E-NEWSLETTER OF

The Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality

An organization of Richmond-area residents fighting for the survival of our community.

c/o Asbury United Methodist Church, 324 N. 29th St., Richmond, VA 23223

Ph/Fax: 804.644.5834 l E-mail: DefendersFJE@hotmail.com l Web site: http://DefendersFJE.tripod.com

Vol. I, No. 2                                                           March 2004

 In This Issue:

• Lead Poisoning in Richmond to be Topic of Defenders April Forum
• Richmond Police Murder Trial Ends in Acquittal - Victim's Family Vows to Continue Fight for Justice
• Application Filed for Gabriel Historical Marker - Unveiling Set for Oct. 10
• Arab, Black Struggles for Self-Determination Focus of Defenders March Forum
• Update: Virginia Alliance for Worker Rights
• March 20 Global Day of Action: Bring the Troops Home Now!  End Colonial Occupation from Iraq to Palestine to Haiti to Everywhere!
• Analysis of Rev. Rivers' New "Movement"
• Update on the Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal
• Defenders Web Site Tops First 100 Visitors!
• Upcoming Events
• City Notes

Lead Poisoning in Richmond to be Topic of Defenders April Forum

March 31 is the deadline for the Richmond Health Department to finish clearing lead hazards from 108 housing units. Otherwise, it could be forced to return what is left of the $3 million federal grant that is funding the work. Plus, it could become ineligible to receive future lead-abatement grants for as long as 10 years.

That was the ultimatum that regional Housing and Urban Development official John Baker said he gave the city this past January. Mr. Baker is the official who oversees use of the HUD grant by Lead-Safe Richmond, the Health Department program charged with preventing lead poisoning among the city's children.

March 31 is also the target date for City Auditor Lance Kronzer to complete his investigation into Lead-Safe Richmond. On Jan. 13, at the request of United Parents Against Lead and the Defenders, Mr. Kronzer agreed to look into why the program was allowed to fall so far behind schedule and if there was any financial misconduct involved. At that time, he said he wanted to issue a report before HUD's March 31 deadline.

On Thursday, April 1, representatives of UPAL, the Defenders, the Richmond Branch NAACP and other speakers will discuss the progress of Lead-Safe Richmond, Mr. Kronzer's investigation and the whole issue of lead poisoning in Richmond. The public forum, sponsored by the Defenders, is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at Asbury United Methodist Church, 324 N. 29th St. in Church Hill.

Scheduled speakers include Zakia Shabazz, UPAL's founder and national director; Cynthia Mendy, UPAL's program manager; Roy Bryant, first vice president of the Richmond Branch NAACP; R.M. "Reggie" Malone Sr., 7th District Richmond School Board member; and Phil Wilayto of the Defenders.

Come prepared to listen, learn and take action.

Richmond Police Murder Trial Ends in Acquittal - Victim's Family Vows to Continue Fight for Justice

"I would like to know, what did they see? I just can't understand their decision."

V Johnson was commenting on a Richmond jury's "not guilty" verdict in the murder trial of the city police officer who shot and killed Mr. Johnson's son Verlon. It was the third time that Mr. Johnson and dozens of members of his extended family had sat through graphic descriptions of how the 29-year-old Johnson died on his own front porch, his heart and one lung pierced by a .357 caliber bullet fired by Detective David D. Melvin. The first two trials, for involuntary manslaughter, ended in mistrials. The third trial included the charge of second-degree murder, a far more serious offense.

"This decision doesn't affect just my son," Mr. Johnson said of the jury's verdict on Feb. 27. "It affects all of society. Every man, especially every Black man, should be outraged." To this day, Mr. Johnson said during an interview March 18, "no one from the Richmond Police Department has offered me an apology."

