Richmond Free Press July 6-8, 2023 edition

Chaos and violence Richmond Free Press

Mass shootings claim lives at gatherings over July Fourth holiday

The Associated Press Washington

Mass shootings broke out at festivals, block parties and other gatherings in a handful of cities this week as the U.s. celebrated the Fourth of July. Gun violence that flared in Washington, D.C, Louisiana, Florida, Philadelphia, texas and Baltimore left more than a dozen dead and almost 60 wounded — including children as young as 2 years old.

In Shreveport, La., at least three people were killed and 10 others wounded late tuesday night, shreveport Police sgt. angie Willhite said. one of the injured was in critical condition Wednesday but the others were expected to survive, she said.

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no arrests have been made.

“We are struggling with getting information from those who were present. We’re not getting a lot of cooperation,” sgt. Willhite said. another body was found in the area Wednesday morning, Police Chief Wayne Smith said at a news conference.

a

Gov. Wes Moore

By George Copeland Jr.

Colleges and universities in Virginia are adjusting in the wake of a supreme Court decision last week that ended affirmative action in higher education. the ruling, released last thursday, declared the consideration of race in the college admissions process unconstitu-

tional across two separate cases, with exceptions for military academies and the measured consideration of admission essays that mention the impact race has had on students’ lives. i n response, colleges throughout Central Virginia, including Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia Union University, Reynolds Community Col-

lege and Virginia State University have pledged their commitment to a diverse student body, regardless of the changes that may come to their admissions as a result of the ruling.

“We remain committed to cultivating an inclusive, equitable and diverse campus community that empowers all students,” a statement by VUU officials read. “We have been doing this for nearly 160 years and will continue to do so, notwithstanding the recent decision regarding affirmative action from the Supreme Court.”

“Community colleges are a uniquely american invention,” Reynolds President Paula Pando said. “they are democracy’s colleges, created to broaden access to a post-secondary education. our mission

RRHA approves developer’s plans for Jackson Ward hotel

$35M project among largest awarded to a Black-owned firm

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Michael a. “Mike” hopkins is on track to achieve his 20-year-old dream of developing a hotel in Richmond.

t he veteran developer-contractor finally gained unanimous approval from the board of the Richmond Redevelopment and housing Authority for his plan to bring a 115-room hotel, apartments and retail space to a long-vacant

City residents’ delinquent taxes pile up

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

3.4-acre plot in Jackson Ward.

RRHA and Mr. Hopkins signed a final agreement on June 30 for the sale of the property bounded by 3rd street, 2nd street, Jackson Street and Interstates 95 and 64.

The projected $35 million development would be among the largest that RRha has ever awarded to a Black-owned firm.

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t housands of Richmond residents are ignoring City Hall tax bills on cars, trucks, boats, trailer homes, recreational vehicles and other such personal property. the result is that millions of dollars that could be used to develop a year-round homeless shelter, create more robust youth programming or address other needs has gone uncollected.

In May, City Hall’s Finance Department reported to City Council that at least $30 million in personal property taxes was on the books, but was delinquent.

City spokeswoman Petula Burks, responding to a Free Press query, confirmed the report but noted that the delinquency had accumulated over five years. that would amount to an average of $6 million a year or about 9 percent of the personal property tax collections.

Ms. Burks offered several reasons that tax delinquency remains high: An internal 2019 decision to bring collections in-house rather than continue to employ private companies

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“Chances are likely that it is a result of what occurred here last night,” Chief Smith said. the block party where the shooting took place has been held around the July Fourth holiday for at least 10 years, said Shreveport City Councilwoman Tabatha Taylor, who represents the neighborhood. Independence Day celebrations in the nation’s capital also turned violent when nine people outside enjoying the festivities were shot and wounded early Wednesday, police said.

People protest outside the Supreme Court in Washington on June 29. Days after the Supreme Court outlawed affirmative action in college admissions, activists say they will sue Harvard over its use of legacy preferences for children of alumni.

The Associated Press

Richmond casino gets boost

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Richmond advocates for a casino gained a boost when talks between house and senate negotiators over an amended state budget collapsed last week, although public school and mental health advocates were left disappointed.

Essentially, the breakdown of negotiations appears to have ensured that the general assembly would not impose any barrier to the state’s capital city holding a second vote on hosting a $560 million casino-resort in South Side.

Concern had emerged that language might be inserted in the amended budget to block the vote in the november general election, just as the legislature had in crafting the 2022-2024 budget.

Richmond voters narrowly rejected the casino development in a 2021 vote, but Mayor Levar M. Stoney and City Council have pushed for a re-vote. City Hall now awaits the casino-regulating Virginia Lottery to approve the referendum. that is anticipated later this month, allowing the city to seek an order from the Richmond Circuit Court to add the casino issue to the ballot. the court has never turned down such a request.

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Heaven Saunders, 6, floats in Battery Park’s swimming pool with her cousins, from left, Johmyra Harris, 11, twin sisters Ja’lia Pringle-Saunders and Tai’lia PringleSaunders, both 10, and Jerrya Harris, 13. The girls were visiting the pool with their grandmother, Janice Pringle.

The Associated Press

speaks to the media during

visit to the Brooklyn Homes Community Center in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Baltimore to meet residents following a mass shooting several days earlier that killed two people and injured multiple others. Gov. Moore was joined by, from left, Sen. Ben Cardin, Comptroller Brooke Lierman, First Lady Dawn Moore, Delegate Luke Clippinger, Senate President Bill Ferguson, Mayor Brandon Scott and other officials.

Cityscape

General Assembly likely to have record number of Black members

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Now that primary results are in, the battle for control of the legislature begins in earnest ahead of the Nov. 7 general election.

Everything from abortion to clean energy, state taxation rates, gun safety and early voting will be at stake as Democrats and Republicans each seek to gain a crucial majority to determine policy, according to party officials.

Black candidates will be on the front lines in this power fight and are expected to set modern records for the number that will be sworn in when the next session convenes in January 2024.

According to Richmond Sen. Lamont Bagby, chair of the General Assembly’s Legislative Black Caucus, the 21-member Caucus of 2023 anticipates growing to at least 28 members in the next session, a sevenseat gain that would include six new House members and one additional senator.

And the total could increase, depending on the outcome of all 50 House and Senate races in which Black candidates are running. At least one member who lost in 2021 is unopposed, while two others are in competitive races with good chances to win.

In the 100 House districts, a record 38 races will feature Black candidates.

With 13 Black candidates unopposed and another nine expected to prevail in districts that are rated as being favorable to them, the House is virtually assured of having a record 23 Black members, up from the previous peak of 18 in 2022.

The total would include incumbent Delegate A.C. Cordoza, the lone Black Republican in the legislature. He is favored to win over Black Democratic challenger Jarris Taylor in the 86th District in the Hampton-York County area and secure a fresh two-year term.

In the 40 Senate districts, there are 12 Black candidates running for seats, with at least six assured of winning either because they are unopposed or face opponents with less funding and name recognition.

The last time the General Assembly had six Black senators was 1869, the first Reconstruction session, and all were Republicans, as Democrats at the time backed slavery and fomented the Confederacy.

Six also would be the largest number of senators since the 1965 Voting Rights Act

banned state efforts to keep Black voters from casting ballots.

Other Black candidates, including two former Caucus members, have chances to pull out wins in seven competitive House races and the one competitive Senate contest, all of which will be a key to determining which party will gain the majority in each house.

One top competitive race is in the Petersburg area, where newcomer Kimberly Pope Adams is aiming to unseat first-term incumbent Republican Delegate Kim Taylor, who pulled off her own upset two years ago against then-Delegate Lashrecse Aird.

Another competitive House race is in the Fredericksburg area. There, former Delegate and Caucus member Joshua G. Cole is battling to win the 65th House District seat. He is facing off against Republican Peter Lee. A Cole victory would add a seat to the Democratic side.

In the Suffolk-Chesapeake area, former Delegate Nadarius Clark, is pursuing a return to the legislature as the House member for the 84th District, a tight race is expected. Mr. Clark also would boost Democratic numbers if he can defeat Republican Michael Dillender.

Separately, Democrat Michael Feggens is seeking to unseat first-term incumbent Republican Delegate Karen Greenhalgh in the 97th House District, which covers a portion of Virginia Beach. She upset then Delegate Clark two years ago, and Mr. Feggans is hoping to return the seat to Democratic hands.

Also, Democrat Travis Nemhard is seeking to gain another seat for the party in Prince William County, but must beat Republican Ian Lovejoy in the competitive 22nd House District to do it.

Democrat Mary Person is pursuing a win in the Republican-leaning 83rd House District. She is challenging another first-term incumbent, Republican Otto Wachsmann.

