African American Railroad Workers of Roanoke by Sheree Scarborough Theodore Carter DeLaney C.W. Sullivan III George Kegley

Author:Sheree Scarborough, Theodore Carter DeLaney, C.W. Sullivan III, George Kegley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-02-13T00:00:00+00:00

N&W A FRICAN A MERICAN H ERITAGE G ROUP

The development of the installation at VMT has its own interesting history. In Carroll Swain’s interview, he details how the exhibit came about. In the 1990s, former VMT director Kay Strickland asked the Roanoke City Council for funding for an exhibit about the railroad. Mr. Swain was a council member at the time, and he remembers what he told her: “I can’t vote for this because you’re asking for something, and I don’t see the contributions of African Americans to the railroad.” Thus began a conversation, a walk through the museum and the suggestion for the exhibit, now the installation “African American Heritage on the Norfolk & Western, 1930–1970,” which details those contributions. Another positive result of the conversation begun on behalf of African American railroad history is that a group of retirees began meeting at the museum once a month. Now in its nineteenth year, the group still meets and has a yearly celebration at the museum and provides an annual scholarship to a minority student at Virginia Western Community College. The group has close ties with VMT and current executive director Beverly T. Fitzpatrick Jr. because, in addition to the installation, the museum has supported their efforts, monthly meetings and yearly celebrations over these many years. The group has expanded and is now joined by current Norfolk Southern employees. This younger group has taken it upon itself to give back to the community by forming two groups for young people—Rails of Color and CABOOSE, which are mentoring and afterschool programs in Roanoke. Norfolk Southern historical archivist Jennifer D. McDaid is a member of Rails of Color and attends the meetings as well. Many of the interviewees for the current oral history project came from this group.

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