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Dancing Against Oppression: The Choreography Of MK Abadoo

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For MK Abadoo, a professor in VCU’s Department of Dance & Choreography, the art of interpretive dance is inseparable from the day-to-day struggle to fight racism and build stronger communities.

2019 marks the 400th anniversary of the first time enslaved people were brought to Virginia. 2019 is also the year Gov. Ralph Northam and Attorney General Mark Herring admitted to putting shoe polish on their faces in order to emulate blackface. Virginia has a long road ahead in recognizing, understanding and reconciling the damages of racism.

However, many are working to undo the systematic holds of racism through unconventional ways. Basing her art in community healing, MK Abadoo is using her talents to understand and undo racism through her art form: interpretive dance.

A prolific dancer, Abadoo is a choreographer, dance artist, and professor at Virginia Commonwealth University. Trained in modern dance and influenced in Ghana, Abadoo describes her dance style as postmodern, with West African techniques.

“The dances that I choreograph and create, they must exist within a clear framework of the communities they are created with, for, about, by and where they are performed,” she said.

Abadoo showcases these techniques in one of her projects: LOCS, in which a person’s dreadlocks unravel onstage. Using several feet of hair, Abadoo explains the importance of hair and identity. The unraveling represents a richer understanding of oneself.   

Abadoo is a trainer with the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond, a collective of anti-racist educators and organizers based out of New Orleans who are committed to social transformation and undoing racism. Partnering with people all over the world, Abadoo works with other trainers teaching workshops on how to undo racism and engage in community-based organizing.

We look through a lens of systemic analysis, and then also a strong understanding of how it affects us as individuals,” Abadoo said.

This individual approach to systems that create oppression on a larger societal level shows through in Abadoo’s latest project, “This Ground.” Working with several groups in the area, Abadoo is using the project to retell a grim episode from Richmond’s history.

Just a few blocks from the state capitol lies the Devil’s Half Acre. Today, it is an unassuming parking lot, bearing only a sign to explain what used to be there. Two centuries ago, this nefarious site was one of the busiest locations where enslaved people were held for auction in the entire United States.

Richmond was also the site of one of the largest slave rebellions in history, led in the summer of 1800 by an enslaved man known as Gabriel. His actions were unsuccessful, and he was marched to the gallows along with 23 others. However, his story is one of resistance, and serves to highlight the horrors of slavery.

Premiering during Gabriel Week, Aug. 27 through Sept. 2, “This Ground” takes place at the gallows at the Devil’s Half Acre. The work will feature 21 contemporary organizers — representative of the first Africans brought to and enslaved in Virginia — sharing stories of resistance.

“This work will enact and address stories of resistance that have been deliberately submerged in Richmond,” Abadoo said, “as well as lifting up and drawing attention to contemporary community organizers who are working towards justice.”

From community-oriented works like “LOCS” and “This Ground” to her work as a lead faculty member in the Racial Equity, Arts, and Culture Core of VCU’s Institute for Inclusion, Inquiry & Innovation (iCubed), Abadoo creates work that both embodies and transcends her art, using her challenging and expressive dance and choreography to highlight the importance of community organizing and dismantling racist power structures.

Photo: screencap, via The Kennedy Center

VCU Launches Minor In LGBT+ and Queer Studies

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Starting in Fall 2019, VCU students will have the chance to minor in an intersectional, multi-disciplinary study of the LGBTQ community.

Virginia Commonwealth University students wanting to learn more about the LGBTQ community, in all its many-splendored glory, just got a much bigger opportunity. VCU has announced that, beginning in Fall 2019, it will offer an LGBT+ and Queer Studies minor to undergraduate students.

“Students will learn how to examine LGBT+ and queer topics across disciplines, cultures and historical periods,” said Liz Canfield, associate chair of the Department of Gender, Sexuality And Women’s Studies, in a press release. “The curriculum will examine intersectional approaches to LGBT+ and queer studies, incorporating, but not limited to, race and ethnicity, class, disability, and religion.”

