All that JAZZ
Fans of jazz, blues and R&B enjoyed a spectrum of musical styles and talent last Saturday and Sunday at the 8th Annual Richmond Jazz Festival at Maymont. The event featured legendary performers, neo-soul icons and newcomers, all of whom held their own, delivering powerful performances on a trio of stages. The vibe was smooth and easy, with thousands of people enjoying good music, good food and camaraderie with fellow music lovers.
‘Blind Side’ subject cut from NFL team
Michael Oher, who was the subject of the 2009 biographical feature film “The Blind Side,” starring Sandra Bullock, has been cut by the Carolina Panthers.
New leader for TV One
Michelle Rice, executive vice president for content distribution and marketing at TV One, has been named interim general manager of the company, with management oversight of the network that targets African-American adults. The announcement was made in late July by Alfred C. Liggins, CEO of Urban One, formerly known as Radio One and the parent company of TV One.
Clarence ‘Big House’ Gaines honored in hometown
Paducah, Ky., has paid tribute to a famous native son, the late Clarence “Big House” Gaines. A monument of Mr. Gaines was unveiled Monday, Aug. 7, at 9th and Husband streets in Paducah. The tribute is near Coleman Park in the part of town where Mr. Gaines grew up.
Virginian Kenny Easley inducted into NFL Hall of Fame
Native Virginian Kenny Easley’s NFL career was short but sweet. Limited to just seven seasons (81-87) due to a kidney ailment, Easley was a five-time All-Pro, NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1984 and selected to the NFL’s 1980s All-Decade team.
Fans pick ‘The 50 Greatest Black Athletes’
If compiling lists is meant to stir controversy, “The 50 Greatest Black Athletes” struck its target. The survey, released Aug. 8, is a collaboration of The Undefeated and Survey Monkey and makes an attempt — some suggest a wild stab — at naming the 50 greatest black athletes of all time.
Who will be next Usain Bolt?
Track and field is looking for a new sprinting superstar. Who will it be? There is a vacancy for the title of “world’s fastest human” following the conclusion of Usain Bolt’s unprecedented career at the World Championships of Athletics in London.
Personality: Carroll H. Ellis Jr.
Spotlight on geoscience educator at the MathScience Innovation Center
Carroll H. Ellis Jr. wants to see more African-American students embracing the geosciences as an area of interest, and ultimately, as a career path. The field, he says, holds the possibility of studying earthquakes, surface and groundwater, soil, mining geology and geochemistry, among other areas. His passion for the field has fueled his love of teaching for more than three decades.
Memorial service Saturday for ‘Tiger Tom’ Mitchell
A memorial service for Richmond broadcast legend “Tiger Tom” Mitchell will be at noon Saturday, Aug. 19, at St. Paul’s Baptist Church, 4247 Creighton Road in Henrico County.
Mormon church denounces white supremacy, angering some members
The Mormon church is specifically condemning white supremacist attitudes in its strongest statement since a Virginia rally over a Confederate monument descended into deadly violence.
Megapastor says Trump has God-given authority to ‘take out Kim Jong-un’
Anyone who knows the Bible shouldn’t take issue with the idea that God has given President Trump authority to take out North Korea’s dictator, said Pastor Robert Jeffress, the Dallas megachurch leader who drew sharp rebukes for stating just that.
Mayor Stoney makes removing Confederate statues an option
Under mounting public pressure, Richmond Mayor Levar M. Stoney changed course on Wednesday, announcing that the Monument Avenue Commission will now consider the option of removing Confederate statues along Monument Avenue. “Effective immediately, the Monument Avenue Commission will include an examination of the removal and/or relocation of some or all of the Confederate statues,” the mayor said in a statement issued about 5 p.m. Wednesday.
RPS student achievement continues decline
Student achievement in Richmond Public Schools continues to decline, according to Standards of Learning test scores released this week by the Virginia Department of Education.
First Monument Avenue Commission public hearing tense, raucous
The Monument Avenue Commission’s way forward remains murky following its tense and raucous first public comment meeting Wednesday, Aug. 9, at the Virginia Historical Society.
Schools petition drive shifts to voter turnout
Political strategist Paul Goldman is shifting gears. Now that his petition drive has been successful to get the issue of modernizing the city’s aging schools on the Nov. 7 ballot, he is working to get voters to the polls to approve the City Charter change.
Rally victim a ‘focal point for change’
Heather Heyer, 32, has been called a “focal point for change.” A passionate advocate for the disenfranchised, the paralegal often would cry at her job with the Miller Law Group in Charlottesville when she saw cases of injustice.
2 state troopers considered casualties
Two Virginia State troopers lost their lives in Charlottesville. Lt. H. Jay Cullen, 48, of Midlothian, and Trooper-Pilot Berke M.M. Bates of Quinton were killed when the Bell 407 helicopter from which they were conducting surveillance during the white nationalists rally crashed shortly before 5p.m. Saturday in a wooded area near a residence on Old Farm Road in Albemarle County.
Trump and the rise of hate groups
President Trump’s tepid initial comments about the civil disruption last weekend in Charlottesville, followed by his declaration Tuesday that the “alt-left” was as responsible for the violence, has stirred a hornet’s nest of exchanges from a wide range of religious, political and social figures with no end of the bitter rhetoric in sight.
Officials react
“It is appalling that neo-Nazis, the Klan and other white nationalists chose Virginia and a great community like Charlottesville to spread their messages of hate and intolerance. It speaks to a vile and disturbing current in our culture and politics which has now broken out into the full light of day. I will be watching closely to make sure that President Trump’s
Homegrown terror
The nation reacts to violence and murder in Charlottesville driven by white supremacists’ attempts to protect Confederate statues
Was the horror show in Charlottesville fresh evidence that overt racism remains an issue for our country? Or is it a terrible, but ultimately small blip in a nation where the issue of race has dominated the past and remains a key issue today?
