christopher brown€¦ · communicate stories through social media i.e. twitter. broadcast...
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Christopher Brown Mobile: (804)-878- 5473 | Email: [email protected] | Online Portfolio: Clippings.me/ccbrown96 Profile
● Skilled multimedia journalist with 7+ years of experience● Published works into Washington Post, Richmond Free Press, RVAMAG, WWBT, etc.● Composed and created high quality pieces through countless Adobe software
Skills & Abilities AP Style Writing Video & Audio Editing Interview Etiquette
Broadcast Scriptwriting Photography Copy editing Communications/Journalism Experience RVAMAG/GayRVA / Richmond, VA / August 2019 - Present Contributing Writer
● Specialized in event coverage● Designed creative stories i.e. features on local artists
Capital News Service / Virginia Commonwealth University / August 2019 - Present Student Reporter
● Publish stories through the Associated Press and various news outlets through the Richmond area.● Enhance stories for and post content on the web.● Communicate stories through social media i.e. Twitter.
Broadcast Writing/Audio & Video Journalism / Virginia Commonwealth University / January 2019 - May 2019 Student Multimedia Journalist
● Conducted interviews using high-tech equipment● Assembled audio and video packages using Adobe software● Translated digital journalism stories into broadcast journalism stories
MIX 91.1 | SEPTEMBER 2012- JUNE 2014 | MUSIC DIRECTOR/RADIO PERSONALITY
● Was responsible for getting music and production for the station with the Operations Manager,and Programming Director
● Wrote and recorded a radio show on Tuesdays from 3 pm to 5 pm● Organized and assigned radio logs to other employees
Additional Experience Target Team Member/Richmond East Target/ November 2015 - Present/
● Service & Engagement Team Leader● Perform problem-solving tasks to assist guests and team members
Education BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN MASS COMMUNICATION| MAY 2020| VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
● Concentration: Digital Journalism● Minor: African American Studies
12/3/2019 Resolutions and flags aren’t enough, LGBTQ advocates want laws
https://www.nbc12.com/2019/09/27/resolutions-flags-arent-enough-lgbtq-advocates-want-laws/ 1/9
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Resolutions and ags aren’t enough, LGBTQ advocates want laws
An LGBT Pride flag waves alongside the American flag at Brown's Island in Richmond. (Source: Capital News Service)
By Christopher Brown | September 27, 2019 at 5:51 PM EDT - Updated September 27 at 5:51 PM
RICHMOND – Adam Trimmer attended several of the Pride week events leading to Saturday’sPride festival on Brown’s Island.
The road to the LGBTQ community has been dif�cult for 30-year-old Trimmer. He considershimself a survivor of conversion therapy - a practice that uses physical or psychological tacticsin an effort to change a person’s sexuality. Trimmer’s pastor recommended he start conversiontherapy after a suicide attempt in college. Now Trimmer is the Virginia ambassador for BornPerfect, a campaign that seeks to end the practice.
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12/3/2019 Resolutions and flags aren’t enough, LGBTQ advocates want laws
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“When you grow up being told that you’re going to hell, that is not something that you want,and I think that is why conversion therapy is so prevalent, especially in the South,” Trimmersaid. “All we really want is to not feel ashamed of ourselves.”
Though Pride �ags were raised this week by the city mayor, whose resolution banningconversion therapy recently passed Richmond City Council, and three state regulatory boardshave offered guidance to ban the practice, the LGBTQ community wants more.
They want legislators to pass a law banning the practice.
A resolution like Mayor Levar Stoney’s is nonbinding and will not become a statewide law. Onlythe Virginia General Assembly has the power to ban the practice. Virginia is one of 31 states thatdoes not have laws preventing conversion therapy, according to the Movement AdvancementMovement AdvancementMovement AdvancementProject.Project.Project.
In the past, state legislators introduced laws on conversion therapy, but none of these billspassed the Senate �oor:
SB262 - Introduced in January 2016 by Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax. The bill prohibited anyhealth care professionals from performing conversion therapy on minors and said that statefunds could not be spent on the practice. In 2018, Surovell introduced an identical bill, SB 245,that also did not pass.
