"Hampton Roads Black List" honors regional black leaders

Following the lead of the award-winning HBO documentary, “The Black List,” Cox Communications has put together its “Hampton Roads Black List,” to honor African Americans from the region who have broken barriers in their lifetime.

“We began thinking of all the great leaders and powerful advocates for the betterment of lives within this region, and with HBO’s permission, we thought it quite fitting to document their stories,” said Gary McCollum, senior vice president and general manager of Cox Hampton Roads.

Chosen in concert with the Urban League of Hampton Roads, the 2009 Black List honorees are:

• Bruce Smith, NFL hall-of-famer and humanitarian
• Yvonne Miller, the first black woman elected to the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates.
• The Rev. Joseph Green, community leader, pioneer in racial equality and one of the first persons of color on the Norfolk City Council.
• Dr. L.D. Britt, leader in health care and the first African-American in Virginia to be appointed professor of surgery.
• Barbara Ciara, groundbreaker in media and communications.
• E.L. Hamm, pioneer in technical business consulting and management, and humanitarian and philanthropist.
• Patricia White, member of the Norfolk 17 and education pioneer in greater Hampton Roads.
• Patricia Turner, member of the Norfolk 17 and education leader in Hampton Roads.
• Mary Christian, education advocate and among the first African Americans in the Virginia House of Delegates.

The “Hampton Roads Black List” program will air at 8 p.m. Sunday  on Cox Channel 11.

At an advance screening Wednesday, “Hampton Roads Black List” participants presented scholarships from the Virginia Communication and Telecommunications Association to 18 young people.

For more information, contact Felicia Blow at (757) 222-8432.