Race Capitol: Recent Episodes

Race Capitol

Race Capitol interrogates racial narratives in Richmond, Virginia, the former capitol of the Confederacy. www.racecapitol.com @RaceCapitol

Three Black feminist organizers deliver activist radio every Wednesday at 10am on WRIR LP 97.3 FM Richmond Independent Radio. Episodes loaded weekly.

Created by: Chelsea Higgs Wise (she/her) Co-Hosts: Naomi Isaac (they/them) & Kalia Harris (she/her)

NEW EPISODE ALERT: This week on Race Capitol, we are kicking off the year with our very first COVID WATCH episode - all about community care in Richmond. We will dive into some local mutual aid efforts that have been addressing the lack of PPE in the RVA area with Lauren Garcia, a current pHD student at the University of Virginia and VCU alum and Natalie del Castillo of River City Harm Redux.

Be sure to subscribe to our Black independent media platform everywhere that you listen to podcasts

Support River City Harm Redux by donating via venmo @/rivercityharmredux

Support our independent media platform by becoming a monthly sustainer on #patreon www.patreon.com/racecapitol

WeTakeCareofUS #COVIDWatch #RVA #VA #MutualAid

For our last episode of 2021: We are talking about mutual aid with Yaya Ogaldez of Richmond Mutual Aid and Sarandon Elliot of UVA Mutual Aid.

Our conversation explores the work of building life affirming institutions in so-called Charlottesville and here at home in the fallen capitol of the confederacy. We kick it off with our last Race Capitol reframe of 2021.

Airing at 10am on WRIR 97.3 FM & streaming on all platforms!

P.S. stay tuned for some more goodies before the year is out!

WeTakeCareofUs #WeKeepUsSafe #VA #RVA #Cville #FundBlackFutures #DefundThePolice

Follow our guests: @uvamutualaid @madrva

Resources UVA Mutual Aid Free Store GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/uva-mutual-aid-free-store?utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link_all&utm_source=customer Donate to Richmond Mutual Aid via venmo or Paypal @richmondmutualaid MADRVA website: https://richmondmutualaid.wixsite.com/resources Buy Richmond Mutual aid merch + support free store: https://madrva.squarespace.com/ As World Confronts Omicron Variant, Top 8 Pfizer & Moderna Investors Make $10 Billion in a Week https://www.democracynow.org/2021/12/7/pfizer_and_moderna_shareholders_profit Gov. Northam proposes police pay raises in upcoming budget https://vpm.org/news/articles/27718/gov-northam-proposes-police-pay-raises-in-upcoming-budget As Omicron Variant Circles the Globe, African Nations Face Blame and Bans https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/27/world/africa/coronavirus-omicron-africa.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur Omicron COVID variant was in Europe before South African scientists detected and flagged it to the world https://www.cbsnews.com/news/omicron-variant-covid-in-europe-netherlands-before-alert-raised/?ftag=CNM-00-10aab7e&linkId=142329193 Richmond Public Schools teachers are first in the state to gain collective bargaining rights https://richmond.com/news/local/richmond-public-schools-teachers-are-first-in-the-state-to-gain-collective-bargaining-rights/article_1d74e090-bb83-5fb0-bd22-81564ac872cb.html

This week on Race Capitol, we are in dialogue with Lisa Woolfork, Associate Professor of English at the University of Virginia and Christina Rivera of Congregate Cville, a Unitarian Universalist minister, as they reflect on the recent four year anniversary of A11 and A12 and the impact of the Sines v. Kessler trial on members of the Charlottesville community.

Tune in this week as we center the People’s narratives from the ground in so-called Charlottesville. Thank you to our guests for joining this week!

Give to the A11 A12 Survivors Support Fund: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/a11a12support

https://bit.ly/rva-to-cville Resources:

Black Women Stitch Podcast (Lisa) https://kite.link/StitchPlease https://linktr.ee/blackwomenstitch Facebook https://facebook.com/congregatecville https://facebook.com/CLFUU https://facebook.com/CalledToJustice Twitter @CongregateVille

Congregate C'ville www.congregatecville.com Swords Into Plowshares article https://apnews.com/article/race-and-ethnicity-virginia-charlottesville-public-art-82967e27bfe3a0febd9b584bde381a99

This week on Race capitol, we are talking about the casino; exploring the legacy of wealth extraction, colonialism, and big shiny developments here in Richmond. We speak with community advocate and musician Allan-Charles Chipman and local artist Shon. After we speak with our guests, all three hosts will provide some deeper analysis on the upcoming casino referendum in Richmond.

What are your thoughts on the Casino? Sound off in the comments!

Music credit:

Aloe Blacc - I Need A Dollar Nelly - Ride Wit Me The Roots - Ain Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around

NOTE TO LISTENER: Following the recording of this episode, it was brought to our attention that Marquis Bey had previously demonstrated a pattern of abusive behavior. Race Capitol has decided to remove Marquis’ interview from FTTPII in order to hold the tension between rejecting disposability of Black trans people while prioritizing survivors of sexual harm. We understand that those involved have completed a formal accountability process facilitated by transformative justice practitioners hired by AK Press. Read AK Press’ statement here.

Race Capitol believes in our inherent value. We are against disposability culture which we understand to be a practice exercised by those within a privileged class or social position that sees poor, Black, Fat, Trans, non-men, Disabled, and other historically oppressed people as expendable. The practice of disposability culture causes those impacted to suffer the loss of social, political, and economic support. Considering Marquis' position as an academic, published author, and respected professional, Race Capitol believes that, at this time, removing Marquis' interview will not have any significant impact on their material conditions.

We are birthing that world together where accountability is a daily practice.

Race Capitol remains dedicated to creating a platform for those who have been violenced by the System--including by those who hold power within it. We have reached out to Marquis informing them of the concerns and look to those most impacted by Marquis’ abuse to inform further action. We are not in contact with survivors at the time of this statement. Survivors interested in contacting us can reach us at racecapitol@gmail.com. ____________________________________________________________________ The liberation of colonized people necessitates the abolition of policing and prisons. Emancipation calls on us to not simply build a better world, in which less people are oppressed--but rather to build a world where the conditions for oppression become an impossibility:

—one which affirms the lives of all people; —one that is divorced from the institutions of ableism, racism, and homophobia; —one that disallows the possibility for transmisogyny, that makes deportations obsolete; —one that not only changes, but has the infrastructure to be transformative; —where there are no borders, binaries, or limitations.

Abolition requires our solutions to be imaginative and boundless. And abolitionism as both a movement and a project has continued to do just that since the colonization of the Amerikas. While the movement evolves into ways that are sometimes replications of state violence, the ever growing schools within the abolitionist movement lay the foundation for us to build a world that is much more free than we could ever imagine. This makes abolition more than one final project, rather--in the words of professor Marquis Bey--a constant state of becoming.

This week on Race Capitol we meditate on Blackness, captivity, and freedom through exploring schools of abolitionism: non-profit (or NPIC) abolitionism and state abolitionism with co-host Nomi.

First, we speak with Omi Mars (they/he/love), about how the freedom of oppressed people + marginalized genders necessitates the abolition of the NPIC (non-profit industrial complex), as well as their recent resignation from the Abolitionist Teaching Network after surviving repeated organizational harm. You can support them by visiting bit.ly/RefusingTheNPIC and donating directly. Please share!

Finally, we hear from New Afrikan Prison Solidarity Organizer, CoCo (she/they) where they talk briefly about how the movement calls on us to develop the infrastructure for autonomous, sustainable community support.

Visit https://linktr.ee/Racecapitol to see other ways you can support our guests!

This week on Race Capitol, co-hosts Nomi Isaac and Kalia Harris talk to community organizers about increased surveillance + policing in public housing neighborhoods in Richmond. Last month, five license plate readers were installed in both public housing neighborhoods and areas that Black people frequent. That, in addition to dozens of surveillance cameras that were already installed in public housing neighborhoods over the last couple of years has community members ringing the alarm.

Hear from Yohance Whitaker of Richmond Transparency & Accountability project, and Legal Aid Justice Center, as well as Omari Al-Qadaffi of Leaders of the New South, as we talk about the history + legacy of policing in public housing, the current situation, and its implications for Black freedom and autonomy in public housing spaces in the future.

This week on Race Capitol, we talked with the #LegalizeItRight coalition of Virginia about the new laws around simple possession of marijuana that started this past July.

In July, Marijuana Justice hosted the #LegalizeItRight coalition at their #MarijuanaMonthlies. Today the coalition includes: Marijuana Justice, Rise for Youth Virginia Student Power Network, Justice Forward Virginia.

The #LegalizeItRight coalition was formed in 2019 to prepare for the 2020 Virginia legislative session to push elected officials to repeal the prohibition of simple possession due to the racial disparities so blatantly apparent in Virginia marijuana arrests and convictions.

As of July 1, 2021 the coalition met their 2 year campaign mission to repeal the prohibition of simple possession, and Virginia was the first in the south to do so. But of course, there is more to do.

Tune in today to hear from coalition partners to #KnowYourRisk with marijuana in the home, the car, at schools + universities, and public spaces. We also hear what’s next for the coalition, including #repeal, #repair, and #reparations

Content Warning: Descriptions of police violence

Jennifer Carter, mother of Orlando Carter, Jr. joins host Chelsea Higgs Wise to discuss her son’s case.

Orlando Carter, Jr., was 27 years old when he was a target of police violence this past new year’s eve. An incident which started as an alleged traffic violation, left Orlando with a broken leg and 3 shots from behind by Richmond Police Department. He thankfully survived, but is now facing charges, while also being charged monthly for an ankle monitor while he awaits his next court date on October 8th at 9am.

Every single day of 2021, since January 1st, the Carter family has been working to repair their lives due to the violence inflicted by Levar’s Richmond Police Department.

Tune in to Jennifer Carter’s interview after this week’s Race Capitol reframe, as she tells us what she can about what happened on the night of New Years Eve.

Additional reporting on Orlando's case by Ali Rockett: https://richmond.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/officers-testimony-on-thursday-differs-from-richmond-police-account-of-officer-involved-shooting/article_ddf010ef-d10d-579d-a3d1-9626c8e36db5.html

Donate directly to the Carter family to support #ResourcingRepair :

$cashapp JenJen913 Venmo: Jen-Carter-13

Want to support Race Capitol’s independent reporting?

✨ Subscribe to our show on your favorite podcast platform ✨ Join our Patreon and become a monthly donor ✨ Purchase a LIMITED EDITION “Pack It Up Levar” Merchandise on our Bonfire Campaign

Thanks for your listens and shares of this week’s important episode!

