Powhatan County Fair opens May 14 for 3-day run
Helicopter rides, an antique photography display, live music, carnival rides and games and a gospel jubilee are among the highlights of the 102nd Annual Powhatan County Fair taking place Friday, May 14, through Sunday, May 16.
Actor Hill Harper to launch Black-owned digital wallet
Richmond will be a stop on a national tour seeking to pump up interest in a new Black-owned financial app for cell phones that is to go live June 1.
Track and field fundraiser May 8
The West End Striders and East End Lightning are co- hosting a track and field meet Saturday, May 8, at Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School, 1000 N. Lombardy St.
Celtics’ Jayson Tatum scores 60 points in one game
Jayson Tatum has joined the legendary Larry Bird at the top of one of the Boston Celtics’ all-time lists.
O out of 259: No HBCU athletes chosen in NFL draft
HBCU athletes went 0-for- 259 picks in the seven-round NFL draft.
Jamin Davis to be key building block for Washington
For years now, a sturdy defense has been under heavy construction by the Washington Football Team. Jamin Davis becomes the latest building block on site.
Banks-Rose is latest VSU sprint sensation
Trelee Banks-Rose is the latest sprint sensation at Virginia State University.
Olympic dream remembered
When the 2020 Summer Olympics were postponed because of the pandemic, few understood the athletes’ heartache more than John Christian.
Documentary details past and present of AME Church
The African Methodist Episcopal Church has released a short film online about its history that includes an interview with the Rev. Clementa C. Pinckney, the pastor killed in a June 2015 racial attack on his historic Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C., church, in which he talks about the historically Black denomination’s significance.
Hanover Branch NAACP, others file legal challenge to planned Wegmans distribution center
The battle over a proposed $175 million distribution center that Wegmans Food Markets Inc. wants to build in Hanover County is headed to court.
Former Judge Pamela O’Berry joins attorney general’s staff
Just a month after she was forced off the bench in Chesterfield County, former General District Court Judge Pamela O’Berry has landed softly in the office of state Attorney General Mark R. Herring.
City Council to vote on new $772M budget plan May 10
The first ever city pay supplement for public defenders who represent most Richmond residents charged with crimes.
New George Wythe may not happen until 2027, Kamras says
The Richmond School Board voted to establish a community advisory board for the construction of a new George Wythe High School in South Side.
Overlooked:
Confederate marker at South Richmond courthouse
Even as City Council starts to move ahead on disposing of most of the city’s collection of Confederate statues, another Confederate monument remains undisturbed at the South Richmond courthouse.
New city voter registrar brings experience, passion to the job
Keith Balmer will make history Monday, May 10, when he is sworn into a four-year term as Richmond’s new voter registrar amid the surge of work for the June 8 Democratic primary.
Black professionals make significant donations to VMFA
The generosity of Black professionals is making a big impact on the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.
Collegiate’s Krystian Williams is breaking records
Krystian Williams runs and jumps like he has rockets in his sneakers and coils in his knees.
Funeral traditions changed – maybe permanently – by COVID-19
John E. Thomasson was a hero in his hometown. As a member of the Louisa County Board of Supervisors, he was the first African-American elected to public office in the county. Across 98 years, he built a successful realty company, helped to save mortgages, paid for college scholarships and owned the local funeral home for 53 years, where he oversaw the burials of thousands of Virginians. When he died of an age-related illness on July 22, there was hardly anyone in Louisa County who had not been touched by his life. Other than his wife of more than 65 years, the Rev. Christine Thomasson, there is likely no one who knows his impact better than his successor, D.D. Watson Jr., who was handpicked by Mr. Thomasson to purchase and take over his funeral home business in 2004. And yet upon the death of Mr. Thomasson—a businessman, philanthropist, politician and public servant whose life and work was recognized this year in a proclamation from the Virginia Senate—the largest single gathering in his honor held barely 12 people. That’s because of government-imposed safety restrictions on public gatherings because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
