Will Shaka Smart remain a Richmonder? Or will he be shopping for a Stetson and cowboy boots in the near future? Kidding aside, Smart was still very much the basketball coach at Virginia Commonwealth University at Free Press press time …

It was history pure and simple. Three African-American women swimmers swept the 100-yard freestyle event at the Women’s Division I NCAA Championship held March 19-21 in Greensboro, N.C. Freshman Simone Manuel of Stanford University set an NCAA, American, U.S. Open, …

The Free Press presents a series chronicling the black experience during the liberation of Richmond in April 1865 and the end of the Civil War.

In 150 years, Virginia Union University has risen like a phoenix from the ruins of Lumpkin’s Jail — where hundreds of thousands of enslaved black people were bought and sold like cattle — to become an educational training ground for …

President Obama will welcome Pope Francis to the White House during the pontiff’s U.S. visit in September to “continue the dialogue … on their shared values and commitments on a wide range of issues,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest …

Riverside Health System is closing its Petersburg PACE program designed to keep elderly people in their homes and avoid expensive nursing home care. Sixty-seven people served by the program will be affected, said Riverside spokesperson Caitlyn Worner. She said they …

Richmond will be in the center of the high-profile political fight to replace retiring Republican state Sen. John Watkins in the General Assembly. Both major political parties are expected to go all out to capture the 10th Senate District seat …

Three potential contenders for Richmond area seats in the General Assembly have been knocked out at the starting gate — at least temporarily. Former Delegate Joseph D. “Joe” Morrissey and Dr. Derik E. Jones, son of Richmond Mayor Dwight C. …

Joseph D. “Joe” Morrissey no longer has four felony charges hanging over his head. Judge Alfred D. Swersky threw out the indictments facing the former General Assembly member Wednesday at a hearing in Henrico County Circuit Court. Judge Swersky, who …

The photo of Martese Johnson lying dazed, bloodied and bruised on the pavement is almost iconic. Blood streams like huge tears from the gash on his forehead and covers his face. His shirt is saturated with blood. The gruesome image …

The Free Press presents a series chronicling the black experience during the liberation of Richmond in April 1865 and the end of the Civil War.

Bishop T.D. Jakes strutted, danced, shouted and spoke in hushed tones Saturday, adding a thunderous exclamation mark to the 2015 Transformation Expo, an annual faith gathering hosted by Radio One. Time and again, fiery exhortations by the 57-year-old, best-selling author …

James Johnson was aboard a plane last spring bound for a recording session with the Arkansas Gospel Mass Choir when inspiration struck. “I was looking out at the clouds, at his creation, and I was thinking about just how great …

Virginia State University has received a $100,000 gift from an alumnus to create an endowed scholarship honoring his late wife, Annase Wilks Hill. Charlie W. Hill, a 1966 graduate now living in Hampton, is the donor for the scholarship that …

A protégé of state Sen. Rosalyn R. Dance has jumped into the race for the 63rd House of Delegates District seat. Lashrecse Aird, 28, announced that she would compete with three other announced candidates for the Petersburg area seat that …