in “little Caesar”: “Mother of mercy!” he gasps. “Is this the end of rico?” yup. But out here in the real world, rICO is alive, kicking and indicting more suspects, including rudy Giuliani, who, on his way to becoming mayor of New york, built national fame as a federal prosecutor not shy to use rICO to go after New york gangsters, Wall street lawbreakers and other perpetrators of corruption.

Those were stepping stones on his way to election as mayor, and more recently as a lawyer for former President Donald Trump.

But somewhere since his days as a law-and-order mayor, Mr. Giuliani appears to have gone over to the dark side. Way over.

Now prosecutors say Mr. Giuliani, among other Trump allies, made false claims about innocent election workers Wandrea

shaye” Moss and her mother, ruby Freeman.

The smear campaign, according to the new indictments, made them victims of an alleged criminal enterprise led by Mr. Trump and his allies.

At election time Ms. Freeman helped with temporary work. her daughter was a full-time worker at the Fulton County Elections

Office.

After social media posts falsely claimed to show them committing election fraud, the allegations were bolstered by Mr. Giuliani, who claimed to have video evidence showing Ms. Freeman and Ms. Moss scanning ballots hidden in suitcases underneath tables. his claims, including the alleged video evidence, proved to be bogus.

Now Mr. Giuliani is accused of making several false claims about the vote-counting process. Prosecutors say he falsely claimed that county election workers stationed there had kicked out observers and then “went about their dirty, crooked business,” illegally counting as many as 24,000 ballots.

he also claimed audaciously that three election workers — Ms. Freeman, her daughter shaye and an unidentified man — were passing around UsB ports “as if they’re vials of heroin or cocaine” to infiltrate Dominion voting machines.

The drug claims proved to be outrageously unsupported, but I’ve come to expect such unlimited lying from people who don’t appear to respect the election process in the first place — unless their side wins.

Three other defendants in the Georgia case — harrison William Prescott Floyd, Trevian C. Kutti and stephen Cliffgard lee — were charged with solicitation of false statements and writings and with influencing witnesses related to the harassment of Ms. Freeman.

Ms. Freeman and her daughter testified to Congress that Mr. Trump and his allies latched onto surveillance footage from November 2020 to accuse both women of committing voter fraud. The allegations were quickly debunked, but not before they began to spread quickly and widely across social media, especially, although unfortunately not only, on the conservative side.

Predictably, both women faced death threats for several months after the election.

We’ve seen similar scenes unfold across the country as self-appointed election overlords have decided the Civil War isn’t really over.

seriously, as someone who loves this country, warts and all, and worked as a volunteer “poll watcher” during a Chicago election in the 1970s, I take it personally when I hear of someone who thinks the Jan. 6 mob had the right idea.

Racist attacks can’t hide lawlessness in Fulton County’s case against Trump

“With Trump, you don’t need to look for a dog whistle. It’s a bull horn when it comes to race. And I do think that’s deliberate. We’ve seen the — I mean, slanderous attacks that he has put out against Fani Willis, you know, alleged things I won’t even repeat. So, he’s not really hiding that he’s going to lean into that element, and this is, you know, taking place just outside of Atlanta. When you saw the courtroom, it was a lot of Black men and women who are serving in that courtroom It’s textbook Donald Trump but it comes as no surprise.” AlyssA FArAh, Former White house Director of strategic Communications

If anything illustrates the depths to which Donald Trump and his supporters have sunk in responding to his racketeering indictment in Fulton County, Ga., it’s his reference to those he falsely accuses of voter fraud as “riggers.”

MAGA extremists, who have been using the word as a substitute for the n-word on far-right social media sites, responded with racist delight.

Mr. Trump has put a dishonest, racist, and misogynistic spin on the old legal adage: If the law is against you, pound the facts. If the facts are against you, pound the law. If the law and the facts

are against you, pound the table and yell like hell.

But no amount of pounding and yelling can obscure the breathtaking lawlessness outlined in the sweeping indictment Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis filed last week against Mr. Trump and his 18 alleged coconspirators. By charging them under Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, Ms. Willis has at last cast

their brazenly corrupt conduct in the proper legal light.

While the narrowly focused federal indictment that special Counsel Jack Smith filed against Mr. Trump earlier this month acknowledges six alleged coconspirators, they are neither identified nor charged. Fulton County’s indictment of 18 coconspirators — and reference to 30 more unnamed, unindicted co-conspirators — illustrates the far-reaching scope of the massive scheme to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

Mr. Trump’s alleged criminal enterprise operated not only in Fulton County, but “elsewhere in the state of Georgia, in other states, including, but not limited to, Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, and in the District of Columbia.” Its members engaged in “various related criminal activities including, but not limited to, false statements and writings,

impersonating a public officer, forgery, filing false documents, influencing witnesses, computer theft, computer trespass, computer invasion of privacy, conspiracy to defraud the state, acts involving theft, and perjury.”

Omitted from the federal indictment was an alleged conspiracy to breach voting equipment and access voter data.

“In Georgia, members of the enterprise stole data, including ballot images, voting equipment software, and personal voter information. The stolen data was then distributed to other members of the enterprise, including members in other states.” Nor does the federal indictment refer to a bizarre plan, advocated by Mr. Trump’s lawyer sidney Powell, to use the military to seize voting machines around the country and re-run parts of the election.

Future historians will rely on Fulton County’s case, not the federal government, for the full story of one of the darkest chapters in American history. The meticulous work of Ms. Willis and her team is all the more remarkable given the constant abuse and threats of violence, incited by Mr. Trump, that his supporters have hurled at them. regardless of the outcome, Team Willis as well as the witnesses and grand jurors whom MAGA extremists also have targeted, will emerge as the heroes.

The writer is the president and CEO of the National Urban League.

The Free Press welcomes letters

The Richmond Free Press respects the opinions of its readers. We want to hear from you. We invite you to write the editor. All letters will be considered for publication. Concise, typewritten letters related to public matters are preferred. Also include your telephone number(s). Letters should be addressed to: Letters to the Editor, Richmond Free Press, P.O. Box 27709, 422 East Franklin Street, Richmond, VA 23261, or faxed to: (804) 643-7519 or e-mail: letters@richmondfreepress.com.

My appreciation goes out to Ms. Freeman, Ms. Moss and all the thousands of many fellow citizens who volunteer to do their part for clean elections.

These are the folks who get up very early to do the often-tedious but very necessary work of protecting our election integrity. They work long hours to handle the vote counting, check the registration rolls and answer questions — or raise them — to make sure the system is working, and to let somebody know if it isn’t.

In Chicago, for example, we may joke about our “vote early and often” reputation. But still, most of us take self-government seriously. We have no better alternative to democracy — and we’re all responsible for making sure it works. Mother of mercy, can this be the end of phony election claims? I wish.

The writer is a columnist for the Chicago Tribune.

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Religious participation in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom exceeded all expectations in 1963. In addition to many banners and signs designating specific religious groups, many churchmen and women marched as Protestants, Catholics and Jews, united in their support of full equality for all American citizens. More than half the signs in the march were those of churches, synagogues and related agencies.

Women at the first March on Washington: A secretary, a future bishop and a marshal

By Adelle M. Banks Religion News Service

In front of the crowds and the cameras, the speeches of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other men loomed large 60 years ago at the March on Washington.

But the women, including those of faith, who played roles in its organization, its music and its news coverage were mostly left off the official program.

“They did not accept their exclusion quietly,” stated the National Museum of African American History and Culture, in a description posted on its website ahead of the anniversary.

Willie Pearl Mackey King

Willie Pearl Mackey King was the personal secretary and administrative assistant to the Rev. Wyatt Tee Walker, executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. She worked closely with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (no relation), who was a co-founder of the SCLC, as well as with Rev. Walker and others who organized the march. She arrived in D.C. weeks before the gathering and left in time to watch it on TV in Atlanta with SCLC staffers. Mrs. King, 82, is a member and former trustee of a Baptist church in Silver Spring, Md.

What was your role in the plans for the March on Washington?

Mrs. Mackey King: I came to Washington, probably the first time six weeks before the march because Wyatt Tee Walker was the lead person on Dr. King’s staff planning the march with a lot of help. His immediate staff from Atlanta were very much involved looking at logistics, thinking about crowd control, how many people we were expecting and, certainly, they did not expect, from everything I heard, the number of people that turned out. They didn’t expect 250,000 people. No. No. No. They were thinking of a much smaller group from what I could hear, what I saw discussed.

What was it in particular that was your task as you worked on this?

Mrs. Mackey King: Taking notes, keeping the water pitchers filled (laughs). Going out getting the food, typing up what they had come up with, so that they can review it.

What did you think when you saw it on TV, after all that typing and water pitcher filling?

