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Erin & The Wildfire on new sound, new album, & unrequited love before show at The Camel tonight

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It’s been two years since RVA Mag caught up with Erin & The Wildfire, the Charlottesville folky/funk group led by sultry powerhouse vocalist Erin Lunsford. The group has been busy touring, performing at festivals, and in the studio recording their first full-length album, Thirst, set to drop tonight at The Camel.

In 2015, the then four-piece had just a self-titled EP under their belts, but the group is back with two new members and has switched up their sound to a funkier, soulful, R&B vibe for their latest 12-track album.

Covers like “Stayin Alive” and “Signed, Sealed, Delivered”, paired with Lunsford’s vocals, and the band’s backing funky grooves helped them carve out their place in the Richmond music scene, but the vocalist said for this record they wanted to go with a different vibe.

“The first EP was more Americana and folk blues, and even then, we were talking about wanting a more R&B and funk feel, that’s the kind of stuff we were covering,” Lunsford said.

More recently, the band put out songs like “Here I Go” “Got Dem” and “Blame the Rain” that were a little closer to the sound the group wanted, but didn’t quite have enough soul for them just yet.

“It was still a little too folk, too Americana for what we wanted,” she said. “And they were still just singles, not complete pictures.”

After that point, Lunsford said the songs the band started writing, and the feeling they were going for just came together in an organic way and they were able to pinpoint that sound that they desired and what they thought represented them as a band.

A busy summer schedule playing at festivals like Rooster Walk, Red Wing Roots, Front Porch Fest and Steppin’ Out kept the band preoccupied up until early 2017 when they decided to take a couple months off to get into the studio to record the new material they had been hard at work on.

“It was an incredible experience and we’re super proud of this full product,” she said. “Everything we’ve done in the past has been bits and pieces nothing has felt really wholesome and like it represented our sound.”

Looking to stay local this time around, the band sought out the talents of Adrian Olsen over at Montrose Recording in February to lay down the tracks for their new full-length album and wrapped it up in May.

Erin & The Wildfire dropped two singles ahead of Thirst’s release, “One Woman Show” in July, an upbeat anthem to empower all us women, and “Great Love”,  a bluesy, heartfelt ballad that really shines light on how the band has evolved.

“To me, it is the ultimate tune from this album,” she said referring to the second single.

Much of the album is very personal, specifically about unrequited love according to Lunsford.

“There’s one person in particular that several of the songs are about,” she said. “And a couple other random dudes that I dated sprinkled in. “’Great Love’ was the amalgamation of all of those experiences, it’s not actually a surrender, but its kind of close. Understanding what the realization of what I’m looking for and what I’m willing to give up and what I’m not willing to give up.”


As far as the name of the album, there’s a little story behind that as well. There’s a track on the album called “Thirsty For Your Love” and the group wanted a title that would sum up the theme.

“We wanted to go with ‘Thirsty’, but that’s kind of a double entendre these days,” she laughed. “We thought Thirst represents the songs, wanting for love, wanting for something more.”

Part of the reason for those soul and R&B influences on the tracks could be attributed to the two members recently added to the group. The band brought on Garen Dorsey to play horns and Austin Patterson on the trumpet rounding them out as a six-piece with Nick Quillen on the drums, Ryan Lipps on the guitar, and Matt Wood on bass.

“I think that it really enhances our sound, its make our music much more interesting and much more vast,” she said. “Funk and soul is not funk and soul without horns. They are just awesome musicians in their own right so they just are raising our music to the next level.”

If one element stood out for me on the old EP, it was the amount of soul and passion that came through when Lunsford opened her mouth to belt out a tune. And if these tracks are any indication to the rest of the album, I’m really going to dig the new vibe!

You can catch Erin & The Wildfire perform Thirst at their album release party tonight at The Camel along with Mckinley Dixon and Sid Kinglsey. Show starts at 9 pm. Tickets are $7 and you can get yours here. Thirst drops online on Fri., Sept. 29.

And if you’re lame and miss tonight’s show in Richmond, the crew is also doing cd releases in Blacksburg on Oct. 12, Charlottesville at The Southern on Oct. 13, and in DC Oct. 20. Check out the rest of their tour schedule here.

