VUU hosts annual Community Leaders Breakfast Jan.15
The 38th Annual Community Leaders Breakfast honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. will be held 7:30 a.m. Friday, Jan. 15, at the Claude G. Perkins Living and Learning Center at Virginia Union University, 1500 N. Lombardy St. The keynote speaker will be Dr. Robert M. Franklin Jr., president emeritus of Morehouse College.
Dr. Royal named chief of staff at HCA hospitals
Dr. Erica M. Royal’s medical responsibilities have increased exponentially in 2016. The Richmonder is the new chief of the medical staff at HCA’s Henrico Doctors’ Hospital, Parham Doctors’ Hospital and Retreat Doctors’ Hospital.
John Marshall-Thomas Jefferson alumni basketball game Saturday at Ashe Center
Past basketball greats from John Marshall and Thomas Jefferson high schools will face off for a good cause. Former players from both schools will tip off at 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 9, at the Arthur Ashe Jr. Athletic Center, 3001 N. Boulevard.
Personality: Robert N. Barnette Jr.
Spotlight on board chairman of Virginia Alliance Against Mass Incarceration
Robert N. Barnette Jr. says he was inspired to accept the position as board chairman of the Richmond-based Virginia Alliance Against Mass Incarceration after reading “Billion Dollar Divide,” a report by the Justice Policy Institute in April 2014. “I wanted to lend my voice to a worthy cause,” he says.
Margaret C. Crews, 80, left mark as Richmond teacher
Margaret Edwina “Wina” Clay Crews loved literature and was passionate about guiding children through their formative years. For 35 years, the Richmond native followed those passions to leave an indelible mark of excellence on hundreds of children as an English teacher with Richmond Public Schools.
Former Free Press writer, Don E. Dale, dies at 73
Donald Edward Dale was known for his ready smile, quick wit and sharp intellect. He had a multitude of talents, working as a public relations specialist with the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts for more than 25 years. After retiring in 2004, he wrote part time for the Richmond Free Press from 2005 through 2007. He also wrote for Style Weekly.
Dr. Frances C. Welsing, 80, renowned psychiatrist best known for her views on the origins of white racism
Dr. Frances Cress Welsing used her platform as a psychiatrist in the nation’s capital to battle white supremacy. Dubbed the “Queen of Black Consciousness,” she won attention for her views on white racism, including her assertions that white racism is because of a deficiency of melanin, the pigment that darkens skin, and that white people oppressed black people out of fear of black domination.
‘Unforgettable’ Grammy winner Natalie Cole mourned at 65
Grammy Award-winning singer Natalie Cole, whose biggest hit came in a virtual duet with her late father, the legendary Nat King Cole, of his decades-old hit “Unforgettable,” has died. Ms. Cole, who was 65, died Thursday, Dec. 31, 2015, at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles from “ongoing health issues,” her family said.
‘We need to rebuild, renew and refocus,’ Emancipation Day speakers say
One after another, speakers at the 75th Annual Emancipation Proclamation Day Worship Celebration at Fifth Baptist Church in the West End passionately implored listeners to get involved in community betterment. Lynetta Thompson, president of the Richmond Branch NAACP, drew shouts of “Amen” and “Hallelujah” when she said, “Black churches, we need your help. We need for you to be a voice for the voiceless,” she stressed. She urged audience members to step outside the walls of the church to perform community service and become active in groups such as the NAACP that work for social change. The Bible, she said, has more than 300 verses speaking to seeking social justice and helping the poor.
Event supporting Muslim community Sunday, Jan.10
The Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities and several partner organizations are hosting “Standing Together,” a public event featuring speakers and panelists from diverse religious and cultural backgrounds exploring themes of interfaith understand- ing, solidarity and community.
Bill seeks to expunge teen drug arrest records
Young people in Virginia who are convicted of marijuana possession or underage possession of alcohol find those convictions permanently etched on their criminal records. Historically, many of those convictions have fallen disproportionately on African-Americans, even though numerous studies show white people use alcohol and marijuana at similar rates.
27% Black-owned businesses gain from Stone Brewing project
Black contractors have quietly played a big role in the development of the Stone Brewing Co.’s new East Coast brewery off Williamsburg Avenue in Fulton, according to city records. For example, Glen Allen contractor Dwight Snead and his employees prepared the land for construction, the city Office of Minority Business Development (OMBD) report shows.
RRHA resident’s chilly 3-year ordeal
For the past three years, Tina Marie Shaw has had to rely on an electric space heater to keep the winter cold out of her public housing unit in Creighton Court. “I worry about the heater starting a fire,” said Ms. Shaw, who looks after her 9-year-old grandson, Xavia, her pride and joy and an honors student at a Richmond elementary school. To avoid risk to herself and the child, “I unplug (the heater) at night when I go upstairs to bed, and turn it on in the morning.”
Obama wept
His executive order aims to halt gun killings
Wiping back tears as he remembered children killed in a mass shooting, President Obama on Tuesday ordered stricter gun rules that he can impose without Congress and urged American voters to reject pro-gun candidates.
City finishes with money loss on UCI bike race
Remember the world bike races that dominated Richmond for nine days in September? To Mayor Dwight C. Jones and other officials, the races were an unparalleled success, creating an economic boost for the region and putting the area in the world cycling spotlight.
Threat may come from within, not from refugees
Re Letter to the Editor, ‘Why let anyone come to your country?’ Dec. 17-19 edition:
‘Chief Durham is a keeper’
Before a recent Richmond City Council meeting, I observed Police Chief Alfred Durham standing among other city administration officials. With hat in hand, he left the group and walked across the chamber to shake hands with a patrolman on his assigned post. His actions were a true representation of leadership and teamwork. Can you imagine the morale that inspires?
Tree, statue represent positive images
Re “Strange fruit? Critic: Oak evokes lynching image at Walker statue site,” Dec. 24-26 edition: Dr. Kim Coder of the Warnell School of Forestry at the University of Georgia wrote in November 2010 that the “live oak is an ecological and cultural icon of the Southern United States.
Maggie Walker, tree site
Oak’s true symbolism echos Walker’s legacy
Re “Strange fruit? Critic: Oak evokes lynching image at Walker statue site,” Dec. 24-26 edition: Approximately 30 years ago, I was contracted by the City of Richmond to plant the tree in question at West Broad and North Adams streets.
Collective goals for 2016
Whenever we begin a new calendar year, it can be useful to make New Year’s resolutions to prioritize and focus for the immediate future. What should be our collective goals and strategic objectives during the next 12 months? Recent academic studies by the Dominican University of California on the importance of goal setting to overcome individual and social procrastination revealed that writing down your resolutions and sharing your goals with others you care about will help you work more diligently to achieve those goals.
