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Equifax settles in security breach that affected more than 4M Virginians
Consumer credit information giant Equifax has agreed to pay up to $700 million for allowing hackers to breach its computers and grab the personal information of nearly 150 million people.
4th Annual Afrikana Independent Film Festival starts Thursday
Raymond Santana, who was 14 when he and four other youths were wrongly charged with the attack and rape of a female jogger in New York City’s Central Park in 1989, will moderate a discussion about the now Exonerated Five case following a documentary film screening at the 4th Annual Afrikana Independent Film Festival this weekend in Richmond.
MJBL members pitch in for hurricane relief
The Metropolitan Junior Baseball League saw a huge turnout from the Richmond community during the group’s efforts to collect hurricane relief items last Saturday at The Diamond.
‘Being underestimated ... that’s my superpower’
Democratic House Minority Leader Don Scott Jr. ready to energize base
These days Delegate Don L. Scott Jr. doesn’t spend as much time in the courtroom as he used to.
Regional computer programming school proposed
Ten school districts, including Richmond, Chesterfield and Henrico, are embarking on a bold educational experiment aimed at overhauling career training for area high school students, particularly those struggling in traditional classes. The first step: Creation of a regional school that would give students the skills to become computer programmers and open doors to careers in engineering, computer science and other technology fields, according to a grant application the alliance of schools submitted to the state Department of Education.
Reinstate Cornell Brooks
Black people have fared best when our collective interests and goals are held paramount. We’ve made the greatest headway when our assumed leaders are guided by principles of self-sacrifice above self-aggrandizement. I pray that we have the wisdom to remember and embrace these lessons learned “over a way that with tears has been watered ... through the blood of the slaughtered.” Since 1909, the NAACP has been the most recognized and venerated civil rights organization in the United States. Most Americans respect and admire the NAACP. Those of us 50 years old and older remember that, when intervening in civil rights matters, the NAACP often mitigated outcomes of interracial conflict to the benefit of often maligned African-American victims. It’s said, “Familiarity breeds contempt.” A lapse of time often adds to that contempt. Outside of “the faithful,” the NAACP’s reputation as a relevant player in the civil rights arena had diminished. This perception was especially true among youths who were more likely to ask the question, “What have you done for me lately?” While I am an NAACP life member and I’ve always seen its relevance, many people thought the organization had moved close to being irrelevant. Several episodes of questionable leadership did little to rehabilitate its reputation. For many, that changed in May 2014 with the selection of the Rev. Cornell William Brooks as national NAACP president and CEO. Lacking the bravado and ostentatiousness of many leaders of our community, Rev. Brooks came to the job as an experienced civil rights professional. A fourth generation A.M.E. minister and Yale-trained civil rights lawyer, Rev. Brooks was eminently qualified and well focused on directing the activities of the NAACP to meet contemporary imperatives. Three years ago, he inherited a staff demoralized by layoffs and uncertain funding. Now, fundraising is up and he had begun hiring additional staff to conduct the organization’s business. In nearly three years, Rev. Brooks has led the NAACP with purpose, dignity and skillful determination. His “hands-on, lead by example” approach to activism has inspired a new generation of youths to pick up the mantle of the NAACP. We have seen substantial participation and the increased membership of young people. Young people were constantly seen with Rev. Brooks demonstrating consistent, targeted action and participation in activities that gave renewed meaning to the concept of peaceful and intelligent resistance to injustice. Rev. Brooks is not a lip service leader. With the exception of being called away for related obligations, he walked every step of the two marches he organized between Ferguson and Jefferson City, Mo., and Selma, Ala., and Washington. The marchers and he became targets of racist snipers in Missouri and he remains under threat by domestic terrorists who would love nothing more than to stop his work. Rev. Brooks’ testimony against the confirmation of Sen. Jeff Sessions as U.S. attorney general was topped only by his sit-in and arrest in the Birmingham offices of Mr. Sessions. He gave national attention to the fact that the NAACP was once again a genuine player in the fight against injustice. This revitalized NAACP attracted a new following and, accordingly, online memberships increased significantly. For individuals and institutions alike, longevity can mistakenly be assumed to be the same as indispensability. Logic should inform that the only foundation of indispensability is in the sustainment of relevance. Under Rev. Brooks, the NAACP escaped the image of doing little and existing in outdated ineptitude to a state of true relevance. Sadly, the NAACP executive board has chosen to take a step backward by not renewing Rev. Brooks’ contract. I pray that decision will be reversed. Rev. Brooks was the right leader when he was chosen and remains the right leader for our challenging times. The board should reverse its ill-advised decision. The writer is president of the National Congress of Black Women.
VUU announces $5,000 tuition cut
Virginia Union University will cut the yearly cost of undergraduate tuition by $5,000 beginning next fall in an apparent bid to attract more students and end a quiet, but dramatic two-year drop in enrollment.
Jonnie Williams admits he didn't get much
"the Tic Tac man"
He was Richmond's broom maker for 63 years
Matthew James Robinson Jr. has passed away
For 63 years, he turned out high-quality wood brooms made of real broomcorn grass at the family-owned, but now defunct Imperial Broom Co.
School Board questions its role in Ashe Center’s site plans
Another battle appears to be looming between City Hall and the School Board.
Let’s get children back outside, by Ben Jealous
Last week, after a restful Thanksgiving, my family made a deliberate choice to #OptOutside on Friday.
When will we raise the minimum wage?, by Julianne Malveaux
The federal minimum wage has been stuck at $7.25 an hour since 2009. Several states have a higher minimum, but a predictable few, including Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Alabama, are stuck at that low minimum.
GRTC gears up for route changes effective Nov. 12
Love it or hate it, GRTC is moving ahead with a major revamp of its city bus routes. The proposed changes to routes are expected to be finalized this week and go into effect on Sunday, Nov. 12, Amy Inman, the city’s transportation planner, told a Richmond City Council meeting Monday.
Confronting racism
There was a time not too long ago when businesses in Richmond and across the South would call the police to arrest black people who sat down at lunch counters because they wanted to order. So we found a sad irony in the April 12 arrest of two black men in Philadelphia because they sat down at a Starbucks and didn’t order anything.
From doughnuts to dancing, ‘The Bachelorette’ films in RVA hot spots
The Bachelorette is in town and looking for love — and Richmonders love to look for her. Fans of “The Bachelorette” have been in a frenzy since photos of the hit ABC reality show filming in Richmond surfaced on social media last weekend.
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.
Eliminate demeanment
Black women in Houston and across the nation began preparing to use our political power during a recent event held at Texas Southern University. Presidential candidates attended to begin a conversation with black women regarding what’s important to us and what we’re looking for from candidates in 2020.
GRTC sees rise in riders purchasing passes
GRTC is carrying more people but taking in less money at the farebox.
