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Assault on liberty and justice
During a presidential campaign rally in Dimondale, Mich., Republican nominee Donald Trump made an impassioned, six-word overture to African-Americans, who had shown little enthusiasm for his campaign: “What do you have to lose?”
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VCU’s Institute of Contemporary Art to bring artwork to local barbershops, salons
Salons and barbershops have been central communication hubs in African-American communities for as long as they have existed.
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Price of incarceration
Hip-hop legend Jay Z celebrated Father’s Day this year by allowing incarcerated fathers to spend the day with their families. Pick any day of the week in America and an estimated 700,000 people are populating our nation’s local city and county jails. Of those behind bars, 60 percent — nearly half a million people, many of whom are African-American and Hispanic — will remain in jail, not because they have been convicted of any crime, but because they are guilty of the unpardonable crime of poverty and cannot afford the court-stipulated price tag placed on their freedom.
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Standout Justin Tillman chose VCU twice
Among the most talented basketball players recruited to Virginia Commonwealth University by former Coach Shaka Smart was Justin Tillman.
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Creative disruption in the age of Trump
When Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. envisioned the Poor People’s Campaign in 1968, he envisioned all kinds of people descending on our nation’s capital, bringing demands to federal agencies. He envisioned people pushing for affordable housing, for quality education, for better health care, for minority business development programs and more.
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GRTC gears up for route changes effective Nov. 12
Love it or hate it, GRTC is moving ahead with a major revamp of its city bus routes. The proposed changes to routes are expected to be finalized this week and go into effect on Sunday, Nov. 12, Amy Inman, the city’s transportation planner, told a Richmond City Council meeting Monday.
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Do Richmond schools violate the Constitution?
Are Richmond Public Schools students being forced to attend educational facilities deemed unconstitutional under the U.S. Constitution?
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New scoreboard lights up for teams at Thomas Jefferson High School
The good news comes twofold for Thomas Jefferson High School baseball. First, the West End school has its first-ever electronic scoreboard.
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6th NCAA crown for UNC
The University of North Carolina’s sixth NCAA basketball championship will be remembered for many things.
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Sen. Warner on Trump and Russia: ‘We have to find out the truth’
Special to the Richmond Free Press U.S. Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia is in a high-profile position this spring as the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
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Dan Rooney, who opened doors in NFL for African-Americans in top jobs, dies at 84
As a driving force behind the NFL Pittsburgh Steelers for many decades, Dan Rooney won endless battles on the field — most notably a record six Super Bowl titles.
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VCU heads to Oklahoma City for NCAA despite A-10 loss
If you’re among the thousands of passionate Virginia Commonwealth University basketball fans, you’ve become accustomed to this time of year scrambling for last minute flight reservations. For the third straight year, the Rams are headed to the NCAA. So Rams fans who want to cheer on the team in person will be putting up considerable time, effort and expense. After losing to St. Joseph’s University 87-74 in the Atlantic 10 Tournament finale last Sunday in Brooklyn, N.Y., the Rams are headed to Oklahoma City, 1,293 miles from Richmond. Coach Will Wade’s 24-10 Rams are seeded No. 10 in the NCAA’s West Region and will face No. 7 Oregon State University, featuring Gary Payton II, on Friday, March 18. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m., with the game slated to be televised on TNT.
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Clinton crime bill in context
Former President Bill Clinton mixed it up with Black Lives Matter activists last week as he defended his presidency and his 1994 crime bill while campaigning in Philadelphia for his wife, Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton. Hillary fans will say it isn’t fair that the Black Lives Matter folks keep raising issues from the Bill Clinton presidency. But the Clintons campaigned in 1992 by asserting that they were a “two for one” presidency, so raising those issues is at least somewhat fair.
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Raising minimum wage is good policy
Today, full-time work year-round at the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour leaves an adult with two children earning thousands of dollars below the poverty threshold. That is unacceptable. No one who works full time should live in poverty. But the Republican-controlled Congress has refused to even consider legislation to raise the minimum wage.
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Usain Bolt dashes off with medal
Jamaica, homeland of the incomparable Usain Bolt, ranks 139th in the world in population but it’s No. 1 in terms of speed. The Caribbean island of some 2.95 million people deserves the title “World’s Fastest Country” based on its domination in 100-meter dash Olympic competition.
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Coach Lancaster returns home for next chapter in legendary career
George Lancaster says there is one aspect of coaching he’s looking forward to even more than the home court advantage.
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Emmy Awards filled with color, politics
Diversity ruled at Sunday’s Emmy Awards, where a record 21 nominees of color were up for the annual awards for television and cable shows in contrast to this year’s all-white Oscars acting lineup. Several took home Emmys, many for the first time.
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Presbyterians, Southern Baptists vote to end racism and racist symbols
Religion News Service The nation’s second largest Presbyterian denomination has passed legislation repenting for “past failures to love brothers and sisters from minority cultures” and committing its members to work toward racial reconciliation. The “overture,” or legislation, was approved overwhelmingly Thursday, June 23, at the national meeting of the Presbyterian Church in America. The issue had been deferred from the previous year’s meeting, where there was a lengthy debate on similar legislation.
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International player making a difference for the Rams
Considering its notable track record with global recruiting, the “U” in VCU might stand for “Universal.” Egyptian native Ahmed Hamdy-Mohamed is the current international athlete making a difference for the Rams.
