Browse Items (48 total)

John Rollison negotiated the legal and social restrictions of men of color in colonial Virginia to become a well-respected, wealthy man in York County.

York County

Gowan Pamphlet was born enslaved, but persevered to become a well-known preacher, gain his freedom, and establish a Baptist church in Williamsburg that continues as an active congregation today.

Williamsburg

Evelyn Thomas Butts led a successful challenge of Virginia’s poll tax all the way to the United States Supreme Court.

Norfolk

Annie Belle Daniels, the founder of the Madam Daniels School of Beauty Culture, is an influential civil rights and political activist in Newport News.

Newport News

As a student at Robert Russa Moton High School, John Stokes helped lead a strike by pupils to gain better education facilities, an act of defiance that contributed to the integration of public schools in the United States.

Prince Edward County

The first African American woman elected to the House of Delegates and to the Senate of Virginia, Yvonne B. Miller worked tirelessly as a politician, educator, and advocate for underrepresented Virginians.

Norfolk

As director of the Congress of Racial Equality and as initiator of the Freedom Rides, James Farmer played a critical role in the national civil rights movement.

Spotsylvania County

Irene Morgan's challenge to the Virginia law requiring segregated seating on interstate buses resulted in a landmark ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States.

Gloucester County

Often recognized as the country's first African American filmmaker, Oscar Micheaux established a film office in Roanoke, where he produced at least six silent movies.

Roanoke

Esther Cooper fought for improved educational opportunities for African American students in Arlington County.

Arlington County