Evictions and housing insecurity aren’t new issues in this country; since the beginning of European colonization of the Amerikas, displacement, forced encampment, and enslavement have been critical to sustaining the wealth of a small number of white male settlers. The foundation of this U.S. occupation has always rested on the practices of extraction and expansionism, building over anyone who dares to challenge the corporate elite's gross mismanagement of the land. The call to “free the land” is not simply about grass, water, or territory; it’s a call for reclamation: of culture, autonomy, and community control.

This week on Race Capitol, co-host Nomi Isaac sits down with Haitian-born Pan-African theorist, organizer, and author of the book “Take Back the Land: Land, gentrification, and the Umoja Village Shantytown,” Max Rameau. We discuss the links between policing and housing--and reflect on how a small community of housing insecure people launched a 6-month long occupation to protest against gentrification in FL.

In the spirit of Black August, we open the show with words + a call to action from New Afrikan prisoner, Shaka Shakur.

The movement for the abolition of slavery, which includes the dismantling of prisons and policing, has never had a shortage of prisoner resistance. The legacy of those like Harriet Tubman and Nat Turner—who inspired free people to join them in a struggle for collective liberation, all while operating as either captives or fugitives of the state—lives on within us and our movement. It is the folks on the inside, and those most affected by the violence of carceral systems, who continue to educate, agitate, and organize a resistance against the disenfranchisement of oppressed people. Together, we will lift the sky—with the ashes of the Amerikan plantation fading away into the Earth beneath our feet.

This week on Race Capitol, we discuss inside-outside solidarity movements taking place across the country. Co-host Nomi Isaac sits down with Prison Lives Matter members, Nick Grevens from IDOC Watch and Kwame Shakur, co-founder and chairman of the New Afrikan Liberation Collective. We close the show with words from Freedom Fighter and Former Black Panther member Assata Shakur.

Resources: - “Down: Reflections on Prison Resistance in Indiana” - “Radical Resistance for Prison Abolition” by Comrade Frank Talk, a Captive New Afrikan Revolutionary - “Stand Up, Struggle Forward” by Sanyika Shakur - “A War Within Our Own Boundaries: Lyndon Johnson's Great Society and the Rise of the Carceral State” by Elizabeth Hinton - Assata Shakur in Her Own Words: Rare Recording of Activist Named to FBI Most Wanted Terrorist List via Democracy Now!

Music: “Amerikan Sins” - Naomi Isaac “None of Us Are Free” - Solomon Burke “My Queen is Harriet Tubman” - Sons of Kemet “The Guillotine” - The Coup

For the week of June 9, 2021 Race Capitol interviews @nastassjaebony , an artist from Virginia who has a must-see production, Canaan: when I read your letter, I Hear Your Voice. Her show is brought to us by the @_canfoundation and will be shown at a FORMER COURTHOUSE in Hampton Virginia. Her brother Canaan is currently incarcerated, but this love letter to him goes far beyond his current place and this week’s interview is a peek into what it took to create such a powerful story. Not only is her work in a former Hampton courthouse, but specifically a volt, as she re-creates her own walls, not of a cage, just of love and family. Tune in this week to hear more about Nastassja as well the programming that's happening every weekend in the month of June.

Visit Canaan: When I Read Your Letters, I Hear Your Voice 101 Kings Way Hampton VA Now- June 26, 2021

This week on Race Capitol, we talk about solidarity from #RVA to #Palestine with journalist Siona Peterous and filmmaker and photographer Michael Kamel, the co-hosts of the @ownyourstories podcast.

Our dialogue centers creative and artistic tactics of resistance - from reclaimed spaces, to movement journalists, to musicians - fighting for collective liberation from the river to the sea.

We also hear Dr. Noura Erakat’s powerful speech from a #SaveSheikhJarrah rally in Washington D.C. last month. As always, we kick off this week’s episode with our Race Capitol #Reframe, looking at the latest local, national, and international headlines.

Support our independent Black media platform by subscribing where you listen to podcasts, sharing + bookmarking this post, and donating to us on #Patreon

Featured Music: “Free Palestine” - Abe Batson “Free Palestine” - Genocide “‘Merica” - Rebelationz

Resources: Follow on instagram: @OwnYourStories, @KamelWorld, @see.oh.nah, @nouraerakat, @DCPFAF Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions on Israel https://bdsmovement.net/ DC Palestinian Film & Arts Festival https://www.dcpfaf.org/ Justice For Some(book by Noura Erakat) https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=26507 Freedom Is a Constant Struggle (book by Angela Davis) https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/780-freedom-is-a-constant-struggle Except for Palestine (book by Marc Lamont Hill) https://thenewpress.com/books/except-for-palestine Gaza in Context http://www.gazaincontext.com/ What Does Palestine Mean for Black America? A Conversation in Partnership with the Dream Defenders (panel discussion) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqn2_os_LJY Israel now holding 13 Palestinian journalists https://rsf.org/en/news/israel-now-holding-13-palestinian-journalists

Reframe Resources: Isiah Brown GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-the-family-of-isiah-brown?utm_campaign=p_cp_url&utm_medium=os&utm_source=customer Chesterfield's third-largest mobile home park could change hands. Residents worry what comes next https://richmond.com/news/local/chesterfields-third-largest-mobile-home-park-could-change-hands-residents-worry-what-comes-next/article_2ce3f267-a4c4-59e7-96a9-365b66364f69.html Latinos have become the second-most vaccinated in Virginia. Community clinics are a major reason why https://richmond.com/news/local/latinos-have-become-the-second-most-vaccinated-in-virginia-community-clinics-are-a-major-reason/article_d73629b3-5e11-5881-a67c-f3c5f295b8be.html Concerns about missing work may be a barrier to coronavirus vaccination https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/05/27/time-off-vaccine-workers/ Historic Deception Bill Passes Illinois Legislature, Banning Police from Lying to Youth During Interrogations https://innocenceproject.org/historic-deception-bill-passes-illinois-legislature-banning-police-from-lying-to-youth-during-interrogations/ Arizona Plans Executions Using Same Poison Gas Used in Nazi Death Camps https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/may/28/arizona-gas-chamber-executions-documents U.S. unveils $310 mln in Central America aid https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/us-unveils-310-mln-central-america-aid-guatemala-agrees-work-together-migration-2021-04-27/ Who is Naftali Bennett, Israel’s potential prime minister? https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/5/31/naftali-bennett-who-is-israels-new-potential-prime-minister Israel and Colombia: The ever more special relationship https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/israel-and-colombia-ever-more-special-relationship Birds of a Fascist feather: why Israel is aiding Colombia’s crackdown on protesters https://mronline.org/2021/05/31/birds-of-a-fascist-feather-why-israel-is-aiding-colombias-crackdown-on-protesters/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=birds-of-a-fascist-feather-why-israel-is-aiding-colombias-crackdown-on-protesters All Eyes on Calí, Colombia https://blackallianceforpeace.com/newsletter/alleyesoncalicolombia

This week on Race Capitol, we spill the tea on the CRB! We talk with Jewel Gatling + Angela Fontaine of the Richmond Civilian Review Board Taskforce to discuss how the taskforce came about, the barriers that they are facing, the obstacles they’ve overcome, and what we can expect moving forward. As always, we kick things off with our Race capitol reframe, diving into local, national and international headlines.

Support our independent Black media platform by subscribing where you listen to podcasts, sharing this track, and donating to us on Patreon (www.patreon.com/racecapitol)

Join RVA CRB meetings each Wednesdays at 6:30pm via zoom: https://vcu.zoom.us/j/97009304361#success. Follow them on twitter @RVACRB and reach out to the taskforce via email at crbrva@gmail.com

Episode resources:

Who Polices RPD? Race Capitol episode from 2019 https://soundcloud.com/user-461048344/episode-10-who-polices-rpd

Richmond's police oversight board would be among nation's most wide-ranging if funding approved https://richmond.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/richmonds-police-oversight-board-would-be-among-nations-most-wide-ranging-if-funding-approved/article_f5fbe7b9-57ab-5eaa-ae2d-e404e95dcdea.html

What Can Richmond Learn From Charlottesville CRB: https://vpm.org/news/articles/15921/what-can-richmond-learn-from-charlottesvilles-civilian-review-board

From our reframe:

Floyd one year later: Kalia Harris on holding powerful people accountable and keeping each other safe when governments don't: https://richmond.com/news/local/floyd-one-year-later-kalia-harris-on-holding-powerful-people-accountable-and-keeping-each-other/article_02577e00-0e87-5c82-8bb9-65f98e1b0af9.html

Campaigns to Defund Police Have Seen Major Wins — and They’re Not Stopping https://truthout.org/articles/campaigns-to-defund-police-have-seen-major-wins-and-theyre-not-stopping/

People Expected Police Behavior to Change After George Floyd’s Murder. The Numbers Tell a Different Story: https://time.com/6046645/police-killings-2021/

Emails show Minneapolis police chief coordinated with PR pros to fight council, protect budget https://minnesotareformer.com/2021/05/24/with-budget-on-the-line-minneapolis-police-chief-coordinated-with-political-operatives-to-lobby-the-city-council-emails-show/

OPINION: Privatizing Creighton: https://m.styleweekly.com/richmond/opinion-privatizing-creighton/Content?oid=17474563

CDC COVID-19 Data Tracker: https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/

Black Lives Matter activists said a man tried to hit them with his car. The suspect turned out to be a judge https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/05/17/north-carolina-judge-protesters-hit/

Charleston church shooter starts appeal in conviction, sentencing in Richmond: https://www.nbc12.com/2021/05/25/charleston-church-shooter-starts-appeal-conviction-sentencing-richmond/

IMF pitches $50B plan to end coronavirus pandemic https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/5/21/imf-pitches-50b-plan-to-end-coronavirus-pandemic SENATE PREPARING $10 BILLION BAILOUT FUND FOR JEFF BEZOS SPACE FIRM https://theintercept.com/2021/05/25/jeff-bezos-blue-origin-senate-bailout/

To distract from Gaza slaughter, Israel lobby manufactures antisemitism freakout https://thegrayzone.com/2021/05/24/gaza-slaughter-israel-lobby-antisemitism/

Israeli Police Round Up Palestinian Protesters Out of Global Spotlight https://theintercept.com/2021/05/24/israeli-police-round-palestinian-protesters-global-attention-fades/?utm_campaign=theintercept&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social

This week on Race Capitol, Juniper (@wetland_maroon) from Maroon Grove Freedom Farms discusses their call to action this Thursday at Sussex City Council to #StopTheQuarry. The council will hear comments regarding the newest quarry being proposed by Titan MidAtlantic Aggregates.

