Editor’s Note: This article is based on reporting by Julianna Brown of Capital News Service, a student-powered newsroom at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Robertson School of Communication. RVA Magazine has edited and expanded the reporting for our audience. For...
Today’s announcement that the VCU Union is now open to faculty and staff members of all classifications has implications beyond higher education. The fight to improve the working conditions of Richmond’s largest employer could have ripple effects that impact all Virginians. This afternoon VCU workers, including tenure line faculty, adjunct...
In the wake of the Atlanta shooting and other hate-fueled attacks against Asian Americans, Central Virginia's Asian American community are coming together to stand up against violence and racist stereotypes. White signs reading “End Violence Against Asians” and “Stop Asian Hate” illuminated against candle flames outside the Richmond Korean...
Marijuana was originally scheduled to become fully legal in Virginia in 2024, but now Governor Northam has listened to advocates and is now working to move up the timeline, potentially making it legal this summer. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam amended legislation to accelerate the legalization of marijuana possession and home cultivation in the...
Over the course of 15 years in the General Assembly, state Sen. Jennifer McClellan has actively shaped Virginia's political landscape. Now, with her campaign to become Virginia's next governor, she wants to take things to the next level. Sen. Jennifer McClellan is one of 13 candidates vying to become Virginia’s next governor; a state that has...
University of Richmond's School of Law held a six-hour symposium recently about the school-to-prison pipeline and ways students of color are kept at a disadvantage by zero tolerance policies and overpolicing of school grounds. Schools have become places of trauma for students of color and help reinforce centuries of systemic racism by driving...
Thanks to Governor Ralph Northam and the General Assembly, Virginia's long tradition of imposing the death penalty is headed for a permanent end in the near future. We look back at the history to see why this is a positive development for the commonwealth. With Governor Ralph Northam expected to sign a bill that passed through the General...
Inmates and advocates continue to report unsafe conditions in the Richmond Jail. Reports from incarcerated people, activists, family members, and the Richmond Public Defender’s Office suggest that the Richmond City Justice Center (RCJC) may be experiencing its worst COVID-19 outbreak since 91 incarcerated people tested positive in...
At VCU, adjunct professors make up as many as half of total instructors in some departments. Now they are campaigning to receive a living wage from the university that relies on their labor. Roughly 100 Virginia Commonwealth University instructors are demanding what many adjuncts across the state want: a fair wage. Pay for adjunct instructors...
Where civil rights are concerned, this year's session of Virginia's General Assembly has been a mixed bag: protections for people with disabilities and domestic workers, but no protection against sexual harassment in the workplace. The Virginia General Assembly passed several bills this session expanding employment protections for people with...
