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Caught in the crossfire
‘Living in the city of Richmond, too many moms are burying their children’
Kendall Scott, 17, was excited to be graduating from Thomas Jefferson High School on Tuesday, which was to take place shortly after Huguenot High School’s graduation at Richmond’s Altria Theater.
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City in crisis
Richmond reels from mass shooting at graduation
Huguenot High School graduate Shawn D. Jackson, age 18, and his stepfather Renzo R. Smith, 36, were killed when gunfire erupted Tuesday in Monroe Park following a graduation ceremony for Huguenot students at the Altria Theater.
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Black kids face racism before they even start school
To her students who need the most support, India Strother is rarely just “Ms. Strother” — she’s a family figure they call “Mom,” a trusted guide as they negotiate their teenage years.
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Agnes Wilder Nicholson dies at age 98
Agnes Wilder Nicholson, who spent much of her life in education and civic service, died Saturday, May 6, 2023, at age 98.
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Agnes Abuom, global ecumenist, peacemaker and African church leader, dies at 73
Kenya Agnes Abuom, a global ecumenical leader and peacemaker, died on Wednesday, May 31, 2023, at the age of 73 while undergoing treatment in a hospital in Nairobi.
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Personality: Elizabeth C. ‘Lizzie’ Childress
Spotlight on Richmond Public Schools 2023 top valedictorian
Lizzie Childress will be recognized as valedictorian at her graduation from Richmond’s Open High School and her 5.2958 GPA also made her the Richmond Public Schools 2023 top valedictorian.
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Marita Golden’s prescription for Black women and self-care
Author, educator and literary activist Marita Golden’s 20th book that will be released June 13 builds on her previous book, which pushed back against the idea that Black women have to be strong all the time.
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Sign of a trailblazer
Several family members, neighbors and friends gathered yesterday for an honorary street renaming of the 5300 block of Marian Street in honor of the late Bettie Elizabeth Boyers Cooper. Mrs. Boyers Cooper was best known for being a plaintiff during the Civil Rights Movement whose federal lawsuit led to the integration of Richmond’s schools.
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New leader of Richmond Crusade for Voters
Jerome Legions Jr. is now the former president of the Richmond Crusade for Voters.
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Council waits to hear if another casino vote is in the cards
Second District City Councilwoman Katherine Jordan remains the only opponent of giving Richmond voters a second chance to decide whether the city should be allowed to host a proposed $560 million casino-resort project in the South Side. She was the lone dissenter on Monday as the City Council moved casino-support legislation to the Monday, June 12, meeting for quick passage.
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Fox Elementary employee to plead case before School Board
Robin Spears, a 15-year social worker, who has been on paid leave since November 2021 is going to the School Board in hopes the members will reject a recommendation that she be fired for failing to report to a position she said she was never offered.
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Outdoor concert venue booked for council approval
A 7,500-seat outdoor concert venue that will feature 25 to 30 concerts each season is likely headed to the Richmond riverfront.
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Planned Fire Training Center clears final hurdle
The Richmond Fire Department can proceed with building a new training center on a 2-acre section of lawn at Hickory Hill Community Center in South Side, despite the property being zoned as residential.
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Democratic primary for 14th Senate District underway
With early voting ongoing for the June 20 Democratic primary, the candidates each spoke with the Richmond Free Press about some of the issues that are on the minds of voters in the new 14th Senate District.
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Four RPS schools in line for new names
Richmond School Board members will vote to confirm new names for four schools — Ginter Park Elementary, John B. Cary Elementary, Binford Middle and George Wythe High — later this month, after a meeting Monday evening at Thomas Jefferson High School.
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Tuesday’s bloodletting
The chorus of angry and sorrowful cries continue as yet another mass shooting shocks our nation. This time the once unimaginable struck close to home as Huguenot High School students left the Altria Theater ready to celebrate their newly minted diplomas with family and friends.
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Against AI, political punditry can still do the write thing, by Clarence Page
Striking Hollywood writers are nervous about artificial intelligence — also known as AI — and I’m not feeling so good myself.
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Celebrating ‘the voice of Black America’, by Marc H. Morial
“Show me a person who is full of prejudice, and I will show you a sick, unhappy, fearful individual who is not going anywhere and who is not growing. People don’t shut other people out; they fence themselves in.” – Whitney M. Young Jr.
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Farewell, Tina Turner
Like many of her devoted fans, I was both shocked and saddened that the euphonious singer, Tina Turner, passed away on Wednesday, May 24, 2023.
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High court diluted Voting Rights Act a decade ago, prompting wave of new voting rules
Within hours of a U.S. Supreme Court decision dismantling a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, Texas lawmakers announced plans to implement a strict voter ID law that had been blocked by a federal court.
