"Rio's Cemetery of New Blacks sheds light on horrors of slave trade: Tooth analysis shows Africans taken from wide area ranging from Sudan in the north-east to Mozambique in the south." http://ping.fm/fyNfY

NOTE from SGHRP: Scientists in Rio are using the same tooth analysis technique first used on the bioarchaeological remains in the New York African Burial Ground to ascertain countries of origin for the enslaved men, women and children who were buried in this site. The mid-18th to early-19th century use of this cemetery (1760-1830) coincides with that of Richmond's African Burial Ground (1750-1816).

Richmond-area endorsers of the 2012 Virginia People's Assembly will hold a press conference TODAY Monday, Dec. 19, to respond to the two-year state budget being proposed by Gov. Robert McDonnell. The press conference will take place at noon outside the General Assembly Building at the intersection of N. 9th and E. Grace streets. DefLIVE will air Call In from press conference during today's show. Live via www.WRIR.org or 97.3 FM.

Global Occupation Action - http://ping.fm/nzOIU

DefendersLIVE! 12noon Mondays online at WRIR.org or 97.3 FM.

"Until the Well Runs Dry: Medicine and the Exploitation of Black Bodies, “Until the Well Runs Dry: Medicine and the Exploitation of Black Bodies” will be shown at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 2nd, at the Main Library during First Friday. The documentary is free and open to the public.

Christmas Day Dinner
25 December 2011 | @ The Conrad Center 1400 Oliver Hill Way Richmond, VA. Supervalu provides this holiday meal along with the support of Food Lion, Martins, Pepsi and Mimi's Whole Wheat (a Byrd House Market vendor). The meal will be served to the homeless and working poor from 9 am to 2 p.m that day wih buses picking up guests throughout the city starting at 8:30 a.m. Volunteers will help serve the dinner as well as help out in the gift room. Groups, churches, companies, individuals and others will provide gift bags filled with age and gender appropriate items for each guest that attends, and other new needed items such as coats, toys, shoes, tee shirts, thermal underwear, coats, and blankets. Bicycles and skateboards are raffled off to the children every half hour. Please contact Christy Ellis at 233-4064 ext. 209 if you are interested in participating in this experience. We need volunteers willing to donate gift bags and other needed new items and willing to volunteer in the dining room and gift room.

The trial of the trespassing cases of 5 Occupy Richmond participants is tomorrow, Tuesday, Nov. 29 at 2pm at the Manchester General District Courthouse, 920 Hull St. on Richmond's south side, 23224. Please attend to show your support and to bear public witness.

Nov 28 on DefendersLIVE: Richmond Free Press Editor Ray Boone Talks about his Special Guests - Occupy Richmond. Mondays on WRIR.org and 97.3 FM at Noon (and Tuesdays at noon online only)

CSPAN3 airs ASALH Annual Convention's Saturday Luncheon-African American Burial Grounds: Sacred Space Reclaimed, Panel Session (featuring Michael Blakey, Shawn Utsey, Edna Medford, Ana Edwards) over the Thanksgiving holiday
Nov 24 at 3pm & 11pm
Nov 25 at 7am
Nov 27 at 1am & 2pm

FILM: "Until the Well Runs Dry" 2nd screening at the Main Branch Richmond Public Library, 101 E. Franklin St., Friday Dec. 2nd at 6:30 pm.

Nov. 21: Thanksgiving Commentary Show

Motherhood, community
Araminta "Minty" Harriet Ross Tubman Davis

Occupy Richmond - Founding Principles, whose? when? understanding why
occupyrva.org / occupytogether.org

Thanks Giving and Eating Well Together
www.thegivingheart.org

enjoy my current favorite musicians...
http://www.myspace.com/bassekoukouyate

Today on DefendersLIVE: Interview with Ed Ayres, UR president, Future of RIchmond's Past chair, 19th Century Guy on public radio's Back Story - discussing the Sesquecentennial and other things. Live on WRIR.org and 97.3 FM at Noon

Wednesday, November 9th at 7 p.m. for the premiere of "All Night, All Day", a short documentary about the period of time between OccupyRichmond's march to Kanawha Plaza and the raid on their camp at 1 a.m. on Halloween morning. Created by Kontra. Gallery 5 is located at 200 W. Marshall Street, Richmond VA, 23220. Afterwards the group plans to re-occupy Richmond by occupying Monroe Park.