Finally, Karen L. Jenkins, wife of Democratic Delegate Clinton L. Jenkins, is making a bid for the 89th House District seat covering portions of Chesapeake and Suffolk. She is running against Republican Baxter Ennis for the open seat in a competitive district. Her husband is bidding to become the seventh Black senator in campaigning for the 17th Senate District seat that covers portions of Chesapeake and Portsmouth. To win, Delegate Jenkins must defeat Republican Delegate Emily Brewer, who also is seeking to

move to the upper chamber.

Winners and all

Meanwhile, Ms. Aird is favored to win the 13th District Senate seat in the Petersburg, Hopewell and Henrico County area after walloping incumbent Democratic Sen. Joseph D. Morrissey in the Democratic primary.

In the Richmond area, the number of Black legislators already is expected to double from three to seven. Among them is Ms. Aird, the front-runner against her two rivals in November, Republican Eric Ditri and independent Daniel Muniz, in a Senate district that the Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP) rates as majority Democratic.

Black newcomers who are anticipated to win Richmond area House seats include Debra Gardner, 76th House District in Chesterfield County; City Council President Michael J. Jones, 77th House District in Richmond and Chesterfield; Rae Cousins, 79th House District in Richmond; and Destiny LaVere Bowling, 80th House District in Henrico County.

They would join two returning incumbents, Delegate Delores L. McQuinn, 81st House District in Chesterfield, Henrico and Charles City counties, and state Sen. Lamont Bagby, 14th Senate District in Richmond and Henrico. Both are unchallenged in November. The third Black incumbent, Delegate Jeffrey M. Bourne, didn’t seek re-election.

The Northern Virginia delegation to the House is expected to have eight Black delegates, including three newcomers who are unopposed in November: Adele McClure, 2nd District, Karen Keys-Gamarra, 4th District; and Rozia Henson, 19th District.

The five Black incumbents anticipated to return include Delegate and House Democratic Caucus Chairwoman Charnielle L. Herring, 4th District; Delegate Michelle Maldonado, 20th District; Delegate Candi M. King, 23rd District; Delegate Luke Torian, 24th District; and Delegate Briana Sewell, 25th District.

The delegation also is anticipated to include a Black senator, former Delegate Jennifer Carroll Foy of Prince William County, who ran for governor in 2021. She is on track to win in the 33rd Senate District against her Republican opponent, Mike Van Meter. VPAP rates the district as strongly Democratic.

Challenging deep pockets and the establishment

Hampton Roads also will have at least seven Black House members, including newcomer

Bonita Anthony, 92nd District of Norfolk and Chesapeake; and former Delegate Alex Q. Askew, 95th District in Virginia Beach. Both are unopposed.

The delegation also will include five Black incumbents, Delegate Marcia Price, 85th District in Newport News; Delegate Jeion Ward, 87th District in Hampton; Delegate and Minority Leader Don Scott, 88th District in Portsmouth; C.E. “Cliff” Hayes Jr., 91st District in Portsmouth; and Delegate Jackie H. Glass, 93rd District in Norfolk.

The delegation will include four Black state senators, with the addition of outgoing Delegate Angelia Williams Graves, who is favored to win the 21st Senate District seat in Norfolk. VPAP rates the district strongly Democratic. Her opponent is an independent Black candidate, Giovanni Dolmo.

The three incumbent senators anticipated to return include Sen. Aaron Rouse, 20th District in Virginia Beach; Sen. Mamie E. Locke, 23rd District in Hampton-Newport News; and Sen. L. Louise Lucas, 18th District in Portsmouth-Chesapeake area.

Sen. Lucas defeated a Senate colleague, Sen. Lionell Spruill Sr., in a primary contest June 20 to gain the Democratic nomination.

Other Black candidates who are unopposed for House seats include newcomer Kristina Callsen, 54th District in the Charlottesville area and incumbent Delegate Sam Rasoul, 38th District in Roanoke.

Meanwhile, another five Black Senate candidates are facing uphill climbs in their races against incumbent Republicans in districts rated as pro-GOP – Jade Harris, 3rd District; Trish Boyd-White, 4th District; Myra Payne, 19th District; Jolicia Ward, 25th District; and Pam Garner, 26th District.

That also is the case for six more Black Democrats who are running for House seats against established and well-funded Republicans in districts favoring the GOP, according to VPAP.

Those candidates are Esther Nizer, 34th District; Stephanie Clark, 37th District; Gregory Maxwell, 39th District; Leonard B. Lacey, 64th District; Stephen Miller-Pitts, 75th House District; and Charlena Jones, 100th House District.

Another Black candidate facing an uphill climb is Republican Paul Lott, who is making a longshot run against incumbent Democratic Delegate David Reid in the 28th House District in Loudoun County.

Slices of life and scenes in Richmond

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Mass shootings claim lives at gatherings over July Fourth

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Officers who responded about 1 a.m. to the mass shooting in a neighborhood about a 20-minute drive east of the White House found a 9-year-old and a 17-year-old among the victims, Metropolitan Police Department Assistant Chief Leslie Parsons said. The victims, who were not publicly identified, were hospitalized with injuries that weren’t considered life-threatening, police said.

The gunshots were fired from a dark SUV seen driving through the neighborhood, Assistant Chief Parsons said, calling the shooting targeted. It was unclear if there was more than one shooter in the vehicle, and no arrests had been made, police said.

In Florida, gunfire erupted after an altercation between two groups gathered for July Fourth celebrations along a causeway that crosses Tampa Bay, killing a 7-year-old, police said. Investigators said the boy was sitting in a truck with his grandfather Tuesday when a bullet was fired into the vehicle,

hitting the older man in his hand and the boy in the head.

Tampa Police Department Deputy Chief Calvin Johnson said Wednesday that no arrests had been made but investigators don’t believe the boy and grandfather were targeted.

The shooting stemmed from an argument over Jet Skis that one group said were coming too close to children playing in the water.

“There was no reason — no excuse that an argument can lead to gunfire, much less an argument over Jet Skis,” Deputy Chief Johnson said at a news conference. “Now we got citizens’ families, folks in our communities, that have to deal with this tragic incident that happened on the Fourth of July.”

Even before the holiday, city streets turned deadly in other communities.

On Monday night, a shooter in a bulletproof vest opened fire on the streets of Philadelphia, killing five people and wounding two boys, ages 2 and 13, before surrendering, police said.

holiday

several men fired indiscriminately into a crowd of hundreds that had gathered in a Texas neighborhood after a festival in the area, authorities said. The shooting in the Fort Worth neighborhood of Como happened late Monday night, about two hours after the annual ComoFest ended.

Thirty people were shot, two fatally, at a block party in Baltimore early Sunday. Many of those shooting victims were children, authorities said.

And yesterday in Wichita, Kan., a 4-year-old Kansas girl has been hospitalized after she was shot in the arm while watching fireworks, and police suspect the bullet may have been fired into the air in celebration of the Fourth of July.

Wichita Police said the shooting happened Tuesday night. The child was in serious condition, but her injuries are not lifethreatening, police said Wednesday.

Three people were killed and eight others were injured when

Virginia colleges pivot post-affirmative action decision

The girl was watching fireworks and playing with neighbors when she was struck. Police said the injury “appears to be from a stray bullet strike,” and urged people not to shoot into the air. remains unchanged.”

“Education is the greatest equalizer for marginalized populations for whom affirmative action laws were originally intended to uplift and protect,” VSU President Makola M. Abdullah said. “While we are a proponent of an HBCU education, we firmly believe that students should have a fair opportunity to attend the university of their choice.”

Virginia state and national officials also weighed in on the decision, with some promising action to ensure a diverse and equitable student body in the state’s universities. They were joined by various organizations, including the Virginia Education Association and the Congressional

Black Caucus Foundation in denouncing the ruling and its potential impact, and calling for legislative action.

“We know that systematic exclusion has been a reality for some of our institutions in Virginia,” House Democratic Caucus Chair Charniele Herring said. “We are going to keep working to make sure that Virginia’s children have fair and equitable opportunities for an education and to accomplish their dreams.”

The details of how colleges and universities would need to adjust to effects of the Supreme Court ruling aren’t clear. While VUU and Reynolds appeared confident their admissions process would continue with little trouble, others such as VCU are currently reviewing the ruling and how it could affect the admissions process.

“We won’t know all of those answers right away,” VCU President Michael Rao said. “What we do know is that VCU remains committed to being the high-access, high-excellence institution that we have long been.”

Amy Jasper assists students who are applying to college as part of her job as the founder of My College Fit, an education consultancy. She believes that the need to attract a large number of students and other policies already in place will ensure that most colleges continue to follow the example set by affirmative action.

However, she also stressed the value of policies like affirmative action in the admissions process, as she believed its presence helped foster greater consideration of those trying to gain a college education with significant obstacles.

“No matter what types of things are in place at colleges,” Ms. Jasper said, “I still think there being an awareness of certain people perhaps being at a disadvantage is important.”

The ruling may lead to changes in Virginia education outside its colleges. The Pacific Legal Foundation, which filed a lawsuit in 2021 alleging discrimination against Asian-Americans at The Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology is seeking to have its case reconsidered by the Supreme Court later this year.