Mrs. Mackey King: That’s not the speech! (laughs) That’s not what he said. You asked and I’m going to tell you the truth. That was my reaction. Oh my goodness. All that hard work and he’s not going to give the speech? He just left completely what they had worked on and agreed to. He was saying (singer) Mahalia Jackson’s thought because she was saying, “Martin, tell them about the dream, tell them about the dream.”

What strikes you about it to this day when you think about the fact that we’re at 60 years from the March on Washington?

Mrs. Mackey King: The thing that always comes to the forefront of my mind is the thing that Dr. King preached the most of all, nonviolence — how we have let that slip through our fingers and how violent our society is. I think about the fact that it’s a joke now when people talk about equal job opportunities. We made progress in the early days, yes, but it seems that we’ve gotten complacent, relaxed. A few have made it and the masses are still struggling for equal job opportunities.

What did it mean for you to have the role you did in the preparations for the March on Washington, especially as a woman of faith?

Mrs. Mackey King: To be honest, I did not comprehend the importance of what was happening at the time. It was a job. I was happy to have a job. It was the first job out of a cotton field and the best thing that I had had, really. So I didn’t really understand. It was only later when I realized, oh my goodness, this was very important that I was doing. At the time, it did not have a specific important meaning.

“Individuals like Anna Arnold Hedgeman of the National Council of Churches strategized with others and convinced (organizer Roy) Wilkins to include a female speaker. Only one woman spoke: Daisy Bates, NAACP chapter president and an adviser to the Little Rock Nine.”

The Rev. Barbara Williams-Skinner, who came to Washington as the first female executive director of the Congressional Black Caucus a decade after the march, recalls prominent Black women leaders of that era sharing with her their “anger and angst” of having to sit silently that day.

The co-convener of the National African American Clergy Network said that, although they may not have had much of

What about significance for the nation 60 years later?

Mrs. Mackey King: I would hope, in my humble opinion, that the nation would look back at where we were, and where we are today and see that working together, we can benefit each other. Separating us is not the thing we should do. We should all try and come together to make this country the great country God intended it to be. We can’t do it fighting each other, separating the races and cultures. We have got to come together.

Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie

Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie was on the National Mall with her mother and aunts, part of a publishing family that was covering the march for The Afro American newspaper. Then 16, she recalled being dressed that day like she was going to church. Bishop McKenzie, 76, a retired bishop of the African Meth odist Episcopal Church, is the president and general secretary of the National Council of Churches.

What do you remember specifically about the march?

Bishop Murphy McKenzie: It was very hot, very sunny that day. There were different signs. The sign I chose was for education. After all, I’m a kid in school. I remember I had a little yellow dress and I had my ankle socks and Mary Janes. (laughs)

People today might not understand being dressed up, like you described, in the heat.

You wanted to present your best selves. There was no one in jeans and T-shirts that I recall. There were men who had suit jackets on and there were men who just had shirts and ties on. But I don’t think anything like you would see at a march today where there would be ball caps and jeans and T-shirts and so forth.

What did it mean for you to attend the March on Washington?

Bishop Murphy McKenzie: Of course, I protested when they came and got me from camp but you knew it was an important event and you had to be there. My mother’s sisters were covering the march. They were writing, they were keeping track of what was going on. So I was the runner while they were sitting under the trees. You could hear like a cheer, like somebody special was coming through the crowd. And people would part and make way for people to come through. And so part of my job was to run to the steps and see who was coming through. I’d run up and, ah, there’s (entertainer) Sammy Davis Jr.

Did you see signs of other people of faith?

Bishop Murphy McKenzie: I don’t remember seeing anybody carrying Bibles there. But you were there because Martin Luther King said we need to be here and we need to have a demonstration. There needs to be a show of hands, if you will, a show of bodies to emphasize that this is important. And by today’s standards, it is amazing that it happened. There were no cellphones. There was no internet. There was no Google. There was no tweet. There was no Facebook that said we all have to be in Washington, D.C., on August the 28th. And then a quarter of a million people show up at the right place at the right time. Not just there because King said you needed to be there but it was a

a voice that day, she is certain of the influence of women, famous and unfamiliar, on the march’s success from behind the scenes.

“If anything got organized, the women were putting in extra time,” she said, “even though they faced the unfairness of not being able to speak.”

As the nation marks the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington, Religion News Service talked to three women — a secretary in Dr. King’s office, a schoolgirl who became a bishop and a high school grad who helped escort Malcolm X — about their memories and roles in that historic moment. The interviews were edited for length and clarity.

personal investment that says I have a concern about this and I’m willing to invest myself and time to make a collective impact.

Religious participation in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom exceeded all expectations in 1963. In addition to many banners and signs designating specific religious groups, many churchmen and women marched as Protestants, Catholics and Jews, united in their support of full equality for all American citizens. More than half the signs in the March were those of churches, synagogues and related agencies.

What do you think is its significance for the nation 60 years later?

Bishop Murphy McKenzie: That every generation is going to have to do it again. That civil rights and justice work is never one and done. Every generation must cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge of its time. And so here we are again, fighting our grandfather’s, our ancestors’ battles. When you add it all up, we have less voting rights now than we did in the 1950s when I was in middle school.

Do you think women’s roles in the Civil Rights Movement were not noticed or recognized as much as they should have been either in the plans for the march or in the march itself?

Bishop Murphy McKenzie: There were not many women I could see on stage from my vantage point. I wasn’t that close but I wasn’t that far away either. The only female voice I remember hearing was Mahalia Jackson singing. She has an iconic voice. I don’t believe they got the recognition they deserved or the place or the credit.

Sondra “Sandy” Hassan

Sondra “Sandy” Hassan had just graduated from a Washington, D.C., high school and was headed to Howard University when she was assigned the role of a marshal during the March on Washington and ended up briefly escorting march critic and Nation of Islam leader Malcolm X. Ms. Hassan, who describes herself simply as a spiritual person, is a quilter and former member of the African Heritage Dancers and Drummers. Ms. Hassan, 77, is a retired District government employee who worked in its mental health department for two decades.

We understand you escorted Malcolm X during the march.

Ms. Hassan: Malcolm X had his own entourage. As a marshal, I was given a particular area to stand and escort marchers as they came

or point them in the direction of the Lincoln Memorial. I was some distance away from the podium. And that really disturbed me because I wanted to be right up front. I wanted to hear all the speakers. I wanted to be right in the thick of it. However, I had this job to do. I was a sentry. But then all of a sudden, Malcolm X, and his entourage and the press that was following him, came into my area. I was much more of an integrationist than he was, and I believed in the work of both SNCC (the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) and Dr. Martin Luther King. So, though his (Malcolm X’s) words always found resonance with me, I was a little bit afraid of him. But then, here he comes, right into my section. He was being interviewed by the press. And so this little skinny 17-year-old was walking him and his entourage to the next marshal. And during that period of time, I really did feel as if I was in the presence of greatness.

What did it mean for you as a woman attending the march?

Ms. Hassan: It just meant everything to me. When I was in high school, I got involved with testing restaurants in Virginia. And so I would be with some of my white classmates going out to various restaurants mostly in Arlington, Alexandria, to see if they would seat us. And my group, we were seated but we were never, ever fed. And at times we were asked to leave.

How does this relate to what it meant to you to attend the march?

Ms. Hassan: It was just a continuation. Because I was active in high school, I continued my activism in college.

To this day, what strikes you most about the March on Washington?

Ms. Hassan: It was a beautiful, crystal clear day. The sun was bearing down on us. I had never seen that many people in one location. I mean, Black people, white people, Asian people, movie stars. I saw Sidney Poitier and I saw Ruby Dee and her husband (Ossie Davis). It seemed to me that I was, right at that moment, living through the greatest period in American history, full of activism and optimism. I just knew things were going to get better for Black folks and for white folks too. That if we could join hands and sing “We Shall Overcome,” then we were going to overcome.

What is the significance of the March on Washington to the nation 60 years later in your view?

Ms. Hassan: What it means today is that we have taken steps backward, many steps backward, and I know we just have a lot of work to do to get back to even there, where we were so many years ago, in terms of a national, a nationwide desire for true equality and democracy and jobs and justice.

Leaders of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) confer on September 25, 1963, at First African Baptist Church in Richmond during the organization’s annual convention. From left to right are the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., president of the SCLC; Joseph E. Lowery, vicepresident; and Wyatt Tee Walker, executive director.

Mrs. King

Photo courtesy of Sondra Hassan

Photo courtesy of Willie Pearl Mackey King

Ms. Hassan

Bishop McKenzie

Left, Willie Pearl Mackey King at her desk at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference office in Atlanta in 1963. Also left, Sondra “Sandy” Barrett Hassan, right, and Melvin Deal in the 1960s. Mr. Deal was the founder of the African Heritage Dancers and Drummers and Ms. Hassan started dancing with the ensemble around the time of the March on Washington.

