14 authors to engage young readers at Feb.17 library event
In 1970, Clarence “Bucky” McGill joined fellow African-American football players at Syracuse University in a strike against racist conditions at the school — the first action of its kind. Now 66, Mr. McGill plans to use the story of the “Syracuse 8” strike to highlight a discussion with young Richmonders and their parents about conditions today that impact them.
‘Mardi Bras’ party with a purpose to aid homeless women
It’s Mardi Bras time in Richmond. That’s the program a local ministry is spearheading to collect intimate items for homeless women, including underwear and feminine hygiene products.
Exhibit highlights early Chesterfield lawyer-activist
He was a pioneering lawyer who also built Chesterfield County roads and oversaw services to the county’s poor during his lifetime. But, today, Cornelius Mimms is largely forgotten. The only notable mention of him in the county are street names in the county’s government complex, Mimms Drive and Mimms Loop.
New East End festival to bring music to Chimborazo Park
Another festival is coming to festival city. The first “RVA East End Festival: The Gift of Music,” will play Friday, May 6, through Sunday, May 8, in Chimborazo Park. Adding to the excitement, Bon Secours Richmond Health System has joined festival partners toward a pledged goal of $100,000 to provide musical instru- ments and related materials for East End students at Richmond’s Bellevue, Chimborazo, Fairfield Court, George Mason and Woodville elementary schools, Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School, Armstrong High School and Franklin Military Academy.
Help choose TEDxRVA speaker at Open Mic Nights Feb. 17, 24
TEDxRVA has scheduled two “Open Mic Nights” in Richmond this month to give speakers the opportunity to compete to earn a spot in the group’s 4th Annual TEDxRVA 2016 event Friday, April 8, at Richmond CenterStage, 600 E. Grace St., in Downtown.
VUU’s history grounded in incubating the oppressed for success
Audience members rose to their feet with impassioned shouts of “Hallelujah!” and “Amen!” at Virginia Union University’s Founders Day Convocation last Friday.
Misinformation ‘devastating’ to African-American community
Journalist, author and lecturer A. Peter Bailey does not count himself among the fans of the popular, award-winning movie “Straight Outta Compton,” which chronicles the rise and fall of the legendary gangster rap group N.W.A. “I refuse to go see it,” he told about 40 people at the 4th Annual State of Black America Address for Central Virginia on Saturday at Thirty-first Street Baptist Church in the East End.
Black History Month Kwanzaa celebration Feb. 27
It’s called “Black History Month Kwanzaa In Daily Living Celebration.”
‘Jesus is a good cure for fear’
WASHINGTON In his last National Prayer Breakfast speech while in office, President Obama gave an introspective talk about how his faith overcomes his fears. “For me, and I know for so many of you, faith is the great cure for fear,” President Obama said at the event Feb. 4 at a Washington hotel. “Jesus is a good cure for fear.”
Cam Newton wins league MVP, but loses Super Bowl
From Super Bowl 50, we learned the “D” in Denver stands for “defense,” and Cam Newton remains a work in progress. In a game sandwiched between endless commercials and a marathon halftime show, the Denver Broncos defeated the upstart Carolina Panthers 24-10.
VUU snags Holland Fisher in NCAA National Signing Day
Football Coach Mark James bills Virginia Union University as a “second chance school.” That being the case, it’s ideal for well-traveled Holland Fisher. The quick-striking, 6-foot-2, 200-pound former high school Under Armour All-American from Chesterfield County has landed at VUU with three years of eligibility.
VCU’s Melvin Johnson mirroring former Rams star Calvin Duncan
Melvin Johnson grew up in New York, first signed a scholarship offer with a Florida program and then changed his mind and came to Virginia Commonwealth University. Sound familiar?
Chemistry clicking among George Wythe players
There appear to be three basic categories of George Wythe High School basketball Bulldogs. There’s the obvious leading man, senior do-it-all guard Maliek White, the Providence College-bound 2015 State 3A Player of the Year.
VIA Heritage Association to meet
The Virginia Interscholastic Heritage Association will meet 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 20 at Union Baptist Church in Hopewell, 212 Rev. C.W. Harris St.
Personality: Meldon Jenkins-Jones
Spotlight on founder of Black Male Emergent Readers Program
Meldon Deloris Jenkins-Jones has witnessed the difficulties some African-American children have learning to read. She explains how she watched her grandson struggle “despite the fact that his parents and I are educated. I wondered who would help children learn to read if they did not have a strong family background,” she recalls thinking. The Richmond resident, who is a law librarian for the Richmond Public Law Library in Downtown, says she began researching the subject and came across the work of Dr. Alfred Tatum, a reading specialist at the University of Illinois in Chicago.
Earth, Wind & Fire founder Maurice White dies at 74
Maurice White, the founder of R&B funk band Earth, Wind & Fire, died at his Los Angeles home Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016, publicist Mark Young said. Mr. White had been battling Parkinson’s disease since 1992. He was 74.
Breakfast with Bernie
Bernie Sanders had breakfast in New York with the Rev. Al Sharpton just hours after trouncing Hillary Clinton in the New Hampshire Democratic presidential nominating contest Tuesday. His meeting with the iconic civil rights leader marked the recognition by Mr. Sanders that his campaign must swiftly broaden its base of support if he has any chance of mounting a long-term challenge to Mrs. Clinton, who consistently polls better among African-American voters.
City Council on board with Bus Rapid Transit
Let’s roll on this project. That’s the message Richmond City Council sent this week on Bus Rapid Transit, also known as “Pulse.” Envisioning BRT as a start to creating a modern regional public transit system, council members voted 7-1, with one abstention, to give the green light to the $49 million project to speed up transit service primarily along the Broad Street corridor.
Tree decision expected Feb. 13 on Maggie Walker statue site
That controversial question is expected to be decided this weekend as plans move forward to create a statue of Richmond great Maggie L. Walker at Broad and Adams streets — the Downtown intersection now dominated by a rare live oak tree. The decision on whether to keep or remove the tree is to be made by the Richmond Public Arts Commission’s seven-member Site Selection Committee, the commission disclosed Tuesday.
Sen. Lucas flip-flops in Va. Supreme Court battle
Judge Rossie D. Alston Jr. is still one Senate vote short of winning a General Assembly election that would move him from the Virginia Court of Appeals to the state Supreme Court.
