Hope Center and Freedom Virginia team up to celebrate healthcare heroes

ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) - The Hope Center and Freedom Virginia are teaming up to honor Black and other local healthcare heroes.

The two organizations will host Black Heroes in Healthcare Celebration Saturday, February 25 at The Hope Center.

The event will celebrate people and places such as Burrell Memorial Hospital, Henrietta Lacks, Dr. Finn Victor, Miriam Smith, Dr. Walter Claytor and many more.

Darlene Lewis, director of The Hope Center, says the idea for this event came to her after losing her husband to COVID in 2022. She recognized how vital the local doctors and nurses were for her family and saw the sacrifices they made.

Lewis wanted to make sure Black medical professionals and all medical professionals across Roanoke’s history will be remembered and recognized.

“You know, most of the time we talk about Black history, but we kind of forget about the people who really dug in there and invite us to where we are today. So if it wasn’t for them in their healthcare field locally, I don’t I don’t know where we’d be,” said Lewis.

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“We were going find out how major those kind of accomplishments were, and how much they helped so many people, not only in the Black community, but in the community as a whole,” said Eddie Seay with Freedom Virginia.

Speakers include Shmura Glenn, Penny Blue and a representative from the Harrison Museum.

There will be free food, activities, and prizes for all ages. The event begins at 4:00p at The Hope Center.

Additional event details are below.

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