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ICA exhibit explores race, class and gender
Artist Patrice Renee Washington isn’t interested in mainstreaming her creative talents to fit into the white-dominated spaces of the commercial art world. Instead, she focuses on exploring the roots behind racial identity. She’s the artist behind “Tendril,” a solo exhibition of her works at the Institute for Contemporary Art at VCU (ICA at VCU).
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Personality: Adriea Clarke
Spotlight on founder of Soul Vegan Block Party
Adriea Clarke is founder of an event that seeks to bridge the gap between the public and veganism and provide a space for African-Americans to share and show the curious, particularly people of color, an entry point into the lifestyle.
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Restaurateur, model B. Smith dies at 70 from early onset Alzheimer’s
Barbara “B.” Smith, one of the nation’s top African-American models who went on to open restaurants, launch a successful home products line and write cookbooks, has died at her Long Island home at age 70 after battling early onset Alzheimer’s disease.
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Personality: Martha Franck Rollins
Spotlight on board chair of Coming To The Table RVA
From growing up on Plantation Road in segregated Martinsville to co-founding a nonprofit striving to confront and heal the legacy of slavery and racism, the life of Martha Franck Rollins has been long, eventful and transformative — and it’s far from its final chapter.
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NMAAHC religion exhibit features Little Richard’s Bible, Rev. Ike’s suit
Musician Dizzy Gillespie embraced the Baha’i faith and its belief in universal humanity — a concept he saw reflected in jazz, which he viewed as a blending of musical elements from Africa and Europe. Activist Angela Davis, faced with the horror of bombings by white supremacists as a youth in Birmingham, Ala., took part in interracial discussion groups at her church. Singer Tina Turner practiced both recitations of the Lord’s Prayer and chants of Buddhist Scripture. The religion and resiliency of Black Americans are featured in “Spirit in the Dark: Religion in Black Music, Activism and Popular Culture,” a new exhibition of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.
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Fired
Kirk Showalter, Richmond’s voter registrar, is dismissed by the Richmond Electoral Board after multiple complaints surrounding the Nov. 3 general election
J. Kirk Showalter’s 25-year reign as Richmond’s voter registrar is over.
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When Freedom Came, Part 2
The Free Press presents a series chronicling the black experience during the liberation of Richmond in April 1865 and the end of the Civil War.
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Elizabeth ‘Beth’ Randolph, 90, granddaughter of Maggie L. Walker
Elizabeth “Beth” Walker Mickens Randolph loved spending time with her trailblazing grandmother, Maggie L. Walker, the first black female founder and president of a bank in America. Mrs. Walker chartered the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank in Jackson Ward in 1903. “My mother grew up one block from her grandmother,” said Mrs. Randolph’s son, Johnny Mickens III, of the family’s neighboring homes in Jackson Ward.
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James M. Fultz Jr., 66, first male president of National Medical Association Auxiliary
James M. Fultz Jr. showed a candid sense of humor when he spoke of his role as the husband of a prominent Richmond physician.
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Metropolitan Business League founder Neverett Alexander Eggleston Jr. dies at age 90
Neverett Alexander Eggleston Jr., a well-known Jackson Ward entrepreneur and a founder of a Richmond trade association for Black businesses, has died.
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Sen. Warnock’s victory a win for America, by Ben Jealous
If you haven’t watched Sen. Raphael Warnock’s speech on the night of his re-election in Georgia on Dec. 6, stop everything you’re doing, and watch it now. Then tell your kids to watch it. And your neighbors.
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Sentiments of black press 190 years later
In the February 1981 issue of Ebony magazine, brilliant journalist and historian Lerone Bennett Jr. provided the best reason for studying and learning from history that I have ever heard or read. In an article, “Why Black History Is Important to You,” he wrote, “The past is a bet that your father placed that you must now cover.”
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Legislation calls for free school meals for all Virginia students
A bill that would provide free meals for all public school students in Virginia passed the Senate Education and Health Committee Thursday.
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Personality: Ryshonna T. Addison
Spotlight on volunteer head of program administration with Community 50/50
For more than 10 years, Community 50/50 has worked to empower youths and families in the Greater Richmond area. And for more than 10 years, Ryshonna Taylise Addison has been there as the organization strives to create positive ripples through community service.
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Black women hold primary power
Those advising political candidates hope to gain a winning advantage by spotting key, unexpected trends long before the actual voting. Admittedly, the Virginia Democratic presidential primary voting isn’t until March 1, 2016, with the field in limbo as front-runner Hillary Clinton and her main rival, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont waiting to learn whether Vice President Joe Biden will run.
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Who really won the Super Bowl?
As far as I’m concerned, neither of the teams on the field won the Super Bowl. Something wonderful happened along the way, and we had a consciousness-raising event.
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Colette W. McEachin wins decisive victory over primary challenger for commonwealth’s attorney
The race for Richmond’s next commonwealth’s attorney ended late Tuesday evening, as incumbent Colette W. McEachin emerged victorious against a Democratic primary challenge from attorney Thomas P. Barbour Jr.
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School Board tensions rise
Richmond Schools Superintendent Dana T. Bedden wore an incredulous look when two members of the School Board tried to scuttle an agreement aimed at putting the city’s worst middle school, Fred D. Thompson, on the road to regaining accreditation.
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Words matter
Renter receives settlement from local landlord following racist, vulgar abuse and discrimination
Winter Whittaker knew what to do when the wealthy white real estate owner called her “a dumb a** n****r” and “a black b***h” after she repeatedly and fruitlessly asked him to fix the leaking roof and other serious problems with the Meadowbridge Road home she rented from him on North Side.
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Personality: Donté A. McCutchen
Spotlight on chairman of H.E.L.P.
Donté Antwon McCutchen travels the city seeking to engage in conversations on a highly sensitive topic most people want to ignore — sexually transmitted diseases.
