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Our dollars as a form of resistance, by Julianne Malveaux
Our nation’s gross domestic product, or GDP, is a function of consumer spending. We are prodded, cajoled, enticed and engaged in the spending exercise, and all that happens because money makes the world go round.
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Young people and vaping
Nearly half a million people die every year from complications from smoking. About a tenth of them never put a cigarette to their lips; they die from exposure to second-hand smoke.
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Each generation offers something
Whether it is in an inner-city neighborhood across America, the Caribbean, in Europe or in a sprawling mass of people in an African or Brazilian urban area, millions of black youths throughout the world are crying out for a better quality of life. They should always have a better life than their parents. I always try to keep my eyes and ears open to see and hear what our youths are saying and doing. The axiom that the future is in the hands of the young is certainly true today. I admire and support young people who stand up and speak out for freedom and equal justice.
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A cue from Frederick Douglass
As our nation prepares for its annual celebration of Independence Day, I re-read Frederick Douglass’ Fourth of July speech delivered 163 years ago in Rochester, N.Y. I look at it with a specific eye toward what we can learn from it in the wake of the recent tragedies of Charleston and North Charleston, S.C.; Cleveland; New York City; Ferguson, Mo; and Sanford, Fla. Frederick Douglass observed, “Oppression makes a wise man mad. With brave men there is always a remedy for oppression…The freedom gained is yours; and you, therefore, may properly celebrate this anniversary. The 4th of July is the first great fact in your nation’s history—the very ringbolt in the chain of your yet undeveloped destiny…Pride and patriotism, not less than gratitude, prompt you to celebrate and to hold it in perpetual remembrance.
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VCU professor files suit alleging ‘pattern and practice’ of sexual harassment by colleague
Virginia Commonwealth University is being accused of turning a blind eye for decades to complaints of sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation involving a top clinical psychologist in its medical school, Dr. Jeffrey S. Kreutzer.
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Death penalty too good for Roof
Dylann Roof, the unrepentant racist who killed nine people at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C., is — no question — a monster. He prayed with people before reciting racist cants and annihilating people. After his heinous acts, it was discovered that he was a rabid racist who had wrapped himself in the Confederate flag. Does he deserve the death penalty? No.
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Bad seed, bad fruit
We hope that Tuesday’s courtroom dramas in New York and Northern Virginia opened the eyes of those who blindly back President Trump and will push Republicans in Congress out of their tacit support for a fascist who is destroying our country.
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Dr. Patricia Bath, whose patents advanced cataract treatment, dies at 76
Dr. Patricia Bath, a pioneering ophthalmologist who became the first African-American female doctor to receive a medical patent after she invented a more precise treatment of cataracts, has died. She was 76.
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No blind eye
The 2016 film “Birth of a Nation” was released in a storm of controversy unrelated to the film itself. Whatever your opinion of the film or its maker, one cannot deny the relevance of the film as a medium of historical instruction and a study of human behavior.
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Dr. Edith Irby Jones, first female president of the National Medical Association, dies at 91
Dr. Edith Irby Jones, one of the first African-American students to enroll at an all-white medical school in the South and later the first female president of the National Medical Association, has died.
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Personality: Rita H. Willis
Spotlight on founder of New Shoes For Back To School
Rita Hayes Willis reflects back to when she was a child eagerly leaving for her first day of school each year. She was properly outfitted from head to toe. “There is something about a new pair of shoes for the first day of school,” she recalls.
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The latest stunt
We are living in dangerous times. The bigots in the White House have launched a federal Justice Department study of anti-white bias in college admissions. The New York Times reported Tuesday that the Trump administration plans to redirect the civil rights division’s efforts toward investigating and suing universities over admission policies believed to discriminate against white people. What????
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Free community testing for COVID-19 continues
The Richmond and Henrico County health districts are offering testing at the following locations:
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32nd Annual 2nd Street Festival goes virtual Oct. 3 and 4
The 32nd Annual 2nd Street Festival in Jackson Ward will have a twist this year because of the coronavirus pandemic. Instead of thousands of people flocking to the Downtown neighborhood to enjoy the history, music, food and art, events will take place virtually.
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Free community testing for COVID-19 continues
The Richmond and Henrico County health districts are offering testing at the following locations:
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Free community testing for COVID-19 continues
The Richmond and Henrico County health districts are offering testing at the following locations:
Story

Free community testing for COVID-19 continues
The Richmond and Henrico County health districts are offering testing at the following locations:
Story

Richmond favorites to return for 2024
Riverfront Canal Cruises will kick off their 24th season on Friday, April 5, offering historically narrated tours of the James River and Kanawha Canal. Traveling along Downtown Richmond’s historic Canal Walk, passengers will learn about Richmond’s history and see sights such as the Virginia Capital Trail, the Low Line gardens and James River wildlife. Tours depart on the hour from the canal’s Turning Basin at 139 Virginia St. and will operate between April and November. Tickets are sold on a first come, first served basis at the Turning Basin’s ticket kiosk, and online up to 18 hours in advance. Private charters also are available. Venture Richmond Events also has announced save the dates for two popular fall festivals. The Richmond Folk Festival, in partnership with the National Council for the Traditional Arts and the City of Richmond, will happen along Downtown Richmond’s riverfront a little early this year. By celebrating its 20th anniversary Sep. 27-29, the festival will avoid falling on the Jewish High Holiday of Yom Kippur. It will return to its annual October weekend next year. This year, the 2nd Street Festival, in partnership with the City of Richmond, will mark its 36th year. The free annual festival celebrating the rich culture of Downtown Richmond’s historic Jackson Ward neighborhood, once known as “the Harlem of the South,” will take place Oct. 5-6. The two-day event features three stages of live music and entertainment, a kids area, food vendors, shopping and the Richmond Metropolitan Antique Car Club. Grammy Award-winning hip-hop group Arrested Development will headline the festival on Saturday, Oct. 5, and Richmond vocalist and festival veteran Desiree Roots will close out the festival as the headliner on Sunday, Oct. 6.
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School supplies, show giveaways start for ‘back to school’
As Richmond area students prepare for virtual learning this semester, they still will need school supplies and other items as online classes begin Tuesday, Sept. 8.
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33rd Annual 2nd Street Festival returns Oct. 2 and 3 in Jackson Ward
The annual 2nd Street Festival, Richmond’s free fall music and cultural festival celebrating Jackson Ward, returns this weekend after going virtual last year because of COVID-19.