Keep Monroe Open- Video and Petition

Food Not Bombs Statement Regarding Monroe Park

Richmond Food Not Bombs has been sharing food in Monroe Park for over sixteen years now. We have developed many connections and friendships over the course of our existence, helped provide healthy food to many individuals who may not have had access to it otherwise, and become a staple of social activity for many people’s Sunday afternoons.

The proposed renovations to Monroe Park are an attack , a judgement on who the park should and shouldn’t be for. It is an attack on the homeless, the “homeless-appearing” (whatever that means – it’s in the Monroe Park Advisory Council’s renovation plans), and groups and individuals who don’t judge people by their social status or whether they have conventional means of acquiring shelter.

We will not stand for it.

The only change that the park really needs is for the city to do its job when it comes do doing maintenance on the bathrooms, as they are functional but one of the water pipes to the sinks has corroded away. Other improvements, such as installing permanent chess tables, or a playground area for kids would be nice, but NOT at the cost of driving out the folks who currently congregate in the park, shutting the entire park down for 18 months, or privatizing the security of the park.

Write Political Prisoners Letters!! Its easy and you can do it!

Its rainy where I am, and maybe where you are too. What better time to take a minute to write a letter to a political prisoner or two. Here are the most recent addresses I have of a bunch. It doesn’t take much to show solidarity with our comrades in prison- so write them a letter.

Here are some tips:

A Few Do’s and Don’ts in Correspondence A few dos and don’ts on writing prisoners whose backgrounds/politics you may not know.

Help Stop Immigrant Detention Center in Farmville!!!!

So, the Town of Farmville and a private company called Immigrant Centers of America are trying to build a 1,000 bed immigrant detention center in Farmville. ICA has zero experience with prisons or detention centers. Their previous experience is constructing Arby’s and BP Gas stations. This project has already received over 500,000 dollars from the State Tobacco Commission. This is not a done deal, the project can still, and will be stopped.

You can help stop it by sending an email to some of the folks involved, letting them know you think it is a bad idea. I’ve put a list of emails below, that includes people on town council, people from the VA Tobacco Comission, people from DHS, and people who run ICA.

Also below are copies of a couple letters- one from the Richmond Anarchist Black cross, one written to farmville religious community, and one written to the farmville business community. Feel free to use any of these letters as a format for your own, or just copy one. THough creating your own email will help them see just how much resistance there is. The more emails we send them, the more pressure will be put on them to stop the construction.

Keep alert for more news from the People United, the Richmond Anarchist Black Cross, and other organizations in the Commonwealth working to stop this detention center from being built.