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Bird’s Richmond Migration: Activists and Officials Weigh In on the Most Recent Developments

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A stalled bike share campaign is gathering dust on sun-baked streets. Truck beds stuffed with electric scooters are deposited across Virginia Commonwealth University’s bustling campus. Police forces directed to impound those scooters have joined a campaign that stretches across the Commonwealth. The contentious state of transportation in the city of Richmond has seemingly simmered, following months of upheaval and change that included the arrival of dockless scooter company Bird. But tensions remain, with questions about how the city will handle Bird’s motorized product — and how the company may respond — up in the air. 

On the issue of Richmond transportation, Nicholas Da Silva, Chair of the VCU chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists of America, is familiar and experienced, saying, “It’s better than some places, but it could definitely use a lot of work.”

Da Silva has served as part of improving this aspect of the community through a free car repair program, in addition to his research on the now-stalled Richmond Supershoppers bus program, and his observation of the many changes the GRTC Pulse initiative brought with its completion.

“I wish the city had considered making the Pulse more accessible to more people, and maybe got more community input before they moved the bus lines,” Da Silva said, citing interactions with people disappointed with the restructuring of Richmond’s public transit.

This shift in how citizens now commute was picking up steam even as the the RVA Bike Share program sputtered out less than a year after its launch. It was this chaotic atmosphere that Bird landed in during the summer, as it spread throughout Virginia, leading to quick adoption from those who could find and use them and a wide variety of responses from state officials.

While Da Silva thinks Bird’s products are “better than nothing,” he’s also aware of the requirements that come with using the motorized scooters in a city as busy and commuter-heavy as Richmond, and critical of how the company introduced themselves.

“Just as I would oppose pretty much any other private entity coming out and introducing a really disruptive element to the city, I think that all of them should be considering the effects they have on the community before they introduce a product like that,” Da Silva said.

With Richmond joining other cities, including Norfolk and Virginia Beach, in confiscating hundreds of the scooters from their streets, that community could be leveraged to defend Bird.

It’s worked for them before: in Santa Monica, during deliberations by the local government over who would serve as the city’s e-transport provider, Bird and fellow scooter company Lime called on the public to lobby in their defense when it seemed likely that Uber and Lyft would be chosen. Lobbying efforts included citywide service outages, pre-written messages for users to send to City Hall, and invitations to rallies. Effectively, these companies used language and tactics created to defend underrepresented, marginalized communities to sell and defend a product (mostly) aimed at upper- and upper middle-class citizens — and succeeded. 

This isn’t the first time similar companies have used similar tactics for product promotion or against regulation. And, according to Da Silva, they’ve already started in Richmond, with targeted appeals from Bird’s app and across social media.

“I think it’s a very transparent attempt to use people. In my own opinion, it’s a very cheap ploy used by a private company,” Da Silva said.

Richmond’s position as a seat of decision-making for both local and statewide policy makes the approach it takes to Bird a possible look into its ultimate fate in Virginia. Mayor Levar Stoney, for his part, has expressed an interest in working with the company, while ensuring they operate by the guidelines set by the city. As part of this, the Mayor introduced an ordinance to the Richmond City Council in September that includes requirements for application fees, customer service, safety standards, and parking education for riders of dockless scooters and bikes.

In a statement to RVA Magazine, Press Secretary James Nolan said Mayor Levar Stoney remains displeased with Bird’s continued defiance of the Cease and Desist order issued to the company in August.

“Scooters in violation of the ordinance will continue to be picked up, impounded and have fines attached to their recovery,” the statement read. “The mayor is not opposed to scooters in RVA, but he does think that for the safety, health and protection of residents, pedestrians and riders alike, this needs to be done the right way.”

City Council recently delayed voting on that ordinance to November, leaving the question of whether Bird will continue to nest in Richmond unanswered for now.

*Photos by George Copeland

Post-Accreditation, Former and Current Teachers Assess the City’s State of Education

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Richmond’s public schools are deep into the 2018-2019 semester, with midterm exams on the horizon for some, and the long shadow cast by the condition of the city’s education hanging over all.

