WELCOME TO THE NEW "ILLUMINATING SOLUTIONS" NEWSLETTER
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016
what DETERMINES YOUR OUTCOME in this LIFE?
Unveiling of the Richmond 34 Marker by Ford T. Johnson, Jr. | photo by Tonya Rice
Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's are already upon us. Some of us are frantically running about trying to be a part of these monthly festivities we did not plan. So much has occurred since the last newsletter. As many of you know, I was honored to be a part of The Richmond 34, a group of 11 women and 23 men who were college students fully aware of injustice in our surroundings in 1960. We were so happy to be acknowledged by the state of Virginia in a major way. More about this is discussed later in this newsletter. There is more and more injustice coming to the surface of this nation. Black lives, Blue lives, White lives, all lives matter. These lives are not separate and apart from each other. Each group wants respect and to be acknowledged as important. Half of the year has gone leaving us to ponder the question: Did we do our part to let our light shine in the lives we led in service to this wonderful world we live in? As we take the pulse of the nation we find it in a massive uproar in so many areas of concern. We have gone through one Presidential and one Vice-Presidential primary debate to decide the election of those persons to run for the office of the President and Vice President of the United States. One more debate in October for the presidential nominees before the big election which will take place in November. It has been one of the most controversial primaries in history and will prove to be an election with diverse opinions from Democratic, Independent and Republican voters, hopefully in a peaceful non-violent manner. Please make your vote count. Please get out and vote in November.
The BPOS Foundation has since 2004, coordinated the efforts and memory of the Richmond 34, a group of 34 students from Virginia Union University who on February 22, 1960 were arrested for staging a Sit-In at the Thalhimers Department Store in Richmond, Virginia on Broad Street. It was this June 28, 2016, when what happened 56 years ago, was acknowledged and remembered. A dedication ceremony for a historical marker presented by the state of Virginia, placed on the very grounds where Thalhimers once stood, was presented with a few of the Richmond 34 that could come in attendance. Many city officials, professors, teachers, friends and residents were elated to finally see this event of 1960 recognized with the physical presence and dedication of a huge steel historical marker securely placed on Broad Street to be seen and remembered for years to come.
Recently I have reached out to the new president of Virginia Union University, Dr. Joseph F. Johnson and Chief Alfred Durham, chief of police of the City of Richmond, to plan a city-wide event in 2017 highlighting the non-violent efforts of the police in 1960 and the new and improved efforts under Chief Durham's current tenure to stop violence and to bring peace to this city. This planned event will work with the participation and cooperation of new, excited VUU students and other metro students who have never marched non-violently along with concerned citizens before. We want to participate in a peaceful march from Lombardy Street for those who can and others who can't to meet us downtown in the area where the historic marker is located on 6th and Broad street near CenterStage, former site of Thalhimers Department Store. We will Stand Out with the students, police, and citizens for a non-violent, peaceful, loving and progressive city in the entire Metro Area. We pray for the planned event and its success.
The purpose of the BPOS Foundation, a non-profit organization, is to find solutions to situations we meet in our daily lives that need to be solved and to do it in an amicable way by spreading our light in such a way that it infects others. The crisis we have been experiencing in our nation and communities needs to be addressed. Unrest in our communities due to poverty, lack of a plan to educate by instilling positive values in old and young by first teaching those who want more to read and write as they communicate to better themselves.
As our BPOS slogan states: We must be Positive about our Past, Passionate about our Present and Proactive about our future. We must bring dignity back to the least of us. The loss of lives, and what could have been, is something that has to be addressed by everyone. No one is exempt from improving or serving mankind and making it a better place. We all can do our part where we are. It is never too late to implement a good idea, to talk to someone who can show leadership to make a good dream a great reality.
It is not too late to work with infinite intelligence to get what you want, but you must have a serious consistent relationship with God. Find your quiet time to meditate or reflect on God’s goodness in your life. Set your goals and expect success as your Light shines during these serious months ahead.
What determines your outcome in Life? It is as you and God will it!!
The BPOS Foundation has since 2004, coordinated the efforts and memory of the Richmond 34, a group of 34 students from Virginia Union University who on February 22, 1960 were arrested for staging a Sit-In at the Thalhimers Department Store in Richmond, Virginia on Broad Street. It was this June 28, 2016, when what happened 56 years ago, was acknowledged and remembered. A dedication ceremony for a historical marker presented by the state of Virginia, placed on the very grounds where Thalhimers once stood, was presented with a few of the Richmond 34 that could come in attendance. Many city officials, professors, teachers, friends and residents were elated to finally see this event of 1960 recognized with the physical presence and dedication of a huge steel historical marker securely placed on Broad Street to be seen and remembered for years to come.
Recently I have reached out to the new president of Virginia Union University, Dr. Joseph F. Johnson and Chief Alfred Durham, chief of police of the City of Richmond, to plan a city-wide event in 2017 highlighting the non-violent efforts of the police in 1960 and the new and improved efforts under Chief Durham's current tenure to stop violence and to bring peace to this city. This planned event will work with the participation and cooperation of new, excited VUU students and other metro students who have never marched non-violently along with concerned citizens before. We want to participate in a peaceful march from Lombardy Street for those who can and others who can't to meet us downtown in the area where the historic marker is located on 6th and Broad street near CenterStage, former site of Thalhimers Department Store. We will Stand Out with the students, police, and citizens for a non-violent, peaceful, loving and progressive city in the entire Metro Area. We pray for the planned event and its success.
The purpose of the BPOS Foundation, a non-profit organization, is to find solutions to situations we meet in our daily lives that need to be solved and to do it in an amicable way by spreading our light in such a way that it infects others. The crisis we have been experiencing in our nation and communities needs to be addressed. Unrest in our communities due to poverty, lack of a plan to educate by instilling positive values in old and young by first teaching those who want more to read and write as they communicate to better themselves.
As our BPOS slogan states: We must be Positive about our Past, Passionate about our Present and Proactive about our future. We must bring dignity back to the least of us. The loss of lives, and what could have been, is something that has to be addressed by everyone. No one is exempt from improving or serving mankind and making it a better place. We all can do our part where we are. It is never too late to implement a good idea, to talk to someone who can show leadership to make a good dream a great reality.
It is not too late to work with infinite intelligence to get what you want, but you must have a serious consistent relationship with God. Find your quiet time to meditate or reflect on God’s goodness in your life. Set your goals and expect success as your Light shines during these serious months ahead.
What determines your outcome in Life? It is as you and God will it!!
May the Blessings Be,
