Black History Month serves as a prompt to study in
greater breadth and depth the myriad contributions of African-Americans to
the fascinating narrative of our Commonwealth.
Virginia has contributed more than its fair
share to the history of this great republic of ours. From the first
president, George Washington, to the nation�s first-elected African-American
governor, Doug Wilder, Virginia�s sons and daughters have woven outsize
stitches of gold thread into the rich tapestry of America, perhaps
especially in the fields of statesmanship, politics, athletics, the arts and
education.
These contributions have come from Virginians in all
walks of life, from the four corners of the Commonwealth, from the 17th
century to the present day. And they�ve come from Virginians of all ethnic
backgrounds, from black to white to the Native Americans whose ancestors
lived in this bountiful, blessed land for countless generations before the
first Europeans touched its shores.
The history of Virginia is writ large � very large � with
the contributions of African-Americans, from the very earliest days
following the English settlement at Jamestown. Over the four-plus centuries
since, Virginia�s story is inseparable from the story of her black citizens,
who endured enslavement, earned freedom, and have worked hard to ensure
equality under the law.
Virginia�s notable black citizens constitute a Who�s Who
of Outstanding African-Americans. There�s Booker T. Washington, born into
slavery near Roanoke, who through grit and hard work would become a
world-class educator, orator, author and the founder of Tuskegee Institute.
Then there�s Dr. Carter G. Woodson, born in 1875 in
Buckingham County, who would become known as the �Father of Black History�
for his passionate advocacy of this history, as he chronicled the many
contributions of African-Americans in every realm of American life. In 1926,
he almost single-handedly promoted the celebration and study of black
history by designating the second week of February as a time to study the
lives and contributions of two icons
of the black community, President Abraham Lincoln and
abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass. This week in February would later
become Black History Month.
Virginia�s long list of black luminaries also includes
Richmond�s Maggie Walker, who would become the first female bank president
in the nation; Clifton Forge�s Roger Arliner Young, the first
African-American woman to be awarded a doctorate in zoology; and Newport
News� Ella Fitzgerald, the �First Lady of Song� whose exhilarating vocal
runs would thrill audiences worldwide for decades, both as soaring solo act
and as in-synch singing partner for greats from Louis Armstrong to Frank
Sinatra.
Any list should also include Halifax County�s Willie
Lanier, whose stellar career with the Kansas City Chiefs would lead him to
be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and who has since contributed
to the philanthropic and business
life of his adopted home of Richmond; Norfolk�s Tim Reid,
an outstanding TV actor and director; and Richmond�s late Arthur Ashe, whose
greatness as a tennis player would ultimately be exceeded only by his
greatness as an author, humanitarian and recipient of the Medal of Freedom.
To learn even more about the
contributions of black Virginians, go to the state�s �Virginia Is for
Lovers� website, at www.virginia.org, and under �Historic Sites� click on
�African American.� In this section you�ll find a wealth of fascinating
historical and cultural information, including sites across the Commonwealth
that have shaped, or been shaped by, many renowned black Virginians.
The list of these Virginians, of course, goes on and on �
and continues to expand. We hope these capsule bios will serve as a prompt
to study in greater breadth and depth the riveting narrative of our
Commonwealth.
To be sure, this narrative is at times messy, often
complicated, always fascinating. It�s a pageant rich in valor and villainy,
sacrifice and honor, great dreams and grievous disappointments, played
across a sweeping stage by a cast from many cultures and creeds, ultimately
coming together � honestly but imperfectly � to make real the original
American motto, the Latin phrase E pluribus unum � out of many, one.
One Commonwealth. One Virginia.
One people.
