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UPDATES on CURRENT ISSUES
& How You Can Be Involved:
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ACTION
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The long struggle to reclaim Richmond's
African Burial Ground is reaching a critical stage.
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The Defenders' Sacred Ground
Historical
Reclamation Project needs your help in distributing fliers to VCU
employees who still park their cars on the Burial Ground. The next
fliering session is tomorrow, Thursday, Nov. 18 at 4pm.
Also, if you haven't yet done
it, send
your e-mails to VCU Pres. Michael Rao, Richmond Mayor Dwight Jones
and Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell. It only tales about 30 seconds
when you log onto www.change.org and in the top right-hand
corner type in “Richmond's African Burial Ground.”
And please let us know if you
would be
willing to participate in a human blockade of the parking lot, an act
of civil disobedience we are planning if VCU continues to refuse to
shut down the parking lot that now sits on the Burial Ground, a
state-sponsored act of desecration that we cannot allow to continue.
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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 ...
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Join with the Defenders in
organizing
for the national march to demand jobs not war to be held on Saturday,
April 9, in New York City.
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Next issue of The Virginia Defender: October 2012.
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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
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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