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Poor People’s Campaign vows to continue push to end poverty, racism, militarism
A multiracial, intergenerational crowd of thousands of social justice activists, union workers and people of faith prayed, cheered and listened intently last Saturday as speakers on the National Mall called for a re-energized approach to fighting poverty and other social ills they say are plaguing the country.
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Roderyck I. Bullock, former high school coach, community worker and advocate for disabled, dies at 44
Roderyck Irone “Big Shot” Bullock lost both feet to diabetes and had to learn to slowly and painfully maneuver with a walker and prostheses. But that didn’t keep Mr. Bullock from coming to Richmond City Council meetings to speak out against the poor, door-to-door CARE van service he and other disabled and elderly people were receiving.
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Highland Springs’ Jada Walker inherits mom, dad’s basketball genes
If anyone was ever born to shoot, dribble and pass a basketball, it might be Jada Walker. Her family tree likely has hoops on each branch and perhaps a 3-point arc surrounding the trunk. With great expectations, Jada arrived this season as a freshman guard at Highland Springs High School in Henrico County and she hasn’t disappointed.
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Sen. Booker launches 2020 presidential bid
U.S. Sen. Cory Booker declared his bid for the presidency in 2020 with a sweeping call to unite a deeply polarized nation around a “common purpose.” Announcing his run on Friday, Feb. 1, the first day of Black History Month, the New Jersey Democrat is the second African-American candidate in a primary field that’s already historically diverse. He delivered his message of unity amid an era marked by bitter political division.
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Varina High sophomore makes All-State Team
All-State boys basketball teams generally are reserved for experienced seniors, with perhaps a junior here and there. Alphonzo Billups is an exception to that largely because of his exceptional talent.
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Menaced by Florence
Changing forecast for hurricane keeps Virginians on alert
More than 1 million people along the Virginia and Carolina coast fled toward higher ground this week in a mass evacuation ordered just days before the expected arrival of Hurricane Florence, a Category 3 storm and the most powerful to menace the region in nearly three decades.
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Teaching pays off
Inspiring 8th-grade teacher at Richmond’s Lucille M. Brown Middle School wins $25,000 national ‘Oscars of teaching’ award
The mystery and hush filling the gymnasium at Richmond’s Lucille M. Brown Middle School on Wednesday morning became a cacophony of cheers and applause when teacher Ryan James was announced the winner of the $25,000 Milken Educator Award.
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Phil Freelon, architect of the African-American history museum in D.C., dies at 66
Architect Phil Freelon, who designed buildings ranging from local libraries to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, died Tuesday, July 9, 2019, in Durham, N.C.
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Hanover supervisors get earful over weak KKK response
Hanover County residents brought their concerns about growing Ku Klux Klan activity in the area to the streets last week — and to their local elected officials during a meeting of the Hanover County Board of Supervisors.
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Paradox of history: Enslaved commemoration
As Trump speaks at Jamestown commemoration for 400th anniversary of representative government, Va. Legislative Black Caucus boycotts with commemoration of the enslaved
Members of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus gathered Tuesday morning at the site of the former Lumpkin’s Jail in Shockoe Bottom, where enslaved people were bought and sold, to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Africans arriving in Virginia in 1619.
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Personality: Dr. Pamela Kiecker Royall
Spotlight on first woman board chair of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture
Dr. Pamela Kiecker Royall is breaking ground in her newest role as the first female board chair for the Virginia Museum of History & Culture, a leadership post to which she was elected in January. And she is intent on making sure that the museum on Arthur Ashe Boulevard is “relevant and meaningful for diverse audiences.”
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Wronged
Retired factory worker Leonard Mc Millian had his home invaded by a police squad and spent more than an hour in handcuffs when police responded to calls about crimes at his home that proved bogus. Actor and songwriter Jerome Arrington spent a miserable seven weeks in jail after Richmond police arrested him for a street robbery he did not commit. Both men are African-American. Neither has received an apology for their ordeals, which appear to be relatively rare in a city where officers respond daily to dozens of calls. Still, their stories suggest that things can go dismayingly wrong even when police and prosecutors believe they are going by the book.
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Farewell to the champ
Muhammad Ali fought for justice, equality and title
More than 62 years ago, an anonymous bicycle thief in Louisville, Ky., unknowingly set in motion the amazing career of a boxing legend and remarkable world figure who would live up to his self-billing as “The Greatest.”
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Richmond 7th District School Board race
For Broderick, the key is organizing priorities for limited resources; Burke attributes success on board to experience, engaging the community; Robertson seeks to expand ESL classes, trauma-informed care for RPS students
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Love Stories
The Free Press proudly presents its annual Valentine’s Day feature. It shares the Love Stories of five Richmond-area couples.
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Personality: Jeree M. Thomas
Spotlight on inaugural winner of the youth justice Emerging Leader Award
Jeree Thomas believes in doing whatever she can to help her clients live more successful lives. The attorney with the JustChildren program of the Legal Aid Justice Center in Richmond provides counsel for children and represents them at special education and public benefits hearings.
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Tulsa's Greenwood District residents fear being pushed out
Standing on the corner of Detroit Avenue and M.B. Brady Street on a warm, spring eve- ning holding a smartphone to his ear, Ricco Wright laments about no longer recognizing the location on the northern leg of the Inner Dispersal Loop.
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Personality: Douglas Powell aka ‘Roscoe Burnems’
Spotlight on Richmond’s first poet laureate
Douglas Powell is many things — a poet, author and spoken word artist who performs under the alias Roscoe Burnems. He is a National Poetry Slam champion, a former TEDx speaker, a husband, father and teacher who has contributed to a number of creative endeavors in Richmond. And now, Mr. Powell has been selected to serve as the city’s first poet laureate.
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Personality: Lynette Lewis Allston
Spotlight on the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Board of Trustees president
When the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts named its newest Board of Trustees president, Lynette Lewis Allston became the first Native American elected to the role in the museum’s 86- year history. The current chief and chair emeritus of the Tribal Council of the Nottoway Indian Tribe of Virginia also will be the first Native American board chair of a top 10 U.S. comprehensive art museum.
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Personality: Dr. Arcelia ‘CC’ Jackson
Spotlight on board president of Mental Health America of Virginia
Dr. Arcelia “CC” Jackson is bringing a caring, thoughtful approach to the issues and stigmas surrounding mental health in the Richmond community across her multiple disciplines and roles.
