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Al Sharpton’s organizes picket outside offices of Claudine Gay’s attacker
‘We’ll make ourselves at home outside his office’ says NAN leader
Rev. Al Sharpton, founder and president of the National Action Network (NAN), who last month stood by former Harvard President Claudine Gay as she came under relentless attacks from hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman, will add another layer to his support of her on Thursday.
Trump uses Black people to defend him at RNC
President Trump has aggressively asserted control over the Republican National Convention, a four-day event that started Monday and featured African-Americans defending the president’s history of racist rhetoric and actions. Former NFL star Herschel Walker, speaking on the opening night, defended President Trump, whom he called a “personal friend,” and said he isn’t a racist.
Personality: James A. McCain
Spotlight on Richmond Firefighter of the Year
James A. McCain says being a firefighter with the Richmond Department of Fire and Emergency Services is a dream come true. “I wanted to become a physical therapist when I graduated from Hampton University in 2003,” he recalls. “But I had a dream one day that I was a firefighter. It was so vivid and so real,” he adds. “I took that as a calling that I was supposed to become a firefighter.”
Morrissey announces Senate bid as G.A. officials close his House office
Joseph D. “Joe” Morrissey once again is injecting drama into staid Virginia politics. In a fresh twist to his political career, the combative legislator quit the House of Delegates this week to begin his quest to replace incumbent Rosalyn R. Dance of Petersburg in the state Senate. His move comes barely two months after he defied Democratic and Republican House leaders and won a special election as an independent to keep his seat in the 74th House District after being convicted of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a misdemeanor. That conviction forced him to commute to the legislature from jail on work release, the first Virginia delegate ever to do so.
Prospects dim on third city charter school
Plenty of words are expected to be spilled next week when supporters and foes of a proposed boys-only charter school appear before the Richmond School Board to speak about the combination middle-high school. But the public hearing that the Richmond School Board has scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, March 16, could be an exercise in futility for charter school organizers such as Tunya Bingham, a corporate tax expert who has spent three years trying to get the Metropolitan Preparatory Academy open.
Police Chief Alfred Durham responds: ‘We are the community and the community is us’
As I meet with members of the community, our conversations often turn to the relationship between the police and the community in light of the recent high-profile, police-involved shootings that have occurred in other states. It is an understandably emotional topic of conversation that arises from our mutual desire to ensure these types of incidents do not undermine the great strides we have made here in Richmond.
Personality: Jerome Legions Jr.
Spotlight on board president of the Richmond Crusade for Voters
Jerome Legions Jr. hopes to bring new energy to one of Richmond’s oldest civic and civil rights groups in the new year.
VSU knocked out of bid for NCAA football playoffs
You win some. You lose some. And sometimes you just scratch your head. Virginia State University hoped it had made the field for the NCAA Division II Region 2 football playoffs. But Coach Reggie Barlow’s Trojans never saw Miles College coming.
College presidents on antisemitism, by Annie Ma
Over five hours at a con- gressional hearing, lawmakers pressed the presidents of Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania and MIT on the topic of anti- semitism. In some instances, they were unable to say whether calls for the genocide of Jews would violate their schools’ conduct policies. The backlash started almost immediately. Penn’s leader stepped down within days. Har- vard’s presi- dent was on the hot seat for nearly a week before a university gov- erning board announced she would stay on the job. R e p u b l i - cans and Dem- ocrats alike criticized responses the presidents gave at the Dec. 5 hearing of a U.S. House committee on antisemitism on college campuses. In particular, the uproar centered on a line of questioning from Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., who repeatedly asked how each university’s code of conduct would handle calls for the genocide of Jews. Early in the questioning, Rep. Stefanik asked the presi- dents about chants for “intifada,” an Arabic word for “uprising” or “resistance.” Rep. Stefanik equated calls for an intifada as a call for a global Jewish genocide. Here is a look at the testimony given by Claudine Gay, of Har- vard, Liz Magill of Penn, and Sally Kornbluth of MIT. Liz Magill of PENN During the hearing, Rep. Ste- fanik asked Ms. Magill, “Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate Penn’s rules or code of conduct? Yes or no?” Ms. Magill repeatedly de- clined to give a yes or no answer. She emphasized the university’s policies considered whether “speech turns into conduct,” in which case it would be consid- ered harassment. Rep. Stefanik continued to demand a definitive answer. Ms. Magill responded that if speech were “directed and severe, pervasive, it is harassment,” and that whether a student would be punished is “a context-dependent decision.” That answer became a flash- point of the criticism of Ms. Magill. The day after the hearing, Ms. Magill said in a video statement released by the university that a call for the genocide of Jewish people would be considered harassment or intimidation. Still, Penn alumni and donors increased pressure on the board for Ms. Magill to resign, a cam- paign that dated to earlier in the