February 2017


www.hamptonroadsmessenger.com


The Hampton Roads Messenger 7


THEY OPENED


DOORS. Margaret Ellen Mayo Tolbert


SUFFOLK SCIENTIST, EDUCATOR & AUTHOR


Despite losing both parents as a child in Suffolk County, she found the strength to forge a trail- blazing career in biochemistry, becoming the first woman and the first African American to be named director of a U.S. Department of Energy laboratory.


Real pioneering leaders don’t just open doors of opportunity for themselves. They hold them open for others, especially the young people coming behind them.


Dominion and the Library of Virginia are proud to honor 2017’s Strong Men & Women in Virginia History. From health care to the law, from science and aviation to the news media, they succeeded in their chosen fields of endeavor — and worked to ensure those doors remain open to all.


William E. Bailey


ACCOMAC AVIATION PIONEER & PHILANTHROPIST


Born in Accomack County, he was a combat pilot in Vietnam, when few African Americans served as Army aviators. After retiring as a colonel, he flew for Continental Airlines and helped establish the Bailey Family Endowment, providing more than $150,000 in financial aid to Virginia State University students.


Benjamin J. Lambert III*


RICHMOND OPTOMETRIST & LEGISLATOR


Overcoming Virginia’s segregated schools, he grew up to study optometry and opened his own practice in Richmond. He won election to the state legislature and became known for building coalitions across party lines to serve all Virginians.


Charles Spurgeon Johnson*


BRISTOL SOCIOLOGIST & COLLEGE PRESIDENT


After being deeply affected by his experience in the 1919 Chicago race riots, the Bristol native pioneered research on race relations, worked for the National Urban League, and was chosen to be Fisk University’s first African-American president.


Mary Janipher Bennett Malveaux


HENRICO JUDGE OF THE VIRGINIA COURT OF APPEALS


As a young lawyer she gained a reputation as a tough but fair prosecutor and became the first African-American woman to serve as a judge in Henrico County’s General District Court. She later was named the second African-American woman to sit on the Virginia Court of Appeals.


Stephanie T. Rochon-Moten* RICHMOND


TV NEWS ANCHOR & CANCER AWARENESS ADVOCATE


The evening news co-anchor for WTVR Channel 6 in Richmond produced the award-winning “Buddy Check 6” reports on breast cancer awareness. She focused especially on reaching low-income women and African Americans, who are disproportionally affected by the disease.


Leonard “Doc” Muse


ARLINGTON PHARMACIST & COMMUNITY LEADER


One of very few African-American pharmacists in 1948, he was surprised by how poorly drugstores treated African Americans. As a result, he opened his own pharmacy in Arlington County, providing trusted medical advice and credit to those who couldn’t afford needed medicines.


The Strong Men & Women in Virginia History program is sponsored by Dominion and the Library of Virginia to honor the contributions of influential African-American leaders. The program also helps prepare future leaders by sponsoring an annual student writing contest with awards to students and their schools. To learn more about the program, its honorees, and available resource materials, visit lva.virginia.gov/smw.


* honored posthumously SM&W 2017 HamptonRoadsMessenger ad.indd 1 1/24/17 2:32 PM


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