That condition, detailed in a report released on September 27 by the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE), revealed that less than half of Richmond Public Schools (RPS) met the state education standards required to be awarded accreditation. Additional data released by VDOE also showed RPS had statewide lows in on-time graduation rates and attendance, and statewide highs in dropout and absentee rates at a middle school and high school level. The sole omission was George Washington Carver Elementary, who became embroiled in a cheating scandal earlier this year.

For Gladys Wilder, a retired teacher with 30 years of experience in RPS primary, correctional, exceptional and special education that includes establishing an annual “book tasting” event at Swansboro Elementary, the effort to meet state standards is still fresh in mind.

“It was a struggle to get there. But Swansboro broke out because of leadership,” Wilder said. “I mean local leadership, in-school leadership, principals and assistant principals. It was a whole school effort.”

“No child, no human learns the same way. There’s no box where you can put every child and this is it. Our philosophy, and I’m sure the philosophy now, is every child can learn, every child can achieve. You just have to meet that child where it is.”

RPS Superintendent Jason Kamras seems to share some of Wilder’s beliefs.  In a statement published following the report’s release, Kamras was adamant that any cause for the data’s findings didn’t come from the learning ability of RPS’s students, instead serving as “a reflection of our failure to provide them with the education they deserve.”

My administration is committed to changing this – once and for all – for every young person in RPS, Kamras said.

Wilder, for her part, stressed the importance of not placing guilt for educational failures on individual error, including parents and educators, something she felt may been implied in the wording of Kamras’ response.

“To me, is that like placing the blame on those who are in the trenches, the teachers? I will not do that,” Wilder said, instead drawing attention to the curriculums teachers are expected to abide by — and may occasionally have to veer away from to ensure all students learn what they need.

True to her skillset, Wilder referenced Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem The Charge of the Light Brigade in describing this situation RPS teachers are placed in.

“There’s blame all over,” Wilder said.

The state requirements for accreditation, recently updated in 2017, include increases in academic performance and decreases in failures in advancement, with special focus for high schools on absenteeism, graduation and dropout rates, in addition to the Standards of Learning (SOL) pass rates that were the sole criteria for accreditation in the past.

The continued presence of SOLs, and the challenges they bring to education, was a point of concern for both Wilder and Sharonda Ragland, an instructor in Virginia Union University’s Department of Mathematics.

“We need to stop teaching to the test,” Wilder said. “If you just teach to the test, and if the words in the test are not what you’re teaching, the kids are going to fail. Teach the child.”

Joining the conversation, Ragland adds, “And they don’t learn at the same rates, but they’re expected to take a standardized test that all of them may not be prepared for.”

Just because it works for one doesn’t mean it’s going to work for all. You’ve got to see what works for your school.

The topic of preparation for students is one Ragland is familiar with, serving last year in a math and science summer program designed to act as a “stepping stone” to college-level coursework for high school students, complete with college credit, improved study habits and early connections with other students. Virginia Union is also home to the Upward Bound program, offering graduating high school students in the RPS system a brief but direct experience at college-level courses and residential life.

Referring to her experience in the summer program, Ragland said, “The ones that have come in through that bridge seem to retain better versus the ones just coming from high school to college without any preparation. It makes a difference.”

The question of how RPS moves forward following this report is one with a number of answers. Tinkhani Ushe White, Ed.D., whose experience stretches from RPS teacher to principal in the Henrico County Public School system to School Improvement Specialist with Chesterfield Public Schools, suggests a path forward may lie in greater cooperation between state authorities, school divisions and the schools themselves. However, White acknowledges the difficulty this method may have with solving “issues outside the school’s control,” like absenteeism or poverty.

“The big thing there is for schools divisions and states to work hand in hand with their schools to try to figure out the issues that are preventing schools from reaching those minimum benchmarks, and then working to supply those needs and close those gaps,” White said.

Gary Broderick, an advocate for Richmond education and School Board candidate in Richmond’s 7th District, had his own ideas in his diagnosis of what he described as a “moral crisis for our city” in a statement to RVA Mag. Broderick wrote that fair funding and compensation should serve as parts of creating an ”atmosphere of support that makes long term investment in RPS a sustainable choice for teachers.”

