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Richmond, VA Culture & Politics Since 2005

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It’s Official: The Great Richmond Bus Reroute Reduced Transportation Access For Low-Income Residents

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Six months after the Great Richmond Reroute, access to public transit for low-income neighborhoods has remained limited and in some cases, gotten worse, according to a study at the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University.

“Our city is long overdue for a comprehensive transit redesign to meet the needs of today’s citizens and a growing, dynamic city,” the Great Richmond Reroute website says.

Richmond’s 2018 transit system overhaul was the first in over 80 years. The redesigned bus routes include the addition of the GRTC Pulse, a rapid transit bus line that runs up and down Broad Street from Willow Lawn in the west and Rocketts Landing in the east. The Pulse decreases the amount of downtown transfers that would be needed by connecting to every bus route, according to the Great Richmond Reroute website.

In December, the Wilder School’s Center for Urban and Regional Analysis released the study on the effect of the reroute in low-income neighborhoods, citing previous studies that found specific neighborhoods to be at an economic disadvantage.

Though the study found that transit accessibility improved in job centers, like Short Pump or Willow Lawn, access to the transit system for low-income neighborhoods decreased with the redesign.

“While GRTC has taken a forward-thinking approach to improving jobs accessibility, there is still room for improvement related to improving transit access to affordable housing and increasing high-connectivity nodes near low-income neighborhoods,” said Sarin Adhikari, Ph.D., research economist with the CURA.

CURA found that about half of the households in low-income neighborhoods are not served by transit stops with “high connectivity,” a label they measured by looking at the frequency a bus comes, average distance to a destination, and number of bus routes that serve a stop. Which means individuals from these neighborhoods are more likely to be walking further to the bus stop, waiting longer to be picked up, using multiple transfers, and/or riding for longer periods of time.

While the study shows that overall accessibility to the GRTC has increased, the increases in certain areas, like major business centers, are accounting for decreases in low-income neighborhoods.

CURA’s analysis showed that public transit accessibility at major job centers increased by about 6 percent, if walking distance from the bus is less than a quarter of a mile. The Great Richmond Reroute website boasts rider-benefits as including, “more access to jobs, hospitals, schools, retail businesses, and the airport.” While CURA’s study found that to be true, it also found that transit accessibility for residential dwellings was down 22 percent.

“While the city is pursuing a path of further economic development and growth, it is our collective responsibility … to ensure the whole community reaps the benefits of this Richmond economic expansion,” said Fabrizio Fasulo, Ph.D., director of the CURA. “This is especially important for the marginalized and disadvantaged communities in the region that have felt, and rightfully so, left behind in past developments.”

Also noted in the study: the majority of the population who rely on public transit are under the federal poverty threshold. From this, the study concludes that the people who need to use public transit the most are the ones being limited by the new system.

“On an individual level, public transportation provides choices and enables people to seek economic opportunities throughout the region,” the study says. “The latter is particularly true for economically disadvantaged residents.”

UPDATE: GRTC responds with a 2017 study of their own, which predicted different outcomes than VCU’s study now suggests have taken place.

Photos: GRTC/via Facebook

VCU Community Mourns Herbert Hirsch, Leading Genocide Scholar

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Herbert Hirsch was a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, but in his life, he brought his academic talents far beyond VCU. Hirsch lectured across the globe in places such Australia, England, Ireland, Germany, Sweden, and Brazil. He was also one of the co-editors of Genocide Studies International, a journal published with Toronto University Press. But his achievements within the political science field are not his only memorable feats.

Students at VCU understood Hirsch as a passionate man. Hirsch taught a common entry-level course at the university, United States Government. Non-political-science majors lucked out in having either Hirsch or Professor John Aughenbaugh, two excellent men capable of intelligently acknowledging and discussing the atrocities that have occurred within the American political system.

