Petersburg Virginia is a beautiful city located 21.69 miles South of Virginia's capital city Richmond. The Historic Downtown of Petersburg continues to be the heart of the city that highlights the past of Petersburg and how this city has been slowly on the right path to returning to its former glory. The inclining manufacturing boom, an influx of people moving into the city pouring in from neighboring cities, and the rise of small businesses finding success in Petersburg has contributed to the growth of population and makes Petersburg a city on the rise.

The progress that Petersburg has made from the issues of its recent past is nothing to slight. Through community support and an optimistic outlook Petersburg has managed to make a promising turnaround, but despite these positive efforts, the city is still plagued with many concerning issues. Gun violence and the death of many young black men and innocent bystanders of certain gun related crimes, poverty with lack of access to programs to support the community, and traffic that drives through the city of Petersburg with poorly managed roads cause many citizens of this great city to be rightfully worried about the future of the city under Project 2025.

Petersburg has a population of an estimated 33,280 people as of 2024. Of those 33,280 people it is estimated that Petersburg is 77.26% Black American. That is about 25,712 people that identify as Black living within the city. There are about 1,765 people in Petersburg that identify as Hispanic American regardless of race, about 1.33% or about 442 people in Petersburg identify as Asian American, and 2.93% or about 975 people identify as two or more races. This means per statistics, Petersburg, VA is mostly made up of minority groups.

After Donald Trump was announced the winner of the 2024 Presidential Election the Trump Campaign has made it blatantly clear that they plan on immediately imposing legislation that will directly cause harm on the citizens of Petersburg who are mostly living beneath the poverty line and are people of color, women (many of which are single mothers), and members of the LGBTQ+ community who have in recent years poured out of Richmond seeking housing that is cheaper and close to Richmond where most of their resources lie.

The most concerning highlight of Donald Trump's Project 2025/Agenda 47 Plans is that he intends to deport millions of Americans by way of arresting them, holding them in interment camps, and disrupting the lives and local economies of these cities that are made up of immigrants. This plan for immigrants is reminiscent to past atrocities in human history such as the Holocaust in Germany, and the internment of Japanese Americans during World War 2. One thing that must be highlighted is that despite originally targeting the people who were immigrants not in the country legally, both of these tragedies ended up targeting people who were legal citizens, and not even apart of the original groups that were being deported.

Petersburg is one of the many cities that has economically benefited from immigrants. Many immigrants in our city have opened businesses that largely contribute to the city's economic growth. The most important aspect of immigrants being in Petersburg is the work many have done on restoring houses in Petersburg that have been abandoned, as well as restoring houses that are of historic relevance to the city of Petersburg. Aside from immigrants, Peterburg being a city mostly made up of minority groups means that majority of the citizens in this city that are already living below the poverty line, in chaotic conditions will be subject to an even worse quality of life if, and when Donald Trump takes office in January 2025.

We, the people of Petersburg Virginia are calling upon our city council, Councilman Marlow Jones of Ward 1, Vice Mayor Darrin Hill of Ward 2, Mayor Samuel Parham of Ward 3, Councilman Charlie Cuthbert of Ward 4, Councilman W. Howard Meyers of Ward 5, Councilwoman Annette Smith-Lee of Ward 6, and Councilman Arnold Westbrook, Jr. of Ward 7 to take immediate collective action to safeguard this city and its vulnerable population from the alarming dangers of the incoming Project 2025/Agenda 47 of the Trump administration. If immediate action is not taken the economic growth of Petersburg and the livelihoods of thousands of people will be permanently altered for the worst. Everything that can be possibly done must be explored and suggested by our leadership in order to preemptively protect the great city of Petersburg from moving backwards.

The actions taken should include programs and initiatives that benefit all of the citizens of this city. These programs should include protections for senior citizens on fixed incomes, protections for the working class paycheck to paycheck workers of Petersburg, protections for families with children and single mothers, protections for minority groups who are at high risk of targeting for deportations, protections for small businesses, and protections for queer and trans people from the further oppression, exploitation, and disenfranchisement that Project 2025 will bring to this city.

Very respectfully,

Amari Ayan, and The People of Petersburg Virginia

Marlow Jones

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