Browse Items (373 total)

Appalled by the violence of slavery and its effect on society, Mary Minor Blackford became a vocal anti-slavery supporter.

Fredericksburg

The granddaughter of an illegally enslaved Indian woman, Rachel Findlay successfully sued for her freedom and ensured the freedom of many of her descendants.

Wythe County

As artistic director and choreographer, Stoner Winslett has built the Richmond Ballet into a nationally recognized professional dance company.

Richmond

Debbie Ryan turned the University of Virginia women's basketball team into a national power and currently campaigns for research into pancreatic cancer.

Albemarle County

As a member of the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors, banker Elizabeth Duke helped implement the Federal Reserve System's response to the financial panic of 2008.

Virginia Beach

As a plaintiff in the 1967 Supreme Court case Loving v. Virginia, Mildred Jeter Loving helped legalize interracial marriage in Virginia and the United States.

Caroline County

Activist Naomi Silverman Cohn advocated social legislation to improve the lives of women and children.

Richmond

Marcellus Spencer “Boo” Williams, Jr., created a nationally known summer youth basketball program and led the way in developing a state-of-the-art community sports facility in Hampton.

Hampton

Civil rights pioneer Olivia Ferguson McQueen successfully challenged school segregation in 1959, but did not receive her diploma for another fifty-four years.

Charlottesville

James Heyward Blackwell advanced the cause of African American public education in Richmond for more than forty years.

Richmond