Browse Items (72 total)

Appointed the 12th president of Virginia Union University in 2009, Claude Grandford Perkins has worked tirelessly to expand the school's horizons and preserve its future.

Richmond

Mamie Evelyn Locke was the first African-American woman elected mayor of Hampton and the third African-American woman elected to the Senate of Virginia.

Hampton

As a member of the House of Delegates for more than twenty years, Dorothy S. McDiarmid championed the rights of women and children through legislation.

Fairfax County

The first African American woman to become a certified public accountant in Virginia, Ruth Coles Harris was also the founding director of the Sydney Lewis School of Business at Virginia Union University.
Recipient of the VABPW Foundation Business…

Richmond

As director of the Virginia Indian Program, Karenne Wood ensures that the history, traditions, and contributions of Virginia's Indians are incorporated into Virginia's historical narrative.

Fluvanna

Nikki Giovanni uses her poetry to raise awareness of social issues, particularly those of gender and race.

Blacksburg

Jamelle Smith Wilson is the first woman and first African American to lead the Hanover County Public School Division.

Hanover County

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

Roanoke

For decades, multi-talented saxophonist and bandleader James “Plunky” Branch has promoted the cultural importance of music at home and abroad.

Richmond

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

Charlottesville