Tune in to hear how the Black Liberated land of Maroon Groove Freedom Farm was attained through reparations & what's at stake if Titan Midatlantic is granted to exploit the land by depleting another quarry. As always we kick off our episode with our Race Capitol reframe, where we explore local headlines such as #evictions, national headlines with our #COVIDWatch and international stories from #Colombia and #Palestine

This week on Race Capitol, we revisit audio from our very first episode in 2018 -- talking about justice for Marcus-David Peters. This Friday, May 14th, 2021 marks three years since Marcus-David Peters was killed by Richmond police officer Michael Nyantakyi while suffering a mental health crisis.

Since then, so much has happened; but the Richmond police department and the City of Richmond have yet to be held accountable for his murder, which was ruled a “justifiable homicide”.

Even after a global uprising for Black lives - including over 100 days of protest here in Richmond last summer - Marcus’ case has yet to be re-opened, and Richmond commonwealth attorney Colette McEachin has doubled down on the ruling in the case. The community has been clear on what their demands are - and these demands can be met swiftly. Colette McEachin can re-open the case. The police, both Richmond police and Virginia State police, can be defunded and abolished.

This year, the Richmond Police have brutalized countless individuals, including many of you, listening to this show. They shot Orlando Carter Jr. from behind on New Year’s Eve, and continue to maintain that there was nothing wrong with their actions. We know that the police are violent, and we will not be silent. Our silence can cost us our lives and the future of our descendants.

we start by hearing from Princess Blanding, sister to Marcus-David Peters, and Princess, by the way, is currently a candidate for governor here in Virginia.

After that, we hear city council testimony from community organizer Rebecca Keel, and delve into co-host Chelsea Higgs Wise’s conversation with Dr. Eli Coston and Cory “Ulysses” Carter of the VCU YDSA chapter in 2018. We will also revisit some archived audio along the way.

This weekend, Marcus-David Peters’ family and the community will gather at Marcus David Peters circle together for a celebration of life beginning at 1pm on Saturday, May 15th.

This week, Race Capitol interviewed the West Catholic Lady Burrs Girls Basketball team, the 2020-2021 PIAA Class AAA Girls Pennsylvania State Champions. Joining us to dive into their journey is Daziy Wilson, Ti’Eisha Walker, Patience Sanders, and Coach Beulah Osueke. Coach Osueke not only led the team to their first state title in the West Catholic basketball program’s history, girls or boys, but this is the first time a girl’s state championship team in Pennsylvania has been led by a Black woman.

We hear about the barriers from the pandemic on top of roadblocks due to their place, space and time of living, going to school and playing ball in West Philadelphia. Listen as we reflect on the stories of our own youth in Richmond, Virginia and leave inspired by these historic champions, the West Catholic Lady Burrs.

The movement for Black lives and liberation is more than just a Chauvin verdict. Throughout the summer, calls for justice extended far beyond police convictions, this week on Race Capitol we revisit archived audio from the streets of Richmond in the summer of 2020 and ground ourselves in the fight for Justice for Black Lives.

At a time where the Richmond City Council is considering giving the racist police almost $10 million more dollars in funding on top of salary raises when the community is demanding that the police be defunded and abolished….what does justice look like?

Tune in as we explore this and speak to community activist Allan-Charles Chipman about the Richmond Budget and hear his thoughts on the implications of the George Floyd verdict for Richmond. As always, we kick off the episode with the latest local, national, and international headlines in our Race capitol reframe. Please like, share, subscribe to our Black feminist media platform #DefundThePolice #AbolishThePolice #RVA #Radio #VA #AbolitionNow #GeorgeFloyd Resources: The Black Joy Experience prod. by OnRae LaTeal Police and Thieves by Junior Murvin

Damon Harris of Tealhouse Company joins Chelsea Higgs Wise to discuss what he sees is stopping Black homeowners, renters and eager home buyers from finding affordable homes.

During the show you'll hear a clip from Omari Al-Qadaffi of Leaders of the New South. His comments come from the Valentine's Controversial History Discussion from 2020

This week on Race Capitol, co-host Chelsea Higgs Wise interviewed four members of the UR Black Student Coalition Coordinating Committee who are organizing the UR disaffiliation starting tomorrow, March 25, 2021 @protectourweb. Thank you to Shira Greer, Jesse Amankwaah, Jordyn Lofton, and Simone Reid who share what it is like to be a Black student on the campus of University of Richmond and why this activism is necessary for the quality of education of future Black students attending UR.

The demands are:

1) We demand the names of Ryland Hall and Mitchell-Freeman Hall be changed, specifically, removing the names of Robert Ryland and Douglas Southall Freeman from these buildings. 2) We demand expanded academic accommodations for all students in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 3) We demand the University subsidize off-campus mental health services for Black students due to the underdevelopment and understaffing of Counseling and Psychological Services.

So far the university has made some steps, but took the most egregious step no one asked for by attaching John Mithell Jr.’s name beside the name of the enslaver. Refusing to keep up with what universities are doing across the nation and commonwealth was the last straw for Black UR students, but you have to tune in to truly grasp the what our young leaders are working through on top of surviving a pandemic.

Email protectourweb@gmail.com for more and be sure to subscribe to Race Capitol wherever you listen to podcast and become a month patreon donor.

Caring for the land is resistance to whiteness. The accelerating climate catastrophe calls upon us to reestablish a relationship to the Earth, as well as connect the struggles of the land to the broader movement for total liberation. This week on Race Capitol we explore the many ways the Amerikan Empire is fueling environmental destruction in Black, Brown, and Native communities, and how oppressed folks are fighting back against this persisting, settler-colonial violence.

First, our co-host, Naomi Isaac, sits down with María Torres-López (she/her/ella), the founder of Diáspora En Resistencia (@diaspora_en_resistencia) , where we discuss the toxic coal ash and other eco-violence impacting Puerto Rico. Maria delves into the fight for total sovereignty for the Puerto Rican people as the question of PR’s statehood continues to become a national discussion.

Next we hear from Eriqah Vincent, Network Engagement Director and long time member of Power Shift Network, Eriqah talks about PSN’s upcoming virtual convergence featuring guest speaker, Dr. Angela Davis! Later, Eriqah gives us the tea on Johnny Appleseed and we discuss how COVID-19, white nationalism, and state-sponsored violence are fueling environmental injustice in BIPOC communities.

Finally, Thelonius Cook, a farmer and the owner of Mighty Thundercloud Edible Forest, talks with us about the importance of Black food sovereignty, as well as the institutionalized racism that keeps Black farmers on the margins.

Be sure to subscribe to Race Capitol on your favorite podcasting app to catch our full interviews!

You can follow our guest speakers on social media:

María Torres-López - Instagram: @diaspora_en_resistencia, Twitter: @diasporaresiste Eriqah Vincent - Instagram: @e.for.ecowomanist and @power_shift, Twitter: @powershiftnet Thelonius Cook - Instagram: @thelonius13 and @edibleforest

This week on Race Capitol, tune in to our latest: "Reclamation East End: Resisting the Recreation Plantation", where we dive into an in-depth interview with Brian Palmer of the Friend of the East End, about his entry into the work of reclaiming East End Cemetery and archiving Richmond Black history. The cemetery has over 15,000 people buried there and is at risk of becoming a new bike lane and green space, per the Enrichmond plan. The Enrichmond master plan is lacking the critical preservation component that would ensure the evidence of Black existence and resistance isn’t buried under gentrification to come.

We discuss how the Enrichmond Foundation has exploited the labor and efforts of the descendants of East End Cemetery. The white led non-profit has now been given ownership of the land, as they are the sole recipient of the $400,000 grant from the Virginia Outdoor Association and now is planning what we call the “recreation plantation”, that includes construction but no preservation. Per usual, the nonprofit industrial complex has teamed up with Black elected officials who have lost the political will and moral courage to fight, and still, we rise. The resistance to our sacred spaces lives on through persistence of the Friends of the East End Cemetery.

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It takes our team about 30 hours each week to research, interview, record, and produce our politically educational episodes. Be sure to become a monthly sustainer of our independent Black media platform by joining our #patreon www.patreon.com/racecapitol

-- Resources: Brain Palmer University of Richmond Visiting Professor Profile: https://journalism.richmond.edu/faculty/bpalmer/ New York Times East End Cemetery: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/07/opinion/sunday/for-the-forgotten-african-american-dead.html In Need of Repair, richmond Magazine East End Cemetery: https://richmondmagazine.com/news/news/in-need-of-repair/ The Nation: Reclaiming Black History, One Grave At a Time: https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/reclaiming-black-history-one-grave-at-a-time/ Style Weekly Brian Palmer Wins Peabody Award: https://www.styleweekly.com/richmond/richmonds-brian-palmer-wins-peabody-award-for-investigation-into-spending-on-confederate-memorials/Content?oid=14579165 WRIC East End Cemetery Grant Voting Promotion: https://www.wric.com/news/local-news/friends-of-east-end-cemetery-competing-for-25k-grant/ Why Does this Old Cemetery Matter: https://www.readingthepictures.org/2016/05/brian-palmer-old-cemetery/ AtlaticBlackStar Black Leaders fight to Save and restore Black Cememtaries https://atlantablackstar.com/2021/02/16/jim-crow-is-embedded-into-the-landscape-leaders-fight-to-save-and-restore-black-cemeteries-in-richmond-after-years-of-neglect/ 1708 East End Cemetery: https://www.1708gallery.org/exhibitions/exhibition-detail.php?id=99 VPR East end Article: https://www.vqronline.org/photography/2020/12/lives-east-end Church Hill People’s News (CHPN) East End Cemetery: https://chpn.net/2020/11/14/friends-of-east-end-update/ Dumbarton Oaks East End Article: https://www.doaks.org/research/garden-landscape/project-grants/palmer-2017-2018 2016 Vimeo Timelapse video of East End Cemetery Clean Up: https://vimeo.com/190653055

This week, we start off Women’s History month by bringing you a remix of our Birth of a Nation episode from 2020. Montgomery’s own Michelle Browder, is an advocate working to honor our Mothers of Gynecology, Anarcha, Lucy and Betsey, who were the enslaved Afrikan women whose suffering and survival served as a fundamental part of reproductive medical science.