A federal ruling on the case last year that deemed the school’s admissions policy unconstitutional was reversed in the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in May.

RRHA approves developer’s plans for Jackson Ward hotel City residents’ delinquent taxes pile up

The property, cleared in the 1990s as part of a planned urban renewal project, is located next to Club 533, one of the largest Black social clubs in the area, and across the street from Third Street Bethel AME Church.

Mr. Hopkins had sought to build hotels at two other sites in the Downtown area, but always found barriers put in his way. It looked like the RRHA deal would make it happen.

RRHA had selected Mr. Hopkins in 2019 to handle the hotelapartment development of the property, but he was forced to walk away after the housing authority’s staff asked him to pay what he considered an exorbitant price for the land.

However, two years later, the board, which by then had gained new members, stepped in to revive the development that Mr. Hopkins had proposed, but it took more than nine months to reach the agreement point.

The growing support culminated in the board’s June 21 approval, clearing the way for a final deal.

Mr. Hopkins previously told RRHA that he plans for the development to become a model for minority business inclusion and for community benefits.

His documents for the project indicated that Black-owned companies would be involved in all aspects of the project, ranging from design and building to legal, insurance and accounting, as well as the provision of hotel artwork.

He also stated that the development also would provide a job training program focused on ensuring city residents could gain construction work or be prepared for hotel jobs.

Mr. Hopkins plans to carry out the development through his twin businesses, M Companies and Emerge Construction Group. His companies also are involved in the Diamond District development planned for the city property where The Diamond baseball stadium now stands, and he is competing to be part of the Richmond Coliseum redevelopment.

Free COVID-19 vaccines

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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-testingsites.

Want a COVID-19 vaccine or booster shot?

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

• Thursday, July 6, 1 to 4 p.m. - Fox at Clark Spring Elementary School, 1101 Dance St., TDAP, Meningitis and HPV shots. Walk-ups welcome, but appointments encouraged.

• Wednesday, July 12, 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. Walk-ups welcome, but appointments encouraged.

People can schedule an appointment online at 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) 2053501 to schedule appointments.

New COVID-19 boosters, updated to better protect against the latest variants of the virus, are now available. The new 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 after their last vaccine dose.

Compiled by George Copeland Jr.

to pursue payments; the slowdown of collections during the 2020-2022 pandemic; and the continuing shortage of staff in the Finance Department.

Ms. Burks said the administration reversed course in 2022 and began again employing third-party collectors, although total delinquency has yet to show a decline. Still, under state law, the Finance Department must pursue collections for the first six months before the bills can be farmed out.

A review of the department’s monthly reports to City Council indicates that delinquent personal property taxes have

been in the $30 million range at least since 2020.

Personal property taxes are a major element of city revenue, though a far smaller source than the tax on real estate, which is projected to generate about $450 million in the 2023-24 fiscal year that began July 1.

According to the city’s budget book, $68 million is projected to be collected from payments on personal property, which is taxed at $3.70 per $100 of assessed value.

That total includes $16.7 million from the state’s expected share of the tax on vehicles, plus $51 million that city residents are projected to pay. The $51 million includes about $7 million that is paid late.

The main flow from revenue is from the tax the city imposes on vehicles, but it also includes 20 other types of property, Ms. Burks stated, ranging from business equipment to boats and mobile homes. Ms. Burks stated that the Finance Department has made headway in reducing the amount of delinquent real estate taxes. She noted that in June 2021, delinquent real estate taxes were reported at $33.1 million and that just a year later that delinquent total had shrunk to $8.5 million.

“Since the real estate revenue stream is now under better control,” she continued, Finance has expanded its attention to personal property and other delinquencies” in tax payments.

Richmond casino gets boost

Still, the collapse of negotiations on about $3 billion in state revenue scuttled school district hopes of gaining additional funding. The collapse also upended proposals to increase spending on mental health services.

Gov. Glenn A. Youngkin could call a special legislative session a in bid to restart talks.

The major reason for the breakdown was a disagreement between negotiators for the Republican-controlled House and the Democratic-controlled Senate over the amount to be allocated for state tax cuts that Gov. Youngkin has proposed.

Democrats have supported increased spending on education and public services, while Republicans have proposed some increases, with more money devoted to tax cuts. Both sides said the impasse could not be overcome before the June 30 deadline.

Girls For A Change launches ambassador program at Meadowbrook High School

Free Press staff report Girls For A Change will launch its Girl Ambassador Program, a four-year, tiered approach to workforce development, at Meadowbrook High School.

Through paced learning and development, certified instructors work with girls based on their individual software and hardware proficiencies and life experiences to teach hybrid skills and prepare them for

RHHD offers immunizations, physicals

Free Press staff report

Families in Richmond and Henrico County are encouraged to take advantage of free school-required immunizations and physicals throughout the summer, courtesy of the Richmond and Henrico Health Districts.

RHHD has opened registration for appointments at its Henrico East Clinic at 1400 N. Laburnum Ave., Henrico West Clinic at 8600 Dixon Powers Drive, and Cary Street Clinic at 400 E. Cary St., as well as the Henrico Arms Community Center at 1566 Edgelawn Circle. These sites will be used alongside RHHD Resource Centers in the neighborhoods of Creighton, Fairfield, Gilpin, Hillside, Mosby, Southwood and Whitcomb, as well as the

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

RHHD mobile van clinic. Spanish bilingual staff will be present at each location. “Summer is a great time to get your child up to date on school-required immunizations and physicals,” Dr. Becca Bruhl, RHHD adviser on community & children’s health, said in a statement. “These safe and effective immunizations help keep our children and community healthy.”

“I encourage parents to take advantage of one of these upcoming opportunities, and help ensure your child is ready for school on day one.”

Appointments can be scheduled at an RHHD site by calling (804) 205-3501. More information is available at RHHD. gov/childhoodvax.

City

Effective with the July bills, Richmond residents will be charged at least $8.70 more per month for public utilities, including water, sewer service, natural gas and stormwater controls. The Department of Public Utilities issued

residents’

better paying jobs and leadership roles. During the program, participants meet thought leaders and subject matter experts on job readiness, leadership, networking, and financial literacy. Such connections help give them a head start on professional and entrepreneurial career pathways, according to the organization’s news release.

The summer series launches Monday, July 24, and continues through Friday, Aug. 4, with the

opportunity to continue through the fall and spring semesters. The program will culminate with a paid summer internship for participants in the summer of 2024, according to Girls For A Change.

Parents and girls who are interested in learning more are invited to join Girls For A Change from 4 to 7 p.m. July 10 and 11 at Starbucks, 6548 Hull Street Road. For more information, visit girlsforachange.org.

JWC Foundation announces academy for Black entrepreneurs

The JWC Foundation, home of the Jackson Ward Collective and BLCK Street Conference, will launch its 3rd Cohort for the Community Business Academy, a 12-week course featuring hands-on training to teach business fundamentals.

The CBA seeks aspiring Black entrepreneurs with a strong business idea or current entrepreneurs who want to improve, strengthen or significantly expand their current business, according to the JWC Foundation.

The CBA is a resource for “main street businesses,” small businesses that serve as the backbone of the local economy in the Richmond Region and encourages these owners to enroll in the 12-week course,” said Rasheeda N. Creighton, executive director of the JWC Foundation.

The academy seeks to equip new businesses with the tools to succeed during the early stages

of development and strengthen the operations of more established businesses through weekly in person instructor-led sessions. Weekly sessions will focus on budgeting, marketing, bookkeeping, financing and more.

“The fall cohort kicks off our second year of the Community Business Academy,” noted Ms. Creighton. “It has been rewarding to not only see Black entrepreneurs navigate through the program, but to be able to support their continued growth after graduation.”

According to the JWC, interested participants must attend one of the 2023 CBA’s information sessions on July 6, 13, 23, 25 or 26 that will be offered virtually and in person. The Fall 2023 cohort begins Sept. 13 and runs for 12 weeks at the 1717 Innovation Center in Shockoe Bottom.

For more information, contact Ms. Creighton at (804) 955-9919, or rasheeda@thejwcfoundation.org.

utility bills increase

advance notice of the increase in utility bills that result from changes City Council approved in the new 2023-24 budget that went into effect July 1.

The Department noted that the cost of natural gas will rise 3.3% or about $2.24 a month to pay for the increased costs of operations and

distribution of the gas to homes.

Water service is expected to increase a minimum of $1.55 a month to cover higher costs of operations and distribution, while sewer service will increase at least $4.40 a month, according to the department. The stormwater charge will rise a minimum

BANK

of 51 cents a month, the department stated.

The increases are needed to ensure “effective and consistent delivery of services,” stated April Bingham, utilities director. She added that the department has at least two programs aimed at assisting customers experiencing financial hardships.

