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State executioner who turned against the death penalty dies at 67
For 17 years, Jerry Bronson Givens carried out death sentences as Virginia’s chief executioner. The Richmond native then spent the rest of his life crusading against the death penalty.
Olympian and activist Lee Evans, who took iconic stand at 1968 Mexico City Games, dies at 74
Lee Evans, the record-setting sprinter who wore a black beret in a sign of protest at the 1968 Summer Olympics and then went on to a life of humanitarian work in support of social justice, died Wednesday, May 19, 2021, at age 74.
Trump inaugurated amid hail of protests
Republican Donald J. Trump launched his presidency with a blunt inaugural address, a fist pump and promises to give power to the people and put “America first.”
Obamas to deliver commencement addresses
Yes, they will! Former President Obama and his wife, former First Lady Michelle Obama, will salute the Class of 2020 in two separate virtual graduation ceremonies replacing the traditional end of high school and college.
U.S. Supreme Court decisions change church-state separation, allow partial Muslim ban
The First Amendment guarantee of religious freedom has barred the government from meddling with or taxing churches and other faith-based institutions. In exchange, religious institutions generally have not been entitled to receive taxpayer funding. No more.
Oprah for president?
That’s the buzz since the 63-year-old media mogul stole the show at the Golden Globe Awards on Sunday night with her speech accepting the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement.
A battle supreme
Dems, civil rights groups and others gearing up for confirmation fight over U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh
To President Trump, he’s “a judge’s judge” and “a brilliant legal mind” who deserves swift confirmation.
Thomas F. “Tom” Farrell II, Dominion Energy CEO, dies day after he retires
Thomas F. “Tom” Farrell II, who led Dominion Energy for more than a decade and was a powerful force in Virginia business and politics, died Friday, April 2, 2021, one day after stepping down from his post as the company’s executive chairman. He was 66.
Former FBI director James Comey at Howard University
James Comey, the FBI director fired by President Trump in May, has a new job. He will lead and conduct a series of lectures at Howard University and be the keynote speaker at the university’s opening convocation Friday, Sept. 22.
Ferguson police created ‘toxic environment’
Federal probe reveals racial bias, injustices aimed at African-Americans; cop cleared in death of Michael Brown
WASHINGTON A U.S. Justice Department investigation found sweeping patterns of racial bias within the Ferguson, Mo., police department that targeted African-Americans and created a “toxic environment,” with officers routinely using excessive force, issuing petty citations and making baseless traffic stops against them. But even in the face of a plethora of problems, the federal probe cleared a former white police officer in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager there, Attorney General Eric Holder said Wednesday.
Payback? Questions raised about charges against Sen. Lucas
State Sen. Louise Lucas of Portsmouth, a key power broker and one of the highest ranking African-Americans in the General Assembly, has been charged with conspiracy to damage a Confederate monument during protests in Portsmouth that also led to a demonstrator being critically injured when the statue was knocked down.
Former U.S. Sen. John Warner dies at 94
Flags are flying at half-staff over the nation’s capital in honor of former U.S. Sen. John W. Warner of Virginia who died Tuesday, May 25, 2021, at age 94.
Bennett College meets fundraising goal
Bennett College, a historically black all-women’s college in North Carolina that was facing loss of accreditation and possible closure because of financial problems, has exceeded its $5 million fundraising goal.
History maker
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is the first Black woman to be nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court. If confirmed, she would be only the third Black justice to serve on the nation’s highest court.
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on Wednesday took her first steps on her history-making journey to a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Trump refuses to hold official White House portrait unveiling for President Obama
President Trump is showing his true colors again.
W&M dedicates memorial to those who were enslaved by the university
William & Mary, the nation’s second oldest institution of higher education, dedicated a brick memorial last Saturday that honors people who were enslaved by the university.
Judge Barrett’s confirmation to U.S. Supreme Court expected to sail through Senate
Anti-abortion Judge Amy Coney Barrett is on her way to a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Arthur Ashe’s life story coming to the big screen
The life of legendary tennis great and local hometown hero Arthur Ashe Jr. will be told in a film by an Oscar-winning writer and an Indian movie producer and former international tennis competitor who once played Mr. Ashe and lost.
Abortion battle erupts with leaded U.S. Supreme Court draft opinion
America’s decades-old battle over abortion rights exploded anew on Tuesday as the U.S. Supreme Court authenticated a draft opinion leaked to the news outlet Politico that signaled the court will soon overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide.
Cary C. Mitchell, clothing designer to athletes and a Richmond legacy sports backer, dies at 62
Top Black athletes found their way to Richmond native Cary C. Mitchell when they wanted to look their best.
