Best in Black Cville is here for 2024! In collaboration with Soul of Cville, we are celebrating the exceptional contributions of Black individuals and businesses in Charlottesville and central Virginia. Best In Black Cville is our commitment to celebrating our diversity and excellence and shedding light on those who inspire through their hard work, creativity, and leadership.
Categories span a wide array of sectors, from business and entrepreneurship to arts, entertainment, and community service. Each nominee represents some of the best our community has to offer, embodying Charlottesville’s true spirit of perseverance and innovation. The Best in Black Cville Awards not only recognize outstanding achievements but also foster a sense of unity and pride within our neighborhood.
Community members are encouraged to cast their votes and support their favorite nominees. Voting is simple and accessible, but don’t delay—voting closes on June 30th! Winners will be announced at a live presentation during the Soul of Cville kickoff on August 16, 2024. This collaboration with Soul of Cville amplifies our work of creating impact and bringing together a broader community to celebrate and uplift Black excellence.
This event is made possible by the generous support of the Black Professional Network and the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center. Don’t miss this opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the remarkable achievements within our community. Cast your vote today and help highlight the individuals and businesses that make Charlottesville and central Virginia a dynamic and thriving place to live, work, and create!
Walking into the door of the Birth Sisters of Charlottesville office, you begin to appreciate the intentionality behind Doreen Bonnet and Lisa Brown’s belief in wanting the space to “feel like home” for Black mothers. The perched “rock house” bungalow the group resides in, houses Charlottesville’s only Black women-focused Doula Collective where both Doreen and Lisa sit at the helm. Built in 1926 by Black Carpenter Charles B. Holt, the house was later passed on to his stepson Leroy Preston and his wife Asalie Minor Preston, both prominent figures in the area. In 2006, the Legal Aid Justice Center (LAJC) obtained and restored the home. Through a chance encounter with an LAJC employee, Bonnet and Brown learned about the space, and in 2022 moved into the historical site. With eighteen dedicated doulas on the team, Birth Sisters of Charlottesville, or BSC, offers community-based doula services to mothers of color during pregnancy and postpartum.
The work of Birth Sisters of Charlottesville started in 2016 as a project called Sisters Keeper Doula Collective. The organization is now spearheaded by Doreen as Executive Director who initially served as a doula under the previous name. During the reorganization period, Doreen alongside members Charlsie Stratton, Zakiah Pierre, and current Deputy Executive Director, Lisa Brown did not want to lose sight of the goal of providing support to moms of color and the group decided they would continue to move forward. in 2020 the group reorganized as an official non-profit under their current name.
Doulas and their work can be traced back centuries, however, society is often confused about the role of a doula and their importance to the childbirth process. A doula serves as a companion to soon-to-be mothers by providing pregnancy and postpartum education, guidance, emotional support, and physical comfort through both pregnancy and childbirth.
Women trained by BSC fill the unique role of community-based doulas, which differentiate from traditional doulas by offering holistic wraparound support to birthing persons. Lisa states, “A community-based doula goes beyond just birth. There might be a client who is having issues with housing, so we don’t say “oh well that’s too bad, I’m sorry,” of course, we’re going to do what we can to help connect them to others who may be able to help.” The organization prides itself on being an active liaison between the mothers they service and the community resources they are assisting them with obtaining. The in-depth assistance the collective provides during their time with clients has helped new mothers find solutions to issues like but not limited to, food insecurity, domestic violence, and employment issues. “We don’t just give them a phone number. We try our best to make a connection with someone at another helping agency or someone that we are aware of who provides that kind of support.”
In Bonnet’s recollection of the genesis of Birth Sisters, she shares, “prior to us being incorporated, none of us really had any titles so we actually worked for free for almost 9 months. We did a lot of the administrative work; we were able to keep some of the doulas that were still seeing clients. Our funders at the time agreed to pay the doulas their stipends, but as far as the work that we were doing administratively, we went uncompensated.”
Once incorporated, the Co-Directors were able to fully step into their roles and begin their journey of expanding the organization’s impact within the community. The group’s work to disrupt sometimes-fatal norms and disparities of childbirth that affect Black women and women of color, is changing the Charlottesville area one mother at a time. “
Photo of BSC Welcome Womb Boutique
Birth Sisters offers their core services of prenatal care, postpartum care, and lactation to women with low and no-cost options available. Those who receive Medicaid can participate in BSC’s services free of cost. The organization also offers a “deep sliding scale” to others and shares that since their inception, they haven’t had to turn anyone away. The organization also provides support in other ways by hosting community events, offering services such as maternity reiki, and yoga, and even featuring a free Welcome Womb boutique stocked with essential items for mothers and their children.
Left to Right: Co-Directors Doreen Bonnet and Lisa Brown
The CDC reports that Black women are “three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than White women.” Working with thirty-seven families in 2023, BSC reports out of the thirty-seven families they served, there were zero infant and maternal losses. Though this serves as a major success, both Brown and Bonnet say one of their biggest milestones to date is shared trust. Brown exclaims, “They trust us, that in their most vulnerable time. That is why they are open to us coming into their home because they know that we’re not there to judge them. We are there to hold space and be there to support them through the process.”
Outside of the services Birth Sisters offer in-house, the work they are doing to partner with outside organizations to provide care for the women they serve is a true testament to their organizational mission of dismantling root causes of systemic maternal health disparities for Black, Indigenous, People of Color. Now in partnership with the University of Virginia, the women are working to bring about change in hospital protocols. “In terms of the things that we do outside of helping our moms directly, we do advocate with different parties and different organizations, hospitals, whatever, that have some kind of impact on the care of Black women during their birth. One of the key things that we were able to do is that, at UVA, doulas were considered visitors. [This] means thatduring the pandemic, we couldn’t even get into the hospital room. And when we did, we were limited to the visitor policy. So we had meetings with the head of the OB departments at UVA, and as of today, we are no longer visitors. We are part of the care team. We have UVA badges. We can come and go as we need to.” The Birth Sisters also have partnered with the University’s BIPOC med students in their Patient Student Partnership program. “We’re in the second year of this program, where they [medical students] will be assigned to one of our clients as well and they support them by going to their doctor’s appointments with them and helping to educate.” At a State level, both directors serves on state wide initiatives related to maternal health in Virginia to further their mission of advocacy. The Birth Sisters have also helped to create the Black Birth plan for Medical providers, to further educate them on the needs of Black women patients.
