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The Work Is Never Done

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Equality Virginia’s Vee Lamneck talks to GayRVA about Title VII, The Virginia Values Act, and the connections between LGBTQ and BLM.

On June 15th, the U.S. Supreme Court reviewed three historic cases and came to one monumental decision: that Title VII of The Civil Rights Act of 1964 protected LGBTQ people from discrimination in the workplace based on their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. Prior to the Title VII decision, it was completely lawful in quite a few states of the union for an employee of a private corporation to be fired or passed up for employment for being LGBTQ.

The Supreme Court made a statement about one of the cases, saying, “Today, we must decide whether an employer can fire someone simply for being homosexual or transgender. The answer is clear. An employer who fires an individual for being homosexual or transgender fires that person for traits or actions it would not have questioned in members of a different sex. Sex plays a necessary and undisguisable role in the decision, exactly what Title VII forbids.” – Supreme Court decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, June 15, 2020.

In many ways, this case was a matter of analyzing the Civil Rights Act through a modern lens and recontextualizing the age-old issue of sex discrimination to address the issues of LGBTQ people. When The Civil Rights Act was originally passed, the legislators responsible for its proposal and approval were almost certainly thinking of women, and not of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and trans people. However, when Title VII was reviewed in today’s context, the justices found that the same laws that protected women from discrimination in ‘60’s should also protect LGBTQ people today.

One of the foremost advocacy groups for LGBTQ rights in Virginia is Equality Virginia, an organization that is dedicated to creating a truly inclusive commonwealth for all Virginians, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity. Equality Virginia Executive Director Vee Lamneck, who uses they/them pronouns, spoke to us about what this landmark Supreme Court decision means for LGBTQ Richmonders, Virginians, and Americans.

“LGBTQ people have been advocating for their rights for decades,” Lamneck said. “There are many states in the country that have non-discrimination protections in place at the state level, and I am very proud that Virginia is soon to be one of them.”

Lamneck is referring to The Virginia Values Act, which was passed by the General Assembly this spring and takes effect on July 1st. This bill will protect LGBTQ Virginians from discrimination in all public spaces and places of business, not just as employees but as customers and citizens as well.

“This means that LGBTQ people will be able to go about their daily lives without fear of discrimination in housing, in public spaces like restaurants and hotels, and also in employment,” Lamneck continued.

Image via Equality Virginia/Facebook

Lamneck explained that the Virginia Values Act goes farther than the recent Supreme Court decision, protecting LGBTQ people beyond the workplace. “The Virginia Values Act speaks to public accommodations protections, so that you cannot be discriminated against or denied service when you walk into a restaurant or shop or hotel on the basis of your orientation or identity,” they said. “Title VII does not speak to that, which is why there’s a lot more work to do on the federal level.”

While Lamneck is very pleased about the protections Virginians are ensured within the Commonwealth, they still consider it very important to focus on federal protections. “Once Virginians leave the Commonwealth and go to other states, depending on which state you’re in, those protections may not be in place,” they said.

The recent Supreme Court decision is important to ensure that LGBTQ people are protected against discrimination throughout the country, but it’s not the only action taking place at the federal level where LGBTQ rights are concerned. Lamneck pointed out that the Equality Act, a bill that would amend the Civil Rights Act to include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes throughout, passed the US House Of Representatives in 2019, and is currently under consideration by the US Senate.

“The passage of the Equality Act will ensure comprehensive protections for LGBTQ Americans,” Lamneck explained. And while there’s still hope within the LGBTQ community that it will be passed at some point, the recent Supreme Court decision does offer some much-needed relief. “This decision is so important,” they said, “especially for those individuals and their families living in states without these protections.”

Aurora Higgs, a 29 year old black transgender woman who is an LGBTQ scholar, activist, and public speaker, has worked with Lamneck and Equality Virginia on campaigns for LGBTQ equality in Virginia. Higgs is very happy to see the Virginia Values Act go into effect later this week, mentioning that previous laws intended to provide protections for LGBTQ Virginians, none of which passed, had all included disappointing limitations. “This law is so much more comprehensive and covers all of the people in the rural areas that are always going to be the most at risk,” Higgs said.

Despite living in a state that now has protections for LGBTQ people against employment discrimination, Higgs was still glad to hear about the Title VII Supreme Court decision. “It will ensure that the same protections that I enjoy in a state that already has those laws in place can be experienced anywhere in this country,” Higgs said. “Traveling for queer and trans people is incredibly daunting, because you never know what the climate of a community is until you’re in it.”

Higgs shared how she in particular has faced real concerns about discrimination in employment over the course of her life — concerns that she hopes will be diminished by the passage of the Virginia Values Act and the recent Supreme Court decision. “It’s really difficult to enforce discrimination policies in a job interview when there are so many factors that they could use as pretext to not hire you,” she said. “I worry about showing up for job interviews and being seen as a professional when I’m trans and black.”

Under the Supreme Court’s new Title VII decision, Higgs said, working conditions will improve for LGBTQ Americans in a variety of ways. “Employers will have to have a fire lit under them to ensure that insurance policies are adequate for trans people and that the workplace culture is adequate,” Higgs said. “As happy as I am I see it, [it’s] not so much a victory as getting one more hurdle out of the way to liberation, which is the final goal.”

