tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89693873346841259572024-03-13T07:31:31.290-04:00Defenders for Freedom, Justice & EqualityDefendersFJEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05628649474792310083noreply@blogger.comBlogger126125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8969387334684125957.post-72202865651946153182024-03-12T11:01:00.002-04:002024-03-12T11:11:12.752-04:00Winter 2024 issue of The Virginia Defender is Out! <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijJmtrafklKv9NjzGXlIQ6dJMNe1Bc3wRWFZBWT6WY7fssuQnf26CXdC6BkUGII2fINZKJYuyVsh9qjmyK1fPl4LeKFMFCedPTYCMEb4TADTcaiNcfns6p9QlvnHbLoHCKH8s1fYLxLVAq8o3nm3LkdthpyiQrpsnguWeJRgWCkw8E4YDX-j15VCLZUDo/s820/V-Def%2020-1%20FRONT%20PAGE.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijJmtrafklKv9NjzGXlIQ6dJMNe1Bc3wRWFZBWT6WY7fssuQnf26CXdC6BkUGII2fINZKJYuyVsh9qjmyK1fPl4LeKFMFCedPTYCMEb4TADTcaiNcfns6p9QlvnHbLoHCKH8s1fYLxLVAq8o3nm3LkdthpyiQrpsnguWeJRgWCkw8E4YDX-j15VCLZUDo/w400-h400/V-Def%2020-1%20FRONT%20PAGE.jpg" /></a><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">THE WINTER 2024 EDITION OF THE VIRGINIA DEFENDER …</h2><p>… is now on the streets! and online at <a href="https://virginiadefender.org/">virginiadefender.org</a>.</p><p><br />HIGHLIGHTS:<br /></p><ul><li>The Red Onion Hunger Strike</li><li>Fact Sheet on Kevin “Rashid” Johnson</li><li>Uhuru 3 headed to trial</li><li>Jermaine Doss denied parole for 4th time</li><li>The roots of the “Crisis at the Border”</li><li>The Defenders’ take on Richmond’s plans for Shockoe Bottom</li><li>Richmonders demand City Council call for ceasefire in Gaza</li><li>Virginians demand Senators Kaine & Warner stop voting to fund Israel</li></ul><p>& much more!<br /><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8969387334684125957.post-7314629194212251802023-11-11T00:00:00.057-05:002023-11-27T22:44:20.702-05:00 Autumn 2023 Edition of The Virginia Defender!<h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTpkFctNwqpo3JK989SMdJX1J7GH5X-lnk99oWW6sxiNF1dEvVdW2G-0wi_m7bP5UTerQ2IdWFBENG4bT3i6lISBqxoAQd5KppwwRfhl_lpxydUmbsL7GAWDH5PT4dp4avqoaMPyzWP6oeyune41UIu3RbqY-KGEyDsJfX8_YYuwAFRZK6J4XBNW2UUdI/s878/autumn-2023-front-page.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="867" data-original-width="878" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTpkFctNwqpo3JK989SMdJX1J7GH5X-lnk99oWW6sxiNF1dEvVdW2G-0wi_m7bP5UTerQ2IdWFBENG4bT3i6lISBqxoAQd5KppwwRfhl_lpxydUmbsL7GAWDH5PT4dp4avqoaMPyzWP6oeyune41UIu3RbqY-KGEyDsJfX8_YYuwAFRZK6J4XBNW2UUdI/s320/autumn-2023-front-page.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">The Autumn 2023 edition of The Virginia Defender is now on the streets.</div></h2><div style="text-align: left;">Find it online at <a href="http://virginiadefender.org">virginiadefender.org</a>.</div><br />Featuring:<div><p></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>A 7-page report on the People’s Tribunal on Virginia’s Prisons, Jails & Detention Centers</li><li>3 pages on Palestine</li><li>A photo essay on the Day of the Dead Ceremony at Richmond’s La Milpa Restaurant & Market</li><li>Update on the ongoing struggle to properly memorialize Shockoe Bottom</li><li>& more!</li></ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8969387334684125957.post-17845304105603664222023-11-04T00:00:00.000-04:002023-11-27T22:44:28.694-05:00 Sign the Open Letter to Senators Kaine & Warner<h2 style="text-align: left;">Sign the Open Letter to Senators Kaine & Warner: No More Money to Israel!</h2><p>In response to the genocide now taking place in Gaza, the Virginia Defenders have initiated an Open Letter to Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, calling on them to oppose any new “aid” to Israel. </p><p>To add your name, please send the name of the endorsing organization, or, if an individual, your name and some identification (community or prison activist, professor, attorney, minister, etc.) and your city or county in Virginia. The Open Letter will be delivered to the senators’ Richmond offices and released to the news media. The letter is <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1k2ZrV2a1OWZ-6Megg1bfUKoaW7G8qF2y/view" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8969387334684125957.post-54793211216831885212023-10-12T21:44:00.002-04:002023-11-27T22:46:10.295-05:00Protest: Sunday 10/15 at 2 pm in Monroe Park<h2 style="text-align: left;">“NO MORE U.S. 'AID' TO ISRAELI APARTHEID GOVERNMENT!"</h2><h3>Sunday, Oct. 15, Monroe Park, Richmond, VA!<br /></h3><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In response to the escalating massacre of the people of Gaza by the Israeli apartheid government, the organization <b>American Muslims for Palestine</b> has called for a protest to take place at 2 pm this Sunday, Oct. 15, in Richmond’s Monroe Park. The protest will demand no more U.S. “aid” to Israel. The Virginia Defenders for Freedom Justice & Equality strongly urge all our friends and allies to join us in supporting this action!</span></p><div><br /><div><br /></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8969387334684125957.post-39798724431045484952023-10-01T18:07:00.009-04:002023-10-01T18:07:56.158-04:0021st Gabriel Gathering is Tues, Oct 10 at 6:30<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihsJzV9d7pb85mqnTPAyid6MblJXr4jNAs-HHLlJ-n2_abgMnEtD1otD1o6wAcYBVXEr2GEvJ0BGIUtH7JZswVXimn0JVO3B2gZnHURKMJmlAOxYCSFN1vCYZ1Sn0C-jMfkBrIi7qHbtMjQ_RUqSF88LztE1qqvgpYalEyLfffcGWVtik6HMyHkXrjoRo/s1042/WeAreGabriel_BreakgtheChains_banner.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="220" data-original-width="1042" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihsJzV9d7pb85mqnTPAyid6MblJXr4jNAs-HHLlJ-n2_abgMnEtD1otD1o6wAcYBVXEr2GEvJ0BGIUtH7JZswVXimn0JVO3B2gZnHURKMJmlAOxYCSFN1vCYZ1Sn0C-jMfkBrIi7qHbtMjQ_RUqSF88LztE1qqvgpYalEyLfffcGWVtik6HMyHkXrjoRo/w640-h136/WeAreGabriel_BreakgtheChains_banner.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">This year's commemoration is in two parts:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Part One--<b>People's Tribunal for Virgina's Prisons, Jail's and Detention Centers</b>--takes place on Sat. Oct. 7 from 10 am to 4 pm and features testimony of current and formerly incarcerated men and women and organizations working for criminal justice transformation. A report from the event will be published in advance of the November 7 election. Find details here: https://fb.me/e/74f1sB7Ie).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Part Two--<b>Breaking the Chains in Virginia</b>--borrows its title from artist Melvin Edwards' depiction of Gabriel the blacksmith transforming iron objects into tools of liberation. Join us on the African Burial Ground in Shockoe Bottom as we</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">* Honor the memory of the peopel interred in the first municipal burial ground for Black people of early 19th century Richmond, Virginia, who made up 50% of the population, and</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">* Remember Richmond's role as a slave trading epicenter made it an early site of mass incarceration for the distribution of Black people as captives used for labor.</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">* Understand slave labor's evolution to prison labor as a particular tool of US capitalism: the exploitation of Black labor following the end of slavery and the ongoing use of racism as a tool to prevent the unification of workers.</div></div></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://fb.me/e/6rsBkcsOJ" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank">More info on Facebook</a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8969387334684125957.post-38978224471225794352023-09-06T16:58:00.001-04:002023-09-06T16:58:50.019-04:00 Prison Justice organizations to hold a PEOPLE’S TRIBUNAL ON VIRGINIA’S PRISONS, JAILS & DETETNION CENTERS<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR7R0oLZy_Vduw_ImRvL10agNCK0fPEmDvhnQVa-4ZopnpaxqWchzDDhkGVjvj6uar922jraSmFvDu1QEYlbmbsLydZKAv57SUTDLL_F1YHl3GmvatV5jZuYnmYVSafMI1pA2E4knLNde6Aokft3A4jIbRKA54-qM6H2yNHUkj9Rop5BD06HJyc_apDuk/s2000/Illustration81shadowlight.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="2000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR7R0oLZy_Vduw_ImRvL10agNCK0fPEmDvhnQVa-4ZopnpaxqWchzDDhkGVjvj6uar922jraSmFvDu1QEYlbmbsLydZKAv57SUTDLL_F1YHl3GmvatV5jZuYnmYVSafMI1pA2E4knLNde6Aokft3A4jIbRKA54-qM6H2yNHUkj9Rop5BD06HJyc_apDuk/w400-h400/Illustration81shadowlight.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>On Oct. 7, 2023, the Virginia Prison Justice Network and the Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality will co-sponsor a PEOPLE’S TRIBUNAL ON VIRGINIA’S PRISONS, JAILS & DETENTION CENTERS, an all-day public hearing to be held at the Greater Richmond Convention Center, 403 N. 3rd St. in downtown Richmond, Virginia. Hundreds of people are expected to attend the event, scheduled to run from 10 am to 4 pm.</p><p>Testimony about injustices in the state’s prisons, jails and immigrant detention centers will be presented by prisoners, formerly incarcerated individuals, family members and advocates. The testimony will be heard by a panel of Community Judges from the legal profession, academia, the religious community and more. (See below.)</p><p>After the Tribunal, a report will be published and presented to every candidate for the 2023 election to the Virginia General Assembly, and every candidate will be asked to take a position on the proposal to create an Independent Outside Oversight Body to oversee all places of confinement in the state. The goal is to make Prison Justice an issue that can’t be ignored in the election.</p><p>The People’s Tribunal is a continuation of the annual Virginia Prison Justice rallies held for the last six years in January by the Virginia Prison Justice Network, and is shaping up to be the largest event ever held in Virginia in support of the human rights of the state’s prisoners. As of Sept. 5, the Tribunal has been endorsed by more than two dozen organizations and individuals, including 15 Prison Justice organizations. (See below.) More than 300 people have responded on the Facebook event page, with more than 100 already saying they will be going. (“People’s Tribunal on Virginia Prisons, Jails & Detention Centers.”)</p><p>For more information, call or text 804-644-5834 or email DefendersFJE@hotmail.com.</p><p>For a more detailed explanation of the People’s Tribunal, see the Spring and Summer 2023 editions of The Virginia Defender newspaper at virginiadefender.org.</p><p>———————————</p><p>The Virginia Prison Justice Network was founded in 2018 to promote unity in the movement for justice in Virginia’s prisons and jails. (vapjn.wordpress.com)</p><p>The Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality is an all-volunteer community organization founded in 2002 to work for the survival of our communities through education and social justice organizing. (defendersfje.blogspot.com – virginiadefender.org – sacredgroundproject.net)</p><p>———————————</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">MEET THE COMMUNITY JUDGES:</h3><p>PRINCESS BLANDING – Sister of Marcus-David Peters; Co-founder, Justice & Reformation; Liberation Party candidate for governor of Virginia, 2021</p><p>LILLIE “MS. K” BRANCH-KENNEDY – Executive Director, Resource Information Help for the Disadvantaged & Disenfranchised (R.I.H.D.); mother of a formerly incarcerated son</p><p>MARGARET BRESLAU – Cofounder & Steering Committee Member, Virginia Prison Justice Network; Chair, Coalition for Justice, Blacksburg</p><p>MONICA CHAVEZ – Co-founder, Amigos Legacy, works with programs to improve the quality of life in the community</p><p>MIGNONNE C. GUY, Ph.D. – Chair, Department of African American Studies, Virginia Commonwealth University; Founder and Co-chair, VCU College of Humanities and Sciences Committee on Racial Equity and of the Committee on Racial Equity Student Advisory Group. Richmond</p><p>REV. RODNEY HUNTER – Pastor, Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church; Vice President, Richmond Area Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)</p><p>ROB POGGENKLASS – Executive Director, Justice Forward Virginia; former attorney with the Youth Justice and Civil Rights and Racial Justice program of the Legal Aid Justice Center, Charlottesville</p><p>————————————————————</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">ENDORSEMENTS (as of Sept. 5, 2023):</h3><h4 style="text-align: left;">PRISON JUSTICE ORGANIZATIONS</h4><p>Abolish Slavery Virginia</p><p>Bridging the Gap in Virginia</p><p>Citizens United for Rehabilitation of Errants (Virginia CURE)</p><p>Coalition for Justice (Blacksburg)</p><p>Forty Strong</p><p>Freedom Over Everything (F.O.E.)</p><p>From Conviction 2 Redemption</p><p>House of Dreams ReEntry Services</p><p>Interfaith Action for Human Rights</p><p>National Association of Social Workers – VA/DC (NASW VA/DC)</p><p>Nolef Turns Inc.</p><p>Resource Information Help for the Disadvantaged & Disenfranchised (R.I.H.D.)</p><p>Sistas in Prison Reform</p><p>Virginia Justice Alliance</p><p>Virginia Prisons Accountability Committee</p><p><br /></p><h4 style="text-align: left;">COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS</h4><p>Community of United Focus (Norfolk)</p><p>Community Unity in Action (Richmond)</p><p>Hampton Roads Coalition for Peace & Planet</p><p>Odessa Solidarity Campaign (Richmond)</p><p>Sacred Ground Historical Reclamation Project (Richmond)</p><p>The Virginia Defender newspaper</p><p><br /></p><h4 style="text-align: left;">INDIVIDUALS</h4><p>Princess Blanding – Liberation Party Candidate for Virginia Governor, 2021</p><p>Askari Lumumba – Co-Founder & Steering Committee Member, VAPJN; Member, Virginia Defenders (incarcerated at Greensville CC)</p><p>Kevin “Rashid” Johnson – Defense Minister, Revolutionary Intercommunal Black Panther Party (incarcerated at Sussex I CC)</p><p>Uhuru Baraka Rowe – Co-founder/Co-leader, Justice for Uhuru Coordinating Committee and Incarcerated Women’s Clemency & Support Project (incarcerated at Dillwyn CC)</p><p>Shaka Shakur – on behalf of NALC – New Afrikan Liberation Collective, Co-Founder (incarcerated at Beaumont CC)</p><p>Natasha White – Director of Community Engagement, Interfaith Action for Human Rights</p><p>Phil Wilayto – Editor, The Virginia Defender newspaper</p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/787499949685740"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">https://www.facebook.com/events/787499949685740</span></b></a></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8969387334684125957.post-81442110334200308542021-01-17T20:58:00.007-05:002021-01-17T20:58:45.010-05:00 Defying fear, VAPJN caravan demands COVID-19 protection for Va. prisoners<p>Staff Report - The Virginia Defender - https://virginiadefender.org</p><p>RICHMOND, VA, Jan. 17 -- Three days before the presidential inauguration in nearby Washington, D.C., a state of emergency has been declared in Virginia. The FBI has warned of possible attacks this weekend on all 50 state capitols, including in Richmond. There was a bomb threat yesterday at the Virginia Supreme Court. And thousands of angry “gun rights” activists are expected to converge on the city tomorrow. Tensions are so high that even some county “militias” are saying they’re skipping that event out of safety concerns.