
Persistent racial inequities plague the housing market, by Thomas Okuda Fitzpatrick
Supply and demand: We often hear that this is the fundamental issue when it comes to affordable housing. If only we built more homes, meeting demand, then prices would fall. But like many simple stories, it’s more fiction than truth.

Baptist organization gets $1M megachurch donation to aid African girls
A Baptist missions organization has received a $1 million donation from a Virginia mega-church, boosting its efforts to help girls in Africa.

School Board candidates face off in Crusade for Voters forum
One of the most important job interviews for Richmond Public Schools School Board candidates took place at Third Street Bethel Church on last Thursday. The Richmond Crusade for Voters hosted the candidates forum, which included 11 of the 16 persons running for office.

Fannie Lou Hamer rattled Democratic Convention with speech 60 years ago
Vice President Kamala Harris is accepting the Democrats’ presidential nomination Thursday, exactly 60 years after another Black woman mesmerized the nation with a televised speech that challenged the seating of Mississippi’s all-white delegation to the 1964 Democratic National Convention.

‘Exploring Human Origins’ exhibition comes to Union Seminary
Union Presbyterian Seminary’s William Smith Morton Library will host the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History’s traveling exhibition, “Exploring Human Origins: What Does It Mean to Be Human?” The exhibit will run Sep. 3 through Nov. 15, offering an opportunity to delve into the world of human evolution.

Grammy-winning Arrested Development to headline 2nd Street Festival
The 36th Annual 2nd Street Festival returns on Oct. 5-6 in Richmond’s historic Jackson Ward neighborhood.

Community meeting on Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground
The Shockoe Project invites the Richmond community to participate in a engagement session focused on gathering public input for the memorialization of the historic Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground.

Walmart introduces testing and treatment services at Richmond pharmacies
Walmart has launched a new testing and treatment service at all of its pharmacy locations in the Richmond area, allowing customers to be tested and treated for flu, strep, and COVID-19 in a single visit. The program, now available statewide across Virginia, is part of Walmart’s broader initiative to expand convenient access to health care.

Free community testing for COVID-19 continues
For the week ending on Saturday, Aug. 17, confirmed hospital admissions for COVID-19 in Virginia rose by 12.1% from the. previous week, though new admissions remain low. No deaths associated with COVID-19 were reported statewide during that timeframe. Updated data on COVID-19 wastewater levels in the Greater Richmond area showed plateaus starting the week of Sunday, Aug. 11.
We’re waiting
Since she became the presumptive Democratic nominee, Kamala Harris hasn’t held a press conference or given an interview.
Missing
Have you seen this bench?

Developers abandon grain facility plans after activists expose deception, by Marc H. Morial
“This proposed structure will be as tall as the Statue of Liberty. It is a major threat to the slave-descendant community of Wallace. This grain elevator would take up hundreds of acres of the fields around you that once formed Whitney Plantation, potentially destroying unknown burial sites. It will contribute to the existing toxic burden with grain dust pollution, and permanently change the landscape of West St. John Parish.”—Whitney Plantation Museum

How the Inflation Reduction Act is powering a manufacturing resurgence and a cleaner future, by Ben Jealous
I often think about a factory hallway in Dalton, Ga. that is filled with pictures drawn by children. It is a reminder of what can be, what will be, thanks to the historic Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which celebrates its second anniversary this month.

Roadrunners stumble against Sparks
The Richmond Roadrunners fell to the Maryland Sparks 87-75 in Women’s American Basketball Association (WABA) action last Saturday, dropping their record to 3-2, with four regular season games remaining.

Louisa NAACP to celebrate African American heritage
The Louisa Branch NAACP will celebrate Black History and Culture with Louisa’s 4th Annual African American Heritage Festival on Saturday, Aug. 24, from 10 a.m. to 4 pm.

Virginia Union gears up for new season with eyes on repeat
The Virginia Union University Panthers football team is gearing up for the 2024 season, aiming to defend their NCAA Division II Central Intercollegiate Athletics Association championship.

FAMU, Alabama State lead the charge in HBCU Preseason All-America team
Florida A&M and Alabama State are flexing their muscles early, dominating the 2024 HBCU Preseason All-American football team announced Wednesday.

MJBL crowns 8 champions at Inner City Classic
The Metropolitan Junior Baseball League crowned eight champions at its 33rd Annual Inner City Classic national championships, overcoming weather challenges.

Events to honor slave rebellions and black cemeteries
The Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality, in collaboration with the Shockoe Bottom Community Advisory Group, will hold a series of events to honor Gabriel’s Rebellion, the legacy of Black cemeteries and historic slave revolts in Virginia and elsewhere.