Hurricane relief efforts for the Bahamas A6
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VOL. 28 NO. 37
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA
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Meet board chair of Young Women’s Christian League B1
SEPTEMBER 12-14, 2019
Life interrupted
Kitchen fire throws Richmond family into upheaval, uncertainty By Jeremy M. Lazarus
Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press
Janice F. Lewis, left, and her sister, Celieto L. Lewis, stand beside their vehicle, which now doubles as their bedroom. The sisters have been homeless since Aug. 23, when the house they were renting was condemned after a kitchen fire.
It just took a small fire on the stove on Aug. 23 to upend the lives of sisters Celieto L. and Janice F. Lewis. Both in their 60s, they have few resources and are now homeless after their rented home in South Side was condemned after the fire. Also caring for two grandchildren, a greatgrandchild and a cat, their sleeping quarters is their vehicle, a 2002 Chrysler Town and Country SUV they cannot afford to replace. Their tale of woe, unfortunately, is not unusual in a city where one in four people live in poverty and another 25 percent have household incomes below the city’s median of about $43,000 a year. One of the biggest barriers to stability within families and in employment involves an unexpected event that creates unforeseen bills that overwhelm a household’s resources. It just takes the breakdown of a car, an injury, the illness of a child, a death in the family or another situation, according to workers for social services agencies and nonprofits who hear such stories every day from people desperate for assistance. Neither the government nor nonprofits such as the Community Foundation, the United Way or area faith groups have created a fund to provide bailout money for people who have run through their money and do not have a backup plan to deal with emergencies. Food pantries and clothes closets can assist with some of the problems families face, but sometimes people just need cash to resolve their difficulties. The Lewises’housing problem is compounded by other challenges, including the pregnancy of a granddaughter, who is about to give birth. The Please turn to A4
Coliseum review panel stalled after attempt to add VUU president By Jeremy M. Lazarus
New twists occurred this week in the ongoing saga of the Navy Hill District Corp. proposal to replace the Richmond Coliseum. On the political front, a five-member majority of City Council forced at least a twoweek delay in the formation of an advisory commission that is to spend 90 days reviewing the proposal. They did so by rejecting a proposed slate of seven people to join the commission that already
has an approved Board. He also offered chair and vice chair, a compromise plan to and insisting that the Richmond Circuit the president of VirCourt to work with the ginia Union Unicity voter registrar to versity be named as check 2,079 petition one of the members signatures he claims of the panel despite were wrongly rejected Dr. Hakim J. Lucas’ in violation of state Dr. Lucas public endorsement law and the U.S. and of the project Virginia constitutions. On the legal front, Paul GoldAt City Council’s informal man, the leader of a drive to meeting on Monday, Councilget an advisory referendum on man Michael J. Jones, 9th the ballot so voters can register District, and Councilwoman their opinion, got a little help Ellen F. Robertson, 6th District, from the Richmond Electoral led the push to seat Dr. Lucas
What color is love?
Virginia couples challenge state law requiring race on marriage license application By Matthew Barakat Associated Press
ALEXANDRIA Three couples planning to get married in Virginia have filed a federal lawsuit challenging a state requirement that they disclose their race on their marriage application. Civil rights lawyer Victor Glasberg, who filed the lawsuit Sept. 5 in Alexandria, said the requirement is a vestige of Virginia’s Jim Crow laws and that Virginia is one of only eight states requiring marriage applicants to disclose their race. One Virginia county, Rockbridge County, provided a list of more than 200 potential races to a couple that questioned the requirement. It included “American,” “Aryan,” “Moor” and “Mulatto,” according to the lawsuit. Brandyn Churchill, 27, who plans to marry Sophie Rogers next month, said he was flabbergasted when the Rockbridge clerk’s office presented him with the list, which he said illustrates how ridiculous the requirement is.
“How is this on a piece of paper from a government agency?” Mr. Churchill asked when he saw “Mulatto” and “Aryan” on the list. The Rockbridge County Circuit Court clerk, who is named as a defendant in the lawsuit, did not return calls seeking comment. In Arlington County, bride-to-be Ashley Ramkishun said she was told that if she objected to listing a specific race, she could list “other.” “We’re not others. We’re human beings,” she said. While local court clerks may differ in how they ask the question, the requirement to disclose race is a state law. Paul Ferguson, circuit clerk of Arlington County, said he can “certainly understand why that question could make someone uncomfortable” and that he would be willing to forward an application to the state that leaves the race question unanswered. Fundamentally, though, state officials Please turn to A4
on the Coliseum review panel based on the claim that the recommended slate included only three black members — not enough in their view. The push came even though Dr. Jones and Ms. Robertson previously joined the rest of council to install two white men to lead the commission, former state Transportation Secretary Pierce Homer and entertainment project consultant John Gerner. Neither Dr. Jones nor Ms. Robertson — or anyone else on City Council —proposed an African-American to serve as chair or vice chair of the commission. Dr. Jones and Ms. Robertson lobbied for Dr. Lucas’ inclusion on the commission after receiving calls on behalf of Dr. Lucas from a group of 20 black pastors of Richmond churches, most of whom live outside the city, including the leader, the Rev. F. Todd Gray of Fifth Street Baptist Church. Please turn to A4
Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press
High flier Kyan Nixon, 9, races to head off a hard landing by the kite launched by his mother, Jess Nixon, during the low winds last Saturday at the World Heritage Festival and Festival of Kites on Brown’s Island in Downtown. The waterfront festival drew kite fliers, a variety of artists and vendors offering wares and representatives of nonprofit and other organizations offering information.
Gov. Northam appoints ‘diversity czar,’ boards in upholding promise after blackface scandal tematic inequities” and use feedback from state workers, community leaders, business groups Dr. Janice Underwood will be the state’s first and others to generate policy initiatives, he “diversity czar.” stated in adding Dr. Underwood to Gov. Ralph S. Northam on Monday his leadership team. tapped the former director of diversity Dr. Underwood’s appointment initiatives at Old Dominion University follows Gov. Northam naming 18 to serve as the new state director of other people to the state’s first diversity, equity and inclusion that he African-American Advisory Board created as part of his efforts to recover that is to make recommendations on from a blackface scandal. issues important to the community — Dr. Underwood has been tasked similar to existing advisory boards with developing a framework “to Dr. Underwood for Latinos and Asians. promote inclusive practices” in hiring and The governor also named nine legal experts policy development in state government, the to a separate Commission to Examine Racial governor stated. She also is to create a plan to “address sysPlease turn to A4 By Jeremy M. Lazarus