Free Press staff report

The Associated Press

Dr. Becca Bruhl, Richmond and Henrico Health District’s adviser on community & children’s health, tells parents and caregivers that “summer is a great time to get your child up to date on school-required immunizations and physicals.”

Dr. Bruhl

Ms. Creighton

Color struck court

For many of us, the joys of summer involve spending time in our gardens, toiling intently until a chorus of red, white, blue or purple flora reveal a luminous rainbow to be admired by anyone in sight.

Yet, too often, the tranquility of such artistry is shaken by a sudden sting or bite from other earthly inhabitants known as mosquitoes, hornets and snakes. Once attacked, we may recoil from spending so much time outside, reminded that although humans need many of those unwieldy creatures for survival, their venom can be deadly.

Which leads us to compare our multi-legged and winged outdoor companions to our far right two-legged friends who spend much of their time sitting inside the U.S. Supreme Court.

For several weeks we were warned that the high court likely would strike down affirmative action in college admissions. And while its 6-3 decision came swiftly a week ago, it still stings.

The verdict, declaring that race cannot be a factor in college admissions, now forces institutions of higher education to find new ways to achieve diverse student bodies, reads one news media account.

“The court’s conservative majority effectively overturned cases reaching back 45 years in invalidating admissions plans at Harvard and the University of North Carolina, the nation’s oldest private and public colleges, respectively,” states The Associated Press.

“The decision, like last year’s momentous abortion ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade, marked the realization of a long-sought conservative legal goal, this time finding that race-conscious admissions plans violate the Constitution and a law that applies to colleges that receive federal funding, as almost all do.”

Amy Howe of SCOTUSblog, which presents independent analysis and coverage of the Supreme Court, noted, “The decision also overrules the court’s 2003 decision in Grutter v. Bollinger, in which the court upheld the University of Michigan Law School’s consideration of race “as one factor among many, in an effort to assemble a student body that is diverse in ways broader than race.”

So here we are, 20 years later and forced to find other ways to achieve diverse student bodies in many of the nation’s leading institutions, many of which are funded by taxpayer dollars.

Such a stinging insult, no matter how it’s delivered.

Most Black people, Native Americans, People of Color, immigrants and others are used to a lifetime of racial discrimination, economic inequality and being held to higher standards than white people. Black students and Black employees at majority white institutions carry the weight of being scrutinized, marginalized and weaponized in majority white classrooms and workplaces throughout this country. We seek entrée into such institutions to create better lives for ourselves and our families. We learn to ignore the slights, stares and snubs from people who don’t look like us.

As a result of the court’s decision, the good news is that we don’t have to rely on admissions offices or any other entities to “find another way” for us to enter colleges and universities that five white justices and one Black conservative justice believe should be available to us based on “experiences” rather than race.

Surely, they jest.

Black folks are accustomed to “making a way out of no way,” and stories abound about Black men and women who have sat alone in classrooms, slept in segregated campus housing, eaten breakfast, lunch and dinner solo and suffered silently when chastised or called out by white professors who disliked having to teach them.

That’s what many Black students “experience” daily within mostly white spaces then and now.

Historically Black Colleges and Universities, our HBCUs, have long opened their arms to not only educate us, but offer the nurturing that so many “mainstream” colleges and universities never will.

And, despite lingering questions about the need for HBCUs, Black students will continue to enroll in them in record numbers as has been seen since George Floyd’s murder three years ago.

In the meantime, we will continue to push for our own seats in predominantly white classrooms and workplaces. And if that means finding other ways to get there, so be it.

If we can continue to withstand the bites and bruises inflicted by our pesty invertebrate friends indoors or outside, pushing back against a conservative court that also lacks a backbone is child’s play.

Reading about the Supreme Court’s unsurprising affirmative action ruling, I was reminded of Sen. Hubert Humphrey’s defense of the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act. If anyone can find language in the bill, said the Minnesota Democrat, that would require an employer to hire based on percentage or quota related to color, race, religion or national origin, “I will eat my hat.”

The bill passed and, fortunately for Sen. Humphrey, he never had to eat his hat, despite a half century of arguments over how precise racial or ethnic “goals” or “timetables” have to be before they constitute a quota.

A similar decades-long saga has unfolded over affirmative action to promote diversity at universities that accept federal funding, which the Supreme Court all but banned at colleges Thursday.

Having followed affirmative action debates for decades, I was surprised only by how unsurprised I was by the ruling.

I remembered Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s unusual prediction in the 2003 opinion she wrote for the 5-4 majority that decided race-conscious admissions did

Elections always have consequences and this week we experienced Part Two of the ProRepublican/Pro-Conservative Supreme Court. When we connect the dots, we realize the connection between Donald Trump and three of the six justices who voted to terminate Rowe AND eliminate affirmative action in college admissions. When folks surrender, the consequences are usually unpleasant. When they surrender their right to vote, the consequences can be disastrous. Failing to vote when one can is the ultimate surrender!

I join the legion of those who will analyze and critique this latest act of social violence by the U.S. Supreme Court. Much of what I write will echo what you already have seen on television or read online or in a publication.

For that I apologize, but the truth of this matter is voluminous and must be told and heard.

Using the language of the 14th Amendment, which was written to remedy the injuries of enslavement and bring a full measure of citizenship to formerly enslaved persons, the majority dismissed the history and continuing injury of systemic racism. In their dissent against this travesty, Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson and Sonia Sotomayor gave the nation a complete and concise

not unduly harm non-minority applicants at the University of Michigan Law School.

Near the end of the opinion, she included a prediction that now sounds prophetic: “We expect that 25 years from now, the use of racial preferences will no longer be necessary to further the interest approved today.”

That expectation proved to be correct with the high court’s ruling in lawsuits by Students for Fair Admissions against Harvard University and the University of North Carolina.

Attention to this case has been growing for years along with evidence that racial considerations have worked against Asian Americans. They’re more likely than other groups to enroll in selective colleges and universities, yet also more likely to be rejected by what amounts to de facto quotas.

So, as disappointed as some longtime supporters of affirmative action — like me — may be, I also can’t deny that, when a remedy to historical discrimination against minorities produces new unfairness to other minority groups, the remedy needs to be seriously reconsidered.

I have little doubt that universities will continue their efforts

primer on the beneficial impact of affirmative action and the short-sightedness demonstrated by orchestrating its demise.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, one of the three liberal justices on the Supreme Court, said in her dissenting opinion, “Today, this court stands in the way and rolls back decades of precedent

and momentous progress.” She added that this decision “subverts the constitutional guarantee of equal protection by further entrenching racial inequality in education, the very foundation of our democratic government and pluralistic society.” Justice Sotomayor argued that the race neutrality envisioned by the majority “will entrench racial segregation in higher education because racial inequality will persist so long as it is ignored.”

In a blistering rebuke of her colleagues in the majority, Justice Brown Jackson stated that “six unelected members of today’s majority upend the status quo based on their policy preferences about what race in America should be like, but is not, and their preferences for a veneer of colorblindness in a society where race has always mattered and continues to matter in fact and in law.”

Justice Brown Jackson added, “Our country has never been colorblind. Given the lengthy history of state-sponsored race-based preferences in America, to say

to diversify their student bodies with properly qualified students, as they should.

And, as much as Chief Justice John Roberts sharply criticized the purpose of race conscious admissions policies that the court had supported in prior cases, he also hinted at approaches that could offer similar diversity benefits without the apparent harm.

Justice Roberts’ court did not rule out considering students’ backgrounds and circumstances in what admissions officers call “holistic” reviews that look more completely at their profiles — beyond race or ethnicity.

This approach would give more weight to the applicant’s essay. Mentioning your race is no longer enough, for example, but admissions officers can still give credit to applicants who have overcome challenges that happen to be related to their race or other qualities that would bring unique experiences to the campus.

Admissions essays, like recommendations and other material, can help to construct a more holistic portrait than race or ethnicity alone to paint a compelling portrait of individual applicants.

Since applicants who have low incomes or no family wealth also are more likely to be racial or ethnic minorities, universities can achieve more of their diversity goals through the holistic approach that tries to be fair to

that anyone is now victimized if a college considers whether that legacy of discrimination has unequally advantaged its applicants fails to acknowledge the well documented “intergenerational transmission of inequality” that still plagues our citizenry.” She asserts, “History speaks.”

Since its adoption, affirmative action has been labeled by those who oppose it as a crutch for the unqualified and unworthy. The acceptance of this label is the stated reason for its pathological rejection by Justice Clarence Thomas.

My experience in the federal sector has shown me that the removal of artificial impediments by affirmative action has produced a level of competition which is unacceptable to many whites who have grown accustomed to a lack of substantive professional opposition.

The “guilt” of watching Black civil rights youths being brutalized is long gone. Instead of encouraging reconciliation, ignoring the physical and psychological brutality inflicted upon Black people and other persons of color has replaced it.

When allowed to occur, diversity, equity, and inclusion have been shown to benefit all who participate and a remedy to all who understand its purpose. Instead, the court has opened the back door to our past social ills and pre-civil rights status quo.

