Policing and COVID-19: A dangerous combination
As protests in Richmond continue to draw attention to decades of overpolicing, it has become abundantly clear that the status quo cannot hold. Richmond is a city with deeply entrenched segregation and brutal poverty alongside glittering new developments. Recent police actions here make the state’s “Virginia Is for Lovers” slogan ring hollow. These responses to protests are made even more harmful by police reliance on aggressive strate- gies that only exacerbate the health risks of the coronavirus.
Inequality and injustice must end
The most recent acts of evil that brought about innocent deaths of Black people due to police brutality and white racism compel the faculty of School of Theology at Virginia Union University, or STVU, to condemn these acts in the strongest possible way. We will continue to do what is necessary for our students by empowering them to do justice in the Black community and beyond.
There’s no question, by Dr. E. Faye Williams
Jane Elliott said, “If we didn’t have all those years when Black lives didn’t matter, we wouldn’t have to have a Black Lives Matter movement now.”
Restore the Voting Rights Act, by Marc H. Morial
“Although the court did not deny that voter discrimination still exists, it gutted the most powerful tool this nation has ever had to stop discriminatory voting practices from becoming law. Those justices were never beaten or jailed for trying to register to vote. They have no friends who gave their lives for the right to vote. I want to say to them, ‘Come and walk in my shoes.’” — Congressman John Lewis reacting to the U.S Supreme Court’s Shelby v. Holder deci- sion in 2013.
Oprah’s O magazine to end monthly print editions after 20 years
O, The Oprah Magazine is ending its regular monthly print editions with the December issue after 20 years of publication.
July 1 was red-letter day for former inmate Rojai Fentress
Rojai Fentress, arrested in 1996 on a murder charge when he was just 16 years old, woke up on July 1 at the Augusta Correctional Center as inmate No. 1038804.
Beyonce’s new ‘Black Is King’ premieres July 31
Social media is buzzing in anticipation of Beyoncé’s new visual album, “Black Is King,” that premieres Thursday, July 31, on Disney+.
John Blake, whose coaching helped Dallas win 2 Super Bowls, dies at 59
John Blake, who made a coaching impact on both the NCAA and NFL levels, died Thursday, July 23, 2020, of a heart attack. He was 59.
Clash of the quinquagenarians: Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. to fight
Professional boxing is turning back the clock.
Several Richmond Flying Squirrels have made leap to the majors
The primary objective of a minor league baseball team is to prepare players for the major leagues.
WNBA opens shortened season with tribute to Breonna Taylor
WNBA players opened their season last weekend wearing uniforms featur- ing Breonna Taylor’s name to honor the 26-year-old emergency medical technician and former high school basketball player who was shot and killed by plainclothes police who broke down the door of her Louisville, Ky., apartment on March 13 to serve a narcotics search warrant.
Megan Walker temporarily sidelined with WNBA New York Liberty
The New York Liberty has hit the refresh button.
No fall football for Va. high schools
The Virginia High School League, which governs most public school athletics across the state, has called timeout on all fall sports because of COVID-19.
Charles Evers, Mississippi civil rights and political figure, dies at 97
Charles Evers, who led an eclectic life as a civil rights leader, onetime purveyor of illegal liquor in Chicago, history-making Black mayor in deeply segregated Mississippi and contrarian with connections to prominent national Democrats and Republicans, died Wednesday, July 22, 2020. He was 97.
Chef and hip-hop artist-producer Joshua “Freeze” Reed succumbs at 37
Joshua Lawrence “Freeze” Reed, a talented chef and well-known Richmond hip-hop artist and music producer, has died.
David J. Wall, longtime supervisor with the Richmond Department of Public Works, dies at 68
David Jerome Wall was known as “The Professor” in the Richmond Department of Public Works because of his knowledge of the department and the city.
Edna Keys-Chavis, first African-American and female city clerk, dies at 66
Edna Keys-Chavis made history in 1990 when she became Richmond’s first African-American and the first woman city clerk — the official record-keeper for City Council.
Thousands pay tribute to Rep. John Lewis, the last of the Big Six civil rights icons
Thousands of Americans from Alabama to Washington have paid their final respects to Congressman John Lewis, an American icon and civic rights giant, during a series of memorial tributes that began last Saturday in his hometown of Troy, Ala., and encompassed solemn but emotional ceremonies in two state capitals and the U.S. Capitol, where his body laid in state.
First Lady Michelle Obama premieres podcast with first guest – her husband
Former First Lady Michelle Obama kicked off her new podcast on Wednesday with a familiar guest — her husband, former President Obama.
