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UPDATES on CURRENT ISSUES
& How You Can Be Involved:
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ACTION
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The Case of Ashley Williams
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Visit the Facebook page covering Ashley's
trial: http://tinyurl.com/n7lg9pr
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The long struggle to reclaim Richmond's
African Burial Ground as a physical site is not yet over. And the struggle to prevent a sports stadium, luxury condominium
project development is back on! No Stadium in Shockoe Bottom!
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Visit SacredGroundProject.blogspot.com
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And if you want to help stop
the wars
in Iraq and Afghanistan, the drone attacks on Pakistan, the U.S.
bombings of African villages in Somalia and the extension of the U.S.
government's war of terror into Yemen, understand the conflict in Mali and prevent another African nation's disintegration
by AFRICOM... stay tuned!
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Visit the www.UNACpeace.org
website for upcoming actions regarding anti-drone actions and more.
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The Spring issue of The Virginia Defender hit the streets in mid May. The next issue will be published in July 2013. Click on the name of the paper in the menu at left to view or download
current or past issues.
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Send us a letter or volunteer
to
distribute the paper in your neighborhood, workplace, school or place
of worship.
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For
all these activities, call us at
(804) 644-5834 or e-mail is at DefendersFJE@hotmail.com
and don't forget to visit these sites as well:
DefendersFJE.blogspot.com
Sacredgroundproject-dfje.blogspot.com
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| VCU : Shut down the Burial Ground parking lot! |
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| Virginia Commonwealth University students lead Dec. 16 press conference at the African Burial Ground |
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| Marching on Massey Energy's stockholders' meeting. |
Click here for more Massey protest photos.
| Visiting editor tours Richmond's historical sites |
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| Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan African News Wire, visits Black History sites in Richmond. |
| "RECLAIM OUR SACRED GROUND!" |
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| Defenders and allies march to oppose building a baseball stadium in historic Shockoe Bottom. |
DefendersLIVE: The Defenders' weekly radio program of news and analysis, with host Ana Edwards. Listen Mondays from noon
to 12:30 pm at 97.3 LP FM or wrir.org.
Click here to Read a Report-Back on the Oct. 17, 2009, Teach-In "Rethinking Afghanistan & Iran," co-sponsored by
the Defenders and the Richmond Peace Education Center.
Open Letter to the Anti-War Movement: How
should we respond to the events in Iran? Written by Virginia Defender Editor Phil Wilayto, just after Iran's 2009 presidential
election.
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Massive Protest Denounces Va. Murder Verdict
RICHMOND, VA, March 30 [2009] – In a scene
reminiscent of the 2007 grassroots mobilization around the case of the Jena 6, nearly 700 people marched Sunday from a Baptist
church to the courthouse of rural Powhatan County, Va., about 30 miles west of Richmond. The majority-Black crowd, which included a sizable number of local white youths, were denouncing what they charged
was a racially motivated decision by a Powhatan jury. (Posted on TruthOut.org and MRZine.)
Click here to view full story
Click on the headings to learn
more about each item listed below:
Virginia Peoples Assembly Jobs, housing, education, peace and justice for all. A People's Agenda to
present to the General Assembly, a Continuations Committee to keep the agenda moving forward and an annual demonstration
on the General Assembly. Focused on the long-term power of the people, see details at: www.vapeoplesassembly.org.
Worker Justice - State workers in Virginia and North Carolina are the only state workers in the country
who are legally barred from collective bargaining, a circumstance that breaks international lablr law and the United Nations
Declaration of Human Rights. Learn more worker struggles and victories by visiting www.RichmondJwJ.org and www.BlackWorkersForJustice.org.
Decent, affordable housing is a right! RePHRAME - The Defenders
support RePHRAME – "Residents of Public Housing in Richmond Against Mass Eviction"
– an alliance of public housing residents and community groups working for better low-income housing options in Richmond
in their demand for 1-1 replacement of any public housing that is "upgraded" or demolished. Plans by
the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority (RRHA) to demolish Gilpin Court and other Richmond public housing communities
threatens to deprive thousands of low-income residents of their homes.
