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Family of woman found hanged in Texas jail calls for federal probe
Was Sandra Bland murdered? That’s what distraught family and friends of the 28-year-old woman are asking after she was discovered hanging by a plastic garbage bag in a Texas jail cell three days after she was arrested during a routine traffic stop that turned confrontational.
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Personality: Frances T. Hayes
Spotlight on host chapter president of Club Dejouir’s 60th conclave
Frances T. Hayes served two terms as president of the Richmond Chapter of Club Dejouir Inc. in the 1970s. Now, four decades later, she has embarked on her third term as president of the nonprofit women’s social and civic organization.
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Farewell, President Obama
Commander in chief returns to Chicago for his final speech where it all began
President Obama bid farewell to the nation Tuesday in an emotional speech that sought to comfort a country on edge over rapid economic changes, persistent security threats and the election of Republican Donald Trump.
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‘Black and blue’
African-American police officers straddle uncomfortable worlds
The ambivalent emotions that black police officers experience are as old as the first time an African-American put on a badge and walked a beat in the black community. But they seldom have been expressed with the clarity and force of the words that Baton Rouge, La., Police Cpl. Montrell Jackson posted on Facebook on July 8.
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Lessons from Iowa
Now that the Iowa presidential caucuses are over, what can voters in Richmond, a majority African-American city, learn from the political choices of a lily-white state of cornfields and livestock that produced evangelist Robert Schuller and TV mom Donna Reed?
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Diversity lip service only?
Bieniemy gets the brushoff, even under 'Rooney Rule'
Eric Bieniemy interviewed for three NFL head coaching positions this month and received the same answer from all three places — thanks, but no thanks.
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Cool in the hot seat
Christy Coleman, co-chair of the Monument Avenue Commission, is no stranger to controversy or leadership, even on issues of slavery and the Civil War
The Clarks, who were slaves rooted in Tennessee, outlasted brutal bondage, fled the wrath of white supremacy shortly after Emancipation and became founding settlers of Eatonville, Fla., one of the country’s earliest self-governing black municipalities.
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Chief Durham reflects on his tenure in Richmond
Richmond Police Chief Alfred Durham is done. He wrapped up Dec. 20 by issuing promotions to 12 officers, including naming three deputy chiefs and tapping one, William C. Smith, to serve as acting chief.
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Personality: Darlene A. Scott
Spotlight on Women Heart Champion and volunteer health advocate
Darlene Anita Scott, an associate professor of composition and creative writing at Virginia Union University, is a long-distance runner and the image of great health and fitness.
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Why vote on Nov. 4
‘When we vote, we win’
In a Constitutional Republic, the privilege to vote preserves all other rights. But as political science holds, when the action of voting takes place, a reaction follows.
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Sen. Bernie Sanders helps celebrate Starbucks workers’ unionization victory
The sounds of music, community and solidarity filled the National Theater in Downtown for several hours Sunday as visitors from Virginia and beyond, including U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, celebrated the unionization efforts of Starbucks employees in Richmond and nationally and ongoing work to improve labor conditions in the United States.
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Not letting anyone steal our joy, by Ben Jealous
A congressional meeting room might be the last place people would expect to find joy.
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ACLU lawsuit against police action during summer protest dismissed
A Richmond Circuit Court judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia against the Virginia State Police, the Richmond Police Department and the City of Richmond for actions taken against protesters during a “teach-in” last summer on police brutality and community action.
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Celebrating the Black Family, by Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham
At the opening of Black History Month, the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, or ASALH, announces the 2021 Black History theme — “The Black Family: Representation, Identity, and Diversity.”
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Minister continues legal pursuit of control of Fourth Baptist Church
The battle for control of historic Fourth Baptist Church is once again headed to court.
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Delegates Filler-Corn and McQuinn launch interfaith reproductive coalition
Two Democratic members of the House of Delegates are seeking to rally Christians, Jews, Muslims and other people of faith who support abortion.
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City packs heat with little impact
Gun buyback nets 126 broken weapons, 227 handguns, 117 rifles and shotguns
City Hall touted Richmond’s first gun buyback program as an “overwhelming success” despite evidence that the event is unlikely to have any impact on violence or gun ownership.
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VCU professor’s documentary sheds light on Central State’s darkness
A new Richmond-made documentary will premiere this weekend with a view of the good, the bad and the ugly of mental health treatment for Black people in Virginia.
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Simone Biles dazzles in her return from a 2-year layoff to dominate the U.S. Classic
Simone Biles spent two years trying to distance herself from those strange days in Tokyo and all the outside noise that came along with it.
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Judge suspends order to put casino issue on Nov. ballot
A Richmond judge will decide whether to allow a charitable gaming group to challenge the constitutionality of the city’s selection of a casino operator and potentially prevent a planned vote on whether to have a casino in the Nov. 7 general election.
