This prison is such a mess. Virginia can do better. We urge Secretary of Homeland Security Bob Mosier and Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) Director Harold Clark to cancel the contract with The GEO Group and return management of this prison to the Department of Corrections. CLICK HERE to use our simple automated system to email VADOC Director Clarke. Use our template message or write your own.

We are moving forward on getting our factsheets prepared and available for the 2023 General Assembly. Here are factsheets (with clickable links) on: 

• Affordable Housing
• Solitary Confinement 
• Paid Sick Days 

More factsheets will be developed and available over the next few weeks. 

This past Monday was the last day to register to vote ahead of time, but every eligible voter can still register and vote casting a provisional ballot between now and Election day. You can go to one of the early voting sites in the next few weeks and register and cast a provisional ballot. You can also show up on Election day, November 8, and do the same. However, we recommend doing it ahead of time to lessen the burden on polling places. This new “same-day-voter-registration" is totally new for Virginia. Let’s use it! Click here for a poster about same day voting. 

The 2023 General Assembly session will be here before we know it. Our flagship annual event is just around the corner. Hold January 18, 2023 for an in-person Day for All People advocacy day. Registration will open by November 1.

Thank you. 

 


Sincerely,

Kim Bobo
Executive Director 

My dear friend, John Moeser, died this past weekend. John was revered in Richmond for his leadership on racial equity. He was a respected researcher, a beloved teacher, and a wonderful person of deep faith.  For the first four years of my time in Richmond, I had breakfast with him and Fletcher Lowe, Jim Payne, and Steve Colecchi once a month – without fail. During the first year of the pandemic, we had Zoom breakfast calls. As a group, they “educated” me on Virginia and Richmond politics and regaled me with war stories. Early on, I read John’s book on how Richmond and the surrounding areas used annexing to dilute Black voting. John was a giant whom I was privileged to know. Check out this great story about him.

JOHN V. MOESER | 1942-2022
John V. Moeser, a scholar and a gentleman, pushed for a more inclusive and equitable Richmond region.

Richmond-Times Dispatch, Oct. 18, 2022

By Michael Paul Williams

Last week, VICPP conducted training and voter education at the joint convention of the Baptist General Convention of Virginia (BGCVA) and The Virginia Baptist State Conference, Inc. (VBSC), which was held at First African Baptist Church in Richmond. The two presidents graciously gave VICPP 45 minutes on Thursday evening and Friday morning to speak to the attendees about voter empowerment.

VICPP Civic Engagement Coordinator Robert Lester, Faith Organizer Sheila Herlihy, and Criminal Justice Reform Organizer King Salim Khalfani invigorated attendees with lectures on the history and importance of voting and the role of the church. They trained on the powerful phone app, Impactive, and the Voter Access Network (VAN) Program. Two attendees agreed to become church liaisons and the illustrious Bishop James Coleman traveled back to Lynchburg, Virginia and asked the President of Lynchburg Voter’s League to contact us for Impactive training for herself and members. 

Above photo: Students from Randolph Macon University produced 100 voter encouragement postcards as part of VICPP’s voter engagement effort. 

VICPP is engaging students at colleges across the state in our voter registration and GOTV (get out the vote) campaign. Some college teams are writing postcards to encourage turnout of low frequency voters, while others are using Impactive, a digital tool for texting friends and families with voting information and reminders. On some campuses, students will be conducting voter education on issues like solitary confinement and maternal mortality in anticipation of our annual Student Day of Action that takes place during the General Assembly (February, 2023).

The national Election Protection program is managed in our state by the Virginia Civic Engagement Table (VCET). Volunteer roles for the General Election in November are now available, each with a required training session. The training session is designed to give you tools and resources you will need, prepare you for what to expect, and run through a number of practice scenarios. Click on the buttons below to register for the training(s) you want. For more information, please contact Nick Gothard at: nick@engageva.org

• Hampton Roads, Monday, October 24, 6 p.m.
• James River, Wednesday, October 26, 12 p.m.
• New River Valley, Tuesday, November 1, 12 p.m.
   
  Click the button below to check out our upcoming events list on our website for details and links to RSVP or register!

For a more comprehensive list of upcoming events, please click the button below to check out the VICPP Events webpage.  

"Virginia First Lady Anne Holton during an opening ceremony at Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy's new headquarters in Shockoe Bottom Monday, June 23, 2008."

Excerpted from:
From the Archives: 160 photos of Shockoe Bottom through the years

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Oct. 7, 2022
Compilation by RTD Staff

Above photo by Alexa Welch Edlund

Click the button below, and scroll down after the first article ends to view photo compilation.