Roanoke’s equity board is preparing public meetings this fall to get feedback on what specific action items the city should take.
After a nearly two-year-long process, an apology for Roanoke’s role in urban renewal is moving one step closer to reaching City Council.
Roanoke’s Equity and Empowerment Advisory Board on Thursday voted to present an abbreviated version of its draft apology to Council. The board plans to present the draft in October, Chair Angela Penn said.
The original draft includes two parts. The first outlines the history of urban renewal — city policies that razed Black homes and businesses in Gainsboro and Northeast Roanoke to clear the way for redevelopment between the 1950s and 1970s — and acknowledges the lasting harm to Roanoke’s Black community…