Tag: Confederate imagery

Categories
Coronavirus News

In brief: Coronavirus clusters, CRB concerns, and more

PC: Eze Amos

Rogers that

A statue of an old racist general in Charlottesville has once again been recontextualized—UVA’s George Rogers Clark monument was splattered with an impressive arc of red paint in the middle of the night on Sunday.

Clark was a general during the United States’ violent westward expansion in the 19th century. The statue shows Native American people cowering in front of Clark’s horse and declares Clark the “conqueror of the northwest,” a designation that UVA historian Christian McMillen called “absurd” in a July UVA Today article about the statue.

The statue was erected during the same period as the Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson monuments downtown and the Lewis and Clark statue on Main Street. The Lee and Jackson statues have been graffitied many times, most recently in May.

A petition for the removal of the Clark statue circulated last year, and earlier this month UVA’s Racial Equity Task Force recommended that the monument come down. On Monday morning, the school dispatched a crew to clean the statue.

ACPS bans confederate imagery

On August 13, one day after the third anniversary of the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, the Albemarle County School Board voted to amend the dress code to ban all Confederate imagery in its schools, as well as other hate symbols, including the swastikas. The new section of the code states that these images “cause substantial disruption to the educational environment and, therefore, are prohibited.”

At a school board meeting two years ago, six activists from the Hate-Free Schools Coalition were arrested—and one was hospitalized—while lobbying for this change. Less than a year later, the school board discussed banning Confederate imagery, but the change wasn’t made until this summer.

“DO NOT praise them for *finally* doing the right thing. We worked for this for years,” tweeted the Hate-Free Schools Coalition after the meeting.—Claudia Gohn

__________________

Quote of the week

“[Are] these cameras going to be used to prosecute anybody,
such as the self-styled monument guards who have been documented to be armed and threatening?”

—City resident Brad Slocum, speaking to City Council on the new security cameras installed in downtown parks

__________________

In brief

Playing the heel

Just a week into the semester, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill already has four COVID-19 clusters reported on campus—three in school-run residence halls and one in a fraternity house. (To quote the Daily Tar Heel, the university’s student paper, UNC “has a clusterfuck on its hands.”)  UVA, meanwhile, is still sticking to its plan to bring students back in person in early September.

Bad blood

The fraught relationship between Charlottesville’s Police Civilian Review Board and City Council reached an all-time low during the CRB’s meeting last week, with multiple board members revealing they’ve contemplated resigning. “They want to have this veneer of progressiveness by having us exist, but they’ll only do what they want to do,” said member Stuart Evans.

Senator charged

Just one day before the General Assembly convened for a special session on criminal justice reform, Portsmouth Police Chief Angela Greene announced that State Senator Louise Lucas had been charged with conspiracy to commit a felony and “injury to a monument” in excess of $1,000. Two months ago, Lucas showed up to a demonstration at Portsmouth’s Confederate monument, and told police not to arrest the protesters planning to paint it. Protesters dismantled the monument hours after Lucas left the scene, which she says she did not condone.

ACRJ confirmed its first inmate cases of COVID-19 last week. PC: Skyclad Aerial

Jail outbreak

Four inmates at the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail tested positive for COVID last week, according to data from the Thomas Jefferson Health District. Jails and prisons around the country have had serious COVID outbreaks in recent months, but the ACRJ had been a success story up to this point.

Categories
News

In brief: Plogging craze, Crozet shuttle, marathon man, and more

Plogging and other Earth Day events

A combination of jogging while picking up trash—who wouldn’t want to go plogging? Easter Sunday, from 1 to 5pm, is your chance.

“Instead of hunting for Easter eggs, we’re hunting for litter,” says organizer and self-proclaimed tree-hugger Brady Earnhart. He’s never been plogging, but was immediately intrigued when he read about the European craze in The New Yorker.

Earnhart says his event will probably be more of a stroll than a jog, and will start and end at Rapture on the Downtown Mall. “Get some exercise
while you’re making Charlottesville a prettier place, and hang out with a crowd who feels the way you do about it,” he says.

Participants will break into smaller groups and collect as much garbage as they can from the designated zones, which can be found on a map on the Facebook event page, “Easter Plogging: A Holiday Litter Hunt.”

Bring your smartphone and plastic grocery bags (for collecting) if you’ve got ’em, says Earnhart.

And if you’re in the mood for more environmentally-friendly (and plogging!) events, here are just a few options:

Plog with the prez

Join UVA President Jim Ryan on April 19 at 7am at Madison Hall for running and litter pickup, one of more than 20 university-sponsored Earth Week events. A full schedule can be found at sustainability.virginia.edu.

Break out your bike helmet

Piedmont Environmental Council and other groups are leading a casual ride April 19 at 5:30pm through neighborhood streets, along bike lanes,
and greenways, with an optional social hour and advocacy brainstorming session to follow. Meet at Peloton Station.

Lace up your hiking boots

Join Wild Virginia on a guided two- to three-mile hike at Montpelier April 27 from 10am to noon. The cost is $10 with a $5 recommended donation to Wild Virginia, and those interested can sign up by searching “Nature Exploration Hike at Montpelier” on Eventbrite.

Quote of the week

“[Discriminatory symbols] certainly include Confederate imagery, which evokes a time when black people were enslaved, sold, beaten, and even killed at the whim of their masters.”—Educator/activist Walt Heinecke to the Albemarle School Board April 11

In brief

Don’t go

A petition started by UVA alumna Lacey Kohlmoos asks the men’s basketball team not to visit the White House in the wake of their NCAA championship win, and at press time, the online document had 10,900 of the 11,000 requested John Hancocks. But here’s the catch: While the winner may traditionally be extended an invitation to the president’s abode, as of yet, the Cavaliers have not been invited.

Rebel students

Since Albemarle Superintendent Matt Haas banned white supremacist and Nazi imagery on clothing as disruptive, six students have been counseled, Haas told the school board April 11. The first, reported as wearing a hat with Confederate imagery, also had on a Confederate T-shirt. That student spent several days at home.

Eze Amos

Riot free

Charlottesville police reported minimal mayhem as Hoos celebrated UVA’s national basketball championship into the wee hours of April 9. Police made three misdemeanor arrests for drunk in public, trespassing, and assault. UVA police reported three calls for vandalism, and fire and rescue responded to seven burned sofas/bonfires.

Crozet express

JAUNT is planning to launch a new bus service from Crozet to UVA and Sentara Martha Jefferson starting August 5, with other stops to allow riders to connect with transit options, according to the Progress. JAUNT, which is still seeking input, aims to keep the ride to no more than 45 minutes and will charge $2 each way.

Good pork

Virginia’s U.S. senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine get $43 million in federal funding from HUD for affordable housing in Virginia, including $875,000 for Charlottesville Redevelopment & Housing Authority.

Ryan’s run

UVA prez Jim Ryan ran his ninth Boston Marathon April 15 in honor of 26 teachers, one for every mile. Donors contributed $260 to get an educator who had made a difference listed on Ryan’s shirt.

Categories
News

Hate-free hats: Student challenges county schools’ new policy on first day

A student who challenged Albemarle Superintendent Matt Haas’ new interpretation of the dress code was sent home after refusing to remove a hat with Confederate imagery.

Just hours after Albemarle County Public Schools’ new interpretation of its dress code went into effect on March 12, a Western Albemarle High student was sent to the principal’s office. He had refused to remove a hat bearing the Confederate insignia.

ACPS Superintendent Matt Haas had emailed parents the previous day to announce a ban on the “wearing of clothing associated with organizations that promote white supremacy, racial division, hatred, or violence,” making clear that included Confederate imagery and the Nazi swastika.

Schools spokesperson Phil Giaramita stresses that the dress code itself has not changed. “It’s the same policy, which does not specify content and is viewpoint neutral,” he says. “But it does say that clothing that becomes disruptive to the learning environment is not permitted.”

While revising the dress code requires approval from the school board, Haas maintains he may interpret the policy within reasonable bounds. At the Albemarle County School Board’s February 14 meeting, he informally declared his intention to bar Confederate imagery on clothing, using the harm and disruption standard of the county’s current dress code.

Shortly before the meeting, the School Health Advisory Board issued a report concluding that the presence of Confederate imagery would likely impact the ability of students of color to learn and feel safe at school. Haas and school board members David Oberg and Katrina Callsen invoked the report when explaining their support for a ban.

Teachers and administrators have been instructed to respond to violations by notifying the principal, who will call students to the front office and inform them that their clothing is prohibited. Students may not return to class until they have removed or inverted their attire.

At Western Albemarle last week, the student’s father opted to check him out of school.

According to Giaramita, enforcement is not geared toward discipline. For this to work, “it needs to be an act of education or counseling,” he says. “But if a student refuses and continues to show up with the imagery on clothing, it becomes an act of defiance.”

Acts of defiance are punishable by suspension, enforced homeschool, or expulsion, though Giaramita says expulsion is unlikely. (The student is now back in school.)

