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Richmond Free Press © 2017 Paradigm Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.
VOL. 26 NO. 51
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA
www.richmondfreepress.com
December 21-23, 2017
The gift of family By Ronald E. Carrington
Emanuel “Manny” Browder has a different Christmas song to sing, as joy has been brought into his world. The 11-year-old has the gift of a “forever family,” an adoptive family of two parents and a little sister, and now stability and love. It is his second Christmas with his new family and his happiness is nearly tangible and pretty contagious. “Awesome” is his favorite word, which he uses to describe himself — “Mr. Awesome” — the coming holiday, his new life and his permanent family that adopted him at age 9. “They think I’m awesome,” he says of his parents, Karen and Latisha Browder, and his 6-year-old sister, Sequoia, who rounds out the brood. “They love me, and they want to take care of me. That’s pretty much all,” he said, smiling at his family during an interview last week at UMFS, the former United Methodist Family Services in Richmond that provides foster care and residential services to youngsters.
To Manny, family is more important than presents under a tree. He had been in foster care for two years before being placed for a trial weekend with the Browders, who were looking to adopt a child. “We wanted another child, and Sequoia wanted an older sibling,” Karen Browder recalls. “It’s really a better way to do it than looking into foster care. We found UMFS and went through their process.” UMFS asked a ton of questions, the Browders said, because they want to make sure they are matching youngsters with good families. “They asked us what type of children did we think would fit into our home, what types of personalities did we think would fit,” Ms. Browder said. While the couple initially thought they wanted to adopt a girl to grow up with Sequoia, their only child, they fell in love with Manny, who UMFS officials thought would be a good fit.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs to buy NFL team? Free Press staff, wire report
“They love me, and they want to take care of me. That’s pretty much all.”
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Ronald E. Carrington/Richmond Free Press
Emanuel “Manny” Browder, 11, is looking forward to his second Christmas with his adopted family. They are parents, Latisha, standing, and Karen Browder and sister, Sequoia, 6.
Could the “emperor of hiphop” be preparing to inject some color into the whites-only ranks of NFL football team owners? That appears to be the deal. Sean “Diddy” Combs, ranked as the biggest impresario of contemporary rhythm and blues and pop music, has his eyes on that prize. On Sunday, he issued signals on social media that he is planning to jump into the expected bidding war for the NFL’s Carolina Panthers. And he suggested that he would hire Colin Kaepernick, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback who started a national wave and was blackballed after taking a knee during the pregame Please turn to A4
Virginia elections commissioner responds to voter suppression claims By Jeremy M. Lazarus
the individual is moved from active to inactive status. The commissioner of the Virginia An inactive voter remains on the state’s Department of Elections agrees there is rolls through two federal elections and is plenty of reason to criticize Crosscheck, an purged only if he or she did not show any interstate data system that allows participat- voter activity during that period. ing states to ensure that voters do “We follow the National not have duplicate registrations Voter Registration Act and the to vote in other states. Code of Virginia,” Mr. Cortés But in response to a comsaid. mentary published in the Free He said Virginia participates Press Dec. 14-16 edition callin Crosscheck because the state ing on Gov. Terry McAuliffe does not have to pay a fee to to dump Crosscheck, Edgardo match its data and because at Cortés defended Virginia’s efleast 27 states use the system to forts to use the data carefully Mr. Cortés match data. He said those states and cautiously. check at least 110 million records “Last year, we received about 330,000 a year to help avoid duplication. Ava Reaves records through Crosscheck indicating However, Crosscheck is just one tool. duplicate registrations,” he said. “But He said Virginia and its local voter only about 10 percent turned out to be registrars, who are key figures in ensuring Quintus Ferguson IV, 18 months, gazes with wide-eyed wonder as he poses with Soul Santa at the valid after going through the confirmaBlack History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia. The museum in Jackson Ward has sponsored tion process.” Please turn to A4 the legendary Soul Santa’s trips from the North Pole for more than a decade. The authors of the commentary, Richmond radio talk show host Gary Flowers, who serves on the National Commission for Voter Justice, and freelance journalist Greg Palast, cited a Rolling Stone magazine report indicating that 41,637 voters were removed from voter rolls in 2013 based on faulty Crosscheck data. Mr. Cortés, who became commissioner in 2014, said the criticism ignores the checks that have been put in place since By Jeremy M. Lazarus years have rushed to defend that a congressman made then to ensure that voters who are identihis reputation. an inappropriate comment fied via Crosscheck as having a duplicate She sought to drop a Ms. Everson, a 32-yearbut never touched her. registration actually have left Virginia. bombshell. old non-practicing lawyer In a recent TV interview, While some states treat Crosscheck Instead, Marsheri Reese who self-published a book she spoke about being propodata like gospel, Virginia does not, Mr. Everson appears to have on sexual harassment in sitioned, but said nothing Cortés said. completely fizzled with 2015, claimed during a about being touched. “The data from Crosscheck requires her claim that veteran Virnews conference that Rep. In a press conference last significant handling to determine what ginia Congressman Robert Scott propositioned her for week with attorney Jack data is usable and what data is not us- C. “Bobby” Scott, D-3rd, sex and touched her inapBurkman, the GOP lobbyist, able,” he said in a Free Press interview sexually harassed her when propriately as she worked she claimed that she was this week. she worked in his office more in his office through a Conpropositioned and touched “Crosscheck data is prone to false than four years ago. gressional Black Caucus inappropriately. positives since the initial matching is only Since Ms. Everson levFoundation fellowship. As importantly, the conconducted using first name, last name and eled the charge last Friday She said that she quickly gressman’s calendar for May date of birth,” he said. in the company of a Re“fled” his office to get 20, 2013, the date Ms. EverHe said voters who are affected are not publican attorney and lobaway, but ended up being son alleges that he proposiRep. Scott Ms. Everson automatically purged from Virginia’s rolls byist known for embracing fired from a later fellowtioned her, shows Rep. Scott as the two authors suggested. conspiracy theories, doubt has been raised about ship position with a congressional committee and spent much of the day away in Newport News He said once a person is flagged as her credibility. blackballed for refusing the advances. and then returned to Washington to manage two potentially registered in another state, his Meanwhile, Rep. Scott has denied the allegaBut since 2015, Ms. Everson has told at least bills on the floor of the House of Representatives department mails the person a letter seek- tions. And women who have known or worked three different versions of events. In her book, ing confirmation. If there is no response, with the Newport News congressman through the she did not identify Rep. Scott, stating simply Please turn to A4
Christmas wishes
Questions, doubt about credibility of Rep. Robert C. Scott’s accuser