While both Lisa and Doreen believe there is still work to do to eradicate the disparities Black mothers face during childbirth, it is impossible to ignore the institution they have become for the greater Charlottesville region. Birth Sisters of Charlottesville have the unique space and opportunity to continue advocating and championing women of color during their childbirth journeys.
When I first arrived in the City of Charlottesville on June 11, 1963, some of the buildings on Vinegar Hill were still standing, though all of them had been abandoned. I wondered what had happened to cause an entire neighborhood to cease to exist. I later discovered that Vinegar Hill was once a twenty-acre tract, that 158 families—140 of them were Black—had called home. Black people were first allowed to own property there even before slavery ended. Eventually thirty businesses were established in the community which were run by Black people in the community. These businesses and residences were bordered by Preston Avenue, going Northwest to Fourth Street, and on around to West Main and Garrett Streets, in a sort of triangle. Charles Giametta wrote in The Daily Progress that a “1960s’ Survey showed Vinegar Hill’s Black b+usinesses grossed $1.6 million (A Billion, today), in 1959. There were five restaurants, four grocery stores, three barbershops, two furniture stores, an appliance store, a music shop, a shoe repair shop, a jewelry store, a taxicab stand, a tailor shop, a drugstore, an office equipment store, a printing shop, a dry-cleaning firm, a laundromat, a hat-cleaning shop, a gas station, and two second-hand and antique shops.” In This Essay I explore some of the reasons why Charlottesville’s Officials demolished Vinegar Hill, thus ending the cultural and business soul of Black Charlottesville.
From 1861 to 1961, African Americans served as the trusted servants that Wealthy Whites in the City of Charlottesville and in Albemarle County had used to amass fortunes during Slavery. After Slavery, Ex-Slaves became Loyal and Trustworthy Domestics who took care of all of the Rich Whites’ familial needs as Butlers, Maids, Cooks, Barbers, and Nannies. Hundreds of the above Domestics were domiciled on Vinegar Hill from the 1800s to the 1960s.The basis of the problem was most of the above Domestics and Laborers had never been paid a living wage; therefore, their lifestyles reflected their economic status. Domestics had been renters, who were at the mercy of Absentee Landlords—especially those who lived on Vinegar Hill. Landlords cared little about maintaining the properties they were renting to African Americans by keeping them up-to-par.
Alan Bruns, Writing In, The Richmond Times Dispatch, Sunday, November 16, 1958, tells us that Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority (CRHA), was studying 18-Acres, bounded by Main Street, Fourth Street N.W., and Preston Avenue, and had planned to clear the whole area, layout new streets, and utilities, and resell the land for commercial redevelopment. This was just four years after “The Brown Decision.” Charlottesville’s City Council got busy putting into place policies that paved the way that led to the displacement of 158 Families,140 of which were Black, from their homes, businesses, neighborhood, and their Church. They started by enacting “New Building Codes,” so that all the homes and businesses were classed as “Substandard.” People were no longer being considered at all. The City Officials used the word, “SLUM,” to discount anyone, or anything, existing on the Vinegar Hill Area. City Officials put forth a Plan to relocate all of the Black people from Vinegar Hill to Public Housing Units located far away from Downtown Charlottesville. The City, according to Bruns, “thought that the ‘SLUM,’ should be cleared immediately and all that land should be redeveloped. Using “Urban Renewal.” There was little attention paid to the fact that Vinegar Hill had long been the heart of Black residential, cultural, and business interests for all of Black Charlottesville.
Vinegar Hill Post Demolition. Photos courtesy of Bushman Dreyfus Architects
Shortly After WWWII, Just as Black Veterans returned home to Vinegar Hill from the European War Theater, rumors that the Charlottesville Government was planning on Razing their Homeplaces to the ground, However, financial difficulties foiled the City’s Plans, up until May 17, 1954. Soon after the Supreme Court’s Ruling, the City Council appointed a Committee to do a fast-paced study to find ways to remove the Black people off of Vinegar Hill.
This Committee was composed of Key Members of the Retail Merchants Association, The Charlottesville Chamber of Commerce, The League of Women Voters, and their Representatives on City Council. The Committee did a Survey and found that, “The Vinegar Hill Area had 549 persons living in 154 Dwelling-Units. These Units had 75 Indoor Toilets, 70 Out-Of-Doors, and 60 Baths and Showers. Rent in the Area ran from a high of $65.00-per month to a low of $7.00-per month. In addition to residential structures, there were 24 Nonresidential Structures, while some were very newly constructed buildings.”
Eminent domain always follows a certain identifiable path; Castigation, condemnation, property confiscation, and forced removal,” The first phase is “Castigation.” Here, the local government declares, loudly, that an Area is a “SLUM!” Then local government will, condemn the area, by saying that its buildings are all, “Predominantly Substandard.” All of the condemned area’s properties then become confiscated. Local government will pay the owners of the confiscated properties whatever it considers reasonable value for their confiscated residential and or business properties.” The previous owners are forced to move out after collecting the paucity of a settlement for their real estate plus an equally minimal amount of money for so-called moving expenses. Lastly, the buildings are razed. Once residential units and businesses have been torn down, local government seeks out private investors to come and commercially develop the area. Developers then construct “Condo-Complexes, Strip Malls, Motels/Hotels, or Grocery Stores, connected to national chains, and or, will erect State and Federal building facilities. Millions of dollars are made by big business owners and construction firms during and after “The Eminent Doman Processes.” Displaced home-and-business owners rarely got paid enough from their confiscated properties and the end result of Eminent Domain is gentrification. Those living in Vinegar Hill, with few exceptions, did not have the Right To Vote, and therefore had no way to launch a political confrontation against those who were victimizing them. Due to their displacement, residents were forced into low-income enclaves called, “Government Projects.” In Charlottesville, these consisted of several housing complexes including but not limited to, West Haven, Friendship Court, and Prospect Avenue.