The new interpretation exempts imagery that has an educational purpose, such as in textbooks and historical films. Notably, the drama department at Western performed The Sound of Music, complete with swastikas and students playing SS guards, that same week. “It’s a matter of context,” says Giaramita, adding that the drama director brought in a history teacher to talk to students about World War II, the German takeover of Austria, and the Nazi regime.

Free speech has figured prominently in the debate over Confederate imagery in schools. Several members of the school board have questioned the legality of a ban, citing an infamous case in 2002, in which Alan Newsom sued after he was forced to wear his NRA T-shirt inside out at Jack Jouett Middle School.

When asked about the new interpretation, his father, Fred Newsom, says he thought that issue had been settled with Alan’s lawsuit. “If only popular speech is protected, there’s really no right of free speech,” he says. “It comes down to if there’s a disruption. I can understand the motivation to try to avoid a disruption.”

ACPS legal counsel Ross Holden advised Haas that the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld bans of disruptive clothing if the dress code itself is content neutral, says Giaramita.

The Albemarle County School Board is scheduled to discuss hateful imagery on clothing at its April 11 meeting.

Categories
News

Superintendent says Confederate imagery disrupts learning, but board chair postpones vote

The February 14 Albemarle County School Board meeting got heated after Chair Jonno Alcaro tabled a resolution that would restrict Confederate imagery on clothing in schools until the next meeting. Hate-Free Schools Coalition of Albemarle County provided refreshments. Photo by Eze Amos

A resolution to ban Confederate imagery on clothing in Albemarle schools was back on the agenda at the February 14 Albemarle County School Board meeting. The last time the issue came up, in August, six people were arrested.

School board members were split on the issue, and again postponed a decision, to the dismay of both attendees and Superintendent Matt Haas, who said he was ready to ban the imagery because it created a disruption to learning.

Haas says that rationale, supported by a recent report from the School Health Advisory Board that concluded Confederate imagery might be harmful to students, could protect the board should a lawsuit ensue. But several school board members, citing a 2003 First Amendment lawsuit from a Jack Jouett sixth grader not allowed to wear his NRA T-shirt, expressed concerns about infringing on students’ rights.

At first, the meeting was business as usual. After commending eight Albemarle students on qualifying for the Daily Progress Regional Spelling Bee, board members listened to local middle schoolers attest to the importance of extracurricular civics programs.

Then came public comment. Most speakers, many with Hate-Free Schools Coalition of Albemarle County, pressed the board to pass the resolution banning Confederate imagery. They delivered impassioned pleas stressing that minority children cannot feel safe around classmates wearing Confederate imagery, as audience members stood up in solidarity.

“To allow children to wear [Confederate imagery], carry it into a school, is no different from having them bring in swastikas,” said Matthew Christensen, a social worker. “I have seen the violence. I have seen the hatred. It has such an impact on our kids and it’s going to stay with them; it’s not going to go away when the image disappears.”

Star Peterson, one of the victims injured in the August 12 vehicular assault, spoke about the use of Confederate imagery during local hate rallies in 2017. “During the summer of hate…Richard Spencer and his people marched by a family festival with Confederate flags,” she said. “I can tell you I saw Confederate flags at a KKK rally. I can tell you I saw Confederate flags with my own eyes at the Unite the Right rally. There is no question of their significance.”

Before proceeding to debate, the board reviewed new items added to the Albemarle County schools budget, such as $30,000 earmarked for panic buttons. Then, it took a 30-minute break.

When the meeting reconvened, Assistant Superintendent Bernard Hairston submitted the resolution.

Board members Steve Koleszar, Kate Acuff, and Jason Buyaki, who wore a Confederate tie at one of the board’s previous discussions of the topic, said they felt the ban violated the First Amendment and failed to solve the underlying problem of racism.

Chair Jonno Alcaro implied he was reluctant to pass it for similar reasons, and decided to table the resolution until the next meeting, on February 28, to hear public concerns and allow the board more time to review the language.

Many in the audience were stewing. Amidst shouts of “coward” and “you’re supporting fascism,” Lara Harrison stood in front of the dais and flipped board members off with both hands.

After a minute of murmurs and muffled laughter, Alcaro noticed and asked her to sit down. “I’m not disrupting the meeting,” she replied, sitting on the steps. “I thought you were in favor of free speech.”

She returned to her seat after Alcaro threatened to have her removed.

Harrison had been arrested for trespassing during the special August 30 school board meeting concerning the same policy, though the charges were later dropped.

