Editor's Note: This is a companion piece to our preview of Songs of Truth, the new musical inspired by the life of Sojourner Truth. This essay from Christian Detres takes a closer look at the woman behind the legend and the enduring relevance of her story. Sojourner...
Protesting for your rights works—and it always has. Since the Industrial Revolution reshaped the economy in the late 19th century, workers have been forced to organize and mobilize in response to increasingly exploitative labor practices. The system was designed to prioritize production and profit, and it didn’t take long for business owners to...
We’re probably past the point of sugarcoating where we are in America. The fear of authoritarian creep isn’t a fear anymore. Checks and balances, once the pride of our democracy, are failing. Congress has either abdicated its responsibilities or stood by in polite horror as the walls come crashing down. People are being disappeared into an El...
ed. note: The following is a Letter to the Editor from a community organization that we believe is worth sharing with our readers. What happens when people come together on our own terms? On January 18, 2025, the first city-wide Richmond People's Assembly brought together over 500 people to connect, share a meal, and grow capacity for...
“I never would have thought that I would be the minority in my neighborhood,” said Sandra Bowman, a Black resident of Richmond’s East End. She told an interviewer last year that the recent arrival of white neighbors has led to changes. That shift has also brought frustration. “If a brick comes up in their sidewalk,” she said of...
Richmond has seen a series of large-scale demonstrations in recent weeks, addressing issues such as President Donald Trump’s executive actions, federal spending cuts, and various other policies. These protests are set to continue, with the next major event, “Freedom Rising,” scheduled for Saturday, April 19th, at 12pm in Capitol Square. ...
Richmond’s own Black VA Theatre Alliance brings this month’s second outing of a Dominique Morrisseau play to a local stage, following Firehouse Theatre’s excellent production of Detroit 67. Like Detroit 67, Sunset Baby explores the living room dramas that persist against the backdrop of social unrest, activism, and disenfranchisement. We are...
Last week, President Trump signed a sweeping executive order titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” calling for the review—and potential restoration—of monuments removed from public land since 2020. While the order doesn’t name specific cities, its intent is clear: to challenge the widespread removal of Confederate symbols, many...
Last weekend in Church Hill, Richmond did something that only Richmond can do — it let history walk and talk right in front of us. Inside St. John’s Church, the scene was familiar. A reenactor delivered Patrick Henry’s “Give me liberty or give me death” speech to an attentive audience, a ritual that’s been part of the city’s cultural calendar for...
I flew in under the wire to catch 5th Wall Theatre’s final performance of Martyna Majok’s Sanctuary City at Richmond Triangle Players' impressive stage in Scott’s Addition. This play is a curious hybrid, a bifurcated cryptid if you will, as its first and second acts are paced in startling opposition to each other. The play begins in time-lapse...
