This week on Race Capitol, tune in to our latest: "Reclamation East End: Resisting the Recreation Plantation", where we dive into an in-depth interview with Brian Palmer of the Friend of the East End, about his entry into the work of reclaiming East End Cemetery and archiving Richmond Black history. The cemetery has over 15,000 people buried there and is at risk of becoming a new bike lane and green space, per the Enrichmond plan. The Enrichmond master plan is lacking the critical preservation component that would ensure the evidence of Black existence and resistance isn’t buried under gentrification to come. 

We discuss how the Enrichmond Foundation has exploited the labor and efforts of the descendants of East End Cemetery. The white led non-profit has now been given ownership of the land, as they are the sole recipient of the $400,000 grant from the Virginia Outdoor Association and now is planning what we call the “recreation plantation”, that includes construction but no preservation. Per usual, the nonprofit industrial complex has teamed up with Black elected officials who have lost the political will and moral courage to fight, and still, we rise. The resistance to our sacred spaces lives on through persistence of the Friends of the East End Cemetery. 

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It takes our team about 30 hours each week to research, interview, record, and produce our politically educational episodes. Be sure to become a monthly sustainer of our independent Black media platform by joining our #patreon www.patreon.com/racecapitol 
 
--
Resources: 
Brain Palmer University of Richmond Visiting Professor Profile: https://journalism.richmond.edu/faculty/bpalmer/ 
New York Times East End Cemetery: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/07/opinion/sunday/for-the-forgotten-african-american-dead.html 
In Need of Repair, richmond Magazine East End Cemetery: https://richmondmagazine.com/news/news/in-need-of-repair/ 
The Nation: Reclaiming Black History, One Grave At a Time: https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/reclaiming-black-history-one-grave-at-a-time/ 
Style Weekly Brian Palmer Wins Peabody Award: https://www.styleweekly.com/richmond/richmonds-brian-palmer-wins-peabody-award-for-investigation-into-spending-on-confederate-memorials/Content?oid=14579165 
WRIC East End Cemetery Grant Voting Promotion: https://www.wric.com/news/local-news/friends-of-east-end-cemetery-competing-for-25k-grant/ 
Why Does this Old Cemetery Matter: https://www.readingthepictures.org/2016/05/brian-palmer-old-cemetery/ 
AtlaticBlackStar Black Leaders fight to Save and restore Black Cememtaries https://atlantablackstar.com/2021/02/16/jim-crow-is-embedded-into-the-landscape-leaders-fight-to-save-and-restore-black-cemeteries-in-richmond-after-years-of-neglect/ 
1708 East End Cemetery: https://www.1708gallery.org/exhibitions/exhibition-detail.php?id=99 
VPR East end Article: https://www.vqronline.org/photography/2020/12/lives-east-end 
Church Hill People’s News (CHPN) East End Cemetery: https://chpn.net/2020/11/14/friends-of-east-end-update/ 
Dumbarton Oaks East End Article: https://www.doaks.org/research/garden-landscape/project-grants/palmer-2017-2018 
2016 Vimeo Timelapse video of East End Cemetery Clean Up: https://vimeo.com/190653055

Reclamation East End: Resisting the Recreation Plantation (feat. Brian Palmer)

Damon Harris of Tealhouse Company joins Chelsea Higgs Wise to discuss what he sees is stopping Black homeowners, renters and eager home buyers from finding affordable homes. 

During the show you'll hear a clip from Omari Al-Qadaffi of Leaders of the New South. His comments come from the Valentine's Controversial History Discussion from 2020

Richmond Gentrification with Damon Harris

This week on Race Capitol, we revisit audio from our very first episode in 2018 -- talking about justice for Marcus-David Peters. This Friday, May 14th, 2021 marks three years since Marcus-David Peters was killed by Richmond police officer Michael Nyantakyi while suffering a mental health crisis. 

Since then, so much has happened; but the Richmond police department and the City of Richmond have yet to be held accountable for his murder, which was ruled a “justifiable homicide”. 

Even after a global uprising for Black lives - including over 100 days of protest here in Richmond last summer - Marcus’ case has yet to be re-opened, and Richmond commonwealth attorney Colette McEachin has doubled down on the ruling in the case. The community has been clear on what their demands are - and these demands can be met swiftly. Colette McEachin can re-open the case. The police, both Richmond police and Virginia State police, can be defunded and abolished. 