</p><p>And yet none of that prevented nearly 50 cars from joining the “Not One More Death!” caravan that drove through downtown Richmond yesterday to demand protection for the state’s prisoners from the COVID-19 pandemic.</p><p>Organized by the prisoner-led Virginia Prison Justice Network, the mobilization attracted former prisoners and family members from around the Greater Richmond area and as far away as Stafford to the north and Suffolk to the south.</p><p>Led by the Richmond organizations Community Unity In Action and Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality, the mobilization was joined by members of Incarcerated Lives Matter VA, Bridging the Gap Virginia, Resource Information Help for the Disadvantaged & Disenfranchised (RIHD), Richmond For All, New Virginia Majority and anti-eviction activists, among others.</p><p>While people gathered in the parking lot of the Black-owned Supreme Flea Market in Henrico County, VAPJN organizer Lynetta Thompson explained the caravan demands:</p><p>1 - Outside oversight of the state’s prisons and jails by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or a similar agency.</p><p>2 - Classification of prisoners on the same level as residents of nursing homes for receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.</p><p>3 - Rapid expansion of the state’s early-release program to include a much wider pool of eligible prisoners.</p><p>Thompson and Defender Charles Brown then read statements from the three VAPJN prisoner leaders: Hassan Shabazz, incarcerated at the Augusta Correctional Center in Augusta County; Chanell Burnette, from the Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women in Troy; and Askari Danso, at River North in Independence. (The statements are posted on the VAPJN website: https://vapjn.wordpress.com.)</p><p>Defender Phil Wilayto then went over the logistics of the day and the ground rules for participants. (Richmond For All video of the presentations is here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CKHX67LlxRs - To view, cut and paste onto your browser.)</p><p>After drivers taped posters to their vehicles, the caravan set off, headlights on and blinkers flashing - a militant, defiant funeral procession paying homage to the 51 Virginia prisoners who have died from COVID-19, along with two prison staff members. Altogether, nearly one-third of the state’s 25,000 prisoners have contracted the disease. Many also have died in local and regional jails.</p><p>Once the caravan reached downtown Richmond, it turned north and made two swings by the Richmond city jail, which did not begin testing inmates until four months after the pandemic had hit Virginia, and then only after multiple protests by local prisoner advocates. By that time, one out of every eight inmates had been infected, with 90 percent showing no symptoms.</p><p>“The most impressive part for me was when we circled twice in front of the city jail and we all could see how many of us there were,” Thompson told the Defender. “And by the time we went around the second time you could see faces in the jail windows.”</p><p>Then it was back onto Broad Street and past the State Capitol, which has been shut down and fenced off, with plywood covering its windows. This is where the VAPJN has held rallies of hundreds for the past three years. The caravan continued through the Broad Street shopping area, the arts district and Virginia Commonwealth University campus, and finally past the Science Museum of Virginia, where the state legislature’s senate is meeting during the current General Assembly session. (The House of Delegates is meeting virtually.)</p><p>“The reaction from the people on the street, reading the signs, ‘Not One More Death!’ - it was amazing,” Thompson said. “We got a lot of fists up and ‘yeahs,’ and the cars just kept coming with their lights flashing - it was very impressive.”</p><p>“Despite the tensions, it was really important to be out on the streets,” Wilayto said. “We’ve been planning this since well before the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, and to have called it off or postponed it would have sent a very bad signal about the strength and determination of the progressive movement in Virginia. We considered all the possible dangers, prepared our security accordingly, and are very happy with the results.”</p><p>---</p><p>Editor’s Note: The Defenders put out $128.00 for a van rental and $150.00 for posters and route maps. To make a donation to help cover the costs, please click the “Donate” button in the top right menu of this page. </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8969387334684125957.post-80313547138765502002020-09-25T22:29:00.002-04:002020-09-25T22:31:13.965-04:00Check out the latest VDEF Updates & Announcements<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background-color: #fafafa; border-collapse: collapse; color: black; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" id="templateHeader" style="background: none center center / cover no-repeat rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom: 0px; border-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 9px; text-size-adjust: 100%;" valign="top"><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="templateContainer" style="border-collapse: collapse; max-width: 600px !important; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td class="headerContainer" style="text-size-adjust: 100%;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mcnImageBlock" style="border-collapse: collapse; min-width: 100%; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody class="mcnImageBlockOuter"><tr><td class="mcnImageBlockInner" style="padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;" valign="top"><table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mcnImageContentContainer" style="border-collapse: collapse; min-width: 100%; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td class="mcnImageContent" style="padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;" valign="top"><img align="left" alt="" class="mcnImage" src="https://mcusercontent.com/df9beea5d363d58d3a3e16a3e/images/779bb733-0f8d-4fc7-ba6b-08909e1b3a8a.jpg" style="border: 0px; display: inline !important; height: auto; max-width: 350px; outline: none; padding-bottom: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" width="227.5" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mcnTextBlock" style="border-collapse: collapse; min-width: 100%; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody class="mcnTextBlockOuter"><tr><td class="mcnTextBlockInner" style="padding-top: 9px; text-size-adjust: 100%;" valign="top"><table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mcnTextContentContainer" style="border-collapse: collapse; max-width: 100%; min-width: 100%; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td class="mcnTextContent" style="color: #202020; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; padding: 0px 18px 9px; text-size-adjust: 100%; word-break: break-word;" valign="top"><h1 class="null" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 26px; line-height: 32.5px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 42px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", times, baskerville, georgia, serif;">Updates & Announcements</span></span></span></h1> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><strong>A service of </strong></span><span style="font-size: 19px;"><span style="color: mediumblue;"><strong>THE VIRGINIA DEFENDER</strong></span></span><span style="font-size: 13px;"><strong> newspaper. </strong></span><br /><span style="font-size: 12px;">Editorial Board: Ana Edwards & Phil Wilayto</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 15px;"><strong><span style="color: mediumblue;">Sept. 24, 2020</span></strong></span><br /><span style="font-size: 13px;"><strong>On this date in 1973, Guinea-Bissau declared its independence from Portugal. <br />The declaration was recognized almost a year later on Sept. 10, 1974.</strong></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mcnDividerBlock" style="border-collapse: collapse; min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed !important; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody class="mcnDividerBlockOuter"><tr><td class="mcnDividerBlockInner" style="min-width: 100%; padding: 18px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mcnDividerContent" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-top: 1px solid rgb(234, 91, 58); min-width: 100%; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-size-adjust: 100%;"></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mcnTextBlock" style="border-collapse: collapse; min-width: 100%; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody class="mcnTextBlockOuter"><tr><td class="mcnTextBlockInner" style="padding-top: 9px; text-size-adjust: 100%;" valign="top"><table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mcnTextContentContainer" style="border-collapse: collapse; max-width: 100%; min-width: 100%; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td class="mcnTextContent" style="color: #202020; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; padding: 0px 18px 9px; text-size-adjust: 100%; word-break: break-word;" valign="top"><strong><span style="font-size: 18px;">Sat., Sept. 26 - <span style="color: mediumblue;">PEOPLE FIRST FISH FRY</span></span><br />1-4 pm at the Marcus-David Peters Circle, Monument and North Allen avenues, Richmond.</strong> Join <a href="https://www.facebook.com/justiceformarcuspeters/" style="color: #007c89; text-size-adjust: 100%;" target="_blank">Justice and Reformation for Marcus-David Peters</a> along with their partners for a People First Fish Fry, community day, and meet-up with Justice and Reformation’s 2020 endorsed candidates for Richmond City Council. “We’re raising up local leaders who put people over profit. Hear their vision for community care and real, people-first public safety. Supporting partners for this event: Richmond Action Alliance; Richmond For All; RVA26; Santos en Virginia; Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice, & Equality; Virginia Poor People’s Campaign. #TimeForChangeRichmondVA - On Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1010454896034450" style="color: #007c89; text-size-adjust: 100%;" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/events/1010454896034450</a><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size: 18px;">Sun., Sept. 27 - </span><span style="color: mediumblue;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">SACRED GROUND PROJECT TOUR OF SHOCKOE BOTTOM</span></span><br />3-4 pm at Richmond’s African Burial Ground.</strong> Hosted by the Sacred Ground Historical Reclamation Project of the Virginia Defenders. Richmond's Shockoe Bottom was once the epicenter of the U.S. domestic slave trade. More than half of all people of African descent in this country could likely trace some ancestry to this small downtown district. Shockoe Bottom deserves a proper memorialization, one that tells the true story of the suffering, resistance and need for reparations that this site represents - something that Richmond activists and their national and international allies have been fighting for for nearly 20 years. But we need the new generations of anti-racist activists to join in this effort. Please come and take this tour of Shockoe Bottom. Hear the stories of courage and resistance. All are welcome, but we particularly invite the youth. We have been out on the streets with you - now come on the tour with us! NOTE: We will meet at Richmond's African Burial Ground, located just north of East Broad Street between I-95 and the CSX railroad tracks. Look for us at the small white building at what would be Broad and 16th streets. There is no charge for the tour. For more information, email us at DefendersFJE@hotmail.com or call or text us at 804.644.5834. On Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/2691435577787463" style="color: #007c89; text-size-adjust: 100%;" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/events/2691435577787463</a><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size: 18px;">Sat., Oct. 10 - <span style="color: mediumblue;">18th ANNUAL GABRIEL GATHERING</span></span><br />5:30-7 pm at Richmond’s African Burial Ground. </strong>Hosted by the Sacred Ground Historical Reclamation Project of the Virginia Defenders. Oct. 10 is the date in 1800 that the great slave-rebellion leader was executed at what is now known as the African Burial Ground. Each year since 2003 the Defenders and our friends and allies have gathered at this site to stand in solidarity with Gabriel and his co-conspirators and rededicate ourselves to the struggle for Freedom, Justice and Equality. This year we will focus on the anti-racist Rebellion and its meaning for reclaiming Shockoe Bottom, once the epicenter of the U.S. domestic slave trade. Plan to wear a mask and socially distance. Program details will be posted at <a href="http://www.sacredgroundproject.net/" style="color: #007c89; text-size-adjust: 100%;" target="_blank">http://www.sacredgroundproject.net/</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/2911198682283163" style="color: #007c89; text-size-adjust: 100%;" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/events/2911198682283163</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mcnTextBlock" style="border-collapse: collapse; min-width: 100%; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody class="mcnTextBlockOuter"><tr><td class="mcnTextBlockInner" style="padding-top: 9px; text-size-adjust: 100%;" valign="top"><table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mcnTextContentContainer" style="border-collapse: collapse; max-width: 100%; min-width: 100%; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td class="mcnTextContent" style="color: #ea5b3a; font-family: "Merriweather Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px; padding: 0px 18px 9px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: 100%; word-break: break-word;" valign="top"></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mcnBoxedTextBlock" style="border-collapse: collapse; min-width: 100%; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody class="mcnBoxedTextBlockOuter"><tr><td class="mcnBoxedTextBlockInner" style="text-size-adjust: 100%;" valign="top"><table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mcnBoxedTextContentContainer" style="border-collapse: collapse; min-width: 100%; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td style="padding: 9px 18px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" class="mcnTextContentContainer" style="background-color: #001eff; border-collapse: collapse; min-width: 100%; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td class="mcnTextContent" style="color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; padding: 18px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: 100%; word-break: break-word;" valign="top"><strong><span style="font-size: 20px;">STATEMENT BY THE VIRGINIA DEFENDERS<br />ON THE SHOCKOE BOTTOM MEMORIAL PARK</span></strong><br /><br /><strong>WE CAN DO BOTH!