Despite organizing in an increasingly hostile and repressive environment, pro-Palestinian activism across the Commonwealth is strong, growing and adapting to ever-changing obstacles imposed by the state.
On March 4, 2024, Richmond Public Schools terminated Richmond Education Association President Neri Suarez in a move that REA is describing as retaliation for union activities. REA represents the largest bloc of RPS employees, who are organized into seven bargaining units represented by four unions.
Editor’s Note: In our 20 years of publishing, The Virginia Defender has never once been asked to correct a fact or a quote. We’re very proud of that record. But since other publications publish corrections, we’d like to do the same – in our case, corrections to factual errors that have appeared in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Here are our first offerings.
The same fascist gang that vandalized the Arthur Ashe mural in Richmond’s Battery Park a few years ago was back in town in October, pasting posters and fliers designed to try and whip up hatred against immigrants.
A proposed Richmond ordinance calls for a 1.3-acre section of the more than 31- acre Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground site to be formally established “as a cemetery to assure its perpetual protection from disturbance and to memorialize it as a solemn and sacred landmark in the City of Richmond and for all residents and visitors to the city of Richmond.”
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, located on Arthur Ashe Boulevard in Richmond, has announced plans for a $261 million expansion, the largest in its history. The addition of a new, five-story McGlothlin Wing II will make the museum the fourth largest in the country, with the second-largest exhibit space for African Art.
It has been announced by partners Live Nation and Red Light Ventures that Richmond’s new amphitheater, to be located next to the American Civil War Museum by the James River, will be named Allianz Amphitheater at Riverfront, after the venue’s title sponsor, Allianz Partners.
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