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.
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.
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.
As a result of her heroic actions while under attack in Iraq, Monica Beltran became the first woman in the Virginia National Guard to receive a Bronze Star Medal for Valor.