
Natalie Barnes now state long jump champ
Virginia’s high school long jump champion has deep Richmond roots. Natalie Barnes, a rising senior at Stone Bridge High in Ashburn, is the daughter of former Maggie Walker High and VCU basketball center Norman Barnes and Fran Barnes.

Davis trading nets in Portland for Brooklyn
Richmond’s current homegrown NBA talent is on the move again, leaving broken hearts behind. Much to the chagrin of former teammates, coaches, friends and fans in Portland, Ore., Ed Davis is headed for his fifth team, the Brooklyn Nets.

O’Quinn taking his talents to the Indiana Pacers
Kyle O’Quinn, the last player from an HBCU to be drafted into the NBA, is changing his low-post address.

Hampton’s big move to Big South
Breaking up is hard to do. In the midst of a conference transition, Hampton University’s 2018 football schedule bares slim resemblance to those from the previous 100-plus years.

Bacot says bye-bye to Trinity
The trend continues. Armando Bacot becomes the third top-tier basketball prospect to leave a Richmond school this year.

Maggie Walker birthday celebrations set for Saturday
The National Park Service and the City of Richmond are hosting celebrations Saturday, July 14, honoring the 154th birthday of Richmond icon and businesswoman Maggie L. Walker.

‘Souls Grown Deep’ exhibition highlights VMFA acquisition of African-American works
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts invites Richmond area residents to view 34 pieces of work by black artists and reflect on cultural contributions by African-Americans in a first-of-its-kind exhibition under the purview of Valerie Cassel Oliver.

Black History Museum offers free music video class for students
Stand by … lights … camera … action! Middle and high school students can help create a music video during a six-week session at the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia.

Henry L. Marsh III book signing July 21 at Black History Museum
Civil rights attorney Henry L. Marsh III will talk and sign copies of his book, “The Memoirs of Hon. Henry L. Marsh III,” 2 p.m. Saturday, July 21, at the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia, 122 W. Leigh St.

Trademark Band celebrates 25th anniversary with Dogwood Dell performance July 15
In 1993, James Carson Jr. brought a musical revue of ’60s and ’70s music to the Dogwood Dell stage as part of the annual summer Festival of Arts.

Community booster Linda D. Myrick dies
Linda Diane Myrick was a vibrant, determined woman who found joy in helping her family and others get the most out of life.

Lucia Ferray-Robinson, co-founder of Africa Awareness Association, dies at 54
A 23-year link between Cuba and Richmond has been broken with the death of Lucia Arocha Ferray-Robinson, 54, at her residence in Havana on Sunday, July 1, 2018.

Guest preacher says he was stiffed by South Side church
The Rev. Ernest Blue Jr. of Richmond is often called to be a guest preacher.

#MourningWhileBlack
Social media blows up after white priest kicks black family out of funeral
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington has apologized for a white priest kicking an African-American family out of their loved one’s funeral.

No rejoicing in ‘Lost Cause’
Re “Davis must go: Commission recommends removing Confederate president’s statue, but not others,” Free Press July 5-7 edition:

‘More important things to be concerned with’
History is very important. It shows the road that we, as a people, have traveled. It has not been easy. However, we have made advances.

Time for ‘principle and bravery’
Re Column “Dems can stall another Scalia on High Court,” Free Press July 5-7 edition:

Clarion call to vote
During former President Richard Nixon’s impeachment hearing, the late Congresswoman Barbara Jordan said the following: “My faith in the Constitution is whole, it is complete, it is total. I am not going to sit here and be an idle spectator to the diminution, the subversion, the destruction of the Constitution.”

Why Senate should hold up Supreme Court nomination
“The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.” – James Madison, Federalist 47, 1788