Ulysses Kirksey, longtime music director and conductor of the Petersburg Symphony Orchestra, succumbs after illness
Ulysses Kirksey grew up in Richmond, traveled the world with his cello and landed back in Petersburg, where he led the community’s symphony orchestra for 32 years.
MLK’s initial leadership site gets preservation funding
As the Alabama church where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was elected to his first leadership position in the Civil Rights Movement marks its 155th anniversary, work has begun to make a museum out of the crumbling building where …
Kool & the Gang co-founder Dennis Thomas dies at 70
Dennis “Dee Tee” Thomas, a founding member of the long-running, Grammy Award-winning soul-funk band Kool & the Gang, has died. He was 70.
Praise, doubt as Facebook rolls out new prayer tool
Facebook already asks for your thoughts. Now it wants your prayers.
Former Houston Astros pitcher James Rodney ‘J.R.’ Richard dies at 71
James Rodney “J.R.” Richard was arguably the greatest pitcher of the 1970s and might have been the greatest ever if not for one harrowing event that turned his career, and life, upside down.
Robert P. “Bob” Moses, who crusaded for civil rights and later math education, dies at 86
Robert P. “Bob” Moses, a civil rights activist who was shot at and endured beatings and jail while leading Black voter registration drives in the South during the 1960s and later helped improve minority education in math, died Sunday, July …
Hundreds arrested in D.C. at faith-led protest for voting rights
As police escorted a demonstrator in a wheelchair away from the chanting throng descending on the U.S. Capitol on Monday, fellow protesters turned to watch the person go. The group paused for a moment, then altered their call. They screamed …
Dr. James Edward Leary, who pastored churches for more than 60 years, dies at 86
Dr. James Edward Leary, who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in civil rights protests in the 1960s and provided pastoral services for 60 years to at least 12 churches in Richmond and other states, died Friday, July 23, …
Unsung civil rights pioneer Gloria Richardson dies at 99
Gloria Richardson, an influential yet largely unsung civil rights pioneer whose determination not to back down while protesting racial inequality was captured in a photograph as she pushed away the bayonet of a National Guardsman, has died. She was 99.
Muslims scale back Eid al-Adha observance in midst of pandemic
Muslims around the world this week begin observing a major Islamic holiday in the shadow of the pandemic amid growing concerns about the highly infectious delta variant of the coronavirus.
Educator, counselor Susie Banian succumbs at 82
Susie Ann Banian, a veteran Richmond teacher and guidance counselor who also sang in multiple church and community choirs, has died.
Jehovah’s Witnesses move annual conventions online for second year
For the second consecutive year, the Jehovah’s Witnesses have canceled their large, in-person annual three-day conventions in Richmond and around the globe because of the coronavirus pandemic.
AME bishops address COVID-19, critical race theory, voting rights as annual meeting opens
The bishops of the African Methodist Episcopal Church opened their denomination’s major meeting — a year after it was delayed due to the coronavirus — with a call for greater worldwide access to COVID-19 vaccines and testing.
Dr. Thelma Bland Watson, who was dedicated to advancing the needs of the elderly, dies at 70
Dr. Thelma Bland Watson was 9 when she began providing assistance to her maternal grandmother. That experience turned Dr. Watson into a champion for the elderly.
Church’s tax-exempt status restored
The Community Church of God in Christ is once again being recognized by the city as an active, functioning church, according to 2nd District City Councilwoman Katherine Jordan.