On May 17, 2002, Detective Melvin led a team of eight other police officers to Verlon Johnson's South Side home to arrest him on robbery and firearms violations charges. Mr. Johnson came out of his house as ordered, his hands in the air. Detective Melvin testified that he saw the self-employed landscaper suddenly drop his right hand and reach into his pants pocket, his fingers bunched as if he were holding something. The detective fired. Verlon Johnson fell backward onto his porch, his hands upraised and coming to rest by the sides of his head. No gun was found. Further, Rosa Johnson, Mr. Johnson's wife, testified that her husband was left-handed. Richmond's Commonwealth Attorney David M. Hicks argued that, at most, the young man had been reaching down to hitch up his baggy, sagging pants. The Johnsons had five children, four of whom were in the house with their mother when their father was killed.

V Johnson said that he and his family are determined to continue their struggle to win justice and are now discussing what steps to take next. No appeal of the jurys verdict is possible, according to Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Vaughan Jones, However, the family could file a civil suit.

While deeply disappointed in the verdict, Mr. Johnson said he wanted to express his appreciation to all those who supported him and his family. "I would like to thank David Hicks, who I believe truly stands up for the rights of the people as well as for the police officers," Mr. Johnson said, "and also Vaughan Jones and Diane Abato for what I think was a job well done. And I would like to thank the police officers who came forward and testified as to what they saw, and also all the people who attended the trial to support my family."

In addition to the Johnson family, some 15 supporters attended the trial, part of a Court Watch Project initiated by the Defenders. Among those who participated were members of the activist groups For The People, Richmond Food Not Bombs, Richmond Indymedia and Richmond ANSWER.

Three eyewitness accounts of the trial are posted on the Defenders Web site, along with a statement on the verdict issued by participating Court Watch members.

Application Filed for Gabriel Historical Marker - Unveiling Set for Oct. 10, 2004

The first major step has been taken in the process of erecting a state historical marker at 15th and East Broad streets in downtown Richmond, the site where the great slave rebellion leader Gabriel was executed in 1800.

On March 15, the Defenders filed an application for the marker with the Historical Highway Marker Program of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Documentation accompanying the application included historical materials supplied by Dr. Douglas R. Egerton, author of "Gabriel's Rebellion: The Virginia Slave Conspiracies of 1800 and 1802", and Elizabeth Cann Kambourian, the Richmond historian who discovered the existence of the "Burial Ground for Negroes." The long-forgotten 17th century cemetery lies beneath what is now a privately owned parking lot at 16th and East Broad streets. The marker will, for the first time, point out the existence of the graveyard.

The next stage is for the application to be considered by the program's staff to see if it meets the states criteria for historical markers. Assuming it passes muster, the application will be voted on by the department's board on June 16.  Coincidentally this date is just three days before Juneteenth (June 19), the day that enslaved Africans in Texas first learned that slavery had been abolished two years before, in 1863.

The anticipated date for the unveiling ceremony is Oct. 10 -- the 204th anniversary of Gabriel's execution. Among those scheduled to speak at the ceremony are Dr. Egerton, Ms. Kambourian and Dr. Haskell S. Bingham, a great, great-grandson of Gabriel.

In the meantime, theres the matter of the $1,225 required to pay for the marker. To make a donation, send a check or money order made payable to "Asbury United Methodist Church" with the notation "Gabriel Marker Project." Donations are tax-deductible and should be sent to: Asbury United Methodist Church, 324 N. 29th St., Richmond, VA 23223. The names of all donors will be listed in the unveiling program.

To help with the fund-raising effort, please contact the Defenders. To view the proposed marker text, visit our Web site at: http://DefendersFJE.tripod.com.

Arab, Black Struggles for Self-Determination Focus of Defenders March Forum

Self-determination is defined as the right of an oppressed nation to determine its own political destiny. That was the topic for the Defenders March 10 public forum. About 50 people turned out at Asbury United Methodist Church to hear a panel of speakers discuss the struggles for self-determination in Iraq, Palestine and Haiti and in the Black community here in the United States.

