ROANOKE, Va. – This article is a continuation of a previous piece published in August focusing on the lasting effects of urban renewal on Roanoke’s Black community. Throughout history, urban renewal in Roanoke, in many cases, meant splintering that community. Many people who are still alive continue to feel the pain of being uprooted by those urban renewal projects. “Urban renewal just came in with a sledgehammer,” said Dr. Reginald Shareef, a Radford University professor with a Ph.D. in public administration from Virginia Tech. Shareef grew up in Roanoke and later researched the impact on Roanoke’s urban renewal project, publishing the book, “An Evaluation of the Impact of Federal Urban Renewal and Redevelopment Programs on Three Roanoke, VA Neighborhoods” in 1992.

Advocacy groups say that is more difficult for some with a rise in voter suppression efforts since 2008. “Your voting right is one of the most important things that you have,” said Dr. Brenda Hale, president of the Roanoke branch of the NAACP. Hale said the NAACP works to register eligible voters, educate them and get them to the polls. She said the organization is also on the lookout for instances of voter suppression. Voter suppression is defined as strategies, legal or illegal, to prevent eligible voters from voting or registering to vote.

RICHMOND, Va. – For many, the global coronavirus pandemic is the worst health crisis in a generation. Our latest story questions whether racism should be declared a public health crisis. “When we accept it as a public health issue, we start putting research money behind it. Aird introduced a resolution that would formally acknowledge racism as a public health crisis in the Commonwealth. “We talked about that very issue that racism is a health crisis issue.

ROANOKE, Va. – Food access is a daily challenge for many people across Southwest Virginia. For the past several years, Carolyn Williams has used Local Environmental Agriculture Project’s (LEAP) mobile market to get her groceries. That’s why the LEAP Mobile Market was created in 2015, to cut down some of those barriers. And that starts with not calling these communities food deserts. “It (a neighborhood with low food access) was designed that way.

ROANOKE, Va. – 2020 has been a year of change for many college students, including Tenysia Rivera. “I feel the fire in my chest and how much I want to make that change,” Rivera said. Seeking justice is a drive her aunt, Nicole Ross, said Rivera has had her whole life. “I’ve learned that it’s okay to be upset but if you’re going to be upset, you need to be upset now,” said Rivera. “I feel like my generation is maybe the foundation to greater change,” Rivera said.

ROANOKE, Va. – As the events surrounding race relations have emerged this summer beginning with the death of George Floyd, “White Fragility” shot to the top of the best-seller charts, even though its claims make some people fuming mad. Robin DiAngelo, the author of “White Fragility,” began addressing audiences as soon as her book was published in 2018. “White fragility is not weakness per se. I don’t care if a person is white, Black, purple, or polka-dotted, My best friend is Black. You are not to describe such neighborhoods at all, even in your own head.”The difficulty of defining the right and wrong of white fragility isn’t lost on Malinda Whitlow,a doctor of nursing practice at the University of Virginia, who participated in a university-sponsored White Fragility study group this summer.

Post-show conversation: 20/20 Focus: The Push for EqualityPublished: August 6, 2020, 8:45 pm10 News anchors Brittny McGraw, Lindsey Ward and McKinley Strother to answer some questions you may have after watching 20/20 Focus: The Push for Equality

Roanoke organizers discuss why change is happening nowPublished: August 6, 2020, 7:57 pm2020 has been unlike any year any of us have ever experienced.

Lynchburg moms talk about raising Black children in current racial climatePublished: August 6, 2020, 7:56 pmFar from the outrage seen in cities from coast to coast, three mom's own reality is disheartening too, dealing with the everyday challenges of raising Black children in Central Virginia.

How Danville native Wendell Scott blazed a trail for African Americans in NASCARPublished: August 6, 2020, 7:56 pmDanville native Wendell Scott started his engine more than 50 years ago, aiming to not only drive his car but drive home change.

Police chiefs, community come together to talk racePublished: August 6, 2020, 7:54 pmThe video and images seen around the world of police officers’ interaction with Black people have recently forced communities to reassess these policies and practices.

A progressive city with Confederate roots: Lexington’s unique path to racial equalityPublished: August 6, 2020, 7:53 pmFighting to preserve that history while creating equality, perhaps no other city in Virginia embodies the commonwealth’s identity struggle like Lexington, a liberal community with deep Confederate roots.

Urban renewal, redlining are still having lasting effects on Roanoke’s Black communitiesPublished: August 6, 2020, 7:52 pmA crucial way to understand systemic racism and its effects on generations is by taking a look at discriminatory housing practices, urban renewal and redlining.

A pivotal moment in the Civil Rights Movement happened in Danville on June 10, 1963. If you need help with the Public File, call 540-512-1554.

