Editor’s Note: This letter to the Fairfax County School Board was written July 23 by Reese Glassman, the new editor of The Blue View, on Black Lives Matter and the name change from Robert E. Lee High School in Springfield, Va. to John R. Lewis High School. Dear esteemed members of the School Board of Fairfax County, I see black…
By Marcus Motta: The Fairfax County School Board voted unanimously on Thursday July 23, to change the name of Robert E. Lee High School to John R. Lewis High School in honor of Civil Rights icon and Georgia Congressman John R. Lewis who passed away on July 17. At a hearing on July 22, the public was allowed to give…
By Bob Leggett: It is well documented that the current Republican administration is more corrupt and incompetent than any administration in our lifetime. What is harder to understand is why. What are the reasons that high-ranking members of the Republican party betray the ideals they once stood for? In a recent article in the Atlantic magazine, titled “History Will Judge…
By Diane Burkley Alejandro: Starting July 1, Fairfax Sheriff Stacey Kincaid is taking another step toward non-cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). As permitted by a new Virginia law, she says she will no longer collect citizenship and immigration status information for persons booked for misdemeanors.
Many of us have asked ourselves if there is something wrong with Donald Trump’s mental state, seeing his behavior stray so far from the norms set by his predecessors in the White House. Now we have a chance to discuss that important issue with an expert, literally the person who wrote the book on the subject: “The Dangerous Case of…
The Black Lives Matter movement touches Americans of all ages, including the residents of Greenspring, a senior living community in Springfield, who held their own memorial event on the day George Floyd was laid to rest. Approximately 155 residents, together with an estimated 20 staff members, gathered outside the Erickson Living facility on Tue., June 23, at 4 pm to…
By Marcus R. Motta: Last Tuesday evening, June 23, the Fairfax County School Board voted unanimously in a virtual meeting to change the name of Robert E. Lee High School in Springfield, ending a long campaign to remove the Confederate general’s name from a public school. The vote followed a lengthy, and often emotional, virtual public hearing the day before,…
By Bill Brazier: Like most Americans, I am disturbed by the abuse of Black Americans by police, and want to do something about it. One opportunity came earlier this month in the form of a vigil at the Fairfax County Police Department headquarters, which was not just a protest but also delivered a precise agenda for action. The event was…
By Billy Bates: The author is a rising senior at Fairfax High School and president of the school’s Young Democrats chapter The year was 2016. I had just woken up and was preparing to leave for school when my mom told me that Donald Trump had won the election. A lump started forming in my throat. How had this happened?…
By Abby Block: Protests following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police have spread across the nation, not just in big cities but also in small communities — like our own Mason District here in Fairfax County — that don’t typically respond in organized fashion to events far outside their boundaries. Hundred joined in on Mon.,…
It’s time for Democratic voters in Fairfax County to decide who will carry the party’s standard at the polls in November for US representative in the 11th Congressional district. To help voters decide, The Blue View asked both candidates – incumbent Gerry Connolly and challenger Zainab Mohsini – to answer the same four questions on critical topics facing our nation…
By Diane Burkley Alejandro: We all were horrified as we watched the video showing a Minneapolis policeman extinguishing George Floyd’s life with his knee. Fairfax County is not Minneapolis. But on Friday June 5, we were reminded that police violence occurs here, too. Body-cam footage initially showed police and other first responders calmly talking to a man who appeared to…
State Sen. Chap Petersen (D-34) has been criticized by 33 leaders of Fairfax County Democratic Committee (FCDC) for favorable comments he made about public education under Jim Crow segregation. Petersen made the comments Thursday, June 11, on a radio talk show and apologized after the Fairfax County NAACP called them “racist and hurtful”. The FCDC leaders’ statement acknowledges the apology…
By Karen Kirk: “I believe we’re on a trajectory for a big win in November because Trump has shown himself to be an incompetent fool and a narcissistic figure,” U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-11) said Wednesday during an online Hunter Mill District Democratic Committee meeting. Connolly said we will have a chance to rebuild America in a more progressive way…