Courtnie N. Wolfgang, graduate program director in the VCU School of the Arts’ Department of Education, highlighted the need for academic programs like this minor, in order to help make marginalized groups like the LGBTQ community a part of the story our culture tells about itself.

“Too often folx whose identities don’t align with dominant narratives are relegated to the margins of study at academic institutions,” she said in a press release. “We learn the histories of the victors as ‘core curriculum’ and those still in the struggle are considered ‘special topics.’ A queer studies minor offers a more complete story of LGBTQ+ history, lives and futures, and situates that story as part of all of our learning, not just the learning of some.”

Elizabeth Cramer, a professor in VCU’s Department of Social Work, feels that this minor will be important both to students who are part of the LGBTQ community and those who are not. “Regardless of disciplinary major, our students will eventually interact with people who are LGBT+ and queer — in the workplace, in their neighborhoods, in their social spaces — and they need to approach their interactions with cultural humility and responsiveness,” Cramer said in a press release. “I’m hoping that students who don’t identify as LGBTQ will be attracted to this minor, in part, because of this.”

Cramer also hopes that the existence of the minor will be a benefit to LGBTQ organizations and communities in the region. “Because the minor will incorporate some assignments that involve interactions with the LGBT+ and queer organizations and communities, the organizations are potentially the beneficiaries of collaboration with the students, both while they are in the process of getting the minor and beyond,” she said.

The minor will feature courses offered by a variety of departments within VCU’s College Of Humanities And Sciences. Highlights include Black Queer Politics, offered by the Department of Political Science; Sociology of Masculinities, offered by the Department of Sociology; Queer Literature, offered by the Department of English; and Global LGBTQ History, offered by the Department of History. There will also be a number of courses from the Department of Gender, Sexuality, And Women’s Studies included in the minor.

The minor requires 18 total credits in order to complete it, including the required Introduction to LGBT+ and Queer Studies, as well five more LGBT+ and Queer Studies courses. Students must complete one course focused on race and/or ethnicity-related LGBTQ issues, and one focusing on LGBTQ issues outside the US. The electives must come from multiple disciplines, in order to give students a more well-rounded view of LGBTQ issues as they exist in the world today.

“Our idea is that it is important for the minor to reach across the departments, in order to highlight the field’s interdisciplinary nature and to be accessible to more students,” said Canfield.

The creation of this minor follows several other moves VCU has made in order to reach out to the LGBTQ community and other marginalized communities, most notably as part of their “Big Ideas” hiring initiative, which brought three new scholars in the field of LGBTQ studies to VCU’s faculty in 2017. The university also has a forthcoming program as part of their iCubed Core initiative called “Intersections in the Lives of LGBTQIA+ Communities,” for which they’ll be seeking LGBTQ scholars, artists, and teachers in the coming year.

“We are seeing greater institutional buy-in to what we’ve known to be true for decades,” said Canfield. “LGBTQ studies is a rigorous interdisciplinary field that has the potential to challenge and change the study of gender and sexuality — and thus humanity — as a whole.”

Op-Ed: VCU’s Partnership With GRTC Is More Than An Investment In Transit

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For VCU student Adam Lockett, the VCU-GRTC partnership represents an important opportunity for the University to give back to both its students and employees, and to the city itself.

The future of access to Richmond’s bus system is in jeopardy. This month, the Greater Richmond Transit Company (GRTC) and VCU will decide whether or not to continue a successful partnership which affords VCU students and employees unlimited access to all GRTC routes at no cost. Although the benefits of this partnership far outweigh the costs, details about the beginnings of talks to greatly reduce this service if additional money is not appropriated to GRTC by VCU were recently made public.

Ridership data tells us that the partnership is doing overwhelmingly better than projected: VCU riders make about 82,000 trips per month, making up about 12% of GRTC’s ridership overall. At a price tag of $1.2 million, the VCU community is riding the buses more frequently than the university’s contributions cover in fares.

What is at stake in current talks is negotiating a new deal where the University continues to cover costs. Otherwise their support will only afford rides along two routes, instead of all 40 within the network.