*Photo Credit: Tristan Williams Photography

Student Activists Cover UVA’s Thomas Jefferson Statue in Black

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*This is a developing story

According to the Daily Progress in Charlottesville, a group of about 100 student protestors has covered the statue of Thomas Jefferson that adorns the University of Virginia (UVA) Rotunda in black – a move that parodied the city of Charlottesville’s decision to cover the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee in black after the events of Unite the Right in August.

At around 8pm last night, students gathered in front of the statue, some carrying Black Lives Matter signs while others chanted “fascists USA” and “racist UVA”. Three students were reported to have climbed the statue placing signs on top reading, “TJ is a racist and rapist.”

Photo from WINA Charlottesville

The group of protestors called on UVA to comply with a list of demands made by the Black Student Alliance and other campus groups from the end of August, following the tragic events of Aug. 12 at Unite the Right. Among the list of demands, is the removal of Confederate symbols from campus, for the Lawn to be declared a residential space so concealed weapons and flames can be prohibited, and for UVA to re-contexualize the statue of Thomas Jefferson with a plaque.

Demands “March to Reclaim Our Grounds”. August 21, 2017

One of the other demands asks UVA to “acknowledge the $1,000 gift to the University’s Centennial Fund received from the KKK in 1921; reinvest this amount, adjusted for inflation into existing UVA and Charlottesville multicultural organizations; and include this history at UVA into the education surrounding the bicentennial.” The KKK recently marched publicly in Charlottesville in July against the planned removal of the statues of Confederate General Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson.

This display of activism by students at UVA comes after a summer of white nationalist, supremacist, and alt-right rallies in Charlottesville. In May, alt-right poster child and UVA alumni Richard Spencer led a torch-lit vigil in front of the statue of Robert E. Lee, followed by a KKK rally in July. Both of these rallies culminated in the events of Aug. 11 and 12, at Unite the Right, one of the largest public hate gatherings in decades that left one person dead and upwards of 30 wounded in a terrorist attack by a white supremacist.

White Supremacist and Unite the Right Organizer Jason Kessler Surfaces

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Jason Kessler, the white supremacist behind Charlottesville’s Unite the Right rally on August 12, apparently has a new website called Real News with Jason Kessler. Kessler, who dropped out of the public eye after the terrorist attack in Charlottesville, which left one dead and another 30 wounded has apparently emerged to set the record straight. With an aesthetic comparable to the early days of the internet, his site not only attempts to push his point-of-view on the tragic events in Charlottesville, but is actively cosigning podcasts from white supremacist, Chris Cantwell.

Jason Kessler’s, ‘Real News’

Most will remember Chris Cantwell from the VICE News segment, Charlottesville: Race and Terror, documenting the events of Unite the Right. During the segment, Cantwell infamously said the death of counter-protester Heather Heyer in the terrorist attack was, “more than justified”.  Some will also remember, Cantwell’s very emotional internet breakdown only a few days after learning there was a warrant out for his arrest – in stark contrast to the tough-guy image he portrayed during Unite the Right.

Kessler’s re-emergence signals an attempt to regain credibility within the white nationalist, supremacist, and alt-right circles. Kessler was disavowed by scions of the alt-right like Richard Spencer after a disastrous press conference the day after Unite the Right that saw him jeered, heckled, and tackled as he fled the podium, along with a late night tweet calling the victim of the terrorist attack “… a fat, disgusting Communist.” The same tweet also said, “Communists have killed 94 million. Looks like it was payback time.”

Spencer later tweeted, “I will no longer associate w/ Jason Kessler; no one should, Heyer’s death was deeply saddening. ‘Payback’ is a morally reprehensible idea.”

Nonetheless, Kessler’s website and accompanied blog posts are not so much news or even ideological perspectives, as it is an attempt to explain his position on the events of Unite the Right. In a post from Sept. 7, Kessler goes to great lengths to portray the organizers and attendees as the victims during Unite the Right, going so far as to say their torch-lit procession through University of Virginia (UVA) was a “civil rights march”. This is in obvious contradiction to the Nazi chant of “blood and soil”, which percolated through their ranks as they made their way to UVA’s statue of Thomas Jefferson in front of the Rotunda.

