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Passion, purpose drive Diversity Richmond’s new CEO
When Diversity Richmond, parent of the city’s popular Diversity Thrift, was searching for a new executive director, the Rev. Lacette Cross wasn’t sure about throwing her hat in the ring. But, being “a good Baptist,” she looked to a higher power for answers. She also got some nudging from friends and colleagues. In the end, she decided to apply.
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Reapply
Most of City’s HR employees’ jobs no longer guaranteed - ‘We’ve been told our department is the heartbeat of City Hall, but we’ve been left in the dark’
Richmond continues to struggle to fill vacant positions in multiple City Hall departments, ranging from police to finance. The situation could soon be more difficult as the city’s key recruiting and employee services department, Human Resources, undergoes upheaval.
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A race to the finish
4th Congressional District voters will choose McClellan or Benjamin on Feb. 21
Jennifer L. McClellan’s campaign to become the first Black woman to represent Virginia in Congress will culminate next week in a special election she is heavily favored to win — and most aptly during Black History Month.
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White supremacist gets life in prison for Buffalo massacre
A white supremacist who killed 10 Black people at a Buffalo supermarket was sentenced to life in prison without parole Wednesday after relatives of his victims confronted him with pain and rage caused by his racist attack.
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William L. Prentiss Jr., local and regional band director, musician and educator, dies at 58
William Leon “BB” Prentiss Jr., who molded thousands of student musicians as the director of high school marching bands in Richmond, Chesterfield County, Norfolk and four other localities, has died.
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Personality: Teresa Cole
Spotlight on Fonticello Park Friends board president
As a child growing up in the 1980s, Teresa Cole was a “latchkey kid” who played outside a lot.
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From Henrico to Kentucky
Born to compete, Jada Walker’s unafraid to take the ball
Jada Walker is an honest, law-abiding young woman until she gets on the basketball court. She then turns into a woman of steal.
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What is Black History Month in a white Christian nation?
Just in time for Black History Month, the Public Religion Research Institute and the Brookings Institution have released a fascinating new survey about Christian nationalism that points to the ways that stories about race in American history get told and why these stories matter.
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Pregnant Rihanna soars in Super Bowl halftime performance
Rihanna was above it all. And pregnant to boot.
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VUU’s tower sign stays; scooter rentals advance
Virginia Union University can keep its logo shining at night from the top of a historic 60- foot tower on its campus.
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City’s annual financial report shows $35 million surplus
City Hall has completed its annual financial report, although it comes three months behind schedule and the first to come in late since 2016.
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Proposed GreenCity arena aims to be ‘greenest in America’
GreenCity Partners and ASM Global announced on Monday an agreement to develop and operate a proposed 17,000-seat GreenCity Arena in Henrico County.
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Enrichmond’s remaining assets headed for receivership, sources say
A deal that could resolve issues related to the collapsed Enrichmond Foundation is in the works, the Free Press has learned.
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Fitness DAWGS help kids ‘Eat Better, Move More and Learn’
Fun and friendship are what the Fitness DAWGS are all about. What started as an idea has grown into a series of children’s books, a TV show and a curriculum program designed around fitness and wellness for elementary students.
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A force for change
It’s not too unusual these days to read about young people who, rather than sit on the sidelines doing little to enact economic, political or social change, devote much of their lives to serving the public.
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Black resistance to ignorance, by Julianne Malveaux
Each year the Association for the Study of African American Life and History sets a theme for Black History Month. This year the theme is Black Resistance. It is appropriate for a time such as this because it reflects the work we must do in a climate where there has been active retrenchment of our rights.
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Economic inequality places most risk for eviction on Black people, poor, by Charlene Crowell
For the first time in more than two decades of research, every state now has renters who are nearing a financial breaking point in housing affordability. New research released by Har- vard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS), and Moody’s Analytics independently reach the same conclusion: Consumers are struggling with a growing percentage of their incomes going toward keeping a roof over their heads.
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Recent Free Press article ‘was not a forum for litigation or absolution’
In my conversations with Mr. Jeremy Lazarus that resulted in the Jan. 26-28 edition of the Richmond Free Press article, “It’s Complicated,” I believe that I was clear in stating that I became an Enrichmond board member in October of 2017.
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Clarence Thomas statue backed by Republicans in Georgia
Republican Georgia lawmakers are again trying to erect a statue of U.S. Supreme Court Justice and Georgia native Clarence Thomas on the State Capitol grounds in Atlanta, in what many Democrats, particularly Black ones, see as an insensitive display of partisan power.