</strong> - Attempts by local elected officials to pit the Shockoe Bottom Memorial Park against the needs of poor & working people in Richmond is a hypocritical attempt to kill the park proposal. Please see our statement posted at<span style="color: lavenderblush;"> </span><a href="http://www.sacredgroundproject.net/2020/09/we-can-do-both.html" style="color: #007c89; text-size-adjust: 100%;" target="_blank"><span style="color: lavenderblush;">SacredGroundProject.net</span></a><span style="color: lavenderblush;">.</span></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mcnTextBlock" style="border-collapse: collapse; min-width: 100%; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody class="mcnTextBlockOuter"><tr><td class="mcnTextBlockInner" style="padding-top: 9px; text-size-adjust: 100%;" valign="top"><table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mcnTextContentContainer" style="border-collapse: collapse; max-width: 100%; min-width: 100%; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td class="mcnTextContent" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; padding: 0px 18px 9px; text-size-adjust: 100%; word-break: break-word;" valign="top"><h2 class="null" dir="ltr" style="color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 22px; line-height: 27.5px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /><span style="color: red;">NEW FROM THE VIRGINIA DEFENDER!</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 21px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><strong>THE COVID-19 RICHMOND JAIL CRISIS THAT COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 21px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">RICHMOND, VA, Sept. 8 -- “Some terrible mistake was made along the way.” That was how a federal judge described the recent massive COVID-19 outbreak at a private immigrant detention center in Farmville, Va., the result of officials transferring a large number of detainees from Arizona and Florida without first quarantining them. The same words could describe the coronavirus crisis at the Richmond city jail, where one out of every eight inmates now has the disease. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/defendersfje/?view_public_for=200985546594520" style="color: #007c89; text-size-adjust: 100%;" target="_blank">Click here to read</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 21px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><strong>REBELLION DEMANDS FACE STIFF OPPOSITION IN DEMOCRATIC-CONTROLLED LEGISLATURE</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 21px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">RICHMOND, VA, Sept. 15 -- For the first time since 1993, the Democratic Party controls both houses of the state legislature and the governor’s mansion, but that still hasn’t resulted in the critical police-abuse reforms demanded by thousands of Richmond anti-racist protesters. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/VirginiaDefender" style="color: #007c89; text-size-adjust: 100%;" target="_blank">Click here to read</a>.</p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td align="center" id="templateBody" style="background: none center center / cover no-repeat rgb(255, 255, 255); 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min-width: 100%; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody class="mcnTextBlockOuter"><tr><td class="mcnTextBlockInner" style="padding-top: 9px; text-size-adjust: 100%;" valign="top"><table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mcnTextContentContainer" style="border-collapse: collapse; max-width: 100%; min-width: 100%; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td class="mcnTextContent" style="color: #202020; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17.5px; padding: 0px 18px 9px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: 100%; word-break: break-word;" valign="top"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 17.5px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><strong>The Summer 2020 edition of <span style="color: blue;">The Virginia Defender</span> is out, online & on the streets!</strong><br /><a href="http://virginiadefender.org/" style="color: #ffe386; text-size-adjust: 100%;" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">READ IT HERE</span></a></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 17.5px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">Information is Power - Help bring Power to the People! </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 17.5px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">Take a bundle of newspapers to distribute in your neighborhood, workplace, school and at actions.</p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 17.5px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">Email: <a href="mailto:DefendersFJE@hotmail.com" style="color: #ffe386; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;">DefendersFJE@hotmail.com</span></a><span style="color: blue;"> </span>- or call / text: 804.644.5834.</p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td align="center" id="templateFooter" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: center center; background-repeat: no-repeat; 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Photo by Phil Wilayto</div><div><br /></div></div><p></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">THE COVID-19 RICHMOND JAIL CRISIS THAT COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED</h2><p>By Phil Wilayto for The Virginia Defender</p><p>RICHMOND, VA, Sept. 8 -- “Some terrible mistake was made along the way.”</p><p>That was how a federal judge described the recent massive COVID-19 outbreak at a private immigrant detention center in Farmville, Va., the result of officials transferring a large number of detainees from Arizona and Florida without first quarantining them.</p><p>The same words could describe the coronavirus crisis at the Richmond city jail, where one out of every eight inmates now has the disease.</p><p>Back on April 27, Sheriff Antionette Irving told this reporter that no inmates at the jail yet had been tested for COVID-19. By that date, Virginia already had reported 13,535 cases, with 2,066 people hospitalized and 458 deaths.</p><p>Irving explained that her policy was to test any inmate who showed symptoms of the disease or who asked to be tested. But it is well-known that people infected with COVID-19 can show no symptoms and yet still pass the disease to others, especially in confined spaces such as nursing homes, jails and prisons. </p><p>Irving also stated that she didn’t have any COVID-19 test kits at the time.</p><p>In response, this reporter and other advocates on May 11 wrote to Dr. Danny Avula, director of the Richmond and Henrico County health departments, urging him to make test kits available to the jail administration.</p><p>Dr. Avula responded on May 15, stating, “To date, the Richmond City Justice Center has no confirmed cases, and as a result, we have not considered widespread testing.” </p><p>He added that his department had provided test kits to the jail “so that testing can be conducted on any inmates or staff who exhibit symptoms, and a PPS [representative testing] would be considered and likely recommended if COVID-19 was identified.”</p><p>In late July, the Defender sent a list of questions to the sheriff under the Freedom of Information Act asking for an update on the COVID-19 situation in the jail. Sheriff Irving’s office quickly responded, stating that 503 out of about 644 inmates had volunteered to be tested, with 340 being tested on July 7, 21 and 27. Of the 340, 12 were found to be infected, with four showing no symptoms. </p><p>According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the first case of COVID-19 in Richmond was confirmed on March 18 - nearly four months before this first mass testing in the jail.</p><p>Later, in response to a second FOIA request, the sheriff stated that, by Sept. 2, a total of 119 inmates had tested positive at the jail, with 109 - more than 90 percent - displaying no symptoms. By that date, there still were a total of 81 active cases among 675 inmates, meaning that 12 percent - one out of every eight inmates - had the disease. </p><p>Jail officials say they follow all guidelines recommended by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including “wearing masks, social distancing within the facility, and courts, hand washing/sanitizing, daily temperature checks, and increased janitorial cleaning throughout the day at the facility."</p><p>The jail can house 1,132 inmates, including in the medical clinic and solitary confinement, so there should be room for isolating inmates with active or suspected cases.</p><p>Asked what happens if an inmate declines to be tested, the sheriff told the Defender, “They are quarantined and asked daily if they would like to test, and are educated in regards to COVID-19, and continuously assessed by the nursing staff to monitor if there are any signs or symptoms.”</p><p>And are inmates tested before they are released back into the community? </p><p>“No,” the sheriff responded, “but they are provided with resources and education in addition to VDH [Virginia Department of Health] contact person.”</p><p>So inmates who may have declined to be tested for COVID-19 and who have the disease but are not showing symptoms can be released back into the community, without being tested. </p><p>Unlike in prisons, most people confined in local jails are there for relatively short periods. According to a study by the General Assembly’s Joint Commission on Health Care, the average time an inmate spent in a local jail in 2017 was just 17 days.</p><p>And active cases aren’t limited to inmates.</p><p>Also by Sept. 2, according to the sheriff, 22 jail employees and/or contractors had tested positive - with none of them showing symptoms at the time they were tested. Staff and outside contractors, who pass in and out of the jail, would seem to be the most likely carriers of the disease. It is not known how many people in the community the infected but asymptomatic staff members or contractors may have infected.</p><p>Local activists have charged that one Richmond inmate has died from COVID-19, something Sheriff Irving has publicly denied. In response to a question submitted under FOIA, the sheriff told the Defender that by Sept. 2 no inmate had died from the disease, and no inmate who had the disease has died from what was determined to be other causes. </p><p>Meanwhile, by mid-June, officials at nearby Chesterfield County Jail had tested all inmates, resulting in positive tests for 41, of whom 31 were asymptomatic. The 41 represented about 20 percent of the more than 200 inmates. No employees tested positive at that time.</p><p>As of Sept. 1, the Chesterfield jail was reporting no active cases among inmates in the previous month.</p><p>Unlike in Richmond or Henrico County, the Chesterfield jail posts updated information about active COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths on its website, as does the Virginia Department of Corrections. </p><p>The tragedy is that if all Richmond city jail inmates and staff had been tested back in April - or earlier - the present outbreak in the jail may have been avoided.</p><p>One problem may have been the lack of outside pressure. Except for The Virginia Defender and the Richmond Free Press, there was little media coverage of the COVID-19 crisis in the city jail until 11 young activists were brutally arrested Sept. 1 during a protest outside the jail, resulting in wide media attention.</p><p>And, to the best of our knowledge, the Richmond and Henrico County health departments have not sought to make the crisis a public issue.</p><p>As of Sept. 2, the sheriff’s office stated that that jail had both testing kits and PPE [Personal Protective Equipment], adding, “We are always excepting [sic] more cleaning supplies PPE and testing kits for the appropriate outside escorts.”</p><p>Advocates including the Richmond Legal Justice Center, Richmond Community Bail Fund, Richmond Public Defender Tracy Paner, S.O.N.G, American Civil Liberties Union, Virginia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality have been calling on jails to release more inmates because of the coronavirus pandemic. As of Sept. 2, 675 women and men were being held in the jail, a decline of 12.2 percent from the average of 769 held in January of this year.