Too late to complain about Confederate flag being co-opted
Many people do not know that the swastika is actually an ancient Sanskrit symbol denoting good luck and prosperity. It is sort of an ancient Indian-Asian four leaf clover. A lucky charm. A rabbit’s foot.
Speak up for environmental justice
Equity, understanding, morality and justice are at the foundation of any society. Unfortunately, here in the United States, society is being revisited by the more visible public manifestations of the systems of oppression that our country was built on.
Dick Gregory predicted chaos
For those who knew comedian-activist Dick Gregory, it’s no secret that we were best friends for a very long time. More than a year before he died, he told me — as I am sure he told many others — that the 2016 election wasn’t going to go the way I thought it would.
Who’s in charge?
It seems the Richmond School Board has been taken down the rabbit hole of secrecy yet again. And Thomas E. “Tommy” Kranz, Richmond Public Schools’ interim superintendent, may have a starring role in the latest drama.
NASA names Hampton center for Katherine Johnson
Katherine G. Johnson, the pioneering Virginia woman whose key role in America’s early space missions was portrayed in the Oscar-nominated film “Hidden Figures,” has received a new honor. NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton dedicated a new building last Friday named for Mrs. Johnson.
Former astronaut Mae Jemison celebrates silver anniversary of historic space flight
Twenty-five years ago, astronaut Mae Jemison was the first woman of color to travel into space. The Alabama native who was raised in Chicago entered Stanford University at age 16, earning a degree in chemical engineering before going to Cornell University Medical School. She worked as a medical officer in the Peace Corps in Liberia and Sierra Leone before joining NASA and the space program in 1987.
Dick Gregory: What is seen and unseen
The celebration of the life of Dick Gregory on Sept. 16 at the City of Praise Family Ministries in Landover, Md., was more than seven hours of eclectic diversity, from a serenade by Native Americans to a musical tribute by Ayanna Gregory, Mr. Gregory’s daughter, and Stevie Wonder, to speakers MSNBC’s Lawrence O’ Donnell and Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser, to the fiery Rep. Maxine Waters, who vowed to help impeach that “thing” in the White House.
Trump creates firestorm over athletes’ taking a knee
President Trump seems to have too little to do. Amid the damage from two hurricanes, a verbal feud with a nuclear North Korea and a host of other issues ranging from health care to tax reform, the president has triggered a spat with athletes in the nation’s most popular pro sports leagues, the NFL and the NBA.
VSU takes winning streak on the road
Hot will meet cold this week in Salisbury, N.C., as Virginia State University, one of the NCAA Division II’s hottest football programs takes on struggling CIAA football rival Livingstone College on Saturday, Sept. 30.
VUU’s Darius Taylor is the Panthers’ ‘main man’
Until about a week before football season began, quarterback Darius Taylor wasn’t even listed on Virginia Union University’s 2017 roster.
Cleo Hill to be inducted into collegiate hall of fame
The basketball life of the late Cleo Hill stands out for its dramatic rise, and also for its mysterious fall. The Newark, N.J., native is remembered as being among the elite college players of his generation, albeit in the relative obscurity of Winston-Salem State University.
Stanton slugging it all the way to the bank
Giancarlo Stanton is Major League Baseball’s top slugger. He also claims No. 1 status going to the bank. The Miami Marlins’ mountainous right fielder had 57 home runs through Saturday, Sept. 23, and was bidding to be just the sixth man in history to enter the exclusive club of players with 60 or more home runs in a single season.
James Hickman, retired city homicide detective, dies at 68
James E. Hickman Sr., a retired Richmond Police detective who later worked with the Richmond Public Schools Department of Safety and Security, was remembered as a kindhearted man who cared about the students and crime victims whose lives he touched.
Personality: Angela Cimmino
Spotlight on board president of Down Syndrome Association of Greater Richmond
Angela Cimmino found out three days after her son’s birth that he had Down syndrome. “We were a bit shell-shocked,” she recalls.
Remembering history
Member of ‘Little Rock Nine’ talks about his experience desegregating Central High School 60 years ago
On Sept. 25, 1957, Ernest Gideon Green and eight other African-American teens were escorted by federal troops past an angry white mob and climbed the front steps to enter Central High School in Little Rock, Ark.
New VUU president to students: Support one another
With bright sunlight streaming through stained-glass windows chronicling the 152-year history of Virginia Union University, Dr. Hakim Lucas, the university’s new president, charged students “to support one another as the university’s next chapter unfolds.”
Voting systems in Va., 20 other states targeted by hackers in 2016
State and city officials sought to allay public fears this week after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that hackers targeted the voting systems in Virginia and 20 other states before the 2016 presidential election.
Officials launch ‘Respect Richmond’ anti-violence campaign
Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring and Richmond Mayor Levar M. Stoney launched a new campaign Wednesday to reduce gun violence and homicides in Richmond.
NSU president stepping down
Eddie N. Moore Jr. is stepping down as president of Norfolk State University, a year after he was inaugurated as the university’s sixth president.
Crusade for Voters hosts 61st anniversary banquet
A congressman and a candidate for statewide office will be the featured speakers at a banquet celebrating the Richmond Crusade for Voters’ 61st anniversary, it has been announced. Speakers: U.S. Rep. A. Donald McEachin, D-4th, and Justin Fairfax, the Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor.