As always, tune into the top of the episode to catch up with the latest local, national, and international news with the Race Capitol reframe. Thanks for kicking back with us as we run back one of our favorites this week on Race Capitol. Be sure to become a monthly sustainer by visiting www.patreon.com/racecapitol and subscribe to our show wherever you listen to podcasts.

Resources: https://www.anarchalucybetsey.org/ Michele Browder Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iammorethan1/ NCIA Mid-Atlantic Equity Panel March 17: https://thecannabisindustry.org/event/ncia-committee-insights-no-time-to-waste-putting-equity-first-in-the-mid-atlantic-region/ Marijuana Justice CannaHour Friday March 5: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/marijuana-justice-32329528565 Justice Forward Legislative Recap: March 11th: https://forms.gle/K4YZt7eiNFJo6XYKA https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2018/11/27/virginia-portion-amazons-hq-should-acknowledge-what-lies-beneath/ GMU Arlington Plantation: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/abingdon-plantation-ruins Was The Killing of Ahmad Erekat an Extrajudicial Execution? https://www.thenation.com/article/world/erekat-execution-israel/

Today on Race Capitol, are you ready for the #ReeferRevolution? Tune in to hear all the details of the new crimes in the "legalization" bills from our co-host Chelsea Higgs Wise of Marijuana Justice VA. We get some tips about applying for a license from DMV-based cannabis lawyer Sulee Stinson Clay.

We hear directly from Uhuru Rowe, ahead of the #JusticeForUhuru rally this Saturday at 12pm. He tells his story from inside Greensville correctional. As always, we kick off our episode with the latest local, national, and international headlines during our Race Capitol reframe. Be sure to become a monthly sustainer by visiting www.patreon.com/racecapitol and subscribe to our show wherever you listen to podcasts.

This week on Race Capitol, issa Reefer Revolution! Part 2! Our February 18th episode features Valerie Slater from RISE for Youth and first hand accounts of racist marijuana policing from Richmond Hip Hop legend Micheal Millions, VCU Grad and historian Asia Medley, plus Mike Thomas, Black Farmer and owner of Grow Your Own. Be sure to listen for the end with a quick word from our friend Mary Pryor of Cannaclusive.

Race Capitol gives you the Reframe to cover the local, national and international news then co-host and Executive Director of Marijuana Justice, Chelsea Higgs Wise gives an update on the legalization bills before we hear from our guest voices.

Check out our resources below for more information about the legislation and other important updates.

Loving and learning from our show? Consider joining our Race Capitol patreon (www.patreon.com/racecapitol) and/or giving to our transcriber fund at CashApp $ChelseaHiggsWise

Resources:

House Bill for Legalization: https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?ses=212&typ=bil&val=hb2312 Senate Bill for Legalization: https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?ses=212&typ=bil&val=SB1406 Letter to the Governor: https://acluva.org/en/press-releases/aclu-va-and-24-organizations-lay-out-criteria-legalize-marijuana-right Virginia Is Moving Quickly on the Governor’s Cannabis Legalization Proposal. But What Happens Next? https://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/article/virginia-adult-use-cannabis-legalization-governor-ralph-northam-proposal-bills/ Marijuana Justice YouTube Past CannaHours including Mary Pryor from @Cannaclusive: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_8zHUCyFURFoDDZjr_7-fA Donate to Marijuana Justice: https://marijuanajustice.humanitru.com/donate Legalize It Right Virginia website: https://www.marijuanajustice.org/legalize-it-right RISE for Youth website: https://www.riseforyouth.org/ VPM reports: I’ve Dont time for this plant- Virginia aims to diversify marijuana industry, feature Mike Thomas https://vpm.org/news/articles/20129/ive-done-time-for-this-plant-virginia-aims-to-diversify-marijuana-industry

This Black history month, we will be focusing on the work that’s been done in the recent past for liberation and the present struggle to get free here in the fallen capitol of the confederacy. Today, we examine the work being done around police transparency and interrogating the relationship between VCU PD and RPD.

We go back into the archives and hear audio from the May 8th, 2019 Race Capitol episode where Adeola Ogunkeyede and Wyatt Rolla of LAJC plus, Dr. Eli Coston, all representing RTAP, joined to summarize the fight that started in 2017 to where they left off in 2019 resisting RMS.

Then, we will hear testimony from the June 10, 2019 public safety committee and look back to the Jan. 26, 2021 public safety committee hearing. Lastly, we will hear from Steven Ramlogan from VCU student power. We are joined by all three hosts as we analyze the upcoming records management MOU ordinance being heard in city council on Feb. 8.

Enjoy engaging with political education on our Black independent media platform? become a monthly sustainer on our patreon: www.patreon.com/racecapitol

Episode Resources:

2019 RTAP Report: https://www.richmondvatap.org/reports.php Local coverage of RTAP resistance to predictive policing records management system: https://www.nbc12.com/2019/04/04/group-raises-concern-over-rpds-record-management-system/ https://www.wtvr.com/2019/06/10/concerns-follow-richmond-police-plans-to-upgrade-record-management-system/?fbclid=IwAR3vPF3Jcfh8Qhf9oxyaS7NjFIRs1plfGAgZIdYVSEVgn4hrt2BTmeLauJk

This week on Race Capitol, we talk about the state of the police state. with members of Virginia Student Power Network, Mikey Ramlogan, Mikki Charles, and Sarandon Elliot about the youth anti-policing movement. Organizer and cultural critic Amber Starks joins us to dig deeper into policing under the new federal administration.

As always, we kick off the episode with the latest local, national, and international headlines in our race capitol reframe. Tune in and be sure to share and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform.

Become a monthly sustainer of our patreon www.patreon.com/racecapitol

This week on Race Capitol, tune in to the #VaLeg updates. With special guests Luca Suede Connolly from the Richmond Bail Fund to discuss how to oppose the anti-bail fund bill in the house and omari al-qadaffi from Leaders of the New South. to talk about the multiple pieces of housing legislation that are crucial for virginia human rights. Plus, hear from co-hosts Kalia Harris as she discusses higher education legislation and Chelsea Higgs Wise with your HIGHER ed update on marijuana legalization. Tune in today at 10am on WRIR.

Guests: Luca Suede Connolly Richmond Community Bail Fund Twitter: @RVABailFund IG: @rvabailfund Omari Al-Qadaffi Leaders of the New South, Legal Aid Justice Center Twitter: @rvanewsouth IG: @leadersofthenewsouth

Resources: Sabrina Moreno’s Virginia COVID-19 Reporting for Richmond Times Dispatch: https://richmond.com/news/local/a-day-after-hitting-nearly-10-000-new-covid-cases-va-records-7-245-more/article_7e4c7a5b-b60e-581a-b9b7-7e55160729a8.html

Legislative: Bills can be found by searching the HB/ SB number on LIS Virginia. https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?211+men+BIL Anti Bail Fund Bill: https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?211+sum+HB2152 To email the House Courts of Justice committee to oppose the anti-bail fund bill: https://tinyurl.com/NoToHB2152 Script for opposing the anti bail fund bill: https://www.instagram.com/p/CKPc0BqldFi/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link To learn more about Marijuana Justice Virginia, visit: www.marijuanajustice.org Register for Saturday CannaHour Updates with Marijuana Justice: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cannahour-updates-with-mary-pryor-tickets-137434874409 Sign Marijuana Justice Petition: http://bit.ly/legalizeitright To learn more about the higher education legislation, follow @vastudentpower on all social media for the latest updates

For more on Omari’s interview: Leaders of new south video: https://youtu.be/lP6ROdoAD-s , https://youtu.be/f479IKX7zMM RRHA meetings: https://www.rrha.com/about/board/public-meetings/ You must sign up to speak in advance here: https://fs23.formsite.com/rrhaforms/form1/index.html Join the RRHA meeting online at: https://www.gotomeeting.com/meeting/join-meeting and enter access code 609-564-741 Or by phone at: (646) 749-3122

This week on Race Capitol, we talk about 2021. The fascist insurrection, COVID-19 pandemic, mounting evictions, and an update on the GRTC complaint filed by community activist, Omari Al Qadaffi.

For the first episode of 2021, all three hosts talk about the latest news in our reframe and provide analysis on what’s happening in the fallen capitol of the confederacy, Richmond, VA.

Share, Subscribe and consider becoming a monthly patron on our patreon to keep our independent media platform going www.patreon.com/racecapitol

This week on Race Capitol, we talk about The Mothers of Gynecology, Anarcha, Lucy and Betsey who are being memorialized with a new monument being erected by Michelle Browder and her team “I am More Than” in Montgomery, Alabama. Our convo covers some history of racist medical research and the launch of space-making story-telling happening in the deep south.

We also cover the latest headlines in our Race Capitol Reframe segment, including highlights from our COVID-19 + Eviction watches.

Support our independent narrative-shifting work by becoming a monthly sustainer on Patreon www.patreon.com/racecapitol

Learn more about the “I Am More Than” Project here: https://www.anarchalucybetsey.org/

This week on Race Capitol, we are talking about the REEFER REVOLUTION! join our hosts as we talk about how to #legalizeitright in Virginia with Mary Pryor, co-founder of Cannaclusive, and Chelsea Higgs Wise, show host and Executive Director of Marijuana Justice Virginia! Are you ready for the revolution?

Resources: Independent Virginia JLARC study: http://jlarc.virginia.gov/landing-2020-marijuana-legalization.asp Gov Workgroup Study Report: https://www.governor.virginia.gov/media/governorvirginiagov/governor-of-virginia/pdf/Final-Report-on-Marijuana-Legalization-11.30.20.pdf Marijuana Justice website: www.marijuanjustice.org

November 25, 2020, on our episode “Solidarity Forever”, hosts Chelsea and Kalia talk to Afro-Indigenous activists in Portland Melanin Msvkoke (@melaninmvskoke) and Mark Herrera (@MarkAnthony195) about the critical role of Black and indigenous solidarity in our collective movement for total liberation.

We also go through the latest headlines during our Race Capitol reframe segment.

Become a monthly sustainer for our independent Black media platform on our patreon: patreon.com/racecapitol

Donate to the Richmond Indigenous Society (venmo: @spitfire17) to support local work happening on Powhatan lands.

Link to “2 Live & Die on The Plains” by Frank Waln: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtSW75us_rM

Link to “RICHMOND” by Nickelus F: https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=ZB7otCmWApY&list=RDAMVMZB7otCmWApY

This week on Race Capitol, we will speak with members of the Richmond chapter of CounterPower, a US-based communist organization, about their book “Organizing for Autonomy: History, Theory, and Strategy for Collective Liberation” and about the role of militant research in creating a world that centers justice and liberation.

