Browse Items (373 total)
Nancy Melvina "Vinnie" Caldwell
When elected to the House of Delegates in 1927, Nancy "Vinnie" Caldwell became one of the earliest women to serve in the Virginia General Assembly.
Carroll County
Jamelle Smith Wilson
Jamelle Smith Wilson is the first woman and first African American to lead the Hanover County Public School Division.
Hanover County
Alonzo Harding "Zo" Mourning Jr.
Hall of Fame basketball player Alonzo Mourning Jr. is a champion of charitable causes and persevered against kidney disease.
Chesapeake
Beth Anne Brown
An astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Beth A. Brown worked to inspire women and minorities to pursue careers in science.
Roanoke
Sheila R. Baxter
Brigadier General Sheila Baxter was the first female and the second African-American brigadier general in the Army Medical Service Corps.
Franklin
Lott Cary
Born into slavery, Lott Cary purchased his own freedom and became an early leader in the new West African colony of Liberia.
Charles City County
William Harvey Carney
For his bravery during battle in the American Civil War, Sergeant William H. Carney was the first African American to be awarded the Medal of Honor.
Norfolk
Earl Francis Lloyd
Earl Lloyd was the first African American to play in the NBA and the league’s first African-American assistant coach.
Alexandria
James "Plunky" Branch
For decades, multi-talented saxophonist and bandleader James “Plunky” Branch has promoted the cultural importance of music at home and abroad.
Richmond
Christine Herter Kendall
An accomplished artist and musician, Christine Herter Kendall cofounded the Garth Newel Music Center in Bath County.
Bath County