 This year, the Richmond Police have brutalized countless individuals, including many of you, listening to this show. They shot Orlando Carter Jr. from behind on New Year’s Eve, and continue to maintain that there was nothing wrong with their actions. We know that the police are violent, and we will not be silent. Our silence can cost us our lives and the future of our descendants. 

we start by hearing from Princess Blanding, sister to Marcus-David Peters, and Princess, by the way, is currently a candidate for governor here in Virginia. 

After that, we hear city council testimony from community organizer Rebecca Keel, and delve into co-host Chelsea Higgs Wise’s conversation with Dr. Eli Coston and Cory “Ulysses” Carter of the VCU YDSA chapter in 2018. We will also revisit some archived audio along the way. 

This weekend, Marcus-David Peters’ family and the community will gather at Marcus David Peters circle together for a celebration of life beginning at 1pm on Saturday, May 15th.

Remembering Marcus-David Peters 3 Years Later

This week on Race Capitol, Juniper (@wetland_maroon) from Maroon Grove Freedom Farms discusses their call to action this Thursday at Sussex City Council to #StopTheQuarry. The council will hear comments regarding the newest quarry being proposed by Titan MidAtlantic Aggregates. 

Tune in to hear how the Black Liberated land of Maroon Groove Freedom Farm was attained through reparations & what's at stake if Titan Midatlantic is granted to exploit the land by depleting another quarry. As always we kick off our episode with our Race Capitol reframe, where we explore local headlines such as #evictions, national headlines with our #COVIDWatch and international stories from #Colombia and #Palestine

Maroon Grove Freedom Farm- Solidarity with Sussex

This week on Race Capitol, we spill the tea on the CRB! We talk with Jewel Gatling + Angela Fontaine of the Richmond Civilian Review Board Taskforce to discuss how the taskforce came about, the barriers that they are facing, the obstacles they’ve overcome, and what we can expect moving forward. As always, we kick things off with our Race capitol reframe, diving into local, national and international headlines. 

Support our independent Black media platform by subscribing where you listen to podcasts, sharing this track, and donating to us on Patreon (www.patreon.com/racecapitol) 

Join RVA CRB meetings each Wednesdays at 6:30pm via zoom: https://vcu.zoom.us/j/97009304361#success. Follow them on twitter @RVACRB and reach out to the taskforce via email at crbrva@gmail.com 

Episode resources:

Who Polices RPD? Race Capitol episode from 2019 https://soundcloud.com/user-461048344/episode-10-who-polices-rpd 

Richmond's police oversight board would be among nation's most wide-ranging if funding approved https://richmond.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/richmonds-police-oversight-board-would-be-among-nations-most-wide-ranging-if-funding-approved/article_f5fbe7b9-57ab-5eaa-ae2d-e404e95dcdea.html 

What Can Richmond Learn From Charlottesville CRB: https://vpm.org/news/articles/15921/what-can-richmond-learn-from-charlottesvilles-civilian-review-board 




From our reframe: 

Floyd one year later: Kalia Harris on holding powerful people accountable and keeping each other safe when governments don't: https://richmond.com/news/local/floyd-one-year-later-kalia-harris-on-holding-powerful-people-accountable-and-keeping-each-other/article_02577e00-0e87-5c82-8bb9-65f98e1b0af9.html 

Campaigns to Defund Police Have Seen Major Wins — and They’re Not Stopping
https://truthout.org/articles/campaigns-to-defund-police-have-seen-major-wins-and-theyre-not-stopping/ 

People Expected Police Behavior to Change After George Floyd’s Murder. The Numbers Tell a Different Story: https://time.com/6046645/police-killings-2021/ 

Emails show Minneapolis police chief coordinated with PR pros to fight council, protect budget https://minnesotareformer.com/2021/05/24/with-budget-on-the-line-minneapolis-police-chief-coordinated-with-political-operatives-to-lobby-the-city-council-emails-show/ 

OPINION: Privatizing Creighton: https://m.styleweekly.com/richmond/opinion-privatizing-creighton/Content?oid=17474563 

CDC COVID-19 Data Tracker: https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/ 

Black Lives Matter activists said a man tried to hit them with his car. The suspect turned out to be a judge
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/05/17/north-carolina-judge-protesters-hit/    

Charleston church shooter starts appeal in conviction, sentencing in Richmond: https://www.nbc12.com/2021/05/25/charleston-church-shooter-starts-appeal-conviction-sentencing-richmond/ 