Join us at 10am on WRIR 97.3 FM for this conversation and after on your favorite streaming platforms.

Purchase the CounterPower book here: https://www.commonnotions.org/organizing-for-autonomy

Guests: Asma (they/them): part of Richmond chapter of CounterPower and Lil Rad Library; Tay (they/them): part of Richmond chapter of CounterPower; involved with Mutual Aid RVA Patrick (he/him): part of the Richmond chapter of CounterPower; currently involved in VCORE, left-wing opposition group within VEA

Become a monthly sustainer for our independent Black media platform patreon.com/racecapitol

Why all the kids are Communists (PT. 2) Race Capitol co-host, @naaayonce sits down with feminist, abolitionist youth voices to discuss moving past elections and into revolution. Joining us is Asma Alomari (@halalsoulfood + @lilradlibrary ), Natalie Romero (@nisantas_niputas ), Sarin Glenn (@hermosxsol ), Kalynn Francis-Powell (@imagineabolitionrva + @itsinthewaterz ) and Aida Campos (@a.e.campos )!

You can listen to “Why All the Kids are Communists (and you should be too!)” or last week’s episode, “Burn Down the Amerikan Plantation” on your favorite podcasting app ! #LANDBACK #TURTLEISLAND

ll three hosts join the Reframe and the first ever Race Capitol Book Talk that features the book: BURN DOWN THE AMERICAN PLANTATION. Hear the hosts give a synopsis on the book and how its relates to our place, space and time of Richmond, Virginia in 2020 as we build our freedom land and work towards abolishing slavery once and for all.

Episode links: Burn Down the American Plantation full book PDF: https://www.revolutionaryabolition.org/bdap.pdf

Clips that are not ours: -Janelle monae, Turntables -Malcolm X: https://www.instagram.com/p/CHJEUZ2FMYe/ -Fred Hampton: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVzbSvWaMkc -Lorraine Hansberry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqxjc7PULJ8

Wednesday at 10am Tune in to “Project Innocence” where Race Capitol interviews Jarrett Adams, a once wrongly accused man who was set free by the help of the innocence project and now a lawyer fighting for Terrence Richardson and Ferrone Claibourne right here in Virginia.

In 1998, a police officer was murdered, but after 20 years the community and the courts agree that Terrence nor Ferrone are guilty of taking the life of an officer, yet they remain sentenced to life.

Tune in to this episode, follow their page @notguilty_servinglife and share the flyer for their vigil on November 2.

This week Race we discuss Organizing through the Divide. Chels talks to author Dr. Peter Rachleff & labor educator Bill Fletcher Jr about how the institutions of Richmond have worked strategically to divide the movement and how the Lee Monument represents the literal fight in the court and the current symbolic fight to defend Black lives.

We go back to why the gigantic monument was proposed in 1890; public memory can verbalize that it was to solidify the white race but do you know the context of the time?

Have you learned about the Workingmen’s Reform Party that built the old City Hall on an 8 hour day?

Have you learned that it was this labor organizing movement that brought the proposal to glorify a Confederate General and construct the “Lost Cause” narrative we still fight today?

Join us this week to learn about this third political party that organized through the national Knights of Labor but was stopped in their tracks with the contract to build the statue of Robert E. Lee. Tune in this week on Race Capitol, and don't forget to subscribe!

Learn something? Join our Race Capitol patreon and support our work as we interrogate the racial narratives of our place, space and time in Richmond, VA

Music: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=RDyfQNdwgvJMw&feature=share&playnext=1

resources from episode: -Learn and Read from Bill Fletcher Jr.: http://billfletcherjr.com/books/ -The Story Behind The Robert E Lee Statue by Peter Rachleff: https://progressive.org/dispatches/story-behind-lee-statue-richmond-virginia-rachleff-200707/ -Industrial Slavery in the Old South by Robert S. Starobin https://www.jstor.org/stable/3112636?seq=1 -Black Labor in Richmond VAa 1865-1890 https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/catalog/65ngq4ck9780252060267.html -The Freedman’s Savings Bank: -https://www.treasury.gov/connect/blog/pages/freedmans-savings-bank.aspx -The Half Thats Never Been Told by Edward E Baptist: https://www.wsj.com/articles/book-review-the-half-has-never-been-told-by-edward-e-baptist-1409952510 -Yohuru Williams http://www.yohuruwilliams.net/YW_publications.html -Marcus Rediker: https://redemmas.org/titles/16303-the-amistad-rebellion--an-atlantic-odyssey-of-slavery-and-freedom -Never Caught by Dr Erica Armstrong: https://www.amrevmuseum.org/read-the-revolution/history/never-caught-washingtons-relentless-pursuit-their-runaway-slave-ona -The Debt: What Americans Owe to Blacks: http://www.randallrobinson.com/debt.html -Amazon is building on a plantation: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2018/11/27/virginia-portion-amazons-hq-should-acknowledge-what-lies-beneath/?tid=ss_mail&utm_term=.2fb9b0917c41 -Richmond Magazine: Old City Hall: https://richmondmagazine.com/news/richmond-history/40-moments-you-can-fight-for-city-hall/

Wednesday 10am on WRIR Race Capitol Roundtable comes to the airwaves, featuring Frank Hunt who shares his story of being hit by an RPD rubber bullet in the eye this summer. The hosts revisit this Monday’s Richmond City Council vote to strict the public comment to ban the use of military weapons, as well as the Race Capitol Reframe bringing you the latest local, national and international news in defending Black lives. Learning and motivated from our show? Join our PATREON to help fuel the late night production hours and be sure you're subscribed wherever you listen to podcasts!

Catch up to the race Capitol Roundtable where we discuss the upcoming legislation for Richmond City Council, a resolution to ban military grade weapons.

The full council is set to strike the resolution from the agenda without hearing public comment. We need the public to push the council to hear our voices and to vote to ban these weapons.

We talk about the history the funding and speak to Frank Hunt who was shot in the eye with a rubber bullet.

Sign the petition: bit.ly/VA-BAN-TEARGAS

We are working to ban all these weapons from across the Commonwealth! Join us!

This week at 10am Race Capitol interrogates the fallen capital of the Confederacy’s resistance to de-militarizing the Richmond City Police Department. We revisit the July 28th City Council’s Public Safety Committee meeting that heard a resolution patronized by Councilman Jones to ban non-lethal military weapons.

Well barely. After being reminded about the public’s time to comment on the resolution, the committee made up of Councilwoman Trammel (chair), Councilwoman Gray (vice chair) and Councilman Hilbert heard the public that all said to support the resolution to ban the weapons. But on Monday October 12th, the full City Council will meet with the recommendation per the committee to strike the resolution.

Tune in this week to hear testimony from the people, the latest local and national news PLUS this week we have a call to action: sign the petition to tell council to de-militarize the Richmond Police Department.

Links for description: -Resolution proposed to ban non-lethal weapons: https://richmondva.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=8644065&GUID=366E4B46-88AE-4ACC-8C71-7163F3B499CD -July 28 Richmond City Public Safety Committee Meeting: http://richmondva.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=1&clip_id=2058 -Post Office Mailboxes are robbed throughout Metro area: https://t.co/3kO4GgXiXU?amp=1 -Mayor’s Task Force to Re-Imagine Policing https://t.co/OAblYSEe6c?amp=1 Commonwealth Attorny files 18 possible indictments against 8 RPD officers https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/grand-jury-considers-18-sealed-indictments-related-to-richmond-police-actions-during-unrest -The occupant of the White House has contracted COVID19: https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/10/06/920785708/cutting-edge-covid-19-care-for-trump-not-available-for-regular-folks -Policing Protest Spending: https://vpm.org/news/articles/14944/richmond-police-spent-nearly-2-million-responding-to-protests -Policing Protest Spending update: https://vpm.org/news/articles/15474/for-protests-rpd-spent-over-200k-on-tear-gas-vans-meals -Politics Now: Teargas impacts on menstral cycle https://www.instagram.com/tv/CGBsY2NJ6gz/?igshid=1gw4kt31b54k9 -Richmond Physicians speak out against the weapons: https://vpm.org/news/articles/14367/doctors-urge-richmond-police-to-stop-pepper-spraying-gassing -Letter to the Editor written by Alan Dow after the Council postponed the meeting until September: https://richmond.com/opinion/letters-to-editor/letter-to-the-editor-july-31-2020-use-of-chemical-irritants-for-crowd-control-must/article_3f9392cb-2cd6-5113-a55a-f8e7ecedbbd7.html -Matt Schefft was quoted by the RTD in response to the subcommittee's decision not recommend a ban: https://richmond.com/news/local/city-council-subcommittee-opposes-ban-on-non-lethal-weapons-deployed-against-protesters/article_e33bb05f-b411-5469-86af-f97b7287715a.html -More From doctors: https://www.bustle.com/p/can-tear-gas-affect-your-period-doctors-explain-what-to-know-22987529#:~:text=Deploying%20tear%20gas%20creates%20panic,or%20have%20underlying%20health%20conditions.%E2%80%9D -ruling on Teargas: https://www.wbtv.com/2020/07/24/judge-dissolves-restraining-order-that-limited-cmpds-use-riot-control-agents/ -How they control us: https://emergency.cdc.gov/agent/riotcontrol/factsheet.asp -VPM reporting on money spent: https://vpm.org/news/articles/15474/for-protests-rpd-spent-over-200k-on-tear-gas-vans-meals -Chile suspends use of tear gas in protests (2011) https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-chile-suspends-use-of-tear-gas-in-protests-2011may17-story.html -Information about tear gas + Arab Spring https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-tear-gas-works-a-rundown-of-the-chemicals-used-on-crowds/

This week guests on Race Capitol ask the question, “When Is My Punishment Unconstitutional?” We welcome Jessica Moore who is best friends with Virgil Tucker, Jr. Tucker is a Richmonder who is currently advocating for his life in the Richmond City “Justice” Center. Plus Christopher Rashad Green of New Virginia Majority shares about the “Bring Them Home” Rally this Saturday at 1pm which will target Virginia’s top cop Brian Moran to prioritize decareration. Finally, Wednesday’s episode features words by Askari Danso, who is incarcerated in North River Correctional Center and inspired this week’s title. Thank you to all of our guests and let's BRING THEM HOME.

