I’m at MLK Middle School in Richmond for a general strike and march protesting an ordinance patroned by @LevarStoney that would increase the police special funds budget by nearly half a million dollars. I left work early to be here, so technically I’m on strike myself

The ordinance in question, 2020-165, is going to be considered at tonight’s city council meeting, which begins at 6:00pm. Unfortunately, the deadline for public comment has already passed. The full wording of the ordinance is as follows:

According to Alex, RPD has a few vehicles staged at the corner of 18th and O st. So far, there’s no police presence here.

Jimmie is here and has a thread going as well: https://twitter.com/jljlovesrva/status/1305599521355952129

. @realwizkaliaa is speaking now. Covid protections doesn’t look like more funding for the police—it looks like housing relief, they say. “It’s about to be cold outside. Why aren’t we talking about shelters?”

“Waiting until elections will not be accepted,” they say. They say this is a matter of life and death, and that we aren’t out here risking our health for nothing; we’re out here because even one more death is unacceptable.

“Are you all ready to fight for Black futures?” they ask, and the crowd breaks into cheers.

Now folks are getting ready to march. The organizers brought this very cool banner:

RPD SUV spotted on Broad St. with lights on, heading towards the capital.

Fire truck going the same way, also with lights on, so it’s unlikely that activity is related to the match.

Capital PD car parked off of E. Broad and an unmarked (probable cop) car is idling across the street. The person driving the latter has a Blue Lives Mater mask on.

*Thin Blue Line mask.

VCU PD car on N. 11th, parked but with lights on.

Multiple RPD vehicles down 9th near the courthouse.

Protesters have shut down the intersection of 9th and Broad, addressing thier chants at City Hall.

The protesters have moved to the front of City Hall. Six RPD cars near the courthouse sped off as the group circled the building.

Across the street in front of the Department of Social Services, this security guard is filming the protesters on their phone.

Also, the person from the unmarked vehicle with the thin blue line mask is sitting in the courtyard across the street. They waved at me again. Hi pig

An organizer is addressing the group from in front of City Hall. They say that since the start of the protests, 288 people have been killed. “They’re still fucking killing us!” they say.

They say we need to develop a revolutionary Black conciseness. They quote Fed Hampton about the need to be educated on these issues. The organizer points out that that education cannot be a purely-colonial one, however.

They ask who thought us that communism and anarchism are evil when Africans has communal and stateless societies that were far more democratic than this American empire.

They’re opening up the mic to anyone who wants to speak out about why the police don’t need more money. “This isn’t a protest, this is a policy proposal,” calls out another organizer.

The organizer is speaking about the need for a Black general strike that doesn’t just center on industry.

This City Hall employee (1) was trying to argue with the bike marshals about allowing traffic down E. Marshall St. He then goes around the corner to talk to an RPD officer (2).

RPD is staging on foot down N. 9th St.

The RPD group has gotten back in their cars and driven down 9th, past the courthouse.

The current speaker is calling out hypocrisy of @LevarStoney, whose police department gasses protestors while he takes the credit for taking down statues.

The next speaker is calling out neoliberals for telling us every four years to put all our eggs in one basket and vote. Voting alone isn’t going to address police brutality.

The next speaker says that if people are going to draw the historical connection between slavery and the carceral state, why is the response always so lukewarm? “You wouldn’t suggest slavery be reformed,” they say.

Thin-blue-line-mask-person, who seems to be a big fan of me, is a block away on the phone. I hope he tells the pigs I say “hi.”

I wish the cops and their friends would just leave us alone so I could listen to all these fantastic speakers.

Apparently, there is a group of cops staging on 8th and Clay, some on foot, and several in vehicles.

Kalia is speaking again about how enraging it is that City Council is giving the police money *now*, after months of protests, in the middle of a pandemic, and during a housing crisis and a depression. They ask the crowd if they are committed to this struggle. Cheers answer.

(I did a terrible job covering the speakers, so the focus of this thread is really just what the cops are up to...)