</p><p><br /></p><p><i>Editor’s note: The formal name of the Richmond city jail is the Richmond City Justice Center. It is the policy of The Virginia Defender to use the more accurate term, “Richmond city jail.”) </i></p>DefendersFJEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05628649474792310083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8969387334684125957.post-59661605196395226522020-07-20T00:04:00.002-04:002020-09-08T20:29:50.623-04:00Defenders Call for Unity in the Rebellion<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RAak6L2KVKk/XxUXw-8jA8I/AAAAAAAB5qQ/5X5dZL79HJoXGUzadVw7ZamSOYMiLOoRwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2225/candlesonplinthatMDPCircle.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="761" data-original-width="2225" height="170" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RAak6L2KVKk/XxUXw-8jA8I/AAAAAAAB5qQ/5X5dZL79HJoXGUzadVw7ZamSOYMiLOoRwCLcBGAsYHQ/w500-h170/candlesonplinthatMDPCircle.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div><br /></div>VIRGINIA DEFENDERS CALL FOR SUPPORT FOR ALL PROTESTERS FACING CHARGES, DOXING OR OTHER ATTACKS</div><div><br /></div><div>The Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality are calling for broad, united support for all protesters arrested during the current anti-racist Rebellion, all those targeted for right-wing doxing and all those being harassed by elected officials for their roles in the Rebellion.</div><div><br /></div><div>Richmond has now seen nearly two months of daily protests against the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, abuse by local police departments across the country, our own city’s many symbols of white supremacy and racism in general. </div><div><br /></div><div>This (for Richmond) unprecedented wave of actions of all kinds has deeply changed the political balance of power in the city. A mayor who first refused to allow his Monument Avenue Commission to even consider taking down the Confederate statues on Monument Avenue wound up issuing an emergency order to take down all four city-owned statues there, as well as many other Confederate-honoring symbols. </div><div><br /></div><div>The mayor and a rapidly-changing series of police chiefs have endorsed the demands of the family and supporters of police-shooting victim Marcus-David Peters for a Marcus Alert system to address situations of people experiencing mental health crises, and a Civilian Review Board with subpoena power. Richmond’s Commonwealth’s Attorney has - very belatedly - agreed to begin releasing the names of police officers indicted for abuse. There is at least the beginning of the discussion about transferring funds from policing to community needs. These are just some of the changes that are the result of the “civil unrest” that has swept Richmond, our region and the entire country. And remember, all this has been taking place during the worst health crisis since the 1918 influenza pandemic.</div><div><br /></div><div>But this struggle is far from over. A city with a pre-coronavirus poverty rate of 21.9 percent has been hit hard by layoffs, business closings and a national response to the pandemic that can only be described as criminal. A tsunami of evictions is about to break over Richmond, already the city with the second-highest rate of evictions in the entire country. Richmond homelessness, which grew by 10 percent in 2019, is sure to accelerate. Job prospects for recent high school and university graduates, not to mention high school drop-outs, look particularly grim. And, as always, these challenges are hitting the Black, immigrant and other communities of color the hardest. We need more protests, more demands, more struggles - not the “leveling off” hoped for by elected officials.</div><div><br /></div><div>And, most pressingly, we need a broad united front of support for the 250-300 people who have been arrested in the course of the local protests. Hundreds were “kettled” on the third night of the Rebellion and forced to spend the night sitting handcuffed in buses before being brought before magistrates to be charged with violating the state-imposed curfew, while Richmond’s sheriff prevented them from meeting with the lawyers who were waiting outside the jail.</div><div><br /></div><div>Others arrested include Michaela Hatton, a 22-year-old graduate from the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Social Work, charged with assault on a police officer after she was grabbed by a cop during a protest outside police headquarters and held as a virtual hostage while the police demanded that the legal protest disperse. She is now facing up to 15 years in prison </div><div><br /></div><div>Omari Al-Qadaffi, a well-known and well-respected housing rights organizer, was taken down by five sheriff’s deputies after an anti-eviction rally as he attempted to enter the John Marshall Courts Building to be present at the resumption of eviction hearings after a months-long state moratorium had been lifted. Charged with two counts of felony assault on law enforcement officers, obstruction of justice and trespass, he now faces many years behind bars. Both Michaela and Omari are African-American. Many other protesters are also facing serious charges.</div><div><br /></div><div>Thanks to the work of the Richmond Community Bail Fund and a consortium of volunteer attorneys, most of those arrested had bail and legal support. And many organizations have joined the call for Amnesty for all those arrested during the protests. This call and this support needs to be strongly amplified as we stand shoulder-to-shoulder in support of all our comrades facing charges.</div><div><br /></div><div>There is also the growing public “doxing” of protesters and organizers being carried out by right-wing figures, as well as the targeting of at least one longtime local activist by individuals who have been contacting their workplace in an attempt to get them fired. This is completely unacceptable and cannot be tolerated.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Defenders are proud to have been on the streets virtually every day and night of the Rebellion, joining the thousands of protesters braving tear gas and risking arrest. We organized jail support for those arrested in the May 31 curfew kettle. We have reported on the protests in our online outlets for The Virginia Defender newspaper. And we have offered to build court support for any of those facing trials.</div><div><br /></div><div>In the spirit of collective mutual aid and self-defense, we call on everyone who has participated in or supported the Rebellion to close ranks and defend all those now under attack, whether from the police, city prosecutors, elected officials, civilian rightwingers or the media. We need a strong show of Unity. We need to keep any internal disputes internal. We need to revive the old labor slogan “An Injury to One is an Injury to All!”</div><div><br /></div><div>And we need to make it crystal clear that we will not tolerate threats, targeting, intimidation or doxing of our community members. We will continue to stand in solidarity and fight until ALL of our demands are met. We won’t back down!</div><div><br /></div><div>In the coming days, we look forward to discussing with other activists concrete ideas for strengthening this Unity, so vital to building on the many victories we have collectively won so far. </div><div><br /></div><div>Statement issued July 19, 2020, by the </div><div>VIRGINIA DEFENDERS FOR FREEDOM, JUSTICE & EQUALITY</div><div>PO Box 23202, Richmond, VA 23223 - Ph/Text: 804.644.5834 - DefendersFJE@hotmail.com https://defendersfje.blogspot.com/ - http://www.sacredgroundproject.net/</div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8969387334684125957.post-42274339162659354612020-06-18T23:38:00.002-04:002020-07-20T00:57:08.106-04:00Appeal to Support Michaela Hatton<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X_ct2qgCzCo/XxUkEPY-fBI/AAAAAAAB5uA/6v8qmLkmHgQoxzKpGurrCV7PZ5_Vl_bGgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/RTempleton_march.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1114" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X_ct2qgCzCo/XxUkEPY-fBI/AAAAAAAB5uA/6v8qmLkmHgQoxzKpGurrCV7PZ5_Vl_bGgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/RTempleton_march.jpg" /></a></div>Michaela Hatton is the young African-American woman arrested in the early morning hours of June 15 during a Black Lives Matter protest outside the Richmond Police Department headquarters on West Grace Street.</div><div><br /></div><div>She has been charged with two felonies: inciting to riot and assault on a law enforcement officer. Together, the charges carry penalties of up to 15 years in prison and fines of up to $5,000.</div><div><br /></div><div>The police are saying Michaela hit an officer with a bullhorn. Eyewitnesses have contradicted that claim, and further have charged that the police pepper-sprayed the loud but peaceful protesters without provocation. After Michaela was arrested, police said they would not process her for release until all the protesters had left the area, in effect holding her hostage in exchange for ending a legal demonstration.</div><div><br /></div><div>Michaela is a 2020 graduate of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Social Work. She has organized many protests for social justice, including the recent one that, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, “focused on gentrification and evictions and their impact on housing inequities.”</div><div><br /></div><div>Michaela has an attorney, who is representing her pro bono - for free, and her $5,000 bail was covered by the Richmond Community Bail Fund, but she is still in a difficult financial situation. She had taken off work for two weeks to concentrate on the protests, and after her arrest was told by her employer that she couldn’t come back to work until the charges were resolved. She is also in the process of moving. She has Venmo and Cashapp accounts and would appreciate any financial help.</div><div><br /></div><div>With Michaela’s permission, the Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality is urging support for this courageous advocate for housing equality and racial justice. Any contribution, no matter how modest, would be greatly appreciated, and would also be a show of support for our brave young people on the frontlines of the Black Lives Matter struggle.</div><div><br /></div><div>Please give what you can.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Venmo: michaelahatton</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Cashapp: $Michaela1998</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Further, the Defenders are joining the calls by other supporters to contact Richmond’s Commonwealth’s Attorney Colette McEachin and demand that these spurious charges against Michaela Hatton be dropped immediately. Police abuse is the crime, not protesting against it. Email: colette4rva@gmail.com.</div><div><br /></div><div>This appeal is issued by the Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality, whose members have participated in the BLM protests of the past three weeks and did jail support for those arrested May 31 for protesting during the curfew. On Facebook and here at https://defendersfje.blogspot.com/</div><div><br /></div>DefendersFJEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05628649474792310083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8969387334684125957.post-51448965238861086892020-05-31T02:41:00.002-04:002020-05-31T02:41:53.842-04:00For Immediate Release: May 29, 2020<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n3q1d7mn7gg/XtNQjZQ6SvI/AAAAAAAB3As/4h5tT_AzFbEjGwaLdfhzJP4QgIqhVa5ygCK4BGAsYHg/20200530_justice4georgefloyd.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2553" data-original-width="4656" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n3q1d7mn7gg/XtNQjZQ6SvI/AAAAAAAB3As/4h5tT_AzFbEjGwaLdfhzJP4QgIqhVa5ygCK4BGAsYHg/s320/20200530_justice4georgefloyd.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>RICHMOND, VA, May 29 -- Militant and at times violent protests have erupted across the United States over the incredibly depraved, racist and brutal murder of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African-American security officer, by a white policeman in Minneapolis, Minn.<div><br /></div><div>Fueling the anger are the Feb. 23 murder near Brunswick, Ga., of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery by two white men while he was jogging through “their” neighborhood, and the March 13 fatal police shooting in Louisville, Ky., of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency medical technician, killed when officers broke into her apartment under a “no-knock” warrant, without announcing themselves as police.</div><div><br /></div><div>George Floyd was arrested May 25 on suspicion of trying to pass a counterfeit $20 bill, a minor, nonviolent crime. When he allegedly resisted arrest, Office Derek Chauvin, one of four officers on the scene, placed his knee on the prone, handcuffed man’s neck and, according to a probable cause affidavit released today, left it there for more than five minutes while Floyd repeated over and over, “I can’t breathe!” The officer then continued to hold his knee on Floyd’s neck for another three minutes, after Floyd had stopped speaking or moving.</div><div><br /></div><div>According to a statement released by the Minneapolis Police Department, 18 complaints had previously been filed against Officer Chauvin with the MPD’s internal affairs division. And, according to a report by CNN, surveillance video of the arrest does not support the police claim that Floyd resisted.</div><div><br /></div><div>The outrage from the Minneapolis community was fierce. Thousands of people marched the next day on a local police station. Confrontations with the police ensued. Protesters came out again the next evening and the next. On May 28 the building housing the police department’s 3rd Precinct was set on fire. Police assigned to the building fled, and flames lit up the sky. Other fires were set at nearby stores. Video and photos from the scenes show thoroughly multiracial crowds.</div><div><br /></div><div>Protests have now spread to cities across the country, including Los Angeles; Detroit; Atlanta; Memphis; Houston; Washington, D.C.; and New York City. Many more “I Can’t Breathe” protests are planned for tomorrow.