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Lonnie G. Bunch III named to head entire Smithsonian Institution
When Lonnie G. Bunch III started working on the Smithsonian’s first African-American museum, he had no collection, no building and one employee.
KKK in Charlottesville outnumbered
Klan rally draws more than 1,000 counterprotesters
More than 1,000 people turned out to shout down a group of Ku Klux Klan members last Saturday at a Charlottesville park where a few dozen hate group members and supporters waving Confederate flags and signs with anti-Semitic messages held a rally.
Dr. George T. Walker, composer, music educator and Pulitzer Prize winner, dies at 96
George Theophilus Walker was long ranked among the top American composers of modern classical music.
Sidney Poitier suffered from multiple health problems
Academy Award-winning actor Sidney Poitier, who died Jan. 6 at his home in Beverly Hills, Calif., at age 94, suffered from several health issues, according to information listed in his death certificate that was obtained Tuesday by TMZ and several other media outlets.
First wave of Afghan evacuees arrive at Fort Lee
It has been nearly two weeks since the first flight evacuating Afghans who worked alongside Americans in Afghanistan brought more than 200 people, including scores of children and babies in arms, to resettlement in the United States, and officials at Fort Lee are calling the operation a success so far.
Delta Air Lines snubs black women physicians
When Tamika Cross tried to help another passenger in distress on a recent Delta Air Lines flight, she said she was dismissed by a flight attendant who doubted that the black woman was actually a physician. Dr. Cross, an OB-GYN based in Houston, chronicled the incident on Facebook on Oct. 9. The post has since gone viral, with more than 15,000 comments, and sparked the Twitter hashtag #whatadoctorlookslike.
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.
Tennis champion Naomi Osaka brings racial justice to her Grand Slam win
Naomi Osaka capped a transformative U.S. Open by winning her third Grand Slam title and challenging millions of people watching across the globe last Saturday to “start talking” about racial justice.
Stoney demands DOJ investigation
Richmond Mayor Levar M. Stoney doesn’t believe that a “coding error” is the reason 3,400 voters were removed from Virginia’s voter rolls, as stated by Gov. Glenn A. Youngkin last week.
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.
Richmonder debuts his film June 22
While growing up in Richmond, Jai Jamison knew that he wanted to be a film director. Next week, the 30-year-old’s award-winning feature film, “Tri,” will premiere in Richmond. The film, chronicling the efforts of two female triathletes, will be shown 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 22, at Bow Tie Cinemas, 1310 N. Boulevard.
City Council authorizes mayor to accept Lee monument and land from state
The traffic circle at Monument and Allen avenues where the giant monument to Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee once stood will soon belong to the City of Richmond.
Historic church in Detroit placed on National Register
A Detroit Baptist church with a history of civil rights activism has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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.
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.
Trump refuses to hold official White House portrait unveiling for President Obama
President Trump is showing his true colors again.
NASA pioneer Katherine Johnson takes her place among the stars
Three African-American astronauts joined hundreds of other mourners Saturday, March 7, at a funeral service for trailblazing mathematician and NASA pioneer Katherine G. Johnson.
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.
Magic moment
U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris of California, daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, is first Black woman chosen as running mate by a major party’s presidential candidate
For the first time, a Black woman will be on a major party’s presidential ticket.