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Mary Frances Rogers Barnes, 80, educator
Mary Frances Rogers Barnes saw great potential in every child.
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Personality: Robert Dunham
Spotlight on Richmond teacher and founder of ‘Be the Change RVA’
Robert Dunham proves that when it comes to teachers, he’s a cut above the rest.
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Family of Black girls handcuffed by Colorado police, held at gunpoint reach $1.9M settlement
The four Black girls lay facedown in a parking lot, crying “no” and “mommy” as a police officer who had pointed her gun at them then bent down to handcuff two of their wrists. The youngest wore a pink tiara as she held onto her teenage cousin’s hand.
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Talisha Braxton of New York, left, talks with her boyfriend, Burney Hatchett III, from within their tents set up outside the vacant Richmond Coliseum on …
Published on January 6, 2022
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Love Stories 2022
The Richmond Free Press proudly presents its annual Valentine’s Day feature sharing the love stories of four Richmond area couples.
From blind date to years of wedded bliss...
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Local student wins national TV contest
Cooking is part of Emmy Sumpter’s DNA. Emmy’s earliest memories of cooking begin at age 6 when she would help her mother, personal chef Erica Sumpter, prepare recipes and meals in their kitchen.
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Fight for $15
Low-wage workers bring message, movement
Laura Clark is a home care worker, yet she has no income. The 53-year-old Caroline County resident cares for her 83-year-old mother, who suffers from dementia and COPD, but doesn’t qualify to receive pay as a family caregiver because her mother has life insurance. She said her daily struggle to keep things going in her own household makes her understand the plight of others working for minimum wage — $7.25 an hour.
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‘Racists go home!’
Members of Tenn.-based neo-Confederate group met by hundreds of chanting counterprotesters at Saturday’s Monument Avenue rally
A potentially volatile “Heritage Not Hate” rally led by a neo-Confederate group turned into a war of words Saturday as the small, but armed band found itself outnumbered by hundreds on Richmond’s Monument Avenue. The Tennessee-based group, CSA II: The New Confederate States of America, called the rally to show their support for the statue of Confederate Robert E. Lee as city leaders wrestle with whether the Confederate monuments on the tree-lined street should be removed or left up “with context.”
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Personality: Julia Warren
Spotlight on founder of nonprofit celebrate! RVA
Julia Warren believes children in disadvantaged communities should be able to enjoy a big birthday bash in a safe and fun environment.
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Former Newport News Delegate Mamye BaCote, a member of the Richmond 34, dies at 81
As a student at Virginia Union University, Mamye Edmondson BaCote took part in the lunch counter sit-ins led by VUU students to end whites-only, sit-down service at restaurants and lunch counters in Downtown.
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Walking my baby back home // Harmony Otey, 5, is met by her grandfather, Jimmy Squire, or “PaPa” as she calls him, Wednesday when the …
Published on September 22, 2017
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‘Our anthem is tinged by a troubled history’
On July Fourth, I rose, removed my hat and placed my hand over my heart as the band played the national anthem in Dogwood Dell at the beginning of the annual patriotic celebration.
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Holding on to their faith: Strengthening Black families living with dementia
When Dr. Fayron Epps was growing up in New Orleans, worship services weren’t limited to Sundays.
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Retired educator, florist Sylvia Richardson dies at 76
Sylvia D. Richardson loved the color purple. And the bubbly woman who brimmed with enthusiasm infused that color into her dual roles as an educator and a florist.
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A year of historic anniversaries
“It is not an overstatement to say that the destiny of the entire human race depends on what is going on in America today. This is a staggering reality to the rest of the world; they must feel like passengers in a supersonic jetliner who are forced to watch helplessly while a passel of drunks, hypes,
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Richmond area resident wins national publishing competition
Freelance writer Robin Farmer is set to release her first book, “Angel Dressed in Black,” in 2021 after winning a nationwide indie publishing contest.
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R. Kelly sentenced to 30 years in sex trafficking case
Disgraced R&B superstar R. Kelly was sentenced Wednesday to 30 years in prison for using his fame to sexually abuse young fans, including some who were just children, in a systematic scheme that went on for decades.
