School Board gives final approval to $418M spending plan
Backed by a $25 million boost in contributions from city taxpayers, the Richmond School Board Tuesday approved spending a record $16,814 for each of the 24,800 students projected to be served in the 2019-20 budget year that begins July 1.
Personality: Dr. M. Alex Wagaman
Spotlight on 2019 Peacemaker of the Year
Dr. M. Alex Wagaman, an assistant professor in Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Social Work, is Richmond’s 2019 Peacemaker of the Year.
Willie Lee Ford Jr., a founder of The Dramatics, dies at 68
Willie Lee Ford Jr., one of the founders of the soul group, The Dramatics, whose bass voice anchored their best known hits in the 1970s, died Tuesday, May 28, 2019. He was 68.
Legendary queen of Creole cuisine, Leah Chase, dies at 96
New Orleans chef and civil rights icon Leah Chase, who created New Orleans’ first white-tablecloth restaurant for black patrons, broke the city’s segregation laws by seating white and black customers together and introduced countless tourists to Southern Louisiana Creole cooking, died Saturday, June 1, 2019. She was 96.
Benjamin J. Lambert IV, financial advisor and civic leader, dies at 52
Benjamin J. Lambert IV, a member the prominent Lambert family whose many members have long contributed to the civic, social and political fabric of the Richmond area, died Monday, June 3, 2019, at his residence in the Midlothian section of Chesterfield County.
Evergreen Cemetery receives international recognition
Evergreen Cemetery, the historic burial ground of such Richmond greats as businesswoman Maggie L. Walker and crusading newspaper editor John Mitchell Jr. as well as thousands of other African-Americans, has just garnered international recognition.
10th Annual Richmond Jazz and Music Festival at Maymont slated for Aug. 8-11
Jill Scott. Stanley Clarke. Maze featuring Frankie Beverly. Big Boi. Terence Blanchard featuring the E-Collective. Cameo. Ledisi. Those are just a few of the performers scheduled for the 10th Annual Richmond Jazz and Music Festival at Maymont.
Jennifer Hudson channels Aretha’s spirit in Pulitzer Prize honor for the Queen of Soul
With bad weather in Chicago on Memorial Day and her flight canceled, Jennifer Hudson worried at the thought of missing her performance at the Pulitzer Prize awards ceremony May 28 to pay tribute to honoree Aretha Franklin.
VMFA opens new exhibit, hosts free family day Saturday
A new exhibit focusing on African-American art from the American South will open Saturday, June 8, at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 200 Arthur Ashe Blvd., it has been announced.
End male shaming
Letters to the editor
“Boy.” This isn’t a term regarding male minors. It’s the offensive and derogatory word used when shaming a male.
Slavery, history and distortions
Letters to the editor
Re Column, “Distortions of our history,” Free Press May 30-June 1 edition: In her column, Julianne Malveaux herself distorts the history of slavery when she said: “Let’s make it plain: Europeans went to the African continents (sic), kidnapped people (sometimes with African acquiescence), brought them to the Western Hemisphere and sold us.”
All GRTC bus stops need benches
Letters to the editor
Re “GRTC ridership up 17%” Free Press May 23-25 edition: It’s all well and fine that GRTC ridership is up 17 percent. But I noticed that many of the bus stops have nowhere for the riders to sit while waiting for the bus.
Ignorance, racism and a good book
Columnists
Ignorance breeds racism. By ignorance, I don’t mean the lack of college or other educational degrees. I’m really talking about how some families teach their children to hate certain people based upon lies.
Black bodies creating white power
Columnists
Almost every high school student in America knows about the compromise reached during the drafting of the U.S. Constitution resulting in enslaved people being counted as three-fifths of a person during the national census held every 10 years.
We must do more
Editorials
What does it take to tighten gun laws in Virginia? How many people have to die before the Virginia General Assembly takes action to curb the violence in our communities?
Maggie Walker’s home has big $ impact on local tourism, economy
The Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site in Richmond’s Jackson Ward contributed close to $900,000 in overall economic impact for Richmond last year, according to a new report by the National Park Service.
Standing up for the park
Cityscape:Slices of life and scenes in Richmond
Members of Fans of Monroe Park protest May 17 after credit card giant Capital One is allowed for the fourth year to set up a huge tent on the park’s west side for stockholder meetings.
Kenneth A. Merritt Sr., who helped Maggie L. Walker High win 1971 state championship, dies at 66
Kenneth Archie Merritt Sr., the point guard who helped Maggie L. Walker High School to the State Group AAA state basketball championship in 1971, died Wednesday, May 15, 2019.
Coach Penny Hardaway poised to return Memphis to its glory days
Penny Hardaway may the best thing to hit Memphis since Elvis. Quicker than you can say “It’s Now or Never,” Hardaway appears on the verge of returning his alma mater, the University of Memphis, to past glory.
Deontay Wilder’s KO power shows no signs of letting up
Deontay Wilder is power personified. The 33-year-old native of Tuscaloosa, Ala., packs a knockout punch the likes of which no one has seen in the rich history of the ring.
