6/25/15

Call to Richmond 2015 to change the Route!

Defenders call on Richmond 2015 to change UCI bike route, which honors Confederate symbols, disrespects Shockoe Bottom

In light of the recent Charleston massacre and the resulting national opposition to symbols honoring the slavery-defending Confederacy, the Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality are calling on Richmond 2015, the organization organizing the Sept. 19-27 UCI Road World Championships bicycle race in Richmond, to change the race route, which highlights Monument Avenue, a virtual shrine to the Confederacy, and disrespects Shockoe Bottom, for decades the epicenter of the U.S. domestic slave trade.

Richmond 2015's chairmen are Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe; U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner; Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones; and Thomas F. Farrell II, Chairman, President and CEO of Dominion Resources, Inc., the state's most politically powerful corporation.


The Defenders are working with others in the community to develop an alternative plan for Shockoe Bottom, which will be presented to the community on Aug. 1 and then to Richmond City Council in September.

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Founded in 2002, the Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality is an all-volunteer organization of Virginia residents working for the survival of our communities through education and social justice projects, including the Sacred Ground Historical Reclamation Project, the quarterly Virginia Defender newspaper and the monthly “Talk to the Editor”call-in talk show on WCLM Radio.