Limiting access to the VCU community will come down to two generally East to West routes: Route 5 and the Pulse. Route 5 serves Cary and Main streets from Carytown, through VCU, into downtown, and to the Whitcomb neighborhood. The Pulse runs along Broad and Main Streets from Willow Lawn to Rocketts Landing.

Most notably, restricting VCU’s free student and employee use to these two lines will cut off access to bus routes running North to South in the city. An employee who lives in Forest Hill, Southside, Manchester, or Northside — who has been able to rely on this service — may have the benefit of a no-cost ride to work suddenly stripped from them.

This is not the first time that VCU has gone to bat with GRTC to make a deal. In 2012, the University contracted GRTC to run the Campus Connector route, between Monroe Park and MCV campuses, at a cost of $1.7 million. That year, they opted to switch to a private third-party operator, to drive their VCU branded buses between the campuses for an annual cost of $1.82 million. Both of these amounts of money exceed the $1.2 million the University agreed upon in the summer of 2018 to fund the current partnership with GRTC, the benefits of which cover a wider student and employment body than existed six years ago.

If you give people access to transit, they will use it.

Canceling the full partnership is not the only detriment to transit that VCU may be responsible for. The school is looking to reduce comprehensive transportation by discontinuing the Campus Connector service as well. They are now in talks with City Council to grant permission to fund a detour for the Route 5 onto Broad and 11th Streets, in order to replace the service with an existing GRTC line — one that would remain free for VCU students and employees, even under the reduced support currently being discussed.

Altering this route would place interest in the university over the needs of those who rely on this frequent route daily. The proposed quarter-mile detour will be costly and slow down the bus. Canceling the third-party operation is not necessarily a bad thing — it’s probably long overdue. However, canceling the third-party operation at the same time that the scope of the partnership with GRTC is being reduced would result in disastrous consequences for VCU students and employees who rely on the current bus system.

This change would severely limit those who travel between the two campuses, whether they are coming from work, class, or home. A much better option is to use the savings from ending the third-party Campus Connector program to sustain the full GRTC partnership for the entire city bus network. After all, GRTC is more than a replacement for the Campus Connector bus; it is a gateway to the full spectrum of what Richmond has to offer, far beyond Monroe Park and MCV.

Back in October 2018, VCU’s Office of Parking and Transportation was proud to report on Facebook that “More than 40 [VCU] parking subscribers have already turned in their permits to use [GRTC] instead.” But would this sort of thing continue if access to most GRTC routes were discontinued? Not every student and employee lives in The Fan or along Broad Street, and can take advantage of just two bus routes in order to ditch their cars at home. Cutting access may bring those parking subscribers right back, congesting the streets and fail to fulfill a key goal of the “One VCU Master Plan” to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

No matter how you slice it, the VCU partnership with GRTC is worth it. Not just for the students and employees, but for all GRTC riders. Even those unaffiliated with VCU benefit from the University’s participation; the extra operating funds paid in by VCU improve the bus service for everyone. As the most prominent public institution and the largest employer in the city, VCU must continue funding full access to the GRTC bus network. It is an investment in their students and employees, as well as in education, arts, culture, and civic engagement — indeed, in our city itself.

VCU relies on talent and infrastructure from Richmond City; it should actively participate in making the city better.

Note: Op-Eds are contributions from guest writers and do not reflect RVA Magazine editorial policy.

Photo: VCU, via Facebook

Westboro Baptist Church’s Protest at VCU Was Vastly Outnumbered By LGBTQ Counter-Protesters

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The notorious anti-LGBTQ hate group were met with widespread derision during their protest at VCU on Monday.

At VCU Monday, students, metalheads, and the general public came out in support of the LGBTQ community to counter-protest the Westboro Baptist Church’s visit to campus. Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) were in town to protest against the existence and political power of Delegate Danica Roem, the first transgender person elected to state-level political office in the United States.

Even before the protest took place, it had already resulted in unintended consequences for WBC. Their attacks against Danica Roem, who represents the 13th District in Virginia’s House Of Delegates, helped strengthen Roem’s campaign for re-election in November. Roem reported in a tweet Monday night that she was able to raise over $36,000 for her re-election campaign through her #WestboroBackfire online protest.

