Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality

The City of Richmond is currently being impacted by Hurricane Irene. The National Weather Service in Wakefield, VA has forecasted up to 5 inches of rain for the eastern portions of the city and up to 4 inches to the western portions of the city. The City is forecasted to receive sustained winds of 20 to 30 mph, through early Sunday morning, with gusts of 50 mph. The City will open two emergency shelters at noon today for City residents. Shelter locations are the Arthur Ashe Center, 3001 North Boulevard, and Huguenot High School, 7945 Forest Hill Avenue. Both shelters will remain open throughout the night with water, snacks and dinner being provided. Residents should bring their medications and essential items for infants and special care family members as needed for overnight sheltering. Pets with the exception of service animals are not allowed. Residents who would like to provide shelter for their pets can do so by calling the City’s Emergency Operations center at 254-1191. Pets w...

No Slave Trail Commission Meeting in August. July 22 press release announces commission has 5 open seats, APPLICATIONS  due September 1. Community Organizing Committee meeting for August to be announced. July 25: DefendersLIVE features new issue of Virginia Defender with guest, editor Phil Wilayto - listen online at WRIR.org or by radio at 97.3 lp FM, 12noon Mondays (follow on facebook, too) ACTIONS August 13: Millions March in Harlem August 19-21: Black Freedom Weekend / Happily Natural Day August 20-21: Down Home Family Reunion August 20: Nationwide Day of Action on The Other Wars August 30: Gabriel's Rebellion Day - 207th anniversary of the planned date for this insurrection. SAVE THE DATE: October 10, 2011 - A special celebration for Richmond's African Burial Ground at this year's commemoration!

The city will open three cooling shelters to assist residents with today’s high temperatures.   City cooling shelters are opened when the temperature and/or heat index reaches or exceeds the 95 degree mark.  City cooling shelters will open from noon to 5 p.m. today and are located at:             ● Southside Community Center, 4100 Hull Street Road             ● Department of Social Services, 900 East Marshall Street             ● East District Center, 701 North 25 th  Street Bottled water will be available, but food will not be provided . Pets, with the exception of service animals, are not allowed. All residents should take measures to stay hydrated and avoid prolonged exposure to the heat during the day. For more information regarding cooling services, residents can contact the Department of Social Serv...

"Wednesday, May 25, 2011, was a day of victory for us and the community. We wish to thank whatever higher power we believe in, our lawyer, Steve Benjamin, and the community for showing up at the Manchester Courthouse to support us. The courtroom was filled to capacity with supporters. It was awesome to see the room empty out when we left. We also thank those who were not able to come but were there in spirit. To Virginia Commonwealth University, we say that “actions speak louder than words.” A true good-faith gesture would be to donate $123,000 to be used for the development of the African Burial Ground. This is the amount VCU is saving because of the generosity of several companies that are donating their time, energy and equipment to remove the asphalt from the African Burial Ground at no cost. In addition, VCU should donate all the parking fees they collected over the past three years to the African Burial Ground. That money was to recover the cost of purchasing the land, but ...

Three members of the Defenders made the 3am/Apr 9 - 1am/Apr 10 drive from Richmond to New York City and back again to participate in the only national anti-war demonstration to take place this year. Click "Anti-War" link above to see a slide show of the 2 rallies and march in NY with 10,000 people participating. A sister demo was held on April 10 in San Francisco.

Tuesday, April 12, community advocates succeeded in shutting down the VCU parking lot that continues to desecrate Richmond's African Burial Ground! For an hour and a half no cars were allowed to park on this sacred site. Now we appeal to you to support the right to defend the Burial Ground by attending our trial, scheduled for 10 am, Wednesday, May 25, at Richmond General District Court, 920 Hull St., Richmond, VA 23224. News Coverage: "Four arrested for blocking VCU parking lot" 4/13/11