Sources: -https://www.justia.com/criminal/procedure/search-and-seizure-rules/the-good-faith-exception/ -https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-a-conservative-6-3-majority-would-reshape-the-supreme-court/ -https://www.nbc12.com/2019/10/01/most-public-defenders-richmond-make-less-than-secretary-prosecutors-office-they-want-raise/ -https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-financial-markets-pandemics-jerusalem-austin-2097fdd24e809f892550cabbb687e5f8 -https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-54342356 -https://www.nbc12.com/2020/09/23/dr-avula-sheriff-irving-address-inmates-covid-concerns-jails-during-virtual-town-hall/ -www.newvirginiamajority.org

Music: -https://youtu.be/lw6GFCupesI -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yxoob6aPtk

Tune in at 10am on @wrir973

This week on Race Capitol we discuss oppression and stare repression in our movement with guest King Salim Khalfani, accompanied by clips featuring the voices of activist Kimberly Jones and sholar and academic Dr Angela Davis.

Catch the entire episode on your favorite podcast platform and if you like what you hear, consider joining our Patreon!

richmondva #oppression #radio #revolution #protest

Today’s show includes audio from a press conference put on by the Virginia Student Power Network on Monday September 14, 2020. Today’s guests include Ibby Han of Virginia Student Power Network, Taylor Maloney of VCU, Kibiriti Majuto and Sidney Miralao of The College of William & Mary, Sarandon Elliot of University of Virginia, Darnshi Patel of George Mason University, and Brian Bennet of Virginia Tech. Big thanks to all of our guests for sharing their stories.

Some additional resources to check out to supplement today’s episode are: https://docs.google.com/document/d/18OpssEryhg36TeyebpqzsuF6RNilsIhrEn0IXXymPmw/edit?usp=sharing -https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html -https://www.wric.com/news/education/vcu-students-move-into-campus-dorms-during-covid-19-pandemic/ -https://www.vastudentpower.org/campus-response

Race Capitol explores the steps of Black Liberation and the diversity of tactics while navigating the non-profit industrial complex. All three hosts join this week to discuss the complexities and dynamics of the institution that appears to hold influence over perceived progress.

Readings: -https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/fundi-none-shall-escape-radical-perspectives-in-the-caribbean.pdf -https://www.revolutionaryabolition.org/bdap.pdf -https://www.racialequitytools.org/resourcefiles/2010NPIndudtrialComplex.pdf -cover: https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Revolution_Will_Not_Be_Funded.html?id=QCEuDgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button

Video to watch: -https://youtu.be/2NQj7zKlHSc

Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23nJ7a08hxU&feature=youtu.be VisionaryLion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9RogCACgPc

After Richmond Police Department violently attack demonstrators on 9.1.2020 at the Richmond City "Justice" Center, we are re-airing with a short intro into the current. Listen to the options of our officials to address the pandemic impacting our siblings incarcerated.

See video from the police attack here: https://twitter.com/sabrinaamorenoo/status/1300940711181922305?s=20

Dr. Shawn Utsey joins the show to give information about his presentation that he gave to the Mayor's Taskforce for Re-Imagining Public Safety. Dr. Utsey explains that he doesn't think the Mayor's team heard him but we are listening to the detailed history and psychological pathology that has led to society as a whole criminalizing Black bodies. Thank you to Dr Utsey from Virginia Commonwealth University African American Studies department.

This week on Race Capitol, co-host Naomi Isaac talks with Sarin Glenn from Powershift Network, Virginia Student Power Network alumna, Aida Campos, VCU Student Power organizer, Taylor Maloney, and the librarian of the richmond based Lil Rad Library, Asma, to gain their perspective on the radicalization of today’s Black and Brown youth and why all the kids are claiming communism.

Aug 5, 2020 Race Capitol aligns #BLM to the Black Immigrant experience. Chelsea Higgs Wise interview Sylvie Bello from Cameroon American Council on their 10 year fight and what it feels like to balance the pandemics of constructed physical and social health disparities.

Race Capitol also invites organizers from the July 31, 2020 #FreeThemAllVA march to bring attention to the privately owned Farmville Virginia Immigrant Center of America where 93% of detainees have tested positive for COVID-19. Hear about their demands and what wealthy corporate investors rest comfortably in Richmond, Virginia profiting over the terrorism the Farmville ICA is creating on this generation.

Thanks to both our guests. Please follow and support their work-

Cameroon American Council: @camamercouncil https://m.facebook.com/CamAmerCouncil

Free Them All: On it @VAFreeThemAll —-Twitter @FreeThemAllVA —IG

https://linktr.ee/freethemallva

Featured music today: https://youtu.be/uJufZiQpoCc

This week Race Capitol gets some radical rest and airs a previously recorded episode and asks the listener to hear for the promises that the city of Richmond still awaits to be met. Richmond's Commonwealth Attorney's office has not had a competitive race since 2005 and has also not convicted any officer shootings.

Aint no justice in this town. Big thanks again to Justice Forward and Rebecca Keel for joining this interview.

On today’s #NoCopZone episode, we talk about getting police OUT of our schools with RPS teacher + @RichmondForAll organizer Jessica Shim, @RISEforYouth organizer Stephanie Younger (@blaquewomanist) + executive director Valerie Slater (@Valerie__Slater)

The show airs every Wednesday at 10am on WRIR LP 97.3 FM Richmond Independent Radio.

Resources for today’s episode:

www.blackfeministcollective.com - publication ran by Stephanie Younger Legal Aid Justice Center School Policing Advocacy Checklist https://www.justice4all.org/justchildren-program/schoolpolicing/sro-advocacy-checklist/ Students and teachers anonymously share what it's like to be 'Black At' Richmond-area schools https://richmond.com/news/local/students-and-teachers-anonymously-share-what-its-like-to-be-black-at-richmond-area-schools/article_09c63105-25c0-5a32-b54f-0eb59a7def9f.html We Want to Do More Than Survive: Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom http://www.beacon.org/We-Want-to-Do-More-Than-Survive-P1446.aspx On today’s #NoCopZone episode, we talk about getting police OUT of our schools with RPS teacher + @RichmondForAll organizer Jessica Shim, @RISEforYouth organizer Stephanie Younger (@blaquewomanist) + executive director Valerie Slater (@Valerie__Slater)

The show airs every Wednesday at 10am on WRIR LP 97.3 FM Richmond Independent Radio.

Resources for today’s episode:

www.blackfeministcollective.com - publication ran by Stephanie Younger Legal Aid Justice Center School Policing Advocacy Checklist https://www.justice4all.org/justchildren-program/schoolpolicing/sro-advocacy-checklist/ Students and teachers anonymously share what it's like to be 'Black At' Richmond-area schools https://richmond.com/news/local/students-and-teachers-anonymously-share-what-its-like-to-be-black-at-richmond-area-schools/article_09c63105-25c0-5a32-b54f-0eb59a7def9f.html We Want to Do More Than Survive: Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom http://www.beacon.org/We-Want-to-Do-More-Than-Survive-P1446.aspx

July 15, 2020 The hosts offer a Capitol Catch up for Race Capitol listeners on topics like the Robert E Lee Statue on Monument Avenue, the state of Virginia Evictions with Steve Fischbach from Virginia Law Poverty Center, plus the TWO task forces being talked about in the city of Richmond and finally the Reclamation Revivals taking place in the streets.

The demands remain, to dismantle all monuments of white supremacy including the racist instituions.

A big thank you this week to Style Weekly and David Dominique for featuring Race Capitol on the cover of this week's issue.

Featured Music: -https://soundcloud.com/onraewatkins/middle-finger-to-the-law-ft-fresco-steez-byp100-choir-onrae-lateal-mix -https://youtu.be/QR71QoHMdko

Liberation is a long, intergenerational movement. This week on Race Capitol we discuss the radical struggle for freedom by looking to the past, at the failed Reconstruction Era , to the present, at the looming danger of mass incarceration for Black Youth in the city, and to the future, for advice from the freedom fighters who will inherit our new society. Co-host Naomi Isaac is joined by the voices of Dr. Biko Agozino, counter colonial criminologist and author of “Black Women and the Criminal Justice System”, and Art Burton, Executive Director of Kinfolk Community Empowerment Center, accompanied by the sounds of BYP 100 Choir.

July 1, 2020 Race Capitol takes back pride for all Black Lives during the month of Pride. Host Chelsea Higgs Wise connects to organizers in Seattle to further connect parallels to our fight here in the Capital of the Confederacy.

This episode Chelsea shares voices from Aurora Higgs (she/ they)a performer and Queer Health advocate, Natasha Crosby (she/ her) a Black Pride RVA Board Member, a Seattle LGBTQ Activist Jake Pack (he/ him) and Virginia Organizer for Southerners On New Ground, Rebecca Keel (they/ them).

Hear more about the guests: Aurora Higgs: https://evolve-productions.com/aurorahiggs IG: AuroraWhoIsShe Twitter: AuroraWhoIsShe TikTok: AuroraWhoIsShe YOUTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPJGpBdyINrG_NP4b5KowaA/ CashApp: $Otterhausen Venmo: @Aurora-Higgs

Natasha Crosby: @natashadcrosby @Blackpriderva

Jake Pack: @itsjakepack

Rebecca Keel: @campiagn_mama @ignitekindred

UPDATED REBECCA KEEL INTERVIEW WITH EXCERPTS ON JULY 2*

On June 22, 2020, Black youth organizers announced it was time to #ReclaimRVA by renaming the space known as Richmond City Hall as Reclamation Square . Youth and allies held the space for over 7 hours until the Richmond Police Department and Virginia State Police approached the sit-in where a movie was about to begin in riot gear. The police then started tear gassing and shooting rubber bullets directly at the protestors.

This week some of the youth organizers who are comrades of hosts Kalia Harris and Naomi Isaac join Race Capitol to talk about why that space was chosen, what happened that evening from their perspectives and what could come next for the #RichmondProtests

More from June 22 and our Hosts in the press: -https://vpm.org/news/articles/14328/how-defunding-the-police-is-translating-into-policy-in-richmond -https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/935kp5/police-turned-richmond-virginia-into-a-war-zone-last-night

All sample rights from the episode reserved from original source: -https://youtu.be/eZmBy7C9gHQ -https://youtu.be/dFFWTsUqEaY -https://soundcloud.com/onraewatkins/middle-finger-to-the-law-ft-fresco-steez-byp100-choir-onrae-lateal-mix

Content Warning: This episode contains mentions of police violence, state sponsored terrorism, and white supremacy. Listener discretion is advised.