ALWAYS FREE - the African American Studies Community Course, Wednesdays at Richmond Public Library, 6:30-8:30 pm. Tonight: Franz Fanon and Amos Wilson’s Blueprint for Decolonizing the African Mind: Practical Approaches to Solving Problems of Psychological Oppression
featuring Mark Bolden, Ph.D. Psychologist, Denver Public Schools and Private Consultant, Loyola Marymount University

Nov. 7 show: Phil Wilayto, Editor, Virginia Defender

Virginia Defenders writer/editor Phil Wilayto (right) with
Pan African New Wire writer/editor Abayomi Azikiwe, April 2010

NOVEMBER 7
Phil Wilayto joins us quarterly to discuss the latest issue of The Virginia Defender. Today's headline highlights are OccupyRichmond (occupyrichmondva.org and occupytogether.org) and Who are the 1%?; the renewed build-up of pressure for a US attack on Iran (sanctions and/or military); the steady growth of AFRICOM's presence throughout Africa; the case of Reginald Latson, an autistic 19-year old African American wrongfully arrested, tried and convicted of assault on a police office now serving 2 years of a recommended 10 year sentence; and much more.

http://backstoryradio.org

STAY TUNED
On November 14th my guest will be Dr. Ed Ayres, president of University of Richmond and chair of the Future of Richmond's Past. Ed is also one of three hosts of Back Story with the American History Guys; his field of historical expertise being sandwiched between the 18th and 20th centuries, he's known as "19th Century Guy". I listened recently to this archived show from 2009: http://backstoryradio.org/little-red-schoolhouse/ (excerpted from School Days: History of Public Education).

Guest today: Christy Coleman of The American Civil War Center

Greetings listeners,

My guest today was Christy Coleman, executive director of the American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar. At the helm since 2008, this African American self-described "American Idealist" is leading her institution through the choppy waters of the observations and commemoration of 150th anniversary of the Civil War and Emancipation. Our brief discussion covered Tredegar's role in the story telling, as a part of a collaborative of 19 cultural, academic, civil and tourism institutions) known as the Future of Richmond's Past, the ongoing legacies for Richmond and our nation , especially in grappling with race and our sense of who we are in the world, then and now. Ideology vs Practice. Check www.radio4all.net in a couple days for a podcast of the conversation.

On November 14th my guest will be Dr. Ed Ayres, president of University of Richmond and chair of the Future of Richmond's Past.

Looking forward -

Police break up Occupy Richmond - 9 arrested

Dear friends,

This morning shortly after 1 am, Richmond police raided Occupy Richmond at Kanawha Plaza. Horses, SWAT, fire trucks, the whole nine yards. There were no reported injuries, but nine people were arrested. The park is now closed, taped off with yellow caution tape and guarded by police. A General Assembly was scheduled for 11 am - about 10 minutes ago. I'm on my way there now.

I visited  Kanawha about 7:50 this morning and spoke with several homeless people who were there during the raid. I also visited the office of the chief magistrate at Richmond Police Headquarters, stopped by Manchester Courthouse and just got off the phone with the Richmond Commonwealth's Attorney's office, trying to get information about those were arrested.

From what I've been told, nine people were arrested. All were charged with (1) refusing to leave property after being told to leave, a state Class One misdemeanor that carries up to one year in jail and a $2,500 fine; and (2) being in a public park after dark, a violation of the City Code.

I was told by a sheriff's deputy that the nine arrested people were arraigned before a magistrate this morning by videoconference while they were still in the police lock-up on 9th Street. Four were released on personal recognizance, five were held without bond, evidently because they indicated, or the magistrate concluded, that they intended to go back to the park.

The only two people I know for sure who were arrested and held without bond are Sur Williams and Farid Alan Schintzius, both of whom have played selfless roles in the occupation. Alan's court date is set for Nov. 29, which may be the same date for all five who are still being held.

The five who are still detained will likely be moved to the City Jail this morning.

