A mural in Richmond’s Northside has sparked a complex debate about public art, race, and neighborhood change, with artists, community leaders, and residents weighing in on how public art intersects with neighborhood history. The mural, painted by artist Lauren YS,...
In 2020, a teacher in Richmond could afford a home on their salary. Today, that same teacher would need to nearly double their income just to keep up with soaring housing prices. The cost of living in Richmond isn’t creeping up—it’s skyrocketing, and for many residents, homeownership is now a distant dream. According to the latest State...
How the Rise of an Oligarchy Threatens America's Future and What We Can Do About It The 2024 election marked a personal breaking point for me. The return of a felon, rapist, and racist (among many other labels) assuming the highest office in the world again – someone who incited a violent attack on our democracy – has forced me to confront...
As Richmond recovers from a harsh winter storm, the city finds itself at the center of a national conversation about equality. Richmond resident and Executive Director of VoteEqualityUS, Kati Hornung, has been leading a campaign urging President Joe Biden to formally enshrine the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) as the 28th Amendment to the U.S....
On Wednesday afternoon, Virginia Delegates Mike Jones and Holly Seibold addressed a crowd in freezing weather at a rally about the abuse at Red Onion Prison. This is an issue that The Virginia Defenders have been leading on, reporting about prisoners who are holding hunger strikes and intentionally burning themselves because of the abuse in the...
Through inaction as much as intention, Virginia is in the midst of launching a second War on Drugs aka THE WAR ON PEOPLE. Failure to complete the process of marijuana decriminalization that we started in 2021 is empowering both police and the public to continue the same dangerous patterns that marked decades of disastrous drug policy. But with no...
A list of grants awarded to location law enforcement agencies in Virginia. Emphasis on tackling hate crimes has been on the rise with officials in Virginia taking it more seriously. Like with the Commission to Combat Anti-Semitism, it is crosses the worlds of physically protecting people and demonizing anti-Zionist protestors. Virginia has been...
Richmond, Virginia, is poised to become a pivotal location for understanding the history of slavery in America with The Shockoe Project, a large-scale initiative dedicated to memorializing the city's role in the transatlantic slave trade and honoring the experiences of enslaved and free Africans. With the unveiling of a life-size replica of the...
“We need a little good trouble, don’t we?” Alan would say, his tall frame casting a shadow and that familiar twinkle in his eye. Farid Alan Schintzius passed away last Thursday, and I’ve been reflecting on the loss of someone I deeply admired. A true master of “good trouble,” he pulled me into plenty over the years, and I’m better for it. Despite...
As winter grips Richmond, the city faces a stark moral and political dilemma. Recent events—the approval of a $2 million animal adoption center, the city deciding to no longer support overflow shelters for the homeless, and the vandalism of a community fridge—lay bare a troubling pattern: Richmond’s policies prioritize visibility and convenience...