As a professor, Hirsch made it clear from the first class of the semester that his teaching would be going straight to the point. He knew he had students who were tired of hearing the nonsense trotted out at the elementary, middle, and high school levels, perpetuating falsehoods about Columbus being a successful leader for the western world, or the Civil War having been about states’ rights.

Herbert Hirsch wanted the truth to be shared as a source of empowerment for the student body. He wanted his students to be upset, either with him or by him. Hirsch understood that knowledge is sometimes ugly and sometimes chaotic. He knew that skating over political issues integral to the American political climate, whether in a historical or a modern context (although Hirsch himself would argue that modern and historical contexts intersect one another), was an injustice to society.

For his students and fellow faculty at VCU, Hirsch was more than an accomplished educator — he was a great man. He pushed students through college who wouldn’t have made it otherwise. He taught in a manner that was beyond simply educating the masses, and altogether, he succeeded in driving home his passion for justice. Those influenced by him will remember his message: to get out in your community and “stand at the front of the protest, not the back.”

Hirsch’s obituary states that, in lieu of flowers, monetary contributions may be donated to Doctors Without Borders, The Zoryan Institute, or the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Photo via YouTube

Goodbye Strange Matter: The End Of An Era

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The closing of Richmond’s popular venue leaves a hole in the heart of its music scene.

*This article originally appeared in RVA Mag #35, on the streets now at all your favorite spots.

Beloved Richmond music venue Strange Matter closed this December, after nearly a decade in business. The venue hosted countless touring and local musicians over the years, and was a hub for underground music in the city. The space may soon be taken over by another venue, but for many, it marks the end of an era.

The soon-to-be vacant building at 929 West Grace Street has been home to a string of concert halls stretching all the way back to the 1970’s, but the area has changed dramatically in the years since Strange Matter opened its doors.

For years, the area around West Grace Street was considered to be a dangerous and decayed area of the city, but it was also where Richmond’s illustrious hardcore, punk, noise, and metal scenes flourished.

Photo by Jake Cunningham

In the 70’s and 80’s, the block was home to biker bars, porno theatres, and even a go-go bar. By the 2000’s, there was a plethora of venues, bars, and independent businesses in the area that catered to alternative cultures and lifestyles.

However, shops and restaurants like Exile, Nonesuch, Bunny Hop, Empire, The Nile, and Rumors have all moved or gone out of business since Virginia Commonwealth University began expanding into the area. Strange Matter was one of the last holdouts.

VCU has spent much of the last decade buying up properties on the block, and has replaced many of the old storefronts with campus amenities, such as a mini Walmart, a dormitory, and a student computer store.

Photo by Julie Ferguson

The university’s hegemonic expansion into the area has had an outsized impact on the cultural landscape of the city: Earlier this year, the university purchased Mansion nightclub, located a block from Strange Matter, for $3.5 million, four times its estimated value, in an effort to “clean up” the area.

“Until VCU started growing, it wasn’t crazy expensive to live in this neighborhood and be in walking distance to all these places,” Strange Matter’s bar manager, Kelsey Hulvey, said. “But now the only reason to live around here is to walk to class, because all these businesses have been pushed out by VCU. It’s not the same.”

Hulvey worked behind the bar at Strange Matter since it opened in 2009, and has seen the changes take place in real time. Yet she’s optimistic that another venue will be able to take its place.

“I think one of the discussions that people have been having is not knowing where else you would put a small to mid-size venue like this,” she said.

Photo by Jake Cunningham

Mark Osborne, who has been the booking agent at Strange Matter for the last eight years, said that the city is in desperate need of smaller venues where up-and-coming musicians can cut their teeth.

“Bands don’t just immediately get big and go play The National; they need these smaller rooms to build them in and familiarize people with them,” Osbourne said. “I feel like, without the building blocks, the stepping stones, we’re not going to get as much major talent because they’re just going go to the bigger cities.”

929 West Grace Street has been the home of one venue or another since the early 70’s, starting with The Back Door. It was a regular spot for local bands like Single Bullet Theory, The Good Guys and Steel Mill, and it famously hosted Bruce Springsteen for three nights in a row just before he skyrocketed to mainstream success.

