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Richmond native successfully pitches at Black Ambition
For Leslie Winston III, it was a case of the third time is the charm when his company, Monocle, was named HBCU Grand Prize Winner at the 3rd Annual Black Ambition Demo Day on Nov. 9 at Spring Studios in New York.
Conducting the future: Burrs holds the baton at UR, Petersburg
Naima Burrs grew up surrounded by music. The Richmond native’s mother is renowned soprano Lisa Edwards-Burrs. Her father, Stacy L. Burrs, is a former CEO of the Black History Museum and Cultural Center, a former director of Venture Richmond and a jazz aficionado.
Tre. Charles brings his gospel, neo-soul sound to RVA East End Festival
Tre. Charles considers music as an emotional outlet — almost a cathartic release. His recently released debut single “Stressin” evokes the isolation many have felt during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the album he is working on has male vulnerability, especially Black male vulnerability, as one of its themes.
‘Removing obstacles to growth’
VUU’s plan for $42M investment includes new housing, but not historic hospital
President Hakim J. Lucas used Virginia Union University’s Founders Day celebrations to announce a partnership with a New York-based development and investment firm to build affordable housing along Brook and Overbrook roads. The Steinbridge Group has committed $42 million to build 130 to 200 residences on the northern edge of VUU’s campus. During the Feb. 2 press conference, the group’s founder and CEO, Tawan Davis, said his firm had worked with business- man and philanthropist Robert F. Smith’s Student Freedom Initiative (SFI) to select VUU as the first HBCU to receive an investment as part of its $100 million initiative announced in November 2023. Its aim is to help HBCUs and other minority-serving institu- tions make underutilized assets economically productive, thereby diversifying their revenue streams and improving their financial situations and endowments. Mr. Davis estimated that Steinbridge’s investment in VUU will increase the university’s endowment 13% to 18%, as well as providing the school cash income 3.5 to 5.5 times greater than what would have resulted from the sale of the land in to- day’s market. He noted that while a significant number of Black professionals emerge from the HBCU system, the schools are funded 30% less than their counterparts and that the collective endowments of all HBCUs is less than the smallest Ivy League endowment. Dr. W. Franklyn Richardson, VUU’s board chair, said this project was a demonstration of thinking creatively about remov- ing the obstacles to growth.
Black Tennis Hall of Fame serves up 2023 inductees
Despite a rainy arrival, some 75 to 80 people were in attendance to celebrate the induction of the 2023 class of inductees to the Black Tennis Hall of Fame (BTHOF) at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture on Saturday, Sept. 23. The evening’s keynote speaker was 1996 Wimbledon runner-up MaliVai Washington
Jean Allen Eggleston remembered for her substance and style
Jean Allen Eggleston, a lifelong Richmonder, died on Monday, May 1, 2023, at the age of 89. She will be remembered as loving and supportive to her family, a loyal friend, a kind teacher and a fashionista.
‘Human suffering involved,’ says business owner
City Council passes steps to address meals tax concerns and homelessness
Among the ordinances unanimously passed by Richmond City Council on Monday was one that would change how the Finance Department collects and applies meals tax payments.
No comment unless we know what you’re talking about
Resolution changes how residents address City Council
Council members unanimously passed a resolution Monday night that will mean changes to its meeting rules and procedures — including some related to public comment.
2024 State of the City
Mayor Levar Stoney points to Richmond’s bright future
Mayor Levar M. Stoney used his final State of the City address to reflect on his administration’s accomplishments over the past seven years, while also signaling Richmond’s bright future.
Black Therapy Expo and mental health
As a teenager, Brittany Rush struggled significantly with her mental health. Her family did their best with their knowledge of the disease, but didn’t always talk openly together or understand how to obtain resources for Ms. Rush.
Library of Virginia’s preservation of historic Jackson Ward’s ‘shining star’ collection that tells multiple stories
Library of Virginia administrators and staff were “over the moon” when asked to preserve the documents and memorabilia of the late Roland J. “Duke” Ealey, said John Metz, deputy director of collections and programs.
Next chapter
Sandra G. Treadway retires as Virginia’s state librarian
When Dr. Sandra Gioia Treadway started working as an associate editor of publications for the Library of Virginia in 1978, she recalls the time being such “a different world back then. It’s hard to imagine what it was like.”
Maggie Walker’s 159th birthday comes to life
Richmond community members enjoyed a glimpse into the past during celebrations for Maggie L. Walker’s 159th Birthday at Third Street Bethel AME Church and her national historic site in Jackson Ward on July 15.
Artist talks coming to 2 local museums
Visitors to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) have until Sept. 10 to see two exhibitions that share a connection to Richmond before they come to an end — “Benjamin Wigfall and Communications Village” and “Whitfield Lovell: Passages.”
Black women benefit from more mind, body, spirit practices
Khepera Sankara was at rock bottom when she attended her first yoga class in 2013. It was an Ashtanga class taught by yoga teacher Robbie Norris as part of a program that brought yoga to the Richmond City Jail, where Ms. Sankara was incarcerated for shoplifting. “It was a godsend,” she said in a recent phone interview. “I found it so profoundly transformational. Just the physical practice helped change my
Art meets dance in Carpenter Theatre ballet
Expect to see art in a whole new way when the James River Valley Chapter of The Links brings Columbia City Ballet’s “Off the Wall and Onto the Stage: Dancing the Art of Jonathan Green” to Richmond’s Carpenter Theatre at Dominion Energy Center on March 10.
Park dedication provides lasting legacy for Markiya Dickson
For Ciara Dickson and Mark Whitfield Sr., Saturday, May 20, was filled with mixed emotions. They were in Fonticello Park for the dedication of the Markiya Dickson Imagination Zone, which recently was installed in honor of their deceased daughter.
How Richmond Ballet’s Garret McNally found his footing
Garret McNally has been dancing since age 3 when his mother put him into dance as an outlet for his energy.
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.
‘Walk Through Fire’
Sheila Johnson’s memoir explores love, loss and triumph
For four days and three nights in mid-August, Sheila Crump Johnson, cofounder of Black Entertainment Television and CEO of Salamander Hotels & Resorts, hosted hundreds of guests at her 340-acre Salamander Resort and Spa near Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains.