[Antiracism] Defend Black History: Please Endorse by July 11

[Nick Camerota]

From: "The Defenders" <defendersfje at hotmail.com>
To: defendersfje at hotmail.com
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Defend Black History: NO Stadium in Shockoe Bottom! Reclaim this Sacred 
Ground!
Appeal for Endorsement by July 11.

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

The Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality is a community organization 
based in Richmond, Va. For some time now, we have been building a campaign 
to stop the construction of a commercial sports stadium in Shockoe Bottom, 
site of Richmond's former slave market. The stadium is to be surrounded by 
an "upscale" residential/retail area called "Market Village."

The stadium would be owned by the Richmond Braves, farm team of the Atlanta 
Braves, itself owned by the Time-Warner media conglomerate.

This struggle has recently intensified with the commitment of a $50 million 
investment by Lehman Bros., the powerful Wall Street investment firm with 
roots in the pre-Civil War Alabama cotton trade.

While we have organized meetings, rallies, marches and mass educational 
campaigns on this issue, our biggest weapon is the threat of an economic 
boycott of Richmond if the stadium project goes through. The boycott would 
be targeted for the year 2007, when Virginia will be celebrating the 400th 
anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, the first English-speaking colony 
in what would become the United States.

This is not a local struggle. Up to 350,000 enslaved Africans were sold from 
Virginia between 1808, when U.S. involvement in the Trans-Atlantic slave 
trade was banned by Congress, and the end of the Civil War in 1865. By 1860, 
there were just 4 million Black people in the United States. This means that 
the majority of U.S. Blacks can likely trace at least part of their personal 
ancestry to Virginia, and many of them to the slave auction houses of 
Shockoe Bottom.

In short, this site is the Goree Island of the United States, and we will 
not allow it to be desecrated.

We are now appealing for your help in this struggle.

Each month, the Defenders publish 10,000 copies of our 12-page newspaper, 
The Richmond Defender. The July issue will include a list of all the 
organizations and individuals who have endorsed the statement below opposing 
the stadium.

We are asking that you and/or your organization endorse this statement. The 
more endorsers, the more seriously will Richmond's city officials will have 
to consider the wisdom of selling out this Sacred Ground.

We'd appreciate it if you could get back to us by Monday, July 11.

We also ask that you help by circulating this appeal as far as possible.

For more information, see our Web site at www.DefendersFJE.tripod.com.

In solidarity,
Ana Edwards, Chair
Sacred Ground Historical Reclamation Project

Phil Wilayto, Editor
The Richmond Defender
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Defend Black History!
NO Stadium in Shockoe Bottom! Reclaim this Sacred Ground!

We declare our total opposition to the construction of a sports stadium in 
Richmond's Shockoe Bottom.

This was once the site of one of the largest slave-trading areas in the 
United States. It was here that, in the decades before the end of the Civil 
War, thousands of enslaved Africans were sold into lives of brutal 
exploitation. This is Sacred Ground that must not be further desecrated for 
commercial profit.

Instead, we call for the proper reclaiming and memorializing of this site.
There should be a museum that tells the history of Virginia's key role in 
the slave trade. There should be a genealogy center where descendants of 
enslaved Africans can research family histories. This should be a place of 
reverence, of learning, of education and reflection.

Further, this project - to be paid for by the corporations, institutions, 
families and individuals whose present-day fortunes can be traced to the 
exploitation of slave labor - should be developed in a way that directly 
benefits the Black community today. This means job training, good jobs with 
decent wages, academic credits for participation in ongoing educational 
projects and tax revenue set-asides for community development and university 
scholarships.

If such a center were to be developed, it would quickly become a destination 
for people of African descent and others from all over the world. In 
addition to being a proud and noble achievement, it could be an economic 
engine for the entire Greater Richmond area.

But if the decision is made to build a baseball stadium and residential 
"Market Village" on the site of this former slave market, we pledge to call 
for an economic boycott of Richmond during the quadcentennial year of 2007.

[To endorse as an organization, please include the name of the organization, 
city and state and the name and e-mail address of a contact person. If 
endorsing as an individual, please include your name, city and 
organizational affiliation, if any.]
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The Defenders for Freedom, Justice and Equality
A group of Richmond area residents dedicated to improving the lives of 
people in our community.
Phone & Fax 804.644.5834 . PO Box 23202, Richmond VA 23223 .
DefendersFJE at hotmail.com
_______________________________________________
This e-mail sent by the
Western Massachusetts
INTERNATIONAL ACTION CENTER
wmassiac at hotmail.com
wmass at nodraftnoway.org
http://www.iacenter.org
http://www.troopsoutnow.org
http://www.peoplejudgebush.org
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Founded in 1992 by former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, the 
INTERNATIONAL ACTION CENTER was an initiator of the ANSWER Coalition and 
helped organize the newly formed TROOPS OUT NOW! Coalition. For regular 
local updates on our activities, join our low-volume listserv by clicking 
wmassanswer-subscribe at yahoogroups.com; send the pop-up email to yahoogroups, 
and reply to their verification notice.
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