Blacks Had Always Been the Victims of Urban Removal on Vinegar Hill, says Mary Rawlings, an Oral Historian, who states that from the earliest days of the Hill’s history, Vinegar Hill was originally called “Random Row,” because of the way the first houses were located on the Hill. The name, “Random Row,” was incorporated into the Town of Charlottesville in 1835.Mary tells us that wave-after-wave of Irish Immigrants invaded Charlottesville during the mid-to-1800s, due to The Potato-Famine in Ireland. The Irish, at first, lived among the house servants and freed slaves, but gradually took over complete control of the entire neighborhood, renaming “Random Row,” to “Vinegar Hill” in honor of Ireland’s Vinegar Hill, revolutionary battle had taken place. Most of the Freed Slaves were pushed off Vinegar Hill before the coming of the Civil War in 1861. The Black residents who had been pushed away from the Hill moved back at the end of the Civil War. Ann Carter, another Oral Historian, says that “Blacks were on The Hill before the Irish.”
For over A century, Vinegar Hill was The Center of Charlottesville’s Black Community. A.E. Arrington was the Executive Director who oversaw its razing. Arrington said he had talked with the people on the Hill beforehand, and he had been assured that, “Those People on that Hill are happy to be moving into a place (West Haven), with indoor Heat, Plumbing, and Bathrooms. They know that I’m giving them a much better place to live in than they’re moving out of. I think they know that I’m doing them a favor…” Arrington spoke mainly to The League of Women Voters who had no idea of what Vinegar Hill was genuinely like.
Mr. George Ferguson, Jr., a Member of the NAACP, was born on Hill’s Southern Edge where he grew up. George, Jr. eventually started a successful Undertaker Business on Ridge Street. He informs us that, “Vinegar Hill was far from being full of just Slum-Dwellers.” There were the presence of Federated women clubs, secret societies, and fraternal orders, which met in various members Homes and at Zion Union Baptist Church. The young people on the Hill, says Ferguson, were extremely interested in the Church. Zion Union became a Center for Social and Political interaction for all who dwelt on Vinegar Hill. That is how the Whole Community became so Close-Knit.
By December 23, 1963, Vinegar Hill was a Ghost Town. All of the buildings were abandoned. By February 10, 1964, demolition equipment moved through the area, leaving behind nothing but rubbish, and the nostalgia of those who had lost their Communal soul..Charlottesville’s City Officials feared that The Voting Rights Act would become Law Next. So, they wanted to remove every kind of connection Black people had from the Downtown area, even the Removal of their House of Worship, Zion Union.
Zion Union Baptist Church stood at 212-214th Street N.W. across from Jefferson Elementary School, had been at that location since 1907. On June 6, 1962, Rev. I. A. J. Kennedy—due to old age—passed the Mantel on to Rev. Henry Floyd Johnson. Rev. Johnson had only served that Congregation two years, when he had to inform his Church Family that CRHA had taken ownership of Church and had decided that the building would be demolished. The Whole Congregation was immediately ordered to vacate the Church’s Premises. Rev. Johnson continued to conduct Services for a time at Jefferson Elementary for about a year and eight months until December 20, 1964.On August 28, 1966, the New Zion Union Baptist Church opened their doors in a Great-New-Brick Building on Preston Avenue.
By 1973 Alan Clements’ Citizens Commonwealth Corp had constructed the first building on what was once Vinegar Hill, which had remained vacant since 1963. Clements’ Corp had purchased most of the land on the Hill from CRHA. In 1972, Citizens Commonwealth Corp had its first building constructed on Vinegar Hill. Black businesses and residents were all gone! In their Places were a white-owned businesses. Wyatt Johnson and his Brother had run a Shoe Repair Shop near Vinegar Hill. Mr. Johnson was one of the displaced Black people who was able to purchase another Home, after his forced removal from the area. Although he only received $7,400.00 from CRHA for his Home and Business, he had saved up enough money to build another home for $15,000.00. Most of the displaced people off Vinegar Hill were without the resources to buy New Homes, and ended up having to move into the City’s First Public Housing Project (West Haven).
So, I watched, day-after-day, in the 1960s, as the wrecking cranes, bulldozers, and dump trucks tore down and hauled away the Cultural Soul of Black Charlottesville. I was thinking, “They’re murdering that community by killing its businesses and destroying Its residences. What I witnessed made me sick to my stomach. It has stayed with me ever since. Because we were too quiet about the above, the same thing kept happening to Star Hill, Gospel Hill, Fifeville, We must not let them shove us around any longer! BLACK LIVES MATTER!
Katt Williams became a living comedy legend – as well as one of the most controversial comedians in history – in part because of his scorched-earth honesty. But he outdid himself on the newest episode of Shannon Sharpe’s “Club Shay Shay” podcast, which dropped Wednesday.
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Princess Long's A Mother's Touch Child Care business ushers children along a sidewalk, Photo Credit: Princess Long
by Gail Esterman; featured photo by Princess Long
My name is Gail Esterman and I have always been drawn to stories about how children are treated by our society and wondered why we choose to fail so many when we could do better. In my professional life, spanning New York City and Virginia, I’ve worked in mental health, adult and early childhood education, and non-profit program and policy development. I have had the privilege to get to know many individuals who quietly do the hard, unrecognized, and under-compensated labor of care and community building. In that spirit, I wanted to share the story of two successful Charlottesville business owners who I met through a professional development program for early childhood care and education providers. As a white ally, I also feel compelled to share images that disrupt the deficit narrative put out by the mainstream media about the Black community.
News headlines drum a steady beat these days about the child care crisis. Reporters highlight unaffordable tuition, the dearth of available spots, especially for infants, and the low pay – less than what fast food servers make – that leads to a revolving door of high staff turnover and classroom closures. Young families from the working- and middle-classes are left to cobble together a care plan and are unprepared for the lack of affordable options to keep their little ones safe, healthy, cherished, and learning while they work or go to school.
Even before the pandemic, child care offered a problematic business model. “We have a product that costs more to produce than most of the customers who need it can afford to pay. It’s that simple,” says Linda Smith from the Early Childhood Development Initiative at the Bipartisan Policy Center. “You can’t raise the wages of the staff without raising the fees to parents, and they’re tapped out.” Smith wants Americans to recognize child care as an essential public good that has to be paid for by society at large.
