If it’s June, it must be Black Music Month
While Juneteenth has been a primary focus for many Black Americans throughout June, another observance — Black Music Month — has also captured their attention.
Pastor Dorothy L. Hughes, a business owner and gospel musician, dies
Pastor Dorothy Lee Lynch Hughes, founder and leader of Victory Christian Center RVA in Richmond and owner of two residential homes for the disabled, has died. Pastor Hughes, who, according to her family, also won acclaim for her gospel musical “How I Got Over,” passed away Monday, June 20, 2022. She was 83.
Sixth Mount Zion honors Rev. Jasper
Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church in Richmond has installed an interpretative sign at the gravesite of its founding pastor, the Rev. John Jasper, in celebration of his 210th birthday.
Williams makes ‘con-Vince-ing’ case to Memphis
Vince Williams is on a roll. Already he has one of his long sneakers in the NBA door. Now he hopes to continue his luck in Las Vegas. There’s no time for the former VCU standout to let his foot off the gas.
Personality: Taylor Thornley Keeney
Spotlight on founder and executive director of Little Hands Virginia
In December 2018, inspiration led Taylor Thornley Keeney to reshape community child care in the Richmond region.
Ketanji Jackson to be sworn in
Nearly three months after she won confirmation to the Supreme Court, Ketanji Brown Jackson is officially becoming a justice. Judge Jackson, 51, will be sworn as the court’s 116th justice Thursday, just as the man she is replacing, Justice Stephen Breyer, retires.
‘No one handed out medals’
Retired Richmond fireman recalls heroic work saving elderly residents in fire 44 years ago
As the firetrucks roared up, an elderly woman was screaming for help out of a half-open window as smoke billowed around her. She would be the first person that firefighter William“Junie” Bullock would rescue that day from the ninth floor of the Boxwood Building at Imperial Plaza, a five-building complex for retirees located on Bellevue Avenue in North Side that had opened 11 years earlier.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision and what it means for Virginia
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that had provided a constitutional right to abortion. The June 24 ruling is expected to lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states, although the timing of those laws taking effect varies.
Beal says little about free agency but wrist making progress
In a couple weeks, Bradley Beal’s future might look a lot clearer.
Kudos to the Free Press and to Bonnie Newman Davis
As someone who has known Bonnie Newman Davis through membership in the Virginia Professional Chapter, Society of Professional Journalists, since — I think — the early 1980s, I know the Free Press will go onward and upward with her editorial leadership.
Historic Black cemeteries need substance, not symbolism, by Brian Palmer
Across the South on any given day, volunteers of all ages, races and backgrounds gather with hand tools and weed whackers to help restore historic Black burial grounds, many of which have been subject to the structural neglect and active violence that Jim Crow visited on African-American individuals, communities and institutions for generations. groups such as Richmond’s Friends of East End Cemetery (I’m a founding member) and Woodland Cemetery Volunteers, along with Durham, N.C.’s Friends of Geer Cemetery, have devoted years to clearing these sites of invasive overgrowth and illegally dumped garbage. They have revealed thousands of grave markers and stones, each standing for a person, that had been obscured for decades.
Jan. 6 was more than a ‘dustup’, by Dr. E. Faye Williams
Jack Del Rio is not necessarily a stupid man. He was a three-sport athlete who received an athletic scholarship to the University of Southern California. After a successful collegiate career he was drafted into the NFL by the New Orleans Saints. In addition to the Saints, during his non-stellar playing career, he played for the Kansas City Chiefs, Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings, and the Miami Dolphins. While playing for Kansas City in 1990, he even earned his undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Kansas. He began an NFL coaching career in 1997, which he continues in its latest iteration as defensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders.
Juneteenth doesn’t mark the end of slavery; ratification of the 13th amendment does, by DeWayne Wickham
The day after the federal government announced that slavery in the United States had been officially ended, The New York Times published a front- page story that trumpeted this hard-won victory.
Black excellence
We often hear the expression “Black excellence,” particularly when Black people, individually or collectively, achieve the seemingly impossible.
Professional sports messaging to end gun violence, by Donald J. Adams
America’s struggle with gun violence is not going un-noticed by many professional sports teams.
Mariah Carey, Neptunes join Songwriters Hall of Fame
After a glittering career of No. 1 hits Mariah Carey was finally inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame on June 16, but not before challenging her new fellow members to do better by women.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs to receive lifetime honor at BET Awards
Sean “Diddy” Combs built one of hip-hop’s biggest empires, blazing a trail with his own music television network and fashion line, and now his decorated career has earned him one of the highest honors at the BET Awards this month.
Juneteenth events had something for everyone
Richmonders celebrated the second official Juneteenth holiday with a four-day weekend of dancing, music, marches and several family-oriented activities.
VUU’s fall football standing strong
The Virginia Union University football season is off to a good start despite the first game being more than two months away.
Florida’s Edward Waters U. wins NCAA baseball bracket
Edward Waters University has won the big prize in HBCU baseball.
