THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 26, 1996 TAG: 9605240212
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Ida Kay's Portsmouth
SOURCE: Ida Kay Jordan
LENGTH: 75 lines
Maury Cook was absolutely right Monday night when he described the First Citizens banquet honoring Junius Williams as ``a historic event.''
No doubt about it, Monday was a special day, not only for Williams but for this city.
Williams is the first black person to receive the special medal since the inaugural First Citizen title went to newspaper publisher Norman Hamilton in 1932. For most of the years the honor has gone to white males.
In 1972, Emily Spong broke the gender barrier with outstanding records of contribution to the public schools and to historic preservation. But it wasn't until 1987 that another woman, Anne Hyde Long, received the award. Then, after six more white males, Zelma Goodman Rivin was chosen last year to wear the medal.
Now another outstanding man has been added to the list.
``It's getting better and better every year,'' Cooke said in his introductory remarks. ``It's really turned into a Portsmouth event.''
Cooke alluded to the past, unwritten policy that the First Citizen would be white and most often male, saying that Portsmouth people ``too often do things apart, separated into black and white.''
Until recent years, the award was sponsored by the Moose Lodge. Now it has become a broader-based project, staged by Ports Events and sponsored by Kiwanians, Lions, Rotarians and the Junior Service League.
And Monday night the people who came to honor Williams cut across all segments of the population. Young and old, rich and poor, black and white - about 400 people crowded into the Holiday Inn banquet rooms.
They included Dr. James T. Rhodes, Virginia Power's president and CEO, plus a lot of other big-wigs from Virginia Power, where Williams works. Mistress of ceremonies was Eva S. Teig, a vice president of Virginia Power in Richmond and a Portsmouth native.
``Eva and I share a lot,'' Williams said. ``We both are concerned about the future of the city we love.''
Taking to the podium to thank everybody who honored him, Williams shared what was foremost in his heart, too.
``The organization on my mind and my heart tonight is the Portsmouth Schools Foundation,'' whose board he now heads. Nothing, he said, is more important to our future well-being than our children.
The foundation is important to the schools, securing money for programs to help children.
``We give hope to the disadvantaged,'' Williams told his captive but admiring audience. For instance, the foundation so far has helped 2,200 students with $7.5 million in financial aid for college. And that's just one of its projects.
Williams is serious about the foundation, and he's serious about other community projects that claim him as a volunteer. That's what makes him outstanding, what gives him the aura of First Citizen.
Williams is hung up on Portsmouth, the city he chose to live in when Virginia Power transferred him here in 1983. He says Petersburg is where he was born but Portsmouth is his home - and he doesn't intend to go anywhere else.
Many people probably could qualify for selection as First Citizen. But none would be more deserving than Williams, who does not seek publicity or recognition for his volunteer efforts.
He meets all the criteria.
And he does not dwell in a world of color, but rather he lives in the total world. He does not seem to see life in black and white.
Many others in Portsmouth - and elsewhere, for that matter - could learn from his example.
As one prominent African American said to me recently, this city is not going to progress very far very fast until more blacks and whites start working together toward the same goal.
Honoring a First Citizen who is black may be a very small first step. For one thing, there definitely were more black faces in the audience Monday than there ever have been, although the number has been growing over the past few years.
More importantly, it is an act that says actions count more than anything else. by CNB