HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — Artist Joseph Mack has been commissioned by the families of several legendary entertainers – Chadwick Boseman, James Brown, B. B. King, and others – to create portraits of them.
But coming home to dedicate a portrait to his alma mater, Varina High School, was a special full-circle moment for Mack.
The portrait depicts Varina High Principal Cherita Sears, who became the first Black woman to serve as principal of the school after taking the position in 2023.
For a once all-white segregated school, and the first in Henrico to be desegregated, the moment is absolutely “something to be celebrated,” Mack said.
“I’m proud of her. And it's a huge accomplishment for Varina as a whole,” he said. “[The painting] also just felt like a good way of honoring where I came from and what brought me up to become an artist today.”
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