Eighty faces. One bridge. For a few hours in Roanoke, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Bridge stopped being just a way to get from downtown to Gainsboro and became something closer to a public altar, a place where grief, memory and resolve met in the open air. Families walked beneath banners bearing the faces of loved ones lost to gunfire as a church bell tolled 80 times, turning a familiar crossing into a stark reminder that behind every statistic is a name, a story and a dream that never had the chance to be fulfilled.

Roanoke, VA

Author: Roanoke Rambler Staff, Lead Victor Banks

Published: 10:00 PM EST June 9, 2026

Edited: 10:00 PM EST June 9, 2026

Eighty faces lined the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Bridge this past weekend, transforming one of Roanoke's most historic public spaces into a memorial for lives lost to gun violence and a call for healing, remembrance, and community action.

Families gathered beneath banners bearing photographs of sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, parents, and friends as FEDUP — Families Expecting Deliverance Using Prayer — hosted its “They Had Dreams” remembrance walk during National Gun Violence Awareness Month.

Some paused to pray. Others embraced family members or quietly reflected as they crossed the wooden pedestrian bridge connecting downtown Roanoke to Historic Henry Street and the Martin Luther King Jr. statue overlooking Gainsboro.

For a few hours, the bridge became something more than a crossing.

It became a place of remembrance.

As families walked beneath the banners, a nearby church bell rang 80 times. Each chime represented one of the eighty lives being remembered on the bridge.

The location itself carried significance. Officially known today as the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Bridge, the structure dates to 1891 when it was constructed as the Henry Street Bridge, also commonly known as the First Street Bridge. Originally built to carry traffic across the railroad tracks separating downtown from Gainsboro, the bridge was later preserved and converted into a pedestrian walkway. In 2008, the bridge was rededicated in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and the bronze statue at its northern entrance transformed the area into one of Roanoke’s most visible gathering places for marches, rallies, unity walks, and civil rights commemorations.

That history made the bridge an especially fitting setting for FEDUP's memorial event.

“By bringing all these faces to life, we move away from statistics or gun violence victims because that puts a pretty name on it; these are all real people,”

The statement reflected the central purpose of the walk.

The banners honored eighty individuals whose lives were cut short by violence. Among those remembered were Camden Brown, Jamari McCoy, Jimmie Lee Penn Sr., Jamie Penn, Jakolbi Taylor, Isaac Cunningham, Kim Lee, Keith Lewis, and dozens of others whose families continue to carry both memories and loss.

Balloons were placed beside some photographs. Families pointed out familiar faces to younger generations. Friends shared stories. Others simply stood in silence.

For FEDUP Vice President Tracy Penn, the event was both organizational and deeply personal.

Standing near the Dumas Center across from the Martin Luther King Jr. statue, Penn reflected on her father, Jimmie Lee Penn, and her brother, Jamie Penn, both victims of gun violence.

“My brother and my daddy had dreams, too,” Penn said.

That realization helped shape the theme of the event.

“Everybody who's been killed had a dream,” she said.

Penn said the walk accomplished exactly what organizers hoped it would accomplish.

“It brought the community together, put a name with the faces, and let people know it's not a me problem and it's not a you problem — it's an our problem,” she said.

For Penn, violence affects far more than the victim. “It affects two families. It tears two families apart,” she said. The walk represented the latest chapter in a story that began more than two decades ago.

FEDUP was born from personal tragedy.

Rita Joyce lost her son, Joey Joyce, to gun violence in 2004. Renea Taylor lost her brother, Jamie Penn, in 2005. Years earlier, Taylor and her sister Tracy Penn lost their father, Jimmie Lee Penn, who was killed by gunfire in 1998.

During the walk, Taylor reflected on those losses.

“I’m here on behalf of my baby brother. His name is Jamie LaVar Penn Sr.; he was killed in 2005, and my father, Jimmy Lee Penn Sr. ... was shot and killed in 1998,” Taylor told WSLS.

A 2006 Roanoke Times feature, “Bound by Loss,” chronicled the early days of FEDUP as a small group of women united by violence, faith, and grief. The article described mothers, sisters, and family members who found one another after losing loved ones and resolved to transform their pain into advocacy, prayer, and community action.

The article also captured a truth still evident on the bridge this weekend: victims are not statistics. They are people with families who continue to suffer long after headlines fade.

That message was visible everywhere on the bridge.

The event's title, “They Had Dreams,” intentionally shifted attention away from the circumstances of death and toward the lives that were lived.

Students who hoped to graduate.

Athletes who dreamed of championships.

Parents raising children.

Workers building careers.

Brothers, sisters, neighbors, and friends.

“Every walk of life is presented here, and so at this point you have to say it’s no longer a them problem or you, it’s an us problem,” Taylor said.

According to data cited during the event, approximately 230 people died from gun violence in Roanoke City, Roanoke County, and Salem between 2020 and 2024.

Yet statistics alone cannot explain what families carried with them across the bridge.

They carried photographs.

They carried memories.

They carried stories.

And they carried hope that their loved ones would not be forgotten.

Penn also encouraged community members to continue wearing orange throughout Gun Violence Awareness Month as a visible sign of support for gun violence prevention efforts and for the families affected by violence.

As the final visitors crossed the bridge toward the Martin Luther King Jr. statue, the banners continued to sway gently in the breeze.

Eighty faces.

Eighty stories.

Eighty dreams.

For FEDUP President Rita Joyce, that is the message the community should carry forward long after the banners come down.

“It’s still somebody’s loved one, and they all have names,” Joyce said. “They had names, they had families, they left children behind, and they need to be remembered forever in our hearts.”

The Roanoke Rambler Staff