SB1773 - Introduced in January by Sen. Siobhan Dunnavant, R-Henrico. The bill would requireVirginia health boards to release regulations or guidance documents de�ning what conversiontherapy is and what is deemed unprofessional conduct for minors.
SB1778 - Introduced in January by Sen. Steve Newman, R-Bedford. Would prohibit the usage ofelectroshock, aversion or any other physical treatments when performing conversion therapy onminors.
Three Virginia boardsThree Virginia boardsThree Virginia boards that advise mental health professions - the Board of Psychology, Board ofCounseling and Board of Social Work - all voted to prohibit conversion therapy on minors. Theboards have the executive power to create a regulation change without legislative approval andto take disciplinary action against anyone who offers conversion therapy to minors. Virginiaresidents were allowed to weigh in on the proposed bans during a public comment period.
Josh Hetzler, legislative counsel for The Family Foundation of VirginiaJosh Hetzler, legislative counsel for The Family Foundation of VirginiaJosh Hetzler, legislative counsel for The Family Foundation of Virginia, wrote that the boards’guidance is “overtly at odds with the laws of Virginia and the Constitution of the United States.”The faith-based public policy group believes the ban usurps a parent’s right to make decisions
12/3/2019 Resolutions and flags aren’t enough, LGBTQ advocates want laws
https://www.nbc12.com/2019/09/27/resolutions-flags-arent-enough-lgbtq-advocates-want-laws/ 3/9
concerning the upbringing of their child and subjects them to "discrimination on the basis ofreligious conviction." They believe it might not hold up to legal scrutiny.
Hetzler also referred to the 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision that “professional speech”receives the same First Amendment protection as ordinary speech.
The Virginia Catholic Conference, a public policy agency representing Virginia’s Catholicbishops and their two dioceses, is also against the ban.
“When minors have unwanted same-sex or mixed-sex attractions, they and their families shouldbe free to seek counseling towards the resolutions they desire,” Jeff Caruso, VCC executivedirector, wrote in the forum. “Licensed professionals with years of education and experienceshould not be removed from the process of helping children work through these sensitive anddeeply personal issues.”
Caruso also said the ban would affect “the fundamental rights of parents for their children” aswell as the “limits on regulatory authority that ensure consistency with the General Assembly.”
The Trevor Project conducted an inaugural LGBTQ Youth Mental HealthLGBTQ Youth Mental HealthLGBTQ Youth Mental Health survey this year. Theresearch concluded that a small percentage of LGBTQ youth undergo conversion therapy (5%)and that 42% of those who do attempt suicide. That’s compared to 17% of LGBTQ youth whoattempt suicide but do not undergo conversion therapy.
“I am proud that members of Richmond’s City Council joined me in opposing the inhumane andregressive practice of conversion therapy and af�rming the sexual orientation and identities ofall Richmonders,” Stoney said earlier this month on social mediasocial mediasocial media.
Equality Virginia, an LGBTQ advocacy organization, applauded Richmond’s leadership for takingthe initiative to regulate conversion therapy.
“It’s exciting to see Richmond wanting to be vocal on this issue,” said James Parrish, executivedirector for Equality Virginia. But, he said, it is more important to see health professionalsadvocating for permanent, statewide change.
Parrish and Equality Virginia hope the practice is banned in the state because mental healthadvocates believe it “mentally and physically harms people.”
“At the end of the day, we need everyone working to end this practice,” Parrish said.
12/3/2019 Resolutions and flags aren’t enough, LGBTQ advocates want laws
Capital News Service is a program of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Robertson School of Mediaand Culture. Students in the program provide state government coverage for a variety of mediaoutlets in Virginia.
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12/5/2019 Advocates Call on General Assembly to Abolish Death Penalty - The Roanoke Star News
https://theroanokestar.com/2019/11/23/advocates-call-on-general-assembly-to-abolish-death-penalty/ 1/3
Advocates Call on General Assembly to Abolish DeathPenalty
Christiansburg resident Rachel Sutphin mourns the loss of two men’s lives every day: her father, Cpl.Eric Sutphin and his killer, William Morva. Morva murdered Sutphin, who worked for the MontgomeryCounty Sheriff’s Office, in Blacksburg on Aug. 6, 2006.
