#WESEEIT DAILY: JULY 30, 2018 – THE WEEKEND THAT WAS, THE MAYOR’S OFFICE HOURS, & NO MORE FREE YOGA IN BYRD PARK

What’s good Family, I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Lord knows there was a ton going on in-and-around Richmond.

Just a few on my list:

• There was a sold-out hip-hop show a Flora Friday night. S/O the crew over at the Beastly’s Lounge for bringing Jack Daniels and amazing performances together for a show like no other.
• S/O to Sam Reed who did an amazing Sharon Jones show at the Broadberry Friday Night, along with The Big Payback
• S/O to Kelli Lemon who had the Heart and Soul Festival over at Hardywood on Saturday. I know that was an amazing cultural experience. I see you Jess.
• S/O to my guy Jai Jameson who debuted his short film Slave Cry at the Bowtie Saturday.
• I (Cheats) was MCing at Vassen Breweries 1 year anniversary celebration all day Saturday and the vibe there was lovely. The Bush Leauge, Black Alley, Chance Fischer, and more.
• There was another Lyricist Lounge Saturday night and Mid-Atlantic Jams (S/O Brice) celebrated 1 year on the air at WRIR.
• Also Nelly and Rico Nasty performed in town.
• The Washington Football team is in town for training camp.
• And Beyonce and HOV did two nights in DC!

That’s just naming a few of the things I was aware of. I know there was a ton of events not even on my radar. Bottom line: Richmond was poppin’.

So here we go, First Up:

Tomorrow at 11 AM, you’ll get the next episode of The Cheats Movement on WRIR and this one features an exclusive interview with ESPN Senior writer Howard Bryant. We talk about his new book The Heritage and the journey of race and politics in sports. This interview is entertaining and educational. Please tune-in to WRIR (97.3 FM) tomorrow at 11 AM.

Moving on:

Last week, the news coming out of Mayor Levar Stoney’s office hours session was dominated by the family and supporters of those seeking more information and a more active response from Richmond leadership about the death of Marcus-David Peters who was killed by RPD on May 14th. Peters’s sister, Princess Blanding, has led the effort for transparency and action in the case. Mayor Stoney has held the hard line that he will not provide information until the investigation is complete, turned over the Commonwealth Attorney, and action is recommended.

Overall, I understand both sides of the messaging. There is a family that has lost a loved one at the hands of the RPD. He was unarmed and clearly not himself during this episode, the fact that he is no longer with us is tragic and, to the those that knew and loved him, unacceptable. On the Mayor’s side of the coin, he wants all of the facts before he puts himself on the record. The Police Chief is hired by him, Richmond Police are city employees; he needs to show them that there is a level of support for them, and the job that they do, even in the most challenging situations, and this is one of the most challenging situations an officer (and police department) will ever have to deal with, the use of lethal force. I understand what the surface looks like and I get it. Here is where I suggest our leadership make an adjustment: many of the people who attended to the office hours last week, and the session before that the previous week, commented that the Mayor seemed agitated by Ms. Blanding and those pressuring Richmond leadership for answers. They said his comments to those asking for answered lacked empathy. That just can’t be the case. I believe turning the results of the investigation over to the Commonwealth Attorney’s office is the right thing to do. I understand not commenting on an ongoing investigation. However, this is the most sensitive of topics – so, you have to hear people out, you have to be understanding and show true compassion, you have to be helpful where you can be. This is the responsibility of leadership. It not just what you do, it’s how you do it.

photo from CBS6 – Princess Blanding speaking during the Mayor’s office hours last week.

Photo from RVA Mag 

Chelsea Higgs Wise of RVA Mag has written and about the meeting in her editorial: The Mayor Needs To Step Up his Game Marcus David Peters. Her words are worth reading as it shares a different perspective from mine on this issue.

Moving On:

No more free yoga in Byrd Park! This story is bananas to me. King of Pops’ popular free yoga event is moving out of William Byrd Park after city officials said a special use permit would be necessary. Style Weekly has a good story on this. I saw the story last week and thought we need to let yoga be great but, again, I see both sides. The event is huge, it has grown to over 300 people, which seems to be the magic number that needs a permit. And products were being sold on the property which also requires a permit. So, the event has announced that it will move to Maymont on August 7th.

The RTD released a video of my homie Hamilton Glass leading the RVA Mural Bike Tour. Check it out (I wish the video was longer).

The Richmond Police Department released their lip sync challenge video yesterday and the video just hit over 1K views. I’m happy to see videos like this. In challenging times, it’s easy to be cynical or a straight critic of police but law enforcement does have a human side and videos like this help show that side. I, for one, want to know that more officers who care about the community and willing to do the little things, like making goofy videos to place their faces in the world other than saying “licenses and registration.” Well done.

That’s it for now…See you tomorrow. #WESEEIT