Both Higgs and Lamneck drew parallels between LGBTQ rights and the Black Lives Matter movement that has recently swept across the nation. Lamneck explained how the human rights effort of the BLM Movement and the nationwide protests have affected the work of Equality Virginia, and how the fight for LGBTQ rights and Racial Equality are connected. They also illuminated how the discrimination and inequality that LGBTQ people are subjected to is compounded by their race. Race is the hidden, implied context of every conversation, every law and every decision. A black LGBTQ person’s struggle for equality is compounded by their blackness — which makes things harder still. “Even with the Title VII decision, black LGBTQ people are still experiencing disproportionate discrimination in their lives.” Lamneck said. “Our laws need to address systemic racism and inequality.”

Aurora Higgs. Photo via Facebook

To Higgs, it’s clear that the goals of the Black Lives Matter movement and the LGBTQ rights movement are fundamentally aligned. “The BLM movement seeks to disrupt not just racism but white supremacy,” Higgs said. “White supremacy has historically been misogynistic, homophobic, and transphobic. All of those thing are still present to this day, and they compound one another.”

However, both Higgs and Lamneck agree that the effects of discrimination are magnified by those who exist within multiple marginalized groups. “My experience as a white queer person and the discrimination that I may experience is going to look different than the discrimination of the black trans person next to me because she is experiencing racism, homophobia, and sexism all at the same time,” Lamneck explained.

“There is so much joy and hardship that comes with being black and trans and queer,” said Higgs. “But when you have different dimensions of diversity and marginalization, they compound on one another.”

Higgs believes that the LGBTQ civil rights movement working alongside the Black Lives Matter movement is an ideal way to enable both groups to better understand and support one another. “Although the [Black Lives Matter] movement highlights black lives, it’s really shedding a light on oppression, and I think we all relate to oppression,” she said. “The fastest way to empathy is shared experience.”

While Lamneck is feeling positive about the recent progress in LGBTQ civil rights, they recognize that there’s still a lot more to be done. “This moment reminds us that, yes, this is a victory for the LGBT movement, but also that the work is not done”, Lamneck said. “We need to work to address systemic racism, homophobia, and transphobia. The work for LGBTQ equality must be interwoven with the work to dismantle systemic racism.”

In the future, Lamneck hopes to not only carry on with Equality Virginia’s current mission of fighting for LGBTQ civil rights in the Commonwealth, but to expand that work to encompass other marginalized groups. “I think our work here as an organization needs to continue to restructure as an anti-racist organization,” they said.

For Higgs, the main focus of civil rights activism in the coming years needs to be to increase political representation by and for marginalized groups. “We don’t have hardly any representation in the federal government,” she said. “The most sustainable solution I can think of is having more queer and trans people of color in both appointments at the state level and as elected officials nationwide. I don’t think we can really hope for anything until we have representation in politics.”

For now, though, LGBTQ people in Virginia can breathe slightly easier, knowing that the Virginia Values Act and the recent Supreme Court decision give them more protections against discrimination than they’ve ever had before.

Top Photo via Equality Virginia/Facebook

Shining A Light On Systemic Racism In STEM

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Earlier this month, black professionals in STEM and academia staged a one-day strike to point out systemic racism in their field. RVA Mag spoke to some local participants.

On June 10th, black members of the academia and STEM fields participated in a virtual strike commemorating the social injustice that has garnered more and more attention recently in light of the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and too many others. 

The strike, which was reported on social media under hashtags including #SHUTDOWNSTEM, was created in order to demonstrate the loss of productivity to companies if black people did not work, said Kellianne Richardson, a STEM worker and doctor of pharmacology and toxicology.

“I was happy that virtually we created an affinity space where I felt like my voice could be heard,” Richardson said. “Even though there were no echoes of any response to the civil unrest that has been occurring, or for the PTSD it may create for black employees that feel like they really are really hurt by the human rights violations of George Floyd.”

Richardson said she’s disappointed in the STEM field for not taking a stand or making statements regarding the Black Lives Matter movement. While she appreciated the supportive statements from many companies in the wake of the protests, she said local companies like PPD, kaléo, and GlaxoSmithKline had yet to say anything about the Black Lives Matter movement. 

“I was happy — I didn’t know that so many other types of industries were going to make a stand or say something about black lives,” Richardson said. “But I was really surprised that in STEM, there was no answer.”

Richardson said she didn’t want to share the company she works for right now due to concerns about reprisal from employers. 

“I’m excited to try to share the opportunity to speak out but, you know, living in a small city like Richmond, you don’t want to be like Colin Kaepernick,” Richardson said. After drawing attention for kneeling during the national anthem to protest violence against black Americans, Kaepernick, a former NFL quarterback, found himself unable to secure a contract at the peak of his career. He’s been without a team for four years now.

“I don’t have millions of dollars, so that I could go without employment for four years until someone decides they’d like to be on my side,” said Richardson. “So it’s actually taking a risk to even say something.”

Colin Kaepernick, center, kneels with teammates in 2016. Photo via Twitter

During every level of education she’s gone through, Richardson said she’s faced some sort of discrimination and systemic racism. One of many instances was when she was attending Oberlin College, an institution in Ohio known for its arts programs, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree. 

After telling an individual that she earned a full scholarship to Oberlin, the person replied with “Oh, what sport do you play?”

“So the assumption was if I was in college, it was because I was playing a sport,” Richardson said. “I’m a smart alec, so I said ‘I play my brain.’’

