A letter to the editor from Shaka Shakur, summarizing a civil rights lawsuit he filed in regards to a racial assault he endured at River North.
The Virginia Defender
Established in 2005 as The Richmond Defender, The Virginia Defender is a free community newspaper, published quarterly for the Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality. Print distribution is currently 12,000 and statewide. The online publication launched in Summer 2020.
Richmonders press City Council to call for a ceasefire in Gaza
Richmond City Council chambers were filled to capacity the night of Feb. 12, requiring an overflow room to accommodate all the attendees. It was the third general Council meeting this year and the second since members of the Richmond community proposed a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Letters to the Editor: Who’s bringing in the drugs?
A letter to the editor regarding overdoses and deaths at Greensville Correctional Center, with analysis on how drugs are entering the prison and how to remedy this.
Finally: Progress for Winfree Cottage
Emily Winfree’s cottage, situated in 1866 in the town of Manchester on the south side of the James River, was saved from demolition in 2002 by being relocated to Shockoe Bottom. Since 2007, however, the small house has been sitting on steel I-beams next to the Lumpkin’s Jail Archaeology site, steadily deteriorating.
Richmond to unveil Shockoe Project vision for memorial park
The master planning process for the 10-acre park has taken a year to process the history of the area, but also the history of the struggle to bring to fruition the place that should put Richmond on the contemporary map for historical truth-telling about slavery and our city’s role in it.
Jermaine Doss denied parole for 4th time
Jermaine Doss, a wrongfully convicted Norfolk man sentenced to life-plus-34 years, has been turned down for parole for the 4th time.
AFL-CIO to Biden: ‘Stop the raid on the postal pension fund!’
Editor’s note: On Feb. 16, The Virginia Defender received the following email from Team AFL-CIO, pertaining to the postal pension fund.
The Virginia Defender 