NORFOLK — Each year, I try to find a person to write about to celebrate Black History Month.
Last year, I wrote about Jeremiah “Jerry” Gaines, who was the first Black scholarship athlete at Virginia Tech.
In the fall of 1967, Gaines was one of only 20 Black students on campus. But he didn’t let racism or prejudice hold him back as he helped build a path for every Black athlete that followed him.
This year, I decided to write about Oronde Andrews.
Andrews, 52, has been the athletic director at two predominantly Black high schools in Hampton Roads — Norcom High in Portsmouth and currently at Booker T. Washington in Norfolk — and his mother, Brenda, owns the New Journal and Guide, one of the oldest Black newspapers in the country.
In 1962, his mother, along with three other students, helped desegregate E.C. Glass High in Lynchburg. One year later, she attended the March on Washington.
Oronde Andrews’s father helped desegregate George Wythe High in Richmond, and his aunts were active in the civil rights movement.
“So I had that in my background,” he said, smiling proudly.
After his parents divorced, his mother — who edited a military community paper in West Germany, and worked as an associate editor of the Army’s Newswire Service at the Pentagon — moved to Hampton Roads in 1982. She began working as the assistant to the publisher at the Journal and Guide, which started in 1900.
In 1987, she became the newspaper’s publisher and president, and in 1991 became the owner. She changed the name to the New Journal and Guide.
“I tell you, it’s a lot of pressure. The paper is 126 years old,” said Brenda Andrews, who saw Richmond’s Black newspaper, “Richmond Free Press,” close its doors earlier this month. “The Journal and Guide has seen some high points, and it’s also seen some low points. We just keep walking and trusting that there’s a need that we know we are feeling, and that we’re going to continue to do that as long as we’re able to.”
Her son has never forgotten the sacrifices she made. And he’s soaked up all of her wisdom and knowledge, which has shaped him.
“The location of the paper was on Princess Anne Road, across from the old Booker T. Washington, which is currently a Masonic Lodge,” he said. “My mother’s office at the paper overlooked Booker T. Washington. And I would look over there and not know what I was looking at. But whatever I was looking at, it drew me to it.”
Andrews begged his mother to move to Norfolk so he could attend Booker T. Washington. She did and he ran track for the Bookers. For college, he went down the street and graduated from Norfolk State.
Now, he’s the athletic director at the school he dreamed of going to.
“I don’t take it lightly. I know it’s a great responsibility,” said Andrews, who has been the athletic director at Booker T. Washington for the last two years. “And I do not back away from the responsibility and the history of the school. And the history throughout the years where people said, ‘You’re not going to close our school down and make us a middle school or eliminate us entirely.’
“It’s important that you keep your history and that you understand the relevance, the importance of where you are, and where you’re going,” he added. “We are a viable, thriving school. I just feel very thankful, very grateful and appreciative to be able to say that I’m here for this time period to be a steward and to keep this institution going in the athletic arena.”
Before coming to Booker T. Washington, Andrews was at Norcom High for 20 years, including 10 as its athletic director.
While there, he saw the school thrive in sports as the Greyhounds to 13 Eastern District championships.
“While at Norcom, we won five state boys basketball championships under Leon Goolsby and four state track and field championships, two boys and two girls, under Lisa Carnes,” he said. “Those phenomenal coaches were able to put it all together. And I was very fortunate and blessed to help orchestrate it.”
Athletic Director Oronde Andrews sits for a portrait in the stands at Booker T. Washington High School in Norfolk on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (Kendall Warner/The Virginian-Pilot)
At Booker T. Washington, he’s seen the Bookers excel in track, with two state individual champions. He’s also seen improvements in the facilities, including a new turf football field and renovations to the school’s gym.
His mother is so happy for all that her son has accomplished.
“It means a lot for me to see that. He has been committed, all of his adult career life, to working in the inner city,” she said. “Oronde started out wanting to do something different other than teaching. He was really smitten with working with young people. That’s what he’s done. It’s been something that has driven him. So, yes, I’m extremely, extremely proud.”
Andrews is excited about the school’s future. He knows how important it is for him to keep things going, just like his mother with the newspaper. He also knows the alumni and the students are counting on him to finish the race.
“They definitely hold you accountable to always remember that this is way bigger than you. That you have to make sure that you are being a good steward,” he said. “You’re running a race, and right now you’re holding that baton, and they’re telling you to hold on tight and run as hard a you can.
“But at some particular point in time, you’re going to have to pass that baton on to somebody else. And hopefully, when it’s time for you to pass it, you put that other person in a good situation where they can take it even further. That’s the importance of taking it even further.”
Larry Rubama, 757-575-6449, larry.rubama@pilotonline.com