After Richardson finished her undergraduate studies, she went on to apply for a job at Associated Press when she was 22 years old. The woman interviewing her made a comment about Richardson’s age, comparing her to her daughter who was the same age as Richardson. The woman said she wouldn’t trust her daughter with this much responsibility, implying Richardson shouldn’t be trusted with this big of a job either. At the time, she didn’t fully understand that this was something that shouldn’t be said to her during an interview. In hindsight, though, she feels that the comparison was totally unfair.

“Being from a black family, my culture is to work hard, and my culture is not to complain,” Richardson said. “How someone non-black would present at 22 years old, may have a different level of maturity than someone of a very self-driven first-generation college student from a black family. That person is going to have a lot more motivation, a lot less to fall back on.”

Richardson said this tone-deafness explicitly impacted her ability to find a job after college. Despite having a bachelor’s degree, she ended up working at an airline for only $8.50 an hour. She ultimately returned to college and completed a PhD in order to improve her prospects.

This inability to find a job based on systemic racism and underlying discrimination is a battle that Jaleesa Timberlake, another woman in the STEM field, has had to fight as well. Timberlake, who earned her undergraduate degrees in interdisciplinary sciences and Spanish and earned her Master’s degree in pharmaceutical science, currently works at a local company facilitating research for pharmaceutical companies prior to the approval of the drugs. 

Even at this local company, Timberlake says there are almost no minorities in leadership positions.

“It’s still pretty obvious as a minority that it is very hard to climb up the [corporate] ladder,” Timberlake said.  

Despite having three degrees, Timberlake echoed Richardson in saying she had an extremely tough time finding a job. Once, she interviewed alongside one of her white co-workers for a STEM-related job at a local company. Timberlake thought knew she had more experience and qualifications than her white co-worker, but she still didn’t get the job. 

Photo by Trust “Tru” Katsande on Unsplash

When she asked why, the company told her that they decided to go with someone “more qualified.” However, since she knew the woman who got the job, Timberlake knew this wasn’t true. She considers this rejection a decision based on race.

“For lack of a better word… it just sucks,” Timberlake said. “It sucks because you know that you’re able to do the job.”

Timberlake said she thinks she hasn’t been called back for certain jobs based on just her name. 

“As much as I hate to say it, my name is Jaleesa Timberlake, so before I can even get a callback, I get the email of a rejection,” Timberlake said. “I feel like my name was something more Anglo-Saxon, like Jessica or Jennifer, it would be easier to not really know firsthand that, ‘Hey, this person is African American.’”

After numerous failed attempts to get ahead in her field, Timberlake said she’s decided to pharmacy school. 

“For my last hope, I just got into pharmacy school. I’m going to go back, and hopefully that will be a determining degree,” Timberlake said. “What is there more to do? It’s sad that I even have to rack up almost $300,000 worth of debt just to try and seal the deal and close every single loop. I’m almost out of options. I don’t know what else is there to do.”

When it comes to combating racial injustice in the STEM field, Richardson said the least the STEM community could do right now is to offer some affinity space and listen to black workers, especially since they’re coming to work in the middle of a pandemic. Another thing STEM companies, and companies, in general, can do is to conduct exit interviews for those who’ve left the company, as Richardson said black people often leave companies because of racism. 

“You have times like now where companies look around and say, ‘We don’t have any black employees. I wonder why,’” Richardson said. “Well, they left, and they had very specific reasons they may not have shared with you.”

Richardson said black people in the STEM field often “trade racism for a meritocracy” — meritocracy meaning the assumption that the person most qualified for a job will be the one who gets it. However, in the wake of brutality and killings conducted by police officers, she said this assumption of meritocracy has disappeared in the United States, as these officers clearly don’t care what merit these black individuals have.

“No one asked what Mr. Floyd certifications were when he had that knee on his neck for eight and a half minutes,” Timberlake said. “So, it was a real affront to black professionals everywhere because it said, ‘You know what? Your life doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter what you do, how you conduct yourself. If you have your hood up or down. If you’re in broad daylight. If you’re doing right or wrong.’”

Top Photo by CDC on Unsplash

Projecting Our Hopes And Dreams

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Since the protest movement began last month, artist Dustin Klein’s projections of police brutality victims and civil rights heroes have become a crucial component of the nightly gatherings at the Robert E. Lee Monument.

Amidst the nation-wide protests against police brutality in the United States, Richmond’s Robert E. Lee statue on Monument Avenue has become a canvas for the public. Following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis Police, Richmond protesters have used the statue as a gathering place where they rest and give speeches between marches.

In the first few days of the protests, Mayor Levar Stoney set an 8 pm curfew. Since then, nearly every night since the curfew has lifted, lighting effects artist Dustin Klein, along with his friend Alex Criqui, has projected pictures of victims of police brutality on the monument’s graffiti-coated stone base.  

Photo from Dustin’s Instagram, @videometry

“We were thinking this is a way to contribute where we wouldn’t be overtaking the voices who need to lead this movement,” said Criqui. “We thought this was a way that we could participate and add a unique contribution while using our voices in a way that’s appropriate for two white men.”

Despite the time and effort it takes to set up the projections, Klein and Criqui have not stopped joining the marches that take place earlier in the day. Once night falls, they are out there projecting, often until well after midnight. 

The two began setting up similar projections before the lift on Richmond’s curfew, but limited themselves to privately owned spots where they had permission, such as Spacebomb Studios or The Camel on West Broad St. It wasn’t until the day the curfew lifted, when Klein got his hands on a generator, that he and Criqui began projecting on the Lee statue. They did so independently of any organization and with no permission, and have received nothing but positive feedback from protesters.  

