Brief recap: July 8th 2017 Anti-KKK Counterprotest, Charlottesville VA

To see photos of the demonstration, check out the Virginia Defender's album here. 

This past Saturday, I attended a counterdemonstration opposing a Klan rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. A segment of the Ku Klux Klan from Pelham, North Carolina held a rally in Charlottesville's Justice Park, in front of the Robert E. Lee statue, to protest the city's decision to sell its monuments honoring Confederate leaders. To my understanding, the group Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) Charlottesville called this specific counter-demo, but there were a ton of groups with a presence, and various events earlier in the day. Lots of Richmonders were there in solidarity.  

There were about 2,500 counterdemonstrators, around 100 police officers from the city, county, and state, and approximately 30 to 40 Klan members. There were also a handful of Klan supporters in the crowd, but they were a tiny minority who mostly stayed clustered near the police. 

Police erected barriers to allow the Klan to move in and out of the park; a couple of activists tried to prevent their entry, and were arrested. The Klansmen ultimately entered at about 3:45, guarded by police in riot gear, and stood around shouting racial slurs and doing Nazi salutes for a while— I'm certain they spoke, also, but they were drowned out by boos and chants. When they were eventually ushered out, still under heavy guard, another group of counterdemonstrators tried to block their egress and were arrested. The police then issued an order to disperse, declared the gathering unlawful, and used three tear gas canisters. Mayor Mike Signer is now saying that police were provoked when protesters attacked them with pepper spray, but there's no evidence, video or otherwise, that this actually happened. Black Lives Matter Charlottesville has a write-up confronting this claim here. 

Throughout the course of the event, 23 anti-Klan activists were arrested. You can contribute to their legal fund here. 

Prior to the demonstration, anti-racist activists in the area faced police surveillance and unannounced visits to homes and workplaces from detectives wanting information on their activities and affiliations. Al-Jazeera recently published an article on the disparate reaction of Charlottesville police to left groups vs. far right groups like the Klan. 

Groups like the Klan hold events like these for two reasons: to intimidate, and to recruit. When you show up to oppose them in numbers like Charlottesville did this weekend, you prevent recruiting and show them for cowards. For all their posturing, they were only able to show up and scream racial slurs from behind a line of riot cops. 

That said, let's get ready for Round 2: a local white supremacist has called a larger "Unite the Right" rally on August 12th, at Charlottesville's Emancipation Park. More details on that in another post. 

Fight for 15 and the Movement for Black Lives: April 4th Day of Action

Tuesday, April 4th 2017, Raise Up: the Fight for 15 and the Movement for Black Lives are holding a joint national day of protest to demonstrate for racial and economic justice. This day will mark the 49th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. by James Earl Ray. 

In Richmond, VA Raise Up will be holding a Speak Out and March for MLK's Legacy. The event will run from 5-7pm, at Great Ship Lock Park (located at the intersection of Shockoe Bottom's Dock Street and Pear Street). The event will feature speeches from low wage workers fighting for a $15/hr minimum wage and a union, state legislators, free food, and more. Family friendly. 

For more info and to RSVP to the Richmond event, see this link. 

Similar events will be held nationwide. To learn about a protest planned near you, see this link and fill out the contact form. 

ART 180's Black Lives Matter Exhibit

Friday, February 3rd, from 5:30-8pm, at the First UU Church of Richmond (1000 Blanton Avenue, Richmond VA), ART 180 will unveil the works of 30 multicultural Richmond artists, which address racial justice and equality. 

Free, open to the public. 

For more info and to RSVP, see this link. 