Photo by Julie Ferguson

In the late 70’s, The Back Door became one of the first venues in the city to have punk and metal shows. Tom Applegate, guitarist of first-wave Richmond punk bands L’amour and Beex, remembers it well. It was his idea.

“We went to The Back Door dude and said, ‘Can we have Sunday night for a punk show?’ And he sold every fuckin’ beer in the beer cooler,” Applegate said. “He was like, ‘You want to do this again next week?’”

Sunday night officially became punk night at The Back Door, and early Richmond punk bands like White Cross, Prevaricators, The Barriers, and Death Piggy (which eventually evolved into GWAR) began playing there on a regular basis.

“Once they found out you could sell beer having punk shows, a bunch of people started letting that happen,” Applegate said.

Photo by Jake Cunningham

In the 1990’s, The Back Door was replaced by Twisters, and became a full-blown alternative punk and metal bar. Twisters helped put Richmond on the map as one of the best cities for alternative and underground music in the 90’s, and helped Richmond legends like GWAR, Honor Role, Avail, Lamb of God, and Four Walls Falling get off the ground.

Twisters also hosted plenty of big-name touring acts like Dinosaur Jr., Green Day, and Smashing Pumpkins, during that period.

In the early 2000’s, the space was taken over by The Nanci Raygun, which folded in 2007, followed by the short-lived Bagel Czar. Both venues had a difficult time meeting the high bar set by Twisters. Strange Matter was a return to form, however, and the building once again became ground zero for the Richmond music scene.

John Graham, guitarist and vocalist of local band Fat Spirit, has been playing shows at Strange Matter since it began, and like many local musicians, the news of it’s closing came as a shock to him.

Photo by Julie Ferguson

“It’s going to leave a big void when it’s done,” Graham said. “In high school, we’d drive around asking any crappy bar restaurant where I grew up if they’d let us play shows, and every single one was like ‘Not a fucking chance.’ So I think we owe a great deal to places like Strange Matter here in Richmond.”

When Strange Matter opened in 2009, RVA Mag founder R. Anthony Harris wrote a lengthy diatribe about the historical importance of 929 W. Grace Street for the city.

“I want the new owners to know 929 can work,” Harris wrote. “It has been done before and can be done again. Concentrate on the great history at this venue. Realize how important it is to Richmond’s illustrious music scene… It is ripe for the taking to be a thriving venue again.”

Photo by Jake Cunningham

Strange Matter didn’t disappoint, but the quick changes that have taken place in Richmond in the last decade have made the future of the concert hall much less certain.

According to Osborne, the owner of the building is currently looking at several offers from businesses that would like to rent the space, but the details aren’t public yet.

“It’s been a venue now for 30 or 40 years,” Osborne said. “Ideally, we’re hoping to find someone with a similar vision.”

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

VCU Homecoming Has Become An Annual Staple For Local Hip Hop and R&B

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Streaming music services have helped up-and-coming hip hop and R&B artists find an audience. And for the past few years, VCU’s Homecoming show has been a reliable gauge of which artists young music fans are most excited about.

If you aren’t a student, alumni, or fan of the team, VCU’s annual homecoming might seem like just another opportunity for a local college to boost school spirit. However, as those who’ve paid attention over the past few years are sure to have noticed, VCU’s annual homecoming show has become a reliable showcase for up-and-coming talent in the world of hip hop and R&B. This development tells us a lot about not only VCU’s ability to catch artists on their way to the top but, more importantly, the way streaming music has changed the fortunes for hip hop and R&B music as a whole.

The streaming revolution has made irrevocable changes to the world of music, and hip hop and R&B are the genres at the forefront. Last year, Nielsen officially declared hip hop the most popular genre in music, officially cementing the dominance of music that has been the bedrock of pop culture over the past few decades.