IMF pitches $50B plan to end coronavirus pandemic https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/5/21/imf-pitches-50b-plan-to-end-coronavirus-pandemic 
SENATE PREPARING $10 BILLION BAILOUT FUND FOR JEFF BEZOS SPACE FIRM https://theintercept.com/2021/05/25/jeff-bezos-blue-origin-senate-bailout/ 

To distract from Gaza slaughter, Israel lobby manufactures antisemitism freakout
https://thegrayzone.com/2021/05/24/gaza-slaughter-israel-lobby-antisemitism/

Israeli Police Round Up Palestinian Protesters Out of Global Spotlight https://theintercept.com/2021/05/24/israeli-police-round-palestinian-protesters-global-attention-fades/?utm_campaign=theintercept&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social

Whats the Tea on CRB? (feat. Jewel Gatling & Angela Fontaine of RVA Civilian Review Board Taskforce)

This week on Race Capitol, we talk about solidarity from #RVA to #Palestine with journalist Siona Peterous and filmmaker and photographer Michael Kamel, the co-hosts of the @ownyourstories podcast. 

Our dialogue centers creative and artistic tactics of resistance - from reclaimed spaces, to movement journalists, to musicians - fighting for collective liberation from the river to the sea. 

We also hear Dr. Noura Erakat’s powerful speech from a #SaveSheikhJarrah rally in Washington D.C. last month. As always, we kick off this week’s episode with our Race Capitol #Reframe, looking at the latest local, national, and international headlines. 

Support our independent Black media platform by subscribing where you listen to podcasts, sharing + bookmarking this post, and donating to us on #Patreon

Featured Music:
“Free Palestine” - Abe Batson
“Free Palestine” - Genocide
“‘Merica” - Rebelationz

Resources: 
Follow on instagram: @OwnYourStories, @KamelWorld, @see.oh.nah, @nouraerakat, @DCPFAF
Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions on Israel https://bdsmovement.net/ 
DC Palestinian Film & Arts Festival https://www.dcpfaf.org/
Justice For Some(book by Noura Erakat) https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=26507 
Freedom Is a Constant Struggle (book by Angela Davis) https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/780-freedom-is-a-constant-struggle
Except for Palestine (book by Marc Lamont Hill) https://thenewpress.com/books/except-for-palestine 
Gaza in Context http://www.gazaincontext.com/ 
What Does Palestine Mean for Black America? A Conversation in Partnership with the Dream Defenders (panel discussion) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqn2_os_LJY 
Israel now holding 13 Palestinian journalists https://rsf.org/en/news/israel-now-holding-13-palestinian-journalists 

Reframe Resources:
Isiah Brown GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-the-family-of-isiah-brown?utm_campaign=p_cp_url&utm_medium=os&utm_source=customer 
Chesterfield's third-largest mobile home park could change hands. Residents worry what comes next https://richmond.com/news/local/chesterfields-third-largest-mobile-home-park-could-change-hands-residents-worry-what-comes-next/article_2ce3f267-a4c4-59e7-96a9-365b66364f69.html 
Latinos have become the second-most vaccinated in Virginia. Community clinics are a major reason why https://richmond.com/news/local/latinos-have-become-the-second-most-vaccinated-in-virginia-community-clinics-are-a-major-reason/article_d73629b3-5e11-5881-a67c-f3c5f295b8be.html
Concerns about missing work may be a barrier to coronavirus vaccination https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/05/27/time-off-vaccine-workers/ 
Historic Deception Bill Passes Illinois Legislature, Banning Police from Lying to Youth During Interrogations https://innocenceproject.org/historic-deception-bill-passes-illinois-legislature-banning-police-from-lying-to-youth-during-interrogations/ 
Arizona Plans Executions Using Same Poison Gas Used in Nazi Death Camps https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/may/28/arizona-gas-chamber-executions-documents 
U.S. unveils $310 mln in Central America aid https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/us-unveils-310-mln-central-america-aid-guatemala-agrees-work-together-migration-2021-04-27/ 
Who is Naftali Bennett, Israel’s potential prime minister? https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/5/31/naftali-bennett-who-is-israels-new-potential-prime-minister 
Israel and Colombia: The ever more special relationship https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/israel-and-colombia-ever-more-special-relationship 
Birds of a Fascist feather: why Israel is aiding Colombia’s crackdown on protesters https://mronline.org/2021/05/31/birds-of-a-fascist-feather-why-israel-is-aiding-colombias-crackdown-on-protesters/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=birds-of-a-fascist-feather-why-israel-is-aiding-colombias-crackdown-on-protesters 
All Eyes on Calí, Colombia https://blackallianceforpeace.com/newsletter/alleyesoncalicolombia

