Top 40 Under 40

On the cover: Duron “Brother Manifest” Chavis, who works in Richmond’s Department of Social Services, advocates for social consciousness in the black community. Photo by Scott Elmquist

We heard a lot about hope and change in the last election. Well, in every election, really. That a new day is ahead, that our world is about to be transformed.

The fact is, we can ask for change all we want on a massive scale, hoping that someone will step in to right wrongs, improve our lives, lend a hand when we need to be lifted up. But where most of us have the grandest effect is on the world just beyond our front doors. Our neighbors, our friends and family, the colleagues we see every day.

In these pages we tell short but mighty stories of 40 young men and women in the community who may dare to dream big, but don’t fail to act with the resources within reach in Richmond. They are successful in their own right, but they also embrace a mission of change. They help people who live down roads they’ve never walked, or ones whose situations they understand better than anyone possibly could. They may hope for change. But they are change, too.

As one recipient, Duron Chavis, puts it, “They say knowledge is power, but I say it’s not powerful unless you do something with it.” — Jason Roop

Style Weekly's Top 40 Under 40 2009

A-D     E-J     K-P     R-Z