Brooks among finalists for Black College Football Hall of Fame induction
The Black College Football Hall of Fame has announced 27 finalists for induction into its Class of 2025, selecting the group from over 150 nominees. Among the finalists is Larry Brooks, a standout defensive tackle from Virginia State University, who had an illustrious NFL career with the Los Angeles Rams.
CIAA board selects Davis for Jimmy Jenkins Legacy Award
The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Board of Directors has selected Peggy Davis as the posthumous recipient of the 2025 Jimmy Jenkins Legacy Award. The award recognizes individuals who create environments that promote athletic and academic excellence through educational opportunities, community engagement and a focus on the personal growth, mental wellness and development of student-athletes.
Small business markets, bazaars to shop this holiday season
Looking to find unique, thoughtful gifts for loved ones while supporting small businesses this holiday season?
Insuring distrust
Once in a while, there comes a crisis or current event that lets us know how many Americans feel about a particular issue.
How faith calls us to tackle the climate crisis, by Ben Jealous
Reflections on God are common right now. We are about to enter a new year. Many of us are getting ready to celebrate Christmas or Hanukah. With 2024 “virtually certain” to be the hottest year on record, some may look at the symptoms of the climate crisis – the extreme heat, the fires and floods, the climate-charged cyclones - as signs of God’s wrath.
Why didn’t Biden keep his promise?, by Clarence Page
Just once. Just once amid all the times that reporters asked President Biden whether he would give a pardon to his son, Hunter, who was facing a possible federal prison sentence, I wish I could have heard jolly Joe give the sort of response that the late Chicago Mayor Rich- ard J. Daley offered to such unwelcome questions.
W.E.B. Du Bois found inspiration and hope in national parks, by Thomas S. Bremer
In his collection of essays and poems published in 1920 titled “Darkwater,” W.E.B. Du Bois wrote about his poignant encounter with the beauty of the Grand Canyon, the stupendous chasm in Arizona.
Where police are being investigated for excessive force, discrimination and other allegations
A U.S. Justice Department investigation into the Memphis Police Department after the beating death of Tyre Nichols found a pattern of unlawful use of excessive force and discrimination against the Black residents of the majority-Black city in Tennessee.
Panel to grapple with racial history of state colleges, universities
For decades, Virginia’s public colleges and universities expanded campuses to accommodate growing student populations – often at the expense of Black communities.
Legislators push for solutions to Virginia’s child care crisis
State legislators from both parties gathered Monday at the General Assembly Building to launch the 2025 “Gotta Have Child Care” campaign, a bipartisan effort to address the growing gap in funding for affordable child care in Virginia.
Council celebrates achievements, prepares for new leadership
Richmond City Council’s final meeting of the year was an emotional one, as members reflected on past achievements and looked ahead to the future. Outgoing council members Andreas Addison, Ann-Frances Lambert and Kristen Nye were honored for their service, marking a poignant moment in the city’s leadership transition.
Chisholm posthumously awarded Congressional Gold Medal
On Monday, U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) attended the signing of the Shirley Chisholm Congressional Gold Medal Act at the U.S. Capitol. This bipartisan legislation posthumously awards the Congressional Gold Medal to Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to the U.S. Congress, in recognition of her groundbreaking contributions to politics, activism and civil rights.
Nikki Giovanni, poet and literary giant, dies at 81
Nikki Giovanni, the poet, author, educator and public speaker who went from borrowing money to release her first book to spending decades as a literary celebrity who shared blunt and conversational takes on everything from racism and love to space travel and mortality, has died. She was 81.
Kwanzaa festival celebrates African American culture
The Elegba Folklore Society will host its annual Capital City Kwanzaa Festival on Dec. 28, offering a daylong celebration of African American culture and heritage.
TikTok asks federal appeals court to bar enforcement of potential ban
TikTok asked a federal appeals court on Monday to bar the Biden administration from enforcing a law that could lead to a ban on the popular platform until the Supreme Court reviews its challenge to the statute. The legal filing was made after a panel of three judges on the same court sided with the government last week and ruled that the law, which requires TikTok’s China-based parent company ByteDance to divest its stakes in the social media company or face a ban, was constitutional. If the law is not overturned, both TikTok and its parent ByteDance, which is also a plaintiff in the case, have claimed that the popular app will shut down by Jan. 19, 2025. TikTok has more than 170 million American users who would be affected, the companies have said. In their legal filing on Monday, attorneys for the two companies wrote that even if a shutdown lasted one month, it would cause TikTok to lose about a third of its daily users in the U.S. The company also would lose 29% of its total “targeted global” advertising revenue for next year as well as talent since current and prospective employees would look elsewhere for jobs, they wrote. “Before that happens, the Supreme Court should have an opportunity, as the only court with appellate jurisdiction over this action, to decide whether to review this exceptionally important case,” the filing said. It’s not clear if the Supreme Court will take up the case. But some legal experts have said the justices are likely to weigh in on the case since it raises novel issues about social media platforms and how far the government could go in its stated aims of protecting na- tional security. President-elect Donald Trump, who tried to ban TikTok the last time he was in the White House, has said he is now against such action. In their legal filing, the two companies pointed to the political realities, saying that an injunction would provide a “modest delay” that would give the incoming Administration time to determine its position — which could moot both the impending harms and the need for Supreme Court review.” Attorneys for the two companies are asking the appeals court to decide on the request for an
Personality: Gary L. Flowers
Spotlight on the president of Theban Club of Richmond
Gary L. Flowers, an African American history enthusiast, has devoted over 35 years to civil rights law and activism. He’s worked alongside notable African American trailblazers such as the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson and former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder and continues to battle the suppression and inequities Black people face today.
Former President Obama highlights megachurches and bridge-building at forum
Former President Barack Obama at a Dec. 5 forum on democracy pointed to the partnership of houses of worship and the success of megachurches as examples of ways to build bridges and foster pluralism.
VUU’s probation status extended
Virginia Union University’s probation status will continue into 2025. VUU leadership announced the decision in a letter to the college’s community Tuesday, with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges allowing VUU to remain accredited by extending the status into the coming year.
Hildreth ‘Hal’ Walker Jr., laser scientist, dies at 91
Hildreth “Hal” Walker Jr., a pioneering laser scientist and dedicated STEM advocate, died Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, at 91 in Cape Town, South Africa.
Barkley inches closer to NFL single-season rushing crown
Saquon Barkley knew the Eagles season rushing record could be his on Sunday with the type of stellar performance that has become the standard during his first season in Philadelphia.
