Meet founder of RVA Community Fun Day
B3
B1
Richmond Free Press © 2019 Paradigm Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.
VOL. 28 NO. 30
Mr. Barnette
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA
Rev. Chandler
www.richmondfreepress.com
ee Fr
Fr ee
Remembering Art Neville
JULY 25-27, 2019
Mr. Harris
‘In need of prayer’ Hanover NAACP turns to faith protest to counter KKK
City Councilwoman Reva M. Trammell registered her protest against new restrictions on City Council members directly contacting city administrative staff by publicly announcing the cell phone numbers of Mayor Levar M. Stoney and other top officials. Her protest came at the end of
faith and Hanover communities, to attend the protest outside the county administration building at 7516 County Complex Road. A note sent by Mr. Barnette to NAACP members asked that they “come with church hymns instead of signs and protest chants” to avoid distracting “from the spirit of the protest.” The plan also called for protesters to move inside the county building for the Hanover Board of Supervisors meeting at 7 p.m. It asked that anyone signed up to speak during the board’s public comment period offer a prayer. Mr. Barnette, however, stated in a later email that protesters were free to follow their own ideas. But, he added, “I feel that this is an effective method of calling attention to the actions of the KKK and the timid response from the chair of the Hanover County Board of Supervisors,” Mr. Barnette stated. “In my opinion, these leaders in Hanover County are in need of prayer to make better decisions and seek the wisdom on how to respond to hate speech.” The Rev. Kevin L. Chandler, president of the Virginia State Conference NAACP, issued a news release earlier this week calling for the Hanover County Board of Supervisors and its chairman, W. Canova A. Peterson, Hanover Sheriff David R. Hines, County Administrator Cecil R. Harris Jr. and other top officials to denounce the Klan’s “displays of hatred and make public announcements that Hanover County will not tolerate these behaviors.” Rev. Chandler and Mr. Barnette expressed concern about the KKK recruitment rally that took place at Hanover Courthouse on the Fourth of July weekend. According to reports, about a dozen members of the North Carolina-based Loyal White Knights of the KKK paraded on public property outside the courthouse, some wearing full KKK regalia of robes and hoods. Rev. Chandler said it was the second time the KKK group had
Please turn to A4
Please turn to A4
By George Copeland
The Hanover County Branch NAACP planned to protest the county’s tepid response to a Ku Klux Klan rally held at the county courthouse earlier this month by praying and singing hymns at a Hanover County Board of Supervisors meeting Wednesday night. The NAACP rally was scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 24, after the deadline for this week’s edition of the Richmond Free Press. Robert N. Barnette Jr., president of the Hanover NAACP, stated in an email Tuesday that he expected members of the civil rights organization, as well as members of the
Ms. Trammell
Reva rebels
Councilwoman gives out city officials’ cell phone numbers By Jeremy M. Lazarus
Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press
Shawn Brooks, 13, of Henrico takes a boxer’s stance during a recent weeklong boxing camp for young people at Cherry Pick’d Boxing & Fitness on North Side. The camp was sponsored by two nonprofits, Breaking Barriers and First Contractors Inc.
Cherry Pick’d yields crops of good fighters, people By Fred Jeter
Cherry Pick’d Boxing & Fitness is where young people go to work up a sweat, release frustrations and get a handle on life. It’s official address is 2300 N. Lombardy St. in the city’s North Side. But considering the gym’s mission, a more apropos address might be at the intersection of High Hopes and Second Chances. “We’re all about betterment,” said Tony Cherry, the head coach and financier of the project. “We deal with many at-risk kids, some even with ankle bracelets. But we’re into producing good fighters and good people.” Results are encouraging on both fronts.
For those interested in signing up, Cherry Pick’d is directly across the street from Virginia Union University’s Barco-Stevens Hall. Mr. Cherry said he’ll keep the light on for you, but come prepared. Training takes place in a no-frills building with two garage doors left wide open to assist with ventilation. Before it was a boxing gym, it was a small factory for manufacturing picnic tables. All of the tangible essentials are available to become a pugilist — weight-lifting apparatus, treadmills, elliptical machines, heavy bags, speed bags and maize bags. There’s a rubbery, bouncy floor, which is easier on young legs. That gear doesn’t exercise itself, however. It’s the Please turn to A4
Conservative school rezoning calls for no closures in city
The work of the committee — made up of two community members from each City Council North of the James River, Richmond appears district along with several administration and to have too many school buildings and could School Board members — essentially is the easily close one high school, a middle school and first phase of the process that is to culminate at least one elementary school in Church Hill. with board approval of the zones that would Meanwhile, in South Side, Richmond Public go into effect in the fall of 2020, when a new Schools will be short at least one elementary school middle school and two new elementary schools even after a new 1,000-student E.S.H. Greene are to open. Mr. Kamras Elementary School opens in September 2020. The committee is to meet again 6 to 8 p.m. That’s the picture emerging from the data on school capac- Tuesday, July 30, at Thomas Jefferson High School. ity and enrollment now posted on the RPS website. The data Committee members are mulling over the data that, for was issued last month to the 24-member schools’ Rezoning example, show that the three high schools north of the Advisory Committee that is charged with recommending to river, Armstrong, Thomas Jefferson and John Marshall, can the Richmond School Board changes in attendance zones accommodate a combined total of 3,773 students, but are for the city’s 25 elementary schools, eight middle schools Please turn to A4 and five comprehensive high schools. By Jeremy M. Lazarus
City Council appoints leaders of Coliseum advisory commission By Jeremy M. Lazarus
Two Richmond residents with extensive experience in development have been named to lead an advisory commission to review the $1.4 billion proposal to replace the Richmond Coliseum. City Council voted to appoint Pierce R. Homer, a former state secretary of transMr. Homer portation for two Virginia governors with a track record of involvement in public and private development projects, and John Gerner, a leisure industry consultant who has worked on international projects, to lead the future nine-member Navy Hill Development Advisory Commission. City Council named Mr. Homer, who lives in North Side, as chairman, and Mr. Gerner, who lives in Church Hill, as vice chair.
The appointments came Monday, during the council’s meeting at which the governing body also approved sweeping changes to zoning in Downtown and North Side and also honored former Commonwealth’s Attorney Michael N. Herring, outgoing Richmond International Airport President and CEO John Mathiasen and volunteers engaged in restoring historic Evergreen Mr. Gerner Cemetery in the East End. Mr. Homer and Mr. Gerner, who were not present for the vote, still need to be sworn in to begin their work. Once sworn in, the two would then nominate and send for approval to the council the names of the seven other people to serve on the Please turn to A4
Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press
Former Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Michael N. Herring looks over the certificate of appreciation he received from City Council on Monday as Council President Cynthia I. Newbille lauds his work as the city’s top prosecutor for 13 years. Mr. Herring, who was first elected in 2005, stepped down July 1.