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Plans in the works to create several 24-hour homeless shelters
Frizzell Stephens wishes he had a roof over his head.
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GOP senators block truth, by Ben Jealous
Republicans in the U.S. Senate are a threat to our democracy.
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Police send Peters shooting report to commonwealth’s attorney
The Richmond Police Department has turned over its report on the investigation of the fatal shooting of Marcus-David Peters to the Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office.
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Foundations buy Ebony and JET photo archives for preservation at Smithsonian
The sale of the photo archive of Ebony and JET magazines chronicling African-American history is generating relief among some who worried the historic images may be lost.
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Richmond fireman Rodney Jermaine Coles, 49, dies
The Richmond Fire Department has announced the death of a 15-year veteran, Rodney Jermaine “Cup” Coles.
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16th Annual Richmond Folk Festival comes alive virtually Oct. 9 through 11
The 16th Annual Richmond Folk Festival, a celebration of music and culture from around the globe, will take place virtually Oct. 9 through 11.
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Secure health info profiles can help first responders in emergencies
Richmond residents can create a digital health profile that paramedics and other emergency personnel can access after a health emergency strikes, the city Department of Emergency Communications has announced.
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Capital City Kwanzaa festival to go virtual beginning Dec. 26
Like many other holiday events, the Richmond area’s largest Kwanzaa festival is going virtual and also will provide evening shows online during the full seven days of the holiday that begins Saturday, Dec. 26, it has been announced.
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Slavery was good?
Africans were so lucky to be captured, shipped in torturous conditions away from their homeland, stripped of their languages, kinship, religion and culture and bound into perpetual servitude in America so that they could learn “useful skills.” Pretty preposterous, right? Not for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
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We were medical guinea pigs, by Julianne Malveaux
People who don’t know Black history have probably heard more about the Tuskegee syphilis “experiment” in the last month than they have in their whole lives.
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Mask up, vax up
Count us in when it comes to supporting the COVID-19 vaccine mandates issued last week by Richmond Mayor Levar M. Stoney and Gov. Ralph S. Northam.
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RPS mandates vaccinations for teachers, staff
Richmond Public Schools teachers, staff, cafeteria workers, bus drivers, volunteers, contractors and anyone else working with the district must be fully vaccinated against the corona- virus by Friday, Oct. 1.
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Ferguson’s double message
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder’s Ferguson investigation offers plenty for both sides of this dispute to hate. Seven months after the shooting of unarmed black teen Michael Brown by former white Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson sparked national protests and a #BlackLivesMatter movement, U.S. Justice Department sleuths found enough evidence to let the cop off the hook but indicted the criminal justice system in which he worked. That’s enraging to Michael Brown’s family and many protesters nationwide who wanted to see Mr. Wilson prosecuted. But the evidence kept pointing the other way, said Mr. Holder, who would hardly be called an apologist for police abuse or racial profilers.
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Blackface: An insulting mask of privilege
As a black student in overwhelmingly white schools in Louisiana, I faced my share of racial insults and slights. But one of the more memorable incidents was not even a deliberate slight directed at me. The offenders probably didn’t even think of me. But when a group of my classmates contemptuously affected exaggerated accents mocking black people as part of a school production, I walked out.
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$2.1M federal grant to help acquire new riverfront parkland
City Hall and a regional conservancy group are on track to receive a $2.1 million grant to support the expansion of park space along the James River.
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Housing group acquires Church Hill property for project
A former church social services center known as Citadel of Hope is to be the centerpiece for a new affordable housing development in Church Hill.
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1 vendor? ‘This is ridiculous!’
Re “Only 1 black-owned food vendor at NFL training camp,” Free Press July 27-29 edition: Only one black food vendor at the NFL training camp in Richmond? This is ridiculous!
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FDA finalizes rule expanding availability of abortion pills
The Food and DrugAdministration on Tuesday finalized a rule change that broadens availability of abortion pills to many more pharmacies, companies.
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City electoral board recruiting 200 new election officers
In anticipation of the November elections, the Richmond Electoral Board is recruiting 200 people to increase the number of sworn officers of election at city polls.
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Hayden is new Librarian of Congress
The U. S. Senate has confirmed Dr. Carla D. Hayden as the 14th Librarian of Congress. The 74-18 vote for the nominee of President Obama for the key position came on July 13. Dr. Hayden is the first African-American and first woman to hold the position. Her appointment at the Library of Congress is for 10 years.