Jameel Abed is a Palestinian-American Richmonder who spent two weeks this December visiting his home village in the West Bank. With travel to jobs in Israel restricted by the Israeli Army, Mr. Abed said that half the Palestinian population in the occupied territories now lives on about $2 a day. He described the daily humiliations of waiting in line for hours to be allowed through armed checkpoints. In one Palestinian village, he said farmers are allowed just 45 minutes to an hour in the early morning to pass through a guarded gate to reach their fields. If they miss the reopening of the gate in the evening, they must spend the night outdoors. "The Palestinians are not asking for too much," Mr. Abed said. "We will accept 22 percent of the land and recognize Israel." But what Israel really wants, he said, "is to eliminate the Palestinian people." The key to peace, he said, is the U.S. government, which subsidizes Israel with billions of dollars each year. "President Bush says he is for a Palestinian state, but nothing has changed since 1948," when Israel was first established on Palestinian lands, Mr. Abed said. Meanwhile, the Palestinians continue their resistance to the occupation.

Larry Syverson is a state environmental worker and the father of two sons now stationed with the U.S. Army in Iraq. He spoke behind a sign with photos of his sons and the words, "Iraqi oil isn't worth my sons' blood." Mr. Syverson, who has been interviewed by news media from around the world, holds the sign at noon each Monday, Wednesday and Friday outside the U.S. federal courts building in downtown Richmond. "I am proud that my sons are serving their country," he said, "but I oppose the mission they have been sent on." Mr. Syverson, a former petroleum geologist who worked in the Texas oil industry during the same period as former oilman George W. Bush, pointed out that Iraq holds the second greatest known oil reserves in the world, only about 10 percent of which is now being exploited. This is the real reason, he said, why the U.S is in Iraq. "Are my sons doomed to die before we realize we made a mistake?" he asked.

Also speaking were Defenders members Ana Edwards, who gave a history of U.S. involvement in Iraq; Phil Wilayto, who discussed the long history of U.S. interventions in Haiti; and Reggie Gordon, who talked about his experiences in the 1995 Million Man March in Washington, D.C., and compared the struggles of Black people in the United States with the struggles of other oppressed peoples around the world. "We are all linked by the struggle for self-determination," he said. "The oppressor benefits from a fractured world."

The meeting, one in a series of public forums, was chaired by Defenders member and co-founder T.J. Plummer.

Update: Virginia Alliance for Worker Rights

The Virginia Alliance for Worker Rights is a partnership of religious, community, civil rights and labor organizations working to promote the interests of working people at home and abroad. Member organizations include the Virginia AFL-CIO, Office of Justice and Peace of the Catholic Diocese of Richmond, Virginia Council of Churches, Virginia Education Association, Virginia Muslim Coalition, Virginia Organizing Project, Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth University Living Wage coalitions, United Electrical Workers Local 160 and the Defenders. For now, the main focus has been lobbying the General Assembly to promote pro-worker bills and oppose anti-worker ones. In the Assembly session just ending, we didnt get the bill we wanted, but neither did we get the ones we didnt want.

Sen. Yvonne Miller's bill (SB 22) to raise the state minimum wage from $5.15 an hour to $6.50 an hour was killed in the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee, with only one other senator voting in favor. We clearly have lot of work to do statewide to build momentum for this modest raise. On the other hand, Sen. Frank Wagner's bill (SB 428) that would make it illegal for local governments to pass living wage ordinances died on the Senate floor by a vote of 23-17. And another Wagner bill (SB 621) that would have raised eligibility requirements for unemployment benefits was carried over till next year.

The Virginia General Assembly only meets for 45 or 60 days per year. That means we have about 10 months to educate, organize and mobilize the state's working people to demand justice around these issues.