RNS archive photo by Seth Muse

Richmond judge clears way for casino vote

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Richmond voters will have a second chance to vote on hosting a $560 million casino in South Side.

Judge W. Reilly Marchant cleared the way Wednesday by blocking a Richmond charity bingo group’s attempt to challenge the constitutionality of the order he signed July 25 to put the issue on the Nov. 7 general election ballot.

In a six-page decision, the chief judge of the Richmond Circuit Court ruled that South Side-based Richmond Lodge No.1 of the Good Lions could not show it had a legal right to intervene in the case, also known as standing, and lifted the temporary suspension of the order he imposed last week while he considered the issue.

If the Good Lions had won, the referendum likely would have been dead for this year, given the additional hearings that would have been required to deal with the constitutional question.

Judge Marchant found that the Good Lions’ claim that it would lose revenue if the casino opened was traceable to the 2019 state legislation authorizing casinos, but had nothing to do

with City Council’s no-bid selection of a preferred operator as Good Lion never competed for that opportunity.

Mayor Levar M. Stoney stated that he was pleased that the ruling from Judge Marchant that will allow a second vote on the proposed casino-resort, a joint venture involving Kentucky-based Churchill Downs and Maryland-based Urban One to develop on 100 acres at 2001 Walmsley Blvd. next to the Bells Road interchange on Interstate 95.

In 2021, voters narrowly rejected a similar casino proposal, but the mayor and the majority of council are trying again to win a majority for the project that promises to create 1,300 new jobs and $30 million in annual tax revenue for the city. Also cheering the decision was RVA Entertainment Holdings, the company the two companies have created to undertake the project. “We’re glad this matter is resolved,” spokesman Michael Kelly stated.

Foes, though, are fuming that Judge Marchant refused to consider whether the mayor and council could award the lucrative franchise without first seeking competitive bids as the state constitution requires.

“This is wrong, but no citizen is allowed to challenge the award of a sweetheart contract that is explicitly barred by the state constitution,” said political strategist Paul Goldman, who is heading the “No Means No Casino” opposition campaign that has secured $110,000 in contributions.

“What’s the use of having rules if no one in government has to obey them and no citizen can object to an illegal process,” he asked.

At March on Washington’s 60th anniversary, leaders seek energy of original movement for civil rights

few years. But in the decades that followed, the rights gains feeding the freedom high felt by Mr. Young and others came under increasing threat. A close adviser to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Mr. Young went on to become a congressman, a U.N. ambassador and Atlanta’s mayor. He sees clear progress from the time when Black Americans largely had no guarantee of equal rights under the law. But he hasn’t ignored the setbacks.

“We take two steps forward, and they make us take one step back,” Mr. Young told The Associated Press in an interview at the offices of his Atlanta-based foundation.

“It’s a slow process that depends on the politics of the nation.”

At 91 years old, an undeterred Mr. Young will gather again with Black civil rights leaders and a multiracial, interfaith coalition of allies on Saturday to mark 60 years since the first March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, an event most widely remembered for Dr. King’s “I Have A Dream” speech.

But organizers of this year’s commemoration don’t see this as an occasion for kumbaya — not in the face of eroded voting rights nationwide, after the recent striking down of affirmative action in college admissions and abortion rights by the Supreme Court, and amid growing threats of political violence and hatred against people of color, Jews and the LGBTQ community.

The issues today appear eerily similar to the issues in 1963. The undercurrent of it all is that Black people are still the economically poorest in American society.

Organizers intend to remind the nation that the original march wasn’t just about dreaming of a country that lived up to its promises of equality and liberty to pursue happiness. They wanted legislative action then, and they want the same now.

The survival of American democracy depends on it, the organizers say.

“It’s inevitable to me that this nation, as Martin Luther King said, will live out, one day, the true meaning of its creed,” Mr. Young declared.

COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations increase

Free Press staff report

COVID-19 hospitalization rates have risen 77% in Virginia so far this month amid signs of a late summer wave sweeping the country, according to Axios.

COVID diagnoses in Virginia emergency rooms have risen every week since the end of June, per data released by the Virginia Department of Health yesterday.

The total number of diagnoses and hospitalizations remains low across the state, accounting for just 1.6% of emergency room visits, Axios reports:

• In the Richmond area, hospitals reported 3.7 new COVID-19 patients per 100,000 residents, per the most recent CDC data.

• That leaves us well below the 10 cases per 100,0000 residents threshold for what the CDC defines as moderate spread.

Meanwhile, free community testing for COVID-19 continues in Richmond and surrounding area.

The Richmond and Henrico County health districts are offering testing at the following locations:

• Thursday, Aug. 24, 1 to 5 p.m. - Henrico Arms Apartments, 1566 Edgelawn Circle.

• Friday, Aug. 25, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m Southside Women, Infant and Children Office, 509 E. Southside Plaza.

Call the Richmond and Henrico COVID19 Hotline at (804) 205-3501 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/coronavirus/ covid-19-testing/covid-19-testing-sites

The Richmond and Henrico health districts are offering free vaccines for COVID-19 and more at the following locations:

March on Washington

Free Press staff report

Want to take part in the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom this weekend?

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity is offering a free bus ride to the nation’s capital for this event on Saturday, Aug. 26.

The bus is to leave from the Walmart parking lot at 7901 Brook Road at 7 a.m. and return at 7 p.m., according to the announcement, which states the offer is open to anyone.

Contractor and fraternity member Darrell Stuckey said the fraternity has chartered two buses and still has space for about 28 people. Details: Mr. Stuckey, (240) 413-2000 or Rob Quarles, Robq19@gmail.com.

The event aims to highlight the historic event Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. organized in 1963 to push for an end to the oppression of Black people and also to call on people to continue the struggle, according to the website on the march. Dr. King was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha.

Six decades ago, from the steps of the monument to President Abraham Lincoln, Dr. King began his most famous speech by decrying economic disparity, quality of life issues, police brutality and voter disenfranchisement. He brought his remarks home with the sermonic delivery of his dream of social and class harmony transcending racial and ethnic lines in America.

His words have resounded through decades of push and pull toward progress in civil and human rights. Today, the March on Washington is a marker by which racial progress is measured. But drivers of that progress — namely the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 — have teetered precariously on the edges of partisanship.

“(King) said in the speech, ‘We come to here, Mr. Lincoln, because 100 years ago, in 1863, you promised that we’d be full citizens, and America has not fulfilled the promise,’” said the

Rev. Al Sharpton, president of the National Action Network and co-convener of the 60th commemoration of the march.

Dr. King also said America had given Black Americans a check for equality that had been marked “insufficient funds” in the bank of justice.

“They came (to Washington) in ’63 to say the check bounced,” Sharpton said. “We come in ’23 … to say the check didn’t bounce this time. They put a stop payment on the check. And we’re coming to say, ‘You’re going to take stop payment off the check, and you will pay your debt.’”

This is at least the third time that Rev. Sharpton has organized a commemoration of the March on Washington. There was a march in 2000, the 37th anniversary of Dr. King’s speech, focused on police brutality and racial profiling. Thirteen years later, the late Rep. John Lewis, who at the time was the last living speaker from the original march, and a host of celebrities, athletes and politicians attended the 50th anniversary commemoration.

Each time, Rev. Sharpton has partnered with members of Dr. King’s family. Martin Luther King III, the eldest son of the late civil rights icon, and his wife, Arndrea Waters King, head the Drum Major Institute and are co-conveners of this year’s march. A list of march partners includes about 100 other civil rights, faith and cultural organizations.

Rev. Sharpton’s organization expects tens of thousands to attend on Saturday.

Part of the success of the original march was its turnout, said author Michael Long, who next month will publish the book “Bayard Rustin: A Legacy of Protest and Politics,” which celebrates the march’s chief architect.

“Rustin really believed that the power on that day would be in numbers created by this coalition that he put together of Black civil rights activists, people from faith communities and progressive workers in the labor rights movement,” Mr. Long said.

“Civil disobedience attracts the hardcore few,” he added, “but when you get 250,000 people together on the National Mall, you serve notice on the political leaders of the day.”

• Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2 to 4 p.m. - Henrico West Health Department, 8600 Dixon Powers Drive, Bivalent Moderna boosters for ages 6 years and older, Bivalent Pfizer boosters for ages 5 years and older, Novavax primary shots for ages 12 and older, JYNNEOS shots and Moderna/Pfizer baby bivalent boosters; walkups welcome but appointments encouraged.

• Thursday, Aug. 31, 2 to 4 p.m. - 400 East Cary St., Bivalent Moderna boosters for ages 6 years and older, Bivalent Pfizer boosters for ages 5 years and older, Novavax primary shots for ages 12 and older, JYNNEOS shots and Moderna/Pfizer baby bivalent boosters; walk-ups welcome but appointments encouraged.