Raise Up Fight for $15 Community Meeting on the November 29th Strike

Tomorrow, Tuesday November 15th 2016, from 6:30-8pm, at 904 North 1st Street, Richmond VA, Raise Up, the Fight for $15, is holding a community meeting on events planned for the November 29th low-wage worker strike. This date is the four year anniversary of the first major citywide strike of fast food workers in New York City. From the event description: 

Despite setbacks across the nation, this election showed that raising wages is a winning issue with voters. 4 states - Arizona, Colorado, Maine and Washington - overwhelmingly approved ballot measures to raise the minimum wages. Low wage workers in VA are asking all progressive allies to join us in the streets on November 29th and in the months and years ahead to push elected officials to fight for working families, for immigrant justice, for Black Lives.

For more info and to RSVP, see this link. 

"Building Resilience for Challenging Systemic Racism: a Trauma Healing Workshop for Activists and Allies" with the Richmond Peace Education Center

Friday. December 2nd to Sunday, December 4th 2016, at the First UU Church of Richmond (1000 Blanton Avenue, Richmond VA), the Richmond Peace Education Center is sponsoring a workshop titled "Building Resilience for Challenging Systemic Racism: a Trauma Healing Workshop for Activists and Allies." The workshop will be led by Renee Hill and Ram Bhagat. 

The cost is $75, but scholarships are available. 

For more information and to register, see this link. 

Richmond Times-Dispatch Public Square #68: Mark Holmberg's "Act Right Movement"

Mark Holmberg - WTVR CBS 6 has an idea for ending police shootings that’s as simple as it is insulting: people should just learn to be well behaved so that cops won’t murder them. If for some reason you’ve always wanted to see a white man stand in front of an audience and present a patronizing Facebook status as though it was a policy solution, here are the details on where that will be going down:

Thursday, October 27th, from 12-1:30pm, at the Richmond Times Dispatch headquarters (300 East Franklin Street, Richmond VA), the paper is holding their 68th public square discussion. RTD columnist Mark Holmberg will propose his solution to the problem of police violence- an “increase in responsible behavior” he is calling the “Act Right Movement”- and three additional panelists will discuss it with him. Those panelists are local #BlackLivesMatter activist and educator Osita Iroegbu, Richmond Police Department Chief Alfred Durham, and Claire Gastanaga of the ACLU of Virginia.

Mark Holmburg outlines his “movement” in a September 2016 op ed you can read here: goo.gl/Bk8S6d. The highlights: police shootings are primarily the result of the victim’s behavior rather than officer misconduct, so if people just behaved themselves, police wouldn’t have to kill them. There is no race problem in America, just a poverty problem which is somehow not related to race. Talking about racism just gives Black kids “an excuse” to “feel like the victim.” In a somehow even worse op ed from July 2016 (goo.gl/w4TRe4), Holmberg flatly denied that police shootings have anything to do with race, wrung his hands about how “divisive” Black Lives Matter is, and finally declared that the movement against police shootings is actually responsible for as least as many deaths as killer cops. 

Free, open to the public. Contact Robin Beres at 804-649-6305, or mberes@timesdispatch.com, for more information.

Black Lives Matter Youth Forum and Open Mic

Tomorrow, Friday July 22nd 2016, from 4-8pm, at Atlas (114 West Marshall Street, Richmond VA), ART 180 is hosting two events for teens to discuss police brutality, racism, violence, and recent events. The first event is a poetry workshop, and the second is the Black Lives Matter Youth Forum and Open Mic.

4-6pm, Poetry Workshop with John Blake: Teens will write poems to express their hopes, fears, dreams and frustrations surrounding issues of police brutality, institutional racism, and social justice. John Blake, an experienced poetry teacher and National Poetry Slam finalist, will lead the session.

6-8pm, Black Lives Matter Youth Forum and Open Mic: This month’s open mic at Atlas will include a forum for teens in the community to openly discuss their concerns and feelings behind the recent events around the country. There are are a number of events around the community for adults to express themselves, but this one is just for teens. ART 180 teen leader Sydney Vick and community leader and ART 180 friend Robert Dortch will facilitate the conversation, which will include a chance for teens to perform poetry, music and stories in an open mic format.

For more information or to RSVP, see the link. This event is for teens.