Defenders members have been attending Alliance meetings, helping with media work and designing an outreach brochure. Now we want to start approaching other organizations to encourage them to formally endorse the Alliance's goals. Please let us know if your union, civic association, community or student group or church, mosque or temple would be interested in having a speaker come and explain the issues. What we really need to win justice for working people is a serious revival of the mass movements that won our limited worker rights in the first place. Coming together around these simple but important goals can be one step in that process.

The next meeting of the Virginia Alliance is scheduled for noon on Tuesday, March 23, at the Centenary United Methodist Church, 400 block of East Grace Street in downtown Richmond.

March 20 Global Day of Action: Bring the Troops Home Now!End Colonial Occupation from Iraq to Palestine Haiti to Everywhere!

Saturday, March 20, will mark the first anniversary of the U.S. bombing and invasion of Iraq. It will also mark a Global Day of Action to demand: Bring the troops home now! End colonial occupation from Iraq to Palestine to Haiti and everywhere! Money for jobs, education, health care and housing not war! Stop the attacks on civil rights and civil liberties!

People in cities across the country and around the world will be taking to the streets to demand the United States get out of Iraq, stop funding the Israeli occupation of Palestine and end its aggressive, corporation-serving policies against Haiti, Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Korea, Cuba and scores of other countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The major East Coast protest is scheduled for New York City.

The following is from the Web site of International A.N.S.W.E.R., one of the main sponsors of the March 20 protests in the United States:

On March 20, 2004, the first anniversary of the U.S./U.K. invasion of Iraq, people in cities around the world will join together to demand: "End the Occupation - Bring the Troops Home NOW!" In the U.S., major demonstrations are planned in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and many other cities.

We will demonstrate on March 20 to support the right of the Iraqi people to self-determination without condition. Since the invasion began, tens of thousands of Iraqi people have been killed. Thousands of U.S. and British soldiers have been killed or wounded. The Iraqi people are resisting the occupation they want the foreign soldiers occupying their country to leave, not tomorrow but today. Growing numbers of U.S. soldiers and their families are calling for the troops to be brought home NOW. These soldiers are being sent to kill and be killed for a war that was based on lies and fraud perpetrated by the Bush government. There is only one solution: to end the occupation now! We believe, in the words of the National Council of Arab Americans, that "internationalizing the occupation gives colonialism a new marketable cover and should not be accepted as a viable option for the global popular movement."

We will also demonstrate on March 20 in solidarity with the Palestinian people and their right to self-determination, including the right to return to their homes and land. The March 20 demonstration comes only ten days before the anniversary of the historic March 30, 1976, Land Day in Palestine. Calling for liberty, right to return, and self-determination for the Palestinian people on March 20 is an essential political necessity, without which the end to colonial occupations cannot be fully realized. The U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq is part and parcel of the administrations larger colonial project targeting the people of the Middle East. While the Bush administration spends $2 billion per week to occupy Iraq, it spends $15 million each day to support Israel's war against the Palestinian people.

We will demonstrate on March 20 to overturn the "USA Patriot" Act and to end the repression directed at Arab-American, South Asian, Muslim and immigrant communities. We will defend the right to free speech and oppose Bushs and Ashcrofts war on the Bill of Rights.

We will demonstrate on March 20 to call for money for jobs, housing, health care and education, not for war and occupation.

We will demonstrate on March 20 to demand an end to the Bush administration's "Endless War" plans for global domination. We stand for an end to U.S. intervention, occupation and threats against Korea, Colombia, Afghanistan, Cuba, Iran, Zimbabwe, Venezuela, Syria, the Philippines, Haiti and everywhere.

