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.
The D.C.-Metro chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace held a protest March 12 outside a D.C. hotel where Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, an extremist settler leader, was speaking to the Israel Bonds’ leadership.
Dr. Ali Jawhar provides his analysis of Israeli apartheid policies, Zionism, and a path to peace in Palestine in this editorial.
An opinion piece on life in Gaza from Ahmed Nasser, a young Palestinian man who was raised and lives in the Gaza Strip. Gaza has been under Israeli military blockade since 2006.
Our proposal for a People’s Tribunal on Virginia’s Prisons and Jails, to be held Saturday, October 7. At this hearing, we suggest that distinguished judges would hear testimony on conditions facing prisoners in the state’s prisons and jails.
Our proposal for how the increased economic activity spurred by the development of the Shockoe Bottom Heritage Campus can be used to benefit the Black community.
The Winter/Spring 2023 issue of The Virginia Defender was published on March 22, 2023.
An essay by Kevin Rashid Johnson on the VDOC. This piece was written in support of the January 14 2023 Virginia Prison Justice Network Rally.
The Virginia Defender 