The boon in music streaming has made the music industry profitable again and reinvigorated the market for live music. Whereas in past years, booking agents were scouring the radio for notable acts, streaming allows agents and executives to go straight to an artist’s profile to see how many plays they’re garnering and in what areas. This enables artists who aren’t necessarily getting mainstream recognition yet to play shows all over the country without having notable industry experience.

This year’s VCU homecoming show was a clear indicator that the university has picked up on this trend, and continued a theme that can be seen across the past few years of VCU homecoming celebrations. In 2015, Partynextdoor and Rae Sremmurd graced the stage; in 2016, the headliners were  Travis Scott and Goldlink. Last year, Tory Lanez and Shy Glizzy topped the bill, and this year featured Ella Mai and Saweetie.

The common theme for these artists is not just the genres they share but their streaming prowess: each of those artists boasts millions of listens across Spotify, Apple Music, and other streaming services. This year in particular, Ella Mai has had a meteoric rise. Her debut single, “Boo’d Up,” stormed the charts this summer, reaching #1 on the US R&B chart due to its overall stream count, along with effective playlisting — always an important factor. On a smaller scale, Saweetie has also garnered a fanbase in a matter of months through the success of her debut single, “ICY GIRL,” which started as a viral hit on YouTube. Within months of its official release, she’d been named Artist Of The Week by streaming service Tidal.

Always influenced by the interests of VCU’s student body, this year the school’s programming board made moves to get students more directly involved in picking artists they’d like to see, launching a survey to help hone in on which artists they wanted to try for when booking the event. For the most part, students picked the same sort of relatively new artists in the hip hop and R&B world, including Lil Yachty, Lil Uzi Vert, and a variety who got their start in the viral streaming underground of “Soundcloud rap.” 

The eventual choice of female headliners marked a pleasant change in direction for an event that has featured a male-heavy lineup over the past few years. And it paid off, as headliner Ella Mai delivered one of the best sets at a VCU homecoming show since Travis Scott in 2016 — and Scott is known for his excellent live performances.

With a live band backing her, Ella Mai’s searing vocals and affable glow enthralled the crowd with a much-needed dose of R&B after a hip-hop heavy night. Hits like “Boo’d Up” and “Trip” were well-received, excellently sung, and got a big singalong response from the crowd. Saweetie’s performance was professional through and through, showing that she should have staying power in what is often a grueling industry. Her charming personality and stage presence was an added bonus to a good set.

In the end, 2018’s VCU Homecoming show was yet another successful show bringing up-and-coming talent in the hip hop and R&B world to the fans that are out there boosting stream counts for these artists. It’s a clear reminder, that the kids run the music industry, and the kids determine what’s hot. Streaming has only accentuated that, and VCU’s programming coordinators are wise to take notice.

Photos by Lily Vita

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

A Satirical Masquerade: The Art of Massa Lemu

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According to artist Massa Lemu, it is the year of the dupe. Lemu describes election season in his home country, Malawi, as a time of trickery and deceit, during which the elite makes their way to the ground from their “ivory towers,” as Lemu puts it. While he isn’t home for the election season, Lemu wants to be part of the action.That’s why he has created his own political party. And his latest exhibition at 1708 Gallery, He Who Gave Us Teeth Should Give You Art to See: A Patois Bourgeois P.arty Manifesto, brings that party to life. 

He Who Gave Us Teeth Should Give You Art to See, an extension of Lemu’s previous project, Patois Bourgeois Minor Portraits, is meant to simulate a post-colonial election campaign platform for the Patois Bourgeois P.arty (that period is intentional). It’s a satirical critique, showcasing the way that, in Lemu’s eyes, election season in Malawi is a time for politicians to have their egos stroked and Malawians to be taken advantage of. 

Lemu, a visual artist and writer, is currently teaching in VCU’s Department of Sculpture and Extended Media.

“I haven’t done anything else since childhood, apart from making art,” he says. “I started drawing at an early age, so I grew up drawing and moved on to painting.”