Gary Broderick, School Board Candidate. Photo by Gary Broderick

“The path forward is clear,” Broderick wrote. “We must exert the political courage to demand corporations pay their fair share of taxes, so that we can staff our schools properly and wholly counteract the racist and systemic defunding of our schools.”

Some measure of Broderick’s recommendation may be coming to RPS, as Richmond City Council prepares for an uphill battle in requesting greater state support for public education as part of the city’s legislative package during the upcoming General Assembly session.

City Council Rejects Resolution for Greater Control over Monuments Celebrating the Confederacy (Again)

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The future of memorials to Virginia’s dark history, on one of Richmond’s most iconic streets, is still out of the city’s hands. Following a 6-3 vote by Richmond City Council, the chamber rejected a resolution to request greater control of the statuary on Monument Avenue from the state government.

“I’m baffled by the notion of us not being willing to address matters like these, and shirk our responsibilities,” said 9th District Councilman Michael Jones, at the start of discussions on the resolution. Jones, the resolution’s patron, voted with 6th District Councilwoman Ellen Robertson and Council Vice President Cynthia Newbille of the 7th district to approve the measure.

“We can only move this city forward by having the right to decide,” Jones said. “We cannot be afraid to tackle the tough decisions of our day, because they will go nowhere. We must decide if we’re going to be one Richmond or remain divided,” said Jones.

Councilmen Jones

Jones’ statement set the tone for over an hour of deliberation between councilmembers and public speakers. In the half-filled City Council room, speakers were occasionally spirited, but mostly measured in their approach. 

“I think this is my fourth time down here, both at the committee level and city council,” said Bill Thomas, at the start of his public comments in opposition to the resolution. Thomas’ comments were a brief acknowledgement of the long series of events that led councilmembers to this point, and almost certainly they are far from the last. 

The vote last night was a near-repeat of a similar measure last year, rejected 6-2 with Newbille abstaining. This new resolution came with new support, however, in the form of Mayor Levar Stoney, who made an appearance during the meeting’s start to introduce a bill calling for greater funding from the Virginia General Assembly for Richmond’s schools.

That bill, which would be expedited and approved by the council later in the meeting, proved to be one of a few recent developments used by councilmembers in their arguments against against Jones’ resolution.

2nd District Councilwoman Kimberly Gray drew attention to the poor state of Richmond’s schools in explaining her opposition to the proposal, arguing that this issue and the General Assembly’s involvement was a more pressing concern than gaining greater autonomy over city structures.

“The biggest monuments to white supremacy are in our schools,” said Gray. “If we don’t change how we’re operating, nothing will change for the condition of the people of color in our city,” a sentiment echoed by 8th District Councilwoman Reva Trammell. 

Their votes rejecting the proposal were also joined by councilmembers Andreas Addison from the 1st district, Kristen Larson from the 4th district, Parker Agelasto from 5th district, and Council President Chris Hilbert of the 3rd district.

This reasoning was later challenged by Jones, Richmond Public School Superintendent Jason Kamras, and Stoney himself, who described the process as indicative of a “culture of can’t” on Twitter following the vote.

“We can support choosing our own destiny about the future of Confederate monuments in our city AND advocate for the state to fund the true cost of public education. This was not a either/or proposition,” wrote Stoney. 

Councilmembers also negatively pointed to the differences between Jones’ resolution and the recommendations made by Stoney’s Monument Avenue Commission. The commission, created in 2017, was in response to events following the white supremacist pro-Confederate Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, which left one counter-protester dead and over 30 wounded. 

The 10-person Commission’s 115-page report, released in July, recommended the removal of the Jefferson Davis statue, along with efforts to re-contextualize the statuary, following months of private and public discussion. Addison and Gray also served as members of the commission.

Newbille disputed this interpretation, pointing out that while Jones’ resolution implies more than the Davis statue would come under the Council’s oversight, “it doesn’t say remove them.” 

