In 2018 and 2019, the Virginia Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Commission invited the public to remember the life and legacy of Dr. King in a series of roundtables held in each of the Virginia communities that he visited. The Commission, community leaders, educators, historians, and members of the community joined to reexamine Dr. King's time in the Commonwealth, reflecting on his dream in Virginia today and asking, as Dr. King did, "Where do we go from here?"
2018—2019 Programs
Dinwiddie
September 30, 2019, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Mt. Level Baptist Church, Dinwiddie
Featuring speakers and panelists:
- Delegate Lashrecse Aird, 63rd District
- Rev. Herbert Anderson, Pastor emeritus of Sharon Baptist Church
- Mary Benjamin, Dinwiddie School Board
- Brenda Ebron-Bonner, District 5 Supervisor
- Thomas Hooker, Community Activist
- Yvette Robinson, Virginia African American Advisory Board
- Sharon Yates, Mt. Level Baptist Church
Moderated by Commission Chair Senator Jennifer L. McClellan
Event flyer
Event program
Hopewell
May 21, 2019, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
City Courthouse, Hopewell
Featuring speakers and panelists:
- Senator Rosalyn Dance, 16th District
- Mayor Jasmine Gore, City of Hopewell
- Rev. Dr. Claudie Grant, President of the Baptist Ministers' Conference of Petersburg and Vicinity
- Dr. Joanne Lucas, Retired Educator and Consultant, and Daughter of Rev. Dr. Curtis West Harris
- Moderated by Commission Chair Senator Jennifer L. McClellan
Event flyer
Event program
Petersburg
November 12, 2018, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Gillfield Baptist Church, Petersburg
Featuring speakers and panelists:
- Delegate Lashrecse Aird, 63rd District
- Senator Rosalyn Dance, 16th District
- Lucious Edwards, Retired Virginia State University Historian and Archivist
- Juanita Epps, CEO of Pathways
- Dr. Joanne Lucas, Retired Educator and Consultant, and Daughter of Rev. Dr. Curtis West Harris
- Dr. George W.C. Lyons, Jr., Gillfield Baptist Church
- Mayor Samuel Parham, City of Petersburg
- Laneda Wright, Virginia State University
Moderated by Commission Chair Senator Jennifer L. McClellan
Event flyer
Event program
In the news:
Local and state officials hold community conversation on MLK's "Beloved Community", Progress-Index,
November 13, 2018
Norfolk
October 30, 2018, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
New Calvary Baptist Church, Norfolk
Featuring speakers and panelists:
- Mayor Kenneth C. Alexander, City of Norfolk
- Fr. James Curran, Basilica of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception
- Joe Dillard, Norfolk Branch NAACP
- Delegate Jay Jones, 89th District
- Delegate Joseph C. Lindsey, 90th District
- Dr. Cassandra Newby-Alexander
- Mrs. Marian Reid, Witness to Dr. King's Time in Norfolk
- Rev. Dr. William Marcus Small, New Calvary Baptist Church
Moderated by Commission Chair Senator Jennifer L. McClellan
Event flyer
Event program
Newport News
October 23, 2018, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
First Church of Newport News Baptist, Newport News
Featuring speakers and panelists:
- Dr. Timothy Tee Boddie, General Secretary, Progressive National Baptist Convention
- Jeremiah Edwards, President, Hampton University NAACP
- Reverend Rodney Johnson, Pastor, First Church of Newport News
- Amere Langley, Senior, Denbigh High School
- Senator Mamie Locke, Second District of Virginia
- Queen Esther Marrow, Singer, Actress, and Civil Rights Activist
- Dr. Mario Mazzarella, Professor Emeritus of History, Christopher Newport University
- Delegate Marcia Price, 95th District of Virginia
- Andrew Shannon, President, SCLC Peninsula Chapter
Moderated by Commission Chair Senator Jennifer L. McClellan
Event flyer
Event program
Hampton
September 26, 2018, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Harvey Library Meeting Room, Hampton University
Featuring speakers and panelists:
- Dr. William Harvey, President, Hampton University
- Councilman Steve Brown, City of Hampton
- Gaylene Kanoyton, President, Hampton Branch NAACP
- Senator Mamie Locke, Second District of Virginia
- Attorney Carter Phillips, Hampton Unity Commission
- Rev. Dr. Calvin Sydnor, III, African Methodist Episcopal Church
- Aman Tune, Political Science Major, Hampton University
- Delegate Jeion Ward, 92nd District of Virginia
- Dr. Sharon Campbell Waters, President and CEO of Innovative Grant Concepts, Inc.
