Good morning, RVA: 463 • 4; COVID-19's impact on Latinx Virginians; and Juneteenth

Good morning, RVA! It’s 65 °F, and today we’ve got highs in the mid 80s with a chance for rain pretty much whenever—particularly this evening. The weekend’s weather forecast tells much the same story, with the possibility for a drier, more pleasant Sunday.

Water cooler

As of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 463 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealth and 4 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 92 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 59, Henrico: 10, and Richmond: 23). Since this pandemic began, 208 people have died in the Richmond region. The Governor’s press conference yesterday focused on the disparate impact COVID-19 has had on Latinx Virginians and on the Commonwealth’s eventual move into Phase Three of recovery. First, this stat is horribly shocking: “Latino Virginians make up 45.3 percent of the cases for which Virginia has demographic data, and 35 percent of hospitalizations—even though Hispanic and Latino people make up about 10 percent of the Commonwealth’s population.” I need to compare the following numbers to the Latinx populations in each jurisdiction but, according to VDH’s data, people identifying as “Latino” make up 35% of Richmond’s coronavirus cases, 18% of Henrico’s, and 20% of Chesterfield’s. Second, as for Phase Three, we’re not headed there this week, but it sounds like next Friday is a strong possibility. You can read the Governor’s Phase Three guidelines here (PDF), but, basically, it’s more of everything. Face masks will still be required and six feet of distance must be kept between folks, which will ultimately limit capacity at a lot of places. Virginia’s reported positive cases continue to fall as we slowly creep back to seeing each other in person again, so I guess we’ll see what happens when gatherings of 250 people are allowed!

The Richmond Police Department’s new Interim Chief of Police held his first press conference yesterday, and Ali Rockett and Reed Williams at the Richmond Times-Dispatch have the best write up. You’ll want to read it and probably watch the video, too, to get a feel for the tone. I’ve gone through a lot of different feelings since reading this piece and haven’t really finished processing all of those feelings yet. Ultimately, I want someone—any one of our City’s leaders—to acknowledge the use of violent tactics by Richmond police officers over the last couple of weeks, accept responsibility for that, and promise that it won’t happen again. I want the RPD to take down their stupid concrete fort and return Grace Street back to the public. I want a better more humble tone from our leaders when they finish reading their pre-written statements and begin answering questions. I understand that police officers are frustrated, but centering how we talk about what’s happening around their feelings is the exact opposite of what should be happening. Look around! The entire world is enraged about how police treat Black and Brown folks! These protests are not just protests against years of systemic racism, they are protests specifically against the way that racism instantiates itself through the police. Finally, the RTD reports that Interim Chief Blackwell was involved in a fatal officer-involved shooting in 2002. I don’t know the specifics of what happened, I don’t know anything about Blackwell as a person. I do, however, question the decision-making process that ended with appointing a police officer that has killed a Black man to lead our police department.

Unfortunately, the Lee monument’s removal will have to wait a bit longer. The Washington Post reports that a judge has extended the injunction against removing the statue indefinitely. That doesn’t mean the statue stays up indefinitely, it just means that the legal process has to work itself out before we can take the thing down. I know it’s frustrating that we can’t just toss these statues into a warehouse somewhere and move on with our lives, but we can and will begin working on the local process to remove all of the City-owned statues in just a couple of weeks. Also, out of all the monuments (and counter to any expectations I had), the Lee statue has become a surprisingly beautiful public space. I mean, look at these pictures and videos from last night by @zdroberts. Another hearing is scheduled for July 23rd, and we’ll learn more about the timeline for official removal then.

One thing I want to do more of with Good Morning, RVA is to consistently highlight opportunities for folks to get involved in the legislative process. The first part of that is through this public Trello board full of all the legislation I’m keeping an eye on, and the second part is encouraging y’all to regularly tell your councilmember how you feel about all of the laws they’re passing. Council will meet this coming Monday, and, as you can see from their agenda (PDF), they’ll consider a bunch of interesting papers. Easiest to support is RES. 2020-R043, Councilmembers Lynch and Robertson’s paper to rename the Lee Bridge. Also consider dropping a line of support for the short-term rental ordinance (aka the Airbnb ordinance, ORD. 2019–343) which has kicked around various city departments for a good long while now. The point of contention on this particular ordinance is that home owners must live in the property for a majority of the year, which means you couldn’t buy a property and run it as an Airbnb year round. Folks currently running (illegal) Airbnbs say this will ruin their (currently illegal) businesses. I’d say that we need as many homes for people to actually live in as possible. The research I’ve seen isn’t super clear on how allowing people to own and run multiple Airbnbs impacts affordable housing, so, to be fair, I think reasonable people could stand on either side of this. I think Council should pass this ordinance, the City can run the program for a while, and we can check back in on how we feel later. So you’ve got an opportunity to write your councilmember about both a straightforward and a complex topic! Do both! You can find Council contact information here (and make sure you copy their liaison, too!).

The Virginia Employment Commission has posted their weekly unemployment insurance claims data for the week ending in June 13th. While the number of total claims continues to decrease, the number is still massive: 414,079. I think, just like with some of the coronavirus numbers, it’s important not to get trapped looking solely at the first derivative of these numbers. Yes the number of initial claims is just 18% of its peak back in April, but its still thousands and thousands of people without a job.

There is no Richmond 300 virtual summit tonight, but that doesn’t mean you escape without having Richmond 300 homework. Take five minutes and fill out this Coliseum Framework Survey to help guide the small area plan that will inform development Downtown. I really enjoyed this survey—especially how it didn’t start with the assumption that we need a downtown arena. If it were me, I’d build a bunch of space for the people and things needed to create a thriving neighborhood. We’ve got lots of those in the City and none of them have a downtown arena. If we could get a ton of places to live—a lot of them affordable—plus an urban Target and/or Trader Joe’s, I’d be stoked.

Today is Juneteenth. The Elgba Folklore Society will host a virtual freedom celebration on Saturday beginning at 5:00 PM. Kai’eshia Cole has a piece at the Virginia Mercury about how the holiday has worked its way into her life and what it means in 2020. If Juneteenth is new to you, consider spending some time today working through the New York Times’s 1619 Project to build context for the celebration of the end of slavery in America.

This morning’s longread

Black Lives, Policing, and How the Illusion of Proximity Perpetuates Injustice

I liked the connection made between decades of racist policies and social distancing in this post by Mariah Williams at Housing Opportunities Made Equal right here in Richmond.

While complex, the issues of proximity and social distancing are a part of the American fabric. In many ways, it is catch 22, because while policies were put in place to create physical distance between blacks and whites, this has not protected black people from the violent and oppressive conditions of white supremacy, as institutional racism reaches far and wide. De jure and de facto housing segregation have often been coupled with the over policing of black bodies in communities of color, increasing the chances of aggressive and deadly encounters. Furthermore, the perception folks have of housing in this country, perceptions based on overused terms and programs like affordable, projects, and Section 8, bring police closer while further distancing them from the realities of the community.

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