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COVID-19 and inequities in health care system, by Kristen Clarke
In 1966, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in healthcare is the most shocking and inhumane.”
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New website hopes to make sermons vital part of life
Every week, millions of Americans go to houses of worship to hear a message from a spiritual leader. Most of those congregations are small. And few sermons ever make their way beyond the four walls of a given congregation.
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Boston church stamping Harriet Tubman on its $20 bills
Three years ago, the Treasury Department announced that it would put Harriet Tubman’s face on the front of the $20 bill by 2020. A portrait of the abolitionist, championed by activists, would replace that of President Andrew Jackson, who would be moved to the back of the bill.
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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.
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Justice denied
Ferguson, N.Y. cases expose injustices, spark change
A national movement is underway to address police brutality against African-American men and the criminalization of communities of color.
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Make it count
It looks like 2016 all over again in the Democratic primary as voters prepare to decide whether Lt. Gov. Ralph S. Northam or former Congressman Tom S. Perriello will carry the party’s banner into the November race for governor. Last year, Hillary Clinton, with the backing of the Democratic establishment, battled Bernie Sanders, the darling of the party’s left wing, for the presidential nomination. This time, Virginia’s Democratic Party establishment is backing Lt. Gov. Northam, 57, while the Sanders camp is pushing Mr.
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Legendary basketball coach John Thompson succumbs at 78
Coach John Thompson, the imposing Hall of Famer who turned Georgetown University into a “Hoya Paranoia” powerhouse and became the first Black coach to lead a team to the NCAA men’s basketball championship, has died. He was 78.
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Still funding Confederacy
Years of taxpayer money has kept Confederate cemeteries in pristine condition. Can there be true equity for historic African-American burial grounds?
On most Saturdays since 2013, volunteers have met at East End Cemetery in Henrico County to hack away at the vines and weeds that have choked gravesites there for decades.
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Personality: Tani Washington
After four years of researching, writing and making oral presentations in high school forensics and debate competitions, Tani Washington has made history.
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Personality: Rahmah T. Johnson
Spotlight on Richmond Public Schools Teacher of the Year
A holistic approach to counseling is the key to success for Richmond Public Schools Teacher of the Year Rahmah T. Johnson.
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VCU’s season ends with 80-74 loss in NIT
A Virginia Commonwealth University basketball season featuring many highlights ended with a hurtful thud.
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Richmond, not Petersburg, should have new ONE Casino + Resort
My family has built a successful multimillion-dollar business empire over 70 years, starting in 1963 with Jet Bargain Stores (six locations), Hawk’s BBQ & Seafood (five locations), Indian Head Hair Grease 1965, Mascot Gas & Oil (six locations) and Crawley’s Nursing Home and Crawley’s Funeral Home. In my business and professional opinion, I was impressed after reading the proposal for ONE Casino + Resort.
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2 City-supported shelters temporarily open for homeless
At 80, Gayle Freeland is struggling to keep a roof over her head.
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City’s Legendary Ingramettes earn NEA award
The Legendary Ingramettes, a gospel group that has performed more than 60 years, has received a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. They are the first group from Richmond to earn the distinction, and one of 10 recipients in 2022 who will receive a $25,000 monetary award, according to the NEA. The NEA started the award in 1982 to recognize “recipients’artistic excellence and support their continuing contributions to our nation’s traditional arts heritage.” The world-famous group performed at the unveiling of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington and in 2019, trav- eled to Bulgaria and Serbia to perform. Maggie Ingram started the group to sup- port herself and her five children when her husband abandoned them — she played music and her children sang. She drove the family from Florida to Richmond in 1961, arriving on Christmas Eve. Once in Richmond, she started work- ing for civil rights icon Oliver Hill Sr. and later owned a child care business. Maggie Ingram and The Ingramettes debuted in Richmond at the Hood Temple AME Zion Church. Ms. Ingram died in 2015. Today, Rev. Almeta Ingram-Miller, Maggie Ingram’s daughter, is the only original member of the group, but the singers are related to one another. “Take A Look In The Book” is the group’s first album without the family matriarch and was recorded in Richmond over three days. Rev. Ingram-Miller now leads the group. Produced by Jon Lohman, the recordings are part of the Virginia Folklife Program at Virginia Humanities and include traditional spirituals and “new Appalachian sources like Ola Belle Reed and Bill Withers.” The group will perform a virtual concert Sept. 22. Information about the upcoming performance and the group can be found on their website: https://legendaryingramettes.com/.
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Renowned jazz pianist Ramsey Lewis dies at 87
Renowned jazz pianist Ramsey Lewis, whose music entertained fans over a more than 60-year career that began with the Ramsey Lewis Trio and made him one of the country’s most successful jazz musicians, has died. He was 87.
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Jay-Z’s Made in America fest canceled
Fans spot rapper, producer during wife Beyoncé’s performance at Fedex Field
Jay-Z’s annual Made in America festival, scheduled for next month in Philadelphia, has been canceled.
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Demands for better staffing, racial literacy course continue as VCU begins semester
Virginia Commonwealth University students moved into the residence halls last weekend amid ongoing calls for the university’s leadership to address issues regarding firings, hirings tuition increases and on-campus living conditions.
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Historic Black church in DC sues Proud Boys over property destruction
A historic Black church has filed a lawsuit against members of the Proud Boys after a leader of the white supremacist group took credit for burning a Black Lives Matter sign belonging to the Washington church.
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Thomas Jefferson High shuts out rival John Marshall 37-0
It’s like Thomas Jefferson High School has planted a “Do Not Enter” sign on its defensive goal line.