While the coronavirus pandemic has disproportionately impacted communities of color this year, Black people have been dealing with “a pandemic of racism” in the United States for centuries, as Black mental health advocate Myra Anderson told C-VILLE over the summer. When Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on George Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes […]
While the coronavirus pandemic has disproportionately impacted communities of color this year, Black people have been dealing with “a pandemic of racism” in the United States for centuries, as Black mental health advocate Myra Anderson told C-VILLE over the summer. When Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on George Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes […]
In October, leaders at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Charlottesville penned a blog post accusing the Charlottesville Police Department of racial profiling. According to the clergy, CPD unnecessarily detained and intimidated a Black congregant as he was walking to church. On December 10, Charlottesville Police Chief RaShall Brackney held a press conference during which she […]
Under fire Shortly before midnight on November 15, a houseless Black man named Lawrence was reportedly violently detained by both Charlottesville and University police on the Corner. According to eyewitness accounts given to Defund Cville Police, three UPD officers pushed Lawrence into the brick wall in front of Cohn’s. A dozen more officers soon arrived […]
Defunders keep fighting “Does abolition really mean ending the police? Yes.” So said community organizer Ang Conn, as she spearheaded last Wednesday’s Zoom conversation on policing, hosted by Defund Cville Police. Over 80 community members joined in on the call. The group hopes to keep the pressure on as the summer of protests moves into […]
Locked up The “Crying Nazi” faces up to 22 years in prison. You have to make a lot of bad decisions in life for the local newspaper to write that sentence about you—and that’s exactly what Chris Cantwell has done. The New Hampshire far-right radio host came to Charlottesville for the 2017 Unite the Right […]
By Sydney Halleman It’s been over a decade since the University of Virginia has seen a serious attempt at unionization. The Staff Union at UVA dissolved in 2008 after failing to keep its membership count high enough, and a 2011 union effort fizzled before it could get off the ground. Now, as the coronavirus pandemic […]
Cracking down Just days after a Kenosha police officer shot Jacob Blake seven times in the back, sparking national outrage and protests, City Manager Tarron Richardson decided to crack down on gatherings in Charlottesville—targeting those organized by Black residents. While Richardson supports the right to “peaceably assemble” amidst the pandemic, he explained in a press […]
Since the violent arrest of an unhoused man on the Downtown Mall earlier this month, Defund Cville Police—along with numerous other activists and community members—have continued to call for the creation of a local mobile crisis unit, which would respond to emergency calls that the police are not equipped to handle. Lori Wood, director of […]
It’s been nearly two months since the murder of George Floyd, but protests against police violence continue around the country, including here in Charlottesville. Over a hundred protesters took to the streets July 17 to amplify Black women’s voices and struggles, and demand justice for those who’ve been killed by police, including Breonna Taylor and […]