The reluctance to fund childcare is not just about fiscal conservatism. When I wrote to Representative Bob Good (R-VA) in 2021, urging him to support early childhood initiatives, his response was, “It would … give the government greater control of our children, and provide the opportunity for them to be indoctrinated with left-leaning curriculum at even earlier ages.” Clearly, there are issues of power and equity at play in what seems at face value to be a straightforward, bipartisan commonality – businesses need workers, workers need child care and everyone benefits from a strong system. Dig deeper and you’ll find that the burden of child care in the United States has historically been borne by women – mostly women of color. Unlike other developed countries where there is more recognition of the reality and needs of working families, women’s invisible labor subsidizes both families and businesses. Two Black women I’ve met in Charlottesville, Princess Long and Rita Cunningham, are making unique, laudatory, and successful efforts to help turn the tide when it comes to a dearth of childcare. I’ll tell you a bit of their stories here.
Business owner and entrepreneur Princess Long of A Mother’s Touch Child Care, Photo Credit: Princess Long
A Mother’s Touch Child Care
I park my car on a wide, quiet street in Charlottesville, looking forward to talking with Princess Long, a local child care owner. I have no trouble finding her house — the front yard is surrounded by a white wooden fence, the brightly colored materials and child-sized equipment on the lawn calling out an invitation to play. There is a toy kitchen, a “forest” made of foam pool noodles sticking up from the ground, a picnic table, and some climbers and slides. It doesn’t feel cluttered, but rather set up intentionally to appeal to small children. A sign lets me know I am at “A Mother’s Touch Child Care.”
I am here to learn about how Princess created a successful home childcare business during a pandemic. We sit together on the front porch while the children nap inside, supervised by another caregiver. “What inspired you to develop this magical place?” I ask, gesturing toward the yard and house. Princess explains that before opening her program, she worked in the food industry but knew that it wasn’t a forever thing. “Since I was a little girl, I was always involved in caring for children and seniors. I have a loving spirit,” she says. She dreamed of working for herself doing something she loved but was afraid to venture into the unknown. “I wasn’t mentally prepared right away.” In 2021, she wasn’t scared any more. “I thought, will I sink or float? Thank God I’m floating.”
I ask about the challenges of getting started. “The licensing process was very overwhelming. There was so much information to learn about the state regulations, food standards, and the childcare subsidy process. At times I felt like my pot was going to boil over.” Princess found community resources to “help us to be the best that we can be” like the Central Virginia Small Business Development Center, ReadyKids, Child Care Aware of Virginia, and the USDA Food Service. “People came out to the home and provided feedback and ideas you wouldn’t have thought of. For example, they brought our attention to asking children open-ended questions to get them thinking and talking more.” There were also grants to help purchase “anything that supports kids development.” She says, by now, most of the upkeep has become routine. At the same time, the regulations keep changing so there is always something new to incorporate.
“A Mother’s Touch” is licensed to enroll up to 12 children, the most that a home-based program can serve. “While we’re not a big center, we serve a community need.” Some families prefer a smaller setting, and like the mixed-age group and consistency. Princess has a long waitlist. “I hate to tell families ‘no.’ I hear the worry in their voices.” When she turns a family away, there aren’t many options – the supply simply doesn’t meet the demand. Additionally, a review of national 2019 data showed that only 16% of children eligible for a government subsidy were able to obtain one, limiting access even more for low-income families. The quality of the available slots varies. If a child care program isn’t full, there may be reasons why. One parent left A Mother’s Touch for a free preschool program, only to return a few weeks later because her daughter was not happy.
That brings me to the heart of the matter. Why do families choose “A Mother’s Touch Child Care,” and why do they stay? Here’s where Princess really lights up. “I think they see in my smile and my voice that I care for each and every child. There is such innocence in these early years, and it’s amazing to be part of their growth and development. We are dropping golden nuggets! I’m not just here for the paycheck. Here, we let kids be kids. We don’t impose limitations. We teach independence, community, and manners. Kids learn and grow through play.” Princess and her staff receive ongoing training on a new curriculum developed at the University of Virginia. She says proudly, “We were already doing so much of it. They have it organized into categories and explained the ‘why’ but we were on the right track.”
A group of children play in a plastic pool of water at Princess Long’s A Mother’s Touch Child Care, Photo Credit: Princess Long
Princess notes that these days, many children don’t get to be outside enough. On her Facebook page, she shares photos of an outdoor obstacle course created for the children to use their large muscles. Another sequence shows a water-pouring activity that illustrates learning through sensory pleasure and excitement. Her page also displays a certificate from the Commonwealth of Virginia that designates A Mother’s Touch as a certified Small Micro, Woman-Owned, Minority-Owned business.
The program is part of the local community. Neighbors come over to play guitar or invite the children to visit their resident roosters. Even trash pickup becomes an interactive opportunity – the children run out to greet the “big green truck” on their weekly rounds. One day, the sanitation workers surprise them with a furry hand puppet who wants to play! On National Garbage Truck Day, the children paint a mural to hang on the fence, and bring small bags filled with snacks for their working friends. Princess jumps up to show me the chant she leads, pantomiming the motion of the truck as it picks up and empties the containers: “The arms go up up up, and then they shake, shake shake,” her body swiveling and arms coming down. Her enthusiasm is infectious.
As children get up from their naps, we bring our conversation to an end. Before I leave, I ask what’s next. Princess points to where she will be planting carrots, green beans, and tomatoes. She found someone willing to share some gardening expertise, and thinks the children will love it. I think she’s right.
“What would you say to someone wanting to get started in child care?” I ask as I close the gate. Princess pauses. “A love for children, and patience. Oh, and endurance.”