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here in Richmond, Va., a gathering has been called for 8:30 p.m. this evening at Monroe Park. a traditional site for protests in the city. A graphic announcing the action is emblazoned with the words “Fuck the Police,” a cry heard at many of the actions in other cities. A specifically “peaceful protest” has been called for 10 a.m. Sunday, May 31, on Brown’s Island. Discussions are also taking place among local Black pastors to hold some kind of activity.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the brutal, racist murder of George Floyd, as well as those of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and so many more Black women, men and children. We extend our deepest sympathies to their families and friends. We solidarize ourselves with those who have taken to the streets in Minneapolis and around the country. </div><div><br /></div><div>And while we applaud the firing of the four police officers involved in Floyd’s death and today’s arrest of former Officer Chauvin, we are outraged that he has only been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.</div><div><br /></div><div>We demand:</div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>that the charges against former Officer Derek Chauvin be upgraded to first-degree murder;</li><li>that the other three officers at the scene of the murder who did nothing to intervene also be arrested and charged with accessory to first-degree murder; </li><li>that all those arrested in the protests in Minneapolis and other cities be immediately released and that all charges against them be dropped;.</li><li>that a federal law be passed calling for the establishment of local independent, elected, civilian police review boards, with the power to subpoena, suspend and/or fire police officers involved in cases of brutality and murder.</li></ol></div><div>As the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Riots are the voice of the unheard.” We would only add that it is the right of a free people to rebel against tyranny - by any means necessary.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">-- x --</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8969387334684125957.post-68179617386869215882020-05-23T18:14:00.001-04:002020-05-31T03:51:12.667-04:00All four Richmond mayoral candidates endorse the Memorial Park!<span id="docs-internal-guid-24e28725-7fff-7508-7c2f-85b106c5fd04"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: verdana; font-size: 18pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: verdana; font-size: 18pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: verdana; font-size: 18pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ALL FOUR RICHMOND MAYORAL CANDIDATES HAVE NOW ENDORSED </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: verdana; font-size: 18pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">THE COMMUNITY PROPOSAL FOR A </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: verdana; font-size: 18pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">9-ACRE SHOCKOE BOTTOM MEMORIAL PARK</span></div></span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wjacXleWHMc/XtNh6hWZXPI/AAAAAAAB3Bc/pIe52t0PtawtQXBQBQrPcJJ_-1yTROingCK4BGAsYHg/4candidates.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="188" data-original-width="735" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wjacXleWHMc/XtNh6hWZXPI/AAAAAAAB3Bc/pIe52t0PtawtQXBQBQrPcJJ_-1yTROingCK4BGAsYHg/s320/4candidates.png" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All four announced candidates for the November 2020 election for mayor of Richmond have now declared their support for the community-generated proposal for a nine-acre Shockoe Bottom Memorial Park. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With his statement today, Mayor Levar Stoney joins longtime memorial park supporter Richmond City Councilwoman Kimberly Gray and more recent supporters attorney Justin Griffin and entertainment promoter Tracey McLean in endorsing the community proposal designed to properly memorialize the downtown district that once was the epicenter of the U.S. domestic slave trade.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Significantly, Mayor Stoney’s statement includes support for incorporating into the memorial park the three physical elements that make up the proposal: the 3.1-acre African Burial Ground; the 1.7-acre site of Robert Lumpkin’s slave jail, known as the Devil’s Half-Acre; and the two blocks east of the CSX railroad tracks between East Broad, East Grace and 17th streets where several other slave jails and other significant slave-trade-related sites once were located. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The mayor’s statement also calls for including the park proposal in the Shockoe Bottom small-area plan now being developed by the Shockoe Alliance advisory group. It also calls for the city to provide financial support for the park’s development, while acknowledging the limitations the city is now facing in light of the coronavirus pandemic.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Commenting on the endorsements, Sacred Ground Project Chair Ana Edwards said, “This now-unanimous endorsement of the Shockoe Bottom Memorial Park proposal by all four declared mayoral candidates marks a significant step forward in the decades-long community struggle to reclaim and properly memorialize Shockoe Bottom, which for the three decades before the Civil War was the epicenter of the U.S. domestic slave trade. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“The Sacred Ground Historical Reclamation Project looks forward to working with all other interested parties, and in particular Richmond’s Black community, in making the vision of the memorial park a reality. Throughout this work, we will follow our commitment to respect the right to self-determination for oppressed peoples by continuing to promote the view that the descendant community must have the primary voice in, and reap the primary financial benefits from, the development of this sacred ground. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Moving forward in these concrete ways will help ensure that Richmond can approach its 300th anniversary having honestly confronted its shameful past, while moving forward to a more justice-oriented future.”</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Sacred Ground Historical Reclamation Project was founded in 2004 to guide the ongoing work of the Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality to reclaim and properly memorialize Shockoe Bottom, once the epicenter of the U.S. domestic slave trade. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">________________________________________________________________</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: verdana; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Copies of all four mayoral candidate statements, in alphabetical order:</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">KIMBERLY GRAY</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">W.E.B. Du Bois eloquently said. “The cost of liberty is less than the price of repression.” As I think about this particular quote, it is without hesitation that I vehemently support a Slavery Memorial Park in Richmond. Very rarely do we have “real talk” about the atrocities of slavery and the generational consequences of bondage. A memorial park at the site of Richmond’s Shockoe Bottom that was central to the American slave trade must be a gathering place for all to remember, reflect, heal, and honor the lives of the men, women and children who were sold into bondage. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I recognize that for many Richmonders, the history of the South is extremely difficult to talk about. Like so many schoolchildren, I learned of certain African-Americans and their contributions in February for Black History Month. As an adult, I have spent considerable time researching my family’s history. Not surprising, I am the descendant of enslaved people who likely experienced the slave market in Shockoe, known as the Devil’s Half-Acre. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the present day, too many children and adults are not knowledgeable about the important role slavery played in determining America’s path and the impact slavery still has on race relations, the economy and many other societal inequities. It is a hard traumatic discussion! Trauma generates emotions and unless we process these emotions, the trauma stays with us. The Memorial Park is one of the greatest opportunities we have to tell the full history of African-Americans and begin the healing process for both the descendants of enslaved people and enslavers. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lastly, not only would the Memorial Park stand as an example of the importance of sacred sites in America, it provides a historic resource for future generations to remember the past. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">JUSTIN GRIFFIN</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I absolutely endorse the Shockoe Bottom Memorial Park proposal. If elected, I would champion the plan and make it a reality.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Imagine if we had spent as much time, money, and other resources on the Shockoe Bottom Memorial Park as we did on the Navy Hill arena proposal.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I believe where you spend your time and money shows what you value. Richmond has a priorities problem, and it shows in the lack of attention to Shockoe Bottom.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Richmond should do everything it can to take its rightful place as the center of black history by telling the stories that deserve to be told but aren’t. Shockoe Bottom, the slave trade, and the birth of Virginia Union University from Lumpkin’s Jail after the Civil War should be the first step in that process.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This vision of Richmond’s future also should include a National Slave Museum and projects to depict Jackson Ward at its height.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The fact that the Memorial Park covers learning, remembering, reflecting, gathering, economic development, and economic empowerment shows that this plan is well-thought out, thoroughly considered, and was inclusively developed.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Shockoe Bottom Memorial Park is not just a plan to remember our past but is a plan to build up our future.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I firmly believe that we must start today systematically building up this generation of Richmonders whose ancestors were systematically torn down. This plan does that in more ways than one.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Building the Memorial Park would not only be a great thing for Richmond, but for the entire country. It is amazing to me that the Shockoe Bottom Memorial Park and the stories it would tell have been ignored by our elected officials. We deserve better. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">TRACEY MCLEAN</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I would like to state for the record that I agree with this project, for more reasons than one. I would like to see this project be pushed forward towards completion. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This Historical Project is beneficial to all of us. There is no reason not to support this project, when there has been a lot of support for things like breweries that only hold a financial significance, whereas this project holds historical, financial and possible healing for the Commonwealth. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">LEVAR STONEY</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Throughout my time as Mayor, I have always supported efforts to tell the complete narrative of the dark and traumatic history of slavery in Richmond, to uplift inspiring stories of resistance – such as that of Brother Gabriel – and generate opportunities for equitable development that prioritize the preservation of our historic and sacred sites.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I am committed to continuing to work in partnership with key voices who have for years and decades dedicated themselves to ensuring Richmond’s story of strength and resilience is told, preserved, respected and celebrated. These voices include leaders such as Delegate Delores McQuinn, City Council President Cynthia Newbille, Reverend Sylvester “Tee” Turner – along with other members of the Slave Trail Commission – as well as Ana Edwards of the Sacred Ground Historical Reclamation Project and others whose longtime work and passion have been focused on transforming Shockoe Bottom into a place that properly honors our enslaved African ancestors and freedom fighters and offers opportunities for education and hope for generations to come.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I am confident that we can and will make this happen in an innovative, inclusive and collaborative way. The creation of a Shockoe Bottom Memorial Park – to serve as a site of conscience, memorialization, reflection and education through both greenspace and structural sites such as a heritage interpretive center or museum – gives us the opportunity to do just that. Such a space would encompass the sacred African Ancestral Burial Ground, the Lumpkin's Jail/Devil's Half Acre site and the two blocks east of the railroad tracks that contain significant, historical sites with future archaeological potential. This endeavor will help ensure we preserve and protect our hallowed spaces in Shockoe Bottom while providing an opportunity for Richmond residents and visitors to deepen their connection with the historical and cultural sacredness of the area and be inspired by the spirit and stories of our ancestors to fight the injustices of today.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I fully support the establishment of such an inclusive Shockoe Bottom Memorial Park and have requested that the Shockoe Alliance – a collective group of city and community stakeholders that I convened in 2018 to focus on memorialization, preservation and equitable development in Shockoe Bottom – incorporate this concept into the Small Area Plan for Shockoe Bottom. Richmond’s story of historic trauma and supreme resilience is a global one and it is time that we truly recognize and elevate our collective story in a way that will honor our enslaved ancestors who built this city and nation, and empower future generations. Once the epicenter of the insidious institution of slavery where women, men and children were tortured, bought and sold, Richmond will not only move toward more fully preserving our sacred spaces and telling a more holistic story of our past, but will continue to strive toward being an epicenter of hope, transformation, equity and justice.