Women's March on Roanoke 2018

ROANOKE, VA, January 17, 2018 - The Women's March on Roanoke is pleased to announce that Danielle Belton, a prominent voice of black feminism and managing editor of The Root, will be the keynote speaker on January 20, 2018, in Elmwood Park. The event will take place from 11 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. and the theme is "Hear Our Vote."

Danielle Belton came to prominence with her popular blog, The Black Snob, an insightful and often biting commentary on pop culture, the media, politics, gender, and race. The blog has won numerous awards, and she has appeared on several "bloggers to watch" lists, including Clutch Magazine and Black Enterprise. She has been published in Time Magazine, The New York Times, The Observer (UK), The Daily Beast, Essence Magazine, The Associated Press, and The American Prospect, and has made appearances on CNN, MSNBC, NPR, PBS, Good Morning America, HLN, ABC's Nightline and Al Jazeera English. Belton has also spoken at Yale University, Harvard University, and Howard University on race, policy, and identity.

Belton is a powerful voice in today's conversations about race, politics, and gender. Danielle Belton was coined "a cultural Rosetta Stone for a racially bewildered country" by Cintra Wilson, author of Colors Insulting to Nature. In 2012, Belton wrote about Trayvon Martin on her blog, where she sharply reflected on her own childhood as a black girl under a racist system. In her current managerial role at The Root, Ms. Belton states, "It's our job to take the dark places and cast light."

This is the second year for the Women's March in Roanoke, Virginia. Other speakers include: Afira DeVries, Linda Perriello, Republican Women for Progress, Djuna Osborne, Amnoni Myers, Rebecca Wood, Christine Ristaino, Carolyn Reilly, Yolanda Puyana, Karenne Wood, Melissa Kelly and local youth representing the future of the movement.