Thomas Jefferson Vikings want the victories
Thomas Jefferson High School is altering its football strategy — and the plan seems to be working. Among Richmond’s beleaguered football programs, Thomas Jefferson is most determined to schedule opponents more in line with its own size and capabilities.
African-American NFL quarterbacks working to turn ripple into wave
Cleveland Browns rookie DeShone Kizer burst onto the national spotlight while passing a football on Virginia soil. Now the former University of Notre Dame quarterback is the latest addition to the NFL’s select club of African-American starting quarterbacks.
Congregation to vote on pastor’s request to stay
Dr. Morris G. Henderson announced his retirement in late May, but now he is seeking to stay on as pastor of Thirty-first Street Baptist Church.
Washington National Cathedral to remove windows of Confederates
Following “considerable prayer and discussion” prompted by last month’s white supremacist protest in Charlottesville, the Washington National Cathedral has decided to remove stained-glass windows honoring two Confederate generals. A statement released Sept. 6 read that “after considerable prayer and discussion,” the cathedral’s board, or chapter, voted a day earlier “to immediately remove the windows.”
Personality: Joshua Ryan ‘Josh’ Epperson
Spotlight on co-founder of FeastRVA
Josh Epperson, co-founder of FeastRVA, lives each day by a quote by Howard Thurman: “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.
18 out of 44
That’s how many city public schools are fully accredited
The good news: 18 of Richmond’s 44 public schools — 41 percent — are fully accredited based on relatively high student pass rates on state Standards of Learning tests. That’s an increase from last year’s 17 accredited schools, according to the Virginia Department of Education. The bad news: Richmond has 19 schools that have been denied accreditation because of low student pass rates on SOL tests.
Candidates address education, Confederate statues at NAACP forum
The major party candidates seeking to become Virginia’s next governor offered different visions for Virginia’s public education system at a candidates’ forum hosted Sept. 7 by several state NAACP branches. At the forum held at Virginia Union University, Democratic Lt. Gov. Ralph S. Northam and Republican Ed Gillespie said they want Virginia’s schools to be top notch, but differ slightly on how to make it so.
Black History Museum board calls for Confederate statue removal
The Confederate statues on Richmond’s Monument Avenue should go. That sentiment was expressed by the board of directors of the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia in a letter submitted last week to the Free Press.
Will Richmond be the next Charlottesville?
In defiance of Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s ban on demonstrations at the Robert E. Lee statue on Monument Avenue, a little known Tennessee-based group of Confederate sympathizers is going ahead with a rally to promote protection of the statue.
DACA program also impacts black immigrants
The Black Alliance for Just Immigration, the nation’s largest black-led organization championing racial justice and immigrant rights, blasted the Trump administration for rescinding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that has allowed 800,000 immigrant youths to live in the United States without fear of deportation.
Bloodshed
Gilpin Court becomes a lightning rod for tragedy and possible change
Every day since Sunday, Takeila Knight has held her own personal vigil outside the Gilpin Court apartment of her stepbrother, Marvin Christopher “Pee Wee” Eley, 26, one of the four people killed early Sunday morning in a horrific spate of violence in the public housing community.
Tall grass can net fine in Richmond
Richmond City Hall is imposing a $50 fine on any property owner who lets his or her grass reach 12 inches or taller. The fines can reach a hefty $200 for those who let it happen again, and ultimately could lead to court action for those who fail to break out the mower.
GRTC rerouting buses along Broad Street
Alert to bus riders: GRTC has started rerouting buses off nearly a 1-mile stretch of Broad Street in Downtown during construction of stations for Pulse, the bus rapid transit system.
McEachin, Kaine host info session
Congressman A. Donald McEachin and U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine are co-hosting a Service Academy Day information session for high school students and their parents.
City Hall to state auditor: No way city on brink of $ distress
No way could this be correct. That is City Hall’s response to a finding by the state auditor of public accounts that Richmond is one of five localities — including Bristol, Petersburg and two unidentified counties — that are facing the most severe financial stress. The Free Press disclosed the finding in the Aug. 31-Sept. 2 edition.
Hurricanes and public policy
Hurricane Harvey did everything people said it would do and more. It either drowned or swallowed everything it touched in Corpus Christi, Houston and Beaumont, Texas, the Gulf Coast of Louisiana and a bunch of other places. Already, estimates say that Harvey may be our nation’s costliest disaster to date, costing at least $190 billion, or about 1 percent of our gross domestic product.
Blackballing Kaepernick
Colin Kaepernick, the former quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, is being blackballed — itself a revealing phrase — by the National Football League with the collusion of the all-white owners. He is being ostracized because a year ago he exercised his First Amendment right to free speech by taking a knee during the playing of the national anthem.
What to do?
Our media colleagues should stop their mewling over the absence of Democratic candidates Ralph S. Northam, Justin Fairfax and Mark Herring from the annual Labor Day parade in Buena Vista.
Trump and the Dreamers
President Trump continues to show us just what type of person he is.
Young writer has winning way with words
After reading Margot Lee Shetterly’s book, “Hidden Figures,” about African-American women mathematicians at NASA who did many of the calculations to put astronauts in space, 11-year-old Isla Rodriguez of Richmond now wants to be an astronaut.
