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Personality: Rhonda L. Sneed
Spotlight on founder of ‘Blessing Warriors’ who feed the homeless
Rhonda Lynn Sneed remembers how shocked she was to see people sleeping in the doorways of retail stores on Broad Street after she moved to Richmond.
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V.W. Henley, 85, former president of Consolidated Bank
Vernard William Henley presided over the highs and lows of Consolidated Bank & Trust Co. in Richmond, once the oldest independent black-owned bank in America.
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Ukraine invasion, Tulsa Massacre from same playbook, by David W. Marshall
Looking at the events unfolding in Ukraine, it is not hard to compare them to what occurred during Nazi Germany’s invasion of Poland in 1939, especially when you see how two dictators — Adolf Hitler and Vladimir Putin—followed the same playbook.
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Top Heisman prospect has Virginia ties
Hendon Hooker was at Virginia Tech before 2021 transfer to Tennessee
It’s becoming routine. Since 2006, Black quarterbacks have won the Heisman Trophy seven times and have been close to winning on many other occasions. The trend is likely to continue this season with one of the top-tier candidates having Virginia connections.
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Democracy matters, even after elections, by Clarence Page
In his highly publicized speech on the perils facing American democracy as midterm Election Day approached, President Biden was largely preaching to the choir. The sermon needs to be preached, but is anybody listening?
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Petersburg’s pioneering educator and mayor, Dr. Florence Saunders Farley, dies at 94
Dr. Florence Saunders Farley, a trailblazing psychologist who also served as Petersburg’s first Black female mayor, has died.
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VUU upsets high-ranking Valdosta in 45-40 win
Since starting a football program in 1900, Virginia Union University has won hundreds of games. Perhaps none were ever more impressive than its latest victory, a stunning 45-40 upset at Division II powerhouse Valdosta State on Sept. 10 in Southern Georgia.
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Overcoming NFL’s shameful history, by Marc H. Morial
“More than half the players in the NFL are Black, and most coaches have played the game at some level. That would seem to be the perfect recipe for Black coaches to find success. But most NFL owners have been white men, and they have seldom been willing to let African Americans or Latinos call plays — either on the field or from the sidelines. This is no different from when franchises presumed that Black players weren’t smart enough to play quarterback and lacked leadership skills to command men. The league’s paltry record of hiring minority head coaches comes from the same mindset. And its primary effort to address the problem has been a failure, because a policy can’t compensate for ignorance.”— Jemele Hill
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School Board approves $365.6M budget, after slashing $6M from Kamras plan
After months of quibbling, the Richmond School Board approved a $356.6 million budget Monday night that provides a 5 percent raise for teachers and other schools employees, but eliminates money for new student laptops, instructional contracts and cellphones for employees.
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Virginia NAACP demands to see governor’s criteria for restoring voting rights to felons
The Virginia NAACP on Tuesday called on Gov. Glenn Youngkin to establish clear and publicly available criteria for restoring the voting rights of convicted felons who have served their time, saying the system now is secretive and could discriminate against people of color.
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Expelled Black lawmaker Pearson to return to Tennessee House
The second of two Black Democrats expelled from the Republican-led Tennessee House will return to the legislature after a Memphis, Tenn., commission voted to reinstate him Wednesday, nearly a week after his banishment for supporting gun control protesters propelled him into the national spotlight.
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Jury finds Trump liable for sexual abuse
A jury found Donald Trump liable Tuesday for sexually abusing advice columnist E. Jean Carroll in 1996, awarding her $5 million in a judgment that could haunt the former president as he campaigns to regain the White House.
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Black quarterbacks Hurts, Mahomes will be center stage during Super Bowl
It is fitting that this year’s celebration of Black History Month coincides with a first in Black football history.
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Docuseries on Black church highlights history, links to biblical orthodoxy
“How I Got Over,” a five-part series, examines the history of seven historic Black denominations and highlights major Black Christian leaders — well-known and lesser-known — who have contributed to American society. Officials of the AND Campaign, a nonpartisan think tank that promotes Christian civic engagement, released the first episode on YouTube Feb. 13.
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Chesterfield’s Megan Walker has WNBA, international playing career
The offseason for women’s elite basketball talent isn’t much different than the regular season. In the NBA, the average salary is $7.7 million. By sharp contrast, the average WNBA salary is about $101,000. That’s ample reason why many WNBA athletes — like local star Megan Walker — supplement their paychecks with far-away gigs across oceans, mountains and multiple time zones.
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Charges dismissed against Sen. Lucas
A Richmond judge dismissed charges on Monday that were filed against the highest-ranking Black state senator and several other Portsmouth officials after police said that she and others conspired to damage a Confederate monument in the Hampton Roads city.
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Another double standard? Police seize firearms from Black men, but not whites, at Lobby Day
Police stopped a car of Black men and confiscated two of their guns at Virginia’s annual “Lobby Day” on Monday, while white gun rights activists defied local laws unimpeded in the state capital of Richmond.
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John Marshall High renames gym, field to honor former coaches
The John Marshall High School gymnasium and athletic field are getting new names to honor two coaches who were instrumental in the North Side school’s sports history and in mentoring youths.
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School Board votes in new leaders
The Richmond School Board voted in a new chair and vice chair—Shonda Harris- Muhammed, 6th District, and Kenya J. Gibson, 3rd District, respectively.
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White House responds to HBCU bomb threats; Black leaders decry ‘domestic terrorism’
Black leaders are calling the recent series of bomb threats against several Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) campuses “terrorism.” There have been threats to more than a dozen HBCUs so far this month, many of which occurred only in the past two days. The matter is so alarming that civil rights lawyer and attorney for the family of Ahmaud Arbery, Lee Merritt, who also is a graduate of Morehouse College, said that he believes the Biden administration should form a task force to get to the bottom of the threats and identify the source of the ongoing threats. As the news of the HBCU bomb threats over the past two days was making headlines, in the White House brief- ing on Tuesday, Feb. 1, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki reporters, “We take these threats incredibly seriously. Our Homeland Security adviser is in close touch with law enforcement authorities at a federal and local level, and we are assessing what we think the origin, the reasoning, the motivation behind it is.” The Biden administration affirmed its continued support for HBCUs in this moment that is being characterized by leaders as domestic terrorism. “We are absolutely behind these HBCUs. We want to make it very clear that we take these threats seriously and we deeply value their contributions. But it’s important for law enforcement authorities and others to make an assessment before we make any determinations about next steps,” said the presidential spokesperson. On the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, the Congressional Black Caucus plans to engage with the Department of Justice on actions to be taken to address the threat of danger against HBCUs. Meanwhile, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, To- bacco and Firearms and Explosives (ATF) are investigating the matter. “ATF is aware of bomb threats received by some Historically Black Colleges and Universities. We take all potential threats seriously and we regularly work with our law enforcement partners to determine the threat credibility,” ATF said in a statement. “This is a fluid situation with ongoing investigations, and we can’t comment on the specifics at this time.” White House Press Secretary Psaki said, “I would not call it irony, but I would say that it is scary. It is horrifying. It is terrible that these students, these faculty, these institutions are feeling under threat.” She added, “We don’t know more details at this point in time, and I don’t want to get ahead of law enforcement authorities ... but certainly, given the history you referenced, you know, this is something we’re very mindful of, and that is why we’re so focused on providing regular updates and seeing what our law enforcement team assesses.”
