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Two years after George Floyd’s murder, racial trauma permeates Black Americans
Black Men Heal co-founder Zakia Williams was deeply moved as she watched a young Black man become emotional while speaking about the mental health toll the past few years have taken on him. “He said, ‘I just want to play basketball without fear of getting shot, I just want to live. I just want to be,’” Ms. Wil- liams recalled the young man saying at a virtual group therapy session, Kings Corner, that her Philadelphia-based group holds weekly for Black men across the U.S. and internationally. “A lot of our men report being overwhelmed, tired and feeling like they’re being at- tacked. They see themselves in George Floyd. Each one of them says, ‘That could have been me.’” Wednesday, May 25, marks the second anniversary of Mr. Floyd’s killing by a Minneapolis police officer, which sparked a global protest movement and calls for a racial reckoning to address structural racism that has created long-standing in- equities impacting generations of Black Americans. Mr. Floyd’s slaying, along with a series of killings of other Black Americans, has wrought a heavy toll on the emotional and mental health of Black communities burdened by centuries of oppressive systems and racist practices. Mental health experts say the racism that causes the trauma is embedded in the country’s fabric and can be directly linked to the mental duress many experience today. “Black mental health has always been a topic of concern,” said Dr. Christine Crawford, associate medical director at the National Alliance on Mental Illness. “Continuously seeing these images of Black people being killed ... can elicit trauma-like symptoms in Black people and others who feel somehow con- nected to what is going on,” she said. This “impact of vicarious
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VCU Reaches Scholarship Allowance
After much traffic coming and going, there is finally a “no vacancy” sign on the VCU basketball roster.
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VSU wins inaugural baseball tournament
Virginia State University followed a rocky flight of a baseball season with a smooth landing.
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How do we end the carnage?
Barely had we absorbed the anger, shock and sorrow that gripped us following the Tops Friendly Markets store massacre in Buffalo, N.Y., before we heard the horrifying news that another mass shooting had occurred in Uvalde, Texas.
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Echoes of Minneapolis, Charleston, by Dr. E. Faye Williams
I was shocked! I was appalled! I was infuriated by the callous attack on innocent Black people at the Tops Friendly Markets store on May 14 in Buffalo, N.Y. Without having to be told, when I heard the racial breakdown of the victims, I knew that it was a racially motivated hate crime.
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Black businesses matter, by Benjamin Chavis Jr.
When was the last time that you read a national news story in the so-called mainstream media about a successful Black business in America that has achieved unprecedented excellence and profit in today’s marketplace?
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Former governor’s behavior ‘baffles and confuses Black people’
In quoting the advice offered to me as a new member of the Richmond City Council in 1978, L. Douglas Wilder said to me, “There are no black issues, only issues that disproportionately affect Black people.”
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Richmonders should help police stop violence
It seems that people are becoming numb to all of these killings in Richmond.
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Wayne Jones, center left, accompanied by his aunt, JoAnn Daniels, center right, son Donell Jones, left, and daughter Kayla Jones, talks Monday during an interview …
Published on May 19, 2022
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Ellalee Fountain Flowers sits on the South Portico steps of the Virgnia State Capitol in 2018. She died Sunday, May 15, 2022, at home at …
Published on May 19, 2022
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Homeless concerns persist despite efforts to assist people lacking shelter
Doorways, bus benches and even city sidewalks are once again sleeping pads for some unsheltered people in Richmond now that the inclement weather and COVID-19 shelters have shut down.
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‘Like every other day’
10 lives lost on a trip to the store
They were caregivers and protectors and helpers, running an errand or doing a favor or finishing out a shift, when their paths crossed with a young man driven by racism and hatred and baseless conspiracy theories.
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Personality: Kiara Thompson
Richmond’s Teacher of the Year says students and their experiences motivate and inspire her
It was a typical Friday at school for Kiara Thompson — until it wasn’t.
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Ellalee Fountain Flowers dies at age 98
Ellalee Fountain Flowers, a former Virginia Union University and Richmond Public Schools educator, died on Sunday, May 15, 2022. Mrs. Flowers, who lived in Richmond, was 98.
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Boston, Black men in basketball go hand in hand
If anyone can do the impossible — make the Boston Celtics fans forget about the likes of legends such as Larry Bird — Jayson Tatum might be the guy, at least among younger rooters.
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VSU’s 2022 graduates heralded for hard work, sacrifices and technological savvy
Cheering family, friends and loved ones celebrated the achievements of Virginia State University’s nearly 500 graduates on May 14 at the VSU Multi-Purpose Center.
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New St. Philip’s rector envisions a more inclusive ministry
Following her recent installation as the 23rd rector of historic St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in North Side, the Rev. Marlene E. Forrest described the occasion as a “beautiful, spirit-filled service.” Rev. Forrest’s installation at the church came nearly two years after she was named priest-in-charge of the 300-member congregation, the largest Black Episcopal congregation in Virginia. She succeeds Bishop Phoebe A. Roaf, who led the church for eight years until she was installed as bishop of West Tennessee in May 2019. “I am grateful that after a bit more than two years at the church to be finally installed and made kind of permanent,” said Rev. Forrest, who will lead the South’s oldest Black Episcopal church, which began operations in 1861, the same year the Civil War began. Mindful of the strain placed on many religious institutions everywhere since the onset of COVID-19 in 2020, Rev. Forrest expressed gratitude that St. Philip’s has returned to in-person services and activities. “We are back to in-person services and hope to stay in person,” she said. “We believe in mutual ministry and doing church together. Our goal is to become more active in engagement and outreach to our neighbors and friends and provide help to those in need.”
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Richmond Ambulance Authority sounds funding alarm
A sea of red ink. That is what the Richmond Ambulance Authority warns it is facing.
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COVID-19 cases continue to rise in Richmond area
The counties of Henrico, Chesterfield and Hanover are among the Virginia localities where COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations have risen, as the spread and impact of the virus has increased throughout the Central Virginia area and statewide in recent weeks.
