James Brown’s ‘Funky Drummer’ Clyde Stubblefield dies at 73
Clyde Stubblefield, a drummer for James Brown who created one of the most widely sampled drum breaks ever, died Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017.
Woman at center of landmark Roe v. Wade abortion rights case dies at 69
Norma McCorvey, whose legal challenge under the pseudonym “Jane Roe” led to the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision that legalized abortion but who later became an outspoken opponent of the procedure, died Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017. She was 69.
Nation of Islam Saviours’ Day on Sunday
Minister Louis Farrakhan will give the keynote address for the Nation of Islam’s Saviours’ Day 2017 on Sunday, Feb. 19.
‘Cultivating Unity in Our Community’ slated for Feb. 25
A variety of poets and speakers will highlight a public celebration of Black History Month and Kwanzaa principles and values next weekend, it has been announced.
Trump vows to end political limits on churches
Declaring that religious freedom is “under threat,” President Trump vowed to repeal a rarely enforced IRS rule that says pastors who endorse candidates from the pulpit risk losing their tax-exempt status. “I will get rid of and totally destroy the …
Grammy Award-winning singer Al Jarreau dies
LOS ANGELES Alwin Lopez “Al” Jarreau delighted music fans for nearly 50 years with his eclectic soulful, genre-blending style.
‘We are all refugees’
“We are all refugees,” said the Rev. Wallace Adams-Riley of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. “We all have the blood of refugees flowing through our veins. The story of the refugee is a part of our story — the American story.”
LaVerne Byrd Smith, 89, longtime educator, church historian, dies
Dr. LaVerne Charmayne Byrd Smith had a passion for education and writing. On the education front, she touched thousands of students and educators as a schoolteacher, university professor and reading specialist for the state Department of Education in a career …
South Side church property sold in bankruptcy
A big CBRE real estate sign seeking buyers now stands in front of the former home of Southside Baptist Ministries at 5515 Bryce Lane in South Side.
Marie Moore, former city schoolteacher, dies at 72
She was an educator, wife, mother, socialite, golfer, businesswoman and active church member. Marie Gwendolyn McNair Moore wore multiple hats in a busy life.
Controversial Bishop Eddie L. Long dies at 63
During a 30-year tenure, Bishop Eddie Lee Long transformed the once tiny New Birth Missionary Baptist Church near Atlanta into a megachurch that peaked at 25,000 members before he became embroiled in a sex scandal. A controversial figure who lived …
Clarence L. Townes Jr., longtime business, civic leader, dies at 88
Clarence Lee Townes Jr. left his fingerprints on Richmond over the course of six decades of involvement in civic affairs. A bulldog of a man, with a gruff voice and a penchant for straight talk, he was a key player …
Jury sentences white supremacist to death in S.C. church massacre
Unrepentant white supremacist Dylann Roof was sentenced to death Tuesday for fatally shooting nine African-American church members during Bible study at a landmark Charleston, S.C., church, becoming the first person ordered executed for a federal hate crime.
Prosperity preachers to pray at Trump inaugural
Bishop Wayne T. Jackson, who hosted President-elect Donald Trump with his Detroit congregation in September, is among the religious leaders chosen to offer prayers at the new president’s swearing-in next week in Washington. The inaugural committee announced that prosperity gospel …
Super Bowl 51 Gospel Celebration
The NFL Super Bowl Gospel Celebration, the only multicultural event sanctioned by the National Football League, will kick off Super Bowl 51 on Feb. 3 with its 18th annual star-studded concert at Lakewood Church in Houston.
