The seventh annual Moton Community Banquet, set for 6 p.m. Saturday at the Longwood Health & Fitness Center, will see the past and present blend as civil rights leaders are honored.

“This night brings together all members of our community to recognize our donors and to honor our local civil rights history when the courage and sacrifices of young people and their families expanded equality for all Americans,” notes a release from the Robert Russa Moton Museum.

The keynote speaker during the banquet will be Nadine Marsh-Carter. Marsh-Carter’s family experienced first hand the shifting culture of race and education in Prince Edward County as Marsh-Carter’s father, the Honorable Henry Marsh, was one of the lawyers in the case Griffin v. County School Board of Prince Edward in 1964.

The case determined that the decision by the Prince Edward County School Board’s decision to close public schools between 1959 and 1964 violated the Fourteenth Amendment. During that time African-American students in the county were denied their education.

The Fourteenth Amendment reads that no state “shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

Marsh-Carter currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Children’s Home Society of Richmond, the news release cited. Marsh-Carter was appointed to the Longwood University Board of Visitors in June 2017. “She is also a former member of the Richmond City School Board and a community advocate,” the release noted.

Cameron Patterson, director of the Moton Museum, said that approximately 600 people are expected to attend the banquet on ticket sales and sponsorships.

“I believe that our attendees share a commitment to the mission of the Moton Museum and a desire to see the Moton Museum be successful,” Patterson said. “That commitment along with good music, food, recognition of supports, and a great keynote speaker in Mrs. Nadine Marsh-Carter will make for a great event.”

Regarding Marsh-Carter, Patterson said he believes her activism and her work to help all kinds of people will resonate with the goal of the banquet.

“The banquet committee, in selecting Mrs. Marsh-Carter, was impressed with her professional accomplishments and her work on behalf of youth both in Richmond and across the commonwealth through her professional and volunteer work,” Patterson said. “We believe that she shares our commitment to make sure that the next generation of youth know about the Moton Story and the activism of students here in Prince Edward County.”