On Thursday, Sutphin joined other families at a press conference to ask the General Assembly toabolish the death penalty.
“With the abolition of the penalty, families like mine will no longer suffer through the long process ofmandatory death sentence appeals,” Sutphin said, which could drag on for years. “Instead, asentence of life in prison without parole offers a resolution and finality to murder victim familymembers more quickly than the death penalty.”
The Virginians for Alternatives for the Death Penalty, an organization advocating to end capitalpunishment said that so far, 13 people have signed a letter for the General Assembly to considerpassing legislation to abolish the death penalty.
Advocates hope that an upcoming Democratic majority legislature could help Virginia become the22nd state to abolish the death penalty.
“The death penalty is said to be reserved for ‘particularly heinous murders.’ We have difficultyunderstanding this position,” the VADP stated. “From experience, we can tell you that, to victims’families, every murder is heinous.”
November 23, 2019
Rachel Sutphin talked to members of the press on Thursday about her fight to abolish the death penalty in the state of Virginia.
12/5/2019 Advocates Call on General Assembly to Abolish Death Penalty - The Roanoke Star News
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According to Michael Stone, executive director of VADP, nearly two-thirds of the state’s 133 countieshave not had an execution in over 50 years. Stone said that in the last eight years, no one has beensentenced to death in the state, though there have been executions.
Virginia is one of 29 states where the death penalty is legal, although four states — Oregon,California, Pennsylvania and Colorado — have a governor-ordered moratorium, according to theDeath Penalty Information Center, a nonprofit organization that educates the public on capitalpunishment. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, Virginia ranks second to Texas inexecutions since 1976. Morva was the last person to be executed, in July 2017, after former Gov.Terry McAuliffe declined to approve his petition for clemency. Two people are still on death row, butStone said the Virginia Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals remanded their cases to the lower courts toconsider whether errors in each trial could result in their cases being overturned.
Along with the 13 family members, many others across the state have rallied behind the idea ofabolishing the death penalty. Organizations like the Virginia Catholic Conference, a public policyagency representing Virginia’s Catholic bishops and their Richmond and Arlington dioceses, havespoken in favor of ending the punishment, along with the ACLU. Before Morva’s execution, 22members of the General Assembly, in addition to Rachel Sutphin, wrote McAuliffe in support ofMorva’s clemency.
Stone said abolishing the death penalty is a nonpartisan issue, but ending it won’t happen untillegislators also see it that way.
“We’ve been working really hard for the past four years in building support across the politicalspectrum for abolition,” Stone said. “We felt by 2020, we would have the most support to have aserious favor in the legislature.”
Sutphin said memories of her father and his killer stay with her to this day, and she still fights to endthe “ineffective, outdated punishment.”
“Mr. Morva’s execution brought no solace to me, but, instead, it strengthened my resolve that thedeath penalty needs to be abolished.”
By Christopher Brown / Capital News Service
12/3/2019 Author Ta-Nehisi Coates deconstructs power: 'The South won the war of aesthetics' | Richmond Free Press | Serving the African America…
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Author and Maryland native Ta-Nehisi Coates visited Richmond last week to discussemancipation and to promote his New York Times best-seller, “The Water Dancer.”
The book is set in Virginia, but his work isn’t the only connection to the Old Dominion. Mr.Coates recently found out that one of his ancestors was enslaved outside of Petersburg.
“It’s of special meaning to be here in the capital of the Confederacy,” Mr. Coates told thecrowd.
He pointed out that many people can trace their ancestry to Virginia because of the slavetrade. “My story of having my ancestors being from Virginia is actually not that original,”he said.
Christy Coleman, chief executive o�cer of the American Civil War Museum, and Dr.Manisha Sinha, a professor at the University of Connecticut, joined Mr. Coates on stage
Christopher Brown/Capital News Service | 10/31/2019, 6 p.m.
