Greetings. Thank you for having me. It is a joy to pay honor and respects to a legend in our Richmond community.
This is a wonderful day to honor a man who gave so much, not only to this congregation but to our entire city.
For forty-five years, from this pulpit, he also served Richmond far beyond the pulpit in ways that you all know. Reverend James was a teacher. He was a servant. When he was not preaching and teaching at Virginia Union University Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology, he was supporting the work of the NAACP and the State Baptist Convention.
He had a huge heart for justice. He made time to serve on the state parole board, and he was a chaplain at the former Spring Street State Penitentiary, the first African American to serve in that counselor role.
He cared deeply about equality, always on the leading edge, fighting for women’s leadership in the church. And now we see the women who are serving across Trinity.
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He led the church in the deep work of mercy. He opened the doors of this place to the unhoused, allowing Trinity to be a hub early on for Caritas, years before there was a permanent one on the Southside. He was one of the first leaders to step forward and open the door to say, “We need to be able to serve this community.”
He believed in creating community. As you all know, the Trinity Family Life Center, just a few miles from here, for years served as a village to many people in the city, whether it was sports, programming or food provision.
That was my connection. When I was working in the health department, we were doing a lot of work with Trinity at the time. That was a time when we were able to support some of the family strengthening and the fatherhood work. Trinity again was on the leading edge, partnering with the government and caring well for the residents of our community.
That lives deeply into my own story here in Richmond but has touched thousands of people.
He, through all these things, embodied what it means to be the hands and feet of Christ. There are countless people in our community who are better as a result.
He also believed in the importance of civic engagement. He was a mentor and a supporter to many up-and-coming young political leaders and carried on a long legacy of important influence among Black pastors in our political process.
His influence pushed those of us in politics to remember that this was not about the glory, the media or the stature. It was about the moral obligation we have to do what is right and to make decisions for the sake of the people we are committed to serve. For the sake of young people and families who want a better life. For the sake of those on the margins, often not heard but central to our city and central to the gospel that was the light of Reverend James’s life.
I can think of very few people in Richmond who are more deserving of this honor of naming a street after him. I am thankful we have the opportunity to do this. Blessings.
