The case of Omari Al-Qadaffi, a housing rights activist hit with multiple charges stemming from a July 2020 anti-eviction protest, is now resolved.
NEW BLACK-OWNED BOOKSTORE OPENS IN SHOCKOE SLIP
A new Black-owned, woman-owned bookstore called The Book Bar will open in Richmond’s Shockoe Slip on Feb. 5.
SOUTHWOOD APARTMENTS UNDER SCRUTINY
The management of Southwood Apartments, a 1,296-unit complex in Richmond’s southside and the center of the city’s largest Latino/a neighborhood, is facing investigation. City inspectors have labeled two units uninhabitable.
THE TRIPLE WHAMMY: PANDEMIC, POVERTY & PUBLIC POLICY
The COVID-19 pandemic has shed new light on Richmond’s housing crisis even as it has exacerbated it. Despite both the continuing spread of the virus and the persistence of housing issues, temporary protections meant to alleviate the pandemic’s effects are coming to an end. When they do, the consequences will not be evenly distributed.
UNITED BLACK BIRTH COLLECTIVE GROWING ‘SLOWLY AND WITH INTENTION’
In January 2020, Weluna Finley and a group of like-minded Black mothers, birth workers, mental health professionals and healers founded the United Black Birth Collective.
THE HOUSING CRISIS AND RICHMOND’S DECLINING BLACK POPULATION

Black and poor Richmonders are being priced out of the city limits, which has major implications for the city’s political balance of power. 2020 ended a 50-year period in which Richmond had been a majority-Black city.
PRINCESS BLANDING’S THIRD-PARTY RUN FOR VIRGINIA GOVERNOR: A DEFENDER ANALYSIS

A Defenders analysis on the campaign of progressive third-party candidate Princess Blanding.