Rita Cunningham of Rita’s Bright Beginnings, Photo Credit: Erin Flowers
Rita’s Bright Beginnings
The day I’m scheduled to visit with Rita Cunningham, the owner of Rita’s Bright Beginnings, I park near the old JCPenney’s in the Fashion Square mall – or what’s left of it. The storefront is subtle, not screaming out that there is a childcare center. There are welcoming signs on the frosted windows and one inside designating them as a Breast-Feeding Friendly program. As I enter, Rita comes out to greet me and motions to a woman sit
ting behind the front desk reviewing a pile of files. I can tell right away that she is a licensing inspector from the Virginia Department of Education. Rita has only been open for 25 days in this location. While the unannounced inspection is routine, and not an indication that anything is wrong, I know Rita will want to be available to the inspector so we agree to reschedule for another time.
I return two days later to find out the inspection went well. I am aware that this is a huge relief, but not an accident. Rita has worked hard to open her first center, and she is serious about her success. I saw the space before Rita had decided to rent it, back in August 2022. Cracked vinyl floors needed repairs, walls had to be moved, and only a few sets of cubbies were pushed up against the walls. That day, Rita walked me around, showing where she imagined each classroom might be and how the kitchen would be set up. The location would be convenient with easy parking for parents needing a quick drop-off en route to school or work. I can’t wait to catch up with Rita now that the center is finally open, where it can hold up to 40 children.
Rita studied elementary education in college but realized her love was for younger children. She focused on classes about toddlers and preschoolers and decided that this was her life’s calling. After college, she worked in a few centers. When her own son turned three months old, she wanted to be at home with him. She also wanted to show other young children “what I see in them.” In 2014, Rita opened her first home daycare in Harrisonburg. When she moved to Charlottesville, she started “Rita’s Bright Beginnings” in her home. “A lot of businesses failed during the pandemic, but mine thrived. No matter what the crisis, people need child care.” Soon, Rita needed more space to serve more children and began to look for a larger facility.
Once she found the site, the work began. “There were inspections from the fire marshall, building inspectors, health department approvals – so many steps to go through before I could even turn in the application. I had to find staff and to figure out how many I would need. I’m choosy about staff even though it’s hard to pay them what we should because we can’t make the rates higher for families.” She pauses for a few seconds. “Getting the building permit took much longer than it should have – they just didn’t see my vision and dreams and kept asking me why I wanted to be there. At times like those, I’ve wanted to give up, but I pushed through and took it day by day.”
Word-of-mouth referrals have been plentiful with some paying in advance to reserve a spot. “Families see that their children will be safe and loved here. In my home program, I had a huge outside area which was great but now we don’t have the big yard. Families were comfortable with me, but it’s not just me anymore. I tried to think about how to make the center reflect ‘me.’ I thought, ‘what else we can offer? What will make us stand out?’ We provide breakfast, lunch, nap mats, food, formula, diapers, and wipes. We have an infant menu, a non-infant menu, and vegan options.”
Rita continues, “Birthdays are a big deal here – the whole center celebrates the child. We are inclusive of all different types of holidays and celebrations. We integrate different traditions and don’t leave anyone out. We offer a “loose parts” approach that provides children with materials to create and build instead of only presenting toys that can be used one way. We don’t do TV time; the recommendation from doctors is to limit it and parents are paying for their children to learn when they are here.”
I ask Rita if she sees herself as an entrepreneur and the answer is an unequivocal yes. “What keeps me going is my own kids. I want my kids to see what their Mom did. Someday this will be theirs. Whether it’s a daycare or something else, I want them to know they can help someone else in life.” Rita adds, “It still amazes me when I go places and people recognize me as the lady with the daycare.”
Rita is driven by a very personal mission. “Maybe some of the kids don’t have someone at home who has enough time for them because of everything they are dealing with. So we’re the ones loving them, we’re the ones teaching them. We spend time on them.” She becomes pensive. “I didn’t have a mother and father present when I was growing up. When they come here, kids are getting everything I wanted but didn’t have.”
As I get ready to go, I ask Rita what keeps her up at night? She pauses. “Did I get it all done?” I look around and am struck by just how much she has gotten done and how bright the future is for Rita’s Bright Beginnings.
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Princess and Rita represent a long, long tradition in the Black community of educators, innovators, and advocates for the next generation. They bring their unique gifts to their businesses and our community is fortunate to have them. In spite of the ongoing challenges like low wages, mounting demand, and ever evolving regulations, these women display a resilience that nurtures the community around them. If the system doesn’t change, it will continue to be hard for more small, culturally diverse business owners to get started, stay afloat, and offer families solid, high-quality choices. It is a complex issue and we need more voices at the table asking why this system isn’t working for families or providers, and how we can make it better.
Growing up around the Fifeville area, Nicole Hawker’s dreams of giving back to her community by creating a space for health and wellness have finally come true. A gym focused on accessibility and inclusivity,Heart and Soul Fitness with Nicole opened its doors at 818 Cherry Avenue in November of 2022. A vibe that is best described as bohemian and quirky, this charming gym is nestled within the Cherry Avenue Shopping Center and is adorned with Christmas lights, a disco ball, leafy plants, and orchids.
Nicole Hawker, the founder and owner of Heart and Soul Fitness, originally entered into the health and fitness space while living in Tennessee in 2012. After a friend invited Nicole to the grand opening of her new gym, Smoky Mountain CrossFit, Nicole won a month of free CrossFit training. Looking back at that point in her life, Nicole describes herself as “somebody who could barely…walk to the end of my road to go get our mail without feeling like okay, I’m just gonna sit down for a minute.” But after the intense month, she noted how this profoundly transformed her life. Nicole identified how the community that formed from the fitness training was what stuck with her the most, stating, “It was just something about that space. It wasn’t just the working out; there was something about the community of people.” A year and a half later, Nicole received her level one CrossFit certification and then, in 2016, became a certified personal trainer.
Nicole returned to Charlottesville in 2016, and two years later found herself looking to continue her fitness journey while also hoping to cultivate a space that brings people together, just as Smoky Mountain CrossFit did for her in Tennessee. I sat down with Nicole to talk about Heart and Soul Fitness. When asked about why she founded the studio, Nicole said, “I know how expensive it can be [to go to the gym]. And so, I wanted to make sure that what we did here was accessible, and that people could come in and make sure that they could work out without money being…a barrier to them.” Nicole also wanted to ensure the Black community in the area had a place where people looked like them, particularly since the neighborhood feels like home. As a child, Nicole had family members living less than a mile away and holds many fond memories of spending time with her father in the Tonsler Park area.
