Tea Time with Tagwa: Accountability is not justice. It is a requirement
Tagwa Shammet, Opinions Editor Tea timers, can you tell the difference between bright yellow and black in color? The difference between 34 ounces and eight ounces? If you answered yes, congratulations — you are more intelligent and aware than yet another Minnesota police officer. A Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, police officer shot and murdered Daunte Wright, […]
American policing: A history of racism and white supremacy
Tagwa Shammet, Opinions Editor The year is 1770. The Colonies are near their breaking point with Great Britain. Intense policing by British soldiers has proven unbearable to colony citizens, especially those in Boston. British soldiers walk around with chips on their shoulders, entering any home they please simply because they wear the British flag. They […]
Richmond community reacts to Derek Chauvin guilty verdict
Iman Mekonen, Managing Editor Katharine DeRosa, News Editor Emma Carlson, Contributing Writer Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all three charges for the murder of George Floyd in a verdict decided Tuesday afternoon. Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, was killed in May after Chauvin held his knee on Floyd’s neck in […]
This is Derek Chauvin’s trial. Not George Floyd’s.
Tagwa Shammet, Opinions Editor Ten months. It has been 10 months since the murder of a fellow Black American. It has been 10 months since an officer put his knee on a Black man’s neck. It has been 10 months and still no justice. May 25, 2020 is a day that will be remembered forever. […]
Black lives should be valued far beyond February
Tagwa Shammet, Opinions Editor It’s our favorite — and shortest — month of the year. Black History Month is upon us. White people, grab your wallets; this past year needs a hefty payment for reparations. Last year was a significant one for Black America. Our community changed the nation in unimaginable ways — that is, […]
Fence surrounds Lee statue ahead of potential removal
Katharine DeRosa, News Editor The Virginia Department of General Services erected a fence around Marcus-David Peters Circle on Monday in preparation for the removal of the Robert E. Lee statue. The department stated the fencing is not intended to be permanent. “As we await the resolution of legal challenges that have delayed the statue’s removal, […]
VCUarts annual magazine exemplifies artists’ role in creating social change
Grace McOmber, Contributing Writer Before opening this year’s edition of the VCUarts annual magazine, readers are struck with a portrait of George Floyd overlaid on a map of Minneapolis. The powerful image featured on the publication’s front cover represents its central theme: social change. “His image has become a symbol that should remind us, as […]
Politicians, activists seek to ban tear gas in Richmond
Jackson Rebraca, Contributing Writer “He was lying on the ground, gasping for breath and coughing so violently. At first, I genuinely thought he was suffocating. I stood with medics for 10 minutes while he fought to breathe.” This was how Sam Allen, a junior business major at VCU, described a man who was tear-gassed at […]
Students call for ‘anti-racist’ curricula override, increased diversity in School of Education
Katharine DeRosa, Staff Writer A group of VCU students are awaiting a plan from the School of Education three weeks after releasing a petition that asked for “anti-racist” curricula and practices as well as diversified course readings and training. Erin Hanley, a doctoral student in VCU’s counseling education program, said The Collective is an organization […]
Local, national musicians utilize song as tool for activism
Ebonique Little, Contributing Writer Cellist Beth Almore sits once a week near a graffitied Confederate statue and scattered protest signs, playing a somber song for 8 minutes and 46 seconds — signifying how long former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on George Floyd’s neck. “And even I feel like after six minutes, I’m like […]