Photo Essay, Jennifer Baires Bending slightly at the knees, Keyahlah Bean lifts a basketball over head and leans back before releasing the ball into an arc that ends with a trip around the rim of the basket, before falling through the net with a swish. “Yes!” the ecstatic eight-year-old yells, jumping...

By Tania Pulido   The Chevron refinery explosion that sent black clouds over Richmond in 2012 also touched off a local, and regional movement, calling for transparency and community safety considerations from the oil giant. Two years later, Chevron has launched a “Modernization Project” proposing new development at its Richmond refinery. It’s a big project,...

EDITOR’S NOTE: There are over 58,000 children and teens in California’s foster care system. These young people are removed from their families, and cared for by the state, because of abuse and neglect at home. Julia Gayfield, 21, is a multi-racial, former foster youth, living in Richmond. She was removed from her...

by Sean Shavers [caption id="attachment_3959" align="alignleft" width="225"] TreShawn Jackson[/caption] Dressed in a hoodie and Nike sneakers, 15-year-old TreShawn Jackson, stood next to his bike and proudly described why he was out at last month’s 4th annual Major Taylor Family Bike Fiesta. “I thought it'd be cool to ride around the neighborhood,” he...

By Russell Morse Kevin Weston, accomplished journalist and long time New America Media family member, died Monday at his home in Oakland after a nearly 2 year fight with leukemia. From 1999 to 2010, Kevin worked as the organization’s Youth Communications director, but his legacy reaches far beyond that title. Kevin...

Commentary, Antoinette Evans Last week, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Rolf Treu handed down his verdict in the closely watched Vergara v. California trial, essentially doing away with job protections for tenured teachers. His decision was justifiable and based on real concerns. After all, no one will argue that...

Interview • Dr. Joseph Marshall ED Note: The following conversation took place on 106 KMEL’s show, Street Soldiers, between host Dr. Joseph Marshall and Zach Calbo Jackson and Akintude Ahmad, two members of the College Bound Brotherhood. The College Bound Brotherhood is a network of grantees and partners that seeks to...

News Report, Edgardo Cervano-Soto | New America Media Goreatha Johnson, points towards Breuner Marsh across the train tracks in Parchester Village, a neighborhood of roughly 400 homes in North Richmond. It’s past 4 p.m. on a weekday and Johnson is knocking on her neighbors’ doors and passing out flyers to an event...

by Edgardo Cervano-Soto Last February, President Obama announced “My Brother’s Keeper,” an initiative to foster collaboration between private businesses, non-profits and local governments to support young men of color. It was in the wake of Trayvon Martin’s death two years earlier, that the President had ordered his staff to develop...

Commentary, Joanna Pulido When I recently learned that Richmond is the sixteenth most ethnically diverse city in the United States, I felt proud. After all, diversity is beautiful and not everybody in the U.S. gets to experience it to the extent we do. But the news also came as a surprise...

Interview, Peter Schurmann, New America Media Traducción al español Pictured above: UC President Janet Napolitano speaks with New America Media education editor Peter Schurmann about the UC-Mexico Initiative. Editor’s Note: University of California President Janet Napolitano recently returned from a two-day trip to Mexico, where she met with government officials and academics to discuss the...

Editor’s Note: For this latest installment of our ongoing interview series with the Richmond Police Chief, we eschewed the usual crime related topics for a more human conversation about family, the benefits of living where you work, and the mental strains of doing police work. The CC Pulse: It’s not...

News Report, Sean Shavers Since January, a group of Richmond-based youth and family service organizations known collectively as the Invest in Youth Coalition has been meeting regularly to devise strategies to better serve and encourage youth in the city. Led by the nonprofit RYSE Center, the coalition is leading...

News Report + Photos, Marco Villalobos Beneath a mural depicting salvation outside St. Mark’s Church, Ruben Pedroza stood trying to figure out his family’s health insurance. Inside the church hall, a meeting was underway to educate residents as to what health coverage they might qualify for due to the Affordable Care...

By Nancy DeVille Scores of cyclists took to Richmond streets Wednesday in a silent ride to draw attention to bike safety issues on the local roads. About 50 cyclists participated in the Ride of Silence, a global event to remind motorists to safely share the road with cyclists. The event, sponsored locally...

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