Within Kessler’s post, he reserves special ire for the Charlottesville Police Department (CPD), along with UVA’s Police Department and administrators, claiming they failed to protect Unite the Right rally goers. He also maintains that UVA’s police chief was using, “…hearsay from the anarcho-communist website It’s Going Down to inform their negligent response to the Alt-Right’s torch-lit march on August 11th.” To confirm this, he cites only one email released via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request posted to ShadowProof. The email simply has a link and no accompanying text, body, or assessment.

FOIA Documents Released by ShadowProof

Like most white nationalists, supremacists, and alt-right provocateurs, Kessler’s narrative is entirely based on playing the victim and being misrepresented by the mainstream media. He goes on to say, “Contrary to the mainstream media narrative about the event, the Alt-Right marchers had no interest in confronting anyone.” None of this can be reconciled against the actual version of events, including the presence of armed militias, white supremacists, nationalists, and various alt-right groups, dispelling this notion outright.

He eventually concludes with, “It was the decision of the Left-wing Antifa to gather at the statue prior to our march and initiate a confrontation.”

White Nationalists Armed with Shields, Pepper Spray, and Pipes

Ultimately, the counter-protest led by anti-fascists, anti-racists, clergy, and everyday people was an attempt by citizen activists to fight the most public display of hate and bigotry in decades. Kessler continues to remain a pariah even amongst his own movement and is currently being sued for $3 million by people injured as a result of the rally he planned. Co-signing media with a white supremacist such as Chris Cantwell, who actively advocates violence against communities of color, immigrants, and Jews, should leave little doubt about the true intentions of Kessler and what the motivations behind the Unite the Right rally really were. Three emails released in a FOIA request will not change that.

*Photo by Landon Shroder

RVA Mag joins the Charlottesville to DC march against white supremacy

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“How are we doing, family?”

Cheers and calls of affirmation come in response, filling James Madison Highway with sounds of joy in addition to the whirring of cars and overall quiet of Madison County.

“Look at the person to your left, then to your right, make sure they look okay. Just 75 miles to Washington!”

Marchers make their way through Madison County

The group erupts in cheers once more as they march forward, one sore foot after another, enduring sunburn, blisters and hate speech from cars passing by, but this highway-parading family–none of whom are actually related–continue without complaint. To them, these inconveniences are just side effects to marching on the road to equality.

Starting last Monday, people from multiple states began walking from Charlottesville, VA to Washington, D.C.  over a period of 10 days to protest white supremacy. The group has managed to walk an average of 12 miles per day on their 100 mile journey, which will end tomorrow. On Thursday, August 31, RVA Mag joined the group, completing 18 miles of the march through Madison and Culpeper Counties.

“I’m out here to join my brothers and sisters to confront white supremacy, because we can no longer just sit by and wait for the leadership of this country to call it for what it is,” said Tania Maduro, an activist and organizer in Washington who has been marching since Monday. “White supremacy is in the fabric, in the DNA of this country, and it need to start being dismantled, so that way black, brown, Jewish folks, Muslim folks, LGBT folks, we can all have equal right in this country.”

In the first part of the day, actor and activist Mark Ruffalo, known for his role as Bruce Banner (The Hulk) in the Marvel Comics movie series, made a special appearance in Madison, VA, developing a few blisters of his own. “This is a way for us to show it with our bodies, a symbol of our sacrifice, our time; take the time to come here and travel here and put our bodies in the sun over miles and miles to confront hate,” said Ruffalo.

From left: Anthony Davis, David Moriya, Mark Ruffalo

Ruffalo also encouraged people who could not physically march to spread the word through social media, get active with local groups, and donate money to groups who are fighting to sustain the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals act (DACA).

“I hope [this march] wakens people to the fact that this is a real issue,” said Ruffalo. “In Nazi Germany, one-third of the population wanted to destroy, get rid of, marginalize a population while one-third of the population stood by and watched. We’re kind of two-thirds of the way there in the United States. The difference between us is the one-third that got to speak up. We have to come together.”

