Late last Friday afternoon, May 10, student and faculty advocates for Virginia’ Commonwealth University’s Racial Literacy initiative were heartbroken when the VCU Board of Visitors voted 10-5 to oppose the Racial Literacy mandate they’d worked so hard to bring to reality since the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020.
Pro-Palestine protesters march on the Virginia-Israel Advisory Board
Ignoring the pouring rain, dozens of pro-Palestine protesters marched to the State Capitol May 14 to draw attention to the existence and role of the Virginia-Israel Advisory Board, the only state agency specifically set up to promote trade with a particular country.
Hundreds of VCU Grads Walk Out of Governor’s Commencement Address
Today was the big commencement for graduating VCU students. But as the commencement speaker, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, began his address, hundreds of students stood up and silently walked out of the building in protest.
Updates and Announcements: May 6, 2024
The May 6, 2024 issue of the Updates and Announcements newsletter.
Unions & allies celebrate at 2nd annual Union Fest
More than 130 union members and supporters gathered in Byrd Park today for “Union Fest,” an event celebrating organized labor.
VCU Uses Hundreds of Cops to Break Up Peaceful Protest
At about 8:30 this evening, Virginia Commonwealth University put out an alert that a “violent protest” was taking place on the campus of the state’s largest public university.
Richmonders press City Council to call for a ceasefire in Gaza
Richmond City Council chambers were filled to capacity the night of Feb. 12, requiring an overflow room to accommodate all the attendees. It was the third general Council meeting this year and the second since members of the Richmond community proposed a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The Virginia Defender 