Story
Footwear and talent carry Atlee’s Jada Foreman to victories
Atlee High School junior Jada Foreman is easily spotted at track and field meets. She’s likely the one carrying the most medals—and also the most shoes.
Story
Weathering addiction
Spencer Christian, Va. native and former national television weatherman, has been haunted by a gambling addiction for decades
Growing up in Charles City County in the last decades of legally mandated racial segregation in Virginia, Spencer Christian did not think as a child he would someday become a top nationally known television weather forecaster. As a young adult in a new American era, he became a well-recognized television personality as part of ABC’s “Good Morning America” team for 13 years.
Story
School Board approves $365.6M budget, after slashing $6M from Kamras plan
After months of quibbling, the Richmond School Board approved a $356.6 million budget Monday night that provides a 5 percent raise for teachers and other schools employees, but eliminates money for new student laptops, instructional contracts and cellphones for employees.
Story
Masks now optional for RPS students
Students attending Richmond Public Schools are no longer required to wear masks after the School Board voted to eliminate the mandate at Monday night’s meeting.
Story
What would Washington say?, by Clarence Page
As America’s birthday approached during the House select committee’s investigation of the Jan. 6 attack last year on the Capitol, I was reminded of George Washington’s warning about political parties—and why he thought they were a terrible idea.
Story
Ignoring call to duty
Failure to sign up for Selective Service hurts thousands
Register for Selective Service. Otherwise, you could ruin your life. Jacquel Parker wishes he could tell that to every young man turning 18.
Story
Spike Lee and Oscar
“People of color have a constant frustration of not being represented, or being misrepresented, and these images go around the world … I do not think there is going to be any substantial movement until people of color get into those gatekeeper positions of people who have a green-light vote. That is what it comes down to. We do not have a vote, and we are not at that table when it is decided what gets made and what does not get made.” — Spike Lee
Story
Closing Cathy's Camp in midst of emergency
The tents started to come down Wednesday. At this point, only a small group of people remain in the homeless community known as Cathy’s Camp beside the city’s cold weather shelter on Oliver Hill Way across from the Richmond Justice Center.
Story
New Police Chief Gerald Smith greeted with eventful first day
For Gerald M. Smith, the first day as Richmond’s new police chief was anything but routine.
Story
Orange County celebrates culinary icon Edna Lewis
Virginia approves marker honoring former New York chef
For some, the name Edna Lewis is synonymous with Southern food. The chef and cookbook author often is referred to as “Grand Dame of Southern cooking.”
Story
New Smithsonian museum is ‘worth the wait’
Re “New National Museum of African American History and Culture opens to fanfare, tears,” Sept. 29-Oct. 1 edition: When I first heard a few years ago that there was going to be a Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture on the National Mall in Washington, I was immediately over the moon with joy.
Photo
Richmond filmmaker Jai Jamison, left, showcases his sister Courtney, right, in “Slave Cry” to be screened at the 29th Annual Pan African Film & Arts …
Published on February 18, 2021
Story
Longtime educator and community volunteer Dr. Vasti DeLoatch dies at 87
Dr. Vasti DeLoatch touched the lives of thousands of children and adults through her work as an educator and in her various roles in the community.
Story
Prince Harry says ignorance no excuse for unconscious bias
Britain’s Prince Harry says it took him many years and the experience of living with his wife, Meghan Markle, to understand how his privileged upbringing shielded him from the reality of unconscious bias.
Story
Three words: Trump must go
When His Ridiculousness Donald J. Trump called for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on,” the mayor of St. Petersburg, Fla., answered with a ban of his own.
Story
Journalist George Curry ‘will be missed’
I write as a native of Richmond, mail subscriber to the Richmond Free Press and a current resident of Tuscaloosa, Ala., hometown of the late George E. Curry, former editor-in-chief of the National Newspaper Publishers Association News Service.
Story
Black media icons scaling back, possibly closing
It has been a rough few days for the black media. First, Ebony magazine and its sister publication, JET magazine, may be closing their doors for good. And then the publisher of the storied Chicago Defender newspaper announced last week that it will no longer publish a print version.
Story
Clarence ‘Ollie’ Oliver of Supreme Hairstyling, dies at 53
Clarence Edgar “Ollie” Oliver, a professional barber who worked in the family business with his father, died on Monday, July 25, 2022, a little more than a week shy of his 54th birthday.
Story
Richmond’s declared mayoral candidates include several business owners
Richmond voters again will have multiple choices for the next mayor of Richmond when they vote in 2024.
Story
Tuesday’s bloodletting
The chorus of angry and sorrowful cries continue as yet another mass shooting shocks our nation. This time the once unimaginable struck close to home as Huguenot High School students left the Altria Theater ready to celebrate their newly minted diplomas with family and friends.