Starting at about 9:30 a.m., the group’s spirit was high as they listed off their community agreements in a parking lot of McDonald’s in Madison County. A list of ten rules, set by one of the organizers, set the standard for conduct while marching.

“We want to center [ourselves] every morning, every day, to remind us not only of why we’re here in ideology and why we’re going to the White House, but also why we’re here together as this group and why we congregate,” said Stephanie Martin Llanes, a young woman from San Juan, Puerto Rico, who works in New York City as a movement lawyer at Center for Constitutional Rights. “The very first one is that ‘Black Lives Matter,’ because that’s really centering for us and informs the work we’re trying to do here, and it comes full circle by the end, by saying we want an end to white supremacy.” This list also includes a sobriety agreement, and encourages the respect and safety of each other while walking down the highway.  

The group walks about three or four miles before taking 15-minute rests, and then pausing for an hour lunch break. So far, they have experienced sweltering heat and pouring rain, with Thursday being one of the hottest days they have experienced so far. Each day includes a different number of people, as some marchers come and go, but on average 30 people have been walking down the highways of Virginia, accompanied by at least 15 police officers who trail the group in squad cars and motorcycles.

Marchers Entering Culpepper County. Photo: David Moriya.

“We worked as best as we could to ensure the safety and security of the march, but also recognizing that we didn’t want the safety and security to be so cumbersome that it would restrict us in any way,” said Mohammed Naeem, one of the lead safety and security organizers for the march. “It’s been a really fine balance [to strike], but I think we’ve kept that balance.”

It’s hard to imagine a group like this, walking through such a rural part of the country, making much of an impact. Over 60 percent of the people living in these counties voted for Trump, and the group had to end their Wednesday journey early due to a gun threat from an armed individual.

“Folks try to give us a hard time, telling us we need to get a job, telling us to go home, telling us we’re not going to make a difference,” said Maduro. “We’ve had people come out and say ‘white power’ to us. We had a ten minute break in a parking lot, and we had folks come out and tell us that it’s a private parking lot and they don’t want us on their property.”

Marching in Solidarity Against White Supremacy

Fortunately, the majority of feedback from passersby on Thursday was positive. Truckers honked their approval, while making peace signs, and local residents passed out apples and water along the route. However, it was  the leadership and encouragement from Stephanie Llanes, who acted as the chant leader on the march, which kept spirits of the marchers high. Of all the things that changed throughout the day–the temperature, incline in the roads, number of blisters–Stephanie’s smile and enthusiasm was a constant. Her chants and songs motivated the marchers to finish that next mile.

“Puerto Rico has been a colony of the United States since 1898, ever since the United States bombed Puerto Rico and took it over,” said Llanas, whose family still lives in Puerto Rico and suffers from the island’s severe debt. “Ever since, Puerto Rico has been exploited and dominated upon. Our people lost all of their wealth and now are living in extreme forms of poverty. I believe that Puerto Rico should finally be free. I believe the United States has a duty to pay us for reparations for 100-plus years of colonization and exploitation of my people.”

Many of the marchers came to protest President Trump’s decision to remove the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals act (DACA). This policy was implemented during the Obama administration for undocumented immigrants who entered the country as minors to ensure a waiting period of two years before threat of deportation, as well as eligibility for a work permit.

From left: Jamal, Stephanie Llanas

“We wanted a program that allowed us to work, that allowed us to stop deportation, that allowed us to tell our parents that we were going to be okay, that we were going to come back home and not get deported,” said Erika Endiola, a Mexican woman who grew up in Arizona. “I’m here because there are people like my own mother who was literally taken by ICE agents from my own home, was handcuffed right in front of me and my brother. They have dehumanized people like me, and they have dehumanized people like my mom.”

Many white allies were present as well, including a 63-year-old woman from Charlottesville and a woman who flew in from Tulsa, OK.

“I feel like it’s time to do more than just say that I care and actually put my body on the line when I’m asked to,” said D.C. resident Shabd Simon-Alexander, 36. “The communities that are directly impacted by Donald Trump asked us to come out here, but more important, [they are impacted] by the policies in this country that have always been there. He’s just a symptom of it.”

