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

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

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

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

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 [email protected]. ____________________________________________________________________ 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!

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.

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

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!

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.

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