This information will go out today at noon on the DefendersLIVE! radio program on WRIR radio, 97.3 FM (www.wrir.org). I'll also be speaking tomorrow from noon to 1 pm on WCLM, 1450 am (www.wclmradioonline.com) and will pass along any new information we receive and can verify.

There was supposed to be a general assembly today at Kanawah at 11 am. I'll stop by to see if that's still happening. 

If anyone has any new information, I would appreciate your calling or e-mailing me at (804) 644-5834 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            (804) 644-5834      end_of_the_skype_highlighting or DefendersFJE@hotmail.com. The Defenders will do all we can to support those who have been arrested, as well as Occupy Richmond as a whole.

in Solidarity,

Phil Wilayto

Bring flowers - bring candles - a chair and your creative expressions on paper to share at the community reclamation celebration for Gabriel's Rebellion and Richmond's African Burial Ground. http://ping.fm/Cgldx

Missed a recent posts to the Defenders listerv?
http://ping.fm/vX381

The Defenders are now Pinging.

October 10 Community Celebration - Flier for Printing

In case you've been waiting for those September shows, they've been uploaded to Radio4all.net. Search "defenderslive" shows.

Event flier: Be sure to adjust your printer settings to ensure 8.5x11 (letter size) output:

My Guest Today: Civil Rights Activist/Scholar Ed Peeples

His involvement in the issue of Virginia's school closings marks just one of the significant contributions that Dr. Ed Peeples has made to the local and national civil rights struggles. We will chat about that and the Encampment for Citizenship and what he sees as next steps for the movement. It's not over yet. Join us today at NOON - wrir.org or 97.3 FM on your radio dial.

And Support WRIR during our fundrive - especially if you like DefendersLIVE. Help keep us on the air! www.WRIR.org - more info on this page - scroll down a bit. THANKS!

your host since 2005, Ana Edwards

Repeat broadcasts

Tune in to DefendersLIVE online Tuesdays at 2pm - www.WRIR.org

Next DefendersLIVE

On the next episode of DefLIVE I will be talking to familiar William Deng, Southern Sudan Project, and Cheikh Niang, African Community Network, to talk about the new nation of Southern Sudan in relation to the goals and current state of the African Union. An upcoming show will focus on Mauritania's struggle to prevent a JimCrow-like national census from diluting the official numbers of non-Arab Black Africans that are then used to predicate discriminatory policies. With Libya's Moammar Quaddafi having played a leading role in the formation and leadership of the African Union, how will the goals of the AU play out in the struggles of these African nations, and others? 

Her's a little about the AU from their website:

Vision of the African Union
The vision of the African  Union is that of: “An integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa,  driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in  global arena.”
 
This vision of a new,  forwardlooking, dynamic and integrated Africa will be fully realized through  relentless struggle on several fronts and as a long-term endeavour. The African  Union has shifted focus from supporting  liberation movements in the erstwhile African territories under colonialism and  apartheid, as envisaged by the OAU since 1963 and the Constitutive Act, to an organization spear-heading Africa’s development and integration.

The Objectives of the AU

• To achieve greater unity and solidarity between the African countries and the peoples of Africa; 
• To defend the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of its Member States; 
• To accelerate the political and socio-economic  integration of the continent; 
• To promote and defend African common positions on issues of interest to the continent and its peoples; 
• To encourage international cooperation, taking due account of the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; 
• To promote peace, security, and stability on the continent; 
• To promote democratic principles and institutions, popular participation and good governance; 
• To promote and protect human and peoples' rights in accordance with the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and other relevant human rights instruments; 
• To establish the necessary conditions which enable the continent to play its rightful role in the global economy and in international negotiations; 
• To promote sustainable development at the economic, social and cultural levels as well as the integration of African economies; 
• To promote co-operation in all fields of human activity  to raise the living standards of African peoples; 
• To coordinate and harmonize the policies between the existing and future Regional Economic Communities for the gradual attainment of the objectives of the Union; 
• To advance the development of the continent by promoting research in all fields, in particular in science and technology; 
• To work with relevant international partners in the       eradication of preventable diseases and the promotion of good health on  the continent.

DefendersLIVE mothership is WRIR

WRIR Richmond's Independent Radio is holding its Fall Fund Drive and I hope that you will support DefendersLIVE by supporting WRIR:
Donate Online