Story
Prosperity preachers to pray at Trump inaugural
Bishop Wayne T. Jackson, who hosted President-elect Donald Trump with his Detroit congregation in September, is among the religious leaders chosen to offer prayers at the new president’s swearing-in next week in Washington. The inaugural committee announced that prosperity gospel preachers Bishop Jackson, who leads Great Faith Ministries International, and Pastor Paula White, a friend of the president-elect, will join four others selected to participate in the inauguration on Friday, Jan. 20.
Story
Services set for William D. House Jr.
William D. House Jr. brought his warm personality and can-do spirit to Richmond two and a half years ago.
Story
Family matters
Inspector general’s report details how 5 relatives of former CAO Selena Cuffee-Glenn were hired, but finds no evidence she was involved directly in their hiring
Lenora Reid is officially in charge of Richmond city government — for now. City Council voted 9-0 on Monday to confirm Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s request that Ms. Reid, the city’s chief financial officer, serve as interim chief administrative officer in the wake of her predecessor being fired because of nepotism.
Story
BET Awards brings out top stars
Rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs took a tumble, Janet Jackson made an emotional appearance and the BET TV network paid tribute Sunday to campaigners across the United States demanding better police accountability after a troubled year. Combs fell through a hole in the stage at the BET Awards show during a 20th anniversary celebration of his Bad Boy record label that reunited hip-hop artists including Lil’ Kim, Faith Evans and 112 in a celebration joined by Pharrell Williams. Diddy quickly got up and carried on with the performance, appearing unhurt.
Story
Love Stories
Follow your heart
I was the 28-year-old executive director of the Virginia United Negro College Fund, scouting locations in Richmond for the annual Lou Rawls Parade of Stars Telethon.
Story
Jackson Ward resident starting Wall of Love to help those in need
Richmond is about to join the Walls of Love movement that seeks to provide basic necessities to the homeless and needy without any questions or judgments.
Story
Former record store owner remembered
William F. “Bill” Kennedy, founder and owner of BK Music, a record store in Richmond’s South Side, died Tuesday, March 14, 2023, after a bout with pneumonia. Mr. Kennedy, who was 70, had decades of experience in the music industry having worked for Harmony Hut and Peaches Music and Video before opening his own store in the Stratford Hills Shopping Center in 2001.
Story
Tribute unveiled to women’s advocate, international AKA president
While the nation debates the preservation or removal of Confederate monuments, the women of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority are erecting monuments to honor the selfless contributions of their sisters.
Story
Fulton family receives unexpected blessing of mortgage payoff
It began as a casual conversation. Then it quickly turned into what Travis L. and Latarsha F. Woods can only call “a blessing from God.”
Story
Overcoming NFL’s shameful history, by Marc H. Morial
“More than half the players in the NFL are Black, and most coaches have played the game at some level. That would seem to be the perfect recipe for Black coaches to find success. But most NFL owners have been white men, and they have seldom been willing to let African Americans or Latinos call plays — either on the field or from the sidelines. This is no different from when franchises presumed that Black players weren’t smart enough to play quarterback and lacked leadership skills to command men. The league’s paltry record of hiring minority head coaches comes from the same mindset. And its primary effort to address the problem has been a failure, because a policy can’t compensate for ignorance.”— Jemele Hill
Story
MLK Middle not living up to his name
Richmond School Board member Shonda Harris-Muhammed is calling on her colleagues and Superintendent Dana T. Bedden to stem a tide of alleged violence and assaults at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in the East End. In a recent Free Press interview, Ms. Harris-Muhammed, who represents the 6th District where the school is located, said more than 10 teachers and staff members from the school contact her regularly about their fears for their safety and that of others.
Story
Civil rights lawyer, legal scholar and professor Lani Guinier dies at 71
Lani Guinier, a civil rights lawyer and legal scholar whose nomination by President Bill Clinton to head the U.S. Justice Department’s civil rights division was pulled after conservatives criticized her views on correcting racial discrimination, has died. She was 71.
Story
Why I visited the border
Letter to the Editor
As I ventured to the southern border near Laredo, Texas, I could not help but think about the tragic shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, which are stark reminders of the dangers that plague our communities under the resurgence of white nationalism, domestic terrorism, intolerance and racial hatred germinating from the White House.
Story
Black American solidarity with Palestinians is rising and testing long-standing ties to Jewish allies
Cydney Wallace, a Black Jewish community activist, never felt compelled to travel to Israel, though “next year in Jerusalem” was a constant refrain at her Chicago synagogue.
Story
Personality: Elijah Coles-Brown
Spotlight on youth orator, winner of NAACP Great Expectations Youth Award
Elijah Coles-Brown is a young man who has something to say and when he opens his mouth, he says it well.
Story
Congressman Troy Nehls — Rash, brash, out of control, by Julianne Malveaux
Republican Congressman Troy Nehls (R-TX) recently attacked his colleague, St. Louis Congresswoman Cori Bush (D-MO), with rash, brash, and out-of-control language. It happened at the end of January, but somehow, his attack stuck in my craw.
Story
Virtual jitters
First day of school has ups and downs for Richmond families with online learning
When the first day of school came to an end Tuesday, Richmond Public Schools parents Safiya and Kendell Wilson happily exhaled.
Story
Personality: Amanda Loraine Lynch
Spotlight on board president of Brown Ballerinas for Change
Amanda Loraine Lynch is helping bring change to the stage and the streets through ballet.
Story
Parade of champions
John Marshall teams headed to quarterfinals
They come at you in waves— so tall, so talented, so tenacious and so many.
Story
Personality: Brittney Maddox
Spotlight on president of Good Clear Sound
Brittney Maddox seeks to make a positive difference in the community in her role as the president of “Good Clear Sound,” a slam poetry collective at Virginia Commonwealth University.
