Gainsboro Library to host July 30 program on Nannie Berger Hairston

Roanoke’s Gainsboro Library will host a public program Thursday, July 30, focused on the life and legacy of Southwest Virginia civil-rights leader and community builder Nannie Berger Hairston.

The program is scheduled for 6-7 p.m. in the Community Room at Gainsboro Library. The city calendar lists oral historian Sheree Scarborough as the presenter.

According to the event description, Hairston was born in West Virginia in 1921 and later moved with her family to Christiansburg during the Jim Crow era. The program will examine how she became a leader in her community and a voice for social justice before her death in 2017.

Scarborough’s work includes oral-history research on African American railroad workers in Roanoke. That connection gives the program a local-history angle for residents interested in how individual stories, migration and community organizing shaped Southwest Virginia.

Attendance details, accessibility information and any registration requirements should be confirmed with Roanoke Public Libraries before traveling. The city’s calendar is the current source for the time and location.

Source: Reporting based on the City of Roanoke’s official calendar listing, checked July 29, 2026. The story uses the city’s event description and does not attempt to substitute a portrait or photograph of Hairston.