VUU signs 4
Virginia Union University basketball coach Jay Butler has announced signings of four new players and suggests more may be on the way.
Former VUU football center now Roanoke’s new mayor
Sherman Lea has gone from the center of the football action at Virginia Union University to the center of the political arena in Roanoke, where he is now the mayor elect.
Willard Bailey to keynote VIAHA Hall of Fame banquet
Former Virginia Union University football Coach Willard Bailey will be the keynote speaker for the Virginia Interscholastic Association Heritage Association’s inaugural Hall of Fame Banquet.
Personality: Dr. Ram Bhagat
Spotlight on 2016 Peacemaker of the Year
Dr. Ram Bhagat is all too familiar with gun violence. After losing his younger brother at the hands of a gun in 1981, Dr. Bhagat vowed to fight gun violence through his love for drumming.
Christians respond to Orlando attack
Christians responded quickly to the shooting rampage at an LGBT nightclub in Orlando, Fla. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association immediately sent trained chaplains with the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team to Orlando to offer emotional and spiritual care to victims of the attack that took place early Sunday at Pulse.
Readers recall stories, memories of ‘The Greatest’
Free Press readers have offered a host of stories and memories of the late boxing legend Muhammad Ali in the days since his death and memorial services. Clearly, many in the Richmond community have been touched by The Champ. We share a few of those stories here:
Trump rally sinks under weights
Donald Trump was expected to pack the Richmond Coliseum when he visited the city last week. After all, he has packed arenas in other cities.
Combating summer slide
‘The Books Brothers’ mobilize for book giveaway at Holton
Linwood Holton Elementary School students Jace and Jazz Miles enjoy reading so much that they wanted to spread their passion throughout the school.
Ali laid to rest in send-off ‘fit for a king’
The world watched as the life of boxing champion Muhammad Ali was celebrated last week in his hometown of Louisville, Ky.
Grief unifies nation
Richmond mourns in solidarity following Orlando massacre
In what has become all too common, several Richmond churches and community groups gathered this week to hold vigils and pray for victims of gun violence. This time, the songs of solace and tears of despair were for the slaughter unleashed Sunday morning when 29-year-old gunman Omar Mateen killed 49 people and wounded 53 others at an Orlando, Fla., nightclub frequented by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender patrons.
McEachin, Wade on Nov. ballot
Richmond’s next congressman will either be Democrat A. Donald McEachin or Republican Michael L. “Mike” Wade. As expected, both men easily overcame rivals to win their respective party’s primary election Tuesday. They gain the right to carry their party’s banner into the November general election to represent the refashioned 4th Congressional District in Washington.
Area residents tell their brush with ‘The Greatest’
Jesse Vaughan, the Richmond native and creative genius behind Virginia State University’s recent “Building a Better World” campaign, has won 27 Emmy Awards during the course of his career.
Ramadan observed amid hardships
Muslims around the world began observing Ramadan on Monday, Islam’s holy month during which believers abstain from eating and drinking during daylight hours.
Retired judge should be honored
As we honor Henry L. Marsh III and his brother Harold M. Marsh Sr. with the renaming of the Manchester Courthouse, there is one among us who led the charge in the justice system in Richmond whom everyone seems to have forgotten. He is retired Richmond Judge Willard H. Douglas Jr.
A clear and present danger
The danger that Donald Trump, practitioner of questionable business practices, inveterate bully, racist, sexist, demagogue and the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee for president of the United States, presents to American society was never more evident than last week amid a flurry of negative news stories.
The people’s champion
Ditch the memories of Muhammad Ali showing up uninvited at Sonny Liston’s training camp, announcing that he was going bear hunting. Put aside his boasts of being the greatest of alllll-timmmme. Scratch the images of the “Ali Shuffle” and his patented rope-a-dope.
4th Congressional District primaries
On Tuesday, voters in Richmond and portions of several nearby cities and counties will go to the polls to make their choices for Democratic and Republican nominees to run for the 4th Congressional District seat.
‘Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic’ opens Saturday at VMFA
Special to the Free Press Asked what “A New Republic” means, visual artist Kehinde Wiley replies rapid-fire. “It’s a space-clearing gesture.”
Richmond’s Plunky Branch releases autobiography at June 23 event
James “Plunky” Branch’s music consistently contains elements of jazz, funk and soul linked with African concepts of “Juju” and “oneness.”
