“Atoning for a wrong”: US colleges confront slavery ties with descendant scholarships
DAVID SHERFINSKI, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports that while, from Harvard to Georgetown, universities and colleges are facing up to their links to slavery, but advocates say more must be done…
Gunman shoots two dead, wounds five others at Virginia high school graduation
Reuters A man armed with four handguns killed two people and wounded five others when he fired into a crowd outside a high school graduation ceremony in Richmond, Virginia, on Tuesday, police said. Police said they arrested one suspect, a 19-year-old man who knew one of the victims and shot at him amid the crowd […]
Experts link graves to one of the oldest Black churches in US
United StatesAP Three men whose graves were found at the original site of one of the nation’s oldest Black churches were members of its congregation in the early 19th century, a team of archaeologists and scientists in Virginia announced last week The First Baptist Church was formed in 1776 by free and enslaved Black people […]
Can a teacher put John 3:16 in email signature? In the US, one school district says no; her lawyers say yes
United StatesRNS Attorneys for a Virginia high school teacher are challenging school officials for requiring the teacher to remove a Bible verse from the signature of her work email messages. Until the recent directive, the teacher had for years, since the time she was hired by the district, included John 3:16 – “For God so […]
Essay: How does a child become a shooter? Research suggests easy access to guns and exposure to screen violence increase the risk
In an article first published on The Conversation, US-based academics BRAD BUSHMAN and DAN ROMER look at what data reveals…
In the US state of Virginia, Richmond removes last public Confederate monument
Reuters A Black-owned construction business on Monday dismantled and removed the last public Confederate statue on display in Richmond, Virginia, the city that served as the capital of the Confederacy during the US Civil War. The memorial to Ambrose Powell Hill, a Confederate general killed in battle days before the war ended in April, 1865, […]
Essay: While clean water isn’t a partisan issue, it is a faith issue
In an article first published on Religion News Service, CASSANDRA CARMICHAEL, executive director of National Religious Partnership for the Environment in the US, says the removal of clean water protections for wetlands, such as the US Supreme Court is considering, leaves too much to chance…
Florida, Carolinas face daunting recovery after Hurricane Ian
Miami, Florida, US Reuters The remnants of Hurricane Ian drifted through Virginia early on Sunday, while storm-ravaged residents in Florida and the Carolinas faced a disaster recovery expected to cost tens of billions of dollars. The storm’s death toll was expected to rise as floodwaters receded and search teams pushed farther into areas initially cut […]
StrangeSights: A poignant tribute to the Queen; Virginia’s “plane pull”; and frenzy over World Cup stickers in Argentina…
DAVID ADAMS provides a round-up of some stories on the odder side of life…
Excavation of graves begins at site of colonial Black church in US
United StatesAP Archaeologists in the US state of Virginia began excavating three suspected graves at the original site of one of the nation’s oldest Black churches on Monday, commencing a monthslong effort to learn who was buried there and how they lived. The First Baptist Church was formed in 1776 by free and enslaved Black […]