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School Board demands third-party investigation into June 6 shooting
Richmond Public School leaders have demanded a third-party investigation into the events and RPS actions leading up to the mass shooting in Monroe Park following the Huguenot High School graduation ceremony on June 6 that led to the deaths of graduate Shawn Jackson and his stepfather, Renzo Smith.
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Exoneration in Malcolm X’s death no surprise, by A. Peter Bailey
Serious Malcolmites, including myself, were neither surprised nor shocked by the exonerations last week of Muhammad Abdul Aziz, known in 1965 as Norman 3X Butler, and Khalil Islam, known as Thomas 15X Johnson, as assassins of Brother Malcolm X on Feb. 21, 1965.
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RVA Bandits compete for football championships this weekend
Darryl H. Johnston fondly remembers playing youth football growing up in Richmond. Frustrated that the city’s parks and recreation department was no longer fielding a team at the Broad Rock Sports Complex where he played as a child, the 32-year-old Atlantic City, N.J., native started a program in August.
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Ben Jealous to run for gov. in Md.
Former national NAACP President Benjamin Todd Jealous is launching a political career. Perhaps recently best known as a surrogate for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, Mr. Jealous confirmed this week that he is running for governor of Maryland. He cited his long record of civil rights activism and the diversity of the state of Maryland as being in his favor.
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No fear of shrill conservatives
The shrill conservative Ann Coulter has made headlines because the University of California, Berkeley, wouldn’t let her speak at the end of April. She was invited by college Republicans, but her appearance threatened to incite violence as activists on the left and on the right prepared to either protest or support her appearance.
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Pro-Confederate legislators make run to save symbols
Veto that bill, governor. That’s the cry from members of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus after the Republican-dominated General Assembly approved a bill that would bar localities from removing Confederate hate symbols from public property. “I voted against it, but now we can only hope that that the governor will use his veto pen,” said Delegate Jennifer L. McClellan.
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Gov. Northam speaks at VUU Community Leaders Breakfast
Gov. Ralph S. Northam addressed the 41st Annual Community Leaders Breakfast last Friday honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with a message of valuing Virginia’s diversity and the collective responsibility of supporting each other as the state moves forward.
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Bad for grads
Richmond Public Schools’ 70.6% on-time graduation rate is lowest in Virginia
Richmond Public Schools had the lowest graduation rate in Virginia last June.
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Ambassadors’ to help RRHA families with virtual learning
Three public agencies have partnered to ensure that families in the city’s public housing communities have the technical tools and resources to ensure effective daily virtual learning for their children.
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Virginia Repertory Theatre presents “Gospel Nativity” this weekend
Virginia Repertory Theatre will present “Gospel Nativity,” a special holiday show as a workshop at 7 p.m. Dec 16 and 17 in the Jessie Bogese Theatre at Virginia Rep Center for Arts and Education, 4202 Hermitage Road.
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A fast track to offsetting the child care crisis
National Preschool Teachers Appreciation Day was March 15, an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the community heroes who play an important role in teaching and shaping young minds.
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Jackson Ward church hosts Social Justice Weekend
Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church in Jackson Ward is hosting a “Social Justice Weekend” Saturday, Nov. 14, and Sunday, Nov. 15.
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50 Cent out of dollars?
Rapper and actor 50 Cent filed for federal bankruptcy protection Monday, days after a jury ordered him to pay $5 million in an invasion-of-privacy lawsuit.
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City hiring precinct workers for Nov. 7 election
Wanted: 200 people to work the polls on Election Day. Richmond Voter Registrar Kirk Showalter announced Monday that she is recruiting precinct officers for the next election on Tuesday, Nov. 7.
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Miss local baseball? You can still get the food
With the coronavirus pandemic, fans are missing baseball. And some are missing ballpark food.
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Metropolitan Business League offering COVID-19 relief grants to SWaM businesses
ARichmond-based business trade group has launched a recovery fund to aid small, women and minority-owned businesses impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, it has been announced.
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Former President Obama to speak at Sen. McCain’s funeral
Former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush will deliver eulogies Saturday at the funeral of U.S. Sen. John McCain, a former prisoner of war during Vietnan and six-term Republican senator from Arizona whose reputation as a maverick is causing a stir even after his death.
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Afghan evacuees mark first U.S. Ramadan with gratitude, agony
Sitting cross-legged on the floor as his wife and six children laid plates of fruit on a red cloth in front of him, Wolayat Khan Samadzoi watched through the open balcony door for the sliver of the new moon to appear in the cloudless New Mexico sky, where the sun had set beyond a desert mountain.
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‘I believe I witnessed a murder”
Witnesses to George Floyd’s deadly arrest in Minneapolis tell jury of their shock, horror
Darnella Frazier said she sometimes lays awake at night “apologizing to George Floyd for not doing more and not physically interacting and not saving his life.”
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COVID-19
Coronavirus hits Virginia, impacting people, events
With the coronavirus sweeping the globe, efforts to mitigate its surge and impact are being felt across the state. From elected officials to private company executives, small business operators, schools and universities, hospitals and clinics and individuals, people are bracing for what the World Health Organization officially declared a pandemic on Wednesday.