Dale Brumfield on Muck Rack

Dale Brumfield

Verified
  • Writer and Cultural Archaeologist, Freelance
Richmond, United States
As seen in: Medium, The Startup, USA Today, Richmond Times-Dispatch, WAVY-TV (Portsmouth, VA), WRIC-TV (Richmond, VA), The Austin Chronicle, Washington Monthly, WV News, The Times-News and
Covers:  American Grotesk historytelling, including strange history, underground press, true crime, racial justice, civil rights, Black, women and gay & lesbian media history.

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Dale Brumfield’s Biography

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I am the author of twelve published books in 13years. My first was an autobiography published in March 2009 and titled “Three Buck Naked Commodes: and 18 More Tales from a Small Town.” That was followed a year later in 2010 by my dark urban novel “Remnants: A Novel about God, Insurance and Quality Floor Coverings.” I followed this with two eNovels – “Trapped Under the Pack Ice” and “Bad Day at the Amusement Park” in 2011. In 2012 I released my horror novel “Standers” via Iron Cauldron Press.

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Dale Brumfield’s Journalist Portfolio

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What is American Grotesk Historytelling?

What is American Grotesk Historytelling?

'American Grotesk' embraces true stories of absurd incongruity, flawed characters, farfetched bizarreness and…

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Dead Pope sent up the river

Dead Pope sent up the river

The "Cadaver Synod," conducted by Pope Stephen VII in 897 AD, is considered the lowest of many low points in …

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Diamonds in the Rough

Diamonds in the Rough

"There have been remarkable people creating remarkable myths in Richmond," poet and cult personality Lester B…

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An Executioner's Song

An Executioner's Song

Jerry Givens has carried out the deaths of 62 men, yet walks around a free man. From 1984 until 1999, this so…

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Before 'Loving', Kinney case crossed the color line

Before 'Loving', Kinney case crossed the color line

In 1967, Virginia couple Richard and Mildred Loving prevailed in their fight to overturn the ban on interraci…

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Excavating the Past

Excavating the Past

No one really knew what to expect when the former Virginia State Penitentiary, at Spring and Belvidere street…

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Articles

Final Edition

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By Dale Brumfield Verified, Scott Bass Verified
| Richmond Magazine (US) Verified
The day after the last issue of the Richmond Free Press, the former Confederate capital woke up without its most tenacious Black‑owned voice in more than three decades. The paper that had covered school board wars, police shootings, Black Lives Matter pushback and the eventual toppling of Confederate monuments ended its run with a different kind of headline: that of its own obituary. For readers who grew up with the Free Press, the Feb.
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Bozo Boomer Lore

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By Dale Brumfield Verified
| Style Weekly Verified
The recent death of Jerry Harrell, who played Bozo the Clown on Richmond’s WTVR channel 6 from 1968 to 1974, has reminded some folks of a boomer-era urban legend that will not go away. Harrell, a Vietnam veteran who earned a Purple Heart serving as an interpreter for Air Force Intelligence, was also an accomplished magician and ventriloquist. His family moved to Richmond where he portrayed Bozo as well as Ronald McDonald, before eventually settling in Norfolk, where he died on Feb. 16.
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Beyond the Bars

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By Dale Brumfield Verified
| Richmond Magazine (US) Verified
For many inmates inside Virginia’s correctional facilities, especially those incarcerated for more than five years, the world outside may seem incomprehensible. Online job applications, virtual interviews, remote gigs, e-commerce, and even self-checkout and online banking are intimidating new norms.
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Interview

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What was your first job as a journalist?

Magazine art director at Va Commonwealth University

Have you ever used a typewriter?

Many times!

How is social media changing news?

Too easy for false narratives to gain traction
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