“This is one of the first times I’ve put something in the world where I think I learned more about what it meant after doing it than beforehand,” said Klein. “Just from talking to people and getting their reactions, and reading about how people felt about it on the internet.”

Photo from Dustin’s Instagram, @videometry

Klein and Criqui have not limited the images for their projections to George Floyd. They’ve also projected past victims of police brutality, such as Richmond’s Marcus-David Peters, and Breonna Taylor. Recently, they projected images of various civil rights activists, such as Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass, paired with famous quotes attributed to them. Sometimes, Klein and Criqui change images based on requests from other protestors, but it’s also often a thematic choice.

“We’ve been trying to tailor the images towards what’s happening on each day,” said Criqui. 

The team projected Breonna Taylor’s photo on June 5, what would have been her 27th birthday. Likewise, they used both the Columbus statue and the Jefferson Davis Memorial as a base for their projections on the days protestors tore down those monuments. 

Dustin’s projection on the Jefferson Davis Memorial

This is the first political project that both Klein and Criqui have been involved in. Apart from these projections, Klein has been a lighting effects artist in the music industry, lighting concerts and music festivals for the past ten years. Klein frequently works with jazz-inspired or improvisational bands whose improvised pieces spur Klein towards a similar approach with his lighting. He often includes custom animations into the lighting, and improvises effects to fit the music using his own custom MIDI control set. 

“I really just try to tailor what I’m putting out there to try and match the music as best I can,” said Klein. “I’ve just found myself working with music projects that… change every night. The music is always different every time they play it. So I’ve created my own control surface to help adapt to that situation.”

“Dustin is a total MIDI wizard,” said Criqui. “The way he approaches his stuff is pretty innovative and… performative. When this guy first started off, he was using [Nintendo] Wii controllers. That was really outside the box.”

Dustin’s custom MIDI setup. Photo from Dustin’s site, videometryvisuals.com

Klein has also worked on several art installations outside of lighting concerts, often projection mapping on painted murals to create an animation. 

Klein and Criqui may not have made political art before this, but they have no plans to stop projecting now. 

“It’s what we’ve been doing in our free time,” said Klein. And I think we’re gonna continue to do that in our free time as long as we see the opportunity to create positivity and joy and love, and make a change the best we can. If the movement’s still alive, I think we will be too.”

Responding To Crisis With Art

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Richmond’s Black Art: RVA Magazine is highlighting more local artistic voices responding to the BLM protest movement. Let’s take a closer look.

It’s a long road to justice for the Black Lives Matter movement, and for many, art is a handy tool for expression. On Instagram, speckled between quotes and photos, we continue to find drawings and paintings made in response to the recent Black Lives Matter protests, police brutality crisis, and everyday racism in America. In continuation of our previous article, we wanted to spotlight some Black artists from the Richmond area who are participating in this online renaissance. We spoke to several local artists about their process and what inspired them to create this work. Today, we present: Nicole Pernell, Malik Radford, and Theodore Taylor.

Image by Nicole Pernell

Nicole Pernell 

Nicole Pernell is an RVA native, born and raised. “I actually live a few blocks away from the Capitol! So I’m in the heart of all the action,” she said in an email. To make her illustrations, she uses Procreate 5 on her iPad Pro, and sometimes augments it with After Effects for animation.

On Instagram, Pernell has taken a slight diversion from her psychedelic, occasionally galactic portraits to focus on current events surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement and COVID-19. “These are topics that I’m constantly thinking about and feel that others should be informed,” she said.

“Sometimes, people truly do need a reminder to wash their hands or to stay inside to protect others. People also need to be aware of the injustice of black and brown people in America and stop ignoring the problem,” she continued. Her recent illustrations, which mirror her previous ones in creamy color palette and robin’s egg speckle, do not lack playfulness or charm. Pernell’s message is just more obvious.

Art by Nicole Pernell

What keeps her going? “Anything and all things black motivate me! Especially black women!” she said. “We are such a resilient, inspirational and affectionate group of human beings. I truly do wish the world would see us like how I and other black women see each other. There’s so much creativity that we have, so much passion in everything we do. It‘s hard not to be inspired by us!”

In addition to her illustrations, Pernell is a graphic designer and creator of the Meloinin brand, “an on-going passion project of screen-printed materials and illustrations geared towards black women representation.” She plans to continue screen printing, but has bigger dreams.

“One day, I would really like to open an art studio where black women and women of color can collaborate and make art with each other, whatever that may be. I feel like we don’t have a space like that right now. A safe space where we can just create, discuss and be ourselves publicly,” she said.

Image by Malik Radford

Malik Radford

Malik Radford has a dual degree in Kinetic Imaging and Communication Arts from Virginia Commonwealth University. He works for the VCU Activity Programming Board as their Communications Coordinator / Graphic Designer, but he also makes illustrations and cartoons.

“I’m always thinking of ideas I want to bring to life,” he wrote to us. “It usually just depends on my mood or what’s going in the world at the time.” His recent work, which ranges from album cover designs to cartoons about social justice, is just as spontaneous as it is intentional. The Instagram caption for the above cartoon reads, “How do we properly go about social justice in a country where peace is deemed as equal of a threat as violence?”

Radford isn’t afraid to be honest, which is part of the reason why his work is so funny. That, and his ability to see the big picture. “I’m really fascinated with the universe and space, and the idea of life being insignificant on a universal scale, yet so important on a human level,” he said.

