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Richa Ravindra Karmarkar

Religion reporter from Milwaukee with a great taste in music

About Richa

Multimedia journalist with experience in historical and religious research. Covered various religious institutions and their role in housing development, violence prevention, public health, and social activism – including an SPJ national award-winning piece about a Milwaukee church’s involvement in 2020 Black Lives Matter protests.

Recently interned at the International Center of Religion and Diplomacy analyzing demographic context for religious peace building programming.

Triple BA from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in Journalism, Religious Studies, and History. In dual degree program with an MA in Religion from Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

The Blessed and Pink Dressed – Covering Religion

I had visited Catholic churches before. Whether in Italy, Spain or New York, they always struck me with the same haunting silence.

Aside from the faint echo of monastic chants or organ chords, it was quiet. If I listened too hard, it was like I could hear someone whispering through the stone walls. Maybe believers heard Jesus in the whispers, and that’s why they sat so earnestly in the brown pews.

I couldn’t hear Jesus the way that they did so their prayers fell upon my arms and legs like chil

This Week in Rent: Free Internet, E-Scooters, and Record High Home Sales

The 90-year-old Riverside Church is broadening its footprint in Morningside Heights and Harlem.

After purchasing the landmarked McGiffert Hall from Columbia’s Union Theological Seminary in June 2020, Riverside now owns two blocks of property spanning from 120th Street and Riverside Drive to 122nd Street and Claremont Avenue.

“We need to be prayerfully seeking out what God would have us do and be in the next 90 years so that we can continue a vibrant community that is serving not only Harlem, b

In This Week's Newsletter Guy Fieri’s Ghost Restaurant, a Beyoncé Grant in the Bronx and Billboards on Broadway…

You can’t take a trip down to Flavortown, but delivery’s an option. Guy Fieri’s ghost restaurant is one of an increasing and unknowable number of restaurants that operate without a physical location but thrive on food delivery platforms like Uber, DoorDash and Seamless.

Now, Manhattan’s Community Board 6 is taking the first step in an effort to regulate these proliferating operations. During a Sept. 30 meeting, the Board decided to draft a resolution that would create a system to identify and p
Media Milwaukee •

Zoom Theatre Show Highlights Creative Adaptability

Among most areas of performing arts this year, live theatre has been forced to adapt to the limitations of the pandemic. But for cast members of a recent theatre performance at UW-Milwaukee, creativity is their strong suit.

The New Dramaworks program, a fledgling of the UWM Theatre department, put on an all-virtual production of The Day the Music Came Back last Sunday night. The workshop show intended for local playwright Alvaro Saar Rios to see his creation in action was hit with multiple setb
Media Milwaukee •

COVID-19 Pandemic Amplifies Hardships for Minorities at UWM

Financial instability and mental health concerns brought by the COVID-19 pandemic have disproportionately affected the minority communities of UW-Milwaukee, as articulated in a seminar on Thursday conducted by the Zilber School of Public Health.

A live Teams meeting was held for panel members from staff and student organizations to discuss the needs of students during the pandemic as well as the resources made available to them through the school. All panelists unanimously agreed that students
Media Milwaukee •

Student Mental Health Concerns Increase due to Coronavirus Pandemic

UWM senior Emma Fath has felt her mental health negatively spiral since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. She moved closer to campus in August for two classes that were set to be in person, only to find that they were moved online. Fath says being holed up in an apartment alone has contributed to increased feelings of isolation, loneliness and depression.

“I feel like everything’s a mess right now, and I’m trying to figure out how to do things day by day,” said Fath. “Getting up to go to
Media Milwaukee •

Church Protests Racism Through Religion

“Jesus did not teach of resistance.”

Worship Pastor Cameron Overton recalls the incredulous reaction he had when reading the flood of hate comments in his church’s inbox.

The pastors of Zao MKE Church believe this animosity is a reaction to their Christian community, which explicitly affirms LGBTQIA people and the Movement for Black Lives.

Zao experienced an influx of hate mail after its Black Lives Matter action group sent a U-Haul of supplies to protestors during the Kenosha unrest in Augus