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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.
Rev. Joseph Lowery, head of SCLC and dean of civil rights veterans, dies at 98
The Rev. Joseph E. Lowery fought to end segregation, lived to see the election of the country’s first African-American president and echoed the call for “justice to roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream” in America.
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.
Pandemic forcing Black morticians to bury their own in profession
When the last mourners departed and funeral director Shawn Troy was left among the headstones, he wept alone.
Toni Morrison, who transformed American literature to win Nobel and Pulitzer prizes, dies at 88
Nobel laureate Toni Morrison, a pioneer and reigning giant of modern literature whose imaginative power in “Beloved,” “Song of Solomon” and other works transformed American letters by dramatizing the pursuit of freedom within the boundaries of race, has died at age 88.
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.
Commencement 2023
VCU, VUU, VSU graduates celebrate diligence, hard work and promising futures
Mo Alie-Cox, who constantly brought excitement to Virginia Commonwealth University as a standout basketball player, brought that same energy during VCU’s graduation ceremonies on Saturday at the Greater Richmond Convention Center.
Judge Damon J. Keith, civil rights and judicial icon, dies at 96
U.S. Appeals Court Judge Damon J. Keith, who decided many of the nation’s most important school desegregation, employment discrimination and government surveillance cases during his more than 50 years on the federal bench, died Sunday, April 28, 2019, at his home in Detroit surrounded by family.
VMI superintendent resigns after probe ordered of ‘ongoing structural racism’
The superintendent of Virginia Military Institute resigned Mon- day, a week after Gov. Ralph S. Northam and other state officials ordered an investigation into what they characterized as a culture of “ongoing structural racism” at the college.
VMI appoints Black interim superintendent amid shakeup
The Virginia Military Institute has selected a retired U.S. Army major general to serve as its interim superintendent amid a leadership shakeup that followed a newspaper article describing allegations of persistent racism at the school.
