On Wednesday, November 15, 2023, the Roanoke Valley Preservation Foundation Annual Meeting & Kegley Preservation Award presentations was held at the historic Gainsboro Library in Roanoke.
Foundation president Whitney Leeson welcomed guests and provided a ‘Year in Review’ Powerpoint presentation after which 2023 RVPF Awards Committee Whitney Feldman, Judy Harrrison, and Rob Logan presented the 2023 Kegley Preservation Awards.
Refreshments consisting of homemade BBQ sliders, macaroni & cheese bites, cole slaw, pumpkin pie tarts, and apple cider was arranged by Alison Blanton. The meeting concluded with a viewing of the documentary, Hidden in Plain Site, a documentary project that explores six sites located in Roanoke, Virginia that have historical African-American significance that are currently hiding in plain sight along the streets and highways of the city. The six locations include the Old Lick Cemetery, Historic Gainsboro, Henrietta Lacks Plaza, and others.
The program was awarded the Foundation’s 2023 Annual Kegley Award for Heritage Education and led by Roanoke City Councilwoman Trish White-Boyd who led the Roanoke Hidden Histories Committee in creating the film which was funded by local individuals and businesses under the banner of Roanoke Hidden Histories. The film has been generously shared with Blue Ridge PBS ECHO and on YouTube in an effort to share it as widely as possible.
You can experience the project more fully by viewing it in Virtual Reality at the Harrison Museum of African American History in downtown Roanoke. For more information on this project, visit https://harrisonmuseum.com/hipsroanoke.