If you walk into Penny Lane Pub early on certain mornings, you can usually tell how Liverpool is doing before you even glance at the screen. The mood gives it away. Some days the room is loud and loose, other days the tension settles in and conversations tighten....
Two bills introduced by Republicans to halt future minimum wage increases have advanced to the House floor. Minimum wage in Virginia increased to $11 an hour on Jan. 1 and is set to increase to $12 next January. The House Commerce and Energy committee approved House Bill 320, introduced by Del. Nicholas J. Freitas, R-Culpeper, and HB 296,...
From hand sanitizer and vaccines to groceries and toilet paper, truck drivers are trucking through the COVID-19 pandemic despite a historic labor shortage. Many industries moved workers home during the start of the pandemic, but truckers worked “to meet the needs of this country.” “The trucking industry has stepped up and delivered...
Mobility is freedom, but just as the slaveholders who founded this country never believed in liberty for all, today too one need only look at a map of Richmond’s bus system to see the limits of many folks’ freedom. Routes that end at the county line and buses that only run once an hour are two of the most visible boundaries that fence in...
When I was seven years old, I lived through one of the deadliest weather-related disasters in recent U.S. history. It was July 1995 and my family lived in the northwestern suburbs of Chicago, IL, in a two-story house on a corner lot with a big, beautiful weeping willow tree and a few purple lilac bushes in the backyard (ironic to me now,...
Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Think back to the last time you were outside under the shade of a tree enjoying the breeze, the chirping birds, and the fresh air. Did your shoulders drop? Did some tension leave your body? Did you feel refreshed? If you were like me, and many in the Richmond region, you spent a good amount of time in...
Anyone who has been on the leadership team of a health organization in the past few years can tell you that when it’s time to update your strategic plan or submit a proposal for funding, the word “equity” goes front and center. Organizations across the region (my own included) use “equity” whenever possible: we are equity-driven, have an equity...
Prison Isn’t Working In her book detailing the work of Common Justice, a New York-based incarceration alternative to violent crime convictions, Danielle Sered writes that there are four core drivers of violence -- shame, isolation, exposure to violence, and a diminished ability to meet one’s economic needs. Simultaneously, there are four...
“The most disrespected person in America is the Black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the Black woman. The most neglected person in America is the Black woman.” - Malcolm X This quote by Malcolm X is well known by Black women in my community because it still rings true today. It is also true of Black girls, who grow up to be...
“Equity is more than access to resources; it’s a deep commitment to liberation predicated on self-love, self-justice, self-healing, self-determination, and compassion for others.” - Dr. Ram Bhagat I was born two years after the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision, when the US Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation in schools...