Browse Items (373 total)

A leader in the political, cultural, and civic life of Alexandria, William Darnell “Bill” Euille became the first African American elected mayor of the city.

Alexandria

A free African American before the Civil War, William Breedlove won election in 1867 to a convention called to rewrite Virginia's state constitution.

Essex

Pulitzer Prize–winning author Willa Cather was acclaimed for her novels portraying the settlers and frontier life of the American Plains.

Frederick County

Wendell Scott endured racism on and off the track to become the first African American to win at the highest level of stock car racing.

Danville

Nationally recognized physicist Warren Wesley Buck III helped create Hampton University’s doctoral program in physics and works to attract a diverse student population to the field.

Hampton

Vivian W. Pinn works to expand women's health programs and leadership roles for women in the field of medical research.

Lynchburg

Roanoke librarian Virginia Young Lee created the largest collection of Black history and literature in southwest Virginia.

Roanoke

Virginia Estelle Randolph's innovative teaching techniques became the model for African American education throughout the South early in the twentieth century.

Henrico County

Undine Smith Moore described herself as "a teacher who composes," while educating her students about music theory as well as the contributions of African Americans to American music and culture.

Ettrick