ROANOKE, Va. – Right now, many are wondering if we’ll ever achieve Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.‘s dream of a nation where people are judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin. 10 News explored that question during an hour-long special to show you what’s happening across Southwest and Central Virginia to work to fulfill King’s vision and create equality for all. Below is the after-show conversation with 10 News anchors Brittny McGraw, Lindsey Ward and McKinley Strother to answer some questions some had after watching.

Fighting to preserve that history while creating equality, perhaps no other city in Virginia embodies the commonwealth’s identity struggle like Lexington, a liberal community with deep Confederate roots. “I think certainly in the past the Confederate history of this region has been much more prevalent. As we have progressed, I don’t see as many people coming for the Confederate history,” Friedman said. Robert E. Lee is crediting with saving Washington College (now Washington and Lee University) after his surrender to the Union. He said there is a great interest from people wanting to learn about these sites and community history.

Danville native Wendell Scott started his engine more than 50 years ago, aiming to not only drive his car but drive home change. His mission was to always try and impact the community,” said Warrick Scott, the grandson of the late Wendell Scott. That’s the mission they carry out with the Wendell Scott Foundation-- providing educational and cultural resources to the greater Danville area. Jumping in, fueling up and driving home the mission that the great Wendell Scott sought to fulfill. Wendell Scott Foundation has formed a platform where his legacy will be able to continue to live and breathe each day,” said Warrick Scott.

It’s these moments that Jojo Friday, the founder of Sisters of Change, has unknowingly spent the past three years working toward. She found it frustrating trying to lead others in our community to real change. “The next step is how do I change my circle in order to actually change our community and that’s the next step. Sisters of Change is hoping to serve the community as the connecting bridge. Sisters of Change has created a diversity course for businesses and non-profits interested in educating its employees.

I may have come in contact with more than 100 Black fathers in that time period, and every one of them is sick of that particular narrative.In response, Bell created Black Father Family, a group to unite and educate Black fathers in the Roanoke Valley. We should always be in the position to tell the positive stories of Black men and Black fathers, Bell said. The Black Father Family Facebook page has shared several videos of Roanokes Black fathers giving parenting advice. With everything going on in the world today, its a difficult time to be a Black father.Bell believes Black Father Family will make parenting easier for Roanokes Black fathers, while also showing all of Roanokes fathers the unique struggles they face. I want them to understand Black men are present fathers, Black men enjoy fatherhood, and Black men are positive fathers and positive role models.

ROANOKE, Va. Black history is American history.Its the bold statement Eboni Harrington, a seventh-grade math teacher at Lucy Addison Middle School in Roanoke, lives by. Shes not the only one who is realizing how one-sided history is in Virginia education. She won Virginia Teacher of the Year for this region in 2017 and is now a member of the Virginia African American History Education Commission. Even as young as these students are, they recognize the value in more Black history and what it means for their future. The Virginia African American History Education Commission is still meeting via Zoom.

ROANOKE, Va. A crucial way to understand systemic racism and its effects on generations is by taking a look at discriminatory housing practices, urban renewal and redlining. Roanokes Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial stands just steps away from Roanokes Henry Street Historic District, which was once the cultural and business center of the predominantly Black Gainsboro neighborhood. Over time, urban renewal projects and the practice of redlining fractured these communities. A Black man with similar income could not, so he had to get a high-risk high-interest loan, or no loan at all. Census Bureau figures show that today, the average white family has 10 times the wealth of the average Black family.

Far from the outrage seen in cities from coast to coast, their own reality is disheartening too, dealing with the everyday challenges of raising Black children in Central Virginia. I could have never uttered those words in my previous circles.Amy Corbett, Nicole Rule and Brittany Smith live in Lynchburg and know each other. 10 News reporter Magdala Louissaint sat down at Miller Park with the three moms to talk about what its been like to parent in the current racial climate. The Smith Family (WSLS 10)She tells me, Mom, I dont want to be brown anymore. See colors but say its all beautiful because its all to be respected.All children allow them to see brown skin shades of brown. Smith said.

Its a simple, four-letter word that has made its way into many conversations within the last few months. I feel like we were doing it the right way. Now, hindsight being 2020, the right way is not always the only way or the best way, admitted Danville Police Chief Scott Booth. Police chiefs and community members from Danville, Roanoke and Lynchburg were present. With little interference, we allowed the talk to flow and breathe in a natural way.

DANVILLE, Va. Historians will tell you the importance of looking to the past to understand the current fight for racial equality and justice. Part of that past is a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights Movement that happened in Danville on June 10, 1963. Thats when they marched from Bible Way on Grant Street over to here, and thats when people were beaten up. Theyre not saying from a racial standpoint that other people dont matter. Theyre saying that, also, Black Lives Matter, and thats important that Black people be inclusive of whatever youre doing.