Judge Rick Moore got one big issue out of the way in the two-years-long lawsuit against the city and City Council for its 2017 vote to remove statues of Confederate generals: The monuments of generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson are indeed war memorials under state code, which prohibits their removal. In court May […]
Judge Rick Moore got one big issue out of the way in the two-years-long lawsuit against the city and City Council for its 2017 vote to remove statues of Confederate generals: The monuments of generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson are indeed war memorials under state code, which prohibits their removal. In court May […]
By Jonathan Haynes City Councilor Wes Bellamy sat down for a revelatory interview at the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center January 10 to promote his new book, Monumental: It Was Never About a Statue. The title alludes to the former vice-mayor’s push to remove Confederate monuments from Charlottesville parks, and the racist backlash it […]
It was an unprecedented year for the city, but also one in which we saw a major shift among people in positions of power. Some heads rolled, some quietly retired, and the list of local leaders is almost unrecognizable from this time last summer. Charlottesville Police Chief Al Thomas abruptly resigned in December, making way […]
Rebranding hate If the #cvillestandsforlove looks familiar, like the “Virginia Is For Lovers” logo, for instance, that’s because Susan Payne, wearing her chair-of-the-Virginia-Tourism-Corporation-board hat, created the hashtag using the state’s 50-year-old iconic logo. “It’s the same family,” says Payne. “And it’s all free. No city money is being used.” According to Payne, Governor Terry McAuliffe […]
After City Council’s chaotic August 21 meeting where outraged attendees commandeered the meeting to vent about the deadly Unite the Right hate fest, many have suggested that trying to immediately conduct business as usual probably wasn’t the best idea, and that a wounded citizenry needed a chance to vent its hurt, anger and frustration. At […]
Barely 30 minutes into its August 21 meeting, City Council was in chaos. Three demonstrators were reportedly arrested, city officials left the chamber and the meeting’s video and audio feeds were cut off as protesters stood on the dais holding a banner that read, “Blood on your hands.” The rage, frustration and trauma from the […]
Last month’s City Council vote on a motion to remove the statue of General Robert E. Lee deadlocked 2-2 and left the chamber in disarray for 30 minutes. The issue was back on the agenda February 6 after Councilor Bob Fenwick announced he was changing his abstention to a vote to remove the statue, and […]
Charlottesville’s confrontation with its slave-owning past has resulted in difficult discussions since Vice-Mayor Wes Bellamy and Councilor Kristin Szakos called for the removal last March of statues of Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson and the renaming of the parks where they reside. At City Council’s January 17 meeting, the debate spiraled out […]
If it seems like we just finished an election, well, we did, but in Virginia, it’s never not an election year. In Charlottesville, the two seats on City Council currently held by Kristin Szakos and Bob Fenwick are up for grabs, and Szakos says she won’t be seeking another term. “Eight years is a long […]
After a year of debate, and a plea last week from the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors to delay a decision, the Charlottesville City Council voted 3-2 December 19 to allow mountain biking and trail running at Ragged Mountain Natural Area. “We are looking forward to working collaboratively with the city parks staff and all […]