The writer is president of the Dick Gregory Society and author of “Wake Up and Stay Woke”— a tribute to Dick Gregory.

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everyone. “The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race,” Justice Roberts has famously declared, “is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.”

But, as an alternative, Justice Roberts appears to have little trouble with more holistic alternatives to race. I can hear the groans already coming from those who think race questions are complicated enough without wrestling with even more standards. They’d rather deal with people as “individuals.” So would I. But, the best way to appreciate individuals is to appreciate all the aspects of themselves that make them special.

I’m not going to wager my hat like Sen. Humphrey did, but the holistic approach just might work better.

The writer is a syndicated columnist for The Chicago Tribune.

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‘Our country has never been colorblind’

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Dr. E. Faye Williams

The aftermath of mass shootings infiltrates every corner of survivors’ lives

The Associated Press CHICAGO

More than a year after 11-year-old Mayah Zamora was airlifted out of Uvalde, Texas, where she was critically injured in the Robb Elementary school shooting that killed 19 children and two teachers, the family is still reeling.

Knocks on the door startle Mayah into a panic. The family decided to skip Fourth of July celebrations to avoid booming fireworks. An outing to the Little Mermaid movie requires noisecanceling headphones.

Since 2016, thousands of Americans have been wounded in mass shootings, and tens of thousands by gun violence, with that number continuing to grow, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

Survivors talked to The Associated Press about the mental and physical wounds that endure in the aftermath of shootings in Uvalde; Las Vegas; Colorado Springs, Colorado; and the Chicago suburb of Highland Park, Illinois, during a Fourth of July parade last year.

UVALDE

Mayah suffered wounds to her chest, back, both hands, face and ear, and needed so many surgeries her parents said they stopped counting. The family relocated to San Antonio, where Mayah spent 66 days in the hospital and still needs care.

“Her hospital bill is insane,” said Mayah’s mother, Christina Zamora. “It reaches close to $1,000,000, maybe over,” not including rehabilitation, followup visits and counseling.

A year later, Christina and Mayah’s father, Ruben, said they don’t know what bills will be covered by insurance and how much they will need to pay. When Mayah was discharged, they realized one parent needed to stay home to care for her.

Mrs. Zamora quit her job. Facing daunting bills with one income instead of two is scary, she said. The relocation also has separated the family: Mr. Zamora works seven days on, seven off in Uvalde. The couple’s oldest son, Ruben Jr., stayed in Uvalde to attend college and work. Zach, 12, “misses him. He misses our old normal life.”

COLORADO SPRINGS

Ashtin Gamblin was working the front door at Club Q in Colorado Springs on Nov. 19 when a person armed with

Mayah

a semiautomatic rifle shot and killed five people and injured 17 more, including Ms. Gamblin.

“I was shot nine times. Five to my left arm. Twice to my right arm. Twice to my left breast. Both of my humerus were shattered. So two broken arms,” the 30-year-old said. Six months later, “my right arm is still fractured. My left hand, we’re still working on function.”

Tasks that were once simple, such as walking her dogs, are now challenging and the loss of autonomy has been difficult, Ms. Gamblin said.

She has battled with health insurance, the hospital and worker’s compensation officials to figure out who would foot

the $300,000 medical bill.

Ms. Gamblin also no longer felt safe in her apartment, where she could sometimes hear gunshots outside. She bought a house in a quieter neighborhood: “a house I wasn’t prepared to buy,” she said. “I bought a $380,000 safe space.”

She lists other unexpected post-shooting costs: a flooded basement, a service animal, a new car to get to doctor’s appointments.

Half a year later she is not mentally recovered enough to return to work.

“I just can’t be there… I don’t feel safe going to the grocery store. I don’t feel safe being in public,” she said. “I have no idea what I’m doing

with my life currently.”

“There is a lot of focus on the people that are killed. And I’m grateful for that. Those are my friends and they deserved all of the attention and more,” Ms. Gamblin said. “The downfall is the rest of us are still suffering.” LAS VEGAS

Tia Christiansen had worked

in the music industry for more than 20 years when a gunman unleashed the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history at a Las Vegas music festival she helped organize in October 2017.

The shooter rained gunfire from the windows of a high-rise casino hotel into an outdoor concert crowd, killing 58 people and injuring more than 850.

Ms. Christiansen was scheduled to be at the festival that day. But she felt ill and stayed in her room, two doors down from where the gunman fired.

“The room was shaking. It was incredibly loud. There was actually a moment when the gunfire was so loud that I literally instinctively ducked and put my hands over my head because I thought that the walls or the ceiling would come crumbling down,” Ms. Christiansen said. “I completely reconciled my life and thought, ‘Am I ready to die?’”

She was physically unscathed. But her life turned upside down. After the shooting, she worked a few more festivals, until she “had a complete, total breakdown on site crying.”

“The trauma doesn’t go away,” she said. “Even if you’re

not wounded in the moment, there is injury.”

HIGHLAND PARK

Leah Sundheim, 29, was a night manager at a hotel in Las Vegas when she got “the worst phone call you can ever receive.”

Her mother, Jacquelyn Sundheim, had been killed at a shooting during Highland Park’s 2022 Fourth of July parade, along with six other people.

“That flight home broke me,” Ms. Sundheim said. She then moved back to Highland Park to be close to her father.

“I couldn’t be away from my family,” Ms. Sundheim said. “I can’t do another flight like that ever.”

Mass shootings cause a variety of trauma, she said. Her experience is different from that of her aunt and cousins, who were sitting next to Jacquelyn Sundheim when she died.

“They have the visual and sound… of watching her be murdered, and my dad has the trauma of receiving the phone call and then subsequent hours trying to get to her body. My trauma is waking up to my phone ringing and hearing that my mom was killed,” she said.

The Associated Press

Zamora, front right, a survivor of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, poses for a photo with her brother Zach, left, mom Christina, dad Ruben, back right, and her service dog Rocky at their home in San Antonio.

Stories by Fred Jeter

Weathering the storm

Lady Tomahawk’s promising start fizzles in weekend downpour

The RVA Lady Tomahawks were rolling along and enjoying a football season of mostly sunshine and blue skies.

And then the storm hit, literally and figuratively.

Although heavily favored, the host Lady T’s lost in the finals of the U.S. Women’s Football League, 42-0, to the visiting and beefed up Detroit Prowl.

The game took place July 1 at River City Sportsplex, first under threatening skies and finally under a drenching downpour.

The park was evacuated under order of Chesterfield County. People huddled wherever.

“It was pouring so hard, you couldn’t see halfway across the parking lot,”

said RVA Coach Mike Hickam. The teams took shelter in the facility’s concession stand and office while thunder boomed, and lightning streaked the charcoal skies.

When play resumed after more than an hour break, the Tomahawks couldn’t find the rhythm that had helped them win the USWFL regular season title.

In two earlier meetings with Detroit, RVA had won 10-0 and 26-0.

Between July 1 and RVA’s last meeting with the Prowl, Detroit had legally added several players from the more advanced Women’s National Football Conference.

“It definitely didn’t end the way we wanted,” Coach Hickam said. “But we’re happy with the season overall and can’t

wait to get started for next season.”

With the spirit-sapping delay, even the traditional postgame party at a local restaurant was canceled.

This was the first season of play for the Lady Tomahawks. Most of the young ladies had never played tackle football before this year.

The majority were recruits from other sports such as basketball and various flag-football leagues.

The team is considered semi-pro, but there is a $300 entry fee that covers uniforms. Several fund raisers enabled the squad to make overnight trips to Detroit and Cincinnati.

Coach Hickam says there is always room on his roster for more talent, even if it’s “rookie” talent. Most of the women on this year’s roster lived within 100 miles of Richmond. Some practices were on Zoom.

It was a promising start, even though Mother Nature was less than kind on the final Saturday night.

rebuild,” said Coach Hickam. Plans for conditioning and tryouts for the 2024 season are underway. You might say the Lady Tomahawks have Pamm Goode photo Although heavily favored, the Lady T’s lost to the Detroit Prowl in the finals of the U.S. Women’s Football League, 42-0, during a July 1 game at River City Sportsplex.

VUU Athletic Hall of Fame announces 2023 inductees

Soon it will be time to dust off the old scrapbook at Virginia Union University. Reliving past greatness will be the theme Sept. 22 when Virginia Union University celebrates its Hall of Fame Class for 2023.

The 6 p.m. event will be at the Dr. Claude G. Perkins Living and Learning Center at VUU, 1500 N. Lombardy St. Activities will be in conjunction with VUU’s Sept. 23 football game against Fayetteville State.

Inductees include two teams (the 1980 men’s and 1983 women’s NCAA Division II basketball championships) and six individuals.

1980 Men’s Basketball: In Dave Robbins’ second season as coach the Panthers posted a 26-4 record en route to the NCAA crown in Springfield, Mass. It would the first of three NCAA crowns for the men.

