The Six-Triple Eight; Virginia’s Shaboozey Performs with Beyonce; New Leadership at Crusade for Voters; First Baptist in Rocky Mount to Honor Black Union Soldiers
🚩 Kwanzaa begins today.
🚩 8 days until the 119th Congress is sworn in on Jan. 3, 2025.
🚩 13 days until the Virginia General Assembly convenes on Jan. 8, 2025.
🚩 25 days until the Martin Luther King Holiday on Jan. 20, 2025.
🚩 25 days until Inauguration Day on Jan. 20, 2025.
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Richmond Crusade for Voters Announces New Leadership
This month the Richmond Crusade for Voters announced new leadership. The Richmond Crusade for Voters has announced new leadership for the 2025-2026 term. The newly elected officers were installed on Tuesday, Dec. 17.
The new leadership team is: President is Bryce Robertson, Attorney, 1st Vice President is Robert Lester, Civic Engagement Coordinator, 2nd Vice President is Maurice Neblett, Community Organizer & former Mayoral Candidate, the Financial Secretary is Dr. Joann Henry, Business Owner, Dream Academy, Inc, the new Treasurer is Janet Orraca, Experienced Business Director, reelected to Parliamentarian is Alex Taylor, Attorney, Sgt. at Arms is John Dixon, former Petersburg Police Chief & former RCV President, and Former Educator, Delores Murray was reelected to Chaplain.
“I believe the crusade has elected a fantastic group of leaders who will take the organization forward to achieve its mission,” nominating committee Chair, Bernice Travers stated after the Crusade’s new leaders were announced.
The Richmond Crusade for Voters, founded in 1956, is the nation’s oldest African American Voting Rights organization. Their purpose is to increase the voting strength of the African-American population in the City of Richmond and to improve the moral, social, economic, educational, and general welfare of all people by establishing voter registration and voter education programs and evaluating candidates for office.
First Baptist Church in Rocky Mount to Host Monument to Black Union Soldiers
Cardinal News: This holiday season, Rocky Mount’s Raising the Shade monument committee and the Franklin County NAACP have an extra-special reason to celebrate: First Baptist Church has opened its arms to the project.
A year from now, a monument to the county’s 70 Black soldiers who fought for the U.S. in the Civil War will be unveiled at the church’s historic location in downtown Rocky Mount. READ ENTIRE
The Six-Triple Eight
A screening of the film The Six-Triple Eight took place on Dec. 10, at the Beaty Theater at U.S. Army Fort Gregg-Adams in Prince George’s County, Virginia. The Six Triple Eight tells the story of the only Black female unit to serve overseas in World War II — the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion.
The Six Triple Eight organized and routed 17 million pieces of undelivered mail to Army service members and their families in three months. The mail to and from soldiers and the families had been previously left undelivered by the U.S. Army. The 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 2022 by Congress.
The film was directed by Tyler Perry and is now at the top of the viewing charts on Netflix. Fort Gregg-Adams was previously named after confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in 1950. On August 8, 2022, a name change was proposed and the fort was renamed Fort Gregg-Adams after Lieutenant General Arthur J. Gregg, who grew up in Newport News, and Lieutenant Colonel Charity Adams Earley.
Lt. Col. Earley was the first Black woman to be an officer in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (later WACs) and was the commanding officer of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion. Earley is portrayed in Tyler Perry’s movie by actress Kerry Washington.
The 6888th was made up of 855 women. The group motto was No mail, low morale.
Virginia’s Shaboozey Performs with Beyonce During Christmas NFL Halftime
Fairfax county singer/songwriter Collins Chibueze, known by a nickname given to him by a high school coach and his stage name, Shaboozey, performed alongside Beyonce on Christmas during halftime of the Ravens v. Texans game in Houston. Beyonce collaborated with Shaboozey on her country album Cowboy Carter.
Shaboozey, 29, was born and raised in Woodbridge and graduated from Gar-Field Senior High School. His song Tipsy from his third album Where I've Been, Isn't Where I'm Going spent nineteen weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100. Tipsy tied the record for being the longest running Hot 100 number-one song ever. In keeping with his Virginia roots, the album also includes a song entitled East of the Massanutten.
Deion Sanders Encourages Michael Vick
On Monday, Dec. 23, Michael Vick, who is from Newport News, was officially introduced as the new head football coach at Norfolk State. Another coach gave some encouragement:
Reading List
1- Framed: Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions by John Grisham and Jim McCloskey (Oct. 2024)
2- Positive, Successful, Stylish Black People Coloring Book (2024)
3- When Mayor Doug Wilder Ruled Richmond: Strong-Arm Politics in Virginia's Capital City by Linwoood Norman (Aug. 2024)
4- Rumor, Repression, and Racial Politics: How the Harassment of Black Elected Officials Shaped Post-Civil Rights America (Since 1970: Histories of Contemporary America) by George Derek Musgrove
5- Son of Virginia, A Life in America's Political Arena (2015) by L. Douglas Wilder
6- The New Jim Crow (2010) by Michelle Alexander
7- Remaking Virginia Politics by Paul Goldman (Jan. 2022)
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