To schedule an appointment, visit vase. vdh.virginia.gov, vaccinate.virginia.gov or vax.rchd.com, or by calling (804) 205-3501 or (877) VAX-IN-VA (1-877-829-4682). VaccineFinder.org and vaccines.gov also allow people to find nearby pharmacies and clinics that offer the COVID-19 vaccine and booster.

Those who are getting a booster shot should bring their vaccine card to confirm the date and type of vaccine received. RHHD also offers at-home vaccinations by calling (804) 205-3501 to schedule appointments.

The Pfizer booster is approved for ages 12 and up, while the new Moderna booster is for ages 18 and older.

As with previous COVID-19 boosters, the new doses can only be received after an initial two vaccine shots, and those who qualify are instructed to wait at least two months after their second COVID-19 vaccine.

The Richmond and Henrico Health Districts also offer bivalent Pfizer and Moderna boosters to children between the ages of 5 and 11. Children in this age range will be eligible after at least two months since their last vaccine dose.

We stand for Equality Justice Opportunity Freedom and we fearlessly ght for Equality Justice Opportunity Freedom

Continued

John Marshall athletes heading to Africa

By Darlene M. Johnson

The boys and girls basketball teams at John Marshall High School depart for Luanda, Angola, in Africa on Friday, Aug. 24. They will return on Sept. 5.

In announcing the trip Wednesday, Principal Monica Murray, Coach Ty White and student activities director Danyelle Smith said the 23 students will play Angolan basketball teams during their stay. The trip is made possible through the Tucker Family Heritage Tour, which is designed to share untold narratives about the slave trade as told by Angolans, histories of Angola, liberation from Portugal after nearly 500 years of colonization, and the life and leadership of Queen Njinga Mbandi.

“We will include an educational walking tour of the slavery route in Luanda, the Slavery Museum, a journey into the interior of the country to see Pedras Negras (Black Stones of Pungo Andongo), the Kalandula waterfalls, and the historic Fort Massangano,” Ms. Smith

Stories by Fred Jeter

said. She added that students also will “enjoy the culture, the people, the food, the arts, natural landmarks and more.”

Vincent Tucker of the Tucker family heritage group also attended the announcement, along with former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax and Neil Breslin, executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Angola.

The Tuckers, of Hampton, are descendants of the first enslaved Africans that landed in English North America, now known as present-day Hampton.

“It’s a privilege and honor to have young scholars with us to experience a part of history that we’ve only heard portions of,” Mr. Tucker said.

Ms. Murray acknowledged the support of Mr. Fairfax, who offered

The boys and girls basketball teams at John Marshall High School depart for Luanda, Angola, in Africa on Friday to not only play basketball, but also learn the country’s history.

to sponsor the trip, and NFL player Anthony Harris from Richmond, who helped sponsor the team “in the fourth quarter,” she said.

“This is going to change your lives and you deserve it because you all have done so many great things,” Mr. Fairfax said to the players. “I just hope that you take this experience and change a whole bunch of other people’s lives.”

“Richmond, stay with us. Pray with us,” Ms. Murray said. “We’re excited to come back and let you know about this wonderful experience.”

Ms. Smith said the Angola trip is a field trip for John Marshall’s student-athletes and will conclude with a project and presentation that will make up all school work. Teachers and staff members will serve as chaperones for this trip.

Football momentum building in the East End

Jeremy Pruitt teaches chemistry in the classroom and, as football coach, seems to have found the right formula at Armstrong High.

The upward-bound Wildcats are looking forward to 2023 after defeating Atlee (first time in 14 years) and making a strong showing in the Class 2 playoffs a year ago.

“We feel like we have a great opportunity for a winning season – over .500,” said Coach Pruitt, the former Virginia State linebacker now in his third season coaching in the East End.

Approximately 65 boys have come out for the team this season (meaning there will be a JV squad), and there is quality to go with

quantity.

Eight starters on offense and seven on defense return from last season.

The participation has soared in recent seasons, in part because of what Coach Pruitt calls “The Pipeline.”

“Our staff has been out there working the middle schools, recruiting,” Coach Pruitt said.

Quality starts with Anthony Allen Jr., No. 1 on the roster, and gifted as a dual- threat passer/runner.

As a junior, the 6-foot-2, 190-pound Allen passes for 1,900 yards and 25 touchdowns while also running for about 400 yards and another four TDs.

To go with that, he’s also a starting safety

Virginia Union University has played football games with and against Isaac Anderson.

The Panthers much prefer the “with Isaac” part.

The 6-foot-3, 280-pound junior defensive lineman began his college career at Chowan where he won CIAA Rookie Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Now he’s drawing national attention for VUU.

The Panthers junior – who wears the same No. 97 jersey he wore at Chowan – has made the Black Colleges National Player of the Year Watch List.

The eventual winner will receive the Deacon Jones Trophy (as the top HBCU player in the nation) to be awarded Feb. 24 at the Legacy Bowl in New Orleans.

Anderson made second team, All-CIAA a year ago for the Panthers and is a first team, preseason All-CIAA pick this go-round.

“We knew he was good from playing against him,” said VUU Coach Alvin Parker. “He put his name in the (transfer) portal and that’s how he came here.

“Actually, he contacted us first.”

Originally from Florida, Anderson attended high school in Jacksonville, Fla., and signed with Chowan in Murfreesboro, N.C., which was in the CIAA until this year.The Hawks now compete in the USA South Atlantic Conference.

In his first season as a Panther, Anderson had 39 tackles, including 14 for losses with five sacks. His performance helped VUU to a 9-2 record and an NCAA Division II playoff bid.

“Isaac plays fast, never stops,” said Coach Parker, who labels him as “a tweener.”

Football has arrived Saturday, Sept. 2 – Virginia State at Norfolk State, Labor Day Classic, Dick Price Stadium, 2 p.m. Sept. 2 – Hampton vs. Grambling State, Harrison, N.J., Red Bull Stadium, 3 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 3 – Virginia Union vs. Morehouse, HBCU Hall of Fame Classic, Canton, Ohio; 4 p.m., NFL Network

That means he’s big and strong enough to take care of business in the middle of the line, and quick and agile enough to cover the flanks and harass the quarterback.

Anderson has some in-state company on the National Watch List, starting with teammate Jada Byers, the 2022 CIAA Offensive Player of the Year.

Byers is a junior from New Jersey who has rushed for 2,898 yards and 41 TDs in two seasons.

Others on the Watch List:

• Hampton linebacker Qwahsin Townsel, who had 100 tackles last season, third most in Coastal Athletic Association.

• Virginia State defensive back Willie Drew, a graduate student from Smithfield, and offensive lineman Matt Foster, a 6-foot-7, 315-pound junior from Georgia.

The Watch List includes players from HBCUs on the NCAAFCS and Division II levels and the NAIA.

on defense and carries a 4.5 GPA.

“Anthony is rangy and athletic,” Coach Pruitt said.

Other Wildcats of note include A.J. Byrd, a gamebreaking receiver, defensive back and kick returner. As a junior he had seven interceptions and six TDs on kickoff returns.

D.C. comes to Richmond

Friday, Aug. 25 McKinley Tech, Washington, D.C., at Armstrong, 7 p.m.

Another speedster on offense and defense is Jah’Kei Chavis.

There’s plenty of beef, too, with 6-foot-3, 320-pound Lequan Jones and 6-foot-3, 247-pound Marvin Banks. Pruitt and Athletic Director Glenn Anderson have adjusted the schedule in recent years to

provide the Wildcats with a more level playing field.

Gone are heavyweights Varina, Highland Springs, Patrick Henry and Hanover, replaced by smaller schools with similar enrollments to Armstrong.

The Wildcats aren’t that far off what it takes to excel in Class 2. Last year’s squad made the region playoffs and lost by only, 14-8, to Caroline in overtime.

A lot of grinding work year-round, goes into building a football program. Coach Pruitt wouldn’t have it any other way.

“It’s a lot of work, but I love the game,” he said. “It’s a passion.”

Belmar’s been here, there, everywhere

Kharlton Belmar is the Richmond Kickers’ traveling man. Both his suitcase and soccer cleats are high mileage.

The old Johnny Cash song, “I’ve been everywhere, man,” wasn’t written about Belmar, but it could have been.

Belmar’s soccer roadmap includes stops in Oregon, Missouri, Kentucky, Colorado, Tennessee, Florida, Colorado and even to the far-away Caribbean Island of Grenada, his parents’ homeland.

He is also more than able to show folks to whatever field you’re looking for in the Richmond area, having dribbled a ball around town as a youth, VCU star and now with the pro Kickers of USL League One.