Image by Malik Radford

On his website, Radford lists Earl Mack and Hebru Brantley as some of his influences, artists whose brightly-colored, pop culture-sensitive qualities can be seen in Radford’s work. It’s the sort of stuff that would be right at home on Adult Swim, and Radford would love to get involved with the network. He’s on their radar; Adult Swim commented on a cartoon Radford made about a Michael Jordan docu-series a few weeks ago. “It’s just a matter of continuing to make dope stuff,” he said.

In the meantime, Radford plans on making more album covers. He’s designed for RDFRD, Svn Svn Three, Kamakazi Kei, and many more. “I’m also going to be releasing either an art book or another coloring book,” he said. “I have a lot of goals, but those are the ones that first come to mind.”

Image by Theodore Taylor

Theodore Taylor

Theodore Taylor, also a VCUarts alum, is a Richmond-based children’s illustrator, casual beatmaker, and front-end web developer at the Brick Factory. The above cartoon is from a zine Taylor made in 2017 called “Some Dumb Comics,” which is described on his website as “a small collection of comics about coping with modern America.”

Taylor, who is often busy taking care of his son, prefers working in Procreate on his iPad for practicality. Before he can finalize his designs, Taylor said in an email, “I try to capture as many ideas as I can in my sketchbook. If something interesting pops into my head I write it down. Then I take the best of those ideas and bring them to a completed state elsewhere.”

Music is a running theme in Taylor’s work. “A lot of my work is centered around it,” he said. “My father was a jazz guitarist and I’ve always wanted to follow in his footsteps. But I ended up taking a different path towards visual art. So whenever I have a chance to fit music into my work, I take it. That’s where my desire to make beat tapes alongside comics and zines came from.”

Image by Theodore Taylor

Most recently, Taylor illustrated “Woke,” a collection of poems focused on social justice. On Instagram, he wrote, “I’m very happy with how this book turned out. I think it features some of my best book work to date. I tried to approach it like a zine, representing each poem as best as I could. I hope you all enjoy it!”

His illustrations in “Woke” are luminous and textured, like sunlight spilling onto fabric, with outlines like woodblock prints. “My style comes from years of mimicking comics, animation, video games and street art,” he said. “I still don’t feel like I have one consistent style, but I can spot elements that tie everything together. My style changes depending on what I’m working on.”

Taylor’s main focus at the moment is continuing his career as a children’s book illustrator. “Not just for money,” he said, “but the surreal feeling of seeing my work on store shelves in a real, tangible book.” Look out for his next book! “I really wish I could say what it is, but it’s a secret!” he said.

Urgent Progressive Change: Speaking With Richmond Mayoral Candidate Alexsis Rodgers

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RVA Magazine sits down with Alexsis Rodgers, a community activist and mayoral candidate for the City of Richmond, to learn more about her policies. 

On June 6, Alexsis Rodgers formally announced her candidacy for Richmond mayor. Rodgers, a VCU graduate, is currently the Virginia state director for Care in Action: the policy and advocacy home for two million women domestic workers. Rodgers is also the former president of the Virginia Young Democrats. Rodgers’ campaign is running on the slogan “Policies Not Apologies.”

Among the policies and reform she’s passionate about are voting rights, economic security, college affordability, and quality health care. Some of her accomplishments include playing a key role in achieving Medicaid expansion, and growing birth control access during her time at Planned Parenthood here in Richmond. 

We sat down with Rodgers to learn more about her policies ahead of the election. 

RVA Magazine: I’ve seen and read that you’ve been in leadership positions such as the president of Virginia Young Democrats, and now you’re the Virginia State Director for Care in Action. Why do you want to run for mayor? Why now?

Alexsis Rodgers: Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve seen more clearly than ever that the community wants urgent, progressive change. A lot of the demands that we’re hearing from the community are policy demands that they’ve been setting forward for years — whether that be police accountability, a civilian review board with authority to subpoena, or the Marcus Alert. What I’ve seen from our Mayor’s Office is a resistance to listen and be responsive to calls from the community, and this isn’t the first time we’ve seen this dismissal… When you look back at the Navy Hill fight, the Education Compact, and development projects all throughout the city, we’ve seen the Mayor center the interests of corporate elites and special interests more so than people. I think now more than ever, we need someone who’s in touch; who has worked with community activism leaders to fight for progressive change, but who also understands policy and its process. I think I’m that candidate. 

RVA Mag: What do you think is the best solution for the city’s ongoing problems with education, especially for students who are economically disadvantaged and/or from marginalized backgrounds?

AR: Number one: right now, in the middle of this public health crisis, we’re seeing the importance of education and the importance of child care. For too many of Richmond’s families, access to affordable child care, early childhood education, and the right to go to a good quality school has not been a reality. I think we have to start by centering the right values, and the right people, in the process. We’re never going to get the results we want when it comes to educational equity if we don’t start centering the folks that are the most impacted. If we don’t start by engaging and listening to our teachers, faculty, and support staff. If we’re not truly listening to parents. We haven’t seen any true community engagement through this Mayor’s Administration. That’s something we’re going to need to address if we want to fully fund RPS, if we want to get police out of our school systems, and make sure that schools are a safe place for our kids to learn and grow. 

RVA Mag: How do you feel about the issues that have come up in the past year or two regarding de facto segregation of school districts within the city?

