Another View's Selected Short Stories

We hear a lot about what life was like for the enslaved living in the 16, 17 and 18 hundreds. But rarely do we hear what it was like to be a free person of color during that same time frame. Well, if you’ve ever been curious, you’re about to meet one such person. His name is John (Rawl-i-son) and thanks to actor James Cameron, we’re now able to take a closer look at the life of this 18th century free man of color.

SHE STOOD HER GROUND…BY SITTING DOWN…. ELEVEN YEARS BEFORE ROSA PARKS AND THE MONTGOMERY BUS BOYCOTT. NOW, FOLKS IN GLOUCESTER COUNTY, WHERE IRENE MORGAN SPENT HER LAST DAYS ARE MAKING SURE SHE ISN’T FORGOTTEN. OUR LISA GODLEY HAS MORE ON THE WOMAN BEHIND THE FIRST CASE TO CHALLENGE JIM CROW!

The Black National Anthem, also known as “Lift Every Voice and Sing” as been arranged numerous times by dozens of composers. But when James Cockerham took it on, this multi-faceted musician decided he wanted to take listeners on a journey from the Old world to the new. He recently shared his thoughts with our Lisa Godley as well as his excitement that the Virginia Symphony Orchestra will be playing his version in the upcoming “Songs for a Dreamer” celebration.

There’s been a lot of talk about climate change, but I’ll bet you probably haven’t heard is expressed quite like you’re about to hear. A group of talented performers and community activists recently came together in Norfolk to address the issue of climate change and as our Lisa Godley found out, the event was part of a movie production that uses comedy and culture to shed light on the climate crisis.

WHEN WE FIRST MEET KEYSHAWN DAVIS HE WAS 17 YEARS OLD AND A JUNIOR OLYMPICS BOXING CHAMPION. NOW THE NATIVE FROM NORFOLK HAS HIS SIGHTS SET ON TOKYO. HE RECENTLY SAT DOWN WITH OUR LISA GODLEY AND DETAILED THE PATH THAT HAS TAKEN HIM AROUND THE WORLD AND HOPEFULLY TO OLYMPIC GOLD!

FUN FACT: KEYSHAWN AND KELVIN DAVIS ARE THE FIRST SIBLINGS TO QUALIFY FOR THE OLYMPIC BOXING TRIALS SINCE 1976.

KEISHA YEARBY LOVES TEACHING HER STUDENTS TO BECOME BETTER READERS. SHE KNOWS, THAT THE MORE TIME THEY SPEND READING OUTSIDE OF CLASS THE BETTER THEY’LL BECOME. SO THIS 2ND GRADE TEACHER FROM CHESAPEAKE HAS TAKEN TO FACEBOOK IN AN EFFORT TO GIVE CHILDREN ALL OVER THE WORLD A READING EXPERIENCE THEY WON’T SOON FORGET!

FOR SUFFOLK NATIVE AND METROPOLITAN OPERA SINGER RYAN SPEEDO GREEN LIFE HASN’T ALWAYS BEEN A CRYSTAL STAIR. AS A CHILD “SPEEDO” GREW UP IN A ROUGH NEIGHBORHOOD. HE ALSO HAD ANGER ISSUES, WHICH ULTIMATELY LANDED HIM IN JUVENILE DETENTION. HIS STORY COULD HAVE ENDED TRAGICALLY HAD IT NOT BEEN FOR KIND PEOPLE WHO HELPED HIM SEE THINGS DIFFERENTLY. HE RECENTLY SHARED HIS STORY WITH OUR LISA GODLEY…. A JOURNEY THAT HAS TAKEN HIM FROM A TRAILER PARK TO SINGING ALL OVER THE WORLD.

HISTORY IS CONSTANTLY EVOLVING. PAST EVENTS WERE RECORDED BASED ON HOW THE PERSON OBERSERVING THE EVENT PERCEIVED IT AND HOW THEY WANTED IT TO BE REMEMBERED. FOR EXAMPLE, WE NOW KNOW THAT CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS COULD NOT HAVE DISCOVERED A COUNTRY THAT WAS ALREADY INHABITED! AS OUR ONCE LIMITED PERSPECTIVE EXPANDS, SO DOES THE LIST OF CONTRIBUTIONS MADE BY PEOPLE OF ALL RACES, GENDERS AND CREEDS. LISA GODLEY GIVES US AN INSIDE LOOK AT HOW SEVERAL ARTISTS HAVE EMBRACED THIS SHIFT. IT’S ALL PART OF “THE REST OF HISTORY” EXHIBIT CURRENTLY ON DISPLAY AT THE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART IN VIRGINIA BEACH. THE REST OF HISTORY EXHIBIT IS ON DISPLAY AT THE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART OR MOCA… NOW THRU AUGUST 18TH.

“ONCE CONSIDERED THE BEST “POUND FOR POUND” BOXER IN THE WORLD. PERNELL “SWEETPEA” WHITAKER CAPTURED TITLES IN FOUR DIFFERENT WEIGHT CLASSES. THE FORMER OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST DIED SUNDAY WHEN HE WAS HIT BY A CAR IN VIRGINIA BEACH. OUR LISA GODLEY TAKES A LOOK BACK AT THE TUMULTUOUS LIFE OF A HOMETOWN LEGEND.

IT’S BEEN 156 YEARS SINCE PRESIDENT LINCOLN ISSUED THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION, GIVING THE ENSLAVED LIVING IN CONFEDERATE STATES THEIR FREEDOM. BUT, IT TOOK ALMOST TWO AND A HALF YEARS BEFORE THE NEWS REACHED TEXAS. NEEDLESS TO SAY, WHEN IT DID THERE WAS IMMEDIATE JUBILATION AMONG THE ENSLAVED. THE EXCITEMENT AND OPTIMISM THAT CAME WITH FINALLY BEING FREE IS REMEMBERED ON JUNE 19TH OR JUNETEENTH - AND CELEBRATED IN COMMUNITIES ALL OVER THE COUNTRY! OUR LISA GODLEY WAS ON HAND WHEN SOME SUFFOLK RESIDENTS TOOK TIME THIS WEEK TO REMEMBER THEIR ANCESTORS AND THE STRUGGLES AND SACRIFICES THEY MADE TO MAKE OUR DREAMS POSSIBLE.