Audience interruptions continued throughout the meeting, but those heckling the board either stopped after being threatened with removal or stormed out of the auditorium.

Board member David Oberg supported the resolution, as did Graham Paige, who said he had evolved on the issue. Citing the School Health Advisory Board report, Katrina Callsen also supported the resolution.

“I think Confederate imagery should be banned from schools,” she said, comparing it to gang imagery. “Our city was the site of one of the largest hate rallies in recent history and the Confederate flag was a hate symbol.”

All board members in favor said they were willing to face a lawsuit but didn’t think it would happen because of the violent history of the flag in Charlottesville.

In response, Koleszar alluded to MLK. “You know, Martin Luther King warned about how the Northern liberal was more dangerous than the white racist,” he said.

“I am not a Northern liberal,” Paige retorted. The room erupted in laughter.

Haas said he would use his authority to prevent students from wearing Confederate imagery in the meantime. “I want a green light to work with the administrative team to have a plan to proactively tell families that the school board supports our current dress code,” he said. “I am now saying that you cannot wear these outfits to school.”

Nobody objected.

Before adjourning, Alcaro suggested the meeting prompted a change of heart. “I look forward to approving the anti-racism consent resolution in the next meeting,” he said. “I’ve heard a lot that I really need to think through.”

Categories
News

In brief: Worst state to vote, bug-free buses, facial hair for charity and more

Mississippi ekes by Virginia as the state that makes it the most difficult for its citizens to vote, while Oregon is ranked best state for voters in a recent study.

We’re No. 49

Virginia ranks as one of the worst states in the country when it comes to ease of voting, according to a recent study from Northern Illinois University. Our state has slipped in the “cost of voting index” since 1996, when we ranked No. 42, to the “second most difficult” place to vote in 2016—just ahead of Mississippi, says co-author Michael Pomante.

Voter fraud is often cited as the reason for the restrictions, but Pomante says, “We don’t see voter fraud in other states that make it easier to vote.”

And what does No. 1 look like? That would be Oregon, home to automatic voter registration and where every voter on the rolls is mailed a ballot, which can be mailed or dropped off, says Pomante. “It makes voter turnout much higher.”

The next step for researchers is to look at voter disenfranchisement, says Pomante. “We do know there’s a correlation with minority population and voting. States with higher minority populations make it more difficult to vote.”

And on the cost of voting index, most Southern states wallow in the bottom half of the scale.

Reasons why the Old Dominion is so voter unfriendly:

  • Voter registration deadline: It’s three weeks before Election Day, while some states have same-day registration, automatic registration, or even pre-registration for those about to turn 18.
  • Photo ID: without it, voters have to cast provisional ballots.
  • No early voting.
  • Absentee voting: You’d better have a
    darn good excuse to do so.
  • Felon disenfranchisement: While not quite as bad as Florida, where 10 percent of
    the citizens can’t vote because they’ve spent time in jail, Virginians who have served their time have to petition the governor to get back their voting rights.

Quote of the week

“We’ve got to do a better job of teaching critical thinking to young people so they won’t be suckered by hate mongering.”—Martin Luther King III at the Virginia Film Festival

In brief

Rebel flags banned

The Charlottesville City School Board voted unanimously November 1 to prohibit wearing hate symbols such as Confederate, Nazi, and KKK imagery across the division. Albemarle, which has been sued in the past for restricting images on students’ clothes, is still wrestling with the issue.

Another UVA frat racial incident

UVA’s Student Hip-Hop Organization and I.M.P. Society denounced “blatant discrimination and violence” at an October 27 party they hosted at Beta Theta Pi, the Cav Daily reports. After deciding not to allow additional guests, white guys guarding the doors let their friends in, and fraternity members set up a separate, exclusive space from other partygoers, creating an unwelcome environment for minority students. The fraternity apologized November 2.

‘Graduation rapist’ in news again

Jeffrey Miller, formerly known as Jeffrey Kitze. Photo: Virginia Department of Corrections

Jeffrey Kitze was convicted of raping his sister’s UVA law school roommate in 1989. And he was back in jail for probation violations for stalking a local woman in 2013, when he changed his name to Jeffrey Ted Miller. In May, he moved to New York, where a woman recently requested a protective order against him, CBS19 reports.

Books are back

Another used bookstore will take the place of the Downtown Mall’s now-closed Read It Again, Sam, according to landlord Joan Fenton. She says new tenant Daphne Spain will open the doors of Second Act in February.

Cost of grooming?