AR: There’s a systemic issue when it comes to racial and educational inequity here in Richmond, and right now we’re having a very public conversation about monuments and what they mean to black and brown folks. But we’re not [paying] enough attention right now to the systemic issues of racial injustice and education inequity. I think it has to start by, again, making sure we’re centering the right folks in these conversations. We haven’t always done that. We can’t ignore do-gooders in our community that want to support because they have access to corporate funds for our schools. They’re great community partners who have been helping to support our teachers and staff, but we need to make sure that we’re always putting students first. We know that Navy Hill was not a project that was going to put working-class folks first, and we’ve got to stop putting those corporate elites first when it comes to our policymaking. 

RVA Mag: The process of figuring out what to do with the Richmond Coliseum and its surrounding area, Navy Hill, has been a huge issue in the city over the past few years. How do you think you can most effectively move this discussion forward, and find a solution for the area that works for all Richmonders? 

AR: I think the project was doomed from the start, because it seemed to me that the process was rigged. It started with corporate special interest, and the plan was created, but it was rolled out under the guidelines of “wanting community feedback and input” — when really, they knew what they wanted the plan to be. It was not real engagement and real incorporation of community feedback. As Mayor, my commitment is that I’m not going to start with those special interests in mind first. I want to put the people first, and make sure there is real input from Richmond residents — that their voices are actually heard as we’re developing the city. It’s really important that we’re able to build and grow Richmond — make sure we open up new revenues for the city, so we can fully fund our schools and address housing and healthcare issues. But if we don’t center the right values as we work to secure economic development, we’re never going to do right by Richmond residents. 

RVA Mag: What are your views on what should be done on Monument Ave? 

AR: I think it’s really clear that Richmonders want these monuments down. I told a story when I first launched my campaign about when I was at school at Hanover High School: at track practice while we were practicing, a truck pulled up with a huge confederate flag in the back and started circling the parking lot. My coach went out and told that driver to go home. He knew the message that truck was trying to send to our team, he knew it was wrong, and he went out and called for that person to go.

Right now, what we’re seeing over the last several years, folks have asked for these monuments to be removed. They’ve asked for them to be put in museums, but for them to be put out of our public spaces. For too long, the Mayor has said, “Well we can’t,” or “I’m not sure,” or “We need to have a process.” We had a commission that made recommendations that didn’t go anywhere, and it’s only when this very visible unrest is happening in our city that he’s coming around to the right decision. It shouldn’t require us to put our literal bodies on the line, out here protesting for our rights in the middle of a pandemic, to be heard by our elected officials. We should be able to be valued and seen whether we’re protesting, speaking at a city council meeting, or writing a letter to a City Council member or our Mayor. All of those tactics should be heard and valued. We shouldn’t have to put our lives on the line as part of it. I sit out there marching with everybody else, asking for justice, asking for policy solutions… but also to say these racist symbols should be out of our public spaces, and it’s past time for that to happen. 

Photo via Alexsis Rodgers/Facebook

RVA Mag: What would you like to see done with the street once they’re removed?

AR: When we’re talking about public spaces and putting up monuments to individuals, that should take real community input. That should also honor folks whose history has been forgotten or erased. You know, Richmond is a creative city. We have a lot of artists. We have a lot of historians and researchers. Given the authority and the resources, we can have some real community engagement around [questions like], “What should we name our streets that are formally named after confederate generals?” “What should we put in place of these historically confederate monuments?” I don’t think the city residents haven’t been given that agency. I would love to see us move in that direction — where we’re having thoughtful conversations about race, using this moment where folks are becoming politically aware to move the city forward, and what should be in these public spaces that honor the right values and right cause. 

RVA Mag: Richmond’s eviction numbers saw somewhat of a decline after the city’s high rate of evictions became national news a couple of years ago, but the city has a long way to go before we’re completely past this issue. How do you foresee the city moving forward in a manner that is helpful to those struggling financially, both where evictions are concerned and in the changing face of public housing in Richmond?

AR: For too many people, especially during this public health crisis, they’ve been juggling whether they can put their health at risk and go to work, or put their job and livelihood at risk by staying home. There have been a lot of great activists out there calling for canceling rent, calling for freezing evictions, and [they’ve been] met with a lot of silence from our elected leadership. That’s not okay. It, again, shows how out-of-touch and out-of-alignment the current administration is from the real needs of the community. There were [homeless] folks at the beginning of the pandemic who were sheltering in place at Camp Cathy, and the city came and removed those folks’ homes. Now, I appreciate any effort to help make sure these folks are in a safe and supportive environment — especially during a public health crisis, where they can maintain social distancing and good hygiene — but the city came in and cleared out those folks’ properties. It was just garbage in the streets. I think that shows a lack of understanding of both dignity and their agency as human beings, and that’s not something I want to see our city do ever again. 

When we talk about affordable housing and making sure that folks are able to make ends meet, there’s a lot of layers to that. There’s making sure people have access to a good job, there’s a lot of emphasis on having transit options that connect people to jobs and work, healthcare access to make sure that where you’re going to work, you’re safe, and childcare so you can go to work and not worry about your family. There are a lot of efforts, a lot of smart folks working on housing policies. But it always has to start with centering people’s dignity, and their humanity, the value that every person should be able to live safely, and giving respect to folks. Maybe they are renters, and there are candidates in the race that don’t think renters should have as much of a say when it comes to their government, and that’s not right. Regardless of where you live or who you are, I want to be your Mayor, and I want to represent you in our government. 

RVA Mag: You’ve had a longtime involvement with Virginia League For Planned Parenthood, so are you at all concerned that abortion will become a wedge issue in your campaign? 

