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Judge Spencer to VUU grads: Don’t let others deter you
“Make your haters your motivators.” That was the message Judge James R. Spencer delivered to 320 graduates at Virginia Union University’s commencement Saturday at Hovey Field. Judge Spencer, a senior U.S. District Court judge who presided over the recent corruption trials of former Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, spoke of his own tribulations of overcoming low expectations from others to reach his position on the bench.
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Gilbert L. Carter succumbs at 70
NFL Hall of Famer Willie Lanier recalls Gilbert Lino Carter as “a wonderful human being.” Robert Rooks says Mr. Carter was “a fun-loving guy, who also was serious, … someone dedicated to community service.” The three men were childhood friends growing up in Richmond and star players on the Maggie Walker High School football team that won the state championship in 1962 under Coach Cannonball Cooper. They also played together at Morgan State University under Coach Earl Banks, where they won the Orange Blossom Classic, the unofficial “black college football championship game,” over Florida A&M in 1965. Mr. Carter and Mr. Lanier were college roommates for three years. Mr. Rooks recalls that Mr. Carter “had a rifle for an arm” as the heady quarterback for both high school and college teams. Mr. Carter went on to earn a law degree, taught law and worked in city and state positions in Richmond for more than 25 years.
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Amelia Boynton Robinson, civil rights activist, dies at 104
Free Press staff, wire reports MONTGOMERY, Ala. Amelia Boynton Robinson helped change America. The first African-American woman to run for Congress served on the front lines during the Civil Rights Movement. Almost beaten to death in a march for voting rights in 1965, she was among those who pushed the country to pass a strong law to finally ensure African-Americans could cast a ballot without facing literacy tests, poll taxes and vicious attacks.
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BET Awards brings out top stars
Rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs took a tumble, Janet Jackson made an emotional appearance and the BET TV network paid tribute Sunday to campaigners across the United States demanding better police accountability after a troubled year. Combs fell through a hole in the stage at the BET Awards show during a 20th anniversary celebration of his Bad Boy record label that reunited hip-hop artists including Lil’ Kim, Faith Evans and 112 in a celebration joined by Pharrell Williams. Diddy quickly got up and carried on with the performance, appearing unhurt.
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Prosecutor vows to retry S.C. ex-officer after mistrial in death of motorist
A South Carolina prosecutor said she would retry the former South Carolina police officer, a white man, who shot and killed a black motorist as he ran during an April 2015 traffic stop.
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Return on investment?
Having read some of the post-election statements by our top black organizations, and after watching some of their leaders on TV news shows commenting and lamenting the loss by the Democrats, I thought about the effectiveness of our champions for civil rights, economic empowerment and political empowerment. How effective have they been in terms of gains for the collective of black people, their primary constituents?
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Poverty lost during campaign
There is no question that Hillary Clinton won the Sept. 26 presidential debate. She was knowledgeable, composed, unflappable and occasionally even funny. Her opponent, who had the temerity to criticize her “stamina,” seemed to lack stamina of his own. By the time the 90-minute debate was over, her rude, sniffling, frequent water-sipping opponent Donald Trump looked like a candidate for enforced bed rest.
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Serena breaks match record but loses U.S. Open
Serena Williams won her 308th Grand Slam match, surpassing Roger Federer with more victories in Grand Slam matches than anyone else in tennis’ Open era, after beating Yaroslava Shvedova 6-2, 6-3 on Sept. 5 in the U.S. Open quarterfinals.
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Athletes of all ages across nation join in anthem protest
Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid once again kneeled during the national anthem before the San Francisco 49ers’ season opener Monday night against the Los Angeles Rams in Levi’s Stadium in San Francisco.
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The Obama legacy
“May you live in interesting times.” This adage, attributed tenuously to the Chinese, bespeaks a preference for order over change. We now live in interesting times and Americans are hungering for change. Yet, surprisingly, President Obama enjoys increasing popularity as he heads into the final days of his presidency.
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What about the children?
“I wish I could say that racism and prejudice were only distant memories. We must dissent from the indifference. We must dissent from the apathy. We must dissent from the fear, the hatred and the mistrust ...We must dissent because America can do better, because America has no choice but to do better.” — U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall As far back as June 2015, the National Urban League called upon all presidential candidates to refrain from using racially divisive and disparaging language in their campaigns.
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Felons fired up, ready to vote
Rochelle Russell, 33, is one of 206,000 Virginians who has a felony conviction, served her time and is now living back in the community.
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Lady Panthers’ Brittany Jackson making her mark
Brittany Jackson has not only inherited Kiana Johnson’s jersey number — No. 3 — but also her role as dominating guard at Virginia Union University.
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Rep. McEachin calls for speedy HUD intervention at Essex Village after woman’s fall
During heavy weekend rains, odorous and toxic raw sewage once again flowed freely over the lawn in Essex Village, ranked as Henrico County’s worst apartment complex.
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RPS interim superintendent to focus on buildings, improvement plan
Thomas E. Kranz, the new interim superintendent for Richmond Public Schools, plans to focus on improving school facilities and working with state officials to make systemic changes during his six months at the helm.
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High hopes
We had high hopes for great improvement in Richmond Public Schools when Dr. Dana T. Bedden took over as superintendent in January 2014. He sounded the
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Alley blitz underway to fill potholes
Some of the worst alleys in the city are about to get a facelift. The Richmond Department of Public Works this week unleashed a new alley blitz to redo 1,300 alleys from Church Hill to Walmsley Boulevard in South Side and Highland Park in North Side to the Museum District in the West End.
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Team USA expected to bring basketball gold home from Rio
Red, white and blue usually adds up to gold at the Summer Olympics basketball competition. The American contingent has won the gold medal in 14 of the 17 games in which it has participated, starting in 1936 when basketball was played outdoors in Berlin.
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VSU wins Kentucky matchup; meets Winston-Salem State on Saturday
Kavon Bellamy is listed as a running back, but battering ram might better describe his role for the Virginia State University Trojans. He pounds and pounds until he gets where he wants to go. The senior from Hampton leads the CIAA in rushing and, not coincidentally, the Trojans are off to a 3-0 start for the first time since 1997.
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Panthers looking for 3-peat Saturday against St. Augustine’s
William “Will” Stanback suffered a misstep, of sorts, in Orlando, Fla., and lost all football traction. Now he’s back in full stride in Richmond. Call it the “Stanback comeback.”