Lead Poisoning - United Parents Against Lead, Inc. has it national headquarters in Richmond, Virginia
and has been helping its national chapters as well as local agencies and families tackle the ongoing problem of lead poisoining
in our children. Undetected and untreated lead poisoning leads to permanent brain damage, which in turn often results
in learning and behavioral problems into adulthood.
Sacred Ground Historical Reclamation Project (SGHRP) - Re-establishing the link between history, today
and future planning through education, actions and media-work. Reclaiming the "Burial Ground for Negroes" and commemorating
the efforts and vision of Virginia men and women like Gabriel, his wife Nan, Mary Bowser, Elizabeth Van Lews, Nat Turner,
and many, many others.
Anti-War Work: Virginia Anti-War Network - statewide network of organizations and individuals committed to justice & peace at home and
abroad; Peoples Peace Delegation to Iran (PPDI) - Sponsored by VAWN and The Richmond Defender newspaper,
supported by Campaign Against Sanctions and Millitary Involvment in Iran (CASMII), a group of US anti-war activists spends ten days visiting five
cities in the Islamic Republic of Iran in July 2007.
Rights of Prisoners and the Formerly Incarcerated - We work with organizations like RIHD (Resource Information
Help for the Disadvantaged) and PAFERJ (Prisoners and Families for Equal Rights & Justice), organizing court watch
projects, reporting on cases of police abuse and miscarriages of process in our judicial system and celebrate the victories
achieved for the disadvantaged in our community.
Immigrant Rights - One of the most important domestic and foreign policy issues
at the moment for the country is that of how the immigration rights struggle is playing out and will play out in our communities.
Women's Rights - Women's issues involve reproductive rights and sexual and gender
autonomy, but they also involve issues of daily life like housing, crime, poverty, healthcare, micro- and macro-environmentalism,
education, racism and sexism.
2007 DEFENDERS
OF THE YEAR AWARD RECIPIENTS
Thank you to all
those who joined us on Dec. 1, 2007, for our 4th Annual Defenders Fighting Fund & Community Awards Dinner. The company
was powerful, the meal fantastic and the evening a success in all categories! These were the recipients of the 2007 Defenders
of the Year awards:
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Lillie Branch-Kennedy
of the prisoner advocacy organization R.I.H.D
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Mexicanos Sin
Fronteras / Mexicans Without Borders - immigrant rights organization working in Prince William County
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Sister Janet
and Brother Manifest of the Prosser-Truth Division of the UNIA-ACL
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Rostam Pourzal
of the Campaign Against Sanctions & Military Intervention in Iran
THE PEOPLE'S PEACE DELEGATION TO IRAN
From July 20-30,
2007, five U.S. anti-war activists journeyed 1,750 miles through Iran, bringing a message of peace and friendship to students,
workers, goat herders, teachers, soldiers, clerics and government officials. This People's
Peace Delegation to Iran was co-sponsored by The Richmond Defender newspaper and the Virginia Anti-War Network (VAWN).
Click here to learn more.
To schedule a presentation on the delegation's journey in your community, e-mail: DefendersFJE@hotmail.org.
DEFENDERS'
POSITION ON THE THREAT FROM THE RIGHT-WING
Click here to read "Counter-Demonstrators at the March on the Pentagon".
The latest issue of THE VIRGINIA DEFENDER
is now being distributed throughout the state.
To read it online, please click below.
Click here for the latest issue
VICTORY IN THE STRUGGLE TO RECLAIM RICHMOND'S AFRICAN BURIAL GROUND! Now: The Struggle Continues!
SACRED GROUND PAGE HAS BEEN UPDATED:
Papers, Fliers and a Brochure provide helpful history and research to help with understanding the struggle to reclaim
this key historical site.
OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS AND MEETINGS
Click here to sign an international petition to demand: "No war or sanctions against Iran!"
Oct. 2, 2010 One Nation Working Together 4-page tabloid produced by the Defenders for the Virginia ONWT Steering Committee
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