Hundreds of people walked out of schools and jobs on Jan. 20 to protest a year of the Trump administration’s rule. In Richmond, Va., the crowd gathered in Kanawha Plaza where several speakers spoke to an engaged audience.
Chants such as “One struggle, one fight, we will not give up our rights” and “No ICE, no fear, immigrants are welcome here” reverberated through the crowd. Organizations such as 50501 Virginia, Party for Socialism and Liberation Virginia, Richmond Defensa, Punks for Liberation, Indivisible and Richmond Legal Fund supported speakers relaying messages ranging from anti-ICE to Hands Off Venezuela.
“This is a fight that hurts all of us. Renee Nicole Good was white. She was not an immigrant,” said Violeta Vega, a representative of the local self-defense network Richmond Defensa. “So if we’re all being targeted, then we all need to fight back.”
Violeta Vega, left, at the Richmond Defensa booth.
Richmond Defensa members are working to cement a response system to ICE sightings. On their report suspicious activity form and Instagram, witnesses are encouraged to document as much specific information on sightings as possible, so an alert can notify members to respond. Their goal is for members to act as protesters, intimidate ICE out of the location and document any detentions.
Richmond Defensa works to fight back as ICE carries out detentions statewide. One protest attendee, Haley Jones, believes her coworker's husband was unjustly detained and separated from his family, despite having Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA status.
“He is in a penitentiary. Her family is forced to pay all these legal fees,” said Jones. “There is a new process, no matter if you are a citizen or not. I’m worried for all the people that continue to fight.”
This would allegedly make him one of approximately 8,448 people detained by ICE in Virginia from January to October of this year, according to the most recent data from the Deportation Data Project analyzed by ABC 8News.
Vega admits the organization relies on word-of-mouth interactions, but events such as the gathering in Kanawha Plaza help the organization grow.
“We have a president that’s saying immigrants are the problem, when we know that it’s not,” said Vega. “I think that is what really brings out the diverse swath of people to our events, across ages and different backgrounds, because people are seeing more and more every day that immigrants aren’t the problem. It’s the people in the White House.”
In an interview and over the microphone, Vega repeated the slogan, “Solo el pueblo salva el pueblo,” or “only the people will save the people,” referencing a Spanish saying repeated to encourage resilience.
Reed Baldwin from PSL Virginia called attention to the recent ICE shooting of Renee Nicole Good, which occurred less than two weeks ago: “A mother, a community member just like us, was murdered by ICE agents sent to Minneapolis to terrorize and remove other community members just like us.” His voice boomed through the speakers, and the crowd replied in unison, “SHAME.”
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The crowd chanted and held signs referencing a list of grievances ranging from ICE to Palestine. What they held in common was outrage towards both the Trump administration and the Democratic Party.
Another protest attendee, Val Marsh, relayed her frustration with the Democratic Party, which she feels hasn’t protected American liberties from conservatism. At almost seventy years old, she mourns the optimistic tone of protests during the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights era.
“I think of when I was younger and how much we took for granted,” said Marsh. “Now, freedom has deteriorated in a way people who are in their twenties and thirties have no idea.”
Val Marsh at her free water and hand warmer station.
As a member of RVA Indivisible and 50501, Marsh began handing out water bottles at protests after she witnessed multiple protesters experiencing heat exhaustion during the summer months. On Tuesday, with temperatures dropping to twenty degrees Fahrenheit, she also supplied hand warmers.
Marsh’s grievances with the lack of action from the Democratic party haven’t stopped her from believing in the importance of protest.
“I’m sorry that the younger generation is so jaded that they don’t think protest is effective,” she said. “I think it’s very effective. I think collective energy is powerful if it’s sustained.”
On Friday, a larger fundraiser will occur at the Richmond Liberation Center to show solidarity with Minneapolis. Hosted by Richmond Defensa, PSL Virginia and RVA Liberation Center, the fundraiser will mirror many of the concerns expressed in Kanawha Plaza regarding ICE. Richmond Defensa’s Instagram flyer reads, “From ICE terror to inflated grocery prices to endless war — we must fight this war on the working class and shut it down!”
Contact writer Lily Nipper at lily.nipper@richmond.edu
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