For Prince William County’s youngest school board candidate, Jaylen Custis, an appearance at a recent Moms for Liberty meeting had significant consequences.
By Madison Hirneisen
(The Center Square) - Virginia will offer a tax credit for the purchase of a firearm safety device, including gun safes and lock boxes, under a bill signed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin this week.
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A judge on Friday set a new trial date for former Prince William County Registrar Michele White in connection to accusations by Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares’ office that she altered local results of the 2020 presidential election.
The latest plans for a replacement of Jennie Dean Elementary School feature another pre-kindergarten to fourth-grade elementary school built with the same layout as Baldwin Intermediate and Elementary School, which opened in 2016.
After hearing objections and complaints from scores of citizens and environmental watchdogs, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality has modified a proposed change to state rules that would allow data centers to run their generators as needed when the electric grid is strained.
Prince William County Executive Chris Shorter proposed major pay increases for county employees and a 5.3-cent real estate tax reduction Tuesday night, all part of his $1.61 billion budget proposal for the 2024 fiscal year.
Insidenova.com has more on the story:
The Board of County Supervisors has proclaimed February 28 “Montford Point Marine Day.” In doing so, the community commemorates the first African American recruits in the Marine Corps trained at the Montford Point in North Carolina.
During the early 1940s, the United States was preparing to enter World War II and needed recruits. But President Franklin D. Roosevelt faced a problem; Hiring discrimination based on race was still the norm in the defense industry.
At the same time, Civil rights leaders were organizing for change. A. Philip Randolph, who had organized and led the first African American labor union, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, was planning a march on Washington D.C. to pressure President Roosevelt to open the defense industry to Black Americans. The president initially resisted this effort, but as the march grew closer and after much pressure from his wife Eleanor, Roosevelt conceded.
On June 25, 1941, the president signed Executive Order 8802, prohibiting racial discrimination in the defense industry or government. At last, all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces were open to African Americans. Between 1942 and 1949, approximately 20,000 African American men completed recruit training under harsh conditions on a still racially segregated base in North Carolina known as Montford Point.
Montford Point Is now part of Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, the main Marine Corps infantry base for the East Coast, and is called Camp Johnson after one of those first Black marines. The Montford Point Marines were determined to serve and fight for their country abroad as heroes, even though they faced segregation when they returned home.
On November 23, 2011, President Barack Obama signed into law the legislation awarding the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor bestowed by Congress, to the Montford Point Marines.
Prince William County is home to Quantico Marine Base in the Potomac District, and the county is home to many veterans and active service members who are the beneficiary of sacrifices made by the Montford Point Marines, which is why the County has set aside this day, February 28, 2023, to recognize and honor their legacy.
Master Gunnery Sgt. Carroll W. Braxton, 98, one of the Montford Point Marines, attended and spoke at the ceremony commemorating the trailblazing Marines.
“You couldn’t even realize what we had to go through to be a Marine,” Braxton said. “You know it’s kind of tough when you’re going to fight for your country, and you are told you are not wanted. You don’t belong here. We don’t need you here, and you will never be a Marine, but after 11 weeks of going through Hell, you see, I’m standing here.”
After boot camp, Braxton was one of a few Marines sent to the Pacific Theater.
“We went to the Pacific, and would you believe we weren’t segregated? We joined the white marines on those Islands. And you know, it was a strange thing, bullets don’t have black or white, and we found that out, and the white Marines found out that we could do what they could and maybe a little bit better because we wanted to. We wanted to prove that we could fight for our country and we were equal to anybody else that fought for their country. We had to fight for our country, and now we are still, I hate to say, still fighting a little bit. It’s better, but it could be a whole lot better.”
-Story by Prince William County Government
By Madison Hirneisen
(The Center Square) - A panel of Virginia state Senate lawmakers defeated a torrent of Republican-backed education bills Thursday, including measures to require schools to maintain a catalog and identify library books with "graphic sexual content" and prevent transgender students from participating in sports aligned with their gender identity.
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Over the last few years, many Virginia officials have made it clear they don't want the state to officially venerate Robert E. Lee anymore...After a Northern Virginia constituent asked about the issue, Del. Candi Mundon King, D-Prince William, says it's time for the license plates to go too. And she's filed a bill to get rid of them.
