“You want me to tell you what’s immoral? War is immoral. Poverty is immoral. Racism is immoral. Police brutality is immoral.” — a defendant in Punishment Park I read that director Peter Watkins had passed away last week and realized I’d never heard of him. As it turns...
Through a lifetime appointment, Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh has the potential to affect U.S. law for decades to come. With Kavanaugh’s confirmation and diving into his third week as a Supreme Court Justice, questions have been raised about what this could mean for the future of reproductive rights. Kavanaugh has replaced conservative...
Bangalore, the capital of India's southern Karnataka state is an incredibly beautiful, vibrant, confusing, contradictory, and stunning piece of the country. As a friend once told me, "India will attack your senses." He was very, very correct. Living here for one month now, I've been able to pick up on a few of the more common everyday normalities...
After more than 10 years of deliberation and planning, the College of William and Mary is finalizing a memorial to the people enslaved by the school between the 17th and mid-19th centuries. The school has been open for 324 years, and it practiced institutionalized slavery for 172 years -- more than 50 percent of the time its doors have been open...
The Virginia State Conference NAACP took state regulators to task for their recent approval of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP). In a press statement released Saturday, the group expressed its concerns with the state’s “refusal to protect our land, water and communities,” with a particular focus on environmental and social costs. The group also...
Something about Arthur Ashe elevates him into the mythology and lore of Central Virginia. It goes beyond his legacy as a tennis great, beyond his positive contributions to the community around his hometown of Richmond. As a black man who grew up during the Jim Crow era, Ashe rose above segregation and injustice to become one of the greatest...
Republican Senate candidate Corey Stewart may be trailing his opponent, Tim Kaine, by double digits in the latest polls, but he hasn't given up yet. Earlier this month, the campaign trail brought him to the Dockside restaurant, in Hopewell, Virginia, for a meet and greet. Less than a dozen people showed up. I was one of them. The price of...
As the first Muslim-American in the Virginia General Assembly -- and the first to sign a pledge against taking public interest donations -- Roanoke Delegate Sam Rasoul wants to eliminate money’s role in politics. According to the Center for Public Integrity, Virginia is one of nine states that do not have an ethics commission to oversee the...
The upcoming midterm elections on November 7 will be huge: HUGE. Nowhere more-so than in the 7th District, where incumbent Dave Brat (darling of the Tea Party) is squaring off against Abigail Spanberger, the scrappy former-CIA agent, for the heart and soul of Central Virginia. According to most independent political analysts, the race is still a...
Kanye West has often been quoted over the years making proud boasts about his greatness and importance. Last week, he took things to the next level when he met with President Trump; a meeting that was supposedly intended to focus on prison reform and gang violence. However, Kanye’s rambling half of the conversation quickly derailed into a...