Free the People: From RVA to Palestine (feat. Michael Kamel, Siona Peterous and Noura Erakat)

The movement for the abolition of slavery, which includes the dismantling of prisons and policing, has never had a shortage of prisoner resistance. The legacy of those like Harriet Tubman and Nat Turner—who inspired free people to join them in a struggle for collective liberation, all while operating as either captives or fugitives of the state—lives on within us and our movement. It is the folks on the inside, and those most affected by the violence of carceral systems, who continue to educate, agitate, and organize a resistance against the disenfranchisement of oppressed people. Together, we will lift the sky—with the ashes of the Amerikan plantation fading away into the Earth beneath our feet. 

This week on Race Capitol, we discuss inside-outside solidarity movements taking place across the country. Co-host Nomi Isaac sits down with Prison Lives Matter members, Nick Grevens from IDOC Watch and Kwame Shakur, co-founder and chairman of the New Afrikan Liberation Collective. We close the show with words from Freedom Fighter and Former Black Panther member Assata Shakur.

Resources: 
- “Down: Reflections on Prison Resistance in Indiana” 
- “Radical Resistance for Prison Abolition” by Comrade Frank Talk, a Captive New Afrikan Revolutionary
- “Stand Up, Struggle Forward” by Sanyika Shakur
- “A War Within Our Own Boundaries: Lyndon Johnson's Great Society and the Rise of the Carceral State” by Elizabeth Hinton
- Assata Shakur in Her Own Words: Rare Recording of Activist Named to FBI Most Wanted Terrorist List via Democracy Now!

Music:
“Amerikan Sins” - Naomi Isaac
“None of Us Are Free” - Solomon Burke
“My Queen is Harriet Tubman” - Sons of Kemet
“The Guillotine” - The Coup

Fire To The Prisons: Igniting the Plantation Through Inside-Outside Solidarity

Evictions and housing insecurity aren’t new issues in this country; since the beginning of European colonization of the Amerikas, displacement, forced encampment, and enslavement have been critical to sustaining the wealth of a small number of white male settlers. The foundation of this U.S. occupation has always rested on the practices of extraction and expansionism, building over anyone who dares to challenge the corporate elite's gross mismanagement of the land. The call to “free the land” is not simply about grass, water, or territory; it’s a call for reclamation: of culture, autonomy, and community control.

This week on Race Capitol, co-host Nomi Isaac sits down with Haitian-born Pan-African theorist, organizer, and author of the book “Take Back the Land: Land, gentrification, and the Umoja Village Shantytown,” Max Rameau. We discuss the links between policing and housing--and reflect on how a small community of housing insecure people launched a 6-month long occupation to protest against gentrification in FL. 

In the spirit of Black August, we open the show with words + a call to action from New Afrikan prisoner, Shaka Shakur.

Take Back the Land! : Land, Gentrification, and the Umoja Village Shantytown

Content Warning: Descriptions of police violence

Jennifer Carter, mother of Orlando Carter, Jr. joins host Chelsea Higgs Wise to discuss her son’s case. 

Orlando Carter, Jr., was 27 years old when he was a target of police violence this past new year’s eve. An incident which started as an alleged traffic violation, left Orlando with a broken leg and 3 shots from behind by Richmond Police Department. He thankfully survived, but is now facing charges, while also being charged monthly for an ankle monitor while he awaits his next court date on October 8th at 9am. 

Every single day of 2021, since January 1st, the Carter family has been working to repair their lives due to the violence inflicted by Levar’s Richmond Police Department.

Tune in to Jennifer Carter’s interview after this week’s Race Capitol reframe, as she tells us what she can about what happened on the night of New Years Eve.

Additional reporting on Orlando's case by Ali Rockett: https://richmond.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/officers-testimony-on-thursday-differs-from-richmond-police-account-of-officer-involved-shooting/article_ddf010ef-d10d-579d-a3d1-9626c8e36db5.html

Donate directly to the Carter family to support #ResourcingRepair : 

$cashapp JenJen913 
Venmo: Jen-Carter-13

Want to support Race Capitol’s independent reporting?