Belmar is the Kickers’ man for all time zones, and he’s still only 30 and nowhere near his desired finish line.

“I’ve got a lot left in the tank … a lot of energy,” he told the Free Press. “I’ll keep pushing forward to reach the highest level.”

This has been a fair-tomiddling season, so far, for both the Kickers and Belmar, who plays a dynamic forward for Coach Darren Sawatsky.

After winning the league a year ago, the 2023 Kickers were 6-8-9 (that’s six wins, eight losses and nine ties) as of last week. Belmar had two goals and three assists in 1,091

minutes on the grass.

Despite the mediocre record, the team remains very much in line for the postseason playoffs.

“It’s been up and down,” he said. “We’ve had some good moments and not so good,” he said. “We need to be more resilient … and that means getting back out there and banging in some more goals.”

Belmar was born in Washington, D.C., but grew up in Virginia Beach where

Sanders’ exit changes SWAC rankings

With no more Coach Deion Sanders at Jackson State, there may be a changing of the guard in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).

After winning the SWAC title the past two seasons, the Tigers have been picked to finish second in the East Division this season to Florida A&M.

Only one Jackson State athlete, tight end D.J. Stevens, was selected to the preseason All-SWAC squad.

Many of the standouts a year ago for Jackson State followed Coach Sanders to his new coaching address at the University of Colorado.

The Jackson to Colorado transfers include Coach Sanders’ son, Shedeur, the SWAC Offensive Player of the Year in 2022 and standout defensive back/wide receiver, Travis Hunter.

Also, highly touted incoming freshman receiver Robert Lockhart is headed to Colorado after first committing to Coach Sanders at Jackson State. Lockhart, a Georgian, was the top-ranked recruit in what would have been Jackson State’s 2023 freshman class. In addition, six of Coach Sanders’ as-

sistant coaches at Jackson State are now on his staff in Boulder. The Colorado roster has been turned upside down since Coach Sanders’ arrival. A total of 51 players have transferred to play for the Buffaloes, including 12 from Southeastern Conference schools and seven from the ACC.

Only a smidgen of the players from the 2022 Buffaloes remain on the roster. Colorado opens Sept. 2 against Texas Christian in Fort Worth. Football fans will be able to watch “Coach Prime’s” Colorado debut on Fox. Jackson State, under new coach T.C. Taylor, opens Aug. 26 in Atlanta against South Carolina State in a game that will be televised on ABC.

A Jackson assistant since 2019, Taylor was recommended for the job by Coach Sanders.

he starred for Salem High and the Virginia Rush travel team.

Often, those travels were to the Richmond area.

“Played a lot as a an amateur at Striker Park, Ukrop Park, against the Strikers and Kickers,” he said. “That where I got my first taste of soccer on a higher level … I found out what it was like out of my little bubble.”

Belmar starred at VCU from 2011 to 2014, competing in 76 games with 18 goals and five assists to show for his efforts.

“It was an awesome experience, play for Coach (Dave) Giffard,” he said. “Many of the players I was with then are still among my best friends.”

There are two other ex-Rams on the Kickers roster, Dakota Barnathan and Simon Fitch. Then began a long journey across America.

He’s not complaining.

“The travel is the best part, to be honest,” he said. “I’ve gotten to see a lot of places and cultures, taste a bunch of different cities.

“It’s been nothing short of a blessing.”

Former Wythe star Alex Cole dies at 58

Alexander “Alex” Cole Jr., one of Richmond’s greatest baseball players, died Saturday, Aug. 19, 2023, at age 58.

Mr. Cole, a swift, lefthanded outfielder who wore glasses on the field, played seven big league seasons with five different franchises.

The George Wythe High School graduate was with Cleveland 1990-91, Pittsburgh in 1992, Colorado in 1993, Minnesota in 1994-1995 and Boston in 1996.

In 573 games at the highest level, he hit .280 with 117 runs batted in, 493 hits, 286 runs and 148 stolen bases, including 40 in his rookie season in Cleveland.

In 1992, Cole played in the same outfield with Barry Bonds on a Pirates team that lost to Atlanta, four wins to three, in the National League Championship Series.

Cole was born in Fayetteville, N.C., where his father, Alex “Fuzzy” Sr., was a standout athlete at Fayetteville State.

Darlene M. Johnson/Richmond Free Press

Kharlton Belmar

Coach Pruitt

Isaac Anderson

VUU’s Anderson draws national ‘Watch’

Joi Dean believes she has been given much in her life and working with Partnership for the Future (PFF) is a way for her to give back.

The Florida native says her parents, Curtis and Doris Taylor, both were long-serving educators. They stressed the importance of education and, perhaps more importantly, taught their daughter that she was smart and that she belonged.

“My parents instilling this confidence in me as a child was important as I was often the only person who looked like me in my classes,” Mrs. Dean said. “This self-assurance showed me from an early age that I belonged in every room — from the classroom, to the C-suite, to the boardroom.

“My mother was an educator for over 30 years,” she says. “She believed that teaching was her calling, and poured into her students with the understanding that she was playing a part in shaping their future.”

Helping to shape the future of young people is part of PFF’s mission. The communitydriven program was founded in 1994 by Alan Kirshner to support high-achieving high school students and empower them to reach their goal of attending college. Beginning with 12 students from Richmond Public Schools in 1995, the nonprofit’s website says it has helped more than 700 students prepare for college and the workplace since then.

Mrs. Dean lived in Virginia from 1993 to 2000, studying at Hampton University and William & Mary Law School before moving to New Jersey. She returned to Richmond in 2012 after marrying her husband, Andre Dean. The couple and their daughter now live in Glen Allen.

She joined PFF’s board of directors in 2018 and began a two-year term as its chair in January.

Mrs. Dean says she is proud of how the year-round program responded to the challenges of going virtual during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and of the wealth-building initiative PFF launched in 2021 to help participating students graduate with lowto-no student loan debt.

However, challenges remain. In particular, Mrs. Dean says that any organization involved in educational equity such as PFF will have to face the ramifications of the Supreme Court’s June decision on affirmative action, but PFF “will continue to prepare our young people with the skills necessary to be successful in college and beyond.”

Opening up worlds of possibilities is important. Mrs. Dean says reading “Vernon Can Read: A Memoir” a few years after graduating law school had a big influence on her at a time when she was unclear about her future career path.

“It showed me that you can have a multifaceted and successful career by being open to different opportunities and not being afraid to take calculated risks,” she said, adding that making deliberate choices also is a big part of reaching her goals.

“Intentionality is important to me because we do not have unlimited time and should make the most of the time that we have here on Earth,” Mrs. Dean said. “I believe it is my responsibility to leave things better than I found them.”

Meet this week’s Personality, Partnership for the Future’s Board Chair Joi Dean: Volunteer position: Board chair, Partnership for the Future.

Occupation: Chief executive officer, Richmond Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Date and place of birth: April 18 in Miami.

Where I live now: Glen Allen.

Education: Hampton University; William and Mary Law

School Family: Husband, Andre

Personality: Joi Dean Spotlight on Partnership for the Future board chair

Dean; daughter, Gabrielle Taylor Dean.

Partnership for the Future is: A community-driven college preparation and workforce development program dedicated to breaking the cycle of poverty for young people by providing training and educational opportunities that will fuel their future success.

Mission: PFF equips highachieving high school students for success in college and beyond.

Brief history: PFF was founded in 1994 by Alan Kirshner, former executive chairman of Markel Corporation. Alan assembled a group of local business and community leaders to create an organization to support high achieving students in the Richmond community achieve their dreams of attending college. Our program began with 12 students from Richmond Public Schools in 1995. PFF combines college access with workforce development through paid summer internships at local corporations and nonprofits. As one of our founding community leaders, Dr. LaVerne Spurlock shared, “The goal was to make strong children stronger.”

How I became involved with PFF: I joined the board of directors in 2018.

Why this organization is meaningful to me: I am the daughter of two educators and the importance of education and helping others was instilled in me as a child.

PFF allows me to channel my passion for young people and provide resources so that they can achieve their greatest potential. I am fortunate to be a part of an organization that works to change the trajectory of young people in the Richmond region.

Why I accepted position as board chair: I truly believe in the importance of giving back and serving the community where you live. I accepted the position of board chair in order to give whatever, time, talent and treasure that I have to PFF. Serving as board chair allows for me to leverage my resources in the Richmond region with greater intention and to support our executive director and CEO in executing the mission of our organization.

No. 1 goal or project: To change the trajectory of the lives of the students we serve through educational equity. Our goal is to not only get our students to college but position them for success through college and beyond.

