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First Lady tells Tuskegee to ‘rise above’
I hope people who attended Tuskegee University’s commencement May 9 got First Lady Michelle Obama’s message. I hope they paid more attention to what she said than how some news media organizations portrayed the First Lady’s speech to graduates of the historically black Alabama school. I don’t want them to think People magazine got it right when it ran as the headline her dismay over being pictured as a fist-pumping Black Panther on a cover of The New Yorker in 2008. It didn’t. And neither did CNN, which put this headline on its report of that speech: “Michelle Obama says she was held to different standard in ’08 campaign due to her race.” What she told Tuskegee’s graduates was much more profound.
VUU Panthers to take on VSU Trojans Saturday at Hovey Field
The much anticipated Virginia Union University-Virginia State University “showdown” has lost some of its luster, especially for the host Panthers.
Councilwoman hopes proposed changes to City Charter find support
Under proposed changes to the City Charter or constitution, City Council would gain new authority over housing subsidies and real estate tax relief to residents with low to moderate incomes, in addition to setting its own compensation and modi- fying zoning. Fifth District Councilwoman Stephanie A. Lynch hopes to gain unanimous support from her eight colleagues at the Monday, Dec. 11, council meeting for the changes she has negotiated with Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s administration. If passed by the council, the package would be sent to the General Assembly for approval in the upcoming 2024 session. Many of the changes follow recommenda- tions that a council-created Richmond City Charter Review Commission submitted Aug. 2 after a year of study. As the most significant package of charter changes proposed since the 2004 creation of a mayor elected citywide, the amend- ments do not address the current relationship between the council and the mayor ahead of the 2024 elections for the governing body and chief executive. The biggest proposed change could well be the tax and housing initiatives that the charter review commission did not address. The proposed Section 2.09 amendment would allow the city to defer property taxes and tax increases for qualifying low or moderate income property owners, using the definition of such individuals established by the Virginia Housing Development Authority, now known as Virginia Housing. Such a program could allow the taxes to accumulate over time to be paid off from proceeds after the property is sold. In addition, the proposed charter change would authorize the city to create a program that could help such qualifying individu- als buy a home or receive rental subsidies. The city also could use state or federal funds to advance such initiatives. The charter amendment also would declare the creation of programs that could provide funds directly to individuals for housing to be “in the furtherance of a public interest” to get
GOP candidate a ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing’
I was disgusted when I saw the Republican candidate for governor, Glenn Youngkin, surrounded by Black folks at a recent news conference at Virginia Union University.
Immigration drove white, Asian population growth in U.S. last year
Harris County, Texas gains largest number of Black residents
Without immigration, the white population in the U.S. would have declined last year. Immigration also propelled the expansion of the Asian population, which was the fastest-growing race or ethnic group last year in the U.S., while births outpacing deaths helped propel growth in Hispanic, Black, tribal and Hawaiian populations. Population estimates released June 22 by the U.S. Census Bureau show what drove changes in different race, ethnic and age groups last year, as well as since the start of COVID-19’s spread in the U.S. in April 2020. The country had grown to 333.2 million people by the middle of last year, a 0.4% increase over the previous year, according to the 2022 population estimates.
Stanback, Dowdy winning combo for Panthers
They may form the best lifeline combination since hydrogen and oxygen. The combination of William Stanback plus Shawheem Dowdy is the tip-top reason why Virginia Union University is still very much alive for the CIAA football championship.
TJ’s Jahlin Russell works like a wrecking ball
It’s no surprise Jahlin Russell plays football. The Thomas Jefferson High School senior is quick, strong, aggressive and fearless. He doesn’t back down.
Playwright aims to open hearts and minds with premiere production
Brittany Fisher left her native Virginia for New York in 2021 to attend Juilliard’s Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program. Now graduated, she is still based in New York, but she never stays away for long. Her family won’t let her.
Strange fruit?
Critic: Oak evokes lynching image at Walker statue site
The fight over the tree in the planned Maggie L. Walker plaza isn’t over. Gary L. Flowers, a Richmond native and national political and civil rights operative living in Jackson Ward, has jumped into the fray with a petition drive opposing the live oak that now dominates the gateway into Jackson Ward where the monument to the great lady is to stand.
Grim: State accreditation and dropout data, recent audits reveal problems that have long plagued Richmond Public Schools
Educating all students remains a tough challenge for Richmond Public Schools. While the data show the majority of students complete 12 years and leave with a diploma to start careers or begin additional study, Richmond seems unable to make classroom education meaningful for a substantial minority who end up dropping out.
Food fight
Highland Springs-based food ministry scrambles to generate new food sources after being shut out by Feed More
For the past year, Brian Purcell has stopped by the Kroger store in Mechanicsville four days a week to pick up unsold prepared food and bakery items the store otherwise would have thrown away.
Florida teen bench presses 355 lbs.
A search for the nation’s strongest teenage girl might lead to Union County High School in Lake Butler, Fla. That’s where Mahailya Reeves, a 15-year-old freshman, set a Florida state record on Jan. 26 with a jaw-dropping 355-pound bench press.
Va. student network criticizes colleges reopening for in-person learning
Virginia students have leveled several criticisms against state colleges that chose to reopen their campuses for the fall semester in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Schools are trying to get more students therapy. Not all parents are on board
Derry Oliver was in fifth grade when she first talked to her mom about seeing a therapist.
Henrico pulls funding for prosecutor dedicated to probing police misconduct
Shannon Taylor, Henrico County’s top prosecutor, has dropped her plan to hire the first deputy prosecutor in Virginia who would specialize in investigating police misconduct after Henrico County pulled its share of the funding.
Standing tall
Try seeing eye-to-eye with W. Kentucky’s Sharp
It is apropos that Jamarion Sharp plays basketball for the Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers.
Whoopi Goldberg’s teachable moment – and ours, by Clarence Page
I hesitated to say anything about Whoopi Goldberg’s remarks that resulted in her suspension from ABC’s “The View” until I could figure out precisely what to be offended about.
Praise, doubt as Facebook rolls out new prayer tool
Facebook already asks for your thoughts. Now it wants your prayers.
Rare Bible that went to moon up for sale
For the collector who has almost everything, there’s still a chance to own a Bible that literally was out of this world.
Orchestra, museum present sounds of black composers
The Richmond Symphony’s Big Tent concert series comes to Abner Clay Park for the first time on May 27 at 7 p.m. The free event in the recently renovated park features the music of noted black composers such as, Florence Price, Joseph Bologne (the subject of the recent film “Chevalier”), and Virginia resident Adolphus Hailstork.
