Recent Stories

VCU’s LeGrande to assume Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press HBCU presidential role
When Ruth J. Simmons steps down as president of Prairie View A&M University in Texas, she will pass the baton to another Black woman, Tomikia P. LeGrande, vice president for strategy, enrollment management and student success at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Ebony and Jet archives transferred to Smithsonian and Getty Research Institute
More than 4 million photos from Ebony and Jet magazine that captured African-American life, history and culture in the 20th century are now the property of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Winsome Earle-Sears wants Supreme Court to limit race-based admissions
Virginia’s Black lieutenant governor and the state Conference of the NAACP are sharply divided over affirmative action in higher education admissions.

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.

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.

Mask mandates dropped on all public transportation
GRTC riders no longer have to wear masks when they board a bus. Neither do travelers taking airplanes, trains or any other form of public transit.

Democrats angered as Gov. Youngkin vetoes 25 bipartisan bills
Republican Gov. Glenn A. Youngkin vetoed 25 bills — including some that passed with broad bipartisan support — as he took action on more than 800 bills the divided legislature sent him during its regular session.

Biden signs historic Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act
In a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden, President Biden sat at a small desk and put his signature on the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act that now makes lynching punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

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.

Willie O'Ree awarded Congressional Gold Medal
President Joe Biden on Monday signed legislation into law honoring Willie O’Ree, who became the first Black player to appear in a National Hockey League game, with a Congressional Gold Medal.