Social Justice / Awareness / Outreach

Community High School hosted a panel discussion featuring several speakers who shared their experiences with urban renewal in Roanoke from the 1950s-1990s. The speakers, Mr. Richard Chubb, Mr. Richard Ross, and Ms. Claudia Whitworth, witnessed the degradation and destruction of several historically African American neighborhoods first-hand — including Gainsboro and northeast Roanoke — as a result of the city’s urban renewal policies. Ms. Mary Bishop, who was responsible for much of the original Roanoke Times reporting on these issues in the mid-1990s, served as the panel’s moderator. The panelists shared their wisdom as well as their stories, and answered questions from the audience, which was composed of Roanoke community members, a local government representative, and CHS students, families, and faculty.

Community High School students observed Martin Luther King Jr. Day by volunteering at several different neighborhood organizations in southeast Roanoke, including the Roanoke Community Garden Association, the Christian Soldiers Food Pantry, the Metropolitan Community Church, and the Salvation Army. Throughout the day, students painted, gardened, moved books and furniture, cleaned, picked up litter, and helped out with other projects in our neighborhood. The day was organized with the assistance of REACH, an organization that encourages the people of southeast Roanoke to connect and engage with each other through service.