RICHMOND, Va. — A Richmond educator who dedicated 54 years to teaching and coaching was posthumously honored at Armstrong High School, where his impact on athletics and student lives continues to resonate.
Coach Gerard Samuels was inducted into the Armstrong-Kennedy Athletic Hall of Fame on Monday night, with family, friends and former athletes gathering to celebrate his legacy. His daughters, CBS 6 Anchor GeNienne Samuels and Mercedes Branch, accepted the honor on his behalf, with his first daughter DeHavill and Rogers watching on video. Samuels unexpectedly passed in 2021.
Samuels made history as the first African American male physical education teacher in Henrico County at Brookland Middle School and spent decades shaping young lives through education and athletics.
Born and raised in Richmond, Samuels attended West End Elementary School, where his mother Jessie Poindexter Samuels taught. He later attended Benjamin Graves Middle School and Maggie Walker High School, where he discovered his passion for track and field.
Samuels earned a track scholarship to Florida A&M University, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Education and joined Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity. He later earned a Master’s in Education from Virginia Commonwealth University…