Heart & Soul Fitness with Nicole merchandise for sale
Nicole is particularly interested in attracting everyday people interested in starting or continuing their fitness journey. “It’s that woman who is saying, ‘I need to try something different.’ The mom who is winded from taking care of her kids… the dad who you know is going to work but who’s saying, ‘If something doesn’t change, I don’t know if I can keep at this pace.’“ It is for those who, like she was, are “sitting on the couch and [saying], ‘I’m not sure I can do this, but I’m willing to give it a shot.’”
Heart and Soul offers classes focused on what Nicole calls “metabolic conditioning,” or a plan that integrates a combination of strength building and conditioning exercises. These workouts are designed to build strength and then a little bit of conditioning or cardio. Metabolic conditioning workouts are offered Monday through Friday mornings. The studio also offers Zumba on Wednesday evenings and is beginning to offer yoga classes on Fridays. For more information, see thefull class schedule. Keeping in mind that all bodies are different, Nicole noted that “everything that is done here is modifiable to that particular person’s body.” While membership is $80 per month, Nicole encourages anyone who is interested in joining and not able to afford the monthly fee to reach out and speak with her about options.
A variety of exercise equipment found at Heart & Soul Fitness with Nicole
Returning to Charlottesville after so many years has presented both benefits and challenges for Nicole and her new gym. With any new business, it is tough to get the word out, but it has been particularly difficult since Nicole is establishing new relationships and reconnecting with old ones. However, it is evident that while the studio is relatively new, several members of the community have taken action to help the new gym. As a non-profit, Heart and Soul Fitness accepts donations for materials. Just in the last few weeks, people have donated various pieces of equipment including dumbbells, battle ropes and yoga mats.
So, what’s next with Heart and Soul Fitness? The gym is holding an internal five kilometer walk/run for its members on Saturday, June 24th. Nicole is also expanding her yoga class offerings and is working on creating a self-defense class for the University of Virginia community as a proud Wahoo mom.
If you’re interested in learning more about Heart and Soul Fitness classes and events, donating equipment, or for more information about membership, feel free to contact Nicole Hawker at 865-216-7846, or visit the gym’s website athttps://heartsoulfitness.org/.
Sober and Zakiah Pierre pose in Pearl Island, their Pan-Caribbean restaurant. Photo credit: Kori Price
by Channing Mathews; featured photo by Kori Price
The story of Pearl Island Cafe is a search for identity, passion, and roots. The delightful smells and artwork of the Caribbean-inspired restaurant draw you in for a warm taste of the Caribbean, right in the heart of the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center and the historic Vinegar Hill Neighborhood in Charlottesville. Starting from the first jar of pikliz, a cabbage-based, vinegar-forward, and spicy condiment, sold at the Charlottesville Farmers’ Market, Pearl Island is thriving as Charlottesville’s premiere Caribbean lunch and catering space.
Named to honor owner Sober Pierre’s Haitian roots, the restaurant pays homage to Haiti’s reputation as the Pearl of the Antilles, a place filled with treasures and turmoil throughout its complicated history. “Part of what I am doing right now is to reflect the beauty of Haiti. You know the richness that it had then, I want to emphasize that now. [I ask myself] ‘How do I showcase the beauty in the flavor, the people, and the culture as a whole?’”
A map of the Caribbean island Hispaniola
Born to Haitian immigrants in Miami, Florida, Sober had an early knack for business, using recycled wire from downed and inactive power lines to make bracelets for sale. But his business savvy would take a backseat to his educational pursuits. Sober attended Tuskegee University, a historically Black University in Alabama, to pursue mechanical engineering and a football scholarship. Upon graduation, he pursued job opportunities at John Deere and Caterpillar, where he discovered his interest in engineering was not aligned with his desire for something more: “I loved engineering, like the innovation of it, but I also wanted something I was more passionate about.”
In search of greater fulfillment, Sober pursued business school at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, where the ideas for Pearl Island started to come together in his current food business. “My reasoning for going to business school was identifying something I was passionate about and connected to. Something that at the end of the thirty-year career, I wouldn’t be questioning what it was all for.” This passion pursuit led him into a deep dive into his culture and identity exploration to learn about diversity of cultures in the Caribbean through the communal experience of food. “What we are trying to offer is access to the people and to the culture. Food being a very important, if not central part of it.”
A tropical lemonade and trifecta platter of food from Pearl Island including chicken, pork, plantains, kale, rice, and pikliz (a spicy cabbage slaw). Photo credit: Kori Price
But the marriage of business with food and identity did not necessarily mean the abandonment of his engineering background. In addition to partnering with his wife, Dr. Zakiah N. Pierre, an analytical chemist by training, Sober applied his engineering mind to the design of his kitchen to maximize efficiency and consistency of the brand. This was an especially important skill when COVID-19 resulted in Pearl Island becoming a one- man kitchen, as work staff became less consistent as the pandemic progressed. “We’ve evolved…my wife has always been in the background, supporting wherever needed. In 2020, when we had a large amount of transition, she took on more of the catering side of things. I reimagined the process in the kitchen that helped me to ensure that the full burden of producing a consistent product didn’t all fall on my shoulders.”
My experience of Pearl Island brought me back to my time living in the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti. To experience the food of Pearl Island is to experience the warmth and welcoming of what you might find in a Caribbean household with spices baked into the walls, and no written recipes beyond the magic of the chef’s hands. Every forkful of my curry chicken and sous poulet brought me back to the lush richness of food culture on the island, and made me chuckle as I fondly remembered my favorite street food vendors, who set up shop just outside of the kitchens within their home, inviting me to dine on their patios.
It seems that such a memory is not uncommon when experiencing the food at Pearl Island: “One of the things I miss most about the farmers market is that a lot of our customers were always excited to share about their travels to the Caribbean, and what our stand represented to them… It’s been a way for us to connect and to share our culture. It’s been great to have the experience of people enjoying [the food] and coming back.”