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The creation of a Shockoe Bottom Memorial Park will be a tremendous undertaking for our city, particularly the construction of what could be an extraordinary heritage center or museum, and will require that we all come together with the necessary resources to make it happen. Over the last several months, the City of Richmond has been diligently working to address the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic and the racial disparities both created and illuminated by this health crisis. The economic impact of this pandemic has forced us to make major adjustments to our city's budget, however, I am committed to doing what we can to turn this unique, collective vision into reality. This endeavor undoubtedly calls for a collaborative, community approach from a variety of stakeholders in order to bring this extraordinary vision into fruition. I am grateful for the continuous dedication of our local and state leaders, community advocates and organizations such as Preservation Virginia and the National Trust for Historic Preservation who work to ensure that the rich historical narratives and powerful legacies of our fearless ancestors are never forgotten and that the spaces and places on which they lived, struggled, endured and triumphed are respected, honored and used to propel us into a better, more just tomorrow. I look forward to standing alongside all who are ready to make this important work happen. It is time.</span></p><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8969387334684125957.post-43869695310152966722020-05-06T15:29:00.003-04:002020-09-08T20:27:06.342-04:00SPOTLIGHT: Virginia Prison System COVID-19 Cases <div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dtRzFGvDPPo/XrMVRnms1YI/AAAAAAAB1tI/E56h54oZ4XUPmyfxWuhQabxxLjtvg-_6gCK4BGAsYHg/COVID-19inprisons.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="407" data-original-width="696" height="374" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dtRzFGvDPPo/XrMVRnms1YI/AAAAAAAB1tI/E56h54oZ4XUPmyfxWuhQabxxLjtvg-_6gCK4BGAsYHg/w640-h374/COVID-19inprisons.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><h2 style="text-align: center;"><b>Virginia Department of Corrections</b></h2><h2 style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://vadoc.virginia.gov/news-press-releases/2020/covid-19-updates/" target="_blank">COVID-19/Coronavirus Updates</a></b></h2></div><div style="text-align: center;">or call VDOC information line, 804-887-8484 </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">If you have questions or concerns, please contact us via email at COVID19Inquiries@vadoc.virginia.gov.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8969387334684125957.post-59520654147358303562020-05-04T23:50:00.000-04:002020-05-04T23:50:14.472-04:00MAY 5 IS GIVING TUESDAY!<span></span><span><a name='more'></a></span><h1 style="text-align: left;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VgeixexmV8M/XrDcb4UJNuI/AAAAAAAB1nw/R-EvSzWLfB0E6F8vAGceI8zWKVX3xchdwCK4BGAsYHg/Karl_Marx%257B%257BPD-US%257D%257D.jpg" style="background-color: #b51200; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><font color="#b51200"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VgeixexmV8M/XrDcb4UJNuI/AAAAAAAB1nw/R-EvSzWLfB0E6F8vAGceI8zWKVX3xchdwCK4BGAsYHg/w341-h400/Karl_Marx%257B%257BPD-US%257D%257D.jpg" title="Photo credit: By John Jabez Edwin Mayal - International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=103605" width="341" /></font></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><font size="2"><font color="#b51200">It’s also the 202nd anniversary of the birthday of Karl Marx.</font> </font><h2><br />Celebrate both!<br /></h2><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="4">Donate a few bucks to one of the few independent, non-nonprofit, all-volunteer activist groups left in Virginia: The VIRGINIA DEFENDERS FOR FREEDOM, JUSTICE & EQUALITY! (Not the only one, we didn’t say that. Just one of the few.) Your dollar goes directly to supporting community struggles and justice for prisoners, opposing Confederate statues, reclaiming Shockoe Bottom, building the antiwar movement and publishing Virginia’s only statewide progressive newspaper. </font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="4"><br /></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="4">You can make a TAX-DEDUCTIBLE CONTRIBUTION by sending a check or money order made out to “United Parents Against Lead” (our fiscal sponsor) to PO Box 23202, Richmond, VA 23223. (Minimum $25, please). Or, for a non-tax-deductible contribution of any amount, just log onto www.DefendersFJE.blogspot.com and click the “Donate” button on the right-hand side. We take debit or credit cards or PayPal. (And to REALLY get in our good graces, make it a monthly contribution. We love those.) </font></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table></h1><h2 style="text-align: center;"><font size="4">Thanks, and see you on the barricades!</font></h2><div><font size="4"><br /></font></div><div><font size="4"><br /></font></div><div><font size="4"><br /></font></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8969387334684125957.post-15068472812179073382020-04-16T18:31:00.002-04:002020-04-16T18:33:34.246-04:00Updates and Announcements: April 16, 2020<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BJEHn0rAemU/Xpjcs1oeucI/AAAAAAAByuM/Wr0Q-yTqT1gj6PYZeJJMlrTzMjxKhvXpACPcBGAsYHg/s1600/20200416_182534.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BJEHn0rAemU/Xpjcs1oeucI/AAAAAAAByuM/Wr0Q-yTqT1gj6PYZeJJMlrTzMjxKhvXpACPcBGAsYHg/s400/20200416_182534.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Click <a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=17D5iqVb4Gicr5ywviMQjFroZD10yTX7W" target="_blank">here</a> to see the latest</span></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">Updates & Announcements</span></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;">from <span style="color: blue; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The Virginia Defender</span></span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>IN THIS ISSUE:</b></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<ul>
<li><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>A Message from the Defenders</b></span></li>
</ul>
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<li><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Editorial - Richmond’s mayor needs to start acting like this really is a crisis</b></span></li>
</ul>
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<li><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>The Coronavirus Crisis - Facts, Resources & How You Can Help</b></span></li>
</ul>
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<li><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Community Work - Massad House; Cathy’s Camp Follow-up; RRHA</b></span></li>
</ul>
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<li><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Prison Work - Advocates pressure state to release more prisoners; more</b></span></li>
</ul>
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<li><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Shockoe Bottom - New initiatives in the fight for a Memorial Park</b></span></li>
</ul>
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<li><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Antiwar Work - New Richmond coalition sponsors online forum; End the sanctions; more</b></span></li>
</ul>
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<li><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Confederate Memorials - New Virginia law sets stage for local struggles</b></span></li>
</ul>
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<li><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Some April Dates in History</b></span></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8969387334684125957.post-89944086971898503902020-03-19T22:59:00.003-04:002020-04-16T18:10:47.079-04:00CATHY’S CAMP IS COMING DOWN<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1is9q7bVelE/XpjX27o99yI/AAAAAAABytc/svsdZ_G-e2814RFWbL3MddUZmjCb9KoVQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/85134275_2797736673598922_2308011546791378944_o%2B%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="302" data-original-width="1303" height="74" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1is9q7bVelE/XpjX27o99yI/AAAAAAABytc/svsdZ_G-e2814RFWbL3MddUZmjCb9KoVQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/85134275_2797736673598922_2308011546791378944_o%2B%25282%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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By Phil Wilayto<br />
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For THE VIRGINIA DEFENDER<br />
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RICHMOND, VA, March 19 -- Cathy’s Camp, the tent city located outside Richmond’s cold weather shelter where scores of homeless people have lived since last August, is coming down.<br />
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The camp began with just a few tents. It grew, and at its height sheltered around 130 people in about 125 tents, assisted by the all-volunteer nonprofit organization Blessing Warriors RVA.<br />
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The irony of a tent city existing outside a closed homeless shelter was stunning. (The city shelter is only opened when the temperature drops below 40 degrees, even if it’s raining, snowing or flooding.)<br />
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On Dec. 29, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for Human Services Reggie Gordon sent a letter to the camp saying they must leave, without setting an eviction date, but also without offering any alternative shelter.<br />
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A meeting hosted Feb. 5 at the cold weather shelter by City Councilmember Ellen Robertson to discuss city homelessness policies drew more than 200 people, most of whom were not homeless. The meeting became tense, with participants demanding the city promise not to close the camp until all residents had found permanent housing. After an hour, Robertson was escorted from the building by security personnel.<br />
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By then the media coverage was creating a huge public relations problem for the administration of Mayor Levar Stoney, which responded by organizing social service agencies and nonprofits to meet with camp residents and counsel them about existing services.<br />
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And the residents were told they had until March 30 to move.<br />
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With the development of the coronavirus pandemic, most camp residents agreed to be moved to temporary shelter in hotels or motels. But the way the camp was finally dismantled became just one more example of official callousness and disrespect toward people whose only crime has been not to have a home.<br />
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The city administration now told Blessing Warriors that city crews would begin removing tents today, March 19. The assumption was that the residents would be moved into temporary housing before the tents, most of which had been donated, were removed.<br />
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Instead, workers showed up on the evening of March 18 with a grapple truck - a large truck with a boom and claw attachment - along with Virginia Commonwealth University police. VCU owns the land where the camp is located, but had been allowing the residents to stay there.<br />
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At about 7 p.m., the city crew went to work, lifting up empty tents with the claw and unceremoniously dumping them in the back of the truck.<br />
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The sight was too much for the residents still at the camp. Some suffered anxiety attacks. One woman reportedly was taken to a hospital after exhibiting signs of a stroke.<br />
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As of this afternoon, there were still about 15 residents at the camp.<br />
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“It appears that the [removal] project has been aborted,” Blessing Warriors volunteer Bridget Whitaker Williams told the Defender. “There are some campers here that were left behind. A written press release said that efforts today have been suspended, but no one is communicating with us. We’re still here and still have new folks walking in. As long as people are here we will be here to make sure people are fed and taken care of.”<br />
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A city press release issued this morning stated in part:<br />
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“On Wednesday, March 18, the Blessing Warriors organization began removing their property from the site and requested help disposing of vacant and unwanted tents, the residents of which had been moved into emergency shelters or alternatives. The city will continue to remove vacant and unwanted tents and items on Thursday, continuing to coordinate with Blessing Warriors and residents as needed.<br />
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“Access to the camp site will be restricted to authorized staff beginning Thursday to meet public health guidelines. Ongoing efforts will continue to focus on offering safe indoor accommodations to provide consistent access to necessities during the pandemic.”<br />
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Camp residents are being transported to area hotels and motels by local nonprofits affiliated with the federal network known as the Greater Richmond Continuum of Care.<br />