Strategy for achieving goals: PFF recently embarked on a Wealth Building Strategy to ensure our students graduate from college with low to no student loan debt and have the cultural and social capital for upward economic mobility. This includes guiding our students to highly selective and competitive colleges (inclusive of HBCUs) and the creation of a college success program to support students while in college. All PFF students are required to open a Virginia 529 college savings account and PFF has a dollarfor-dollar match for funds saved for both our high school and college students.

No. 1 challenge facing PFF: The ramifications of the U.S. Supreme Court decision on affirmative action will certainly be a challenge facing all organizations involved in educational equity. PFF, however, will continue to prepare our young people with the skills necessary to be successful in college and beyond.

Proudest moment for PFF: Emerging from COVID-19 stronger than ever. The Class of 2023 began their PFF journey in the spring of 2020 shortly before the pandemic shutdown the world. All programming and operations shifted to virtual programming which

Richmond region and is interested in a yearround program that will emphasize coaching and development activities during the academic year and work internships and life skills training during the summer and will equip them with tools and knowledge that will sustain them through both college and their careers.

interns are placed with the same company for two to three consecutive summers and receive year-round training from PFF staff as well as ongoing support during the summer to ensure their success. To learn more about this program or to sign up to host an intern, please contact our director of internships, Chevonne Braxton, at Chevonne.Braxton@ partnershipforthefuture.or g

most people would never imagine: I love to listen to and play music. I think I would have loved to have been a DJ.

A quote that inspires me: To whom much is given, much is required.

had a huge impact on our students. Our Reaching for the Stars Closing ceremony is our official sendoff for our graduating seniors and the energy in the room at this year’s graduation was electrifying. Our students celebrated their accomplishments in front of their family, friends, and staff from their internships. One hundred percent of our graduates will be attending college in the fall and they collectively earned more than 15 million dollars in scholarships. Additionally, the vast majority of our 2023 graduates will be attending college with low to no debt. Our organization has been very intentional in advancing our Wealth Building Initiative since its launch in 2021 by significantly increasing the percentage of students attending highly selective and competitive colleges and decreasing the average projected student loan debt by over $10,000 per student since then.

How this program operates: PFF is year-round and emphasizes coaching and development activities during the academic year and work internships and life skills training during the summer. A student is a good fit for this program if: The student is a high-potential high school student from challenging circumstances in the

How a student signs up and begins this important journey: To qualify for the year-round PFF program students must apply in the second semester of their Freshman year in high school, have and maintain a 3.0 GPA, and attend or be zoned for one of our partner schools which are listed on our website. The application process includes an essay and interview. The application process typically opens up in February/ March and students are notified of their acceptance in April/ May. Our program team hosts both in-person info sessions at partner schools and virtual info sessions for students and parents. To learn more about our application process please follow us on Facebook or Instagram @partnershipforthefuture or contact our senior director of programs, Reshaud Rich, at Reshaud.Rich@ partnershipforthefuture.or g Also, our website www. partnershipforthefuture.or g provides information about our program. A business and school can partner by: A critical component of our program is our paid summer internship program. We are always looking for businesses to host our students as paid interns. Our high school

PFF also has sponsorship opportunities for businesses looking to support our yearround program and community outreach activities such as our Keys to College series. Our Keys to College program is designed to support other college bound students in the Richmond metropolitan community actualize their dreams of a college education. Schools can partner with us by sharing information about our Keys to College series with college bound students not currently enrolled in our program.

Upcoming events: Partnership for the Future is working on securing a date for our annual 2023 Keys to College Summit (formerly Boot Camp) in the fall. Please follow us on social media @partnershipforthefuture or visit our website for more information about this event and upcoming Keys to College workshops which are geared towards first generation college-bound students and their families in the Richmond Metropolitan area.

How I start the day: I start my day with prayer with my family.

Best late-night snack: Gelati Celesti’s Chocolate Almond. The music I listen to most is: Old school R&B/hip-hop and gospel.

Something I love to do that

At the top of my “to-do” list: Planning a fall vacation. The best thing my parents ever taught me: My parents, Curtis and Doris Taylor, very early on taught me to choose excellence and that I was smart. I always knew that my parents wouldn’t tell me something that wasn’t true. So whenever anyone questioned my intelligence directly or indirectly, I was always clear that I was just as smart as they were or maybe even smarter. My parents instilling this confidence in me as a child was important as I was often the only person who looked like me in my classes. This self-assurance showed me from an early age that I belonged in every room from the classroom, to the C-suite to the board room.

The person who influenced me the most: My mother, Doris Taylor.

Book that influenced me the most: “Vernon Can Read” Vernon Jordan and Annette Gordon-Reed.

What I’m reading now: “Unapologetically Ambitious” by Shellye Archambeau. The book is based on the premise that all women can be ambitious and gives concrete approaches and takeaways to help the reader to achieve her ambitious goals. My primary takeaway is to be more intentional about future planning.

Next goal: My overall goal is always to do my best and operate from a place of excellence whether it is in my professional or personal life. I believe it is my responsibility to leave things better than I found them.

Ron Cephas Jones, ‘This Is Us’ actor who won 2 Emmys, dies at 66

The Associated Press LOS ANGELES

Ron Cephas Jones, a veteran stage actor who won two Emmy Awards for his role as a longlost father who finds redemption on the NBC television drama series “This Is Us,” has died at age 66, a representative said Saturday.

Mr. Jones’ manager, Dan Spilo, said in an emailed statement the actor died “due to a longstanding pulmonary issue.”

“Throughout the course of his career, his warmth, beauty, generosity, kindness and heart were felt by anyone who had the good fortune of knowing him,” Mr. Spilo said.

Mr. Jones had a double lung transplant in 2020 because of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and spent nearly two months in a Los Angeles hospital.

On “This Is Us,” Mr. Jones played William “Shakespeare” Hill, a biological father whose life is renewed through his relationship with the family of his son Randall Pearson, played by Sterling K. Brown.

The American Association of State and Local History (AASLH) recently awarded the Virginia Museum of History & Culture its highest honor for achievement in the preservation of state and local history — the Award of Excellence. The VMHC was the only museum in Virginia to be given this recognition in 2023.

“One of the most wonderful people the world has ever seen is no longer with us,” Mr. Brown said in an Instagram post after Mr. Jones’ death. “The world is a little less bright. Brother, you are loved. And you will be missed.”

Mr. Jones played a more central role in the series’ early seasons, but appeared in some form in all six seasons of the show, which included time-jumping narratives offering recurring opportunities for its actors even after their characters’ deaths.

Mr. Jones won Emmys for best guest actor in a drama series in 2018 and 2020 and was nominated for two more.

“Ron was the best of the best — on screen, on stage, and in real life,” “This Is Us” creator Dan Fogelman said on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter. “My God: what an actor. I don’t think I ever changed a single take of his in a cut because everything he did was perfect.”

Mr. Jones spent most of his career in the theater before and after “This Is Us,” returning to Broadway even after his transplant forced him to learn to breathe and walk again.

“My whole life has been the stage,” Mr. Jones said in a late 2021 interview with The New York Times, in which he revealed he had quietly been suffering from respiratory problems since about the time he began on “This Is Us.”

“The idea of not performing again seemed worse to me than death,” Mr. Jones said.

He was nominated for a Tony Award and won a 2022 Drama Desk Award for the Broadway role as a truck-stop cook in playwright Lynn Nottage’s “Clyde’s.”

A native of Paterson, N.J., Mr. Jones graduated from nearby Ramapo College, where he had intended to study jazz but switched to theater during his sophomore year. He spent the late 1970s and early 1980s traveling the country,

working as a bus driver in Southern California for several years.

In the mid-1980s he moved to New York, where his career got a jumpstart when he began hanging out and collaborating at the Nuyorican Poets Café, a vital creative hub for poetry, hiphop and the performing arts.

A breakout role came in 1994, when he landed the lead in playwright Cheryl West’s drama, “Holiday Heart.”

He would spend the ensuing decades constantly in the theater, often in Off Broadway plays in New York, including a title turn as Shakespeare’s “Richard III” at The Public Theater, and in roles with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago.

Mr. Jones also had TV guest stints on “Mr. Robot,” “Luke Cage” and “Lisey’s Story.” His film appearances included 2006’s “Half Nelson” with Ryan Gosling and 2019’s “Dolemite Is My Name” with Eddie Murphy.

He is survived by his daughter, Jasmine Cephas Jones.

Virginia Museum of History & Culture receives national Award of Excellence

The VMHC was nominated, and ultimately chosen as an award recipient, following completion in early 2022 of the most extensive renovation and

programmatic overhaul in the museum’s nearly 200-year history. Its History Matters campaign aims to help the VMHC better welcome and reflect all Virginians and to tell the story of Virginia for all Virginians.