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Much has changed, much remains in newsrooms
The news business is consumed by constant disrup- tors and interruptions. So much so that non-breaking news often gets tossed aside. I should know. Twice in the past two weeks an announcement about me coming aboard as managing editor for the Richmond Free Press was kicked to the curb in favor of major, breaking news. As it should be. No one wants to read about journalists when mass shootings, gun violence and a deadly pandemic continue to wreak havoc locally and throughout the country. Add to that soaring gas prices, babies lacking basics, and a trip to the grocery store akin to a five-course dinner or luxury hotel stay. When such tragedies occur and wallets are hijacked, journalists should be covering them rather than focusing on themselves. This week the news has been a little less jarring, providing time for me to reflect on my new role in a city that I moved to in 1981. Back then, I accepted an offer to work at Richmond’s afternoon daily newspaper, intrigued that the City Council was predominantly Black, which indicated to me that the city was progressive. While that remains a matter of debate among many, I will say that having left Richmond in 2011 to teach Black college students in my hometown of Greensboro, N.C., I was elated to return here five years later. I missed my favorite haunts, my home in a quiet neighborhood, my fun-loving, quirky friends, my church, my sorority and my museums. Upon returning, I continued to teach at various uni- versities but experienced profound joy as a substitute teacher in Henrico County. I completed a book about Black women journalists. I also started a nonprofit me- dia organization and spent several years as a freelance reporter and editor for publications that included the Richmond Free Press. My first few days as the Free Press managing editor were chaotic to say the least. Having just returned from a restful vacation in Hilton Head, S.C. and Savannah, Ga. — you know, the city that Hyundai just chose over Virginia’s Pittsylvania County to spend $5.5 billion and hire more than 8,000 workers — I was tossed into a sea of local, state and national news that I’d not experienced since ...last February. That was when, for two weeks, I served as the Free Press guest editor in the absence of the newspaper’s former managing editor. That also was when, during Black History Month, Virginia’s newly inaugurated governor caused a furor with his condemnation of critical race theory and had folks fired up about a “tip line” to snitch on classroom teachers who dared to teach the truth about American history and slavery. The furor almost made the Ralph Northam 2019 black face debacle appear quaint. (Note to Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin who made his fortune at one of the world’s most influential private equity firms: Don’t you think that time spent dissing teachers could have been better spent helping Pittsylvania County, decimated for more than a decade by furniture industry losses, secure that $5.5 billion Hyundai deal?) Before my recent re-entry into the newsroom, it had been nearly 25 years since I was a full time newspaper employee. Although much has changed since then, many aspects of the industry remain. The decline of daily newspapers began with buyouts and mergers in the early 1990s, around the same time that the Richmond Free Press was born. The dissolution of newsrooms continues today in the form of tight budgets, lean staffs, 24/7 hour news cycles and decreased circulation. Although the Free Press is a weekly newspaper, our mission is similar to that of daily print publications and online outlets. Still in the game, we are deadline driven, truth seekers and zealous about serving Richmond and surrounding communities. We are a Black-owned news- paper and revel in our reputation for providing relevant information for and about Richmond’s Black commu- nity. We also delight in knowing that our newspapers, more often than not, are consumed by many non-Black readers, too. Our staff is small, but mighty. A cadre of talented freelance reporters and photographers stand ready to support us when needed and we are proud of their presence. I remain honored and humbled (and somewhat speech- less) by an invitation from Jean P. Boone, Richmond Free Press president and publisher, to lead the Free Press. In accepting my new role, I am the second editor to do so since the death of Richmond Free Press Founder Raymond H. Boone. Never did I envision being in this position once occupied by a man whose backbone was made of steel, whose mind was sharper than any sword, and whose heart was good as gold. Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Boone for allowing me — a woman who penned her first newspaper article for a Black newspaper, The Carolina Peacemaker, as a col- lege student in 1977 — to lead your life’s passion and tireless work in its continuing journey. It is my hope and prayer that you, dear readers and new readers, will continue this journey with us.
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Serena upset in fourth round of Miami Open
Serena Williams had been out of the tournament for less than 20 minutes when she climbed into her white Mini Cooper with the checkerboard top and pulled away from the players’ parking lot, fastening her seat belt as she drove.
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Heating woes continue to plague Creighton Court residents
Tina Marie Smith finally has a working radiator on the first floor of her Creighton Court apartment. The only problem: It doesn’t produce much heat. And it hasn’t, she said, since maintenance workers from the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority installed it three weeks ago.