✨ Subscribe to our show on your favorite podcast platform 
✨ Join our Patreon and become a monthly donor
✨ Purchase a LIMITED EDITION “Pack It Up Levar” Merchandise on our Bonfire Campaign

Thanks for your listens and shares of this week’s important episode!

Justice For Orlando

This week on Race Capitol,  we talked with the #LegalizeItRight coalition of Virginia about the new laws around simple possession of marijuana that started this past July. 

In July, Marijuana Justice hosted the #LegalizeItRight coalition at their #MarijuanaMonthlies. Today the coalition includes: Marijuana Justice, Rise for Youth Virginia Student Power Network, Justice Forward Virginia.

The #LegalizeItRight coalition was formed in 2019 to prepare for the 2020 Virginia legislative session to push elected officials to repeal the prohibition of simple possession due to the racial disparities so blatantly apparent in Virginia marijuana arrests and convictions.

As of July 1, 2021 the coalition met their 2 year campaign mission to repeal the prohibition of simple possession, and Virginia was the first in the south to do so. But of course, there is more to do. 

Tune in today to hear from coalition partners to #KnowYourRisk with marijuana in the home, the car, at schools + universities, and public spaces.  We also hear what’s next for the coalition, including #repeal, #repair, and #reparations

REEFER REVOLUTION (part 4): Legalization in Virginia

This week on Race Capitol, co-hosts Nomi Isaac and Kalia Harris talk to community organizers about increased surveillance + policing in public housing neighborhoods in Richmond. Last month, five license plate readers were installed in both public housing neighborhoods and areas that Black people frequent. That, in addition to dozens of surveillance cameras that were already installed in public housing neighborhoods over the last couple of years has community members ringing the alarm. 

Hear from  Yohance Whitaker of Richmond Transparency & Accountability project, and Legal Aid Justice Center, as well as Omari Al-Qadaffi of Leaders of the New South, as we talk about the history + legacy of policing in public housing, the current situation, and its implications for Black freedom and autonomy in public housing spaces in the future.

Surveillance State: Policing Public Housing in RVA

NOTE TO LISTENER: Following the recording of this episode, it was brought to our attention that Marquis Bey had previously demonstrated a pattern of abusive behavior. Race Capitol has decided to remove Marquis’ interview from FTTPII in order to hold the tension between rejecting disposability of Black trans people while prioritizing survivors of sexual harm. We understand that those involved have completed a formal accountability process facilitated by transformative justice practitioners hired by AK Press. Read AK Press’ statement here. 

Race Capitol believes in our inherent value. We are against disposability culture which we understand to be a practice exercised by those within a privileged class or social position that sees poor, Black, Fat, Trans, non-men, Disabled, and other historically oppressed people as expendable. The practice of disposability culture causes those impacted to suffer the loss of social, political, and economic support. Considering Marquis' position as an academic, published author, and respected professional, Race Capitol believes that, at this time, removing Marquis' interview will not have any significant impact on their material conditions. 

We are birthing that world together where accountability is a daily practice.

Race Capitol remains dedicated to creating a platform for those who have been violenced by the System--including by those who hold power within it. We have reached out to Marquis informing them of the concerns and look to those most impacted by Marquis’ abuse to inform further action. We are not in contact with survivors at the time of this statement. Survivors interested in contacting us can reach us at racecapitol@gmail.com.
____________________________________________________________________
The liberation of colonized people necessitates the abolition of policing and prisons. Emancipation calls on us to not simply build a better world, in which less people are oppressed--but rather to build a world where the conditions for oppression become an impossibility:
 
—one which affirms the lives of all people;
—one that is divorced from the institutions of ableism, racism, and homophobia;
—one that disallows the possibility for transmisogyny, that makes deportations obsolete;
—one that not only changes, but has the infrastructure to be transformative; 
—where there are no borders, binaries, or limitations. 

Abolition requires our solutions to be imaginative and boundless. And abolitionism as both a movement and a project has continued to do just that since the colonization of the Amerikas. While the movement evolves into ways that are sometimes replications of state violence, the ever growing schools within the abolitionist movement lay the foundation for us to build a world that is much more free than we could ever imagine.  This makes abolition more than one final project, rather--in the words of professor Marquis Bey--a constant state of becoming.

This week on Race Capitol we meditate on Blackness, captivity, and freedom through exploring schools of abolitionism: non-profit (or NPIC) abolitionism and state abolitionism with co-host Nomi. 

