Yesterday was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and in Virginia that means Lobby Day. Traditionally thousands of advocates and dozens of organizations gather in the Capital to lobby our lawmakers. If you aren’t in Virginia you probably saw images of armed cosplayers moving through the streets and thought that’s what Richmond was about yesterday, but I want you to know that’s not what happened yesterday. I’m late on writing this blog, because these amazing advocates kept me so busy yesterday digesting information, attending meetings with my lawmakers, and completing calls to action.
Led by a group of mostly Black women, advocates actually gathered en masse, and joined forces. In a day of virtual advocacy created by BrownVA, dozens of those organizations that always plan their own thing, got together, brought in dozens of lawmakers and policy writers from all over the political spectrum, and they lobbied. If you weren’t here, you missed it, but it was the most effective and inspiring Lobby Day I’ve ever seen.
Yesterday, Black and Brown Virginia reclaimed their day, the way they always have, by standing with unarmed truth and doing a whole hell of a lot of work. They organized and built coalitions, they hosted Zooms, and inside the building, they lobbied, while strange men stood outside and whined to reporters.
The legacy of Rev. King was on full display yesterday in the former seat of the confederacy, you just had to have the meeting code to see it. The legacy of Dr. King seized a tragedy that has disproportionally impacted his people and turned it into new way of doing things that drowned out the loudest voices, megaphones be damned. The sons and daughters of the auction block in Richmond outfought the sons and daughters of the Confederacy yet again, and I just wish the media had seen it. It was glorious. Thanks for inviting me to the show, y’all.