Community NewsNo Fares, Transit Equity Day, Feb. 3; Honors Rosa ParksHAMPTON ROADSHampton Roads Transit will be observing Transit Equity Day on Feb. 3 as a National Day of Action by offering free bus, light rail, ferry, microtransit, and paratransit services to show the importance of investing in public transit. The day also calls attention to the work of public transit rider Rosa Parks, whose birthday is on Feb. 4.Bus headlights will remain on all day to symbolize the light Rosa Parks provided to our world. Each HRT bus also will have a reserved front seat with a small sign on it to honor Parks' act of courage that ultimately helped make transit more equitable for all.Parks played a pivotal role in the Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott of 1955 when she refused the order of a white driver to vacate her seat in the colored section of the bus once the white section was full.Her quiet act of civil disobedience to the Alabama segregation laws helped inspire the African American community in Montgomery to begin a boycott of bus services that lasted over a year. Eventually, bus segregation was ruled unconstitutional in November 1956 under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14 Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.EVMS-NSU Partnership Will Target Health Equity, WorkforceNORFOLKLeaders from EVMS and NSU gathered Tuesday, Jan. 24, to announce the launch of a program known as the EVMS-NSU Research and Training Incubator for Collaboration in Health Equity Initiative (ENRICHe). ENRICHe is designed to enhance collaborative research focused on health disparities as a way to advance health equity in the region and to expand pathways for NSU students interested in a career in medicine or the health professions. At the ceremony, Javaune Adams-Gaston, PhD, President of NSU, and Alfred Abuhamad, MD, President of EVMS, will be joined by other senior leaders to discuss the details of ENRICHe.4TH Annual Black History “Trail Blazers Side WALK Parade” Takes Place on February 18PORTSMOUTHThe Fourth Annual “Black History Trail Blazers Side WALK Parade” will be held in Portsmouth on February 18, 2023. This year’s route is “Historical Truxton”, the city’s first Black Planned neighborhood.This annual Black History Month event is sponsored and hosted by The Young Peoples Guild under the direction of Dr. Apostle Joyce White-Tasby. Each year, a historical trail focuses on a part of Portsmouth, allowing participants on the trail to stop at places not taught in history school books.The Truxton neighborhood was Portsmouth's first Black neighborhood with indoor plumbing and sidewalks.As a part of the learning experience, persons are encouraged to dress in the costume of their favorite historical Black Person. They are asked to know five things about the individuals they have chosen to represent.Participants will line-up at the Old Truxton School Site at 10:00 a.m. at Portsmouth Blvd. and Deep Creek Blvd. The parade begins at 10:30.Buses can be boarded at the line up site for riders. A narrator will be aboard.There will be entertainment at the conclusion of