Lemu says that his uncle, David Zuze, was one of his earliest sources of artistic influence. Zuze painted as a hobby and Lemu watched him as a child. After high school, Lemu went on to study art at the University of Malawi, earning his Bachelor of Education Degree, with a major in Fine Arts, from the University of Malawi. He later received a Masters Degree in painting from the Savannah College of Art and Design, and a Ph.D. in Visual Arts from Stellenbosch University in South Africa.

All of Lemu’s work has been influenced by his experience as a Malawian. Growing up in Malawi and seeing the state of things upset him.

“After gaining independence, Malawi was in the hands of an autocrat, [Hastings Banda] — it was ruled by an autocratic regime for over 30 years, from 1964 to 1994,” says Lemu. During Banda’s reign, the totalitarian government tortured and murdered political opponents. Human rights groups estimate that nearly 6,000 people were killed, tortured and jailed without trial.

Malawi has been ranked over the years as one of the poorest countries in the world; its people, on average, live on less than $1,000 per year. The 2014 “cashgate” scandal found that the country was defrauded by various government officials of $32 million, 1 percent of its annual GDP, over the course of six months. This is just one example of the corrupt government that Lemu attempts to critique through his artwork.  

Malawi’s president and the vice-president are elected on one ballot for a five-year term. The next election will be in May 2019. Lemu believes the current campaign is excessive and is a mockery, full of empty promises from political elite who do not have the best interest of the people in their hearts.

“The kind of masquerade that happens during the campaign season, it’s a season of duping each other,” he said. “It’s that time of the year where you see politicians really get connected to the people, and they pretend to humble themselves so they can get their votes.”

When he introduced the Patois Bourgeois P.arty project, a lot of people following the Malawi election didn’t realize it was satire. “When I posted on social media, some people thought I actually started my own party,” Lemu laughed.

“I liked the kind of confusion that it created,” Lemu said. “It’s easy for some to miss the twists that I introduced. The symbols that I used on the artwork are well-known symbols amongst Malawians, but not found on actual party clothes or flags. But it’s a symbol that is used to critique the behavior of politicians in Malawi who can easily shift from one party to the next. You wouldn’t find a party that uses the chameleon, [but] Malawian politicians change colors like the chameleon.”

The exhibit features political posters emblazoned with symbols and slogans like “TO MAKE MORE BURY-HEAD-IN-THE-SAND-ART,” or “TO MAKE MORE GET-LAID-ART.” Lemu says that the exhibition isn’t just about politics, it’s also about his own existence as an artist.

While the target of the messages is the people of Malawi and those in positions of power, the themes of election seasons being full of deception and broken promises reach Americans as well. For many, Donald Trump’s presidency has ignited feelings of disappointment and distrust of the U.S. government.   

Lemu says that the exhibition is also meant to encourage people to start asking questions about the way we look at politics, and life in general.

“I am questioning the spectacle that is part of this campaign season — the use of the images and symbols to lure, to bedazzle, even to disempower Malawians,” Lemu said. “At the moment, it would be difficult for you to distinguish one party from the next, because the trick that parties use is to use similar symbols.”

This maneuver hopes to deceive Malawians into voting for a candidate they don’t believe in, or misinterpreting the intentions of one political party or another.

The exhibit serves to promote the idea of decolonization, not just of a country, but the mind. While Malawi may be free from British control, the effects of colonization still show in the country today. Lemu says he hopes an opportunity comes for him to present this exhibition in Malawi and create a dialogue about the current state of things politically in his home country.

For now, it is on display here in Richmond. He Who Gave Us Teeth Should Give You Art to See: A Patois Bourgeois P.arty Manifesto is on display at 1708 Gallery, located at 319 W. Broad St, until Dec. 8. For more info on the exhibition, click here. To see more of Massa Lemu’s work, visit his website.

