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’Tis the season for food justice, by Julianne Malveaux
Since early November, we’ve witnessed appeals to donate to food banks, food baskets and community food events.
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Exonerated ‘Central Park Five’ member Yusef Salaam wins New York City Council seat
Voters elect Democrat Cherelle Parker as Philadelphia’s 100th mayor — and the 1st woman
Exonerated “Central Park Five” member Yusef Salaam won a seat Tuesday on the New York City Council, completing a stunning reversal of fortune decades after he was wrongly imprisoned in an infamous rape case.
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Celebrating community
Two churches step out from the past together
Two Dinwiddie County Baptist churches, Rocky Branch in Sutherland and Central in Church Road, both celebrated their 150-year anniversaries in October. To mark the occasion, the predominately white congregation of Central Baptist and the predominately Black congregation of Rocky Branch Baptist did something that would have been unthinkable all those years ago — they came together in worship and fellowship.
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VUU upsets VSU before crowd of 15,000
Panthers, Broncos set for CIAA rematch
Virginia Union University is on its way to scratching more than a two-decade old football itch.
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Swansboro opens Literacy Corner
Since Sept. 20, the basement floor of Swansboro Elementary School has been the site of a new experiment in education. Among the warm atmosphere of bustling classrooms, Swansboro staff and faculty are using a new Literacy Corner to bring students a personalized way to learn and improve their reading skills.
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America no longer the ‘land of opportunity’, by David W. Marshall
When the governors of Texas, Arizona and Florida took advantage of the welcoming traditions provided by sanctuary cities, it was meant to get rid of an unwanted problem. More than 23,000 asylum seekers have been bused to Chicago from Texas since the beginning of the year. As the cold weather sets in, people in the nation’s third largest city are sheltering on sidewalks, at police station foyers and at the city’s airport.
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House Speaker McCarthy is back to square one as Senate pushes ahead to avert federal shutdown
As the Senate marches ahead with a bipartisan approach to prevent a government shutdown, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is back to square one — asking his hard-right Republicans to do what they have said they would never do: Approve their own temporary House measure to keep the government open.
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Sen. Dianne Feinstein offered a valuable voice in a divided Senate, by Clarence Page
Amid the multitude of tributes that poured out after her death at age 90, one description of California U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the Senate’s oldest sitting member, was appropriately prominent. “A true trailblazer,” said President Biden, “a pioneering American,” and “for Jill and me, a cherished friend.”
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America’s ticking fiscal time clock, by Charlene Crowell
For the second time this year, Congress’ inability to reach consensus on essential fiscal legislation has devolved into largely partisan bickering and literal, last-minute temporary financial Band-Aids. On Sept. 30, the last day of the 2022-2023 federal fiscal year, a continuing resolution (CR) provided a 45-day reprieve, just in time to meet a midnight deadline that would have resulted in a federal government shutdown.
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Right to vote hangs in balance, by Marc H. Morial
“The right to vote is the cornerstone of our democracy and should be accessible to every eligible resident. It has been proven that participating in the civic process reduces recidivism, and individuals take pride in their communities when they can fully contribute to Virginia. True democracy does not deprive individuals of participation based on the whim of one individual. It’s time to correct the wrongs of our 1902 Constitution and leave the power to one succinct process that cannot be modified by a single person’s emotions in the moment.” — Sheba Williams, Executive Director, Nolef Turns
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Howard U. picks African diaspora scholar as next president
Howard University is turning to an experienced scholar of the African diaspora to serve as its new university president.
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Against AI, political punditry can still do the write thing, by Clarence Page
Striking Hollywood writers are nervous about artificial intelligence — also known as AI — and I’m not feeling so good myself.
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Hickory Hill community opposes planned fire training facility
In a retreat from a two-year-old policy of expanding parks and green space in overly hot South Side, Mayor Levar M. Stoney and his administration are quietly pressing to replace 2 acres of lawn at the Hickory Hill Community Center in South Side with a $1 million fire training building.
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Owens left mark on campus and above the rim at H-SC
Former basketball star Ed Owens is now Mayor Owens.
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Schools prepare for partial solar eclipse in Richmond
It all happens Monday, April 8 when a total solar eclipse will span across the U.S., Mexico and Canada as the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, blocking sunlight.
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Is Chicago ready for the next Democratic convention?, by Clarence Page
When a friend reminded me that it’s almost time for the Democratic National Convention, I wanted to say, “That’s OK, I’m good with the last one.”
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Banner Christian’s Burke travels in the fast lane
Davian Burke specializes in takeoffs and landings and is almost always right on time. He ranks with the state’s top hurdlers even though he attends a high school – Banner Christian in Chesterfield – far removed from local sports’ neon lights.
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Black-owned businesses face obstacles made worse by anti-racial justice efforts, by Marc H. Morial
“Recent legal challenges have targeted programs aimed at alleviating the obstacles faced by marginalized communities, particularly those designed to promote equity in entrepreneurship … With this analysis, we can create and implement strategies that catalyze informed policymaking, advocacy efforts, and targeted interventions aimed at reversing systemic barriers and fostering a more equitable entrepreneurial ecosystem.” — Alliance for Entrepreneurial Equity, The State of Black Business 2024
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Setting record straight on Black History, by Ben Jealous
With the start of Black History Month, I brace myself for the mis-telling of Black History yet again.
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Biden calls out ‘poison’ of white supremacy in address at Mother Emanuel in S.C.
President Biden, taking his 2024 re-election campaign to South Carolina, denounced the white supremacy that he said led to deadly violence at Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church almost nine years ago.
