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Song by local music minister up for Stellar Awards
James Johnson was aboard a plane last spring bound for a recording session with the Arkansas Gospel Mass Choir when inspiration struck. “I was looking out at the clouds, at his creation, and I was thinking about just how great God is,” he recalled. At that moment, Mr. Johnson, the minister of music at Richmond’s Cedar Street Baptist Church of God, wrote the verses and the end of the song, “You Alone.”
$3M civil suit filed against ABC agents
How much is Martese Johnson’s pain, suffering and bleeding worth? Mr. Johnson, now a fourth-year honors student at the University of Virginia, was slammed onto the pavement outside a Charlottesville pub last March by three agents from the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control who suspected him of trying to use a fake ID to enter.
Local music minister treasures experience at Stellar Awards
James Johnson did not win any Stellar Awards in Las Vegas last Saturday night, but he said it was an experience he will forever treasure. “I had an amazing time,” the minister of music at Cedar Street Baptist Church of God told the Free Press Monday after returning to Richmond. “The outpouring of phone calls, text messages and Facebook posts I received in support from everyone back home in Richmond made me feel like nothing less than a winner.”
A song and a prayer
Musician starts campaign linking prayer and healing
One year after he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, James Johnson Jr., the minister of music at Cedar Street Baptist Church of God in the East End, is releasing a song and initiating a national prayer campaign. Both are called “Agree.”
Seek solutions to today’s problems in working to realize Dr. King’s dream
“I came to help keep his memory and his dream alive. This is the least I can do after what he did for us,” said Barbara Moon after attending the 38th Annual Mass Meeting on Monday that honored the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The retired Richmond Public Schools teacher was among a few hundred people who braved sub-freezing temperatures to attend the inspiring community gathering at Cedar Street Baptist Church of God in the East End on the national holiday honoring Dr. King.
Diversity efforts lead to key appointments at U. Va.
The endeavors go to hiring, as well as representation on key university boards and committees.
Gospel singer, songwriter plans nonprofit to help women returning from incarceration
Rhonda Aiden knows the obstacles many women experience when they are released from incarceration back into society. “It’s an overwhelming feeling,” said Ms. Aiden. The 44-year-old South Side resident said she spent a total of five years behind bars in three separate stints for writing bad checks, beginning in 2003. Her last time was from 2011 to 2012 at Deerfield Correctional Center in Southampton County.
Fan Appreciation Day attracts 7,130 people
But numbers show interest in Washington camp declining
The Washington professional football team’s training camp in Richmond appears to be losing public interest as fast as a slow-footed quarterback loses ground behind a porous offensive line. The camp averaged about 5,800 fans each day, compared to more than 11,000 each day last summer. And Saturday’s Fan Appreciation Day attracted just 7,130 fans, down from last year’s 20,477.
Petersburg man holds memories from Selma march
As people across the nation flocked to the movies to watch “Selma,” 80-year-old Petersburg native Herbert V. Coulton Sr. already knew the story — because he was there.
What’s in a name?
School Board entertains names for new middle school
Southside Middle School. Benjamin Banneker Middle School. Barack Obama Middle School. Those are just a few of the suggested names for a “new” middle school in Richmond.
3 VUU legends to be inducted into CIAA Hall of Fame
Three Virginia Union University luminaries will be inducted into the CIAA John B. McLen- don Jr. Hall of Fame. They are Dr. Allix B. James, president emeritus of VUU; James Battle, former VUU athletic director; and former Panthers basketball star Ben Wallace. They will be inducted into the Hall of Fame along with six others during the CIAA Tournament in Charlotte during a ceremony 9 a.m. Friday, Feb. 27, at the Charlotte Convention Center.
Leonard W. Lambert, longtime Richmond lawyer, dies at 77
“My mother said it was important to be educated and give something back to the church and to the community.” Leonard W. Lambert Sr. told the Free Press those were the life lessons his mother, Mary Frances Warden Lambert, taught him and his six siblings long before her death in August 2014.
Martin ends historic tenure as U.Va. rector
As George Keith Martin nears the end of his historic tenure as rector of the University of Virginia Board of Visitors, he is reflecting on his efforts and those of the board to broaden diversity at the Charlottesville school.
Selma march inspires Richmonder
Rita Willis said she was overcome with emotion when she reached the top of the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., late Sunday afternoon. “I just broke down and cried,” the 65-year-old Henrico County resident said. Ms. Willis was among the tens of thousands of people from across the nation — including President Obama, his family, dignitaries and foot soldiers from the time — who assembled in Selma last weekend to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the “Bloody
NFL quarterback Russell Wilson gets hometown welcome
Seattle Seahawks All-Pro quarterback Russell Wilson scored a touchdown with a hometown crowd of 4,500 people at the Richmond Forum, where he was the special guest and speaker Saturday night at the Altria Theatre.
Frustration growing
City Council offers amendments to add millions of dollars to RPS while School Board approves cost-cutting measures
Community members are becoming increasingly angry and concerned about the future of Richmond Public Schools, especially after the Richmond School Board voted Monday to cut costs by shutting down two North Side buildings and implementing a new bus transportation system in the fall of 2016 that will make it more difficult for some students to get to their schools.