Best of RVA Missed Connections: November 14 – November 20

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It’s a short week, and we’re all hurrying to get through it and get to the long Thanksgiving weekend already. But before you make your Black Friday shopping plans, you might want to find some loving. That’s where Missed Connections comes in.

This week, we’ve got all sorts of hanky-panky going on, from military gym rats and dog park habitues to tomato planters and friendly waitresses. If you’re into turtles, or racing your BMW on the interstate, someone might just be looking for you. Just be careful you don’t blow it because you couldn’t find parking! This ain’t amateur hour.

The husky bearded white dude by the vcu library

Long shot. We started taking by the compass. After talking for sometime. You asked me if i have a gf and then called me handsome. You have some great sleeve ink and beautiful country accent. Hit me up, man. Would love to get together at some point. 

Enchanted (Scottsville)

“Daddy” misses his “enchanted” princess. Seems like it’s been “everlong”

Yng lady tryn to keep the peace (Godfreys)

You were with your friend who wore glasses n was “friends” with one of my friends but u n your friend danced together most of the night. You talked to me for a moment and we played footsy with our fingers. I would like to get to know you better if thats okay. Tell me if u remember me? 

On 64 east by Indian river rd

I’m a male, We shared a look or three, before I exited you slid your foot up in your seat sliding your skirt up next time I will let you see. Let me know when and where your going to be so I can give you a show 

LoriA (Colonial Hts)

You looked just a little TOO good when I saw you yesterday. To quote Rhett Butler, “You should be kissed and often. And by someone who knows how!” Wish it was me…..that burgundy lipstick to match your top was just SINFUL! 

A- (Petersburg)

I doubt you will see this. Few yrs ago. You had medium length red hair. We met and instant chemistry. The record player always on. You said I was the first guy who could keep up. I helped plant your tomatoes. You borrowed my hat and tshirt then disappeared. Best 6 weeks ever. Lost your contact info. Hope life is blessed. Thanks for the memories. 

Dawn at Mom’s Siam

Dawn, we met at Mom’s Siam last night and were heading for another drink at Buddy’s when they closed. I don’t think either of us could find parking. I passed you as we both searched a couple of times.

Here’s hoping you see this. I wish I’d thought to give you my number

Wonder Woman (C-field)

I miss you. Saw you a few times at the pool this summer looking so sexy. Really wish we could re-connect. 

RE: Beautiful and not shy woman at slightly stooped concert (The National)

I was standing to the left of you. You were with your gf, I assume. She’s a thin blonde. Your hair was pulled back, and you have a beard.

Just letting you know I see this. It was fun 😉 

Turkish bmw

To the gorgeous turkish girl racing me down 95 in a BMW… I let you win 

Dog Park (Ocean view)

I was at the playground with my kids and you pulled up in front of me with your dog, he was wearing a harness with “in training”. You walked into the dog park and I couldn’t help but notice how attractive you were. You made eye contact a few times. I hope you see this ad! If you do what color sweater we’re you using and what color and brand were your shoes. If you could tell me what color shorts I was wearing I would know that’s it’s you for sure! 

Miseed P from Bon Air (Providence Road)

What a pleasant surprise to bump into you. Have missed your smile and spirit, as well as the turtles. We keep bumping into each other. Would love to talk. S  

Met at gym You came over twice for massage (Glen Allen)

When I was here for work after Labor Day, we met at the gym and you ended up coming to my hotel room twice in two weeks for massage.

You were mid20s, great build, forget if you said Army or USMC, your gym bag had a college logo on it (trying to be discrete here.)

You wanted to come again the following week but I had already checked out.

Anyway, I’m back for work, same hotel, brought my massage stuff and fleshlight but lost your email so try me again man.

Alamo?

You were the initial waitress for me and my family at the beginning of our movie. You wrote a heart on my check at the end of the movie. I wasnt sure if it was something you normally do or if there was something there?

If there was something, I’m totally interested. Tell me what movie it was, and maybe what I ordered or was wearing if it’s really you.