Burrell Memorial Hospital site honored with historical marker
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.
Bill introduced to erect Booker T. Washington statue at State Capitol
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.
Two of the first Black women to attend Virginia Tech discuss their experience
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.
‘We’re looking to get it right’: Monumental changes ahead for how Virginia students learn Black history
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.
Black history is American history: Challenging history education to reach beyond the classroom
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.