Another of these women is Ayelet Wachs-Cashman, a 26-year-old from New York who was the only marcher representing the Jewish community and If Not Now, a Jewish activist organization.

“Jews, we have this principle: ‘Tzedek, tzedek tirdorf,’ or ‘Justice, justice, you shall pursue,’ and ‘Tikkun olam,’ ‘Changing the world,’” explained Wachs-Cashman. “To me, that principle is so embedded into my Judaism and to me it’s shocking that we’re not coming out in droves. I’m hoping we will. I believe we will.”

Ayelet Wachs-Cashman from the Jewish Organization, If Not Now

Wachs-Cashman is marching the full length of the journey, and although this is her first time participating in a protest like this, she dutifully ensured everyone was staying safely to the right of the road and occasionally took over the megaphone.

“There are definitely a few different types of responses to anti-semitism, and the one that is most important is solidarity,” said Wachs-Cashman. “We need to be standing with other marginalized groups. We need to be here because we’re targeted, but we also need to be standing in solidarity.”

Toward the end of our day, a group of Trump supporters could be seen in the distance. Their confederate flags and Trump-Pence yard signs made them unmistakable, and they had hung a poster on a street sign reading, “Go home, Get a life, Get a job.” But instead of inspiring fear, these signs only caused the group to sing louder and chant more passionately.  

Rev. Stephen Green, Senior Pastor of Heard AME Church in Roselle, New Jersey, was one of the marchers standing on the front line, facing these onlookers without so much as a flinch.

“Here we are in a moment of sacrifice and a moment of spiritual depth,” said Green, who spent a greater part of the afternoon dancing down the highway to songs like “Freedom for the People,” written by one of the fellow marchers.

Rev. Stephen Green from Heard AME Church

By the time the group had reached the end of the spectators’ property, some marchers looked back to see that some of these Trump supporters had separated themselves from the others, and were walking toward the group. However, they didn’t yell or threaten. They simply waved.

Walking 100 miles might not change the world, or even the country, but it did bring a group of people together and made them a family for a brief time. Day by day, county by county, that family continues to grow on the road to Washington D.C. 

“There’s an overwhelming amount of support from people while walking through these towns. Folks are seeing our sacrifice and our commitment, and I’m hoping that it is a shift in their heart,” said Rev. Stephen Green. “This is not about black or white, Republican or Democrat, this is about what is truly at the core of our democracy, and really transforming the heart of all people.”

Opinion: Removing Confederate statues is Richmond’s easy way out

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After the violence and hatred that ravaged Charlottesville, Richmonders could be excused for thinking the swift removal of our city’s prominent Confederate statues along Monument Avenue may be the best way to prevent further chaos and bloodshed. However, such an approach woefully neglects Richmond’s unique moral obligation to contend with its legacy of racism as the former capital of the Confederacy.

Other cities may follow Baltimore’s lead and tear down their statues in the night, but for Richmond to do so would deprive its citizens—and our country as a whole—of an ideal opportunity to confront head-on the prejudice of the past that continues to plague us.

The growing demands for the statues’ rapid removal are the result of our state and city being swept up in an overheating national dialogue on diversity and white nationalism. Yet Monument Avenue is a local landmark that deserves the careful consideration of and input from our community. Richmond should strive to be a model of racial reconciliation and tackle our Confederate heritage in a transparent, public, and comprehensive manner rather than let the toxic national dialogue dictate a hasty response.

Simply tearing down a handful of statues is too easy of a fix to an extremely complex problem, and such an action would rob us of a vital educational tool through which to have a necessary, but difficult conversation about the history of racism in Richmond and Virginia. We are a state which chose “massive resistance” over integration and shut down our public schools in 1958 and 1959 rather than allow white and black children to learn together. Richmond’s segregated neighborhoods provide a perfect picture of the pernicious effects of redlining—the practice of disqualifying minority areas from receiving home loans.

The University of Virginia in Charlottesville was once a pioneer of eugenics—the “science” made notorious by the Nazis, which sought to improve populations through controlled breeding and forced sterilization. In fact, Virginia did not repeal its forced sterilization law, which disproportionately affected blacks, until 1974. Removing statues alone won’t remove the lasting legacy of white supremacy in Virginia.