First, we speak with Omi Mars (they/he/love), about how the freedom of oppressed people + marginalized genders necessitates the abolition of the NPIC (non-profit industrial complex), as well as their recent resignation from the Abolitionist Teaching Network after surviving repeated organizational harm. You can support them by visiting bit.ly/RefusingTheNPIC and donating directly. Please share!

Finally, we hear from New Afrikan Prison Solidarity Organizer, CoCo (she/they) where they talk briefly about how the movement calls on us to develop the infrastructure for autonomous, sustainable community support. 

Visit https://linktr.ee/Racecapitol to see other ways you can support our guests!

Fire to the Prisons II: Meditations on Blackness, Captivity, and Freedom

This week on Race capitol, we are talking about the casino; exploring the legacy of wealth extraction, colonialism, and big shiny developments here in Richmond. We speak with community advocate and musician Allan-Charles Chipman and local artist Shon. After we speak with our guests, all three hosts will provide some deeper analysis on the upcoming casino referendum in Richmond. 

What are your thoughts on the Casino? Sound off in the comments! 


Music credit:

Aloe Blacc - I Need A Dollar 
Nelly - Ride Wit Me
The Roots - Ain Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around

No Cops. No Colonies. No Casinos.

This week on Race Capitol, we are in dialogue with Lisa Woolfork, Associate Professor of English at the University of Virginia and Christina Rivera of Congregate Cville, a Unitarian Universalist minister, as they reflect on the recent four year anniversary of A11 and A12 and the impact of the Sines v. Kessler trial on members of the Charlottesville community. 

Tune in this week as we center the People’s narratives from the ground in so-called Charlottesville. Thank you to our guests for joining this week!

Give to the A11 A12 Survivors Support Fund:  https://secure.actblue.com/donate/a11a12support 

https://bit.ly/rva-to-cville
Resources:

Black Women Stitch Podcast (Lisa)
https://kite.link/StitchPlease
https://linktr.ee/blackwomenstitch
Facebook 
https://facebook.com/congregatecville
https://facebook.com/CLFUU
https://facebook.com/CalledToJustice 
Twitter
@CongregateVille

Congregate C'ville www.congregatecville.com
Swords Into Plowshares article https://apnews.com/article/race-and-ethnicity-virginia-charlottesville-public-art-82967e27bfe3a0febd9b584bde381a99

FROM RVA TO CVILLE: SOLIDARITY FOREVER

For our last episode of 2021: We are talking about mutual aid with Yaya Ogaldez of Richmond Mutual Aid and Sarandon Elliot of UVA Mutual Aid. 

Our conversation explores the work of building life affirming institutions in so-called Charlottesville and here at home in the fallen capitol of the confederacy. We kick it off with our last Race Capitol reframe of 2021. 

Airing at 10am on WRIR 97.3 FM & streaming on all platforms! 

P.S. stay tuned for some more goodies before the year is out! 

#WeTakeCareofUs #WeKeepUsSafe #VA #RVA #Cville #FundBlackFutures #DefundThePolice 

Follow our guests:
@uvamutualaid @madrva  

Resources
UVA Mutual Aid Free Store GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/uva-mutual-aid-free-store?utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link_all&utm_source=customer 
Donate to Richmond Mutual Aid via venmo or Paypal @richmondmutualaid 
MADRVA website: https://richmondmutualaid.wixsite.com/resources
Buy Richmond Mutual aid merch + support free store:  https://madrva.squarespace.com/ 
As World Confronts Omicron Variant, Top 8 Pfizer & Moderna Investors Make $10 Billion in a Week https://www.democracynow.org/2021/12/7/pfizer_and_moderna_shareholders_profit 
Gov. Northam proposes police pay raises in upcoming budget https://vpm.org/news/articles/27718/gov-northam-proposes-police-pay-raises-in-upcoming-budget 
As Omicron Variant Circles the Globe, African Nations Face Blame and Bans https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/27/world/africa/coronavirus-omicron-africa.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur 
Omicron COVID variant was in Europe before South African scientists detected and flagged it to the world https://www.cbsnews.com/news/omicron-variant-covid-in-europe-netherlands-before-alert-raised/?ftag=CNM-00-10aab7e&linkId=142329193 
Richmond Public Schools teachers are first in the state to gain collective bargaining rights https://richmond.com/news/local/richmond-public-schools-teachers-are-first-in-the-state-to-gain-collective-bargaining-rights/article_1d74e090-bb83-5fb0-bd22-81564ac872cb.html

WE KEEP US SAFE PT. 2 (Feat. Yaya Ogaldez & Sarandon Elliot)

NEW EPISODE ALERT: This week on Race Capitol, we are kicking off the year with our very first COVID WATCH episode - all about community care in Richmond. We will dive into some local mutual aid efforts that have been addressing the lack of PPE in the RVA area with Lauren Garcia, a current pHD student at the University of Virginia and VCU alum and Natalie del Castillo of River City Harm Redux.

