President Obama’s farewell speech
It’s good to be home. My fellow Americans, Michelle and I have been so touched by all the well-wishes we’ve received over the past few weeks. But tonight it’s my turn to say thanks. Whether we’ve seen eye to eye or rarely agreed at all, my conversations with you, the American people — in living rooms and schools; at farms and on factory floors; at diners and on distant outposts — are what have kept me honest, kept me inspired, and kept me going. Every day, I learned from you. You made me a better president, and you made me a better man.
Why support the D.C. Women’s March?
“Ain’t I A Woman? I have ploughed and planted and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain’t I a woman! I could work as much and eat as much as a man — when I could get it — and bear the lash as well. And ain’t I a woman? I’ve bourne thirteen children and seen most all sold off and when I cried out with my mother’s grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain’t I a woman.” — Sojourner Truth
To improve schools, let’s work together
The success of Richmond Public Schools, its students, and its families is critically important to the City of Richmond and will be a top priority in my mayoral administration. Voters in 2016 made it very clear that they want their leaders to prioritize education, and that they want to see public officials collaborate to support schools.
Free Press celebrates 25 years
A message to our readers by Free Press Publisher Jean P. Boone Twenty-five years ago in January 1992, I often would refer to the Richmond Free Press as “a baby that wouldn’t stop crying.”
Area events to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
The Richmond community has more than a week’s worth of activities to celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. this year.
‘March on Monument’ set for Saturday
A Richmond march on seven blocks of Monument Avenue is to take place this weekend to promote social justice and serve as a counterpoint to Donald Trump’s upcoming inauguration as the 45th president.
Deltas reschedule Founders event
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority has rescheduled its Central Virginia-Tidewater Founders Day Celebration for Saturday, Feb. 18, at the Greater Richmond Convention Center in Downtown.
74th Golden Globe Awards hit notes of inclusion
The lack of racial and ethnic diversity in Hollywood was a running joke during last year’s Academy Awards ceremony. This year, several African-Americans were recognized at the 74th Annual Golden Globe Awards, a star-studded event televised from Beverly Hills, Calif. The event is put on by Hollywood Foreign Press Association to honor the best in film and American television during the past year.
VUU takes on VSU Sunday at the 2017 Freedom Classic
Tavon Mealy excels at most aspects of basketball, especially the winning part. You can say the same about Walter Williams. Virginia Union University’s Mealy and Virginia State University’s Williams both have danced to a steady drum beat of team success throughout their young careers.
Rachael Pecota, 26, brings uniqueness to Lady Panthers
Small, private HBCUs such as Virginia Union University sometimes must explore off the beaten path for talent. Even area health clubs can be on the search list. Rachael Pecota had been away from organized basketball some five years when her jump shot was spotted at American Family Fitness in Midlothian.
VCU beats UMass; ready for Davidson on Saturday
Just prior to the Atlantic 10 tournament in March, conference coaches will gather in Pittsburgh to vote on the A-10 Player of the Year.
Mike London headed to Howard
Howard University is a perennial football underdog perhaps known more for its dynamic “Showtime” Marching Band than for its gridiron success. Michael London, HU’s new football coach at age 56, hopes to change that image by sandwiching some improved football around the glitzy halftime performances.
Anna Wilson playing at Stanford after previous injury
Anna Wilson’s clean bill of health spells trouble for upcoming opponents of Stanford University’s women’s basketball team. Wilson, a Richmond native and sister of Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, was held out of the Pac-12 school’s early action due to a concussion suffered last March at the McDonald’s All-America Classic in Chicago.
Richmond area athletes land spots in NFL conference semifinals
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and Houston Texans offensive tackle Duane Brown both earned an A-plus on their NFL first round playoff report cards.
Jury sentences white supremacist to death in S.C. church massacre
Unrepentant white supremacist Dylann Roof was sentenced to death Tuesday for fatally shooting nine African-American church members during Bible study at a landmark Charleston, S.C., church, becoming the first person ordered executed for a federal hate crime.
Prosperity preachers to pray at Trump inaugural
Bishop Wayne T. Jackson, who hosted President-elect Donald Trump with his Detroit congregation in September, is among the religious leaders chosen to offer prayers at the new president’s swearing-in next week in Washington. The inaugural committee announced that prosperity gospel preachers Bishop Jackson, who leads Great Faith Ministries International, and Pastor Paula White, a friend of the president-elect, will join four others selected to participate in the inauguration on Friday, Jan. 20.
Personality: Roslyn C. ‘Roz’ Tyler
Spotlight on new chair of Virginia Legislative Black Caucus
Delegate Roslyn C. “Roz” Tyler of Sussex says she has always wanted to help people. Since 2006, the 56-year-old has represented a district in the House of Delegates that runs from Dinwiddie County to Emporia and Isle of Wight County.
Richmond Community ICU nurses told to apply for other jobs
A Bon Secours memo provided to the Free Press undercuts the Catholic hospital group’s public claim that it intends to maintain its five-bed intensive care unit at Richmond Community Hospital in Church Hill.
Longtime Wilder aide convicted of embezzlement
“Shocking” and “tragic.” Those are the words former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder used to describe his feelings about the embezzlement conviction Wednesday of his longtime and once trusted aide.
Legality of severance pay to ex-mayor’s appointees questioned
In November 2004, as Richmond City Hall prepared for the change to an elected mayor-council form of government and to abolish the city manager’s office, the outgoing City Council rushed to approve an ordinance that authorized the council or the mayor to give severance pay to appointees whose jobs were eliminated or who were terminated for non-criminal reasons.
