Martin Luther King Day Conversion on Legacy, Place, and the Work that Remains
The Harrison Museum of African American Culture will present What the Dream Demands Now: Dr. King’s Legacy and Roanoke’s Civil Rights History, a public conversation examining Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy through the lens of Roanoke’s own civil rights history.
Held in the museum’s theatre space, the program approaches Dr. King’s legacy as an active civic question rather than a closed chapter. It considers what the civil rights movement demanded locally, how that work unfolded in Roanoke, and how its unfinished business continues to shape the present moment. The conversation is grounded in the understanding that what we build now matters.
The discussion will feature Harrison Museum Executive Director E.B. Smith in dialogue with community historian and educator Jordan Bell. Together, they will explore how national narratives of the civil rights movement intersect with local organizing, institutions, resistance, and community memory.
This MLK Day program is part of the Harrison Museum’s ongoing commitment to public history, place-based storytelling, and cultural infrastructure that endures. The museum convenes these conversations to support reflection that leads to continuity and shared responsibility.
Tickets are $10, with proceeds supporting the museum’s programs and long-term sustainability.
Date: Monday, January 19
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Location: Harrison Museum of African American Culture, Theatre Space
Admission: $10