Mayor Danny Avula is at a defining moment. The same for the 2004 Elected Mayor law. Here’s why. Then a win-win-win. The 16-year era of the race-baiting politics of former Mayors Dwight Jones and Levar Stoney needs to come to an end. They and their cronies have used...
Last week brought us the worst political ad in Virginia and it wasn’t Dan Helmer. Apologies to RVAMag’s Political Director. He’s totally right about all the ways Dan Helmer’s ad was a bad idea, it’s just that this ad is even worse. We now have the Republican candidate for Virginia Governor, Ed Gillespie to thank for this. On September 20,...
I’m teaching a class in Social Movements this semester. This has proven to be good timing, in the sense that neo-Nazis were just running amok down the street in Charlottesville – how helpful! (Uh, actually no. Murdering Nazis are never “good;” let’s just say it’s been instructive.) On the first day of class...
After the violence and hatred that ravaged Charlottesville, Richmonders could be excused for thinking the swift removal of our city’s prominent Confederate statues along Monument Avenue may be the best way to prevent further chaos and bloodshed. However, such an approach woefully neglects Richmond’s unique moral obligation to...
Dear Virginia, I am from Virginia, but live abroad in Nice, France. I have been following the events in Charlottesville with growing concern. Angry mobs, domestic terrorism, equivocation from politicians, and the thought that those who don’t remember history are bound to repeat it. Virginia is a beautiful place, green and lush, with...
“While contentious issues like the Atlantic Coast Pipeline still exist internally for Democrats, we believe Northam will work with stakeholders to ensure that all voices, progressive and moderate alike, will have a say in the future of the Commonwealth.” – an excerpt from the article, RVA Mag Endorses Ralph Northam in the 2017...
In recent months, the direction taken by some progressive groups in the US has become concerning to us in the UK. While a lot of our political views are firmly left of center (from a British perspective), I can’t help but notice that there is a growing illiberalism undermining the progressive cause, which is to say we should be challenging...
I’m a legal alien. I’m a Georgian-born, British-bred, consultant working in New York. In 2013, a mentor of mine suggested I hide this part of my identity in order to land a job in the US. With good intentions, she advised me to erase any trace of foreignness from my resume and to avoid it in interviews like it were the ‘f’ word. Apparently,...
As a member of the volunteer effort, I’m happy to see stories about the ongoing reclamation of East End and Evergreen cemeteries. The story, however, needs correction. The Great Depression may have forced some African Americans to leave Richmond, but between 1930 and 1940, the “Negro” population increased, according to the U.S. Census from...
“Why do you focus so much on African-American gravesites and such?” was a question I was asked by a constituent just days after I joined Governor Terry McAuliffe for a celebratory, ceremonial bill signing of legislation I sponsored to provide state funding to charitable organizations and trusts to help preserve gravesites and monuments at two...
