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Sisterhood still connects poet Nikki Giovanni
Poet, scholar and activist Nikki Giovanni feels the loss everyday of her best friend Toni Morrison.
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Under the microscope
An experiment to fight pandemic-era learning loss launches in Richmond
After intense opposition and skepticism, two elementary schools opened 20 days early to help students make up for what they missed during the time of remote learning. The first question: Would kids show up in the middle of summer for extra schooling?
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Personality: Dr. Michael L.W. Moore
Spotlight on chair of Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker Educational Foundation
Legendary civil rights leader Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker wanted his legacy to center on educational opportunities for generations to come. The Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker Educational Foundation is the vehicle to perpetuate his lasting dream and provides scholarships for underserved youths to attend college.
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Personality: Gabrielle E. Wilks
Spotlight on Miss Black Virginia USA 2020
The 2020 Miss Black Virginia crown goes to Gabrielle E. Wilks.
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Personality: Elwood ‘Coach Pat’ Patterson Jr.
Spotlight on co-founder of the East End Boxing Club
Everyone needs an emotional outlet to cool off, unwind or clear their head of life’s troubles. For Richmond youths, the East End Boxing Club offers a unique way to re-center their minds and improve their bodies, courtesy of Elwood Patterson Jr.
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Marching for dollars
City Council takes first steps to give more to RPS
Before dozens of students, parents and teachers began pleading, berating and challenging Richmond City Council to beef up funding for city schools, the nine members of the governing body had already taken the first step. In a 9-0 vote Monday night, in front of a packed council chamber of school supporters, the council approved an ordinance requiring the city administration to give to the schools real estate tax money collected from surplus property previously owned by the school system.
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His challenge: Teach children our history
Freedom fighter returns to alma mater
Forty-seven years later, the longtime freedom fighter returned to his alma mater to urge students and faculty to “dig into” and pass on the rich history of African-Americans to future generations.
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Fearmongering, by David Marshall
During the Trump presidency, the pontiff continued to speak out. He said the president was “not Christian” because of his views on immigration and ought to extend protections to undocumented young immigrants if he is actually “pro-life.”
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Bloody Sunday memorial March 7 to honor late civil rights giants
This year’s commemoration of a pivotal moment in the fight for voting rights for African-Americans will honor four giants of the Civil Rights Movement who died in 2020, including the late Congressman John Lewis of Georgia.
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Journalist, educator launches VCU social justice lecture series
When Linda Villarosa’s ground- breaking book, “Body & Soul” was published in 1994, it was the first and only self-help book specifically written to address Black women’s health concerns.
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Stop blocking COVID-19 relief, by Ben Jealous
It is going to be a hard Christmas for many Americans. The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 is soaring. The virus is spreading faster than ever. Families and small business owners whose incomes have been devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic are being hurt by the U.S. Senate’s refusal to provide any relief since April.
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‘A mind is a terrible thing to waste’, by Venson Jordan
As a boy growing up Black in America, I remember that there were a few TV advertisements that spoke directly to me. The most memorable was the United Negro College Fund. The words rang in my head like the bells of truth. The heavy, articulate voice would say, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.”
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With legislative control at stake, House of Delegates races take on more urgency
Can Democrats hold the Virginia House of Delegates after two years of control?
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Officials, volunteers revving up for return of Armstrong-Walker Classic this Saturday
More than 40 years after the last official Armstrong-Walker Classic football game and parade, enthusiastic former teachers and alumni are working with city officials and community volunteers to ensure its successful return this Saturday, Nov. 27.
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Putting women on the map
National Center of Women’s Innovations selects Dr. Gladys B. West as inaugural honoree
Dr. Gladys B. West, the African-American mathematician whose mapping of the world enabled Global Positioning System (GPS), was chosen by the newly launched National Center of Women’s Innovations (NCWI) as its inaugural “Forgotten Women Innovator.”
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Anti-war protests take to the streets, courts after encampment
For the second Monday in a row, Richmond stirred with activity from anti-war, pro-Palestenian protesters, who marched down the city’s busy streets in what was the latest development since the encampment at Virginia Commonwealth University ended.
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Va. lawmakers again decline to put restrictions on personal use of campaign accounts
Virginia lawmakers on Wednesday defeated for another year campaign finance reform legislation that would have prohibited elected officials from spending political donations on personal expenses such as mortgages, vacations or gym memberships.
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GRTC’s Secret Santa speads joy to riders
GRTC bus riders were pleasantly surprised last week when Santa Claus took time away from his busy holiday preparations and greeted them at the transfer plaza in Downtown.
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Concealed weapons permits from 25 states not valid in Va.
Concealed handgun permits held by residents of 25 states no longer will be valid in Virginia, the state’s attorney general said Tuesday, drawing swift criticism from GOP lawmakers. Attorney General Mark Herring, a Democrat, said the state will revoke its reciprocity agreement with the states because their concealed weapon laws don’t meet Virginia’s standards. Those states hand out permits to fugitives, convicted stalkers and drug dealers, which undermines Virginia’s law and puts residents at risk, he said.
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Protest over teacher transfers
Dozens of angry teachers, parents and students protested Richmond Public Schools’ plan to move 10 teachers from four elementary schools into classrooms at other schools in the district. Teachers held signs proclaiming “Save Our Teachers,” “Our Students Deserve Better” and “Teacher Power!” Their protest mounted at Monday’s meeting of the Richmond School Board is against the school administration’s process known as “leveling,” which Superintendent Dana T. Bedden explained is to provide more equitable teacher-student ratios in schools across the district.