fall, when the university allowed a Palestinian literary festival to take place on campus despite allegations that some speakers had shown antisemitism in other comments. Amid growing pressure from donors who said they would pull money from the university, Ms. Magill and board chairman Scott Bok resigned. Claudine Gay of Harvard Dr. Gay, the first Black woman president of the 400-year-old university, also was asked by Rep. Stefanik whether similar speech would violate Harvard’s policies. She gave a similar response to Ms. Magill, emphasizing that context and whether the speech turned into conduct would factor into any disciplinary decisions. “Antisemitic rhetoric, when it crosses into conduct, that amounts to bullying, harassment, intimidation. That is actionable conduct, and we do take action,” Dr. Gay said. “So the answer is yes. That calling for the genocide of Jews violates Harvard’s Code of Con- duct. Correct?” Rep. Stefanik asked. Dr. Gay reiterated that it depended on the context. “It does not does not depend on the context,” Rep. Stefanik responded. “The answer is yes, and this is why you should resign.” A day after the hearing, Dr. Gay condemned calls for violence against Jewish students in a state- ment posted by the university to X, formerly Twitter. Sally Kornbluth of MIT Dr. Kornbluth also was ques- tioned by Rep. Stefanik about policies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She responded by saying speech targeted at individuals, not public statements, would be considered a violation of bullying and harass- ment policies. Rep. Stefanik then asked, “Yes or no: Calling for the genocide of Jews does not constitute bullying and harassment?” Dr. Kornbluth responded that she had not “heard calling for the genocide of Jews on our campus.” Rep. Stefanik then asked Dr. Kornbluth whether she had heard demonstrators calling for an intifada. Palestinians have launched two intifadas against Israel — one in the late 1980s and one in the early 2000s. Both were to protest Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and both involved violence. But since Hamas’ massacre in Israel in October, some Jews have interpreted calls for globalizing the intifada as a call for broader attacks against Jews. “I’ve heard chants which can be antisemitic, depending on the context when calling for the elimination of the Jewish people,” Rep. Kornbluth said. Speech would be investigated as harassment if it were “pervasive and severe,” she said. In a written note to the MIT community two days after the hearing, the chair of the MIT Corporation signaled the execu- tive committee’s support for Rep. Kornbluth, who is Jewish. “She has done excellent work in lead- ing our community, including in addressing antisemitism, Islamo- phobia, and other forms of hate, all of which we reject utterly at MIT,” the statement said. The writer covers education, race and ethnicity for the Associ-
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.
Rayford L. Harris Sr., longtime educator, policymaker, adviser and GOP activist, dies at 97
Rayford Lee Harris Sr., who touched the lives of untold thousands of Virginia students as an educator and policymaker, has died.
Remembering Leonard Lambert Sr.
Hundreds of people gathered to remember Leonard W. Lambert Sr. at a funeral service Tuesday at Saint Paul’s Baptist Church in Henrico County.
‘She is a 0, but I’m a 10’
Who wore it best? Rep. Beatty trumps Melania
As soon as Ohio Congresswoman Joyce Beatty stepped off the stage following her July 28 address at the Democratic National Convention, Twitter blew up.
Getting praise, worship on at Gospel Music Fest
At age 80, gospel music icon Dorothy Norwood still can spiritually move an audience. Known as “Gospel’s greatest storyteller,” she demonstrated her star power again Sunday evening as the headliner before an overflow audience at Dogwood Dell at the 6th Annual Gospel Music Fest.
Dr. Grace Harris remembered for her ‘spirit of hope’
Dr. Grace E. Harris, whose life and career stretched from the roads of rural Halifax County to the halls of the Virginia State Capitol, was remembered last Saturday as more than 200 people, including family, friends, legislators and educators, assembled at the Greater Richmond Convention Center.
Is our gun-crazed society reflection of entertainment biz?
The prop gun killing on the “Rust” movie set by Alec Baldwin reminds me of other reckless gun-violence disasters on movie sets. Specifically, when the actor Jon-Erik Hexum died after shoot- ing himself in the head with a prop gun blank while pretending to play Russian roulette with a .44 Magnum on the set of the 1984 CBS television series “Cover Up.” As well as when actor Brandon Lee, 28, son of the late martial arts star Bruce Lee, died after being hit by a .44-caliber slug while filming a death scene for the 1993 movie “The Crow.”
Christian Methodist Episcopal Church elects second woman and African bishops
The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church has elected its second woman bishop and received its first episcopal address from a woman during its quadrennial General Conference.
How far we’ve come; how far yet to go
With a woman heading the Democratic Party’s presidential ticket, it may be challenging for us to remember that women have had the right to vote for less than a century — and black folks less than that.
To the quiet heroes
Our thoughts turn to Earl Lloyd, the Virginia native who, in October 1950, became the first African-American to play in the NBA. Mr. Lloyd died last week at age 86. Growing up in Alexandria, he played basketball in the run-down facilities of a segregated high school that had no gymnasium. Basketball was played in the auditorium. In college at West Virginia State, he played in the CIAA, helping his team to championships in 1948 and 1949.
Personality: Megan Irvin
Spotlight on Massey Alliance board president
Megan Irvin, president of the Massey Alliance board, loves being involved in the community.
