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A New Low
I am at ground zero. My law degree cannot protect me. My fancy address cannot protect me. My radio appearances and Zoom book tour cannot protect me. I check with, and for, my daughter against this madness as we all should the way the Black Power Movement taught me.
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Personality: Kiara Thompson
Richmond’s Teacher of the Year says students and their experiences motivate and inspire her
It was a typical Friday at school for Kiara Thompson — until it wasn’t.
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Personality: Tyra Hayes Beaman
Spotlight on Fulbright and Rangel fellowships recipient
Long before Tyra Zuri Hayes Beaman graduated with honors from Spelman College in May 2016, she was working toward becoming a U.S. foreign service officer by studying abroad in Argentina, Uruguay, Haiti and South Africa.
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'Remember children living with domestic violence’
Most people would agree domestic violence is a blight on society generally and directly on people and families affected by it.
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Personality: LaToya Gray Sparks
Spotlight on the winner of ESRI’s 2020 Educational Map Contest
LaToya Gray Sparks’ digital story map of how Richmond’s first master plan impacted Black residents contains a wealth of information.
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Empathy for families with ‘difficult days ahead’
To the Richmond community: My condolences and empathy to families as they face the difficult days ahead without their loved ones.
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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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Personality: Shawna Chapman
Spotlight on America’s United States Mrs. Mid-Atlantic 2024
Growing up in Petersburg, Shawna Chapman never believed pageants were open to women like her, whose background includes dropping out of high school and experiencing periods of homelessness.
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Coming home, by Jennifer Robinson
A hipper, more vibrant Richmond is sweet surprise for former New Yorker
Byrd Park was the place to be on warm Sunday afternoons in the 1980s. I was in high school and all of young, black Richmond gathered there. Picture the scene from Will Smith’s 1991 hit, “Summertime.”
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Personality: John D. Freyer
Spotlight on first U.S.-based Tate Exchange Associate at Tate Modern, London
Artist John D. Freyer, an assistant professor at Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of the Arts, has a unique specialty.
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“My life is a sermon that I get to preach on Sunday and embody and make come alive in my work in the Senate,” said …
Published on April 6, 2023
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Continuous traumatic stress disorder by Taikein M. Cooper
Mental health practitioners define post traumatic stress dis- order, or PTSD, as a traumatic event that causes strain for an indefinite amount of time.
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Personality: Todd B. Waldo
Spotlight on president of Robinson Theater Community Arts Center
Todd B. Waldo recalls eagerly watching the restoration of the Robinson Theater at 29th and Q streets in Church Hill in 2008. “I live two blocks from there,” he says. “I still remember the first time I walked by and saw the marquee lights turned on. I was proud of the work. And seeing ‘Robinson’ shining brightly at the front of the building gave me hope.” The newly renovated facility reopened in February 2009 as the Robinson Theater Community Arts Center under the leadership of Executive Director Betsy Hart.
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AMIA GRAHAM, Thomas Jefferson High School, 4.9677 GPA. Attending the University of Virginia in Charlottesville in the fall, where she wants to earn a nursing …
Published on May 28, 2020
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DARIUS GRAY, Franklin Military Academy, 4.6129 GPA. Attending Old Dominion University in Norfolk in the fall, where he plans to major in civil engineering. Son …
Published on May 28, 2020
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Personality: Amanda Lewis
Spotlight on Miss Black America Virginia 2016-17
As a child, Amanda Lewis always dreamed of participating in beauty pageants, but never felt that she was “seen as pretty or attractive.”
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Personality: Lynda Sharp Anderson
Spotlight on the president and CEO of The DBALSA Foundation
Three decades ago, when Lynda Sharp went to a magazine marketing event with friends, she didn’t know the young man named Dolson Barnett Anderson Jr. who was there with friends of his own. They both volunteered to help the magazine, became better acquainted and later became a married couple. The rest, Mrs. Anderson said, is history.
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Personality: Zion C. Neverson
Spotlight on 2019 Boys & Girls Club of Metro Richmond Youth of the Year
For 72 years, The Boys & Girls Clubs of America Youth of the Year program has honored the nation’s most awe-inspiring young people and encouraged them to lead, succeed and inspire. Zion Caliq Neverson joined the local Southside Boys & Girls Club on Bainbridge Street at age 10 when his mother could not pick him up after school from the Commonwealth Christian Academy.
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Mallory Hasen of Jackson Ward: “I would buy my mom a house. She was a single mom raising my sister and me, and she always …
Published on May 8, 2015
