Richmond Free Press March 3-5, 2022 edition

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NAACP award winner B3

Richmond Free Press © 2022 Paradigm Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.

VOL. 31 NO. 10

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA

www.richmondfreepress.com

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Meet this week’s Personality B1

MARCH 3-5, 2022

History maker

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is the first Black woman to be nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court. If confirmed, she would be only the third Black justice to serve on the nation’s highest court. Free Press staff, wire report

Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson speaks Friday in Cross Hall of the White House after President Biden introduced her as his nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court. Listening at right is Vice President Kamala Harris.

WASHINGTON Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on Wednesday took her first steps on her history-making journey to a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. Just five days after President Biden made her the first Black woman ever to be nominated for the nation’s highest court, the 51-year-old appeals court judge began meeting with leaders in the U.S. Senate who must confirm her to the lifetime post. Tenuously in control, Senate Democrats are pushing for Judiciary Committee hearings later this month, with hopes for the floor vote in April. If confirmed, Judge Jackson would succeed Justice Stephen G. Breyer, 83, for whom she once clerked. In January, Justice Breyer announced he will step down from the bench during the summer. The timing of the vote will depend on the return of the 50th Democrat, Sen. Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico, who suffered a stroke in late January, underwent surgery, is in recovery and plans to be back in Washington to support Judge Jackson. Judge Jackson appears to have been the top choice of President Biden, though he vetted two other candidates, California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger and U.S. District Court Judge J. Michelle Childs of South Carolina, both of whom are Black. Just after taking office in January 2021, President Biden successfully promoted Judge Jackson with bipartisan Please turn to A4

Free Press staff report

School Board approves $356.6M budget, after slashing $6M from Kamras plan By Ronald E. Carrington

After months of quibbling, the Richmond School Board approved a $356.6 million budget Monday night that provides a 5 percent raise for teachers and other schools employees, but eliminates money for new student laptops, instructional contracts and cellphones for employees. The 2022-23 spending plan, approved by a unanimous vote of the board, is $6 million less than the budget proposed by Superintendent Jason Kamras. But it maintains funding for two key central office positions a majority of the board sought to eliminate late last week.

It also added $1.6 million for the Richmond Virtual Academy, which would provide funding for about 30 teachers during the next school year for students engaged in virtual learning. That’s less than half of the current 70 teachers. Overall, the RPS budget seeks $201 million from the City of Richmond, or about $16 million more than the current school budget. The board and school administration has been at odds in recent weeks over several budget issues, with the School Board rejecting Mr. Kamras’ budget plan on a 5-4 vote at its meeting on Feb. 22. Then late last week, Board

Chairwoman Shonda HarrisMuhammed said a majority of the board wanted to eliminate RPS’ chief operating officer and the vacant cabinet-level position of chief student wellness officer. Angry parents emailed School Board members during the weekend, demanding

they approve a new budget as well as allow Mr. Kamras to do his job without interference. More than 50 parents, students and area residents held a rally before Monday’s School Board meeting at River City Middle School Please turn to A4

Mr. Kamras

Ms. HarrisMuhammed

Faster legal sales of marijuana snuffed out; Black advocates cheer By Jeremy M. Lazarus

The rush to start legal retail sales of marijuana next September has been snuffed out. With Black advocates cheering them on, five Republican delegates in the General Assembly halted Democratic efforts to push the start of sales to Sept. 15, or at least 16 to 20 months sooner than previously envisioned. Legislation that passed last year called for legal recreational sales to start after January 2024 when a new state regulatory commission finalizes the rules and regulations. The 5-3 party line vote earlier this week in the Republicancontrolled House General Laws subcommittee essentially prevented the advance of the bill by Democratic Sen. Adam P. Ebbin of Alexandria to speed up sales. That’s just fine with a host of Black advocates and organiPlease turn to A4

Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

On a roll for safe schools Harmony McKenzie, 4, makes her presence known as she attends the March to Fund Safe Schools last Saturday with her grandmother, Katina Harris, president of the Richmond Education Association. About 100 people walked from William Fox Elementary School on Hanover Avenue in The Fan to Monroe Park calling for funding to upgrade or replace Virginia’s aging schools. Before the march, Ms. Harris paused to support a bake sale benefiting the Fox School community in the wake of the Feb. 11 fire that destroyed the building. The school opened in 1911. Many of those attending the march called for a new George Wythe High School to replace the decaying school building in South Side that opened in 1960. Harmony attends the pre-school at Mary Scott School in North Side.

Richmond Planet license plate, with its symbol of Black empowerment, may be ready to go July 1 By Jeremy M. Lazarus

A tribute to Black empowerment will be on display on a Virginia license plate for the first time. By overwhelming majorities, the state House of Delegates and Senate have authorized the production of a state license plate bearing a flexed Black bicep sur-

rounded by thunderbolts radiating from a clenched fist. Known as the “Strong Arm,” this was the logo of the Richmond Planet, a weekly newspaper started in Richmond in 1882 by 13 formerly enslaved men. The paper later merged with the Baltimore-based Afro-American newspaper chain in 1938 to become known as the Afro-American

Masks coming off

Masks are coming off in Richmond and around the region. The change is a result of the latest recommendations from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last Friday that eases mask guidelines for about 70 percent of Americans. The CDC is using new metrics to determine whether masks should be worn indoors, including the number of hospitalizations in a locality, hospital capacity and new COVID-19 cases. The change reflecting the view that the nation has entered a potentially less dangerous phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. On Tuesday, the City of Richmond ended its mask mandate for city employees and visitors inside government buildings. Officials citing the CDC’s change in guidance, recommendations of local health officials and a decline in COVID-19’s infection rate in the city as key to the change. Richmond now joins Chesterfield and Henrico counties in relaxing mask mandates for government buildings. Additionally, a new state law took effect Tuesday, March 1, ending mask mandates for Virginia’s public schools. Richmond Public Schools now requires parents or caregivers to formally request that their child opt out of wearing a mask in class by emailing their child’s name and school to COVIDrps@rvaschools.net No reason to opt out of wearing masks needs to be provided. Public schools in Henrico, Chesterfield and Hanover already had adopted maskoptional policies. Federal law still requires masks to ride on school buses or public transportation.

Free COVID-19 testing, vaccines

and Richmond Planet. Passage of the bill is a triumph for Richmond resident Reginald L. Carter. He led a successful social media campaign to generate the support of 450 vehicle owners willing to pre-order the plate recalling the Richmond Planet and its “fighting editor,”

Free community testing for COVID-19 continues. The Richmond and Henrico County health districts are offering testing at the following location: • Friday, March 4, 4 to 6 p.m. - Southwood Pool House, Southwood Parkway and Clarkson Road. All events will provide walk-up testing, though appointments can still be set by calling (804) 205-3501 or going to www. rchd.com Call the Richmond and Henrico COVID-19 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.

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