“This paper allows this council, this local government, to have authority in the dispositions of monuments and statues. For me, that is a responsibility this city and this city council should have,” said Newbille.

Mayor Stoney Speaking at City Council

Jones’ legislation wasn’t the only one with a focus on how Richmond should handle the reminders of Virginia’s ugly history.  Also introduced for future consideration was legislation submitted by Stoney that would establish the Richmond History and Culture Commission. This focus would include “providing guidance on the recommendations of the Monument Avenue Commission regarding the reinterpretation of the Confederate statues on Monument Avenue.” 

The legislation will likely be part of the City Council’s agenda in their next meeting on November 13. 

As the meeting prepared for the council vote, Hilbert acknowledged a changing cultural “mood” in the U.S. that has seen other Confederate memorials removed or destroyed, remarking that regardless of the council’s decision on Jones’ resolution, Monument Avenue won’t remain the same forever.

“I was poisoned by the Lost Cause version of the Civil War,” said Hilbert, “and it’s wrong, the Civil War was about slavery. I do think that in 50 years these statues won’t be here.” 

*Photos by George Copeland 

Richmond’s Homeless Groups Speak on Monroe Park, Its Future, and Their Work

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Monroe Park saw its official reopening ceremony last Thursday following months of renovation. The fairly rainy event was attended by Mayor Levar Stoney and representatives from Virginia Commonwealth University, the Monroe Park Conservancy, Richmond City Council, along with a crowd of dozens — and one lone critic of the entire affair.

“Virginia Beach built a $29 million facility to help house homeless people. The city here does nothing,” said Thomas Alleman, chief facilitator of the Richmond chapter of the international Food Not Bombs collective.

Carrying a protest banner soaked from the rainwater that poured during the ceremony’s speeches and ribbon-cutting, Alleman was very critical of the event, the park redesign, its architects, and how it spoke, in his view, to the continuous changes Richmond has seen over the years.

It’s changing all right — but for what and for who?

Nearly two years after work on the park closed off a well-known hub for Richmond’s homeless and the organizations that aim to aid them, the way homeless outreach has changed in the city and Virginia is a question with a wide gulf of responses for groups that share a common cause and focus on this issue.

For Michael Rogers, a former member of CARITAS and Community Engagement Manager for Homeward, the current state of homeless outreach is a very positive one. Aided by staff tasked to connect with, check in on, inform and build relationships with the homeless, the group’s efforts have continued with little obstacles to hinder them.

This is important for the work they do, especially the annual Point-In-Time count, as Homeward’s ability to document the homeless people of the Commonwealth is critical to ensuring federal funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). As such, the work the group does involves not just networking with similar organizations throughout Virginia, but broad cooperation with local officials and law enforcement agencies to ensure proper support for all of Virginia’s homeless people.

“It’s grown a lot, but we’re getting participation across sectors and across organizations,” Rogers said of Homeward’s recent efforts.

Alleman has a more mixed take, owing in part to the disruption in service and outreach Food Not Bombs experienced following the park’s closing. As a result, after 25 years in the city, the group was faced with the hard work of reestablishing their organizing connections with a homeless population left scattered. Eventually, Food Not Bombs set up in Jackson Ward’s Abner Clay Park, with the help of Richmond’s homeless, though with a noticeable decrease in numbers.

This skeptical view of the situation extends to the renewed presence of law enforcement in the area, including the Richmond and VCU police officers stationed at the Checkers House near the park’s center, in addition to the new camera system. Ultimately, Alleman disputes the notion that Monroe Park is for Richmond’s city residents.

“They put a police station where this gazebo and bathrooms used to be. What does that really say? Instead of helping us and working with us to help these people, they do things like this, I think, to kind of dissuade us,” Alleman said.

In a statement, RPD 4th Precinct Officer Lt. James Roberts explained that the Richmond Police Department will be covering primary patrolling responsibilities in the park, with VCU’s police officers serving as support.

“The objective of the Richmond Police Department is to implement public safety strategies that will allow all park patrons to lawfully utilize the park,” Roberts said. “Enforcement action will be taken when appropriate, however, our overall strategy is to engage the community and our partner organizations in non-enforcement efforts to ensure all lawful activity is protected.”

