DFJE Updates & Announcements: Nov. 10, 2025

Updates & Announcements

A service of THE VIRGINIA DEFENDER newspaper.
Editorial Board: Ana Edwards & Phil Wilayto
Nov. 10, 2025

Nov. 10 - On this day in 1898, white police officers and soldiers participated in the murder of at least 60 Black men in Wilmington, N.C. The Wilmington Massacre was a carefully orchestrated coup that toppled a multiracial government in what at that time was the South’s most progressive majority-Black city. (See Wilmington Massacre.)

On Nov. 9 and 10 in 1938, the Nazis launched a massive pogrom against Jews in Germany and Austria. Kristallnacht, or Night of Broken Glass, was a state-sponsored campaign of terror in which the fascists burned more than 1,000 synagogues, vandalized thousands of Jewish-owned businesses, desecrated Jewish religious objects and assaulted and killed Jewish people. Meanwhile, the German police arrested tens of thousands of Jewish men and boys. It took a world war to turn back the fascist tide.

We acknowledge that we live on land that was stolen from the Powhatan people and worked by stolen African labor. Reparations are long overdue.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Thurs., Nov. 13 - PEOPLE’S BOARD OF TRUSTEES PRESS CONFERENCE & RALLY - “Join us in demanding that the Virginia Retirement System divest from the companies fueling genocide in Gaza.” 12:30 pm, 1091 E. Main St. in downtown Richmond. Sponsored by a broad range of organizations, including the Palestinian Youth Movement, Virginia Coalition for Human Rights and Richmond 4 Palestine.

Sat., Nov. 15 - COMPArte - ART SALE & FUND RAISER FOR THE RICHMOND COMMUNITY LEGAL FUND - Performances by Brookhouse, Alex J Dimas, Colombia Tierra Querida & Zaida Flores. Cultural attire encouraged. Suggested donation: $10–$15 (raffle ticket included.) Noon - 4 pm, Gallery 5, 200 W. Marshall St., Richmond. https://share.google/gtl5UOtcFAmu7MZ1S

Tues., Nov. 18 - ON NATIVE GROUND: VIRGINIA NATIVE NATIONS, SOVEREIGHNTY AND PERSISTENCE - Chickahominy Chief Stephen Atkins will address critical contemporary issues, including the ongoing challenges and opportunities that federal recognition brings to tribal governance, economic development, education, cultural preservation and community self-determination. Co-sponsored by the VCU Humanities Research Center, the VCU Office of the Provost and VCU Libraries. 4 p.m. at VCU James Branch Cabell Library, 901 Park Ave., in Room 303. Free. Register HERE.

Tues., Nov. 18 - INTHRIVE FILM FESTIVAL - “Join us as we showcase the voices and talents of incarceration survivors at Christopher Newport University. Hosted by CNU's Center Crime, Equity, and Justice Research and Policy and in partnership with HR Cap & The Humanization Project, we will be hosting a day of film and conversation centered on the authentic experiences of people impacted by incarceration! Come and be challenged, inspired, and motivated to take action!” 11 am - 6 pm, Gaines Theater in the Freeman Center at Christopher Newport University in Newport News. Sponsored by Inthrive Film Festival. For more information: https://inthrivefilmfestival.org/newport-news

Thurs., Nov. 20 - AN INSIDE LOOK AT IRAN - Showing of Ameneh’s Golden Blood, by Iranian filmmaker Habib Ahmadzadeh, followed by a discussion on U.S.-Iranian relations led by Phil Wilayto, editor of The Virginia Defender newspaper and author of In Defense of Iran: Notes from a U.S. Peace Delegation’s Journey through the Islamic Republic. 7 pm at the Afterglow Coffee Cooperative, 1719 Summit Ave., in Richmond’s Scott’s Addition. For more information, email DefendersFJE@hotmail.com or call or text 804.644.5834.

IN DEFENSE OF IRAN: After Israel and the Trump regime bombed Iran, the Defenders reissued our book In Defense of Iran: Notes from a U.S. Peace Delegation’s Journey through the Islamic Republic. To purchase a copy, send your name, address and a check or money order for $15.85 (includes tax) made out to “Virginia Defender Press LLC” to: Defenders, PO Box 23202, Richmond, VA 23223.

Nov. 27 - Dec. 1 - WE AIN’T BUYING IT - “Pause on shopping from major companies that are enabling this administration. … This action is taking direct aim at Target, for caving to this administration’s biased attacks on DEI; Home Depot, for allowing and colluding with ICE to kidnap our neighbors on their properties; and Amazon, for funding this administration to secure their own corporate tax cuts.” More information at: https://weaintbuyingit.com

Fri., Dec. 26 - UMOJA KWANZAA CELEBRATION - “Drumming, Cooperative Economics, Calabash Village and more.” 5-9 pm, 464 Byrne St., Petersburg. Sponsored by United Parents Against Lead (UPAL) and the Tribe of Shabazz. For more information: 804.370.1143 - Pcr.hub22@gmail.com

STAND UP FOR GAZA!

IN RICHMOND: Join a protest every Friday from 8-9 am and 5-6 pm at the intersection of West Broad Street and North Belvidere. Initiated by the Virginia Defenders and sustained by a broad range of individuals and organizations.

IN NORFOLK: Hampton Roads for Palestine holds a protest every Saturday from 2-4 pm at the intersection of St. Paul's Boulevard and City Hall Avenue.

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VIRGINIA DEFENDERS FOR FREEDOM, JUSTICE & EQUALITY

Phone/Text: 804-644-5834 - Email: DefendersFJE@hotmail.com
Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality - Sacred Ground Project - The Virginia Defender - Odessa Solidarity Campaign

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