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Personality: Rebecca Cornett Massey
Spotlight on VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center Advisory Board chair
Rebecca “Becky” Cornett Massey describe herself as being enthusiastic and a teammate. When hearing the new chair of the VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center Advisory Board discuss the center’s role in the Richmond community, her enthusiasm in being part of the center’s team is evident.
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Joe Jackson was admired by some, detested by others
When Joe Jackson, the patriarch and architect behind the musical Jackson family dynasty died on June 27, some media organizations focused on the negative stories. However, at least one Richmonder who found his own success in show business, remembers the 89-year-old Mr. Jackson in a more positive light. “Joe Jackson was one of the greatest fathers of all time,” said Steve K. Branch, a former concert promoter and nightclub owner.
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George Floyd Hologram Memorial brings new light, tribute to Monument Avenue
Hundreds of people gathered at the Robert E. Lee statue on Monument Avenue on Tuesday night to hear the family of George Floyd and their attorney Benjamin Crump speak and to witness the unveiling of a new hologram in tribute to Mr. Floyd.
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VSU alumni, faculty and students have much to celebrate this ‘homecoming’
Virginia State University’s first homecoming since 2019 likely will be a landmark in many ways, returning to the campus this year amid a surge in interest and enrollments in historically black colleges and universities locally and nationally.
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RPS employee acquitted
The former director of an after-school program at Fox Elementary School has been acquitted of assault and battery of an unruly second-grader in the program.
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Serena Williams loses at U.S. Open
Maybe someday in the distant future, Serena Williams will look back and be proud of herself for making it to the final at four of the first seven Grand Slam tournaments she played in after having a baby. But not right now.
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Like the swastika, Confederate flag stands for hate
I am getting sick and tired of hearing people complaining about taking down the Confederate flag at the South Carolina statehouse. What is it with these people always crying the blues over that flag and the fact the South lost the war 150 years ago?
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City election problems should raise alarms
Election Day 2020 has come and gone. Overall, the election occurred without a hitch. The same cannot be said for the City of Richmond. Issues that arose included precincts reporting the wrong vote counts, City Council candidates allocated the wrong vote totals, individual voters receiving numerous ballots — the list goes on.
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James Brown’s ‘Funky Drummer’ Clyde Stubblefield dies at 73
Clyde Stubblefield, a drummer for James Brown who created one of the most widely sampled drum breaks ever, died Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017.
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Hillary Clinton has ‘best plans to tackle the challenges’
Last week, I was proud to join the majority of members of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus to express my support for Hillary Clinton.
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Richmond 7th District School Board race
For Broderick, the key is organizing priorities for limited resources; Burke attributes success on board to experience, engaging the community; Robertson seeks to expand ESL classes, trauma-informed care for RPS students
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VEA president learns a hard lesson about COVID-19
Dr. James J. Fedderman is a career educator, but he’s learned more than he cares to know about COVID-19.
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Saving officers, distrusting police
When officers who’d been shot by a sniper in downtown Dallas started showing up at Parkland Memorial Hospital, trauma surgeon Dr. Brian H. Williams went to work, pushing aside the inner conflict he faces every day as a black man who’s fearful himself when encountering police.
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Community turns out to mourn Alicia Rasin
God chose Alicia Rasin to serve the city’s poor, forgotten and downtrodden. That was the message the Rev. Leonidas Young II passionately delivered to hundreds of people who attended the funeral service Saturday for Ms. Rasin at Saint Paul’s Baptist Church in Henrico County.
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New TV show ‘Johnson’ offers glimpse into Black male perspective
Deji LaRay remembered when television shows like “Sex in the City” and “Insecure” captured the essence of friendships among women, but then realized hardly any male-driven stories were being told in the same manner.
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Judge Jenkins brings message of redemption to Garland Ave. Baptist Men’s Day
Richmond Circuit Court Chief Judge Clarence N. Jenkins Jr. encouraged his fellow congregation members to get “a spiritual tuneup” during a Men’s Day address Sunday at Garland Avenue Baptist Church on North Side. His remarks were delivered on Palm Sunday, which Christians annually celebrate in marking Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem shortly before his crucifixion at Calvary.
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Area colleges spring for virtual commencement ceremonies for the Class of 2020
Marchelle Williams has worked hard as a graduate student for the past two years in Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Social Work. The 25-year-old Fredericksburg native was looking forward to that traditional special moment capping her latest achievement – walking across the stage during commencement to receive her master’s degree.
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Personality: Kathryn ‘Katie’ Hamann
Spotlight on chair of Alzheimer’s Association of Greater Richmond
Kathryn Ayn “Katie” Hamann is dedicated to raising awareness about Alzheimer’s disease. Her volunteer efforts with the Alzheimer’s Association of Greater Richmond began 13 years ago. That’s when, through her work with Door to Door Solutions, a company specializing in helping senior citizens to relocate, she realized many families are dealing with a loved one with dementia.
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JANE RUGGLES, Open High School, 4.9483 GPA. Attending the University of Virginia in Charlottesville in the fall, where she plans to major in biology and …
Published on May 28, 2020
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Who gets to play?, by Julianne Malveaux
As summer winds down, and folks start rushing back to school or work, the memories of their vacations perhaps sustain them when, after Labor Day, the business of fall quickly engulfs them. There’s that Gershwin song from Porgy & Bess, “Sum- mertime and the Living is Easy,” record- ed more than 25,000 times with artists as diverse as Ella Fitzgerald and Willie Nelson. There’s that no-caring vibe that so many exude. Summer feels like, “Let’s go out to play.” Which begs the question: Who gets to play? In the European Union, workers get 20 days a year for vacation. Stores are nearly deserted in Paris this August because people have time off! In contrast, the average worker gets just 11 days of vacation in the United States. If they’ve worked in corporate America, the average worker gets just one week and has to work for up to five years before getting even two weeks. Many think educators get the summer off, and some faculty have the summer for research and preparation. But many K-12 teachers are paid so little that summer is when many of them get their side hustle on. Some teachers are driving for ride- share companies such as Uber and Lyft. Others have lined up consulting, tutoring, or other assignments. The other day, I had a ride with a math teacher who said his salary was too low to sustain his family. During Julianne Malveaux the summer, he clocks 12-hour days into ride-sharing. He’s one of the millions who don’t get to come out to play. Then there are the people who cobble a living working two or three part-time jobs. More than 8 million people have multiple jobs. Who knows what kind of juggling they are doing? Do any of their jobs provide them with vacations? When do they unplug? Reflect? Spend time with family or simply get to exhale? Just like everything else in our society, leisure is unevenly distributed. Those with more means and more access have more opportunities to play. Those who are simply surviving don’t have playtime, reflection time, or other downtime. The European Union edict that everyone, regardless of where they sit on the economic totem pole, gets 20 days a year off is an egalitarian recognition of the human right to relax. We in the United States are not as far along. Instead of rewarding labor with time off, we exploit workers in as many ways as possible, extracting surplus value from their work. There is little data on leisure, so most of my thoughts are in- terpretations and extrapolations. But as I listen to people wax rhapsodic about their vacations, their “happy places,” the wind and the sun and the beaches, I can’t help but think of those who don’t get time to enjoy wind, sun and beach. Summer is a time when many come out to play. What happens to those who don’t have that opportunity? Do they live in Langston Hughes’dream deferred? Do they dry up like a raisin in the sun, fester like a sore, and then run? Do they sag like a heavy load? Do they explode? In a growing number of American cities, workers are exploding, striking and demand- ing more money and more days off. It’s about time. Dr. Julianne Malveaux is an economist, author, commentator and activist.