This week across the country, at least 5 Black people have been found hanging from a tree. As officials claim suicides, the Black community has a memory of such violence in times of progress and per history, those resisting wore a hood or a badge.

One June 7, 2020 a KKK leader in Henrico, Virginia drove his car through a group of protestors with no major injuries. Then on June 13th in Richmond, protestors were shocked to see a RPD SUV drive up on a medium, making contact with protestors but luckily with no injuries.

Both assaulted by vehicles, one by the KKK and one by the RPD but both very similar situations.

We hear from a protestor at each event and the show hosts provide commentary at the end to round out the last couple weeks.

This week we re-center the narrative.

This week all three co-hosts Chelsea Higgs Wise, Kalia Harris and Naomi Isaac, join the mic to talk about the fight for Black lives in Richmond, Virginia. We talk history, context, black youth organizing and whats next.

This week on Race Capitol we are talking about public education! Its budget season in RVA, so we will talk to 3rd district school board member Kenya Gibson, education organizer with Legal Aid Justice Center Brionna Nomi, VCU professor and RFA co-founder Kristin Reed, and director of Virginia Student Power Network, Ibby Han about people-first budgets and public ed.

On May 9, 2020 Me Leonor from the Richmond Times Dispatch reported on the Virginia data was missing the mark (link below). Within the reporting, we learned that John Hopkins Expert Nuzzo said she is troubled by states like Virginia that are lumping together antibody tests with more closely regulated diagnostic tests. She said the mixing of the two types of tests yields a murkier picture of the spread of COVID-19. Mel joins the show to talk more.

On May 14, 20120 the nation heard this reporting that was amplified by The Atlantic (link below) and the next morning a Virginia Coalition to Oppose the Reopening held a press conference. This episode includes the statements from the advocates and workers.

Finally, Dr. Julian Hayter, Associate Professor at University of Richmond and author of The Dream Is Lost: Voting Rights and the Politics of Race in Richmond, Virginia, joins the show to add a historical context on the continuance of political choices that do NOT center the most vulnerable in COVID in the city.

Articles from the episode and to continue the convo: Leonor RTD: https://www.richmond.com/special-report/coronavirus/virginia-misses-key-marks-on-virus-testing-as-leaders-eye-reopening/article_021e12c6-6d20-5030-9068-4caaeda495f7.html The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/05/covid-19-tests-combine-virginia/611620/ VA Coalition Press Conference: https://conta.cc/3fQNi2A Virginia Legislative Black Caucus Opposition: https://www.virginiamercury.com/blog-va/black-caucus-says-it-opposes-gov-northams-plan-to-reopen-virginia-friday/ Michael Paul Williams RTD: VLBC: https://www.virginiamercury.com/blog-va/black-caucus-says-it-opposes-gov-northams-plan-to-reopen-virginia-friday/ Presser: https://conta.cc/3fQNi2A RTD: https://www.richmond.com/special-report/coronavirus/virginia-misses-key-marks-on-virus-testing-as-leaders-eye-reopening/article_021e12c6-6d20-5030-9068-4caaeda495f7.html The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/05/covid-19-tests-combine-virginia/611620/ MPW RTD: https://www.richmond.com/news/local/central-virginia/williams-virginia-is-divided-about-reopening-this-pandemic-is-exploiting-our-divisions/article_70282672-dcf1-56b9-8ab4-8dde5edfe007.html

This week, we learn from the black advocates who are working to free our food, communities, and people from oppressive systems. We are joined with Juniper Battle (@wetland_maroon), educator and earthworker from Richmond, VA about Black farmwork, food justice, and land reparations. Then we hear from Andrea Miller, Co-Executive Director of People Demanding Action, from Caroline County, Virginia, to talk about Virginia’s legacy on environmental racism, as well as the truth about the Rappahannock Electric Cooperative (REC)--one the largest rural cooperatives in the nation. Next, United Parents Against Lead (UNPAL) Founder, Queen Zakia Shabazz, discusses the lead poisoning problem in Richmond, VA, and we reflect on our past governors attempts at correcting racial disparities. We continue our conversation with water organizer, Amaris Mitchell, from the Newark Water Coalition (@cleanwater4newark), to talk about water justice and the unique danger of Black Capitalists. Lastly, we end with remarks from Danville Nati

Race Capitol reflects on one of Richmond, Virginia's greatest tragedy due to police violence but also sparked the start of this platform. Creating people-first reporting started with MDP and we have re-mixed the first episode of Race Capitol from July 2018 to bring you the story and the demands straight from the organizers of Justice and Reformation.

We will be talking about Mutual Aid during COVID with Yaya Ogaldez of Mutual Aid Diaster Relief RVA, Kelly Henriquez of Masks for Essential Retail RVA, Yanet Amado - Student Organizer (UndocuRams + beyond) and soon-to-be VCU graduate, and Haydi Torres of Movimiento Cosecha.

Thanks so much to our guests. We would also like to acknowledge the organizers of Movimiento Cosecha, and organizers and community members everywhere, who have lost their lives to COVID-19. Check out more content from Black activists on the ground bringing you racial narratives from the former Capitol of the Confederacy on www.racecapitol.com.

Check out local coverage in #RVA https://vpm.org/news/articles/13510/organizers-say-covid-19-demands-solidarity-not-charity

Resources from today's episode: Definition of mutual aid: http://bigdoorbrigade.com/what-is-mutual-aid/ https://mutualaiddisasterrelief.org/about/ History of mutual aid: https://hsp.org/history-online/exhibits/richard-allen-apostle-of-freedom/the-free-african-society & https://philadelphiapartisan.com/2017/12/21/to-serve-the-people-contribution-to-a-defense-of-mutual-aid-revolutionary-culture-and-survival-pending-revolution/ Information about Richmond Mutual Aid Disaster Relief: https://www.instagram.com/mad_rva/

Check out these Orgs: Movimiento Cosecha: https://www.lahuelga.com/ UndocuRAMs: https://www.facebook.com/undocurams/ New Virginia Majority: https://www.newvirginiamajority.org/ National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC): https://nakasec.org/ CASA: https://wearecasa.org/who-we-are/

This week we hear ab the Virginia efforts lead across our advocacy systems to protect our most vulnerable.⁣ ⁣ Race Capitol discusses depopulation of public health vs the resistance to decareration of the public safety officials. ⁣ ⁣ We talk to Virginia actors committed to progress in our system and justice for all. ⁣ ⁣ This week we hear from VA 57th House District, Dr. Sally Hudson , Kim Rolla from Legal Aid Justice Center as well as Rebecca Keel from Southerns On New Ground and Valerie Slater with Rise For Youth ✊🏾⁣ ⁣ -Hear ab the 4/22 Governor’s amendment⁣ -Commonwealth Attorney authority ⁣ -Gov Northam’s power he’s not using ⁣ -The #rva car rally & talks with CA McEachin ⁣ -The youth whose lives are at risk at Bon Air Juvenile correctional facility. ⁣ ⁣ Thank you to everyone putting in people-first work to protect us all.

Race Capitol latest #420 episode featuring Hope Wiseman, Ashna Khanna of ACLU VA, Rep. Jewell Jones about what’s happening in Michigan and nationally, and our very own Chelsea Higgs Wise of Marijuana Justice. Get LIT with our #420 episode and one of our new hosts - the amazing Naomi Isaac!

we catch up on federal stimulus dollars with Preston Page with the Monarch Group , RVA municipal COVID advocacy with Dr. Kristin Reed of Richmond For All and wrap up the episode with the president of Fairfax County NAACP . Sean Perryman talks about the Fairfax County sheriff's deputy, with a history of involvement in fatal incidents, who has been charged with sexually assaulting an inmate in his custody.⁣ ⁣ Fairfax City Police say Patrick D. McPartlin, 45, of Warrenton was arrested and charged with object sexual penetration.⁣

Race Capitol continues with #womenshistorymonth by featuring the most stylish Richmonder of 2018 Ms. Mecca Williams AKA MeccaPresents... ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ We speak with her about what she’s been up to since gracing the cover of Richmond Magazine with a behind the scenes conversation about:⁣⁣⁣ “Black History Month Style Editorial” ⁣⁣⁣ Location: Richmond Black Business⁣⁣⁣ Photography by: @courtneyj804 ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣ Mecca Williams utilizes her voice to amplify many black businesses and vendors of today and the past here in Richmond, Virginia.

VA 2020 Legislative Wrap-Up: The Virginia General Assembly session just wrapped up on March 12, 2020! Catch up on the latest legislative updates with Mallory Noe Payne from Radio IQ and Roberto Roldan of VPM on today’s episode. Co-hosts for the day are Jase Hatcher from Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy and Race Capitol's newest team member, Kalia Harris, who also reps VA Student Power Network.

On March 1, 2020 Bree Newsome Bass and Zyahna Bryant were featured on a panel in Charlottesville at the Jefferson School of African American Heritage titled: Racial History and Black Feminism. Listen to the highlights of the panel as we dive back in time to re-live the brave moment of Newsome Bass removing the confederate flag in 2015 PLUS Virginia's own, Zy Bryant is celebrated as her portrait is added to an exhibition. Thank you to both as they work to remove confederate symbols, and congrats to VA for passing a bill for localities to control the future of their war memorials. #MonumentalJustice

Chelsea Higgs Wise sits with Ai-Jen Poo and Alicia Garza of the National Domestic Workers' Alliance to chat about their Black Women Vote rally last November. Then Alexsis Rodgers, the Care In Action VA State Director that leaders the non profit working under the National Domestic Workers' Alliance in the commonwealth updates listeners on legislation, the Domestic Workers' Bill of Rights.

