‘Scared Negro Disease’ remains
As another Black History Month has passed, I revisited the relevant speech given by former Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson in 2002 while speaking in Portland, Ore., titled, “The Scared Negro Disease.” Mayor Jackson’s diagnosis is seemingly cancerous in black politicians in the Commonwealth of Virginia, particularly as it relates to the removal of Confederate statues.
Black immigrants’ lives matter, too
We are long overdue for a discussion about immigration as it relates to black immigrants, particularly at this moment as the current presidential administration clamors to end legal protections for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA recipients. Congressional leaders lurch from one proposed bipartisan solution to another in search of a permanent legislative fix.
Street sign
This week, we honor the late Raymond H. Boone Sr. from whose vision and purpose the Richmond Free Press was born.
Get out! … Jordan Peele makes history with Academy Award
Film writer and director Jordan Peele made history Sunday night when he took home the Academy Award for best original screenplay for his thought-provoking movie on race in America, “Get Out.”
John Marshall heads to Saturday’s state final
John Marshall High School has proven it’s tops in the Richmond area. Now the Justices are out to show they are No. 1 in Virginia.
Huguenot’s Deshawn Ridley snags regional Player of the Year
Deshawn Ridley’s trek to basketball stardom hasn’t always been the smoothest of rides. Twice, he was cut from his school teams — first as a seventh-grader at Elkhardt Middle School, and again as a Huguenot High School freshman.
Lady Panthers win CIAA; headed back to NCAA playoffs
The Virginia Union University Lady Panthers have enjoyed a steady drumbeat of success during the last three years, and the drummer shows no signs of weariness.
VUU men come alive to take CIAA title
Virginia Union University arrived at the CIAA Tournament in Charlotte, N.C., with a whisper, and left with a sonic boom.
VCU Rams open in A10
Plenty of lunchtime basketball is on the menu for Virginia Commonwealth University. The eighth-seeded Rams will open Atlantic 10 Tournament play at noon Thursday, March 8, against No. 9 University of Dayton at Capital One Arena in Washington.
Russell Wilson leaves Yankees training camp
Russell Wilson’s baseball comeback has ended, but not without some notable action on the field — and generosity off it.
Black churches across nation host screenings of ‘Black Panther’
Xavier Cooper went straight from his shift as a cook at a fast food restaurant to an early showing of the “Black Panther” — sponsored by his church.
30 members of Congress make pilgrimage to civil rights sites
About a dozen Democrats and Republicans prayed and sang “Amazing Grace” during a solemn ceremony last Friday at the site where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated nearly 50 years ago. The ceremony marked the start of a three-day congressional “pilgrimage” to sites with ties to the Civil Rights Movement in the South.
Interfaith film misses Oscar, but raises hope in Kenya
It didn’t bring home an Oscar this week, but a film nominated for an Academy Award is spreading a message that many Africans said is too rarely heard — that people from different religious groups on the continent can be each other’s heroes.
Personality: Gwendolyn D. Douglas
Spotlight on president of American Business Women’s Association, Cavalier Chapter
For the 10th year, the Cavalier Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association is celebrating Women’s History Month with Hattitude RVA — “Hats Off to Women” Awards Luncheon, a salute to the accomplishments of area women.
City Council poised to revive Human Relations Commission
Richmond soon could have a new Human Relations Commission as a platform to hear and investigate residents’ complaints about bias, bigotry and discrimination in areas ranging from race and religion to gender orientation, disability and pregnancy.
City School Board reviewing Patrick Henry’s charter for renewal
Parents connected with the Patrick Henry School of Science and Arts must wait another 10 days or so to learn whether their children’s elementary charter school will be open for the 2018-19 school year.
General Assembly approves city charter change for school modernization
By Jeremy M. Lazarus 40-0 in the state Senate.
Winners and losers
Mayor Levar M. Stoney offers details of his $1.42B, 2-year budget plan
High school students would be able ride GRTC buses without charge on an unlimited basis for a year. After-school programs for city youths would be expanded by enabling six city recreation centers to stay open longer and through support for programs offered by the YMCA, the YWCA and several other youth-serving groups.
Put Schools First offers $650M plan to modernize city schools
The volunteer Put Schools First committee is rolling out a plan that calls for spending $650 million to modernize all of Richmond’s public schools — with a goal of having 19 completed within seven years and the remaining buildings done within 12 years.
50 years and counting
Metropolitan Business League continues growing services, membership a half century after founding
Four days after Christmas, Floyd E. Miller II was in the Metropolitan Business League’s offices at 707 W. Main St. preparing for “a new year and new opportunities for new sources of funding” for the league through grants, foundations and fundraising events.
