Racial Equity in Richmond: Recent Episodes
Ebony Walden
This interview series is a component of The Richmond Racial Equity Essays, a multimedia project comprising a collection of essays, video interviews and a virtual discussion series focused on racial equity in Richmond, Virginia.
In this series, urban planner and diversity, equity and inclusion consultant Ebony Walden talks with Richmonders from all walks of life and sectors to explore their visions for an equitable Richmond, especially as it relates to racial equity, and the strategies that will help us get there. The hope is that this project will lead Richmond (the former Capital of the Confederacy) toward a solid framework for advancing racial equity and be a model for discussion in other U.S. cities.
At the intersection of racism and economics, Ebony talks with Renee Hatcher from University of Illinois Chicago Law School’s Community Enterprise & Solidarity Economy Clinic and Matthew Slaats, PHD candidate at University of Virginia and member of the Virginia Solidarity Economy Network. Renee and Matthew are part of the movement that is imagining and working to build an economy that puts people and planet before private profits and power. They discuss the principles of Solidarity Economy, share examples of work going on in Chicago and Virginia as well as advocate for the need to create institutions that counter capitalism with collective ownership and power.
At the intersection of racial equity and housing, Ebony talks with the Former Executive Director of HAND (Housing Association of Nonprofit Developers) Heather Raspberry. They discuss HAND’s racial equity journey and their effort to center racial equity amongst their association members which include a broad spectrum of housing related organizations. Heather highlights the importance of data in holding jurisdictions accountable to their affordable housing goals, which HAND is helping to do through their Housing Indicator Tool.
Intergenerational, co-leadership as a model for disrupting oppressive systems and transforming communities is the conversation Ebony facilitates with catalytic co-leaders Sherreta R. Harrison and Raymond A. Jetson of MetroMorphosis in Baton Rouge, LA. The core of their work is transformation from within.
At the intersection of racism and place, Ebony talks with Africatown Community Land Trust CEO K Wyking Garrett. They discuss Africatown’s community development model formed to acquire, steward, and develop land assets that are necessary for the Black community to grow and thrive in the Central District of Seattle, Washington. They discuss the importance of supporting individuals and community organizations in retention and development of land in gentrifying areas.
At the intersection of racism and faith, Ebony talks with Every Table ministers Charles Bolling and Jess Cook about healing, reconciliation and justice within their faith community. They discuss what it means to have an abolitionist approach to living in community, employing practices for reconciliation and repair within themselves and in community.
Dr. Chaz Barracks speaks with Ebony from multiple perspectives and through many lenses but weaves together a dynamic history, expertise and vision for a creative, intersectional approach to advancing racial equity in Richmond.
They met doing neighborhood work, and they want to disrupt the status quo of gentrification and the school to prison pipeline. Neighborhood resident Latasha James and community organizer Christopher Rashad Green speak truthfully about where we need to go and what we need to do to re-imagine our community.
Historians Free Bangura of Untold RVA and The Valentine’s Bill Martin, discuss how telling the story of history truthfully can spark innovation and long-term change. For them, advancing equity involves truth telling, knowing our own story and broadening the voices that highlight our past and share our future.
From the impacts of redlining to combatting the eviction crisis, affordable housing advocates Stephen Wade of Partnership for Smarter Growth and Virginia Poverty Law Center’s Laura Wright make their case for policy changes and greater resource allocation to move towards housing equity.
The Bridge Park Foundation’s Ted Elmore and Southside ReLeaf’s Sheri Shannon discuss barriers and solutions to greenspace and environmental equity in Richmond.
Ebony talks with affordable housing leaders Greta Harris of Better Housing Coalition and Richmond Association of Realtor’s Laura Lafayette and they cast a vision for removing barriers so that everyone can thrive in Richmond.
Patrice Shelton and Sherrell Thompson converse with Ebony about their personal and professional experiences with public housing and as community health workers. From their perspective, racial equity requires better access to health resources and affordable housing for low to moderate income Richmonders.
Ebony talks with Richmond Night Market and The Artisan Café co-creators Melody Short and Adrienne Cole Johsnon about how Richmond can advance racial equity by supporting Black entrepreneurship and improving community engagement.