“Homeless outreach groups will continue to be welcome in Monroe Park as they are in other city parks, as long as their activities are lawful.”

In contrast to Food Not Bombs’ struggles, Homeward was seemingly well prepared when news of Monroe Park’s closing reached them. Though Rogers was still part of CARITAS at the time, the usage of a coordinated communication plans for a network of case managers for emergency shelters, outreach workers, and law enforcement on alternative locations for shelter and aid helped some homeless outreach groups immensely in the time before and during Monroe Park’s closure.

This continued good fortune extends to Homeward’s interactions with HUD. In contrast to general operations and policy initiatives within the Trump administration and even from top HUD officials, Homeward’s work with the staff members of its homeless division is as professional as ever, if not better, according to Rogers. With applications for a $5.4 million federal grant and additional funds for homeless domestic violence survivors still pending, that relationship will be key for how Homeward operates in the future.

“I can’t speak for all of HUD, but in homeless services, it’s remained consistent, and we’ve even seen an increase in support,” Rogers said.

That support seems especially vital in a fall season that’s seen extreme and rare weather occurrences touch down in Richmond, including tornadoes generated in Hurricane Florence’s wake that claimed the lives of two people in Virginia.

Homeward opted to tackle the problem with a system of public communication, online resources and overtime work to bring the public into greater connection with both the city’s homeless and the kind of outreach work necessary when a potential hurricane could reach its streets.

Recalling the large amount of effort taken to ensure the safety of Richmond’s homeless people, Rogers said, “It was just kind of working diligently to make sure that everyone, including the general public, knew what resources were available; so that anyone who was sleeping outdoors, we could connect with them and offer those kind of services.”

On this topic, Alleman strikes a similar, more condensed tone: “Even if there was a tornado, we would still be here. We are dedicated.”

Judging by Alleman’s and Rogers’s statements, both organizations are still undecided on how they’ll utilize Monroe Park as part of their efforts, now that fences have come down.

Rogers and Homeward remain observant, waiting to get the full scope of the new rules and guidelines for the park, which includes a 6 o’clock closing time and new rules for lawn reservations and charitable food distribution. For now, they’re focused on connecting and expanding the capacity to aid.

“We will support and push people towards creating and expanding indoor meal programs, particularly for people who are sleeping outdoors,” Rogers said.

And for Food Not Bombs, who are deep in discussion among themselves and other groups? “We still want our presence in this park,” Alleman said. “It’s not like Food Not Bombs is just this bunch of punk kids making food. It’s the idea that we have to show people that there are other people in this city that need help.”

Despite his misgivings about the park, Alleman remains open to the possibility of greater homeless aid coming from Richmond officials.

“I do hope that we can work out something with the city to get people into some sort of shelters,” Alleman said.

While the gap in Alleman’s and Rogers’s outlook on Monroe Park is clear, equally clear is that both men — and the groups they work with — remain steadfast in their commitment to helping Richmond’s homeless.

Photos by George Copeland Jr.

Family of Marcus Peters Demands Police Reforms at City Council Tonight

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The demand for justice in the killing of Marcus-David Peters moved from the streets to the council meeting room Monday night.

After a march for justice and reformation for Peters on June 2, family and community members addressed city council to call for transparency and an examination into Richmond Police Department’s crisis intervention training during the citizen comment period of the meeting.

As the demonstrators sat in the back of the gallery wearing burgundy and demanding justice for the actions by the department, Richmond City Council recognized Deputy Police Chief Steven R. Drew for his service to the community. Drew has no direct connection to the investigation, but offered a stark juxtaposition to Peters’ sister, Princess Blanding, who took to the podium a short time later.

Blanding Addressing Council

Blanding, in her address, focused on the need for better crisis intervention training and response, asking the RPD to release the curriculum for the training so it could be assessed for its effectiveness. Throughout her address, she also insisted that the current communication by the department did not demonstrate transparency.

