Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality

Click here to view and download the handout "BILLS TO FOLLOW IN THE 2019 VIRGINIA GENERAL ASSEMBLY" Thank you for attending the 2nd Annual Virginia Prison Reform Rally   sponsored by the Virginia Prison Justice Network Saturday, January 12, 2019 at 2 PM – 3 PM Bell Tower on Capitol Square, Richmond, VA 23219 This flier was created for the Jan. 12 Virginia Prison Justice Network rally by Virginia prisoner R. Fentress . Please share it - and remember that those behind bars are much more than numbers. They are our sisters and brothers, with hopes and dreams and challenges just like the rest of us. They are artists and poets and thinkers and leaders. And if this were a just and humane system that didn't grind up humanity in the gristmill of profit making, they would be out here on the streets helping to make this a better world. The prisoner-led Virginia Prison Justice Network (VAPJN) was founded after the very successful Rally for Prison Reform held Jan. 2

RICHMOND, VA, Dec. 8 -- Around 800 parents, students and Richmond Public School employees braved a cold morning today to march and rally, demanding the Virginia General Assembly allocate more money for Richmond Public Schools. The protest, organized by Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney and RPS Superintendent Jason Kamras, began with a rally at the Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in the East End, followed by a march across the King Bridge to the State Capitol, where more speakers addressed the crowd. The 2019 session of the General Assembly opens Jan. 9. A teacher-led “Red for Ed” march on the State Capitol has been called for Jan. 28. Prominent in the crowd today were signs demanding money for education and not for the controversial, public-private Coliseum project, which many feel would siphon tax dollars away from public schools and into the pockets of wealthy developers. That project is led by Thomas F. Farrell II, the president, chairman and CEO of Dominion Energy,