Priceless Vol 14 Number 1


Norfolk State University's Founders Day


Personal and Professional Empowerment www.hamptonroadsmessenger.com


Serving Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Suffolk, and Virginia Beach since 2006 Gamma


Upsilon Omega Chapter of AKA Celebrates 75 Years


Page 9


Urban League CEO Appointed by EVMS, and Virginia Governor


Page 10


Free October 2019


Hampton University Student Wins $5,000


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Congressional Black Caucus Continues to Energize Conference Attendees


Virginia Governor Ralph Northam BY HRM EDITORIAL BOARD


On February 1, 2019,


after the discovery of blackface and Klansmen regalia memorialized on his Eastern Virginia


Medical “racist” School


(EVMS) yearbook page, Governor Ralph Northam apologized for what people are calling


photos.


Inanimate objects cannot be racist, only people with power can be racists.


Virginia’s Governor announced new


On February 8, 2019 appointments


to administration. his Listed among


those 18 names was Gilbert Bland, CEO of the Urban League


of Hampton Roads.


Bland was appointed to serve on the Board of Trustees of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.


Most recently, on August


30, 2019, Northam appointed Bland to serve on the Virginia African Board.


American Advisory Some viewed Bland’s appointments shortly after the


ULHR President Gilbert Bland


Blackface/KKK scandal as a conflict of interest because he is the president of the Urban League


of Hampton Roads,


a "nonpartisan" nonprofit organization. Others view his appointments


Advisory Board. as a problem


because on February 4, it was announced that Bland was also appointed to serve on the EVMS Community


He is the chairman. Dr. L.D. Britt, the Henry Ford Professor of Surgery and Edward J. Brickhouse Chair in Surgery at Eastern Virginia Medical School, also serves on the same EVMS community board,


advisory although it has been


called an “external” board. EVMS hired a firm to


investigate after the yearbook scandal. The purpose was “To maintain the public’s trust and ensure an independent and objective


assessment of the


past,” EVMS President Richard Homan, M.D. stated. “We knew we needed outside assistance.”


URBAN LEAGUE PAGE 4


Health Opinion Education


This Edition’s Highlights 11


Initiative Serves Women to Prevent Cancer Nice, France: The rest of the story Student Debt Threatens Our Nation's Future


Hampton Roads Upcoming Events Scholarships Watch


Hampton NAACP Hosts Awards Banquet


Hampton University Football ACLS Medical School Scholarship


4 5


13 2


10 BY HUD.GOV


JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI - Secretary Ben Carson, on behalf of the White House Opportunity


and Revitalization Council,


announced a new website that will serve as a hub of information for the array of audiences that work with the Opportunity Zones initiative. Visit the Opportunity Zones website.


Members of the Congressional Black Caucus and other attendees pose after the Phoenix Awards Dinner during the 49th Annual Legislative Conference in Washington, DC.


Photo by HRM Staff BY ANGELA JONES The Congressional Black Caucus held


its 49th Annual Legislative Conference in September. As usual, the conference offered something special for everyone who attended. From workshops to private receptions, it was difficult to choose which events to attend because the conference was chock full of interesting


options. Congresswomen Ilhan


Omar (D-MN), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), spoke at a “Breaking the Glass Ceiling” event that may have been attended by just as many men as women.


In addition to new events, including a private awards reception hosted by the Haitian embassy, yearly staples like the Vendor Fair, the HBCU College Fair, the Black Party, the Prayer Breakfast and the Phoenix Awards Dinner, continued to please the crowd of attendees.


Reverend Al Sharpton gave an inspiring


speech as he accepted the Foundation’s Harold Washington Award at the dinner. “If we build economic entities and turn these BLACK CAUCUS PAGE 4


Opportunity and Revitalization Council Introduces Opportunityzones.gov


Opportunity Zone residents, State and local leaders, investors, and entrepreneurs can all utilize the website to get the latest information


about the


actions of President Trump’s White House Opportunity and Revitalization


initiative and the Council.


Secretary Ben Carson serves as chairman of the Council, which is led by Executive Director Scott Turner.


The Opportunity Zones website includes an interactive map of the 8,764 Opportunity Zones nationwide; links to the Opportunity Zone-focused website of each State and Territory; comprehensive Federal tools and resources that support Opportunity Zone residents and complement Qualified Opportunity


Fund investments; and the


completed action items of each White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council member agency.


"Working together, we are unleashing a wave of investment, innovation, and OPPORTUNITY ZONES PAGE 4


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