Native Richmonder Keith Valentine was named tournament Most Outstanding Player. Other starters were Larry Holmes, Derwin Lilly, Dave Lewis and Michael Linney. A top backup was Willard Coker, who later became a VUU assistant and head coach.

1983 Women’s Basketball: Again, VUU struck gold in Springfield. Under first year Coach Lou Hearn, the Lady Panthers went 27-2. It was just the second year of the NCAA Division II tournament for women.

Emotions were high. In 1982, VUU’s beloved, grandfatherly coach, Tom Harris, died of a heart attack during the CIAA tournament in Norfolk.

Rugged rebounder Paris McWhirter was named

MOP. Other starters included Barvenia Wooten (who later became VUU head coach), Vita Williams, Maria Nicholson and Denice Kizzie with Sylvia Walker first off the bench.

Leroy Adams: Coach Willard Bailey wanted his defensive players to be big, strong, fast and physical and Adams checked all the boxes from 1975 to 1979.

A linebacker/defensive back, Adams earned All-CIAA and All-America honors while help-

Throwback VCU basketball alums to compete for $1M in tournament

An impressive group of former VCU basketball players will be slipping back into black ‘n’ gold uniforms later this month.

Under the name RamNation, a squad of mostly ex-Rams will compete in the $1 million, winner-take-all The Basketball Tournament (TBT). There are 64 entries in eight regions.

The first and only guaranteed game will be July 25 in Wheeling,

W.Va. RamNation will be seeded seventh in the Wheeling Region and face No. 2 seed Sideline Cancer. ESPN+ will televise.

The RamNation roster will include JeQuan Lewis, Juvonte Reddic, De’Riante Jenkins, Marcus Evans, KeShawn Curry, Marcus Santos-Silva, Mike Gilmore and David Shriver, all former VCU standouts.

Coaching will be led by

From one shore to another

Jamion Christian, a former VCU assistant coach.

Sideline Cancer’s roster features Tyrese Rice, now 36, the MVP of the 2021 TBT with Boeheim’s Army. Rice starred at L.C. Bird High, Boston College and has been playing professionally since 2009. This is RamNation’s fifth entry into the TBT and first since 2019.

NSU basketball travel includes Puerto Rico

Norfolk State University’s basketball Spartans are making plans for Puerto Rico.

Coach Robert Jones’ MEAC squad will spend Aug. 10-15 on the Caribbean Island and play three games against Puerto Rican teams.

NSU is coming off a 22-11 season in which it lost to Howard in the finals of the MEAC tournament.

Spartans fans are welcome to come along. A travel package is outlined on the NSUspartans.com website.

This won’t be NSU’s only trip to islands this calendar year. The Spartans will play Nov. 17-20 in the Virgin Islands Paradise Jam. NSU’s first game will be

Nov. 17 against Fordham of the Atlantic 10. Hampton University also is taking part in the eight-school field.

Meanwhile, Kris Bankston’s NSU career is over, but he is far from finished. The 6-foot-9 forward has signed to play for the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA’s 2K24 Summer League in Las Vegas, starting July 7.

Bankston averaged 14.2 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.5 blocked shots this past season, earning All-MEAC honors. Operating close to the hoop, Bankston shot 71% his junior season and 69% this past season to rank among national leaders.

ing VUU lead NCAA Division II in defense as a senior.

Ronald Kelley: There weren’t many opportunities for young Black golfers at the time, but Ronald, nicknamed “Peanut,” made the most of what he had to work with.

As a member of VUU’s first golf team, he helped lead the Panthers to three straight CIAA titles in the 1960s, and later became the program’s coach. From there he emerged as among the

area’s most respected golfers.

James Battle: The Vietnam War veteran (earning a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star) came to VUU from Thomas Jefferson High as Dave Robbins’ assistant basketball coach in 1979 and graduated to athletic director in 1985.

Serving as AD for 22 years, both the basketball and football programs flourished under his direction. In 2015 he was named to the CIAA Hall of Fame.

Dr. Roland Moore: Whenever you see the Panthers excelling in any sport, expect to spot Dr. Moore leading the applause.

A member of the Board of Trustees, he was also the first president of the First Thursday Group that has been instrumental in raising funds for athletics and VUU in general.

He received an award for being VUU’s “Most Spirited Supporter” in 2022.

Gabriela Flores-Diaz: In the annals of VUU volleyball, no one spiked the ball any harder or more effectively.

Ranking among the NCAA leaders in aces, Flores-Diaz helped the Lady Panthers to back-toback CIAA Divisional titles in 2005 and 2006.

Ernesto Youngs: The burly offensive lineman provided much of the heavy lifting for VUU’s successful football teams in the late 1970s under Coach Bailey.

He was named as an All-American by Jet Magazine, twice picked for All-CIAA teams and chosen for the Black Colleges All-Star Game in New Orleans.

HU’s Godwin and Garvin heading to Harlem’s HBCU classic

Hampton University will be well represented at the HBCU All-Star Dream Classic Aug. 5 at the famed Rucker Park in Harlem. The event will include 40 of the top HBCU men’s and women’s players in the nation.

Marquis Godwin will represent the Pirates in the men’s game, while Najee Garvin will compete in the women’s game.

Godwin averaged 12.4 points this past

season for HU, while the towering, 6-foot-8 Garvin averaged 15.2.

In addition to hoops, the Dream Classic will feature a step contest, cheerleading routines, music and scholarship awards. Located at 155th Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard, Rucker Park is an outdoor court that has drawn a Who’s Who of stars over the decades.

Griner to play in WNBA All Star Game

Brittney Griner has picked up right where she left off in 2021.

After missing the entire WNBA 2022 season while imprisoned in Russia, Griner has bounced back with a flourish.

The 6-foot-9, 32-year-old recently was named a starter for the July 15 WNBA All Star Game in Las Vegas. The ABC network with televise the 9:30 p.m. game at the Michelob Ultra Arena at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.

It marks Griner’s ninthAll-Star selection, the most by any active player. A year ago, she was named as an honorary All-Star.

Playing for the Phoenix Mercury, Griner was averaging 19.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and a league-best 2.4 block shots through games of June 24.

Those statistics compare favorably with her career totals from 2013 to 2021, all with Phoenix. Griner’s nine-season pro norms

(pre-Russia ordeal) were 17.7 points, 7.6 boards and 2.8 shot blocks.

As selected by players, fans and media, other All-Star starters include rookie Aliyah Boston with Indiana.

The No. 1 overall draft pick out of South Carolina in 2022, the 6-foot-5 Boston is averaging 16 points and eight rebounds while leading the WNBA with a 65.1 shooting percentage. Boston is the first rookie to be named a starter since Shoni Schimmel in 2014.

Other starters are:

A’Ja Wilson (Las Vegas); Breanna Stewart (New York), Chelsea Gray (Las Vegas), Jewell Loyd (Seattle), Arike Ogunbowale (Dallas), Nneka Ogwumike (Los Angeles), Satou Sabally (Dallas) and Jackie Young (Las Vegas). Wilson and Stewart will serve as captains.

German goes from zero to hero

The New York Yankees’ Domingo German was a somewhat ordinary big league pitcher until June 28, when ordinary turned into extraordinary.

A Black man of Dominican and Haitian ancestry, German became just the 24th pitcher in history – and first since 2012 – to throw a perfect game, meaning 27 up, 27 down.

Wearing No. 0, he struck out nine while throwing a total of 99 pitches in an 11-0 victory over the Oakland A’s in Oakland.

For his career, German is just 31-26 with a fat 4.40 earned run average. Even with the “perfecto,” he is just 5-5 with a 4.55 ERA this season.

No African-American has ever tossed a perfect

game in the Major Leagues. The only other nonwhites were Nicaraguan Dennis Martinez in 1991 and Venezuelan Felix Hernandez in 2012.

There isn’t an extremely long list of star Black pitchers with the Yankees, but Richmond can claim a connection with one.

In 1961, Al Downing became the Yankees’ first African-American hurler. The left-hander from Trenton, N.J., played parts of the ’62 and ’63 seasons with the Richmond Virginians, then the Yanks’ AAA farm club.

Downing went on to become an American League All-Star in ’67 and led the AL in strikeouts in ’64.

Marquis Godwin Najee Garvin

Al Downing

Domingo German

Brittney Griner

Personality: Joye B. Moore

2023 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year for the Mid-Atlantic Region

2023 winner for Best Peach Pie in the Country by American Pie Council

Joye B. Moore’s recipe for sweet potato pie was handed down from the women in her family going back to her greatgreat-great grandmother, Susan Mae Howell.

Thus, over the past 30 years, Mrs. Moore has made pies and given them as gifts to family, friends and co-workers.

After eagerly sampling the pies, their satisfied recipients always told Mrs. Moore the same thing, “Girl, you need to sell these.”

Four years ago, she started doing just that.

