
Talk about the real issues
On Thursday, Sept. 9, I was interviewed by two white people – a man with a camera and a woman reporter from a local television station – in front of the U.S. Post Office on Main Street in Downtown regarding President Biden’s mandate about COVID-19 vaccines. The purpose of the interview was to get me to say something negative about President Biden. I did not take the bait.

‘Antiracist public health approach’ needed to substance abuse, by Marc H. Morial
“He was a Hollywood star with an off-Broadway paycheck that mostly went up his nose. He was a pacifist with a barroom- brawl, razor scar down the middle of his face. He played a sneering killer but started his career in dance tights. On set, he was Omar Little, the Robin Hood of the hood feared by fictional street thugs who feared nothing else. Off it, he was an aimless soul begging for someone — anyone — to love and accept him for who he was, not who he played.” — Kevin Manahan, Newark Star-Ledger

Va. voters’ choice: Moving forward or going back, by Ben Jealous
Virginia voters will pick the state’s next governor in November. The choice couldn’t be clearer, and neither could the national implications of this race in a bellwether state. Not only is the Virginia election a curtain-raiser for the midterm elections of 2022, it’s also the biggest test so far of whether the Trumpified GOP can win major races.

Where is the love?
“Reopen With Love 2.0” was the mantra being espoused by Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras as thousands of students returned to the classroom last week for in-person learning for the first time since March 2020 and the onset of the pandemic.

‘Forgotten First:’ A look at four – and more – NFL trailblazers
In this era of racial reckoning, it’s not only appropriate but significant that the stories of NFL trailblazers be told.

Lessons taught at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
Nine teams passed on Paul Pierce in the 1998 NBA draft, and if you think he doesn’t remember each and every one of them, then you don’t know Paul Pierce.

Sanders makes coach’s job easy
Shedeur Sanders is making his father, Coach Deion Sanders, look good.

Washington NFL team likely looking to Heinicke in current pinch
The revolving door continues to spin in the Washington Football Team huddle.

HBCU teams banking on more memorable – and winning – football weekend
It was a weekend to forget for state HBCU and MEAC football teams.

VSU heads into CIAA play with 0-2 record
Virginia State University has shown it can drive nearly the length of the field for a touchdown.

Armstrong High, wearing throwback jerseys for Armstrong-Kennedy, blitzes John Marshall
A change of nickname and change of uniforms may have helped change the luck of Armstrong High School’s football team—at least for one night.

Pandemic forcing Black morticians to bury their own in profession
When the last mourners departed and funeral director Shawn Troy was left among the headstones, he wept alone.

Mayor Stoney details plans for using $155M in American Rescue Plan funds
Mayor Levar M. Stoney on Monday called for using the $155 million inAmerican Rescue Plan funds pouring into City Hall coffers to increase the inventory of homes and apartments that are more affordable for lower-income residents; beef up recreation facilities and improve access to the James River; invest in child care programs and in health programs; improve public safety; and provide $3,000 bonuses for first re- sponders.

RPS opens with problems with lunches, new buildings
Richmond Public Schools reopened last week and school trash cans are overflowing with rejected prepackaged lunches that students would rather throw away than eat. And parents don’t blame them.

Early voting begins Sept. 17 for Virginia’s top posts
The future direction of Virginia’s government is now in the hands of voters, with early voting cranking up on Friday, Sept. 17 – 45 days ahead of the official Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 2.

’Monumental Conversations:’ RPS launches new, free app offering insight into community feelings about Confederate statues that lined Monument Avenue
A new mobile app gives people the ability to hear the stories of the generational resistance of Black Richmonders to the Confederate statues on Monument Avenue that once stood as symbols of the white “Lost Cause” narrative.

Confederate A.P. Hill statue may be headed to Culpeper
The last city-owned Confederate statue is on its way out of Richmond, though the process will not be swift because a grave is involved, according to Mayor Levar M. Stoney.

Inside Met Gala, where there’s always someone more famous
U.S. women’s soccer star Megan Rapinoe had just gotten her beverage at the bar at the edge of the room. She looked back at the throbbing crowd of celebrities packed into the center of the airy Petrie Court, where the Met Gala was holding its cocktail reception.

VUU to play VUL Sept. 18 in Willard Bailey Classic
Who is Coach Bailey rooting for?
Virginia Union University’s long-awaited first football game on its beautifully renovated field left much to be desired. The game this Saturday, Sept. 18, against beleaguered Virginia University of Lynchburg figures to produce far happier results.