Story

Bishop Charles A. West starting new church in Henrico County
Bishop Charles A. West, who ran the Operation Streets youth basketball program in Richmond for more than 20 years, is starting over with a new church.
Story

VSU Trojan Explosion Marching Band suspended amid hazing allegations
All perfomances of the Virginia State University’s marching band have been suspended following allegations of hazing by band members, university officials said Monday.
Photo

New U.S. citizens About 100 people from nearly 50 countries took the oath of allegiance to become U.S. citizens during an Independence Day ceremony outside …
Published on July 12, 2019
Photo

Year-old Deilani Bland-Murph holds on to the hands of her mother, Tyshell Bland, right, and that of a Richmond SPCA volunteer at last Saturday’s 20th …
Published on March 31, 2022
Photo gallery

Reclaimed, Removed and Reshaped
Monument Avenue was reshaped in ways big and small last week, with the removal of …
Story

Marijuana justice groups criticize legalization bill passed by General Assembly
Just wait three years. That’s the message the General Assembly sent after finally passing a bill to legalize recreational marijuana use for those 21 and older.
Story

Panthers lose CIAA tourney to Rams 45-44
VUU awaits NCAA II decision after lowest scoring game in annals
Heading north on I-95, it took Virginia Union University’s bus about two hours and 35 minutes to reach Baltimore, site of the CIAA basketball tournament. It probably felt like a lot longer coming back.
Story

Unprecedented money flowing in Va. legislative races; latest reports show Dems with edge
Virginia legislative candidates raised $46 million over about four weeks in the month of October, according to newly filed finance disclosures, with Democrats collectively reporting a fundraising edge as this campaign season nears its end.
Story

Mahomes, Purdy in NFL spotlight
Meet the “odd couple” of Super Bowl quarterbacks. Greatness, from the get-go, was predicted for Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes, not so for San Francisco’s Brock Purdy, the longest of the longshots.
Story

Jack Gravely new NAACP interim executive director
Jack Gravely last led the Virginia State Conference of the NAACP as executive director more than three decades ago. This week, Mr. Gravely began a second stint with the organization, this time as interim executive director. “I know this is a different era, but we still face some of the same issues along with some new ones, and I have the same passion to lead this organization to address them,” Mr. Gravely said Wednesday. He takes over from King Salim Khalfani, who was pushed out by the board in early 2014 after serving in the post for 15 years.
Story

Giles hopes to boost services to troubled teens
Shunda T. Giles has been preparing for her transition from lawyer for the Richmond Department of Social Services to its top manager. On Monday, the 41-year-old attorney took over the leadership role of the department of more than 400 staffers and a $74.5 million annual budget, all aimed at strengthening families and providing services to meet essential human needs.
Story

New breed of bigots
Among the many windswept cliffs that stand guard on the shores of the island of Okinawa, one is known for its particularly gruesome history.
Story

Tall men help John Marshall open season with wins
Surprisingly, the Richmond area’s tallest basketball team might represent a high school rather than a college. John Marshall High School’s front line just may have an inch or two over the likes of Virginia Commonwealth University, the University of Richmond and Virginia Union University.
Story

Economic justice and fair housing
“The housing problem is particularly acute in the minority ghettos. Nearly two-thirds of all non-white families living in the central cities today live in neighborhoods marked with substandard housing and general urban blight. Two major factors are responsible. First: Many ghetto residents simply cannot pay the rent necessary to support decent housing. In Detroit, for example, over 40 percent of the non-white occupied units in 1960 required rent of over 35 percent of the tenants’ income. Second: Discrimination prevents access to many non-slum areas, particularly the suburbs, where good housing exists. In addition, by creating a ‘back pressure’ in the racial ghettos, it makes it possible for landlords to break up apartments for denser occupancy, and keeps prices and rents of deteriorated ghetto housing higher than they would be in a truly free market.” – Report of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (the Kerner Commission), 1968 Former Vice President Walter Mondale, who co-sponsored the Fair Housing Act along with U.S. Sen. Edward Brooke, the first popularly elected African-American in the U.S. Senate, was interviewed recently on the occasion of the Fair Housing Act’s 50th anniversary.
Story

Powerless over statues?
Who really can remove the Confederate traitors from Monument Avenue? According to the City Charter, it may not be the mayor or City Council
When it comes to the Confederate statues on Monument Avenue, Mayor Levar M. Stoney has been in the spotlight, along with members of Richmond City Council.
Story

Va. NAACP to be run by Tenn. official
The longtime president of the Tennessee NAACP has been handed control of the Virginia State Conference NAACP. Gloria Jean Sweet-Love, who has earned credit for turning around NAACP operations in her state during her 24-year tenure at the helm, was named administrator for the Virginia operations and given sweeping powers over state NAACP policies, programs and expenditures.
Story

4th Circuit renders decision in battle over Md. cross
For 92 years, a four-story-tall cross has stood at a major intersection in Prince George’s County, Md., paying silent tribute to members of the American military who died fighting in World War I. Now, in the latest church-state battle over public memorials, a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond has ruled that the massive memorial violates the U.S. Constitution’s ban on the government imposition of a religious faith.
Story

Brother Biden, please keep another promise or two, by Julianne Malveaux
I do this thing in my head with President Biden. When he gets on my nerves, I often call him President. When I want something from him or want to thank him for something, I call him Brother Biden.
Story

Operation Bold Blue Line
Youngkin plans to reduce homicides, shootings with more police, higher pay
What’s the solution to the spate of shootings and violence that appears to be on the upswing in Richmond and across the state?
Story

Changing the trajectory
RRHA ushering in new initiatives for jobs, health and safety
Steven B. Nesmith promised to transform the operation of Richmond’s public housing and the opportunities for residents when he assumed leadership of the authority last fall.