To overcome our dark past we must flesh out our history, not erase it.

Removing the statues by tucking them away in a museum makes it all too easy for us to forget the sins of the past and their continued impact today. Instead, we must alter the sites’ official information and place these statues in the context of their creation: the post-Reconstruction era when membership of the Ku Klux Klan exceeded four million and white nationalists reclaimed state governments from federal oversight. The final statue on Monument Avenue was completed in 1929, sixty-four years after the fall of the Confederacy; the statues are less about the people they memorialize than those who erected them. Installed to re-establish white supremacy in Virginia, the statues represent a glaring display of white dominance over the capital that must be dramatically altered in order to reclaim it as a space for all Richmonders.

In the modern era, to heal society after civil war and genocide—and slavery was nothing less than a slow genocide—typically a truth and reconciliation process must take place, something our country has never truly attempted. Richmond bravely undertook such an effort in 1996 with the installation of a statue of Arthur Ashe, a local tennis hero and symbol of black achievement, to cap off the five Confederates. We should continue that work and expand the figures ensconced on Monument Avenue. Dialogue with the community should help decide which Virginians to include, ranging from prominent civil rights activists and lynching victims, to abolitionists, to slave rebellion leaders.

As the evolving discourse around white nationalism and the legacy of the Confederacy transforms the statues from symbols of black oppression to emblems of white guilt, people are becoming ever more comfortable with simply removing them. Anti-racism activists shouldn’t fight to remove the statues just as their symbolic power is beginning to make people uncomfortable about the legacy of racism. They should instead harness their prominence to drive conversations on outstanding racial issues from affirmative action and inequities in education to justice reform and reparations.

We must never forget that there was a time in our history when white men would rather die than see black people set free. Like the concentration camps of the Nazis, these statues must be preserved as the odious symbols of hate that they are, and put to use to educate society against the evils of tribalism and prejudice.

RVA Mag Exclusive: Q&A with Democratic Candidate for Governor, Ralph Northam

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2017 has been a pinnacle year for politics in Virginia. Not only has the Commonwealth entered into the national conversation because of this year’s gubernatorial election, but also because of the tragic events in Charlottesville. How this comes to define the future remains to be seen. Yet one thing is for certain, Virginia is changing and entering into a new phase of national prominence that is set against a political landscape where uncertainty is the only real certainty.

Because of this, all eyes are now on Dr. Ralph Northam.

Northam, the current Lieutenant Governor and Democratic candidate for Governor, has been a bedrock of Virginia politics since running for Senate in 2007. He has been a solider, doctor, seasoned legislator, and the progressive voice in an election where national politics are connecting locally and challenging the Commonwealth’s otherwise-genteel status quo.

RVA Mag’s political director, Landon Shroder, chatted with Northam to get a feel for how the campaign season was shaping up post-Charlottesville and how his platform of job creation, support for the LGBTQ community, and fighting climate change is resonating with young people in Virginia.

Shroder: Dr. Northam, it is a pleasure to speak with you again. I know you are busy so we’ll just hop right into it. Because of the Unite the Right rally, Virginia is now in the national conversation. How do we move forward after a domestic terrorist attack, like the one which happened in Charlottesville? 

Northam: I think your point is well taken. These individuals, these white supremacists, KKK, neo-Nazis that marched into a beautiful city, Charlottesville, [and] our wonderful University of Virginia. [They] brought in torches and shields and flags and semi-automatic weapons, spewing hatred, bigotry, and violence. You know, I commend Governor McAuliffe’s leadership and also Attorney General Mark Herring’s. And I spent a lot of time in Charlottesville, giving the message to these folks that they are not wanted and we don’t condone that kind of behavior–hatred, and bigotry in Virginia. That’s not what we’re about, and to please go to wherever you came from or go home and don’t come back. I think that’s good leadership to give that message.

We’ve also started the healing process. We’ve been to three funerals: Heather Heyer, and two of our state troopers which lost their lives. Again, I think it is important for our leaders to step up and call it what it is: just as you said, domestic terrorism. This one individual weaponized his vehicle and ran over 19 people, killed one person, and that’s just not what this Commonwealth is about. We need to make sure to send that message out there loudly and clearly.

