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Public to Monument Avenue Commission:
Is statue removal off the table?
Can the Monument Avenue Commission recommend that the statues of Confederates be removed? That was the pressing question at the first full meeting Monday of the commission assembled by Richmond Mayor Levar M. Stoney to deal with the statues to vanquished traitors along the tree-lined thoroughfare.
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Black clergy offer churches as COVID-19 vaccination sites
After more than 1,100 people received the coronavirus vaccine in the fellowship hall of a Black church in Oklahoma City, its pastor credited trust and teamwork for the accom- plishment.
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Florida faith leader: Black history toolkit gains interest outside the state
When the Rev. Rhonda Thomas decided to create a toolkit to help teach Black history outside the public school system — after Florida legislators approved revisions to its required instruction — she expected Black churches like her own would be the ones to use it.
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RPS to review relationship with Richmond Police, consider reopening options
Two Richmond School Board members urged the administration to dissolve the school system’s relationship with the Richmond Police Department, eliminating the school resource officers who patrol the city’s high schools, middle schools and alternative school.
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Lumpkin’s Jail site to get new life
After years of neglect by the city, the site at Lumpkin’s Jail is headed toward a multimillion-dollar makeover. The jail site was a holding pen for enslaved people in Shockoe Bottom that later served as the launching ground for Virginia Union University.
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Free Press receives Facebook Journalism Project grant
The Richmond Free Press has been awarded a $100,000 grant from the Facebook Journalism Project to boost local journalism during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Dems pull out big guns to energize virtual convention for Biden
Democrats launched the third day of their virtual national convention on Wednesday, with headliners broadening the focus from a multipart rebuke of President Trump to an energizing message of change in boosting former Vice President Joe Biden’s presidential bid.
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VUU Panthers meet VSU Trojans Saturday at Hovey Field
Virginia Union University football Coach Alvin Parker feels like his team has taken an unfair beating — not on the field, mind you, but in the polls.
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City Council spars over voter advisory referendum on $1.5B Coliseum plan
Richmond residents were lining up Wednesday to speak their minds on Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s $1.5 billion Coliseum replacement and development plan for Downtown at the second of two special City Council meetings in two days.
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A battle supreme
Dems, civil rights groups and others gearing up for confirmation fight over U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh
To President Trump, he’s “a judge’s judge” and “a brilliant legal mind” who deserves swift confirmation.
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Va. lawmakers again decline to put restrictions on personal use of campaign accounts
Virginia lawmakers on Wednesday defeated for another year campaign finance reform legislation that would have prohibited elected officials from spending political donations on personal expenses such as mortgages, vacations or gym memberships.
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Biden’s student loan plan needs more reforms, by Marc H. Morial
“By forgiving up to $20,000 in burdensome student loan debt, President Biden is giving working and middle class families the financial breathing room the desperately need. Buying a home, founding a business, starting a family, and so much more will now be a financial possibility for millions more Americans. But we cannot stop there. The Congressional Black Caucus remains committed to achieving additional reforms to ensure current, and future borrowers are not subjected to this cycle of burdensome debt.” – Congressional Black Caucus Chair Rep. Joyce Beatty
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It’s Met Gala time again — here’s what we know so far
Last year, it took 275,000 bright pink roses to adorn the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the Met Gala, the biggest night in fashion and one of the biggest concentrations of star power anywhere.
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Authorities search Diddy’s properties as part of a sex trafficking probe
In the first nine months of 2023, Sean “Diddy” Combs triumphantly performed at the MTV VMAs, released an R&B album that garnered a Grammy nomination and was a suitor to buy the BET network. But several lawsuits filed late last year raised allegations of sexual assault and rape against Mr. Combs — one of hip-hop’s most recognizable names as a performer and producer.