Harry Hughes, chief schools officer for RPS, is leaving
Harry Hughes, the chief schools officer for Richmond Public Schools, is leaving at the end of July.
Virginian Keldon Johnson of San Antonio has new title: Olympian
On his life journey, Keldon Johnson will have gone from Richmond to the Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
U.S. women’s basketball team going for 7th straight gold medal
If there is such a thing as a “lock” for an Olympic gold medal, it may be the U.S. Women’s National Basketball Team—aka Team USA.
Trayvon Bromell running for ‘World’s Fastest Human’ crown, gold
Trayvon Bromell’s first trip to the Olympics ended with no medals, a painful injury and a ride out of the stadium in a wheelchair.
Positive COVID-19 tests dash U.S. Olympians’ dreams
When the flame is lighted Fri- day, July 23, kicking off the Olympic Games in Tokyo, the U.S. team will be minus several competitors because of COVID-19.
‘Bones’ Hyland wants to be 22nd VCU Ram drafted by NBA
If someone were to update Virginia Commonwealth University’s history in the NBA draft, an apt title might be “From Bodine to Bones.”
Hip-hop classic Biz Markie succumbs at 57
Biz Markie, a hip-hop staple known for his beatboxing prowess, turntable mastery and the 1989 classic “Just a Friend,” died Friday, July 16, 2021, with his wife by his side.
The daily
We read with great interest “How the White Press Wrote Off Black America,” an opinion piece by New York Times editorial board member Brent Staples published in the newspaper’s July 10 edition.
‘Please run for School Board’, by Julianne Malveaux
Critical race theory, or CRT, asserts that racism is woven into the very fabric of our nation’s institutions.
Commit to country, rather than party, by Ben Jealous
One year after the death of the great civil rights icon Congressman John Lewis, a group of Texas Democratic lawmakers is following Rep. Lewis’s lifelong call for people to make “good trouble” and “necessary trouble” to secure equality and justice for all.
Create a ‘Social Justice Trail’ in Richmond
Re Column “Reimagining Monument Avenue,” Free Press July 1-3 edition:
Petersburg jury awards $300,000 to woman injured by officer
A Petersburg jury has awarded $300,000 in damages to a Black woman who sued a police officer for excessive force and false arrest after she was forced face-down onto the pavement during a traffic stop.
Setting the record straight on state Elections Board action
Re “Councilman Michael Jones blasts ‘blatant discrimination’ by state Board of Elections,” Free Press July 8-10 edition:
Use stimulus aid for summer jobs for youths, by Marc H. Morial
“The Harlem Youth Action Project was a city-funded attempt to keep some of the smarter kids off the street ... the next time I saw JET magazine there I was, all the way in the top left-hand corner of a news photo, leaning over Dr. King with my trusty tape recorder in my hand, looking for the last word. I was anything but a Power Memorial junior; I was starting to feel like what I thought of as a man.” — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Justice movement will not be deterred, by Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.
The right wing majority on the U.S. Supreme Court has undercut the federal Voting Rights Act again. Having gutted the section that required pre-approval of state voting laws to protect the rights of minorities to vote in Shelby v. Holder, Republican-appointed justices now have castrated the backup clause, Section 2, that bans racial discrimination in election practices in Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee.
Washington Football Team
This week marks the year anniversary of enlightenment for the NFL Washington Football Team, which announced on July 13, 2020, that it was dropping the offensive name the franchise had used since 1933.
Fayetteville State clears tuition debt for nearly 1,500 students
Fayetteville State University has used pandemic relief funds to clear $1.6 million in tuition debt for nearly 1,500 students.
Honoring true trailblazers
Engine Company No. 9 & Associates celebrated the 71 anniversary of the hiring of the first professional Black firefighters in Virginia.
Diane Walker stepping down from NBC12 after 41 years
She has been on Richmonders’ side for 41 years.
Free, virtual panel to discuss slave housing sites
Historic Richmond, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving, rehabbing and revitalizing the city, is hosting a free virtual panel next week titled “The History and Documentation of Slave Housing in Virginia.”