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Blessing Warriors Director Rhonda Sneed said she had been told that no one would be told to leave the temporary housing until more permanent housing had been found.<br />
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According to the city media release, “CoC has offered two weeks of emergency shelter alternative housing in order to facilitate rapid placement of people at risk in safe accommodations. During this time, the GRCoC outreach staff, including city partners, will monitor the situation and extend the period if the health and safety of those individuals require it. The effort will now focus on connecting those same individuals to permanent housing units and services like employment opportunities and healthcare.”<br />
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The Defender will continue to follow this situation and report on any new developments.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipOZWqV6kRv_A_Whj0_8-7ZZFKk5a3E6RzL7wOaR" target="_blank">MARCH 18 INTERVIEW WITH BLESSING WARRIORS VOLUNTEER BRIDGET WHITAKER WILLIAMS</a><br />
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<br />The Virginia Defenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07743027784339038579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8969387334684125957.post-80729638780789306812020-02-28T21:49:00.000-05:002020-02-29T01:21:06.974-05:00The winter issue of The Virginia Defender is up!<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oDFnWkSbt03IUDTWO99VcxpW5km7FrWg/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">The Virginia Defender, Winter 2020 Issue, Vol. 16, No. 1</a></h2>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nM8yst860xg/XlnQv9DX0FI/AAAAAAABxI8/ljM-yxi-9UE7oUB4bC7yF1eEFPwvWjWjwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screenshot%2B2020-02-28%2Bat%2B21.45.43.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="790" height="424" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nM8yst860xg/XlnQv9DX0FI/AAAAAAABxI8/ljM-yxi-9UE7oUB4bC7yF1eEFPwvWjWjwCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Screenshot%2B2020-02-28%2Bat%2B21.45.43.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oDFnWkSbt03IUDTWO99VcxpW5km7FrWg/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Click here or the link above the image to view and download this issue.</a></td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8969387334684125957.post-55979809965865426852020-01-18T22:39:00.000-05:002020-01-18T22:51:58.829-05:00Open Letter to Gun Rights Supporters Coming to Richmond on Jan. 20The people of Richmond, Virginia, are bracing for Jan. 20 when thousands - perhaps tens of thousands - of people are expected to converge on the State Capitol to oppose proposed laws restricting gun ownership. Gov. Northam has declared a State of Emergency and rumors are flying thick and fast that there may be mass violence. The following statement, in podcast and written form, is an Open Letter to Gun Rights Supporters from the editor of The Virginia Defender newspaper.<br />
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<iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/745745446%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-gDzAP&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=true&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true" width="100%"></iframe><br />
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PxinPvJRmWCvyluFMsyUCgYqdrln3SY4/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Click here to download a transcript of the Open Letter.</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8969387334684125957.post-30156376524059439962019-08-31T20:31:00.005-04:002019-08-31T20:34:42.178-04:00Next issue of The Virginia Defender is up!<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://defendersfje.blogspot.com/p/virginia-defender.html" target="_blank">The Virginia Defender - Vol. 15, No. 1, Summer 2019</a></h2>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8969387334684125957.post-23429851839114776722019-07-27T17:28:00.000-04:002019-08-28T21:49:22.036-04:002nd Shockoe Alliance Public Meeting<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large;">
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The City of Richmond is seeking your input about the future of historic Shockoe Bottom. To its credit, the City is asking, “What are your BIG IDEAS?”<u></u><u></u></div>
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To answer the City’s question -- <u>now</u>, while Shockoe’s small area plan is being written by the City’s Department of Planning and Development – public advocacy is needed to promote the community-generated concept for the <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://nthp-savingplaces.s3.amazonaws.com/2017/09/18/10/36/41/799/Shockoe%2520Bottom%2520report%2520August%25202017.pdf&source=gmail&ust=1563886485551000&usg=AFQjCNGAd77m72pF89z1oD8XhUt9zP_Dig" href="https://nthp-savingplaces.s3.amazonaws.com/2017/09/18/10/36/41/799/Shockoe%20Bottom%20report%20August%202017.pdf" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Shockoe Bottom Memorial Park</a>. That is an expansive memorial park that marries preservation, commemoration, education, and equitable revitalization at a scale proportionate to Shockoe Bottom’s nationally significant heritage.<u></u><u></u></div>
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On July 17 the City convened its second public meeting about Shockoe’s small area plan. The meeting room was full of community members. After brief remarks, the community members engaged in dynamic conversations at facilitated tables in the too-noisy room. The City’s goal for the meeting was a public discussion about how to physically implement big-picture themes like “history and culture,” “architecture and great placemaking,” and “great spaces: parks and public spaces.”<u></u><u></u></div>
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To share your thoughts, t<span style="color: #222222;">he City’s Shockoe Alliance can be reached via: 900 E Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23219; (804) 646-7915; <a href="mailto:shockoealliance@gmail.com" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">shockoealliance@gmail.com</a>.</span><u></u><u></u></div>
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<b>Memorialization and education are the community’s highest priority. For the community, the Shockoe Bottom Memorial Park is “the ONE thing” that must be included in Shockoe’s small area plan.<u></u><u></u></b></div>
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It’s essential to understand that “Education and memorialization around Shockoe’s history” is the community’s <u>top priority</u>, according to the City’s survey data. Importantly, “the ONE thing” that the community believes must be included in the City’s small area plan is the “Shockoe Bottom Memorial Park (not simply Lumpkin’s Jail),” again according to the City’s survey data. <u></u><u></u></div>
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Given the central importance of the community’s top priorities, here are a few takeaways about the City’s July 17 public meeting:<u></u><u></u></div>
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<li class="m_-7115236837701944483MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 0in;"><b>Historic Districts:</b> The City’s base map and reference booklet to inform the July 17 public discussion do not show existing historic districts already researched and designated in Shockoe Bottom. See, <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.richmondgov.com/PlanningAndDevelopmentReview/documents/ShockoeCommunityMeeting_Boards.pdf&source=gmail&ust=1563886485551000&usg=AFQjCNGnNn-HabYwaOA7eWhTnOA7nFZPiQ" href="http://www.richmondgov.com/PlanningAndDevelopmentReview/documents/ShockoeCommunityMeeting_Boards.pdf" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a> and below, for the overlapping historic districts that cover the City’s Shockoe study area. The base map for July 17 does point to the linear Slave Trail and a handful of individual historic sites. (And, the reference booklet shows Shockoe’s real estate development potential and the neighborhood’s “unbuilt” and “built” spaces.) But the City’s July 17 material does not show Shockoe’s blanket of local, state, and federal historic districts.<u></u><u></u></li>
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In the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s view, the challenge for Shockoe’s small area plan is: How to manage change <u>within</u> a neighborhood that is comprehensively historic. Not simply how to connect disparate historic points within a non-historic study area. More work is needed to ensure that the full historic value of Shockoe is recognized and protected.<u></u><u></u></div>
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<li class="m_-7115236837701944483MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in;"><b>Archaeology:</b> Surprisingly, the City’s base map and reference booklet for July 17 do not mention archaeology or the need for a comprehensive archaeological investigation as a necessary next step. The City’s materials for July 17 point to one archaeological site: Lumpkin’s Slave Jail / Devil’s Half-Acre. This is an important site, certainly, in a neighborhood which has high potential for additional archaeological remains that reflect Shockoe’s unvarnished heritage. See, <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.shockoealliance.org/today?rq%3Dmaps&source=gmail&ust=1563886485551000&usg=AFQjCNH1G8TiF4Jt9o22ysH8Naw8YpgFAA" href="https://www.shockoealliance.org/today?rq=maps" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>, for the City’s Complete Composite Map showing multiple archaeological sites in the study area.<u></u><u></u></li>
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Archaeology is a key opportunity “to promote awareness and understanding of the significant history of Shockoe,” per Mayor Stoney’s Shockoe Alliance vision statement. <u></u><u></u></div>
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<li class="m_-7115236837701944483MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in;"><b>Memorial Park Concept:</b> Unfortunately, the City’s base map and reference booklet for July 17 contain no meaningful information about the Shockoe Bottom Memorial Park concept. In fact, the City’s presentation slide acknowledging several other “new, creative BIG IDEAS [that the community] would like to see incorporated into a plan for Shockoe” <u>does not mention</u> the Memorial Park concept, a proposal that has been introduced and re-introduced in every public forum sponsored by the City about Shockoe.<u></u><u></u></li>
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For the July 17 public discussion, the City’s reference materials point to the Pulse Corridor Plan, Shockoe Valley Streets Plan, Richmond Bike Master Plan, and the design of the Lumpkin’s Slave Jail site. Despite the City’s good intentions, which we assume, the City’s printed materials for July 17 did not prompt discussion by community members on how to physically implement the community-generated concept for the Shockoe Bottom Memorial Park. This was a missed opportunity to fully engage a BIG IDEA.<u></u><u></u></div>
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The City’s Pulse Corridor Plan recommends that the City “identify opportunities for new park space through the use of City-owned land” and that the City “continue efforts to commemorate, memorialize, and interpret sites of historical and cultural significance.” Importantly, Mayor Stoney’s Shockoe Alliance vision statement calls for the creation of “unique public spaces” for “memorialization, interpretation, preservation, and education.” This is a good beginning, generally.<u></u><u></u></div>
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On July 17 the City asked, specifically: “What does success look like for Shockoe?” In the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s view, success for Shockoe depends upon well-informed public dialogue and a full understanding of Shockoe’s historic resources, archaeological remains, as well as the community-generated proposal for a Shockoe Bottom Memorial Park.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8969387334684125957.post-26354658476356394212019-07-12T19:07:00.000-04:002019-08-28T23:16:16.374-04:00TO OUR SISTERS & BROTHERS IN VIRGINIA'S IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hmG_LJ2hp_o/XWdDCQ76HbI/AAAAAAABn6I/rbgV7FfegCogw950KPDunoc6Tw-Acxv2gCLcBGAs/s1600/ICEOUTOFRVA.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="857" height="132" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hmG_LJ2hp_o/XWdDCQ76HbI/AAAAAAABn6I/rbgV7FfegCogw950KPDunoc6Tw-Acxv2gCLcBGAs/s640/ICEOUTOFRVA.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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UN MENSAJE DE LOS DEFENSORES A NUESTRAS HERMANAS Y HERMANOS EN LAS COMUNIDADES INMIGRANTES DE VIRGINIA:</h3>
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Este domingo, 14 de julio, la agencia ICE planea realizar redadas en 10 ciudades principales de los Estados Unidos. No sabemos si esto también sucederá en Richmond, pero siempre es mejor estar preparado. Puede encontrar información sobre sus derechos en: <a href="https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/immigrants-rights/?fbclid=IwAR1lrLnb1zfflM-iDezyPC__v1VITwy1MPg-1Q8WrpLCbZu6sdWRUG8ERC4">https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/immigrants-rights/</a><br />
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Además, el grupo activista ICE Out of RVA opera una línea directa de "ICE Watch" en: 804-453-2122.<br />
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Y aquí hay una noticia acerca de las redadas: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/11/us/politics/ice-families-deport.html?fbclid=IwAR3hDOHOJsieTQ4gwponWGxzvzvzMdv2UL1P2K9sv5MUxr4ZUGLjy2tkKH0">https://www.nytimes.com/…/politics/ice-families-deport.html…</a><br />
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En solidaridad,<br />
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Los Defensores de Virginia <br />
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A MESSAGE FROM THE DEFENDERS TO OUR SISTERS & BROTHERS IN VIRGINIA'S IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES:</h3>