Workers at Pearl Island prepare meals for customers. Photo credit: Kori Price
As a scholar of ethnic-racial identity development, I am always intrigued by the ways that food speaks to our racialized identities in the same ways that words and labels do. Food is where we share space and stories, moments that we share with others, years or even moments after we leave the table. Food is a place for us to take pause and inventory, to remind ourselves to slow down and spend time with old peeps, or find some new ones to create new memories. Pearl Island reminds us of those shared stories, by giving our tastebuds a new story to tell in community. “It shows that there’s promise and possibilities. Making the diverse flavors of the Caribbean more accessible is what I want to get to. And we are doing that.”
Oh yes, Mr. Pierre. Y’all are certainly doing that!
FedEx says the endowment will help ensure MVSU students won’t be turned away because they can’t afford to fund their education.
FedEx is giving $100,000 to Mississippi Valley State University to create a new scholarship endowment at the southern HBCU.
The delivery company’s logistics subsidiary, FedEx Logistics, announced the move on Monday in conjunction with the $1 million pledge FedEx made to MVSU a year ago to fund a customized career readiness program at the university, according to a press release.
Mississippi Valley State University campus is pictured in this undated photo. (Photo: Mississippi Valley State University on Facebook).
FedEx said the scholarship endowment will help ensure MVSU students pursuing a degree won’t be turned away because they can’t afford to fund their education at the Itta Bena, Mississippi-located college.
“FedEx Logistics will continue breaking down barriers so that underrepresented groups have a roadmap to access and achieve success,” FedEx Logistics President and CEO Dr. Udo Lange said in a written statement.
Historically underfunded HBCUs across the country have received large capital injections from major companies and wealthy philanthropists in the aftermath of the police murder of George Floyd in May 2020 and the racial reckoning that erupted in corporate America in its wake.
MVSU students toil away at the Fed Ex Logistics Center located on its campus. (Photo: Courtesy of Mississippi Valley State University)
Last week, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and his wife, film producer Patty Quillin, announced plans to donate $10 million of their own money to help fund educational opportunities at Tougaloo College, another HBCU in Mississippi.
In 2019, FedEx Logistics opened a student-staffed satellite office at MVSU’s campus, creating a talent pipeline for its customs brokerage operations. The company said its scholarship endowment is a continuation of its commitment to the school.
MVSU President Dr. Jerryl Briggs Sr. said the new scholarship endowment will give the school’s students “a blueprint to aid in their educational and career path.”
“The company’s continued support,” he maintained in a statement, “has been paramount to our efforts to encourage and inspire our scholars.”
“Profiled: The Black Man,” a four-part OWN series on the Discovery+ network, debuted Saturday, featuring the company’s owners and co-founders.
Profiled: The Black Man, a new four-part Discovery+ docuseries created by OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network and executive produced by Tina Knowles-Lawson, kicked off Saturday with its first episode.
The Black Bread Company, based in Chicago, is one of the first Black male-owned businesses to be featured on the series, which is hosted by Tristan “Mack” Wilds. Its owners and founders, Charles Alexander, Mark Edmond and Jamel Lewis, are best friends, all from the South Side of Chi-Town, who partnered up to start the first-ever Black-owned sliced bread company in the world.
The Black Bread Company showcased on “Profiled: The Black Man” Saturday was founded by best friends (from left) Jamel Lewis, Charles Alexander and Mark Edmond. (Photo: Screenshot/blackbreadco.com)
According to their website, the three “strive to inspire others to believe in the power of their own individual contributions to improve the world around them one great idea at a time.”
The trio was featured on the first Discovery+ episode of Profiled: The Black Man, titled “Black Men are Dangerous,” on which Alexander, Edmond and Lewis note that the founding and growth of their company was due in part to the global uprise that followed the police murder of George Floyd.
“For us to be on the first episode,” Alexander told The Chicago Tribune, “it gives us a really unique opportunity to dismantle that stereotype, to talk about if we’re dangerous, we’re dangerous in a way of succeeding — dangerous in a way of overcoming stereotypes, overcoming obstacles in our current lived experiences. It’s a chance to mix in our lived experiences, and we’re coupling it with how we created our company.”
“When we first started,” Edmond added, “we were told from a gentleman that was in this industry for over 40 years, that this was the first time his people were sitting down with Black people. To hear those statements, and realize the importance of African American business … our role is to say that all Black men are not dangerous. Just because we’re from Chicago, the South Side, young, Black males, we automatically have this stereotype, or stigma over us, which is not the case.”
The Black Bread Company — which sells a variety of sliced loaves and buns — ships its products nationwide, and its website contends the company has “centered our efforts toward providing you with the freshest quality in premium sliced bread.” The founders say they hope supporters join them “in using our powers collectively to encourage creativity and ensure generational progression to sustain marginalized communities.”
The men’s baking business was also featured on The Ellen DeGeneres Show last spring, where the talk show host tasted their bread and presented them with a check for $20,000 from Shutterfly to help grow their efforts.
Per theGrio’s previous reporting, the Discovery+ series’ official synopsis, per the press release, reads: “Through a powerful mixture of historical footage, real-life testimony, and commentary from an array of renowned thought leaders, Profiled: The Black Man aims to show the difficulties Black men have faced, both in the past and present-day, while also highlighting and celebrating the triumphs and resilience of countless extraordinary men. In addition, each episode will feature commentary from notable community members such as executive producer Tina Knowles-Lawson, civil rights activist DeRay Mckesson, activist Tamika Mallory, hip-hop culture icon Sway Calloway, the Grammy, Emmy and Tony award-winning Billy Porter and more.”
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Many Black Americans excluded from white-owned cemeteries built their own burial spaces, and their descendants are working to preserve the grounds
As a child, Linda Davis and her mother broke clay pots over the gravesites of their ancestors, allowing the flowers in them to take root.
When she returned to Brooklyn Cemetery in Athens, Georgia, decades later in 2009, her grandparents’ temporary grave markers were lost, and shrubs and overgrowth blanketed the site. But it still felt like home to Davis, and she knew then it was up to her to restore the cemetery.
“When I walk through the cemetery, it’s like walking down the old streets of my community,” she said.
