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

Race Capitol

No Cops. No Colonies. No Casinos.

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, 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

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

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

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

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

For the week of June 9, 2021 Race Capitol interviews @nastassjaebony , an artist from Virginia who has a must-see production, Canaan: when I read your letter, I Hear Your Voice. Her show is brought to us by the @_canfoundation and will be shown at a FORMER COURTHOUSE in Hampton Virginia. Her brother Canaan is currently incarcerated, but this love letter to him goes far beyond his current place and this week’s interview is a peek into what it took to create such a powerful story. Not only is her work in a former Hampton courthouse, but specifically a volt, as she re-creates her own walls, not of a cage, just of love and family. Tune in this week to hear more about Nastassja as well the programming that's happening every weekend in the month of June. Visit Canaan: When I Read Your Letters, I Hear Your Voice 101 Kings Way Hampton VA Now- June 26, 2021

Canaan: when i read your letter, I feel your voice, with Nastassja Swift

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)

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, 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

Where a biologically biracial, politically black woman dissects racist and misogynistic narratives in the former capitol of the confederacy.

hubhopper

Race Capitol

hubhopper