See below for the amicus brief filed today with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. According to the brief:
“Amici curiae are 28 members of the Virginia General Assembly, the legislative body for the Commonwealth of Virginia and the longest continuous law-making body in the world; Virginia State Conference NAACP, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons; and the Center for Earth Ethics, a national civic organization working on environmental justice and civic engagement. Together the 28 members of the General Assembly represent over two million Virginians.”
General Assembly members signing on to the brief – all Democrats, not surprisingly – are: Delegate Dawn Adams (D-68th), Delegate Lashrecse Aird (D-63rd), Delegate Hala Alaya (D-51st), Delegate John Bell (D-87th), Delegate Jennifer Carroll Foy (D-2nd), Delegate Lee Carter (D-50th), Delegate Kelly Convirs-Fowler (D-21st), Delegate Karrie Delaney (D-67th), Delegate Wendy Gooditis (D-10th), Delegate Elizabeth Guzman (D-31st), Delegate Patrick Hope (D-47th), Delegate Chris Hurst (D-12th), Delegate Jay Jones (D-89th), Delegate Mark Keam (D-35th), Delegate Kaye Kory (D-38th), Delegate Paul Krizek (D-44th), Delegate Mark Levine (D-45th), Delegate Alfonso Lopez (D-49th), Delegate Kenneth R. Plum (D-36th), Delegate Sam Rasoul (D-11th), Delegate Marcus Simon (D-53rd), Delegate Kathy Tran (D-42nd), Delegate Cheryl Turpin (D-85th), Delegate Debra Rodman (D-73rd), Delegate Ibraheem Samirah (D-86th), Senator Jennifer Boysko (D-33rd), Senator Creigh Deeds (D-25th) and Senator Lionell Spruill (D-5th).
Here’s a key excerpt from the conclusion (bolding added by me for emphasis):
For the African-American community of Union Hill, the marker of belonging is both life and death: the place where the first generation of free people came to life, and
where now their ancestors rest in the ground. Union Hill is a unique, living,
breathing community where the American history of slavery, the Civil War
and Reconstruction resides both in the cemeteries of former slaves and the
memory of their descendants. It deserves our protection and our respect.
For the above reasons, amici respectfully ask the Court to vacate and
remand the permit order for further consideration.
Great work by the folks who put this amicus brief together (e.g., Aderson B. Francois
and Taylor Blatz of the Georgetown University Law Center – Civil Rights Clinic), and thanks to everyone who signed on. Now, let’s hope they win, and hopefully stop this “reckless, racist ripoff” dead in its tracks!
Sign up for the Blue Virginia weekly newsletter
