RICHMOND, VA, June 15 — After months of the coronavirus lock-down and more than two weeks of Black Lives Matter protests that have been met with new police aggression, it looks like things could get even tenser in the capital city.
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.
Richmond youth speak out
RICHMOND, VA, June 13 — The largely youthful anti-police-abuse protests of the past two weeks in Richmond got a voice of their own today as several hundred mostly young people turned out for what was promoted as an RVA Youth Rally.
DEFENDER EDITOR DEMANDS REAL COMMUNITY INPUT INTO SELECTION OF NEXT RICHMOND POLICE CHIEF
RICHMOND, VA, June 22 — The editor of The Virginia Defender, one of more than a dozen speakers at this evening’s online meeting of Richmond City Council, demanded real input from the community in the selection of the next chief of police. He also challenged all members of council to join him after the meeting at the liberated zone of the Marcus-David Peters Circle, which police were expected to attempt to sweep at sundown.
Armed right-wingers detained after incident at Lee Monument; One arrested
RICHMOND, VA, June 12 — Richmond police have confirmed the arrest of one of several heavily armed individuals involved in an incident early this morning at the Lee statue on Monument Avenue. Several others were “detained,” but apparently have not yet been charged.
STATEMENT BY DEFENDER JOSEPH ROGERS ON THE EVENTS OF THE NIGHT OF JUNE 1, 2020
Statement by member of the Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality Joseph Rogers regarding the night of June 1, 2020.
STATEMENT BY THE VIRGINIA DEFENDERS ON THE IMPENDING REMOVAL OF RICHMOND’S CONFEDERATE MONUMENTS
The Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality has been calling for taking down all the city’s white-supremacist memorials since 2007 and is elated to learn today that some of the statues’ days are now officially numbered. Their demise is long, long overdue.
Statement by Defender Kat McNeal on the mass arrests of Sunday, May 31, 2020
Statement by member of the Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality Kat McNeal regarding the night of May 31, 2020 and the mass arrest that took place on that date.
The Virginia Defender 