Virginia voters will head to the polls this spring to decide the future of the state’s redistricting process after the Supreme Court of Virginia confirmed that the April 21 referendum election will move forward as scheduled. The court rejected efforts to block the...
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...
I was only 12 years old when I moved from Guatemala to Virginia with my mom and siblings to reunite with my dad after 10 years. Everything was new to me. I remember coming out of the plane and even noticing that the air smelled different. I felt so far away from home, a stranger in a new land. As strangers, we have to learn so much about so...
Growing up in Miami Florida as a Latina, I never really considered myself a “minority” because of the high population of Latinos and Spanish-speakers living there. Every sign you read and every space you enter is bilingual; that is the norm. So, when I moved to Richmond, I experienced culture shock as I noticed the lack of language diversity and...
Through my work in the Richmond area for the last twenty years, I have dedicated my career to welcoming immigrant families, starting at Refugee and Immigration Services, then through the City of Richmond Office of Multicultural Affairs, and for the last five years, through Sacred Heart Center, where we connect Latino families with tools to thrive...
As an Afro Latina and community leader, I have witnessed massive power inequities and disproportionate access to social, economic, and cultural resources. First, the lack of representation of Latino and Afro Latinos in professional roles within government, nonprofit and private institutions is terrifying. Second, Latinos and Afro Latinos are...
My vision of a racially equitable Richmond is one in which resourced institutions, such as higher education, invest in reparative and equitable practices that respect lived expertise and are built on partnerships. As a society, we value expertise. Expertise is the skill or knowledge that emerges from experience, training or study, and it is...
A gift has tremendous power. Not only is the power of a gift conveyed in its value, but also through the sentiment with which it was given. A gift can evoke emotions of compassion and gratitude shared by the giver and the recipient. A gift is given without an expectation of reciprocity, compensation, or commendation. The giver is compelled to...