AR: I have always been fighting for healthcare access. In this race, I’m going to be a vocal champion for abortion rights. For me, I know that people that are pregnant need access to the full range of reproductive healthcare services — and that means access to good maternal care, birth control. That means access to abortion. Not every person wants to be pregnant, and not every person is able to carry their pregnancy to term. It’s important to me that we continue to champion those rights for those in Richmond. I was really excited to help Planned Parenthood begin their efforts to expand and open up new health centers in Church Hill. That’s going to be huge for this community, which has been historically underserved when it comes to healthcare access. I think that Planned Parenthood and access to reproductive healthcare here in the city is really important, and is actually going to be a way that we unite the city around certain issues — and certainly around expanding access to healthcare. 

RVA Mag: Finally, regarding gentrification in Richmond, what is your stance on this issue? 

AR: When I moved to the city, I moved to an apartment right near Lamplighter on Addison. My next-door neighbor was an older black woman who had lived there for, you know, forever. In the last couple years, she passed away, and her son wanted to tend to the house. He was really struggling. He had grown up in that house, and he didn’t want to leave the house “speechless” and give it over to renters, because this is the community he grew up in. He also didn’t feel like he had the resources to properly take care of it. Long story short, that house was flipped and sold for half a million dollars, and younger, white folks moved into it. It was a picture right in my eyes, here in Randolph, that is a historically-black community. There are a lot of roots there for black folks, and over and over we’re seeing black residents getting pushed out because of gentrification here in the city. I think it’s important for us to look at how we can make sure that families — specifically black families — can build and maintain wealth in their families. We can proceed to support black ownership when it comes to homes, but also black businesses, and generally making sure that our community of color is made strong. As you probably know, Hull Street used to be basically the Black Wall Street, and making sure that we’re continuing to support communities of color is going to be really important for me.

Interview by Carley Welch; top photo via Alexsis Rodgers/Facebook

Awakening From The Nightmares of The West

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Strike Anywhere’s first new release in over 10 years arrives at a time when Richmond is addressing many of the political issues the veteran punk band has been singing about throughout their career.

Richmond’s beloved veteran punk band Strike Anywhere is releasing their first batch of studio recordings in more than a decade. Their brand-new EP, Nightmares Of The West, is composed of seven songs that bridge their musical stylings with the state of the world today.

Music and the arts have long been creative outlets to turn to in times of social unrest. Thomas Barnett, vocalist and lyricist of Strike Anywhere, reminds us of this once again with the release of the new EP. 

“Music and art, and culture work, are part of the foundation,” Barnett said. “Giving people the space to check their privilege, and understand their spot in history — to break away from dominant culture and see truth. To see through propaganda, and seek courage to take a stand. That’s always part of what we’re about.” 

For decades, punk bands like Strike Anywhere have used their voices to bring awareness to injustice, rallying the troops of social revolution. Punks have long been a part of a lineage of people who are discontent with the status quo, and desperate for revolution.

“This is a crazy, beautiful, terrifying, and crucial time,” Barnett said. “It feels like talking about a punk band and its songs is not particularly relevant.” But with a listen to Nightmares Of The West, it’s apparent that the record is entirely relevant to the political and social climate of today. From their sound to their attitude, and their mission as a band, Strike Anywhere embodies the punk narrative with politically-charged songs and motivations for social change.

Barnett has consistently used his voice to bring attention to injustice, and made it his goals to give voices to the underrepresented and disenfranchised people of America. In many ways, the band itself is a vehicle for activism; the microphone is often used similarly to megaphones in protests, rallying and uplifting listeners to scream their anger in the streets and in concert halls. Much like the protests happening in Richmond and across the country, the band encourages their audience to mobilize, sending their message into the faces of their oppressors. 

Nightmares Of The West seems to pick up right where Strike Anywhere left off more than ten years ago. The new album is filled with rage and discontent for the status quo, and challenges the systems that are in place. It yearns for something better — a society that is more equal and just. In addition to these familiar ideals, there are topics and sentiments that may be new to the band’s repertoire. As the members age, new perspectives have emerged in their work. Even hardened punks will grow sentimental and nostalgic in time. 

The songs are reflective and personal. They explore the outer landscape of America, its ideologies, and social climate, but they also explore the inner world of musicians who are growing older, and the experiences that come with that process. Death and grief are recurring subjects on the EP.

“The past ten years, I’ve lost two close friends who were my age, and that’s affected everything,” Barnett said. “It’s about what you do with grief, loss, regret, and powerlessness… Seeing people’s addictions overtake them, depression and trauma overtake them. There’s always this ghost from your childhood pulling you back, and if you don’t face it and talk about it, it will kill you.” 

Barnett explained how this theme of self-care and dealing with trauma relates to the bigger picture, and what’s happening in the world now on a macro level.

“How we keep ourselves open, how we stay positive so we can be available for these changes, for justice, is important,” Barnett said. “And we do it with peace. And when I say ‘peace,’ I also mean burning police cars.” The sentiment is one that many angry Americans on the front lines of the Black Lives Matter movement can staunchly agree with. 

As far as burning police cars goes, Barnett showed his insight into what that means as an act of peaceful protest. 

“If there’s instruments of violence all around us, to neutralize them is peaceful protest,” he said. “I think that’s where Richmond stands… It’s not just about letting yourself get tear gassed. It’s about reclaiming the streets, taking back all of those weapons that we pay for with our taxes that are being used against us. Punk bands have been talking about that exact dichotomy for a long time.” 

