Michael Paul Williams

Richmond

Columnist at Richmond Times-Dispatch

Columnist @RTDNEWS. @RNPA_union. @VAUnion1865 @NorthwesternU @MedillSchool. 2000 Harvard University Nieman Fellow. 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary.

Featured in: Favicon

richmond.com Favicon

seattletimes.com Favicon

madison.com Favicon

stltoday.com Favicon

post-gazette.com Favicon

nbcdfw.com Favicon

tucson.com Favicon

napavalleyregister.com Favicon

omaha.com

tulsaworld.com + 97 more

Articles

Qué Pasa? 'Enjoying the moment' on Brown's Island

1 month ago | richmond.com | Michael Paul Williams

As strains of Chino & Nacho’s “Mi Niña Bonita” filled the west end of Brown’s Island, Officer Brenda Ruiz of the Chesterfield County Police Department could not resist the urge to dance. So she pulled Richmond Police Sgt.
Woman dies in eastern Henrico County crash

1 month ago | richmond.com | Michael Paul Williams

A Tappahannock woman died early Saturday in a single-vehicle crash on Mechanicsville Turnpike near the Hanover County line, according to Henrico Police. Police responded to the scene around 2:20 a.m. and found the vehicle in the westbound lanes of Mechanicsville Turnpike. With assistance from Hanover County deputies, the driver was removed through the passenger side of the vehicle. Henrico Fire responded and pronounced the driver dead. Investigators identified her as Morishia Vershonda Robinson, 41.
Williams: 'Sinners' is a film for our blues

1 month ago | richmond.com | Michael Paul Williams

The film “Sinners” was a must-see for Grace Gipson, given her family’s roots in the bluesy Mississippi Delta. Gipson, an assistant professor of African American Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, is among the people who’ve felt compelled to see the Ryan Coogler film more than once to peel away the considerable layers of a story we didn’t know we needed.
Wisconsin judge arrested and charged in federal court for allegedly obstructing immigration agents

1 month ago | thewest.com.au | Hannah S. Rabinowitz |Michael Paul Williams |Devan Cole

A Milwaukee County Circuit judge was arrested by the FBI Friday and charged in federal court for allegedly helping an undocumented immigrant avoid arrest. Judge Hannah Dugan is facing two charges for obstruction and concealing the individual from arrest. She made an initial appearance in court and was released. The arrest on federal charges is an escalation in the Trump administration’s focus on judges’ conduct, particularly as it relates to immigration enforcement.
Black history is a lesson in labor

Feb 16, 2025 | richmond.com | Michael Paul Williams

An artifact of a $10 Confederate States of American note printed in Richmond vividly illustrates the undeniable role that Black workers played in building American wealth. The paper currency features an engraving of an enslaved Black man picking cotton. Above the note is a painting of the man on the money by artist John W. Jones, from his “Confederate Currency: The Color of Money” series.
Reflections on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the 1890 Scholars Program

Jan 17, 2025 | usda.gov | Michael Paul Williams

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s aura in my childhood home was so pervasive that you would have thought he was a member of our family. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s aura in my childhood home was so pervasive that you would have thought he was a member of our family. My mother, who’d been born on our family farm in Mississippi and later raised in Chicago, came to age at the height of the 1960 Civil Rights movement and understood the period in a way that history books never fully explain.
Richmond celebrates its local businesses on a day of their own

Nov 30, 2024 | richmond.com | Michael Paul Williams

The symbiotic relationship between Richmond’s small businesses and the community was on full display during Small Business Saturday in Carytown. The Clementine consignment shop was raffling gift cards to neighboring businesses such as Mongrel and Sugar & Twine. Its Carytown sister stores, Ashby and Clover, were conducting similar offerings. “We try to do something every Small Business Saturday,” said assistant manager Lyndsey Martin.
RVA 100: Richmond Times-Dispatch, 175 years of covering Virginia news

Nov 6, 2024 | richmond.com | Michael Paul Williams

About this seriesThis will be the last installation of the RVA 100 series. For 100 days, we’ve been highlighting the people, places and objects that define the Richmond region. The Richmond Times-Dispatch turns 175 years old next year. In honor of that achievement and legacy, we thought it only fitting to include the Richmond Times-Dispatch in the series. Thank you for following along with the RVA 100.
RVA 100: Ebenezer Baptist Church, founded by free and enslaved Black people in 1800s

Oct 22, 2024 | richmond.com | Michael Paul Williams

About this seriesThis story is the latest installment of RVA100, our series that highlights the people, places and objects that define the Richmond region. We’re exploring hidden histories and colorful backstories. Some will be familiar. Others you may learn about for the first time. For 100 days, we’ll showcase a different quintessential Richmond icon in the newspaper and at richmond.com.
RVA 100: Richmond's Confederate monuments

Oct 21, 2024 | richmond.com | Michael Paul Williams

About this seriesThis story is the latest installment of RVA100, our series that highlights the people, places and objects that define the Richmond region. We’re exploring hidden histories and colorful backstories. Some will be familiar. Others you may learn about for the first time. For 100 days, we’ll showcase a different quintessential Richmond icon in the newspaper and at richmond.com. The six-story monument to Confederate Gen. Robert E.