Evelyn Butts

Evelyn Thomas Butts led a successful challenge of Virginia’s poll tax all the way to the United States Supreme Court.
Edna Lewis

Edna Lewis created nationwide interest in southern cuisine and demonstrated that food could be more than just nourishment, but also a celebration of…
John Cephas

John Cephas has become a world ambassador representing the Virginia Piedmont Blues tradition.
Oliver White Hill

Oliver White Hill served as counsel in the groundbreaking Brown v. Board of Education case in 1954.
Claudia Whitworth

Claudia Alexander Whitworth has worked diligently over the decades to improve the quality of life in Roanoke.
Amaza Meredith

Amaza Lee Meredith broke through racial and gender barriers in architecture and artistic design.
Leland Melvin

Leland D. Melvin inspires young people and encourages them to aspire to careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Dangerfield Newby

Dangerfield Newby was one of five African Americans who took up arms against slavery with fellow abolitionist John Brown at Harpers Ferry, Virginia,…