Shroder: You’ve now signaled support for removing Confederate monuments in Virginia, yet polling for them to remain is split almost evenly. That doesn’t really provide a solid basis for reconciliation on both sides. Where is the balance in this argument?

Northam: I think we have to look at the principle of it. Certainly if a statue in Charlottesville, Virginia gave these white supremacists an excuse to come in and spew their hatred and bigotry and left three people dead, then that has to lead to a discussion. Personally, I think that these monuments should be placed in a museum. If people want to go look at them and put that history in context, then that is their prerogative. If people chose not to, then that is also their prerogative.

I think that needs to be at a local level, and I think there needs to be legislation to give localities the ability to make those kinds of decisions. And I think also, Landon, we need to tell the rest of the story. A lot of civil rights leaders that come to mind are Barbara Johns and Oliver Hill. We need to do a better job of telling their story. We as society need to look at these statues. And when they are symbols of hatred and bigotry and an excuse for these folks to cause this kind of violence and loss of life, then this is certainly a discussion that needs to take place.

I have recommended that this be dealt with the localities.

Shroder: The general feeling on the campaign trail, does the incident in Charlottesville now become the central issue in which voters make their decision in the remaining two months of the election?

Northam: I think there has really been an awakening. Not only in Virginia, but in this country regarding race relationships, and again, it is a discussion we need to have moving forward. I would also say there are other monuments, Landon, that are not built out of bronze that need to be dealt with and those are inequities in income, inequities in access to education, access to healthcare, and voting rights. These are all issues that we need to discuss in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Also, we need to talk about other things that we are focused on such as work force development, such as jobs and the economy, access to healthcare, clean environments. All of these things are important. A lot of things will be talked about regarding this campaign for governor between now and November.

Shroder: That leads me into my next question. You have spoken extensively on rural economics and have proposed a plan for accelerating jobs and economy in these spaces. You’ve talked about “new collar” jobs. Can you explain what those jobs are?

Northam: Absolutely. First of all, our unemployment rate in Virginia, we’re very proud, has gone from 5.4 to 3.7 percent, the lowest that its been in nine years. We’ve brought in over 200, 000 new jobs. If one goes though to the Eastern Shore, where I’m from, or the Southwest, the unemployment rate is nowhere near 3.7. So we still have a lot of work to do. I have a plan on the table to restore and really bring back rural Virginia and we need to talk about the jobs of the 21st Century, which are STEAM [science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics] related jobs. There are some very good high paying jobs in areas like cyber-security, unmanned aerial systems, bio-technology, artificial intelligence, data collection and data analysis.

These are the jobs of the 21st Century so we have to really think outside of the box on how we’re educating our youth and preparing them for these 21st Century jobs. So when I refer to jobs not as white or blue collar, but ‘new’ collar jobs, these are jobs that you don’t necessarily need a four year college or university education. And that’s why we’re promoting the G3 program: get skilled, get a job, and give back, which allows Virginians to go to community college for two years without incurring any debt, with the understanding that once they become certified they will give back a year of public service, with pay, or will work in a high demand area or high demand job in the Commonwealth. This allows people to continue their education, to prepare for new collar jobs, while not incurring any debt.

Shroder: Just a follow-on question from that, a lot of our readers understand that there is innovation happening in urban spaces. How do we connect that innovation with the growth potential of rural spaces?

Northam: There are a couple other things, Landon. Obviously there are still pockets throughout Virginia that don’t have access to broadband, this is something that I find unacceptable. Some still don’t have access to cell coverage, this is very important to rural Virginia. And one of the things that is part of my plan is to expand University of Virginia. Why? To bring talent into that area. When out of state students come to Virginia this is a great opportunity for them. When you bring talent to an area like that, talent attracts talent, and businesses will start up. And that will hopefully rejuvenate or jump start the economy in rural Virginia.

Shroder: Speaking about young people, I think it is fair to say that a lot of young people now feel estranged from traditional party politics. How do you, as the most senior progressive voice in this election, reach them? What are you offering to get them re-engaged?

