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Prison gerrymandering hurts black poliical power by Marc H. Morial
“When districts with prisons receive enhanced representation, every other district in the state without a prison sees its votes diluted. And this vote dilution is even larger in the districts with the highest incarceration rates. Thus, the communities that bear the most direct costs of crime are therefore the communities that are the biggest victims of prison-based gerrymandering. The Census Bureau’s decision to count incarcerated people in the wrong place interferes with equal representation in virtually every state.” — Prison Policy Initiative, The Prison Gerrymandering Project
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VUU to take on VSU Feb. 22 at Barco-Stevens Hall
The rematch between Virginia Union and Virginia State universities on Saturday, Feb. 22, might be billed “No. 1 scorer versus No. 1 team.”
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Faith groups sue Trump administration over refugee resettlement order
Three faith-based groups that assist with refugee resettlement are suing the federal government, arguing a recent executive order granting state and local officials the authority to block refugee resettlement violates federal law and inhibits their ability to practice their faith.
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VSU's team virtually all new
This has been something of a “meet-and-greet” basketball season at Virginia State University. With the top five scorers gone from last year’s CIAA championship squad, name tags might be helpful in knowing the “rookies.”
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John Brown: Saint or madman? by John Michael Cummings
I grew up in the 1970s, a stone’s throw away from John Brown’s Fort in Harpers Ferry, W.Va. Today, many are throwing verbal stones at the fort.
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Sen. Kaine speaks out to restore aid to HBCUs
A powerful Republican senator is holding up millions of dollars in federal aid to historically black colleges and universities in Virginia and elsewhere and to other minority-serving institutions.
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Clearing the way for Medicare for All by Jesse L. Jackson Sr.
Affordable health care for all is now at the center of the presidential debate. Two of the top three contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination — Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders — support Medicare for All. The third, former Vice President Joe Biden, and those hoping to take his place as the leading centrist in the race, South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, have attacked the plan to contrast their candidacies from Sens. Sanders and Warren.
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From rally to power
Who would have thought that in less than 15 days, I would have to coordinate and manage 1,000 young black student leaders from more than 24 cities on 17 buses in the name of gun reform and safety? The reality is sometimes the work chooses you.
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Pulse driving businesses down
Transit construction has hurt Downtown establishments
By Jeremy M. Lazarus Richmond City Councilwoman Kim B. Gray has been getting an earful from restaurants and businesses along Broad Street that have seen customer numbers fall and revenues shrink during the 20-month construction of Pulse, GRTC’s new bus rapid transit system
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VSU on the lookout for its next great running back
Auditions for the marquee role of the next Trenton Cannon are now underway at Virginia State University. Realistically, the All-American tailback will be nearly impossible to replace. Finding a replacement might be compared to trying to find a fill-in for the Statue of Liberty.
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Problems with protecting consumers
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is supposed to “protect” consumers from fraud and predatory lending. But since 45 has ruled the roost, he has empowered exploiters to extract too much money from consumers.
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Golf club apologizes for calling cops on black women members
A golf club in Pennsylvania has apologized for calling police on a group of black women after the co-owner and his father said they were playing too slowly and refused requests to leave the course.
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VUU’s Jewiston Dawkins sprints into the spotlight
Another game, another star is born. Jewiston Dawkins is the latest member of the Virginia Union University football team to sprint into the spotlight. While quiet during VUU’s first four games, the native Floridian cranked it up in the Panthers’ 28-7 victory last Saturday in Raleigh, N.C., against St. Augustine’s University.
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VCU center developing master plan for historic Evergreen Cemetery
Richmond’s biggest university is taking a role in restoring the historic, but neglected Evergreen Cemetery. The Enrichmond Foundation, the new owner of the 127-year-old African-American cemetery, has hired the center for Urban and Regional Analysis in Virginia Commonwealth University’s Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs to create a master plan for the burial ground, which includes the graves of such notables as banker and businesswoman Maggie L. Walker and newspaper editor and banker John Mitchell Jr.
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Courage, political will and gun control
“This is our first task, caring for our children. It’s our first job. If we don’t get that right, we don’t get anything right. That’s how, as a society, we will be judged. And by that measure, can we truly say, as a nation, that we’re meeting our obligations? Can we honestly say that we’re doing enough to keep our children, all of them, safe from harm?” — Former President Obama, during 2012 prayer vigil for victims of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn.
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Towering Andre Walker helping VUU push past the competition
Virginia Union University boasts its own version of “Andre the Giant” in 6-foot-11 Andre Walker. After a sputtering start, the senior transfer from Hofstra University is aiding VUU’s push toward a No. 2 seed for the CIAA Tournament that starts Feb. 26 in Charlotte, N.C.
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‘The Biscuit Man’ kneads track ambition at Huguenot
At the Bojangles restaurant where he has a part-time job, Tailey Tofoi good-naturedly refers to himself as “The Biscuit Man.”
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Meals tax increase is ‘a critical start’
I am a single man with no children. I strongly support Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s proposal to add a cent and a half increase to Richmond’s meals tax to fund the construction of new schools for our city’s children.
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DaVaughn Kelsie lights it up for Shaw Univ.
DaVaughn Kelsie is Shaw University’s spark from the arc. The Richmond native leads CIAA basketball in filling the cup from behind the 3-point arc.