Barnett lives in California now, and has for some years, but Strike Anywhere will always be a Richmond band. He visits Richmond often, not just to play shows, but to see his family and friends and walk the city. 

“The city is a friend,” he said. Their song “The Bells” from the new album is about those walks and, according to Barnett, what to do with grief and time. He left Richmond for California when he was 30, during a time that he called “the line between New Richmond and Old.” 

“Somewhere between 2007 and 2010, I noticed there was more shocking and significant change when I came back, versus tried and true nostalgic pathways,” Barnett reflected. He spoke about the massive transformation that Richmond has undergone in the past decade. 

PHOTO: Strike Anywhere at The Broadberry, February 2020, by Joey Wharton

“The way we look at time and space — seeing the past underneath the present, seeing through those layers — it’s a part of being human,” Barnett said. “But I also think it’s a particular part of Richmond.” He explained how living in Richmond has prepared us for this moment, by living alongside the manifestations of systemic racism, and daily reminders that gawk at the people, in the form of Confederate monuments and gentrification. 

Barnett went on to discuss social issues during the first decade of the 21st century, and how they informed Strike Anywhere’s last studio album, Iron Front (2009), compared to the issues of today. 

“I’m not sure that Iron Front was topically-anchored to that time in any way that isn’t relevant now,” he explained. For Strike Anywhere, that album reinforced the idea that today’s cultural uprisings and Black Lives Matter movement are a culmination of not just years, but decades and generations of injustice. The stories and topics addressed on Iron Front are, in many ways, the same stories relevant today on Nightmares Of The West. 

However, one major difference in the eras of Iron Front and Nightmares Of The West is the digital age, and the evolution of social media that has taken place between them. 

“We had MySpace back then, with no sense that what happened with social media could happen,” Barnett said. “Another thing that ravages us individually is trying to sort out truth from fiction, and what’s useful in all of this.” 

He went on to point out one gift of social media: we have legitimate evidence of police murdering innocent folks, and we can see the real-time victories of this protest, and degradation of police in the state. 

“We wouldn’t have had this without this technology right now, and that’s why this particular moment is different,” he said. 

Specific lyrics on Nightmares Of The West provide insight into their stories. 

“‘The Bells’ is about this idea that no one forgets, but no one remembers until the monuments fall,” said Barnett. “I wrote that song a year ago, thinking we would never in our lifetimes see the monuments removed.”

The statue of Confederate General Williams Carter Wickham was forcibly removed by protesters the night before his interview with RVA Magazine. This event, and the forthcoming removal of all Confederate monuments, gave new depth and meaning to these lyrics. 

“It’s strange, because [these songs] seem even more relevant now than they did a year ago when we wrote them, which I can’t explain,” Barnett said. 

PHOTO: Strike Anywhere at The Broadberry, February 2020, by Joey Wharton

“The Bells” could be an anthem for what will, hopefully, become a nationwide effort to remove all racist, insensitive, and offensive monuments from public spaces.

“These are structures that aren’t truthful, and are without context. They’ve been here to oppress us — to justify hateful nonsense for generations and to weaponize it,” Barnett said. “You take those structures down, and there’s only people left. These [monuments] are edifices of fear and supremacy, trying to put a lie to the loss. This is the era of unraveling all of that, and re-settling the table.” 

“Dress The Wounds,” the second song on the new album, has a section of lyrics saying Do not go gentle into that good night. This line is directly lifted from a poem by Dylan Thomas, of the same name. 

“The song is about perseverance,” Barnett said. “Why we are here, why we continue to seek the truth, why we feel this imperative — even through our anxiety, through exhaustion, trauma, and loss, to get back up and get out in the world to connect. To look internally, see what the fuck is wrong with you, meaning me.” 

Barnett summed up the meaning of the song, relating it back to the borrowed lyrics from Dylan Thomas. 

“It’s a song about healing and finding peace in all the chaos. We won’t go gentle into that good night is speaking to outside forces that want to silence you,” he said. “I think the idea of rebuilding and healing is extremely important. ‘Dress The Wounds’ is literally about that healing; your heart, your mind, and trying to figure out a way to move forward.” 

In the years since their last release, Strike Anywhere has been playing shows here and there while working on new material. 

“We’ve always been writing as a band, but we took a break from touring and folded back into our communities and families,” Barnett said. “What we’ve chosen to do is play special shows, and we’ve been able to give our all at those shows… and do it in a way that feels like if this was the last time, that would be okay. This could be the right last show.” 

Barnett reflected on the string of shows Strike Anywhere played earlier this year in Richmond. “That’s how we felt about the shows back in February at The Broadberry — it felt like we were closing the door on the past a little.” But the band continues to move forward, staying relevant with Nightmares Of The West and adding a meaningful voice to the current movement for civil rights. 

Before our conversation ended, Barnett took a moment to touch on the new album’s title. 

“Nightmares Of The West is the lyrical heart of the record, taken from the song ‘Frontier Glitch,’ about the mythology of Western dominance, white supremacy, and imperialism,” he said. “[It’s about] what it actually means to be human and a part of history, as opposed to the abstraction that gives some people power over the world, and other people erasure and genocide.”

It is surely a fitting title for a time of change like this. As America confronts a long history of systemic racism, “One side is the American Dream, and underneath is Nightmares Of The West.” 

Top Photo via Strike Anywhere/Big Picture Media