- Robert Watson, Assistant Professor of History, Hampton University
Moderated by Commission Chair Senator Jennifer L. McClellan
Event flyer
Event program
Lynchburg
August 1, 2018, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
E.C. Glass High School, Lynchburg
Featuring speakers and panelists:
- Dr. James Coleman, Providence Transformation Church International
- Dr. Crystal Edwards, Superintendent, Lynchburg City Schools
- Delores Fowler, Civic and Community Leader
- Chuck Moran, Witness to Dr. King's Visit to Lynchburg
- Manan Shah, University of Virginia Student
- Dr. Aaron Smith, Diversity and Inclusion Officer, University of Lynchburg
- Mayor Treney Tweedy, City of Lynchburg
Moderated by Commission Chair Senator Jennifer L. McClellan
Event flyer
Event Program
In the news:
50 years after MLK, Lynchburg talks action toward 'beloved community', The News and Advance, August 2, 2018
Beloved Community Roundtable revisits MLK's dream 50 years after his assassination, WSET, August 2, 2018
Lynchburg community gathers for MLK community conversations, WSLS, August 2, 2018
Suffolk
July 24, 2018, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts, Suffolk
Featuring speakers and panelists:
- Delegate Cliff Hayes, 77th District
- Helivi Holland, City Attorney, City of Suffolk
- Bishop James Johnson, Hill Street Worship Center, Inc.
- Mayor Linda T. Johnson, City of Suffolk
- Ruby Walden, Civic and Community Leader
- Dr. Felton Whitfield, District Superintendent and Pastor
Moderated by Commission Chair Senator Jennifer L. McClellan
Event flyer
Event Program
In the news:
Commission discusses King's dream, Suffolk News-Herald, July 25, 2018
June 1963: MLK stuns Suffolk crowd, Suffolk News-Herald, February 19, 2019
Danville
July 11, 2018, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
High Street Baptist Church, Danville
Featuring speakers and panelists:
- Bishop Lawrence Campbell, Bible Way Cathedral
- Reverend Thurman O. Echols, Moral Hill Missionary Baptist Church
- Emma Edmunds, History United
- Senator Janet Howell, Thirty-Second District of Virginia
- Reverend Avon Keen, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Virginia Chapter
- Mayor Alonzo Jones, City of Danville
- Dr. Cecilia Moore, University of Dayton
- Councilman Sherman Saunders, City of Danville
- Senator Bill Stanley, Twentieth District of Virginia
Moderated by Commission Chair Senator Jennifer L. McClellan
Event flyer
Event Program
Williamsburg
June 6, 2018, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
First Baptist Church, Williamsburg
Featuring speakers and panelists:
- Reverend Reginald Davis, First Baptist Church
- Reverend Christopher Epperson, Bruton Parish Episcopal Church
- COL Lafayette Jones, James City County Historical Commission
- Senator Monty Mason, First District of Virginia
- Brian J. Smalls, York-James City-Williamsburg Branch NAACP
- Dr. Robert Vinson, Associate Professor of History & Africana Studies, William & Mary
Moderated by Commission Chair Senator Jennifer L. McClellan
Event flyer
Event Program
April 24, 2018, First Baptist Church, Farmville
Featuring speakers and panelists:
- Reverend James Ashton, First Baptist Church
- Megan Clark, Commonwealth's Attorney, Prince Edward Counth
- James Ghee, President, Prince Edward County Branch NAACP
- Skip Griffin, Civil Rights Leader and Son of Rev. L. Francis Griffin
- Dorothy Holcomb, Chair, Moton Museum Council
- Cameron Patterson, Managing Director, Moton Museum
- Senator Mark J. Peake
- Dr. J. Michael Utzinger, Elliott Professor of Religion, Hampden-Sydney College
- Farmville Mayor David Whitus
Moderated by Commission Chair Senator Jennifer L. McClellan
Event program
Event flyer
In the news:
Creating a 'Beloved Community,' Farmville Herald, April 27, 2018
March 13, 2018, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
Featuring speakers and panelists:
- Pastor Lehman Bates of Ebenezer Baptist Church
- Dr. Andrea Douglas, Executive Director of the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center
- Dr. Wesley Harris, who helped arrange a visit by Dr. King to Charlottesville as a student in 1963
- University of Virginia President Teresa Sullivan
- Charlottesville Mayor Nikuyah J Walker
Moderated by Commission Chair Senator Jennifer L. McClellan
Hosted in partnership with the University of Virginia's Office of the Vice President and Chief Officer for Diversity & Equity
Event program
Event flyer
In the news:
55 years later, panelists ponder King's question: Where do we go from here?' UVA Today, March 14, 2018
Panel reflects on King's legacy in Charlottesville area, The Daily Progress, March 13, 2018
Williams: Fifty years after his death, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s message is more relevant than ever, Richmond Times Dispatch, April 4, 2018
March 1, 2018, Virginia Union University, Richmond
Featuring speakers and panelists:
- Jamar A. Boyd II, VUU graduate student
- Senator Henry L. Marsh, III
- Delegate Delores McQuinn, 70th District
- Benjamin Ragsdale, Civil Rights activist and historian
- Dr. Jim Somerville, First Baptist Church of Richmond
- Mayor Levar Stoney, City of Richmond
- Dr. Corey Walker, VUU Vice President
- Rev. Janie Walker, Richmond Hill
Moderated by Commission Chair Senator Jennifer L. McClellan
Hosted in partnership with Virginia Union University
Event program
Event flyer
In the news:
King Encounters, Richmond Magazine, April 4, 2018
