WATCH: BUZZ stars Harrison Museum of African American Culture

ROANOKE, Va. – In August of 2025, Roanoke cut the ribbon to a new landmark: Melrose Plaza, a partnership between the city and the nonprofit Goodwill Industries of teh Valleys.

Built to highlight and help the historically Black community of Northwest Roanoke, Melrose Plaza opened with a full-service grocery store, banking center, adult high school, wellness center and of course Henrietta’s Cafe named in honor of Roanoke native Henrietta Lacks whose cancer cells were taken from her without her knowledge or consent to become the source of the immortal HeLa cells that have been used for countless medical research advances.

But one big space of Melrose Plaza was left empty until the new home of the Harrison Museum of African American Culture opened. Watch the full story Thursday evening right here at 7:30 p.m.