After more than 20 years, the Richmond city government has finally committed to memorializing Shockoe Bottom, the downtown district that once was the epicenter of the U.S. domestic slave trade. Many outstanding questions remain the current plan, however. Here are some of ours.
NEWS U CAN USE: SUMMER 2022
The Summer 2022 edition of News U Can Use has info about a free nurse hotline where you can get health advice, the new number for the National Suicide Prevention Hotline, and the new standard IRS Mileage rate for tax deductions.
WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH SHOCKOE BOTTOM?
After more than 20 years of confrontational struggle between the community and Richmond’s city government and business elite, many people are asking what’s happening with Shockoe Bottom, the long-neglected downtown district that once was the epicenter of the U.S. domestic slave trade.
AT LONG LAST, SOME RECOGNITION FOR THE SHOCKOE HILL BURYING GROUND
Closed in 1879, the Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground may have been the largest 19th century municipal cemetery for free and enslaved Black people in the U.S. Now, it’s finally getting some recognition.
THE LIFE & LEGACY OF EMILY WINFREE
Jan Meck and Virginia Refo, in their book “The Life & Legacy of Emily Winfree: From Enslavement to Carnegie Hall,” depict the perseverance and survival of the owner of Winfree Cottage, a fixture of the Lumpkin’s Jail Archaeological Site about which little was publicly known until now.
JERMAINE DOSS WAITS – & WAITS – FOR JUSTICE
Another man wrongfully convicted due to the misconduct of former Norfolk detective Robert Glenn Ford has recently received a full exoneration. Jermaine Doss, who was likewise framed by Ford, will soon have a parole hearing.
STARBUCKS UPDATE
An update on the Starbucks unionization campaign, which has just organized its 200th store in Cleveland, Ohio. Despite repression and retaliation, the movement continues to grow.
The Virginia Defender 