Only the people's movement offers hope that an effective challenge can be mounted to the Bush administration's war drive. While the Democratic Party offers candidates to contend with Bush for the presidency, it agrees with Bush about maintaining U.S. troops in Iraq and supports continued aid to Israel as it wages war against the Palestinian people. On April 20, 2002, 100,000 people marched in a historic demonstration in Washington, D.C., under the banner "Free Palestine." Six months later, on October 26, 2002, hundreds of thousands demonstrated against the pending war of aggression against Iraq. On January 18, February 15-16, March 15, March 22, April 12 and most recently October 25, 2003, tens of millions of people went into the streets around the world to say no to the Bush administrations war drive. This is a monumental struggle waged by the people of the world who seek self-determination, justice and peace. Global solidarity is the centerpiece of the new mass movement that has emerged to counter the forces of militarism and colonialism. The outcome of this struggle will impact on generations to come.

All Out for March 20, 2004!

[For more information, see www.internationalanswer.org.]

Analysis of Rev. Rivers' New "Movement"

The Richmond Police Department has teamed up with the ecumenical retreat center Richmond Hill to build a "ministerial-police alliance" to combat juvenile crime in the city. To launch the effort, they invited the Rev. Eugene Rivers of the Boston-based National Ten-Point Leadership Foundation to address a mass meeting in Church Hill.

A word of caution: Rev. Rivers, an enthusiastic basher of the ongoing civil rights movement, is a passionate proponent of President Bush's scheme to dump government responsibility for social welfare programs onto the backs of faith-based institutions. For a Defenders analysis, visit our Web site for "A Commentary: Words of Caution About Rev. Rivers' New 'Movement.'"

Update on the Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal

Former Black Panther, celebrated journalist and Pennsylvania Death Row prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal is still fighting for his freedom. On March 8, his new legal team, headed by attorney Robert Bryan, petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for a new trial. The petition is posted on the Web site www.millions4mumia.org. Meanwhile, Mumia has prepared a solidarity statement to be read at the March 20 anti-war protests.

Defenders Web Site Tops First 100 Visitors!

Barely two weeks after bursting into cyberspace, the Defenders Web site logged its first 100 visitors! Since for most of that period we weren't yet registered with the major search engines (we are now), we assume our visitors came from our broadcast e-mail list. Thanks for stopping by, and please tell your friends. For now, the Web site will be the main way we communicate with the Greater Richmond community and the world at large. (Also, thanks to Richmond Indymedia http://richmond.indymedia.org for posting our reports on the trial of Richmond Police Detective David Melvin. Some of the reports were picked up and reposted by Indymedia sites in other U.S. cities, as well as in Belgium.)

Upcoming Events

Sat., March 20 Global Day of Action: Bring the Troops Home Now! End Colonial Occupation from Iraq to Palestine to Haiti to Everywhere! (See story above.)

Sun., March 21, 7 - 9 p.m. -- "Iraq: One Year Later" A panel discussion with Dr. Ali Hossaini, founder, Islamic Center of Virginia; Saba Abed, president, Ibn Rushd Cultural Center; Larry Syverson, member, Military Families Speak Out; Marie Rietmann, Public Policy director, Womens Action for New Directions; Glen Besa, regional director for the Appalachian Region of the Sierra Club. Sponsored by Richmond Peace Education Center and PeaceAndJustice @ First Unitarian Church. First Unitarian Church, 1000 Blanton Ave.

Wed., March 31, 7 p.m., & Thurs., April 1, 7 p.m. -- "Jerusalem Women Speak" Nahla Assali, a Muslim Palestinian, Michal Sagi, a Jewish Israeli, and Dr. Nuha Khoury, a Christian Palestinian, will visit Richmond on March 31 and April 1 as part of a 17-day U.S. tour sponsored by Partners for Peace, a D.C.-based organization that works for a just and lasting peace in the Middle East. According to the sponsor, "The speakers' presentations will include different points of view as they emphasize a common assertion of the fundamental need to share the land." March 31: Unity Christ Church of Bon Air, 923 Buford Road.

APRIL IS NATIONAL LEAD AWARENESS MONTH

Thurs., April 1, 7 p.m. -- Defenders Public Forum: "Lead Poisoning in Richmond" with Zakia Shabazz, founder and national director of United Parents Against Lead. Asbury United Methodist Church, 324 N. 29th St. (Corner of 29th and East Marshall streets in Church Hill.) (See story above.)

