After years defined by disinvestment, Northwest’s 11th Street has recently attracted new attention from the city.
Growing up in Northwest Roanoke, Xavier Duckett knew 11th Street by its reputation — stories about danger, drugs and violence. The message was always the same: “Don’t go there.”
As an entrepreneur and nonprofit leader, 34-year-old Duckett has dedicated his career to empowering Roanoke’s Black community — and telling a new story about Northwest. So when it came time to open a storefront for his clothing brand in 2018, Duckett knew exactly where he wanted to be: 11th Street.
“To me, it was like, what better street to change the narrative of?” he asked. “There’s no limit on what you can create here, because nobody else is going to do it.”…