“If what you have done so far is what you call being transparent, the community and I will pass on what you have to offer because there are still so many unanswered questions,” Blanding said. After the community comment, Blanding spoke with RVA Mag and said she was hopeful that city council was receptive to her and others comments.

“I’m going to be very optimistic and hope they are being very receptive and they plan on joining with us in this movement to continue to fight for justice and reformation,” Blanding said.

Lynetta Thompson, a former president of the Richmond NAACP, also spoke, asking the police department for more transparency.

Chief Durham Listening to the Family and Supporters of Marcus Peters

“In order for the people to be heard, in order for the people to have full accountability, it is important that we not only talk about transparency, but that we actually exemplify it by not protecting those that got it wrong,” Thompson said. “When something is wrong it is important that management and administrations admit that sometimes they get it wrong.”

Rebecca Keel, a conflict resolution specialist, has been outspoken in calling for an end to the murdering and dehumanization of black and brown people. At council she claimed the family is due an official apology.

“One must admit harm when harm is done and that is truly how we as a society, and we as a city, begin our healing,” Keel said.

Family, friends, and community members had previously gathered on June 2 at the Siegel Center to remember the untimely death of Peters. The hundreds of marchers ended up at police headquarters where they continued their primary chant of, “help not death.” Signs bearing the phrase were held up by many demonstrators in burgundy during the comments at council.

Princess Blanding, Sister of Marcus Peters

“My disappointment continues at the higher levels, instead of taking responsibility and stating that you all messed up and extending you sincerest condolences to my family, the Richmond Police Department was insincere, insensitive, judgemental, and prepared to defend your officer without releasing information to the public,” Blanding said.

 

Fighting Gentrification: A New Tool In Richmond’s Arsenal

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A few years ago Scott’s Addition was a largely forgotten industrial neighborhood only the savviest Richmonders knew to be good for lunch or a milkshake. Since then the countless breweries, lofts, and coworking spaces that have sprouted up transformed Scott’s Addition into the epicenter of the city, Richmond’s hip, forward-thinking vision for itself.

Richmond has seen a version of this story before with Tobacco Row and the Canal Walk; however, the city’s vast supply of vacant former industrial space is a thing of the past. Richmond’s most enticing empty spaces have been filled, and now gentrification is spilling over into affordable—and predominantly black—neighborhoods like Jackson Ward and North Church Hill.

Rising costs and stagnant wages combined with gentrification are fueling the American eviction crisis, an epidemic that has been keenly felt in Richmond and across the Commonwealth.

After a conversation with Councilwoman Cynthia Newbille over how to help combat the problem, Laura Lafayette, CEO of the Richmond Association of Realtors, founded the Maggie Walker Community Land Trust, named after a local hero who was the first woman to charter a bank in the United States, in 2016.

The program enables prospective homeowners to buy property without paying for the land it sits on; the land remains in the hands of the trust in perpetuity. This means home buyers only need to finance the cost of the house, thus vastly reducing the size of the loan needed and creating access for buyers with less financial power.

Land trusts serve as the solution for one of two problems depending on the market they’re operating in: Gentrification or neighborhood destabilization. “In a few years the only affordable options in Church Hill and the East End may be land trust homes,” worries Nikki D’Adamo-Damery, coordinator for the Maggie Walker Community Land Trust. Along Chesterfield’s North Jeff Davis corridor a land trust could help people into vacant homes and tie them to those communities.

Recent legislation from City Council deemed the Maggie Walker Community Land Trust Richmond’s official “land bank,” giving it the further ability to receive and repurpose vacant, abandoned, and foreclosed properties. If the city were to forsake auctioning off such blighted properties to private developers and instead give them to the land trust, then Richmond’s newest tool in its affordability arsenal would have a lot more firepower.

The land trust sold their first house last November and is partnering with Habitat for Humanity on three experimental homes in the Randolph neighborhood that would go to families making less than 80% of our area’s average median income. When asked about the land trust’s future D’Adamo-Damery mused, “Whether we have 50 homes, 500 homes or 5,000 homes we can make affordable will depend on the support we have from the city, the public, and the private sector.”