An excerpt from a July 2022 review in the Washington Post

was included in the VHMC’s nomination. It called the reimagined space “a compelling new museum of Virginia’s full history... a fully satisfying, engaging and often moving museum, that echoes in its tone what is happening at all levels of public history...”

The AASLH awards program

began in 1945 to establish and encourage standards of excellence in the collection, preservation and interpretation of history throughout the United States. For more than 75 years, the AASLH awards have been determined by a nationwide panel of history professionals and winners who not only represent the best in their field, but also provide leadership for the future of state and local history.

“It is an honor to receive such recognition from the American Association for State and Local History, and also to be select by a group of our peers,” Jamie Bosket, president and CEO at the VMHC said in a statement.

“Our recent renovation and reimagination was the most extensive such project in the history of our institution, and it has fundamentally changed what we do and how we do it. It has positioned us for success and greater public service now and for generations to come.”

Getting down at Down Home Reunion

It was one big party Saturday at the Elegba Folklore Society’s 32nd Down Home Family Reunion at Abner Clay Park in Jackson Ward. Jarene Fleming and her dance partner Richard Day, below, also of Richmond, felt the rhythm of Louisiana-based group, Dikki Du & the Zydeco Krewe. The group had one of the many performances that got the crowd moving during the event. Elaine Brown, 71, of Jackson Ward came prepared to party with her whistle in tow, William Carter of Chesterfield and his 3-year-old Lizzie also took in the city’s dog days of summer, and Donna Ingram enjoys fish with her sister, Consuela McRae, center, and her daughter, Diamond Ingram.

McClellan announces photo competition

Free Press staff report

Congresswoman Jennifer L. McClellan is inviting residents of Virginia’s 4th Congressional District to share their vision of the area and its community with her and, potentially, the nation at large.

In announcing the photo competion, Rep. McClellan called on her constituents to capture and provide images of the area for her congressional offices and social media.

“Virginia’s 4th is home to incredible and diverse landscapes, from our rural communities to our urban centers,” Rep. McClellan said in a statement. “I look forward to seeing the artistic vision and skill of my constituents as they capture the beauty of our district.”

Those interested in applying for the competition must be a constituent of Virginia’s 4th Congressional District and must submit your photos yourself. Any photos of minors must be submitted by their parents or guardian who agrees to all conditions of the competition.

By submitting photos, participants will authorize Rep. McClellan’s office to use and display the photos. Submitters also will waive whatever rights they may have to the photo.

Any photos must be submitted by Sunday, Oct. 15. For more details, visit mcclellan. house.gov/services/districtphoto-competition.

Remembering the days of the Class of 1966

Maggie Walker High School class of 1966 classmates Yvonne Wingfield and Charles Gilmore, below, smile for the camera Saturday at a Short Pump restaurant. The trio were among 40 classmates expected to join the fun for lunch and an informal program focused on “10 years of food, fun and fellowship.” Maggie Walker High School’s Class of 1966 has gathered for luncheons over the past decade, excluding the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rep. McClellan

Ron Cephas Jones

Mr. Bosket

Photos by Regina H. Boone/ Richmond Free Press

Photos by Regina H. Boone/ Richmond Free Press

Sisters

Church’s

August spells spirit of giving

Churches, corporations and RPD provide resources for schools, students

Free Press staff report

In the weeks and days leading up to Richmond area students entering a new school year, several churches, businesses and other organizations stepped up to provide backpacks, clothing, shoes, lunchboxes and even cash in an effort to ensure that children have the basics for learning.

On Saturday, members of Second Baptist Church at 3300 Broad Rock Blvd. in South Richmond made sure students were ready for the new school year during the church’s annual back-to-school backpack giveaway. In addition, the Broad Rock Farmers’ Market was part of the event, offering an array of fresh vegetables and fruits. Rounding out the attractions were a bounce house, video game truck, a free CPR class and lunch.

On Aug. 15, the Richmond Police Department Community Youth and Intervention Services Unit (CYIS) hosted its “Shop with a Hero” back-toschool event for nearly two dozen Richmond communities.

Police Chief Rick Edwards and members of the Command Staff and police officers shopped with youths at the Sheila Lane Walmart to purchase clothing, shoes, backpacks, and lunchboxes. Each participating youth was given $100 to shop in the store alongside a police officer.

“The event is part of RPD’s Community Cares program, focused on engagement and outreach, allowing officers to strengthen relationships with families and the youths we serve,” according to a police department news release.

The spirit of giving and helping area youths also was shown Aug. 10 at the Richmond Raceway, 600 E. Laburnum Ave. when Richmond Public Schools partnered with the CoStar Group, Walmart, Estes Express Lines, Virginia Commonwealth University and Communities in

Schools for the 6th Annual Ultimate Backpack Supply Drive.

“(This) marks CoStar Group’s fifth year as the lead sponsor of the Ultimate Backpack Supply Drive, and we are pleased to continue our ongoing commitment to this important event,” said CoStar Group’s Senior Vice President of Global Operations Lisa Ruggles.

“Educational opportunity is an important driver of long-term success, and ensuring that the students of Richmond start the year off on the right foot will have an incredible impact,” she said. “We are proud to contribute to the community of Richmond, home to our largest office and thousands of our employees.”

Dr. Harold Fitrer, president and CEO of Communities in Schools, noted that “In the spirit of collaboration, we join hands with our partners to equip the young minds of Greater Richmond with the tools they need to shape a brighter future.”

The supplies were packed and loaded onto Estes trucks and delivered to schools for distribution to students and families.

“Estes is glad to dispatch its trucks to ensure students start the year with the tools and supplies they need to be successful and confident,” said Will Hupp, director of Hub Operations at Estes Express Lines.

“The additional expense that comes with preparing students to return back to school can create a serious burden for families,” said Superintendent Jason Kamras. “We are profoundly grateful to our community partners and volunteers for their continued support of RPS students and families because no student should have to worry about walking into class unprepared because they don’t have access to the instructional materials and supplies needed to participate in learning.”

Broad Rock Baptist Church 5106 Walmsley Blvd., Richmond, VA 23224 804-276-2740 • 804-276-6535 (fax)

www.BRBCONLINE.org

“BACK IN SERVICE” Our doors are open again every Sunday @ 11:00 am.

Live Streaming Every Sunday At: BRBConline.org or YouTube (Broad Rock Baptist Church)

“MAKE IT HAPPEN”

“Please come and join us” Every Sunday @ 11:00 am.

Live Streaming Every Sunday At: BRBConline.org or YouTube(Broad Rock Baptist Church) Bible Study online and in person Wednesday 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

“MAKE IT HAPPEN”

Pastor Kevin Cook

Photos by Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

Treasure Woodson, 10, and Trinity Neville, 7, take in Second Baptist Church’s annual back-to-school event with their grandmother, Diana Neville, and 7-month-old cousin, Daelynn Neville on Saturday. Below, Wayman Hollis and his sons, Wayman Hollis Jr. and Landon Hollis, were in charge of organizing backpacks for the giveaway. Meanwhile, Second Baptist

pastor, the Rev. Ralph Hodge buys fresh produce at the Broad Rock Farmers’ Market that was part of the event. Rounding out the attractions were a bounce house, video game truck, a free CPR class and lunch.

jschrecongost@ friedmanlawva.com Counsel for Plaintiff/Wife virGiNiA:

iN THE circUiT cOUrT FOr THE cOUNTY OF HANOvEr NArDiA BArNES, Plaintiff v. LA’crAE FrEEMAN, Defendant. case No.: cL23002798-00 OrDEr OF PUBLicATiON

The object of this suit is to obtain a divorce from the bond of matrimony from the defendant on the ground of living separate and apart without any cohabitation and without interruption for a period exceeding twelve months.

It is ORDERED that the defendant, whose whereabouts are unknown, appear here on or before the 10th day of October, 2023 at 9:00 AM, and protect his interests.

A Copy, Teste:

FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR.,

Clerk I ask for this:

Law Office of Dorothy M. Eure, P.C. Dorothy M. Eure, Plaintiff’s Attorney VSB# 27724 8460 Mount Eagle Road Ashland, VA 23005 (804 798-9667 virGiNiA:

iN THE circUiT

OF PUBLicATiON The object of this suit is to obtain a divorce from the bond of matrimony from the defendant on the ground of living separate and apart without any cohabitation and without interruption for a period exceeding twelve months. It is ORDERED that the defendant, who has been served with the Complaint by posted service appear here on

to obtain a divorce from the bond of matrimony, from the defendant, on the ground that the parties hereto have lived separate and apart continuously, without cohabitation and without interruption for more than one year. And it appearing from an affidavit that the whereabouts and address of the defendant are unknown and that he may not be a resident of Virginia, it is Ordered that the defendant appear before this Court on September 28, 2023, at 9:00 a.m. pursuant to this notice and protect his interest herein.

