Browse Items (373 total)

With decades of meritorious service in the United States Navy, Captain Janet H. Days is the first African American to command Naval Station Norfolk, the world’s largest naval station.

Norfolk

An acclaimed lyric soprano and the first African American to receive a contract from a major American opera company, Camilla Ella Williams was a pioneer for black artists in classical music.

Danville

A schoolteacher and military veteran, Calvin C. Green filed a lawsuit in 1965 to compel New Kent County to desegregate its public schools.

New Kent County

As a teenager, Caitlyn Day initiated a successful community effort to establish the Craig County Public Library.

Craig County

A native of Sudan,Bol Gai Dengis currently running for president of South Sudan.

Richmond

An enslaved man, Blind Billy was a renowned Lynchburg fifer.

Lynchburg

A president of Central Coca-Cola Bottling Company for more than twenty years, Betty Sams Christian enriched her community through philanthropy.

Richmond

An astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Beth A. Brown worked to inspire women and minorities to pursue careers in science.

Roanoke

Bessie Niemeyer Marshall created detailed watercolors of plants as part of a federally funded project that rescued a Petersburg park.

Petersburg

Physical therapist Bessie Blount Griffin invented devices to help wounded soldiers and was a pioneer in the field of forensic science.

Princess Anne County