In 2019, Mrs. Moore founded Joyebells. She knew starting a business from scratch would be a challenge, but she had overcome challenges in her life before.

The North Carolina native came to Richmond in the 1990s. Before taking her entrepreneurial leap, she worked for a nonprofit organization that coordinated learning activities for middle school students outside of the regular school day. She recognized the program’s importance based on her own life experiences.

Mrs. Moore calls herself a “thriving survivor” of physical and mental abuse from a mother who was living with an untreated mental illness and sexual abuse by her stepfather, she said. She ran away from her Goldsboro home at 14, then spent the next three years living in abandoned houses and eating from dumpsters in Dallas.

“I still went to school every day and graduated high school on time with a 3.79 GPA,” says Mrs. Moore, crediting the South Dallas YMCA after-school program for helping her achieve that while being homeless.

Although she loved working with middle schoolers, she saw an opportunity to pursue her

longtime dream when she was laid off. Mrs. Moore told her husband, Eric, that she wanted to sell pies.

Joyebells started out making 150 sweet potato pies a month. Less than two years later, Food Lion put them on shelves in 45 stores and her sales jumped to 900 pies sold a week. Mrs. Moore’s husband, sister and children all joined in to help scale up the business.

Over the next two years, the company added a peach pie to the signature sweet potato pie, and started working with a copacker that had the capacity she needed to become a national brand. In 2022, Joyebells sold 2.8 million pies.

In May, Joyebells entered the American Pie Council’s national competition and its peach pie won best in the country against the likes of Sara Lee. A month later, Joyebells was named Entrepreneur of the Year for the Mid-Atlantic Region by Ernst & Young. The distinction came with a chance to win the national title in November.

Mrs. Moore says being recognized for her success “affirms the little girl in me who always believed there was something better for me than the life I was living.”

She adds that it is also motivation to keep going until everyone knows the Joyebells name and has the chance to “try it or deny it.”

She even imagines producing a Joyebells cooking show one day.

“Those opportunities that are meant to be will find their way to you,” Mrs. Moore says. “The biggest thrill is that I am building something to leave to generations to come.”

Meet a major Richmond brand owner and this week’s Personality, Joye B. Moore:

Latest achievements: 2023 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year for the Mid-Atlantic Region and 2023 winner for Best Peach Pie in the Country by American Pie Council.

Occupation: Founder/CEO, Joyebells.

Month and place of birth: January in Goldsborough, N.C.

Where I live now: Richmond.

Family: I am the sixth descendant of Susan Mae Howell, originator of Joyebells Sweet Potato Pies. Her recipes have passed down six generations. My husband, Eric Moore, COO; my sister Cassandra Wheeler; my daughter Tylor Moore, and my sons, Lynden Moore and Adonis Moore.

How I got the news I was named the 2023 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year for the Mid-Atlantic: I was in Bentonville, Ark. when

my sister and daughter called me with the great news! I had to choose between going to the awards dinner in Washington or being a panelist on Walmart’s Supplier Summit panel for Equity in Entrepreneurship. I chose to attend Walmart’s summit and my team members represented (me at the Ernst & Young event) and received the award on my behalf. They called me screaming! I started screaming!

How I got the news I was winner for Best Peach Pie in the Country by American Pie Council: The competition ended with an award/ribbon ceremony for the winners of each category. It was surreal! Eric and I were holding a conversation at the back of the hall when our name was called. Hilarious! Eric and I walked to the stage (grinning) to receive the beautiful award.

How I feel about each award:

I am so happy and overwhelmed with gratitude for these amazing acknowledgements from EY (Ernst & Young) and American Pie Council family! It is definitely an honor and privilege to represent the Mid Atlantic family of Entrepreneurs at Nationals and I will do my very best to make Virginia proud.

And to have my Mother’s recipe acknowledged is amazing! All of this is truly a reminder from God that all things are possible! So… keep moving!

How long I have been in the pie baking business: Joyebells will officially be four-years old Oct. 1.

What makes them so delicious: Joyebells is home. Six

generations of Southern, backwoods, country deliciousness made with love and tradition.

And… Yes, It’s that Good!

What makes me special as a pie baker: Nothing. I am sure that I work just as hard as any other business owner. But I do believe that I am walking in God’s will and under his divine direction.

My secret sauce for success is:

Faith. I know and believe with everything within me that our product is the best and that I am doing what I am supposed to be doing! And no matter what things look like or how they feel, I keep moving!

Best business advice given to me: Have your business foundation complete and intact prior to launching. Licenses, certifications (if applicable), trademarks, etc.

No. 1 fear in the beginning: Having to start all over at a new traditional job. Not knowing anything about the food and beverage industry and feeling like I was racing against the clock to learn as fast as I could.

No. 1 challenge facing entrepreneurs like me: Access! Equity is being in the room! Access to buyers and scaling partners. Access to funding. Access to tools and resources. Ways I make a difference in the community with my pies: JOYEBELLS uses its platform to have significant community impact through advocacy, volunteerism and fundraising for organizations that fit Joyebells Charities’ four focus areas; Mental Health Wellness, Child Abuse Prevention, Teen Homelessness Prevention and access to quality OST (Out of School Time) programming for youth.

The three words that best describe me: Hopeful, focused, driven.

If I had 10 extra minutes in the day: I would do face yoga.

Best late-night snack: I try not to snack late at night, but if I do, popcorn.

Something I love to do that most people would never imagine: I talk to myself. I dream things that will be and I write songs in my dreams.

The best thing my parents ever taught me: Tenacity. To never stop until I get what I want.

The person who influenced me the most: My husband, Eric. I had been on my own prior to meeting Eric. I have learned what a family looks like and that I was not alone. In turn I found a safe place to grow and a champion for any dream that I have had, including three selfproduced albums, music videos and a book.

Book that influenced me the most: A Piece of Cake by Cupcake Brown.” She showed me that it does not matter who you are or where you come from, you can do anythingyou set your mind to! I would love to meet her one day.

What I’m reading now and my takeaway: I don’t have time to leisurely read at this time, but next on my reading list is Oprah’s “What Happened to You.”

Next goal: To make Joyebells accessible to everyone by having a strategic national retail footprint with the full Joyebells brand, including Joyebells CountrySides: Collard Greens, Sweet Potato Casserole, Macaroni and Cheese and Cornbread Dressing. And then introduce Joyebells internationally.

Sculpture by with poetry by Sha Michele

Virginia Folklife event presents Afro-Puerto Rican band Kadencia

By Darlene M. Johnson

Kadencia, a play on the word “cadence” in Spanish, is an 11-member band led by fatherson duo Maurice Sanabria-Ortiz and Maurice “Tito” Sanabria, 43.

Mr. Sanabria-Ortiz, 63, is the lead singer, songwriter and director for the band which he founded in 2007 in the Sanabria family’s hometown of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, Mr. Sanabria said.

“Kadencia, to us, is a musical term but it’s also used to refer to dancing. Dancing has its own cadence, its own movement.” Mr. Sanabria said. “We’re all about making people move, making people groove, enjoy themselves and learn something in the process.”

The Richmond-based band is among the performers on Friday and Saturday during a free two-day celebration sponsored by The Library of Virginia and the Virginia Folklife Program of Virginia Humanities. Friday’s program, from 5:30 to 8 p.m., will feature documentary screenings, live music and more to highlight Virginia’s evolving folklife heritage as part of the library’s yearlong 200th anniversary celebration, according to organizers.

Kadencia, which performs Saturday during the event’s noon to 4 p.m. window, plays bomba and Mayagüez-style plena music to promote and preserve Afro-Puerto Rican music. Bomba and plena are both percussion-heavy rhythms with Afro-Puerto Rican roots and the band mixes this with Afro-Cuban rhythms to create a mostly original catalog with topics predominantly discussing Puerto Rican history, society and culture,

according to a press kit for Kadencia.

The band also has smaller ensemble options of four and six members that play traditional percussive plena and bomba music.

Mr. Sanabria-Ortiz has been involved in music since a teen, but began with salsa, Mr. Sanabria said. Later in life, Mr. Sanabria-Ortiz

Grammys CEO: ‘Music that contains AI-created elements is eligible. Period.’

The Associated Press

Last month, the Recording Academy announced a series of changes to the Grammy Awards to better reflect an evolving music industry. Of those newly instituted guidelines, protocols involving technological advancements in machine learning sparked headlines: “Only human creators” could win the music industry’s highest honor in a decision aimed at the use of artificial intelligence in popular music.

“A work that contains no human authorship is not eligible in any category,” the rules read in part.

As the music industry continues to come to terms with this new technology, so too will the Grammys, says Recording Academy CEO and President Harvey Mason Jr.

“Here’s the super easy, headline statement: AI, or music that contains AI-created elements is absolutely eligible for entry and for consideration for Grammy nomination. Period,” Mr. Mason told The Associated Press. “What’s not going to happen is we are not going to give a Grammy or Grammy nomination to the AI portion.”