JEWETT, Clerk

iN THE circUiT cOUrT FOr THE cOUNTY OF HANOvEr JErrY LEONArD viENS Plaintiff, v. JAE LYNN BLASENGAME viENS, Defendant. case No. cL23002420-00 OrDEr OF PUBLicATiON

The object of this suit is to obtain a divorce from the bond of matrimony from the defendant on the grounds that the defendant desertion and/ or patiies have lived separate and apati continuously and without cohabitation or interruption for a period in excess of one year, namely January 1, 1989.

An Extract, Teste: Edward F. Jewett, Clerk virGiNiA: iN THE circUiT cOUrT FOr THE cOUNTY OF HANOvEr WiLLiS JONES, Plaintiff v. YvONNE JONES, Defendant. case No.: cL23002610-00 OrDEr OF PUBLicATiON The object of this suit is to obtain a divorce from the bond of matrimony from the defendant on the ground of living separate and apart without any cohabitation and without interruption for a period exceeding twelve months. It is ORDERED that the defendant, whose whereabouts are unknown, appear here on or before the 25th day of September, 2023 at 9:00 AM, and protect his interests. A Copy, Teste: FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR., Clerk I ask for this: Law Office of Dorothy M. Eure, P.C. Dorothy M. Eure, Plaintiff’s Attorney VSB# 27724 8460 Mount Eagle Road Ashland, VA 23005 (804 798-9667 virGiNiA:

iN THE circUiT cOUrT OF THE cOUNTY OF HENricO GrAcE c. HArriSON, Plaintiff, v. ricHArD B. HArriSON, Defendant. case No. cL23-5031-00 OrDEr OF PUBLicATiON The object of this suit is to obtain a divorce. It appearing from an affidavit that diligence has been used by or on behalf of the plaintiff to ascertain in what county or city the defendant is, without effect, it is Ordered that the defendant appear before this Court on September 25, 2023, at 9: 00 a.m., and protect his interests herein. I ASK FOR THIS: Janet E. Brown, P.C. (VSB #26482) Counsel for Plaintiff 3108 N. Parham Road, Suite 600A Richmond, Virginia 23294 (804) 747-8200 (Tel.) (804) 747-3259 (Fax.) cUSTODY virGiNiA:

iN THE JUvENiLE AND DOMESTic rELATiONS DiSTricT cOUrT OF THE ciTY OF ricHMOND commonwealth of virginia, in re Tracey LindaMarie Pierce rDSS v. crystal Marie Henleyruffin, James reginald Jackson & Unknown Father File No. J-97967-08, J-97967-09, J-97967-10 OrDEr OF PUBLicATiON The object of this suit is to: terminate the residual parental rights (“RPR”) of Unknown Father (Father) & c rystal Marie Henleyruffin (Mother) & James reginald Jackson (Father), ofTracey LindaMarie Pierce, child, DOB: 12/6/2012

the subject matter of this suit and who is made a party hereto by the caption PArTiES UNKNOWN Defendants. case No.: cL23-3607-cNJ OrDEr OF PUBLicATiON The object of this suit is to sell a certain parcel of real property situated in the City of Richmond, being owned by 4307 Clarkson Rd LLC, June Carol Dunford, Linda McMillion, Kelly Ihinger Byrd, Eddie Lee Ihinger, Amber Lynn Ihinger, and Bradley Joseph Ihinger, more particularly described as follows: ALL that certain lot, piece or parcel of land with improvements thereon situate in the City of Richmond, Virginia (formerly in Chesterfield County, Virginia), on the Southern line of Clarkson Road and West of Sunbury Road, designated as Lot 14, Block C, Section B, McGuire Manor and known as No. 4307 Clarkson Road, as shown on plat of survey made by Chas. H. Fleet & Assocs., dated March 11, 1968, to which plat reference is made for a more particular description of the property hereby conveyed.

June Carol Dunford, Linda McMillion, Kelly Ihinger Byrd, Eddie Lee Ihinger, Amber Lynn Ihinger, Bradley Joseph Ihinger and Discover Bank may have an interest in the property by deed, by inheritance, or by duly recorded liens. Affidavit having been made and filed that due diligence has been used without effect to ascertain the identities and/or locations of certain parties to be served, and that there are or may be persons whose names are unknown, interested in the subject matter of this suit;

It is ORDERED that

CEVALLOS, KAI AVERY CEVALLOS,MAKEIBE LAMAR HARRIS HODGES, KHAIDEN MALACHI SHACKLEFORD, KAI AVERY SHACKLEFORD, HARLEY ATHENA GRACE HODGES and is under the UCC of VIRGINIA 202111118500430

1-800-Pack-Rat (VA-Richmond-5471)

11511 N. Lakeridge Parkway Ashland, VA 23005 877-774-1537

NOTICE OF SALE

Tenant: Unit #

Carner, De D53197

Carter, James D06057 Goode, Dwanna D53824 lascolette, shannon D66558 Maggie Walker Governor School D50962

Marshal, Cynthia 702230

Marshal, Cynthia D54693

Marshal, Cynthia 701844

1-800-Pack-Rat (VA-Richmond-5471), 11511 N. Lakeridge

Thank you for your interest in applying for opportunities with The City of Richmond.

To see what opportunities are available, please refer to our website at www.richmondgov.com. EOE M/F/D/V

vErGArA, Plaintiff v. JOrGE rEiNA PArDO, Defendant. case No.: cL23002259-00 OrDEr OF PUBLicATiON

The object of this suit is to obtain a divorce from the bond of matrimony from the defendant on the ground of living separate and apart without any cohabitation and without interruption for a period exceeding twelve months.

It is ORDERED that the defendant, who is a nonresident, appear here on or before the 10th day of October, 2023 at 9:00 AM, and protect his

It appearing from an affidavit that the whereabouts of the defendant, JAE LYNN BLASENGAME vi ENS , is unknown and that diligence has been used by or on behalf of Plaintiff to ascertain in what county or city the defendant is, without effect, it is ORDERED that the defendant appear before this Court on the 5th day of September, 2023 at 9:00 a.m., and do what is necessary to protect her interest herein.

II ask for this:

A COPY TESTE FRANK D. HARGROVE, JR. CLERK I ask for this: John R. Working, Esquire VBS# 88126 Railside Law Group, PLLC 307B England Street Ashland, Virginia 23004 804.798-5552 Phone 804.798.5554 Facsimile john@railsidelaw.com

Counsel for Plaintiff virGiNiA: iN THE circUiT cOUrT FOr ciTY OF ricHMOND JEFFLEAN K. NTOW v cArOLYN (MccrEArY) NTOW case No. 19-5877-rBc OrDEr

“RPR” means all rights and responsibilities remaining with Parent after transfer of legal custody or guardianship of the person, including but not limited to rights of: Visitation; adoption consent; determination of religious affiliation; and responsibility for support and that: It is ORDERED that the defendants Unknown Father (Father) & crystal Marie Henley-ruffin (Mother) & James reginald Jackson (Father) to appear at the above-named Court and protect his/ her interest on or before 11/14/2023, at 11:20 A.M, cOUrTrOOM #2 (McG) virGiNiA: iN THE JUvENiLE AND DOMESTic rELATiONS DiSTricT cOUrT OF THE ciTY OF ricHMOND commonwealth of virginia, in re Dakyla Bernice Thomas rDSS v. Erika Thomas, Michael Ashcraft & Unknown Father FiLE NO. J-90650-09, J-90650-10, J-90650-11 OrDEr OF PUBLicATiON The object of this suit is to: terminate the residual parental rights (“RPR”) of Unknown Father (Father) & Erika Thomas (Mother) & Michael Ashcraft (Father), of Dakyla Bernice Thomas, child, DOB: 9/2/2007 “RPR” means all rights and responsibilities remaining with Parent after transfer of legal custody or guardianship of the person, including but not limited to rights of: Visitation; adoption consent; determination of religious affiliation; and responsibility for support and that:

It is ORDERED that the

defendants Unknown Father

(Father) & Erika Thomas

(Mother) & Michael Ashcraft

(Father)

June Carol Dunford, Linda McMillion, Kelly Ihinger Byrd, Eddie Lee Ihinger, Amber Lynn Ihinger, Bradley Joseph Ihinger and Discover Bank, if then living or if dead, their heirs, devisees, assigns, or successors in title, and any heirs or other unknown heirs or parties who have an interest in the subject matter of this suit, who are proceeded against as PA rT i ES UNKNOWN appear before Court on or before October 4, 2023 at 2:00 p.m. to protect their interests, if any, in this suit.

A Copy, Teste:

EDWARD F. JEWETT Clerk

I ask for this: Curtis D. Gordon, Esquire, VSB #25325 Kyle Roberts, Esquire, VSB #95631