All results / Stories / Free Press staff report
Ebony and Jet archives transferred to Smithsonian and Getty Research Institute
More than 4 million photos from Ebony and Jet magazine that captured African-American life, history and culture in the 20th century are now the property of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Pharrell to NSU grads: ‘You have the ability to create the city, life that you deserve’
NORFOLK Grammy Award-winning musician Pharrell Williams told the newest graduates of Norfolk State University on Saturday to act like “the emerging majority” and help develop the area’s businesses and culture.
‘Black Panther’ pounces on box office
“Black Panther,” the Disney and Marvel Studios’ epic superhero film featuring a largely African-American cast and director, is blowing away audiences and box offices, raking in record amounts from its opening weekend while gaining praise from former First Lady Michelle Obama.
That’s the ticket
Hillary Clinton shatters glass ceiling with historic presidential nod
Hillary Rodham Clinton swept into history Tuesday as Democrats, eager to present a face of unity to a national television audience, chose her to be the party’s standard-bearer in the Nov. 8 presidential election.
Sister of man killed by police enters governor’s race
The sister of Marcus-David Peters, who was shot and killed by a Richmond Police officer in 2018 during what has been described as a mental health crisis, has formally announced her candidacy for Virginia’s gubernatorial race.
Justice Goodwyn to become second Black chief justice of Virginia Supreme Court
Virginia will soon have its second Black chief justice of the state Supreme Court.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, lion of anti-apartheid movement, dies at 90
Mourners held a candlelight prayer ceremony outside the Soweto home of the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu on Wednesday, weeping over the memory not only of a world-renowned lion of the anti-apartheid movement but of a kind and loyal neighbor.
What’s in a kiss? Wilder accused of sexual impropriety by VCU student
Aging political lion L. Douglas Wilder allegedly propositioned a Virginia Commonwealth University student who was young enough to be his great-granddaughter and has ended up receiving what amounts to an embarrassing and highly public slap from the young woman.
Japan’s ‘bolt’ turns heads, wins silver
Japan’s 4x100 relay team brought a “bolt” of it’s own to the 2016 Olympics in the form of “Aska” Cambridge.
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.
Grief unifies nation
Richmond mourns in solidarity following Orlando massacre
In what has become all too common, several Richmond churches and community groups gathered this week to hold vigils and pray for victims of gun violence. This time, the songs of solace and tears of despair were for the slaughter unleashed Sunday morning when 29-year-old gunman Omar Mateen killed 49 people and wounded 53 others at an Orlando, Fla., nightclub frequented by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender patrons.
Independent review slated of Charlottesville events
More than 200 clergy, activists and citizens began a 10-day march this week from Emancipation Park in Charlottesville to Washington in a public show of resistance to the white supremacists who brought violence and death to the city earlier this month.
Va. Senate moving against GOP Sen. Amanda Chase
The state Senate is lowering the hammer on GOP Sen. Amada Chase of Chesterfield for speaking and whipping up the crowd at a pro-Trump rally in Washington on Jan. 6 before the mob stormed the U.S. Capitol.
Morehouse College grad named new interim president
Harold Martin Jr., a 2002 Morehouse College graduate and secretary of its Board of Trustees, has been named interim president of the all-male institution that is celebrating its 150th anniversary. The board announced the selection of Mr. Martin on June 26. He replaces William J. “Bill” Taggart, who died in June from an aneurysm.
Charlottesville City Council votes to sell Lee statue
Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee has taken one more step toward leaving the city of Charlottesville. Despite a pending court case, the Charlottesville City Council voted 3-2 Monday to sell the city’s statue of the Confederate general which now stands in the center of the city.
Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker, civil rights icon, chief of staff to Dr. King, dies in Chester
Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker Jr. did all he could to advance civil rights during his long life. He is credited with being the key strategist behind many of the civil rights protests that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led in seeking to end the racial injustice of Jim Crow in the 1960s.
Howard University renames school for Cathy Hughes
Howard University has renamed its School of Communications the Cathy Hughes School of Communications, after the founder of Radio One Inc., the largest African-American owned multimedia company in the United States. Dr. Wayne A.I. Frederick, president of Howard University, announced in early October a multimillion-dollar gift to the communications school from the Catherine L. Hughes and Alfred C. Liggins III Foundation.
Hair care products founder Joe Dudley dies
Joe Louis Dudley, who rose from humble beginnings and overcame a speech impediment to create a multimillion-dollar, Black-owned hair care company, died Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, at age 86. Funeral services were Monday, Feb. 19, at Mount Zion Baptist Church in Greensboro, N.C.
Decision removes guns from domestic abusers convicted of misdemeanors
The U.S. Supreme Court expanded protection for victims of domestic violence Monday by ruling that every misdemeanor conviction for domestic violence triggers the loss of gun ownership rights. The justices, in a 6-2 ruling issued amid fierce debate about reducing firearms violence in America, rejected arguments that a federal gun ownership prohibition should apply only to knowing or intentional conduct, but not to impulsive or reckless conduct.
Lt. Gov. Fairfax compares ‘rush to judgment’ against him to Jim Crow-era lynching
With his political career in tatters, embattled Democratic Lt. Gov. Justin E. Fairfax took a stand against his critics in the final moments of the 2019 General Assembly session.