Be sure to subscribe to our Black independent media platform everywhere that you listen to podcasts

Support River City Harm Redux by donating via venmo @/rivercityharmredux

Support our independent media platform by becoming a monthly sustainer on #patreon www.patreon.com/racecapitol 

#WeTakeCareofUS #COVIDWatch #RVA #VA #MutualAid

COVID WATCH PART 1 (feat. Lauren Garcia + Natalie del Castillo)

The first show gives a quick intro into my lens then dives in @Justice and Reformation for Marcus-David Peters ✊🏾

Great interviews from those at Mayor Stoney’s Community Meeting last week where he stood next to the Chief of Police as the chief denied a national problem of police shootings of black and brown people. #RVA

Race Capitol RVA Special: My Lens + Data Matters in Justice

Womxn of color share their stories from The Broad, a space dedicated for womxn who work and live in the former capital of the confederacy.

Episode #3: Womxn's Voices from The Broad

As we mourn the loss of community leader Nipsey Hussle, we keep his work going by lifting Richmonders like Ade Mason of Bridging the Gap. He joined us to talk about coordinating resources for youth ages 10-24 who have survived gun violence in RVA.

Episode #5: Youth Gun Violence in Richmond

We discuss Richmond music and the history of hip hop with two leading RVA artists, Michael Millions and Radio Blitz. Plus we chat on why Something in the Water matters for Virginia and the culture.

Episode #12: Hip Hop History in Richmond

Omilade Janine Bell, Founder of Elegba Folklore Society narratives the Juneteenth holiday plus the importance of Richmond, Virginia residents to acknowledge this history's impact on our place, space, and time.

Episode #15 Juneteenth with Elegba Folklore Society

Richmond makes plenty of space for art, so why is it so hard for Black artists to paint their own city? This week we're talking representation, street art and mural culture with Silly Genius, Dahm and PT Carroll of All City Art Club.

Episode #18: Paint the Town Black

It's 2019 and we're STILL mitigating redlining and working to desegregate schools in Richmond. This week we're talking housing and education with Daryl Hayott and Bill Rice of Virginia Poverty Law Center and Taikein Cooper of Virginia Excels.

Episode #20: Housing & Education

Wtf is an "ally" if not a congratulatory term white people use to pat themselves on the back for doing the right thing? This week we're unpacking the word with white people doing the work, Jase Hatcher and Joshua Ballew.

Episode #23: Wtf is an "ally"?

We cover the latest topics with 2 of our faves!

Taikein Cooper & Allan-Charles Chipman join us to tackle:
1. Coliseum 
2. Domestic White Terrorism
3. Need More Jesus

PLUS “We Belong Here” featured as the show outro!

Episode #22: From Jesus to the Coliseum, and the white terrorism in between

This week we learn about rank choice voting and why the 2019 election in Virginia has even more implications than 2020. We're on with Dr. Kimberly Matthews, Dr. Sally Hudson and Tram Nguyen.

Get out the/and VOTE

What happens when a powerful utility company decides to sink its teeth into a small Black community in Virginia? In the first episode of our series on Dominion Power's land grabs, we look at the moves Governor Northam did and didn't make to stop one of his largest corporate donors from building an interstate gas pipeline through Virginia and a toxic compressor station in the town of Union Hill. We hear from Union Hill native, Richard Walker, as well as Dr. Mary Finley-Brook, a professor of geography at the University of Richmond, and Whitney Whiting, host of End of the Line, a podcast all about the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.

Dominion Takeover Part 1: Union Hill & Environmental Justice

We've got two of Richmond's legendary movement builders on the show this week. Art Burton, founder of Kinfolk and leader of CUIA, and former NAACP state director King Salim Khalfani sit down together for the first time in 20 years to connect past narratives to today's push for freedom and justice.