Police presence was large, and included two police officers on horseback. Over one hundred counter-protesters were present as well; some dressed in wigs, others dressed in pride flags, and one person even played a guitar. Members of local metal band Lamb Of God brought kazoos and other plastic instruments, intent on drowning out the WBC members who’d shown up.

Advance press for the event had focused on the fact that Lamb Of God vocalist Randy Blythe was encouraging fans to come out and denounce the WBC, but the bigger story was how many representatives of the VCU and RVA LGBTQ communities were on the scene. The gathering felt like a small Pride festival in itself, as counter-protesters chanted slogans like “Jesus was a bottom!” and “We’re here, we’re queer, nobody wants you here.”

Some counter-protesters voiced their problems with VCU’s reaction to advance notification of the WBC visit. Lily Hamilton of VCU’s Queer Action created a solidarity space away from the initial counterprotest, in which she critiqued both Westboro Baptist Church and VCU’s lack of transparency with the student body. She cited incidences in which VCU said WBC would have a spot reserved for them on campus, then later withdrew the statement.

Counter-protesters. Photo by Sage Cannady

VCU policy does allow for political groups, regardless of message, to reserve a space on campus to promote their agenda. The group may reserve space as little as five days in advance.

No violence occurred at the protest, though some protesters made loud use of profane language. However, the police presence was clearly intended to protect the WBC, who were highly outnumbered.

Plenty of media were on the scene to cover the story. However, most focused on the WBC themselves, giving them a great deal more interview coverage than the counter-protesters. Nonetheless, there was a strong sense of community among the counter-protesters.

“It was really heartwarming to feel the support of the counter-protesters,” said Anthony Belotti. “We outnumbered them by so much. It definitely reminded me that Richmond is my home.”

Written by Sage Canady and Marilyn Drew Necci. Photos by Alexandra Zernik, Capital News Service, unless otherwise noted.

Westboro Baptist Church Hurls Slurs Ahead of Richmond Visit

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Westboro Baptist Church is planning to visit Virginia Commonwealth University and the Virginia State Capitol on March 11, though it’s unclear how much access the group will have to university grounds.

The Westboro Baptist Church is infamous for its posters that feature slurs against the LGBTQ community and its practice of picketing soldiers’ funerals. The Southern Poverty Law Center calls the church “arguably the most obnoxious and rabid hate group in America.”

According to the VCU policies and events website, members of the public may use university property “only by invitation” from a university employee or student.

However, the public may reserve the Park Plaza amphitheater without an invitation “no more than five days in advance of the desired date of use.”

VCU prohibits expression that is not protected by law, such as obscenity and fighting words.

VCU officials tweeted that they are aware of the WBC’s plans to demonstrate “on City of Richmond public property, near campus.”

“While their views are antithetical to VCU’s core values of diversity and inclusion, their free speech — and ours — is a guaranteed constitutional right,” the tweet said.

A press release from Westboro Baptist Church for the State Capitol event includes hateful language toward Del. Danica Roem, D-Prince William, Virginia’s first transgender woman elected to the General Assembly.

Roem, who has inspired the LGBTQ community, said in a 2017 MSNBC interview: “You can champion inclusion, you can champion equality and equity and you can win.” She has also said that she wants the press to focus on her policies, not her gender.

She defeated 13-term incumbent Robert G. Marshall, who unsuccessfully sponsored legislation known widely as the “bathroom bill,” which would have required people to use the restroom that corresponded with the gender on their birth certificate.

When members of the Westboro Baptist Church visited Richmond in 2010, they encountered hundreds of counterprotesters. They visited the Virginia Holocaust Museum in Shockoe Bottom along with other Jewish cultural centers.

The group’s final stop during the 2010 visit was Hermitage High School on Hungary Spring Road in Henrico County, where church members faced hundreds of young counterdemonstrators. Westboro Baptist Church did not visit VCU that year, but students staged a silent anti-hate rally anyway.

By Rosemarie O’Connor, Capital News Service. Photos via Westboro Baptist Church’s website (unlinked on purpose, google it)

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