Author Ta-Nehisi Coates makes a point during his talk Oct. 25 at the Virginia Museum ofHistory & Culture. Other speakers on the panel for “Legacies of Emancipation,” are Dr.Manisha Sinha, left, of the University of Connecticut, and Christy Coleman, chiefexecutive o�cer of the American Civil War Museum. Photo by Regina H. Boone
Author Ta-Nehisi Coates deconstructs power: 'The Southwon the war of aesthetics'
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12/3/2019 Author Ta-Nehisi Coates deconstructs power: 'The South won the war of aesthetics' | Richmond Free Press | Serving the African America…
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Oct. 25 before a sold-out crowd of almost 500 people at the Virginia Museum of History &Culture.
The evening was part of the museum’s ongoing exhibition “Determined: The 400-YearStruggle for Black Equality” and was co-sponsored by the American Civil War Museum.
The discussion, “Legacies of Emancipation,” exam- ined the history of enslaved African-Americans during the 1800s leading up to emancipation and the shift from enslavementto freedom.
Dr. Sinha, who teaches 19th century African-American and feminism history, said theemancipation of the enslaved in America was not just a “singular event, but a process thatinvolves many social actors.”
“When you think about emancipation in that manner, youcan actually uncover the e�orts of African-Americans,” Dr.Sinha said.
Mr. Coates’ book examines the idea: “What if memoryhad the power to transport enslaved people to freedom?”Hiram Walker, the book’s protagonist, is an enslavedAfrican-American with a superhuman ability allowing himto travel long distances through water. His powers aretriggered only through memories of his mother, who wassold and separated from him when he was a child.
According to Mr. Coates, the idea of creating a black superhero during the antebellumSouth was inspired by the “war of aesthetics and beauty” that the Confederates won. Hequestioned the creation of an “Arthurian Camelot,” a �ctional castle and a symbol of KingArthur’s story, that revered and memorialized Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.
“On one level, there was a robbery of history. But on another level, it was the idea thatsomehow �ghting for the right to steal labor from people and sell people ...shouldsomehow be depicted beautifully,” Mr. Coates said.
After an hourlong discussion, the panel took questions from the audience.
Virginia Commonwealth University employee and attendee Chante Holt asked what thestate should do to combat the current high rate of evictions — with �ve Virginia cities in
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New drug approved to manage sickle celldisease
U.S. regulators haveapproved a new medicinethat can help reduceextremely painful sickle celldisease �are-ups.
Remains found in VCU well returned toRichmond after Smithsonian study
The bones of 53 African-Americans are back inRichmond after a 25-yearsojourn at the SmithsonianInstitution in Washington.
Thanksgiving holiday schedule
In observance ofThanksgiving Day,Thursday, Nov. 28, please note the following closings:
12/3/2019 Author Ta-Nehisi Coates deconstructs power: 'The South won the war of aesthetics' | Richmond Free Press | Serving the African America…
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the top 10 nationally — that disproportionately a�ect people of color.
“Give them money,” Mr. Coates responded, adding that “you are robbing people” if theyare taxed equally but only given a “sliver of the same resources.” Brandy Akins, who worksin human resources at Altria, responded to the statement Mr. Coates made about themaintenance of power being “deeply tied to forgetting.” “The fact that we don’t rememberReconstruction the way it actually happened is not an accident,” Mr. Coates said.
Ms. Akins told Mr. Coates some people in her social group believe the period beforedesegregation “sounds like it was better than the situation we’re in now.”
“To not live in that world and to say that this world is worse, I mean, it just looks likeyou’re spitting on people,” Mr. Coates said. “If it was so much better, why would childrenmarch in the street, getting sprayed with �re hoses, having dogs sicced on them.
“The era of segregation was open terrorism,” Mr. Coates added.
Afterward, people explored the museum’s exhibit that opened on June 22, the day thestreet where the museum is located was renamed for Arthur Ashe in honor of the latetennis legend and Richmond native.
The exhibit, which runs through March 29, chronicles the black experience from 1619 tothe present day through interactive exhibits set in four chronological sections: theColonial period; American Revolution through the Civil War; Reconstruction throughWorld War II; and the Civil Rights Movement through today.