Guess Who Needs to Be Invited to Dinner: The Need for Black Representation

Dr. Erica Armstrong Dunbar talks about the life and legacy of Ona Judge, a once enslaved woman who escaped the grips of George and Martha Washington. Dr. Dunbar is the author of Never Caught: The Washingtons' Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge, which was a 2017 finalist for the National Book Award and winner of the 2018 Frederick Douglas Book Award. More on Dr. Dunbar's work is available at https://ericaarmstrongdunbar.com/work

#SayHerName: Dr. Erica Armstrong Dunbar Meets Ona Judge

Chelsea Higgs Wise sits with Ai-Jen Poo and Alicia Garza of the National Domestic Workers' Alliance to chat about their Black Women Vote rally last November. Then Alexsis Rodgers, the Care In Action VA State Director that leaders the non profit working under the National Domestic Workers' Alliance in the commonwealth updates listeners on legislation, the Domestic Workers' Bill of Rights.

Virginia Care In Action Is Winning

On June 22, 2020, Black youth organizers announced it was time to #ReclaimRVA by renaming the space known as Richmond City Hall as Reclamation Square . Youth and allies held the space for over 7 hours until the Richmond Police Department and Virginia State Police approached the sit-in where a movie was about to begin in riot gear. The police then started tear gassing and shooting rubber bullets directly at the protestors. 

This week some of the youth organizers who are comrades of hosts Kalia Harris and Naomi Isaac join Race Capitol to talk about why that space was chosen, what happened that evening from their perspectives and what could come next for the #RichmondProtests

More from June 22 and our Hosts in the press:
-https://vpm.org/news/articles/14328/how-defunding-the-police-is-translating-into-policy-in-richmond
-https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/935kp5/police-turned-richmond-virginia-into-a-war-zone-last-night

All sample rights from the episode reserved from original source:
-https://youtu.be/eZmBy7C9gHQ 
-https://youtu.be/dFFWTsUqEaY
-https://soundcloud.com/onraewatkins/middle-finger-to-the-law-ft-fresco-steez-byp100-choir-onrae-lateal-mix

Reclamation Square RVA

July 1, 2020 Race Capitol takes back pride for all Black Lives during the month of Pride. Host Chelsea Higgs Wise connects to organizers in Seattle to further connect parallels to our fight here in the Capital of the Confederacy.

This episode Chelsea shares voices from Aurora Higgs (she/ they)a performer and Queer Health advocate, Natasha Crosby (she/ her) a Black Pride RVA Board Member, a Seattle LGBTQ Activist Jake Pack (he/ him) and Virginia Organizer for Southerners On New Ground, Rebecca Keel (they/ them). 

Hear more about the guests:
Aurora Higgs:
https://evolve-productions.com/aurorahiggs
IG: AuroraWhoIsShe
Twitter: AuroraWhoIsShe
TikTok: AuroraWhoIsShe
YOUTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPJGpBdyINrG_NP4b5KowaA/
CashApp: $Otterhausen
Venmo: @Aurora-Higgs

Natasha Crosby:
@natashadcrosby
@Blackpriderva

Jake Pack:
@itsjakepack

Rebecca Keel:
@campiagn_mama
@ignitekindred

UPDATED REBECCA KEEL INTERVIEW WITH EXCERPTS ON JULY 2*

Stonewall Was A Riot

November 25, 2020, on our episode “Solidarity Forever”, hosts Chelsea and Kalia talk to Afro-Indigenous activists in Portland Melanin Msvkoke (@melaninmvskoke) and Mark Herrera (@MarkAnthony195) about the critical role of Black and indigenous solidarity in our collective movement for total liberation. 

We also go through the latest headlines during our Race Capitol reframe segment. 
 
Become a monthly sustainer for our independent Black media platform on our patreon: patreon.com/racecapitol 

Donate to the Richmond Indigenous Society (venmo: @spitfire17) to support local work happening on Powhatan lands. 

Link to “2 Live & Die on The Plains” by Frank Waln: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtSW75us_rM

Link to “RICHMOND” by Nickelus F: https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=ZB7otCmWApY&list=RDAMVMZB7otCmWApY

Solidarity Forever feat Melanin Mvskoke and Mark Herrera

Race Capitol interrogates racial narratives in Richmond, Virginia, the former capitol of the Confederacy. www.racecapitol.com @RaceCapitol

Three Black feminist organizers deliver activist radio every Wednesday at 10am on WRIR LP 97.3 FM Richmond Independent Radio. Episodes loaded weekly. 

Created by: Chelsea Higgs Wise (she/her) 
Co-Hosts: Naomi Isaac (they/them) & Kalia Harris (she/her)

Race Capitol

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