Browse Items (47 total)

Dangerfield Newby was one of five African Americans who took up arms against slavery with fellow abolitionist John Brown at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in October 1859.

Culpeper 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

Willie Lanier broke through racial barriers in professional football by becoming the first African American to play middle linebacker, the position that directs the defense on the field.

Richmond

Physical anthropologist Michael L. Blakey helped analyze and interpret the important evidence uncovered at the African Burial Ground in Manhattan.

Williamsburg

An extraordinary orator who preached throughout the eastern United States, John Jasper in 1867 established Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church, in Richmond.

Richmond

Born into slavery, Noah Davis raised more than $4,000 to free himself and his family members during the 1840s and 1850s.

Fredericksburg

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