Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality

DefendersLIVE May 28: On Tuesday, May 22, a group of prisoners held in Virginia's notorious Red Onion Super-Max prison began a hunger strike to demand that the Virginia Department of Corrections (DOC) follow its own regulations in regard to meals, sanitation, isolation, safety and procedures for processing prisoner grievances. To support these courageous prisoners, a press conference was held Wed., May 23 at 11 a.m. outside DOC headquarters in Richmond, sponsored by the Richmond chapter of SPARC (Supporting Prisoners and Advocating for Radical Change). (See: http://ping.fm/C1S0U). SPARC members Isis Hodari, Adam Ryan and Joshua DePaolis provided an update and background on this struggle and SPARC's goals for radical change in our nation's prison industrial system. LINKS virginiaprisonstrike.blogspot.com sparcva.wordpress.com EVENTS Solidarity with Red Onion State Prison Hunger Strikers - Letter-Writing Party - http://ping.fm/cdVva Vigil in Solidarity with Hunger Strikers -...

MONEY FOR JOBS, HEALTHCARE and EDUCATION ... NOT FOR WAR (and certainly not multiple wars): Ashley Williams: 9 am, Monday, June 4, in Courtroom 302 of the John Marshall Courts Building, 400 N. 9th St. in downtown Richmond. Young mother unjustly convicted of starving her child to death seeks the right to the legal counsel of her choice - see Va Defender report on Court Watch tab above. May 25 - Court date for 33 women’s rights protesters arrested at Capitol Mayor's Anti-Poverty Commission hearings  TONIGHT : 6-8pm at Calhoun Center in Gilpin Court WED, 6-8pm at Southside Community Center Richmond Public Schools Rezoning Hearings - 6:30 pm on May 29 at George Wythe High School (4314 Crutchfield St., 23225, 804-780-5037) and May 31 at John Marshall High School (4225 Old Brook Rd, 23227) . RPS School Board Meeting scheduled for June 18 at 7pm at City Hall, 900 E. Marshall St.   June 15: Targeted Regulations of Abortion Providers (TRAP) Hearing in Glen Allen Dept. ...

DefendersLIVE today: Part 2 of the Interview with Naseem Rakha, journalist and author of The Crying Tree, a novel about the death penalty and its impact on the victim, the workers, the guilty, and its essential impotence as a crime prevention tool in our society. Noon on 97.3 LP FM and live streamed on www.WRIR.org.

Come Tell How Slavery and Emancipation Should be Remembered. Elegba Folklore Society Richmond, VA 23219 http://ping.fm/V3AuS

Former U.S. Army Col. and now Peace Activist ANN WRIGHT to speak May 5 in Richmond The Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality will host a talk by noted peace activist Ann Wright on Saturday, May 5, 7 pm, at the William Byrd Community House, 224 So. Cherry St., Richmond, Va. Ann Wright is a former U.S. Army colonel who publicly resigned from the military over her opposition to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. She has since become an internationally known anti-war activist and speaker. She is the co-author of “Dissent: Voices of Conscience; Government Insiders Speak Out Against the War in Iraq,” which includes a forward by Daniel Ellsberg of Pentagon Papers fame. Ms. Wright will speak on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and the human and economic cost of U.S. wars and occupations on our communities here at home. Her presentation will be preceded by reports on community efforts to support Ashley Williams, a young Richmonder wrongfully convicted in connection with the tragic death o...

DefendersLIVE: Today's topic: the upcoming May Day commemorations with guest was Nathan Stickel of the Flying Brick Library, a 9-year old community library of radical literature. Info about the library and May Day activities can be found at flyingbrickrva.wordpress.com and richmondiww.org. Today's show will be rebroadcast ONLINE at WRIR.org Tuesday at 11am and 2pm.

Today on DefendersLIVE: Remembering Slavery, Resistance & Freedom is a project to gain community input and assistance for discovery and reclamation of sites of cultural and historical of meaning to African descended peoples of Virginia. Dr. Michael L. Blakey, director of the Institute for Historical Biology, College of William & Mary, will elaborate on this project, cemeteries, community engagement and decision-making. WRIR 97.3 LP FM at 12noon.