State NAACP president dismissed, listening tour stopped in shake-up
The president of the Virginia State Conference NAACP was abruptly dismissed and the civil rights group’s statewide “Listening Tour” has been halted in changes announced last weekend by the state administrator.
Down again: Student achievement drops again for Richmond Public Schools, according to 2018-19 SOL test results
Richmond Public Schools student achievement continues to decline, according to state Standards of Learning test results released this week by the Virginia Department of Education.
Cityscape: Slice of life and scenes in Richmond
Slices of life and scenes in Richmond
A sign posted in Richmond’s Byrd Park offers motorists a friendly reminder: “Love It? Then Lock It! Or Lose It!”
Why I visited the border
Letter to the Editor
As I ventured to the southern border near Laredo, Texas, I could not help but think about the tragic shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, which are stark reminders of the dangers that plague our communities under the resurgence of white nationalism, domestic terrorism, intolerance and racial hatred germinating from the White House.
A tribute to Toni Morrison
Columnists
“Oppressive language does more than represent violence; it is violence; does more than represent the limits of knowledge; it limits knowledge. Whether it is obscuring state language or the faux-language of mindless media; whether it is the proud but calcified language of the academy or the commodity driven language of science; whether it is the malign language of law-without-ethics, or language designed for the estrangement of minorities, hiding its racist plunder in its literary cheek –it must be rejected, altered and exposed. It is the language that drinks blood, laps vulnerabilities, tucks its fascist boots under crinolines of respectability and patriotism as it moves relentlessly toward the bottom line and the bottomed-out mind.” — Toni Morrison, Nobel Lecture, 1993
Calling for a groundswell
Columnists
How, in a span of only 24 hours, could two cities in different states and regions suffer mass shootings — one in El Paso, Texas, a city only a few miles from the nation’s southern border, and the other in Dayton, Ohio, a former midwestern manufacturing hub?
A clearer vision needed
Editorials
We are not convinced of the need or the benefits of the costly plan to replace the Richmond Coliseum and divert millions of tax dollars that ordinarily would go to the city’s general fund to pay for the project.
Down Home Family Reunion this Saturday
Richmond native Jerome “Bigfoot” Brailey’s Funk Allstars is headlining the 29th Annual Down Home Family Reunion this weekend. The free event, hosted by the Elegba Folklore Society, will run from 4 to 11 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17, at Abner Clay Park, Leigh Street and Brook Road in Jackson Ward.
Former HBCU athlete hoping to remain on roster
Athletes from historically black colleges and universities are getting harder and harder to find on NFL rosters. The Washington NFL team has just one player from an HBCU, and he’s not sure he’ll make it to opening day.
Washington NFL training camp ends
Seven down and one to go. The Washington NFL team concluded its preseason workouts last Sunday at the Bon Secours Training Center in Richmond.
Hampton University gets new quarterback
Hampton University’s football prospects have just become brighter. Quarterback Deondre Francois is the latest addition to the Pirates’ Big South Conference roster.
Ronald Acuna hopes to bat his way into Hall of Fame
Hank Aaron debuted with the Milwaukee Braves in 1954 and embarked on arguably one of the most illustrious careers in baseball lore. Ronald Acuna Jr., who broke in with the Atlanta Braves last season, shows signs of following a similarly star-lit course.
City Council spars over voter advisory referendum on $1.5B Coliseum plan
Richmond residents were lining up Wednesday to speak their minds on Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s $1.5 billion Coliseum replacement and development plan for Downtown at the second of two special City Council meetings in two days.
Tournament baseball field in the city?
The Metropolitan Junior Baseball League’s recent Inner City Classic held in Metro Richmond was a smashing success. It had tremendous talent, exciting games and tip-top organization. But here’s the problem: The showcase tournament wasn’t held anywhere near the hustle and bustle of Richmond’s inner city.
Simone Biles wins record-tying sixth national gymnastics title
Four-time Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles reasserted her position as the world’s unrivaled No. 1 gymnast with an amazing winning performance Sunday at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships in Kansas City, Mo.
Montgomery's churches part of city's 200-year history of slavery, civil rights
Connections between Christianity, Confederacy and civil rights — and the history of slavery — are in plain sight in Alabama’s capital.
Muslim initiative raises thousands to release detained migrant parents
Led by two of the country’s most prominent imams, hundreds of U.S. Muslims have raised more than $81,000 to bail out detained migrant parents.
Churches mobilize to help families impacted by immigration raids
The children of Sacred Heart Catholic Church streamed out into Mississippi’s blistering heat last Sunday afternoon, carrying what they said was a message of opposition against immigration raids their parents could not.
Eugene A. Mason Jr., who served on the Richmond School Board and City Council, dies at 78
From the roof of J.L. Francis Elementary School to City Council chambers at City Hall, Eugene A. Mason Jr. was a constant force in improving public education in Richmond.
Personality: Gabrielle E. Wilks
Spotlight on Miss Black Virginia USA 2020
The 2020 Miss Black Virginia crown goes to Gabrielle E. Wilks.