Some Charlottesville police are fighting childhood cancer by not shaving their facial hair until February. “Officers will be allowed to grow beards and donate the money they typically spend on shaving and grooming to benefit the UVA Children’s Hospital Cancer Clinic,” according to a CPD press release on the Winter Wool campaign. Here’s hoping some CPD members are used to expensive shaves.

Transit boss declares CAT buses bug-free

During the summer, C-VILLE Weekly learned of Charlottesville Area Transit drivers being plagued by irritations that they attributed to bug bites. The city confirmed it was aware of “two or three cases,” but said the drivers had not seen the bugs they believed responsible for the bites.

“They have never found a thing,” says transit director John Jones. “There aren’t any bugs on the buses. There are bugs on people.”

When passengers visibly sporting bugs catch the CAT, says Jones, “We call Foster’s Pest Control immediately.”

City buses are vacuumed every night, cleaned every week, and bug-bombed regularly, he says. In fact, one driver’s rash came from the cleaning products. “They’re harsh,” says Jones.

A new trolley will have hard plastic seats to further thwart insect infestations, he says.

He also notes that a sofa in the drivers lounge that employees wouldn’t touch was replaced by a leather one that turned up in the city warehouse. “One of the judges downtown was getting rid of some nice furniture.”

Jones reassures CAT riders: “We never found an infestation of bed bugs or anything.”

Categories
News

‘Order over justice’: Community further criticizes school board

Lisa Woolfork, an associate professor at UVA, said the Albemarle County School Board’s decision to have protesters arrested at its last meeting was a “complete embarrassment, and a moral failure.” eze amos

“You can jail revolutionaries, but you can’t jail the revolution,” were the words scrawled on a giant white sign held by a man in sunglasses.

It was the first meeting of the Albemarle County School Board since the August 30 one where six anti-racist activists were arrested and hauled off in handcuffs for allegedly being disruptive, and where one was sent to the hospital after a police officer knocked him to the ground.

This time, things were more peaceful—board chair Kate Acuff only threatened to have one community member removed for clapping.

Activists with groups such as Hate-Free Schools Coalition of Albemarle County have put intense pressure on the board for over a year to make county schools more inclusive and safe for all students—by, among other things, banning Confederate imagery currently permitted in the school division’s dress code. In response, a panel of nine volunteer students has been tasked with writing an anti-racism policy that will be implemented at all county schools, says school spokesperson Phil Giaramita, and a re-examination of the dress-code policy could happen subsequently.

Albemarle County School Board Chair Kate Acuff threatened to have one community member removed for clapping at the September 18 meeting. eze amos

That response has not satisfied activists, who want Confederate imagery banned now, and who have been outraged at the school board’s aggressive attempts to limit dissent.

Tension was high at the September 18 meeting, and Superintendent Matthew Haas, perhaps hoping to set a new tone, began with a statement declaring that county and city schools will join together to end racism and discrimination in their hallways, and close opportunity gaps.

“Discrimination against diverse people of color is still deeply ingrained in American culture,” he said. “Whether we call it racism or systemic bias, it results in inequitable opportunities for African American and Latino students.”

But the nearly 20 community members who had signed up for public comment wanted to talk specifics.

After a warning that any sounds of support or non-support could result in ejection from the meeting, a retired Henley Middle School teacher of 25 years stood up to speak.

Margie Shepherd said she had successfully argued before the board a decade ago that students using hate speech should be disciplined, and now the same conversation has resurfaced.

Because those who agreed with her weren’t allowed to cheer, or even snap, they silently waved their hands in support as Shepherd said Confederate symbols “make schools less welcome and less safe for our students of color.”

Matthew Christensen spoke next, and criticized the board for not being open to two-way communication, which it promises in its code of conduct.

“Each and every one of you needs to think very long and very hard about who you are and what you want to represent to this community,” Christensen said.

School board members are aware of the danger they’re putting students in by allowing such “traumatizing imagery” in schools, he claimed.

“And yet you do nothing,” he said. “You pretend to care about our children. You pretend to care about our community, and yet, you have shown over and over again that you don’t.”

Lisa Woolfork, an associate professor at UVA, called the board hostile, and said its decision to have activists arrested was a “fetishization of order over justice,” a “complete embarrassment, and a moral failure.”

While the board made no apologies for the previous meeting’s arrests, school board member Graham Paige, a retired teacher of 30 years, stayed back to talk with some of the remaining activists. “A dress code and anti-racism policy that benefits all of our students is really the mutual goal of Hate-Free Schools and the board,” he said.

The board will next meet September 27. And the activists have promised they’ll be there, too.