Moses Alphonso “Sporty” Norrell III, a football coach, educator and guidance counselor for 42 years at his alma mater Armstrong High School, has died.

Jon C. “Sugar” King Sr. was an influential force in Richmond in opening doors to ensure Black participation in business and the arts.

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.

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.

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, 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 …

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, …

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.

Susie Ann Banian, a veteran Richmond teacher and guidance counselor who also sang in multiple church and community choirs, has died.

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.

Horace Alfonso “Bubba” Carter III wanted everyone in Richmond to learn to swim and to be safe doing it.

Fred Adolphus Cooper sought to inspire students to learn during his nearly 60-year career as an educator that included service as principal of Richmond’s former Armstrong-Kennedy High School complex and later as co-owner of a student tutorial business in Chicago.

Eva Davis Brinkley went above and beyond for Richmond students at Armstrong High School.

Jim “Mudcat” Grant, who was among the first dominant Black pitchers in Major League Baseball, died Friday, June 11, 2021, in Los Angeles. He was 85.

In the early 1970s, Virginia Commonwealth University had dreams of going to Division I in basketball. Dave Edwards was among those helping the Rams reach their goal.