-- With the 2009 General Assembly session just days away, community activists and organizers gathered yesterday for what they called a People's Assembly, strategizing on making sure their voices are heard.
About 75 to 100 people concerned about workers' rights, immigration, education, U.S. involvement in war, health care and prisoners' rights met for the daylong event at Asbury United Methodist Church in Richmond's Church Hill neighborhood.
Their efforts will continue Wednesday with a 4:30 p.m. rally at Kanawha Plaza, followed by a march to the state Capitol.
"The General Assembly, and the government in general, needs to be accountable to the people, the taxpayers and the people who pay their paychecks," said Breanne Armbrust of Richmond Jobs with Justice. Armbrust's group, along with the Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality, organized yesterday's meeting.
"What we're doing is trying to formulate a list of demands that represent the broad aspects of Virginia populations and different facets of society so that it is truly representative of the people. We are going to take that to the General Assembly and try to lobby around specific bills and specific demands," Armbrust said.
Organizers broke the crowd into smaller work groups around specific issues and then reconvened the participants later to develop a platform.
Lillie Branch-Kennedy, who has tracked legislation affecting prisoners for nearly a decade, offered pointers on legislative operations.
"Once you know who has the power, you know where to go," said Branch-Kennedy, founder of Resource Information Help for the Disadvantaged. She led a work group that encouraged prison reform around educational opportunities, prison operations and parole.
Ricardo Juarez Nava of Mexicanos Sin Fronteras (Mexicans Without Borders) in Woodbridge came with about a dozen Latino men who talked about being mistreated by police and immigration agents and being cheated out of wages by contractors.
"In the General Assembly, there will be measures that restrict or make worse our lives here," Nava said. "We are trying to get ready to challenge that potential attempt. The anti-immigrant movement and racist and hate groups promote measures against us."
Other activists raised concerns about construction of an immigrant detention center near Farmville, state plans to close a mental-health treatment center for children in Staunton, affordable college tuition, hate crimes, living wages and universal health care.
Armbrust said volunteers are energized by the November election results. Among the bills they will target is one that proposes adding a right-to-work clause to the state constitution.
"There is already a state statute that makes Virginia a right-to-work state," Armbrust said. "It's just another attack on workers and labor is the way we see it."
Contact Tammie Smith at (804) 649-6572 or TLsmith@timesdispatch.com.
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