The Final Edition: 5 Unforgettable Lessons from the 34-Year Legacy of the Richmond Free Press

by Tony Holobyte and A.I.

NORFOLK

Inside Richmond Free Press offices Monday February 9, 2026

After 34 years of challenging power, elevating Black voices and shaping civic debate in Virginia’s capital city, the Richmond Free Press has published its final edition.

The final print issue appeared on newsstands Feb. 6. On Feb. 12, the newspaper released its first—and only—digital edition, officially closing a chapter that began Jan. 16, 1992, under the leadership of founder and editor Raymond H. Boone Sr.

For Richmond’s Black community and for journalists across the Commonwealth, the moment is both sobering and historic.

Boone founded the Free Press with a clear purpose. In its inaugural editorial, he wrote that Richmond “desperately needs a strong gust of fresh air” to encourage open debate and empower readers. At a time when mainstream media often failed to fully represent Black Richmonders, Boone set out to build an institution that would.

That mission did not waver.

Even after Boone’s death on June 3, 2014, the paper continued under the stewardship of publisher Jean Boone and the Boone family.

“I don’t know that Ray thought that we would last this long after his death,” Jean Boone said. “But we kept plugging along and pushing and making a way out of no way.”

A Firm Stand in a Changing Industry

The decision to end publication following a single digital edition carried symbolic weight. For decades, the Free Press remained committed to its print presence—news boxes in neighborhoods, stacks of papers in community gathering spaces, a physical reminder that Black journalism had a home in Richmond.

While many outlets pivoted aggressively toward digital-first models, the Free Press maintained its traditional format. Its final online edition was not a relaunch but a closing statement.

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In an era marked by shrinking newsrooms and vanishing local outlets, the paper concluded its run on its own terms.

A Standard of Discipline and Advocacy

Inside the newsroom, Boone demanded discipline and excellence. Hazel Trice Edney, the paper’s first reporter, once described the environment as “a Marine boot camp for journalists.”

Under Boone’s leadership, advocacy was never an excuse for weak reporting. Facts mattered. Documentation mattered. Accuracy mattered.

The paper’s editorial voice often challenged local power structures, but it did so with preparation and professionalism. That approach helped the Free Press earn both respect and resistance.

Resistance and Relevance

From its earliest years, the publication encountered hostility. Competing outlets criticized its coverage. News boxes were vandalized. Staff members received threatening phone calls.

Regina Boone, who joined the paper as a photojournalist, recalled that even those who disagreed with the paper felt compelled to read it.

Readers debated editorials. They voiced approval and disapproval. They engaged.

The reaction signaled that the Free Press was not ignored. It was influential.

A Career Built on Correcting the Record

Boone’s perspective was shaped by decades in journalism, beginning in the 1950s when he wrote for the “colored pages” of the Suffolk News-Herald. He later served with the Richmond Afro-American and taught at Howard University.

Over time, he became outspoken about what he viewed as the mainstream press’s failure to fairly represent Black communities.

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In a 2003 interview, Boone criticized newspapers that “promoted what was popular” rather than upholding fairness and First Amendment principles.

The Free Press was his response—a platform committed to justice, accountability and inclusion.

A Family Tradition in the Black Press

The Boone family’s leadership reflected a long-standing tradition within the Black press. Jean Boone worked alongside her husband from the beginning. Their daughter Regina and son Ray Jr. later joined the operation.

Media historian Wayne Dawkins, author of Black Journalists: The NABJ Story, noted that the Free Press stood in the lineage of historic Black newspapers such as the Norfolk Journal and Guide and the Chicago Defender.

“The Free Press did it well,” Dawkins said.

Following Boone’s passing, the family sustained the paper for another 12 years—a notable achievement in a media climate where many local newspapers close within months of losing their founder.

A Presence in the City’s Landscape

In 2016, Richmond City Council designated the 100 block of North Fifth Street with an honorary sign recognizing Raymond H. Boone Sr. The Imperial Building, long home to the newspaper, remains a visible reminder of its presence in the city’s civic life.

The closure comes at a time of widespread upheaval in the news industry. Across the nation, local news outlets continue to struggle with declining revenues and changing readership patterns.

Yet those who worked at and supported the Free Press maintain that its impact endures.

“The impact that the Free Press has made on justice in Virginia,” Hazel Trice Edney said, “it resonates and reverberates to the extent that it has paid its dues, it has done its job.”

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For more than three decades, the Richmond Free Press provided a platform for voices often overlooked and insisted that public debate include every segment of the community.

The presses may be silent, but the legacy remains.