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Remembering Raymond Boone, founder of the Richmond Free Press
VOL. 72, NO. 6 · FEB. 25, 2026
Black History Month Issue
FEATURES
HECIEL NIEVES BONILLA News Editor
Richmond Free Press editor Raymond H. Boone and then-advertising director Jean Patterson Boone stop for a photo at 101 W. Broad St., the paper’s second location. Photo courtesy of Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press.
“East Suffolk Cagers to meet Courtland Wednesday Afternoon” read the first headline in the Library of Virginia’s record attributed to Raymond Boone, founder of the now-shuttered Richmond Free Press. The article was published Jan. 20, 1953 and is an initial touchpoint for the career of Raymond Boone, a native Virginian, who established himself as a pillar of the community, reporting in Richmond and nationwide. At the time of that publication, Raymond Boone attended East Suffolk High School in what is now the City of Suffolk, Virginia, but in 1954 was part of Nansemmond County. He was 14-years-old. The short piece appeared in the stillactive Suffolk News-Herald, but Raymond Boone also spent his high school years writing for a school newspaper he founded. At a meeting of the school’s press club on Oct. 28, 1952 recorded in the Suffolk NewsHerald, Raymond Boone shared a sentiment he would carry throughout his career. He told the group a news reporter “should be, in general, tactful, energetic, accurate,
Black athletes paved the way for VCU basketball ALEXIS WASHINGTON Assistant Sports Editor There is no denying men’s basketball has become a driving force at VCU. It is the only sport that constantly sells out, bringing students, alumni and community members together — all sharing the same passion. That identity did not form overnight. It was built on the foundation laid by Black players who reshaped the program long before it became a national brand. Charles McLeod became the first Black men’s basketball player at Richmond Professional Institute, now VCU, in 1966 and was arguably the founding father of the program. McLeod transferred from Virginia State University after limited time on the court. That changed after he contacted former RPI Head Coach Ed Allen, who recruited the star athlete. On the court, McLeod established the nickname “Charlie Mac the Jumping Jack,” using his size to pull down rebounds, block shots and play intense defense, according to VCU News. McLeod was not only a pioneer breaking barriers on the court. It was his contributions off the court that made him special. McLeod was a contributor for the Commonwealth Times in 1969. He wrote
an article criticizing wartime efforts and the draft system. He helped found VCU’s first Black organization in 1968, Students for AfroAmerican Philosophy, along with six other Black students. The mission was to challenge the university to embrace
ambitious, aggressive and truthful.” It was a time of legally sanctioned segregation in Virginia, and much of his continued work for the News-Herald appeared in its “Colored News” section. His wife Jean Boone, an accomplished publisher and activist who ran the Richmond Free Press after his death in 2014, said it is hard to square this appearance with the man she came to know in adulthood. “It’s sort of hard for me to really wrap my head around the fact that he wrote for something that was called the “Colored Pages,” because he was such a strong proponent of not segregating people or things,” Jean Boone said. “He saw the larger picture and did not let the segregation aspect of it stop him from writing.” Raymond Boone worked across the journalism profession — as a reporter for the Quincy Patriot-Ledger in college, a White House reporter for the Baltimore Afro-American, an editor for its Richmond subsidiar y and eventually the whole newspaper chain, and an international correspondent for the National Newspaper Publishers Association — in addition to[...]
RICHMOND FREE PRESS Continued on page 11.
SPORTS
its urban institution status after he noticed the limited representation of the Black community. VCU BLACK ATHLETES Continued on page 7.
A VCU Student viewing artwork by Huey Lightbody. Photo by De Smaw. SPECTRUM
‘Ode to the Anomalous’ exhibition abstracts personal stories FAKEHA NAEEM Contributing Writer
Charles McLeod was the first Black men’s basketball player at Richmond Professional Institute, which became VCU. Photo by The Postscript, courtesy of VCU Special Collections and Archives.
“Ode to the Anomalous,” is a month-long exhibition showcasing the art of six artists at Southside Contemporary Art Gallery, or SCAG, that explores works in fabric, acrylic and other mixed mediums.
ODE TO THE ANOMALOUS Continued on page 8.
Jude Okafor breaks records
Democrats remove three VCU Board of Visitors members
Five years after Adam Oakes’ hazing death, VCU community weighs-in on prevention
SEE SPORTS PAGE 6
SEE NEWS PAGE 2
SEE FEATURES PAGE 10