As a child, Amanda Lewis always dreamed of participating in beauty pageants, but never felt that she was “seen as pretty or attractive.”

Dr. Cheryl Ivey Green wears many hats. She is the senior assistant to Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones. She is the executive minister of ministries at First Baptist Church of South Richmond. And she now is the new president of …

Virginia Union University senior Danielle Ebelle walked into a conference room where seated were Dr. Joseph Johnson, VUU’s acting president; Dr. Latrelle Green, dean of the School of Mathematics, Science and Technology; and Dr. Carleitta Paige-Anderson, director of the Center …

Ever since Elliott Eddie was a child, he could run his mouth like a steam engine, his cousin says. Mr. Eddie’s oratorical skills, refined through the years and sprinkled with inspiration, have earned him a top international award.

Black history — for people of all ethnic backgrounds — is a requirement and not an elective in understanding the common origins of all people, says Gary L. Flowers.

For 10 years, Regina N. Hall and the Central Virginia Chapter of the Sisters Network have been going into the community to educate women about breast health. This year, the chapter is hoping the community will come to them

Luis “Sweet Lou” Hidalgo dismisses what he says are pop-driven sounds of Latin music often heard on radio and television.

As coordinator of the Women, Infant and Children program for the Richmond City Health District, Lizbeth Snead wants to spread the word that WIC does more than provide supplemental foods to families. The federal program also provides grants to states …

In 2005, a single phone call sent Deidre Harris into a spiral of depression. The caller said that Anthony Davis Sr., Ms. Harris’ boyfriend and father of her then 2-year-old daughter, Kennedi, was dead.

Connie McGowan was devastated after the shooting deaths by police of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, La., and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minn. She also was disturbed by the shooting deaths of five police officers in Dallas a day …

Long before Tyra Zuri Hayes Beaman­­ graduated with honors from Spelman College in May 2016, she was working toward becoming a U.S. foreign service officer by studying abroad in Argentina, Uruguay, Haiti and South Africa.

Gracetta Washington-Young believes Richmond’s African-American and minority-owned businesses should have a greater voice in their own development.

Jeree Thomas believes in doing whatever she can to help her clients live more successful lives. The attorney with the JustChildren program of the Legal Aid Justice Center in Richmond provides counsel for children and represents them at special education …

For 32 years, Ginger Stanley has been an advocate for Virginia’s newspapers, so much so that her name is practically synonymous with the Virginia Press Association. That’s the organization that promotes the common interests of its member newspapers.

When Maureen S. Patterson is installed next Wednesday as president of the Midlothian Rotary Club, she will be become the club’s first African-American woman president. She will preside over a club that has only one other African-American member.