Dr. Nina Salmon, Dr. Ghislaine Lewis, and their students will present information about Pierce Street and its significance in the Harlem Renaissance and Lynchburg’s history. Selected student presentations will feature individual Pierce Street heroes. Participants will discover Pierce Street Gateway’s role as the connector between past and present and learn about Pierce Street’s ongoing legacy of leadership in the neighborhood and city.

Dr. Ghislaine Lewis is an associate professor of communication studies and co-chair of the Africana studies department at the University of Lynchburg. Originally from the Caribbean, she graduated from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College (now Randolph College) with a BA in religion and communication in 2005. She completed her MS in journalism at Florida A&M University in 2008, her PhD in media and communication at University of Canterbury in New Zealand in 2014, and her Graduate Certificate in Higher Education (GCHE) in 2018 at Monash University in Australia. Lewis is also director of the Pierce Street Gateway and a founding member of the Pierce Street Community Garden.

Dr. Nina Salmon is an associate professor of English and the director of the Senior Symposium at the University of Lynchburg, where she has taught since 1997. Her research and publication interests focus on race, ethnicity, religion, and identity. She has written and presented extensively on the Harlem Renaissance poet Anne Spencer. Salmon is also an Episcopal priest and active in the Episcopal Church and the Diocese of Southwestern Virginia. She earned her BA at Randolph-Macon Woman’s College (now Randolph College), an MEd at the University of Lynchburg, and a PhD in social, political, ethical, and cultural thought at Virginia Tech. She serves on the Pierce Street Gateway Board of Directors.

• The University of Lynchburg’s LIFE@Lynchburg program offers not-for-credit learning opportunities for community members age 50 and older.
• The program features weekly presentations on a variety of engaging topics, taught by current and retired faculty and staff members or area educators and presenters.
• Our payment and membership options and benefits provide access to a range of on-campus amenities.