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Beyoncé shows out
Jay Z, Blue Ivy present her with award
The leading ladies of pop music, notably Beyoncé and Miley Cyrus, dominated the MTV Video Music Awards.
Grammy Award-winning singer Al Jarreau dies
LOS ANGELES Alwin Lopez “Al” Jarreau delighted music fans for nearly 50 years with his eclectic soulful, genre-blending style.
MLK’s initial leadership site gets preservation funding
As the Alabama church where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was elected to his first leadership position in the Civil Rights Movement marks its 155th anniversary, work has begun to make a museum out of the crumbling building where that vote was taken.
Eminem slams Trump in profane video, calls him racist
Eminem unleashed a profane lyrical tirade against President Donald Trump — saying he “came to stump” and taking aim at the president’s Twitter habits, policy, appearance and supporters.
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.
Legendary debate coach, Dr. Thomas F. Freeman Sr., dies at 100
Richmond native Thomas Franklin Freeman Sr. transformed historically black Texas Southern University into a national powerhouse in debate.
Ready or not, 2016 Olympics to open Friday
The 2016 Summer Olympics open Friday in Rio de Janeiro. But the typical opulence and spectacle of the opening ceremony will break from tradition. Organizers in Brazil will depart from the recent tradition of large-scale and expensive shows, and instead will feature a low-emissions cauldron and an “analogue” experience, executive producer Marco Balich said Monday.
Wilson resilient after heartbreaking loss in Super Bowl
Less than 36 inches separated former Richmonder Russell Wilson and his Seattle Seahawks teammates from their second consecutiveSuper Bowl title and talk of a dynasty. Anticipation was high that Seahawks coach Pete Carroll would call on bulldozing running back Marshawn Lynch to plow the ball into the end zone on second-and-goal with 26 seconds to play and one timeout left in Super Bowl XLIX. Already, in this game against the New England Patriots, Lynch had logged a total of 102 yards for the game, including an earlier touchdown.
Principal Joe Clark, who inspired film ‘Lean on me,’ dies
Joe Louis Clark, the baseball bat and bullhorn-wielding principal whose unwavering commitment to his students and uncompromising disciplinary methods inspired the 1989 film “Lean on Me,” died at his Florida home on Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2020, after a long battle with an unspecified illness, his family said. He was 82.
Ramadan observed amid hardships
Muslims around the world began observing Ramadan on Monday, Islam’s holy month during which believers abstain from eating and drinking during daylight hours.
Jazz saxophonist and composer Jimmy Heath dies at 93
Jimmy Heath, a Grammy-nominated jazz saxophonist and composer who performed with such greats as Miles Davis and John Coltrane before forming the popular family group The Heath Brothers in middle age, has died. He was 93.
Nonprofits to provide eye screenings, eyeglasses to RPS students
Students at Redd Elementary School in Richmond are the first to benefit from a new effort to ensure every city student who needs glasses has them.
Democratic AGs continue fight seeking recognition of ERA
Three Democratic attorneys general on Monday sought to persuade a federal appeals court to revive a lawsuit to force the federal government to recognize Virginia’s 2020 vote to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment and add it to the Constitution.
Don’t spend your stimulus check just yet
On hold. That’s the status of the $600 government checks and a host of other aid contained in the $900 billion coronavirus stimulus package Congress overwhelmingly approved Monday.
‘War Room,’ with black cast, sleeper Christian hit
The box office underwent a religious conversion last weekend as Christian crowds flocked to see “War Room,” lifting the low-budget salute to prayer above two other more highly publicized debut films — the Zac Efron drama “We’re Your Friends” and the Owen Wilson thriller “No Escape.”
Turmoil at EBONY and Essence magazines prompts changes at top
EBONY and Essence magazines are in trouble.
LGBT activists see had work ahead despite U.S. Supreme Court victory
LGBT rights activists are elated by a major U.S. Supreme Court victory on job discrimination, and hope the decision will spur action against other biases faced by their community despite Trump administration efforts to slow or reverse advances.
Texas church opens new sanctuary more than a year after massacre
A South Texas church began its next chapter of worship last Sunday as it unveiled a new sanctuary a year and a half after a gunman opened fire and killed more than two dozen congregants in the deadliest mass shooting in Texas history.
David C. Driskell, noted artist, art historian, curator and collector, dies at 88
David C. Driskell, one of the nation’s most influential African-American artists and a leading authority on black art, has died. He was 88.
Federal appeals court rules Trump travel ban unconstitutional
President Trump’s latest travel ban on travelers from six largely Muslim countries is “unconstitutionally tainted with animus toward Islam,” a federal appeals court ruled last week, delivering another blow to the policy. In a 9-4 vote, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond said on Feb. 15 that it examined statements made by President Trump and other administration officials, as well as the presidential proclamation imposing the ban, and concluded that it “second-guesses our nations dedication to religious freedom and tolerance.”