Tony Burroughs, CEO of Chicago’s Center for Black Genealogy, bends down Wednesday, March 17, 2021, to take a photo at the gravesite of his great-grandparents in the Oakridge Cemetery in Hillside, Ill. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Similar Black cemeteries are scattered throughout the United States, telling the story of the country’s deep past of cemetery segregation. As these burial grounds for the dead mirrored the racial divisions of the living, Black communities organized to defend the dignity of their deceased and oppose racist cemetery policies.
Many Black Americans excluded from white-owned cemeteries built their own burial spaces, and their descendants are working to preserve the grounds. Racism still haunts these cemeteries, though, and many are at risk of being lost and lack the support other cemeteries have received.
Tony Burroughs, CEO of Chicago’s Center for Black Genealogy, began tracing his family’s ancestry in 1975, which led him to a cemetery in suburban Hillside, where he found the remains of his grandparents, great-uncles, great-aunts and great-great-grandparents.
“I’m in the process of telling their story, because they can no longer tell their story,” Burroughs said.
“Blacks have had to fight to get equal rights in every facet of life, including death,” he added.
In Chicago, wealthy white residents were laid to rest beside towering monuments in manicured lawns while people of color and low-income residents were buried in potter’s fields soaked with quicklime and with only wooden paddles identifying their locations.
“There are few areas of life that bigotry and discrimination do not touch,” said Michael Rosenow, associate professor of history at the University of Central Arkansas. “Even cemeteries became battlegrounds for dignity.”
Black communities responded to being barred from white cemeteries or charged more “by drawing on a long history of Black self-help and community organizing,” Rosenow said. In Chicago, they protested in the Illinois Legislature. The fight continued in the courts when in 1912 John Gaskill sued Forest Home Cemetery for refusing to bury his wife because of her race.
A rusted fence surrounds a tombstones at the Lincoln Memorial Cemetery in Portsmouth, Va., Tuesday, March 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
Black people weren’t the only ones excluded from white cemeteries or who organized to protect the dignity of their dead. The Chinese Cemetery of Los Angeles was established by a mutual aid group in 1922 as a burial ground for Chinese Americans then barred from buying burial plots. Countless Native American tribes have mounted decadeslong efforts to reclaim and rebury their ancestors’ remains.
Many groups built their own cemeteries as “a form of resistance,” Rosenow said. But without the same generational wealth and access to resources, Black cemeteries were at a disadvantage.
The effects of chronic underfunding are perhaps most visible at the long-abandoned Mount Forest Cemetery in Thornton, Illinois, where unkempt trees overhang a few crooked headstones peeking up from the grass. In some spots, the ground sinks slightly, marking where a body may lay.
Nadia Orton, a genealogist and family historian who has visited hundreds of cemeteries, said it frustrates her that people assume Black communities are always to blame when their cemeteries are abandoned or neglected.
“They’re trying,” she said. “They just haven’t had the help, and they don’t have the resources.”
She said city leaders are often responsible for the neglect of Black cemeteries or the bulldozing of them to make way for development projects. The cemeteries are sometimes the last remnants of Black communities that have been gutted by projects or gentrified, she said.
In many cases, the cemeteries left behind are hidden. A Tallahassee, Florida, golf course lays atop a burial space for slaves. A Black church cemetery has been paved over in Williamsburg, Virginia. The University of Pennsylvania campus sits on top of a 19th century Black cemetery. Bone fragments were found at the 126th Street Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus depot in East Harlem, New York, which also was once a Black burial ground.
“The examples are endless,” Orton said.
Nadia Orton, a genealogist and family historian in Virginia, poses next to tombstones at the Lincoln Memorial Cemetery in Portsmouth, Va., Tuesday, March 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
Orton’s great-great-great-grandfather founded a community near Suffolk, Virginia, the city where Orton lives. A hotel parking lot sits where a cemetery once did.
“Am I standing on them now?’” Orton asked about her ancestors as she looked at her feet.
Virginia Rep. A. Donald McEachin has been fighting for legislation to better protect Black burial spaces after noticing in the 1990s how much money was allocated to preserving Confederate graves. McEachin helped introduce the African-American Burial Grounds Network Act in 2018. If the bill passes, it would create a nationwide database of historic Black burial grounds, help produce educational materials for the spaces, and make grants available for further research at the sites.
Organizations like African American Heritage Preservation Foundation Inc. are also supporting grassroots groups in preserving cemeteries.
“A lot of our history has not been uncovered or told,” said founder Renee Ingram. “And so this is a way of educating … the next generation.”
But much of the preservation work still begins on the ground.
When Linda Davis decided to restore the Athens, Georgia, cemetery, she began the delicate, painstaking work of clearing debris and overgrowth. She kept remnants of vases, plates and urns in place.
“Even when it was in its worst disrepair, you could always find a grave that was being tended to, a couple fresh flowers, some kind of sign someone was still watching and caring,” she said.
Davis plans to pave paths, build a fence and restore broken headstones with support from local fundraisers and donations. She feels she’s carrying on the legacy of her ancestors and Black community organizers who opposed cemetery segregation and built these cemeteries.
“I believe I am walking in the spirit of the people who wanted a better resting place for their community,” Davis said.
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Mississippi Valley State University campus is pictured in this undated photo. (Photo: Mississippi Valley State University on Facebook).
MVSU students toil away at the Fed Ex Logistics Center located on its campus. (Photo: Courtesy of Mississippi Valley State University)
The Black Bread Company showcased on “Profiled: The Black Man” Saturday was founded by best friends (from left) Jamel Lewis, Charles Alexander and Mark Edmond. (Photo: Screenshot/blackbreadco.com)
Tony Burroughs, CEO of Chicago’s Center for Black Genealogy, bends down Wednesday, March 17, 2021, to take a photo at the gravesite of his great-grandparents in the Oakridge Cemetery in Hillside, Ill. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) 
A rusted fence surrounds a tombstones at the Lincoln Memorial Cemetery in Portsmouth, Va., Tuesday, March 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) 
Nadia Orton, a genealogist and family historian in Virginia, poses next to tombstones at the Lincoln Memorial Cemetery in Portsmouth, Va., Tuesday, March 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)