Listeners are invited to be a fly on the wall as myself and two Black femme VA organizers talk candidly (cuz they didn’t know i was recording😂) with me. Thank you to Richmond For All co-founder Jasmine Leeward and Director of Brown Virginia Jewel Jordan for your work and for giving me permission to air our private conversation.⁣ ⁣ After a year of 1619 promises for reconciliation from the top officials in Virginia, the work of these racial justice champions has not let up.⁣ ⁣ In 2020, on Martin Luther King day, the Northam administration chose to protect white militia organizing rather than groups run by BIPOC who planned to use this holiday as a celebration and for a day of action.⁣ ⁣ The racist systems continue to be protected under the Northam administration and this isn’t what reconciliation looks like. ⁣ ⁣ The Virginia Democrats also haven’t shifted in ⁣tactics to silence racist narratives even after reflecting on 400 years of the history of our Commonwealth. On February 15th DPVA invited Mike Bloomberg as the keynote for their Blue Commonwealth Gala. ⁣ ⁣ This episode is a debrief with two champions of social justice and two of my best friends as they recount January 20th and how that inspired February 15th disruption that gained over 3 million views on social media. ⁣ ⁣ Big thanks to the End of the Line: pipelinepodcast for helping to produce this episode! It was amazing working with u! Check them out and catch up on why anti-pipeline advocates were calling Northam’s administration racist way before a yearbook picture. Congrats to all on winning the latest court case against Dominion! ⁣

Dr. Erica Armstrong Dunbar talks about the life and legacy of Ona Judge, a once enslaved woman who escaped the grips of George and Martha Washington. Dr. Dunbar is the author of Never Caught: The Washingtons' Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge, which was a 2017 finalist for the National Book Award and winner of the 2018 Frederick Douglas Book Award. More on Dr. Dunbar's work is available at https://ericaarmstrongdunbar.com/work

Guest host Jasmine Leeward interviews Najee Wilson about his experience modeling for Kehinde Wiley's Rumors of War monument that came to Richmond's Arthur Ashe Boulevard in December 2019.

Up this week: Who are the millionaires behind the Navy Hill development? Why have the proposal and plans been so opaque? What happened to citizen engagement? And what the hell is a TIF??

We've got a team of experts to unpack the answers to these questions. Joining us are Allan Charles-Chipman, Dr. Ben Teresa and Dr. Kristin Reed, members of the Richmond For All coalition.

We've got two of Richmond's legendary movement builders on the show this week. Art Burton, founder of Kinfolk and leader of CUIA, and former NAACP state director King Salim Khalfani sit down together for the first time in 20 years to connect past narratives to today's push for freedom and justice.

In this episode we unpack different conversations about Medicare for All and the state of healthcare in the U.S.

This week we amplify the importance of US in media. First up, we chatted about Black film with Tim Reid as he prepared for his ASWAD experience as host of the first ever Film Festival that happened this past week in Williamsburg. He also shares his thoughts on Black minds in the US and how we are conditioned differently than Black storytellers across the globe. We wrap up with a current media conflict rooted in race that's coming to the surface this week in the Supreme Court. Byron Allen is suing Comcast for $20 billion and Ed Miller shares his thoughts on the Civil Rights Act of 1866.

We're tracing the thread between housing, eviction and -- yep, you got it -- Navy Hill. Joining us for this episode are friends of the show Allen-Charles Chipman and Omari Al-Qaddafi, as well as Palmer Heenan of Central Virginia Legal Aid Society.

We sit down with candidate Sheila Bynum-Coleman to talk about how the racial dynamics of VA House of Delegates District 66 informs her approach to politics.

We sit down with candidate Ibraheem Samirah to talk about how the racial dynamics of VA House of Delegates District 86 informs his approach to politics.

We sit down with candidate Qasim Rashid to talk about how the racial dynamics of VA State Senate District 28 informs his approach to politics.

We sit down with candidate Josh Cole to talk about how the racial dynamics of VA House of Delegates District 28 informs his approach to politics.

What happens when a powerful utility company decides to sink its teeth into a small Black community in Virginia? In the first episode of our series on Dominion Power's land grabs, we look at the moves Governor Northam did and didn't make to stop one of his largest corporate donors from building an interstate gas pipeline through Virginia and a toxic compressor station in the town of Union Hill. We hear from Union Hill native, Richard Walker, as well as Dr. Mary Finley-Brook, a professor of geography at the University of Richmond, and Whitney Whiting, host of End of the Line, a podcast all about the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.

This week we learn about rank choice voting and why the 2019 election in Virginia has even more implications than 2020. We're on with Dr. Kimberly Matthews, Dr. Sally Hudson and Tram Nguyen.

The second annual Black Mental Health Week is back! Hear the details as organizers Tangee Moore, LCSW and Daryl Fraser, LCSW, and host Chelsea Higgs Wise give the deets on why Richmond has to fund and pass the creative problem-solving to Black mental health professionals.

The fifth ward special election candidates in Richmond, VA join Race Capitol and RVA Dirt for a two-hour candidate forum. Make sure youre registered for Nov 5th!

Can the master's tools dismantle the master's house? This episode we're talking "The System" with Senator Jenn McClellan and community advocate/activist Duron Chavis. What does that word even mean? Do we work within or break it down?

The arrival of purchased Africans to Virginia has been commemorated from the shores of Hampton to Jamestown to the NYC press. But it's been quiet here in the former capital of the confederacy, so we're doing what we always do and getting the conversation going.

Our guests bring the history of the African diaspora right to Richmond's doorstep. Chadra Pittman and Dr. Robert Trent Vincent unpack the 1619 story and its lasting legacy from the docks of Point Comfort to the auction blocks in Shockoe Bottom.

We also hear about the upcoming #aswad2019 conference, which will bring together over 1,000 scholars and experts on the African diaspora from November 5-9, 2019.

We're discussing the importance of supporting Richmond's Black youth in the culinary space with three creatives behind Potluk RVA, a fusion pop up restaurant hosting chefs in residence like Kofi Togbe of Flojoes. We talk with the brilliant founder of The Human Connection, Selamawit Hailu, along with Sean Powell, founder of Workshop RVA, and Chef Kofi.

This week we're getting ready for the “Schools Not Jails” event on 8/24 with James Braxton from RISE for Youth, education advocate Kandise Lucas and equity expert Dr. Stephanie Odera!

We cover the latest topics with 2 of our faves!

Taikein Cooper & Allan-Charles Chipman join us to tackle: 1. Coliseum 2. Domestic White Terrorism 3. Need More Jesus

PLUS “We Belong Here” featured as the show outro!

Wtf is an "ally" if not a congratulatory term white people use to pat themselves on the back for doing the right thing? This week we're unpacking the word with white people doing the work, Jase Hatcher and Joshua Ballew.

Democratic Commonwealth Attorney candidates Colette McEachin & Alex Taylor Jr. join us this week to give their takes on the job, weed legalization, the CA's relationship with police, and more. Also joining us are Ashley Shapiro of Justice Forward VA and Rebecca Keel of Marijuana Justice VA.

It's 2019 and we're STILL mitigating redlining and working to desegregate schools in Richmond. This week we're talking housing and education with Daryl Hayott and Bill Rice of Virginia Poverty Law Center and Taikein Cooper of Virginia Excels.

Guests from Black Pride RVA talk about the this year's theme "Community Matters" and why Black LGBTQ RVA is a community matter for us all.

Richmond makes plenty of space for art, so why is it so hard for Black artists to paint their own city? This week we're talking representation, street art and mural culture with Silly Genius, Dahm and PT Carroll of All City Art Club.

One year after the GRTC Pulse's debut, we interrogate the racial narrative of public transportation. This week hear what the founder of Leaders of the New South calls “white-transit advocacy” and why it doesn’t work for Black Richmond.

Race Capitol recaps the reactions to primary results with, friend to the show, Taikein Cooper & featured guest Dr. Zoe Spencer. Dr. Spencer is a professor at Virginia State University who is taking her equal pay case to the supreme court and is a long-standing advocate for issues impacting Black Women.

Omilade Janine Bell, Founder of Elegba Folklore Society narratives the Juneteenth holiday plus the importance of Richmond, Virginia residents to acknowledge this history's impact on our place, space, and time.

This week Chelsea interviews HBCU research fellows who’ve spent the past four months holding academic institutions accountable by combing archives and documenting racist content in yearbooks from across Virginia.

In this episode we're talking primaries and political representation with political scientist Dr. Ravi Perry. State Senate candidate Veena Lothe (SD-12) also stops in to share about her campaign and how her intersections represent the SD-12 of today and the future.

We discuss Richmond music and the history of hip hop with two leading RVA artists, Michael Millions and Radio Blitz. Plus we chat on why Something in the Water matters for Virginia and the culture.

The Market on 25th has finally arrived but what does it mean for the indigenous residents of Church Hill? Is the space community-owned? Is it affordable? What does food justice look like in Richmond? We deliberate with community advocate and urban agriculturalist Duron Chavis.

Days before the anniversary of the police killing of Marcus David Peters, we discuss how police abuse plays out in the community. We also talk with folks from the Richmond Transparency and Accountability Project about their fight to acquire data confirming that Richmond police interventions disproportionately affect Black people.

We're talking budgets from Richmond to Henrico this week. Reverend Tyrone Nelson shares his story from growing up in Gravel Hill to his career as a pastor and his work as the second Black member of the Henrico County Board of Supervisors. Also joining the show this week is Taikein Cooper, Executive Director of Virginia Excels.

We must support and LISTEN to survivor sexual assault, especially the Black womxn whose voices and stories are often drowned out by doubt and disdain. April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and we recognize that having these conversations is imperative to stopping the violence. On this episode, we talk with Rev. Lacette Cross of Black Pride RVA and Monica Hutchinson about how to facilitate conversations about sexual assault and how to uplift and empower Black womxn.

What is media? We explore the answer with Ashley Hawkins, Executive Director of Studio Two Three, and Cheyenne Varner, a Richmond-based doula, designer, photographer, and creator of The Educated Birth magazine, in advance of the Richmond Book Art Fair.

As we mourn the loss of community leader Nipsey Hussle, we keep his work going by lifting Richmonders like Ade Mason of Bridging the Gap. He joined us to talk about coordinating resources for youth ages 10-24 who have survived gun violence in RVA.

Chelsea and her sisters talk about growing up bouncing between Richmond and Chesterfield schools while balancing their biracial identities.

Womxn of color share their stories from The Broad, a space dedicated for womxn who work and live in the former capital of the confederacy.

This week we uplift Black survivors like Meredith Watson and Vanessa Tyson. Chelsea Higgs Wise also sits with Valerie Slater, Executive Director of RISE For Youth, to discuss the school-to-prison pipeline and Black girl magic (spoiler alert: it's not just a hashtag).

Host Chelsea Higgs Wise talks with Dr. Julian Hayter about the history of race and politics in the former capital of the confederacy. Dr. Hayter also breaks down the difference between slavery and indentured servitude (spoiler alert: they aren't the same thing).

The first show gives a quick intro into my lens then dives in @Justice and Reformation for Marcus-David Peters ✊🏾

Great interviews from those at Mayor Stoney’s Community Meeting last week where he stood next to the Chief of Police as the chief denied a national problem of police shootings of black and brown people. #RVA