This Sunday, July 14, the ICE agency is planning to hold raids in 10 major U.S. cities. We don’t know if this will also happen in Richmond, but it’s always best to be prepared. You can find Information about your rights at: <a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.aclu.org%2Fknow-your-rights%2Fimmigrants-rights%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR29B7J8RTFRR6XW6GJBbD1dd-zzPVxbuOMj_C215AejXanuncsojPo0s8Y&h=AT273AHx9CkWQuch97AfL554pN6AzYDvt6QWkIQRRaCekW8R6kLG89LsDq7Qrz_qaCFqX2c91rwWcYxMjsJNn1vIiABBUXYYy16Q2YwFxg4cY7YTOhSzgGmr7BgBkzgkvBySD0nStHDh_u97SSGTMI2m_syW8PuCoc40szXCdw">https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/immigrants-rights/</a><br />
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Also, the activist group ICE Out of RVA operates an “ICE Watch” hotline at: 804-453-2122.<br />
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And here’s a news story about the raids: <a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2019%2F07%2F11%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2Fice-families-deport.html%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR3JsBmpHnIHdNvMuJEqmyv1OrWlqsLsuzpwEvV9pn1ZKDMxYG4kF7ZC7QA&h=AT33Of20j1zWremKnp4n8rE2f9snAJoqFRr78lDSVlvcssqNXVVtQTyVst5Vn1-MffpZQPqgbMd0O-FQksNbnGw2EjBOOdTNI3l-yQYXPfWSMJZrRYFTVhnQunuguuSrIQpT8u9wcP7XQcReLOrgSnLUQf5DU8d3nCQS2_234w">https://www.nytimes.com/…/politics/ice-families-deport.html…</a><br />
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In Solidarity,<br />
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The Virginia Defenders<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8969387334684125957.post-48116997908896973782019-03-17T19:48:00.000-04:002019-03-17T20:17:24.903-04:00March 30 National Mobilization<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Z7KYCF9CX4M/XI7cNx7uZaI/AAAAAAABfVA/HRU-8siPHK0JbSKHp-VStNzbxEtCqDC6gCLcBGAs/s1600/Mar30opposeNATOmarch_tophalf.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="465" data-original-width="636" height="465" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Z7KYCF9CX4M/XI7cNx7uZaI/AAAAAAABfVA/HRU-8siPHK0JbSKHp-VStNzbxEtCqDC6gCLcBGAs/s640/Mar30opposeNATOmarch_tophalf.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/2123091277810966/" target="_blank">A NATIONAL MOBILIZATION TO OPPOSE NATO, WAR & RACISM - U.S. HANDS OFF VENEZUELA!</a><br />
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TRANSPORTATION AVAILABLE FROM RICHMOND, VA<br />
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1 pm - Saturday, March 30 — at the White House, Washington, D.C.<br />
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April 4, 2019, will mark the 51st anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the internationally revered leader in struggles against racism, poverty and war.<br />
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And yet, in a grotesque desecration of Rev. King’s lifelong dedication to peace, this is the date that the military leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization have chosen to celebrate NATO’s 70th anniversary in Washington, D.C. This is a deliberate insult to Rev. King and a clear message that Black lives and the lives of other people of color - and indeed the vast majority - really do not matter.<br />
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Since its founding, U.S.-led NATO has been the world's deadliest military alliance, causing untold suffering and devastation throughout Northern Africa, the Middle East and beyond. Hundreds of thousands have died in U.S./NATO wars in Iraq, Libya, Somalia and Yugoslavia. Millions of refugees are now risking their lives trying to escape the carnage that these wars have brought to their homelands, while workers in the 29 NATO member-countries are told they must abandon hard-won social programs in order to meet U.S. demands for even more military spending.<br />
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Dr. King's words linking the three evils of American society: Militarism, Racism and Poverty, and his deeply profound remark that every bomb that falls on other countries is a bomb dropped on our inner cities, reveal the deep-rooted relationship between militarism and the social, racial, economic and environmental injustices that now impoverish whole cities and rural communities and have plagued our society and the world for a long time. It was exactly one year before he was murdered that Rev. King gave his famous speech opposing the U.S. war in Vietnam, calling the U.S. government “the greatest purveyor of violence in the world,” and declaring that he could not be silent.<br />
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We cannot be silent either. As Rev. King taught us, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."<br />
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Join the Virginia Defenders on March 30 in a mass mobilization against NATO, war and racism and to demand “U.S. Hands Off Venezuela!” Additional events will take place through April 4. For more information, visit <a href="http://www.no2nato2019.org/">www.no2NATO2019.org</a>.<br />
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This mobilization was initiated by the United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC), of which the Virginia Defenders are a founding member. We are also a member of the March 30 mobilization steering committee, coordinating logistics and security and helping to shape the day’s program.<br />
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FOR TRANSPORTATION FROM RICHMOND: </h3>
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Call 804-644-5834 or email DefendersFJE@hotmail.com.</h3>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8969387334684125957.post-43741086783911301402018-12-23T20:03:00.000-05:002019-08-28T21:56:34.326-04:00Jan. 12 - 2nd Virginia Prison Justice Rally<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SIA6c6Ncs7U/XC1gMCDuNBI/AAAAAAAABlc/Ya7TWcheoZkMMpXRrlopYL5Yw00Lz88wwCLcBGAs/s1600/VPCJRRallyFlyerArt_cRFentress2018_2MB.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1255" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SIA6c6Ncs7U/XC1gMCDuNBI/AAAAAAAABlc/Ya7TWcheoZkMMpXRrlopYL5Yw00Lz88wwCLcBGAs/s640/VPCJRRallyFlyerArt_cRFentress2018_2MB.jpeg" width="502" /></a><br />
<b style="color: red;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByGRw5JOG3LPd29Ib3VLajB4UTlEN0dXOGY4d0dISy00ZHRV/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Click here to view and download the handout "BILLS TO FOLLOW IN THE 2019 VIRGINIA GENERAL ASSEMBLY"</a></b></div>
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Thank you for attending the</div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1158257701000247/permalink/1176217245870959/" target="_blank">2nd Annual Virginia Prison Reform Rally</a> </h2>
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sponsored by the Virginia Prison Justice Network</h2>
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Saturday, January 12, 2019 at 2 PM – 3 PM<br />Bell Tower on Capitol Square, Richmond, VA 23219</h3>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This flier was created for the Jan. 12 Virginia Prison Justice Network rally by Virginia prisoner <b><i>R. Fentress</i></b>. 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.</td></tr>
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The prisoner-led Virginia Prison Justice Network (VAPJN) was founded after the very successful Rally for Prison Reform held Jan. 20, 2018, at Capitol Square in downtown Richmond.<br />
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After a year of organizing that included three public Speak-Outs, in Hampton, Roanoke and Richmond, the all-volunteer network has grown to 15 affiliated organizations with a website (<a href="http://vapjn.wordpress.com/">vapjn.wordpress.com</a>), a hard-copy newsletter read by hundreds of prisoners and a string of victories in supporting prisoner-activists.<br />
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Now we're preparing to intervene in the 2019 Virginia General Assembly, supporting bills that would improve the lives of our incarcerated sisters and brothers and opposing those that would not. To draw public attention to these issues, we held our second annual rally on Saturday, Jan. 12, again at Capital Square, by the Bell Tower.<br />
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We will continue to amplify the voices of prisoners and their families as they call for long-overdue legislative reform, provide an opportunity to hear the stories of mass incarceration and learn how people can get involved in creating real change.<br />
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If you care about Justice, and even if you couldn't join us at the rally, please help spread the word about these issues by sharing this page, and #vapjn with your Facebook friends! See the link at the top of this page for the handout "<b>Bills to Follow in the 2019 Virginia General Assembly</b>."<br />
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THIS RALLY WAS ENDORSED BY THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS:<br />
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American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia<br />
Bridging the Gap in Virginia<br />
Coalition for Justice (Blacksburg)<br />
House of Dreams Outreach & ReEntry of Hampton Roads<br />
Interfaith Action for Human Rights (IAHR)<br />
Resource Information Help for the Disadvantaged and<br />
Disenfranchised (RIHD)<br />
Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality<br />
Virginia Prisoner of Conscience<br />
Virginia Prisons Accountability Committee<br />
and more<br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1158257701000247/permalink/1176217245870959/" target="_blank">2nd Annual Virginia Prison Reform Rally</a></div>
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sponsored by the Virginia Prison Justice Network</div>
DefendersFJEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05628649474792310083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8969387334684125957.post-2549773981614254242018-12-08T20:12:00.000-05:002019-01-02T20:18:58.385-05:00RICHMONDERS DEMAND MORE MONEY FOR SCHOOLS - AND NOT FOR COLISEUMS<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pzIJMFzcjiY/XC1iV4-6HHI/AAAAAAAABls/NeUDOF1knaAPAezxM96r9Sfu5VtvMxiBACLcBGAs/s1600/48365921_2037806409591956_5236205174145417216_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="731" data-original-width="1600" height="292" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pzIJMFzcjiY/XC1iV4-6HHI/AAAAAAAABls/NeUDOF1knaAPAezxM96r9Sfu5VtvMxiBACLcBGAs/s640/48365921_2037806409591956_5236205174145417216_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_1xFrK6lHlg/XC1iJJ_JH7I/AAAAAAAABlo/RkbygUhXqrwDFv0MeaX7nITIJYmnQSLJQCLcBGAs/s1600/47681467_2037806336258630_6662550756446437376_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="834" data-original-width="1600" height="207" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_1xFrK6lHlg/XC1iJJ_JH7I/AAAAAAAABlo/RkbygUhXqrwDFv0MeaX7nITIJYmnQSLJQCLcBGAs/s400/47681467_2037806336258630_6662550756446437376_o.jpg" style="color: #0000ee; text-align: center;" width="400" /></a></div>
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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, which also is the major force behind the even more controversial Atlantic Pipeline Project. The Coliseum project is being heavily promoted by Mayor Stoney.</div>
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The anti-Coliseum Richmond chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America had a strong presence. Also in the crowd was Princess Blanding, sister of Marcus-David Peters, a 24-year old high school teacher who was fatally shot last May by a Richmond cop while experiencing a mental crisis. Blanding stood next to a large sign that read “Mayor Stoney: Protect Black Youth!”<br />
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Members of the Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality distributed copies of The Virginia Defender newspaper and carried signs that read “Money for Education, not for Coliseums,” and “Money for Education, not for War.”<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IsL9tg_FvmA/XC1iYFOwVkI/AAAAAAAABlw/uM2lI3ffBJIE0_vEXcrbCgOE5ue0NeAWgCLcBGAs/s1600/47579902_2037806306258633_4242389556197851136_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1069" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IsL9tg_FvmA/XC1iYFOwVkI/AAAAAAAABlw/uM2lI3ffBJIE0_vEXcrbCgOE5ue0NeAWgCLcBGAs/s400/47579902_2037806306258633_4242389556197851136_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Channel 6 (CBS) news gave a fair amount of coverage to the anti-coliseum signs at the protest, while noting that everyone present supported the demand that the state provide more funding for local schools.<br />
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According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, state funding per student in Virginia is down 9 percent compared to just before the Great Recession, despite the fact that overall enrollment is up 5 percent. In Richmond, state spending is down 19 percent, while enrollment is up 9 percent.<br />
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Meanwhile, total funding for the Department of Defense has more than doubled since 9/11, while half of all federal tax dollars now go to wars, preparing for wars and paying for past wars.<br />
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DID YOU KNOW?<br />
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… that Thomas F Farrell II, president, chairman and CEO of Dominion Energy, is the highest paid executive in the entire utility sector? That’s according to the website Investopedia, which reports that Farrell is paid “roughly $20.6 million a year.” Working a 40-hour week, that would be $9,903.84 an hour. And that would mean that every hour-and-a-half he is paid as much as a minimum-wage worker earns in a year.<br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pg/The-Virginia-Defender-274687335903881/posts/?ref=page_internal" target="_blank">This story and more photos were posted on Facebook.</a></div>
DefendersFJEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05628649474792310083noreply@blogger.com