C OU RT E S Y W I KI PE D I A 4 1 3 THEROANOKER.COM 23 D AV I D their crossings, and you can get anywhere really fast. Roanoke elected a black mayor when many other southern cities still struggled with the question of civil rights. 3. As pastor of High Street Baptist Church, Noel C. Taylor played an important role in helping to HU NG AT E T I M OT HY HU RS L E Y 7 peacefully integrate Roanoke businesses in the mid-'60s and was elected to city council just a few years later. He was appointed as mayor when Roy Webber died in 1975, then consistently won reelection and served until 1992. JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2016 | 21http://www.THEROANOKER.COM