Presidents Day schedule
In observance of the Presidents Day holiday on Monday, Feb. 21, please note the following:
Va. adopts plan to end school mask mandates March 1
The Virginia General Assembly moved swiftly Wednesday to put the final legislative touches on a bill that bans local school systems from imposing mask mandates on students.
Naima Burrs hopes to play to Petersburg Symphony Orchestra’s strengths in new role
Petersburg Symphony Orchestra musicians are gearing up for a new season without the presence of a familiar face—Ulysses Kirksey, their former music director for more than 30 years.
VUU Panthers ready for CIAA Tournament in Baltimore
The Virginia Union University Panthers have taken care of important basketball business in Pennsylvania. The next stops on the team’s planned hoops itinerary are North Carolina, then Maryland and then, perhaps, the NCAA Tournament at points now unknown. Following a crucial 79- 71 victory last Saturday at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, Coach Jay Butler’s squad has taken the pole position, steering into next week’s CIAA Tourna- ment in Baltimore. VUU will finish the regular season Saturday, Feb. 19, at Shaw University in Raleigh, N.C., before heading for the tournament in Baltimore, which starts Tuesday, Feb. 22. If the Panthers can hold on to the top spot in the CIAA Northern Division, their likely quarter final tournament opener would be Thursday, Feb. 24, at Royal Farms Arena. The CIAA Tournament finals are set for Saturday, Feb. 26. ESPN-Plus and ESPN-U will provide TV coverage throughout the week. VUU’s victory at Lincoln University put distance between the Panthers and the runner- up Lincoln Lions for the Northern Division top seed. VUU forward Robert Osborne received no mention in the preseason All-CIAA voting. But he’s due for much more recognition when the more important postseason All-CIAA team is announced next week. The 6-foot-5, 230-pound junior powerhouse out of Hermitage High School in Henrico County was at his burly best at Lincoln, hitting 12 of 20 field goals and scoring 26 points. Jordan Peebles, the pogo-stick senior for- ward from Emporia, added 19 points and nine rebounds at Lincoln and is always a best-bet for the highlight reels. In only 20.5 minutes per game, Osborne leads the balanced Panthers in scoring (12.6 points per game), field goal percentage (.573)
Black Muslim life honored in new online portrait exhibit
A new online exhibit featuring portraits of Black Muslims was launched earlier this month by Sapelo Square, a Black Muslim education and media collective.
Ezell Royal Lee, ‘Fashion King of Hull Sreet, dies at 66
Hull Street became the runway where Ezell Royal Lee would display his personal clothing creations while walking his dog, Miss Cleo.
Personality: Michelle Evans-Oliver
Spotlight on president of Richmond, Virginia Branch of ASALH
In the midst of a pandemic marked by death, large-scale action and change for African-Americans, Michelle Evans-Oliver is working to ensure the stories of Black people in Richmond are preserved and promoted.
‘We are resilient’
Fox Elementary School parents, students, teachers and administrators vow to bounce back after fire destroys the 111-year-old school on Hanover Avenue, sending students back to virtual learning
Five days after a huge blaze turned Fox Elementary School into a hulking ruin, students, parents, teachers and staff of The Fan school are readjusting to virtual learning.
State NAACP executive director resigns citing hail of allegations
The executive director of the Virginia State Conference NAACP has abruptly quit after 14 months.
Personality: Lawrence ‘Larry’ Clark
Spotlight on president of the Greater Richmond Chapter of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogicial Society
The history of African-Americans remains obscured because of the effects of slavery and white supremacy. It’s this lack of information that Lawrence “Larry” Clark seeks to resolve as president of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society’s Greater Richmond Chapter.
Youngkin’s orders parallel Germany after Holocaust
There are a lot of parallels between Gov. Glenn A. Youngkin’s executive orders on race and post-Holocaust Germany.
What will the Black History Museum leave out with Confederate statues?
Re “Confederate pedestals out: Grass and landscaping to soon replace dead soldiers,” Free Press Feb. 3-5 edition:
Diversity and the Federal Reserve Board, by Marc H. Morial
“The Federal Reserve is our country’s most powerful economic policy institution. Twelve Fed leaders meet every six weeks to make decisions that include how many people should be unemployed and whether wages should be going up. Most of those leaders are white men who come from Wall Street. We want the leadership of the Fed at all levels to be more diverse so it looks and thinks like the working people it is supposed to represent, not Wall Street.” — The Fed Up Campaign
Whoopi Goldberg’s teachable moment – and ours, by Clarence Page
I hesitated to say anything about Whoopi Goldberg’s remarks that resulted in her suspension from ABC’s “The View” until I could figure out precisely what to be offended about.
Meme of the week
“When we ban books in schools before we ban guns, we admit we are more afraid of our children learning than we are of them dying.”
Disdain for the people
We are gravely concerned by the growing disdain the Youngkin administration and his GOP and Democratic supporters have for the people of the Commonwealth.
Black History Month events continue
Black History Month is an annual celebration of achievements by African-Americans and a time for recognizing their central role in U.S. history. The event grew out of “Negro History Week,” the brainchild of noted historian Dr. Carter G. Woodson and other prominent African-Americans.
State of the City
Mayor Levar M. Stoney outlines plans to boost public safety, health, affordable housing, job creation, violence prevention to improve the quality of life for Richmonders
Bigger investments in public safety – including the creation of a gun buyback program as part of a strategic effort to quell the surge in gunfire and violence.
Flores lawsuit against NFL may dominate Super Bowl parties
This year’s Super Bowl is competing with what could be billed the “Suit’er Bowl” as the No. 1 topic among football fans.