Sat., April 3 -- 139th Anniversary of the Liberation of Richmond! Black union soldiers lead the way into Richmond as fleeing Confederates burn much of the city to the ground. Enslaved Africans are freed from the notorious Lumpkins Jail in the downtown slave-trading area known as the Devils Half-Acre. Note: This is the area that certain Richmond corporate leaders want to desecrate with a new baseball stadium!

April 29 - May 2 -- United Parents Against Lead Conference 2004 Dinner meeting with featured speaker and UPAL "Spokesmom" actress Vanessa Williams; "A Town Hall Meeting on Lead" presented by the Coalition for Environmentally Safe Communities; training sessions on lead hazard control. Radisson Historic Richmond, 301 W. Franklin St. Information: (804) 714-1618.

City Notes

[The following information is taken from media releases from the city of Richmond Office of Communications, Media Relations and Marketing 646-7958.]

Home buying seminar at Pine Camp

A free homebuyers seminar will be held at Pine Camp Community Center, 4901 Old Brook Road, Monday, March 22, 7 - 8:30 p.m. To register: (804) 341-0047. (All callers must use the 804 area code.)

Caribbean Steel Pan Orchestra at Pine Camp

The Caribbean Steel Pan Orchestra will present a free concert on Friday, March 26, 7 p.m., at Pine Camp. Information: 646-3675.

7th District Spring Break Festival

The Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities; the East District Initiative; Vice Mayor Delores L. McQuinn; and Blaq Psyicle Entertainment presents the 7th District Spring Break Festival, Saturday, April 10, noon to 4 p.m., at the Oakwood Park Walking Trail, Melton and Canepa streets (between Oakwood Avenue and S Street). Rain date is April 17. An Easter egg hunt, entertainment, sports, games, a fashion show, refreshments, a yard sale from 8 a.m. to noon and recording artists Ruin, Shawanda and Bigga Man. Information: 646-3012.

Spring & Summer Activity Guide now available

A copy of the citys Spring & Summer Activity Guide can be downloaded from www.RichmondGov.com. Printed versions are available at all city libraries and community centers. The guide includes a schedule of classes and activities, special events, cultural affairs, senior activities, clubs, organizations, athletic events and community center activities. For a copy, call 646-5733.

"Bread Day" program serves neighborhoods

Thousands of pounds of free food is available each week in Richmond for those in need. The food, donated by area grocery stores, is provided on Tuesdays at 4 p.m. at the Ann Hardy Plaza in Highland Park and on Thursdays at 4 p.m. at the Powhatan Community Center on Northampton Street. The "Bread Day" program is a partnership of the Central Virginia Foodbank and the citys Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities. Participants, who include the elderly, those on fixed incomes and low-wage workers, must complete a "tracking form" on their first visit. They then receive a prepacked bag of groceries. They can also select additional items from a variety of breads, pastries and other packaged foods. No additional paperwork is necessary on subsequent visits. Information: 646-1442.

Midnight Basketball expands to Westhampton

Teens who want to play Midnight Basketball can now participate at the Westhampton Community Center. The program for ages 11-17 combines life-skill workshops with basketball drill clinics and is held on Thursdays, 4-6 p.m. Participation is free. Information: 646-1113 or visit www.richmondmbl.org.

City Meetings

Monday, March 22 -- City Council meetings: Informal, 3 p.m.; formal, 6 p.m.; Council chambers.

Thursday, March 25 -- Slave Trail Commission meeting; East District Initiative, 701 N. 25th St., 4 p.m.

Wednesday, March 31 -- City Managers annual budget presentation; Council chambers, 4 p.m.

Tuesday, April 13 -- City Council meetings: Informal, 3 p.m.; formal, 6 p.m.; Council chambers.