Northam: That is a great question. Pam and I have two children, they are both millennials. One went to University of Virginia one went to William and Mary. And so I am very much in tune with our millennials. You know, there are several things we need to talk about: one is college affordability. We need to make sure that everyone can achieve the American dream. We also need to talk about the importance of a job, and prepare our youth for 21st Century jobs. So when our youth graduate from high school or college, they have a skill and that they are able to enter the work force.

Again, things like healthcare should be important to all of us, but especially millennials. They need to know that they have access to affordable quality healthcare. Millennials are also very in-tune with our environmental issues and we’ve made a lot of progress in Virginia promoting renewable energy. And we’re planning by 2030 that 30 percent of our energy that is generated in Virginia is from renewable energy. Millennials also care very strongly about living in safe communities, where there are not guns on every street corner. These are a lot of the things I talk about with millennials, our children. I am certainly going to make a tremendous effort to get around to our colleges and universities and listen and hear with what’s going on with millennials and make sure we can attract them. We want them to they stay in Virginia, work and raise a family – that is very important to us.

Shroder: As you know Dr. Northam, we also run GayRVA, and as I am sure you are very aware as of yesterday the president has issued guidelines on transgender soldiers. You were also a soldier, and one of those requirements will be removing them from the military altogether. I know this is a national  issue, but how do we protect our transgender service members in Virginia?

Northam: It starts with leadership. As you said, I served in the US Army for eight years, I fought beside folks from the LGBTQ community. I am very proud to have served with them, they have served their country just like everybody else and I think it is very short-sighted for our president to pick and choose who should be in the military. I will do everything I can, and I have in the past, to support our LGBTQ community. We understand that we live in a diverse society. That means we need to be inclusive, and as long as we continue to elect Democrats in Virginia, our lights will be on and our doors will be open, and we will welcome people to the Commonwealth.

Shroder: You are taking a bit of heat for not coming out against the proposed Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley pipelines. There does seem to be a myriad of issues surrounding these pipelines: property rights, how they impact on low income communities, in addition to the Commonwealth subsidizing methods of energy that are becoming obsolete. Doesn’t Virginia have a responsibility to lead nationally by opposing this planning?

Northam: I appreciate the question, and I hope that people will look at my environmental record. I think I was the first elected official statewide to be outspoken against off-shore drilling. I have been opposed to fracking, opposed to uranium mining, I have done so much to restore the health of the Chesapeake Bay and taking phosphorous out of fertilizer.

I hope people look at my environmental record and compare that to my opponents. I want to do everything I can to make sure I am a good steward of our environment. I have written a letter to the DEQ [Department of Environmental Quality] regarding the permitting process. We need to work with our DEQ and corps of engineers and I want to make sure it is done with transparency with public input, with science, and with environmental responsibility. Also taking into account people’s property rights. That’s what I want to do as the next governor. I will do everything I can to make sure that as the process moves forward it will be done with transparency and responsibility.

I have said that all along and I will stand by my word.

Shroder: Just one more on climate: the rate of sea level rise in Virginia is at three to one vs the national average. Not only is that an environmental crisis, but an economic crisis. Naval Station Norfolk has already signaled they might have to re-deploy the fleet. We’re all aware of what’s happening to Tangier Island–what practical things can we do?

Northam: I took the lead on this Landon, several years ago when I was in the Senate. I put in legislation to study sea-level rise, especially in Hampton Roads. And because of that we’ve been able to apply for federal grants, which we have received, and we have a resiliency plan in place. I have been very involved with sea-level rise and will continue to be. As you said, it is not only a national security issue, but an economic issue for Virginia, and we need to make sure that we are doing everything we can to deal with this. So we need to have a resiliency plan and look at ways to decrease the amount of carbon we are putting into the atmosphere.

As I said earlier, I have a plan to move 30 percent of our energy to renewable energy by 2030. And I think if we make that a priority, that is something we can make happen in Virginia.

Shroder: That’s all from my side. Thank you for taking the time to chat with us and always a pleasure to speak with you.

Northam: I appreciate everything your doing and keep up the good work!