If an AI or voice modeling program performs the lead vocal on a song, the track would be eligible in a songwriting category, for example, but not a performance category, because “what is performing is not human creation,” he explains. “Conversely, if a song was sung by an actual human in the studio, and they did all the performing, but AI wrote the lyric or the track, the song would not be eligible in a composition or a songwriting category.”

“As long as the human is contributing in a more than de minimis amount, which to us means a meaningful way, they are and will always be considered for a nomination or a win,” he continued. “We don’t want to see technology replace human creativity. We want to make sure technology is enhancing, embellishing, or additive to human creativity.

So that’s why we took this particular stand in this award cycle.”

In order to establish their AI guidelines, the Recording Academy engaged in extensive research, including holding tech summits.

“I’ve met with the copyright office. We’ve talked about the future and what that looks like on a federal level and the legislative level,” Mr. Mason said, adding that AI conversations “really came to a head in the

last six months.”

The new Grammy AI protocols were announced three days after Paul McCartney shared that “the last Beatles record” had been composed using AI to extract John Lennon’s voice from an old demo. Without knowing the extent of the technology, Mr. Mason couldn’t confirm or deny whether the song would be eli-

gible for a Grammy nomination. As Mr. Mason affirms, “people are using the technology. I’m imagining it’s going to be involved in a lot of records a lot of songs this year, so we’ll see if some of them get nominated or not, but I’m sure there’ll be some that will be submitted.”

was approached by friends who wanted to play plena and needed help forming a group. He realized his ability to write plena and bomba music after trying it with his friends and he founded Kadencia in Puerto Rico, Mr. Sanabria said.

The group released its debut album, “La Voz del Barrio” (The Voice of the Neighborhood) in

2009 and played for five years until the father and son moved to Virginia. Kadencia had a “rebirth” in August 2018 when they decided to bring the band back, this time based in Richmond. Their next album, “En Otro Barrio” (In Another Neighborhood), was recorded in Oregon Hill and released in 2022. It was named as one of the top 20 albums by Puerto Rican albums by Puerto Rico’s Fundación Nacional para la Cultura Popular (National Foundation for Popular Culture), Mr. Sanabria said.

“Since day one, the Richmond community has been incredibly supportive,” he added.

Mr. Sanabria helps manage the band and plays percussion, bongos, the buleador barrel drum for bomba, the requinta hand drum (the lead hand drum in plena music) and performs backup vocals. Music to Mr. Sanabria means a connection to the island of Puerto Rico, learning more about where he came from and keeping traditions and culture alive while sharing with the community in Virginia.

In addition to performing, the group offers bomba and plena workshops, and lectures to performing arts organizations, universities and schools, where they discuss the origins of the music genres and the rhythms and instruments used as well as their roles in Puerto Rican culture and society. In between songs during performances, the band incorporates workshop aspects and provides information about bomba and plena music.

“It’s a grassroots effort,” Mr. Sanabria said. “It’s an indie band, we do a lot of it ourselves, but we’re really proud of everything that we’ve been able to accomplish.”

Book by Douglas McGrath Words and Music by Gerry Goffin & Carole King Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil Music by Arrangement with Sony/ATV Music Publishing

Directed by Rick Hammerly Featuring Grey Garrett as Carole King

Mr. Mason

Courtesy Library of Virginia

Kadencia, which performs Saturday at the Library of Virginia from noon to 4 p.m., plays bomba and Mayagüez-style plena music to promote and preserve Afro-Puerto Rican music. Kadencia is an 11-member band led by father-and-son duo Maurice Sanabria-Ortiz, third from right, and Maurice “Tito” Sanabria, fourth from right.

Faith and fate of affirmative action

By Cheryl Townsend Gilkes

It’s a different colorblindness than the one envisioned in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to reject the race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina comes in a year of 60th anniversaries in American civil rights history.

Dr. King’s letter from the Birmingham jail, the assassination of NAACP Field Secretary Medger Evers in Mississippi, the Detroit “Walk to Freedom” march organized by the Rev. C. L. Franklin and, tragically, the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church, also in Birmingham, all took place in 1963, as did the assassination of the pro-civil rights President John F. Kennedy.

But most indelibly perhaps, on Aug. 28 we will remember the speech Dr. King delivered at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, popularly known as his “I Have a Dream” speech. Dr. King already had spoken of this dream on April 23 at the Detroit march, which until the March on Washington, was the largest civil rights march in U.S. history. In addition to featuring Dr. King, the Walk to Freedom also heard the voice of gospel singer Mahalia Jackson. Ms. Jackson, who sang and shared the stage at the March on Washington, is reported to have shouted to Dr. King during his speech, “Tell them about the dream!” And Dr. King did.

Conservative enemies of civil rights generally and affirmative action particularly have weaponized one image of that dream: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Critics of the race conscious programs called affirmative action have used this one sentence to argue that Dr. King advocated for a colorblind society.

It is fascinating to listen to the various commentators defending the decision — from former Vice President Mike Pence to representatives of conservative think tanks — as they insist that affirmative action violates a similar colorblind vision contained in the Constitution. In the Court’s recent decision, they also cited the “equal protection” clause of the Constitution. These pleas ignore 76 years

of prodigious and violent defense of slavery between the framing of the Constitution in 1789 and the end of the Civil War in 1865. The colorblind world of affirmative action’s opponents also ignores the massive, state-by-state imposition of the system we called Jim Crow in the years between the framing of the 14th Amendment in 1866 (ratified in 1868) and Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, which spelled its end.

The states’ rights to require segregation was supported by Plessy v. Ferguson, an 1896 decision defended by stare decisis for 58 years. During that time most states, many of them now “red” states, were forced to come up with legal definitions of who was white and who was, in the language of the time, “colored.” The state that Mr. Pence once governed, Indiana, had a ban on Black in-migration, the largest population of Ku Klux Klan members, and a ban on interracial marriage.

One can only offer a theory of a colorblind past if one ignores this tragic history of racial injustice that is threaded through U.S. history. Justice Sonia Sotomayor called the six-justice majority’s position” a veneer of colorblindness in a society where race has always mattered and continues to matter in fact and in law.”

It’s difficult at this moment to hold onto our faith in Dr. King’s larger vision. The flurry of decisions at the end of this Court term illuminated the stark divisions in the United States over not only race but gender and sexuality. These decisions come as politicians in many states are engaged in an assault against what they call critical race theory, “wokeness” and LGBTQ+ communities. We are observing what journalist Wesley

People demonstrate June 29 outside the Supreme Court in Washington after the high court struck down affirmative action in college admissions, saying race cannot be a factor.

The Associated Press

Lowery in his new book title calls “American Whitelash.”

Faith has a peculiar role in these culture wars. The court’s decision, handed down Friday, to uphold a Colorado web designer’s right to free speech was decided on precedents against forced affirmation, established to enable Jehovah’s Witnesses to resist pledging allegiance to the flag in public schools.

Meanwhile, on June 27, a court in Michigan ordered a prison to recognize the right of religious freedom of inmates to hold services under the banner of Christian Identity. Identified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center and as classical antisemites by the AntiDefamation League, Christian Identity believes in segregation and that white people are the

Annie Ruth Hooper, 87 of Richmond, Va. passed away on June 5, 2023. She was preceded in death by her husband, and three of her siblings Mary Hennix, Joe Johnson, and James Williams. She leaves to cherish her memory her loving daughter, Lisa “Dee” Hooper-Martinez, son, Willie Jewrmac Hooper, (Boston, MA), a loving and caring son-in-law Jose Martinez, two loving brothers; Solomon Williams, (Newark, N.J.), Charlie Williams, (Yonkers, N.Y), sisters-in-law, Betty Ann Williams, (Yonkers, N.Y), Dr. eresa Hooper (Newark, N.J.), and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and numerous loving friends. Please keep the Hooper family in your prayers as they adjust to New Beginnings without their beloved mother.

appropriate children of Israel in the American promised land. Faith communities have taken their own decisions to promote divisions, confusing progress with an insult to a divinely ordained order. It is perhaps no accident that the Supreme Court’s decisions coincide with the Southern Baptist Convention’s decision to expel congregations with women in pastoral

roles. This denomination, whose history is deeply rooted in the defense of slavery and in the defense of segregation, also became prominent among white evangelicals for branding critical race theory and intersectionality as unbiblical. Some evangelicals even used the term heresy.

As 2023 prompts us to remember civil rights triumphs and tragedies, the injustice of assaults on various forms of affirmative action and marginalized communities — and these assaults will continue — must remind us not to give in to despair and to continue the work until, in the words of the prophet Amos, we “let justice run down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Cheryl Townsend Gilkes is an assistant pastor for special projects at the Union Baptist Church in Cambridge, Mass., the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Professor Emerita of African American Studies and Sociology at Colby College, and a visiting distinguished professor at the Hartford International University for Religion and Peace.