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Grassroots effort mounts to keep Bedden
Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Dana T. Bedden interviewed Wednesday for the superintendent’s job in snow-covered Boston and prepared to meet Thursday with Boston Mayor Marty Walsh. The Boston School Committee is expected to name its top choice for the job early next week, according to reports. Meanwhile, a growing number of Dr. Bedden’s supporters in Richmond are continuing their efforts to convince him to stay and lead the aggressive RPS turnaround effort he began after becoming the struggling school district’s superintendent in January 2014.
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Richmond Unitarian church starts pledge to end racism
The Birmingham Pledge to end racism is painted on the wall of the city’s police headquarters in Birmingham, Ala. “I will discourage racial prejudice by others at every opportunity ...” the pledge on the wall reads. A painting of four white and black boys with their arms around each other accompanies the pledge, which first circulated around Birmingham about two decades ago.
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RRHA steps up efforts to help residents find jobs
A Creighton Court community room packed with people seeking to learn about employment opportunities.
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Frank Mason III of Petersburg is semifinalist for coveted Naismith Award
The University of Kansas’ Frank Mason III is flirting with college basketball’s highest individual honor — and his fans can have a voice in the final decision. Mason, who graduated from Petersburg High School in 2012, is one of 10 semifinalists for the coveted James A. Naismith Trophy awarded to college basketball’s most outstanding player. Four finalists will be announced Sunday, March 19.
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Parents anxious about virtual learning as new school year starts
As Richmond Public Schools launches a new school year Tuesday, Sept. 8, with all virtual learning, parents and students are grappling with the reality of not having face-to-face instruction.
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Ensuring democracy by securing elections
by Sen. Mark R. Warner
For the past two years, I have served as vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, helping lead the only bipartisan investigation into Russia’s attack on the 2016 election. Our goal in this investigation is not to re-litigate the 2016 election or question its validity. Instead, we are focused on how we can protect the integrity of future elections so that every American heads to the polls confident that his or her vote will count.
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Tree problems go unanswered by city
Editor’s note: Just before the Free Press Wednesday deadline, Spencer Turner sent a text message to a Free Press reporter stating: “Thanks for help. They are cutting tree down Friday. The power of a free press.” As of deadline, the Free Press had not been able to confirm Mr. Turner’s statement with city officials. By Jeremy M. Lazarus
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City businesses ready to reopen, welcome customers next week
Renada Harris, owner of Silk Hair Studio on Broad Street near Virginia Commonwealth University spent last Thursday calling clients to cancel appointments made for Friday, May 15, the date businesses were to partially reopen under Gov. Ralph S. Northam’s executive order.
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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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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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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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Personality: Sharon Parham Blount
Spotlight on Shalom Farms board chair
Sharon Parham Blount is bringing a new kind of peace to Richmond’s hungriest residents.
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General Assembly likely to have record number of Black members
Now that primary results are in, the battle for control of the legislature begins in earnest ahead of the Nov. 7 general election.
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Area residents tell their brush with ‘The Greatest’
Jesse Vaughan, the Richmond native and creative genius behind Virginia State University’s recent “Building a Better World” campaign, has won 27 Emmy Awards during the course of his career.
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Personality: Natasha Freeman
Personality: Natasha Freeman
Natasha Freeman, president of Project Yoga Richmond’s board of directors, encourages the community to embrace yoga because the practice allows people “to be fully embodied while grounding and mending our body and spirit.”
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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.
