BLACK HISTORY

Historical churches in Roanoke are looking to preserve black history and culture through church grants.

They are two of just 33 locations awarded a national grant to preserve African American history.

The true backbones of our community are the people who often go nameless and thankless.

Lessons on success, confidence and overcoming discrimination from Black leaders in business and the markets.

Many people go to the library to read or hear stories, but this library has its own.

Juneteenth is coming up, this weekend in fact -- and for those who might be unfamiliar, the holiday commemorates the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States.

You don’t have to be a history buff to get reeled into “Fighting for Freedom: Black Union Soldiers from Rockbridge”.

Juneteenth, the holiday celebrating the day in 1865 that all enslaved Black people learned they had been freed, is often celebrated by families across the nation -- with events including cookouts, parades or community festivals.

City leaders unveiled Burrell Memorial Hospital’s historical marker Friday afternoon. The hospital opened in 1915 to serve Black patients and train Black nurses during segregation. Former Roanoke mayor Nelson Harris crafted the application for Burrell’s historical marker. “The legacy of Burrell Memorial Hospital is it was created during segregation, which made it an uphill battle for funding, acceptance, and recognition,” Harris said. “They did it, and they did it well.”The building which once housed the hospital is now Blue Ridge Behavioral Health at the Burrell Center.

RICHMOND, Va. – A state senator from Roanoke County hopes to immortalize famed author and orator Booker T. Washington with a permanent place at the State Capitol. Sen. David Suetterlein introduced Senate Resolution 95, which would start the process of planning a statue for Washington on Capitol Square. Washington was born a slave in Franklin County before becoming a leader in civil rights and founding the Tuskegee Institute. “I really believe that Booker T. Washington needs to be honored in Capitol Square,” Suetterlein told his fellow senators. “He’s a great American and a great Virginian, but Virginia doesn’t get enough credit as we should for this great Virginian that did so much for the country.”AdSuetterlein also sponsored a similar bill during last year’s legislative session, but it did not gain any traction in the General Assembly.

BLACKSBURG, Va. – Six women broke the color barrier at Virginia Tech more than 50 years ago, and two of them talked about their time on campus on Friday. Inclusive VT hosted a forum with La Vernee Hairston Higgins and Marguerite Harper Scott as part of its “Unfinished Conversations” series. Higgins and Scott both enrolled at Virginia Tech in 1966. She said the adjustment to college life was difficult because of what she experienced in the classroom. “The hardest part for me was the faculty,” Higgins said.

Now, lessons on African American history aren’t going to start with slavery. Shifting the perspective was the main priority of the Virginia African American History Education Commission when it started in 2019. It was a wonderful collaboration of individuals all committed to really looking at our African American history through a different lens,” Edwards said. “For example, in Virginia history there was a greater emphasis on the great migration. The goal of the edits were to weave in African American history into American history instead of it being separate like it is in some cases during Black History Month.

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.

Juneteenth, which takes place June 19 each year, is the name for the date in 1865 when Union soldiers freed the remaining slaves in Texas, enforcing the Emancipation Proclamation.