D. Webster Davis (1862-1913) was a pioneering African American educator, activist, and community leader in Richmond, Virginia. A 1878 graduate of the Richmond Colored Normal & High School, Davis began teaching at the Navy Hill School in the 1879 school year. After four years, he then taught at the Baker School where he would remain for the rest of his career. It was there that he met his future wife, Elizabeth E. Smith, with whom he would have six children.

Throughout his life, Davis was deeply committed to advocating for African American rights and played a central role in pushing for racial equality during a time of intense segregation and racial discrimination. As a journalist, Davis contributed to several publications, including Mitchell's The Richmond Planet, which was an important African American newspaper. He used his platform to discuss issues such as voting rights, public education, and the conditions of African Americans in the South. As an editor and writer, Davis contributed to publications such as The Young Men's Friend, Social Drifts, The Voice of the Negro, and The Colored American Magazine. In addition to publishing two volumes of poetry, Idle Moments, Containing Emancipation and Other Poems (1895) and Weh Down Souf and Other Poems* (1897), Davis also co-authored The Industrial History of the Negro Race of the United States (1908) with Giles B. Jackson and published a biography of William Washington Browne in 1910.

As a minister, Davis served as the pastor of Second Baptist Church in South Richmond from 1896 until his death, overseeing remarkable growth in the congregation from 32 to 500 members.

Davis was also involved in politics. He became an active member of the Republican Party and played a key role in local and state-level politics. He worked to ensure the protection of African American rights, especially in terms of voting and public education, which were critical issues in the post-Reconstruction era. His political activism was crucial during a period when white supremacist groups sought to disenfranchise Black voters and roll back the rights gained during Reconstruction.

Webster Davis died in 1913, but his legacy as an advocate for African American civil rights, his educational work, and his role in the Virginia political scene remains an important part of the history of the state and the broader civil rights movement. For his efforts, Webster Davis Elementary in the East End was named for him.

James Hugo Johnston, Sr, was a pioneering Black educator and administrator whose leadership helped shape public education in Virginia during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A graduate of the Richmond Colored Normal School in 1876, he began his career that fall as a teacher at Navy Hill School. By the 1883–1884 school year, Johnston had risen to become one of three Black principals appointed under Virginia’s Readjuster government, serving at Baker School. However, after political shifts, he was demoted the following year and returned to the classroom.

Despite this setback, Johnston’s leadership and excellence in education were widely recognized. His work at Baker School caught the attention of State Superintendent John L. Buchanan, who appointed him conductor of the Peabody Institute for Colored Teachers in Lynchburg. There, he helped organize the influential Virginia Teachers' Reading Circle and was elected president of the institute.

In 1886, Virginia Governor Fitzhugh Lee appointed Johnston to the Board of Visitors for the Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute (now Virginia State University), where he was soon elected secretary. A year later, he became the school’s second president, serving from 1887 until his death in 1914. During his tenure, he also taught philosophy, moral philosophy, and political economy. Shaw University recognized his contributions by awarding him an M.A. in 1889 and a Ph.D. in 1892.

Outside academia, Johnston was an active member of the Virginia Baptist Sunday School Convention, serving three years as its corresponding secretary. He also held high-ranking positions in Virginia’s Masonic circles, serving two terms each as Grand Master and Grand Commander and was a promenient member of the True Reformers. He was also a founding member of the Richmond Planet.

In honor of his decades of service, Virginia State University named its library after him. The Johnston Memorial Library houses the papers of both Johnston and his son, James Hugo Johnston, Jr., who would later follow in his father's footsteps as president of VSU.

James H. Hayes was a pioneering educator, lawyer, and civic leader in post-Reconstruction Richmond, Virginia. He began his career as a teacher at Navy Hill School while residing on Duval Street. In the 1883–1884 school year, during the brief political window opened by the Readjuster government, Hayes was appointed principal of Valley School—one of only three Black principals in the city. A year later, political shifts led to his demotion back to the classroom.

Determined to expand his impact, Hayes earned a law degree from Howard University in 1885. He quickly entered public service, representing Jackson Ward on the Richmond Common Council from 1886 to 1890. He continued to fight for civil rights well into the 20th century: in 1904, he joined attorney John Wise (son of former Virginia Governor Henry Wise) to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court against Virginia’s 1902 state constitution, which aimed to disenfranchise Black voters through discriminatory voting laws.

In 1905, Hayes was considered for the role of U.S. Consul to Guadeloupe, though he was ultimately not appointed. Beyond politics and law, Hayes was active in many areas of Black civic life. He was a member of the Independent Order of St. Luke and a founding member of the Richmond Planet, contributing to Black press, community organizing, and economic development throughout his life.

Benjamin A. Graves was a distinguished educator, military officer, journalist, and civic leader in Richmond, Virginia. Known early in his career as “Professor Graves,” he taught the highest grades—fifth and sixth grammar—at Valley School in Richmond’s public school system. Later, he served as business manager of The Reformer newspaper and was a founding figure of The Richmond Planet, a leading Black newspaper established with civil rights activist John Mitchell Jr.

Graves held the rank of Captain of Company C, Sixth Virginia Volunteer Infantry, an African American militia unit that mustered into federal service during the Spanish-American War. At the time, Virginia maintained one of the largest organized Black militias in the nation. Unlike regular Army units, where Black troops were typically led by white officers, Virginia's Black militia units were led by Black officers, a fact that became a point of contention with state officials and the public. African American leaders, including John Mitchell, Jr, insisted on Black command with the rallying cry, “No Officers, No Fight.” Graves’s captaincy exemplified this demand for self-determination and respect.

While his regiment did not see combat, Graves and his men trained in Virginia, Tennessee, and Georgia, reflecting the professionalism and discipline that Brig. Gen. Charles J. Anderson once noted: “There is no State where as many colored troops are organized under the same law as the white...these troops show by their obedience the discipline that they are as proud of their uniform as any who serve in Virginia.” Graves later also served in Company C, First Battalion, Virginia Volunteer Infantry, furthering his commitment to African American military leadership. For the rest of his life, he was referred to as "Captain Graves."

Beyond his military and educational work, Graves was deeply engaged in civic life. He was a member of the Astoria Beneficial Club, the True Reformers, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He served on the executive committee for the Thomas W. Mitchell Monument Association and was Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Masons in Virginia. He also took part in the historic 1890 Emancipation Day Parade.

Graves lived at 1206 St. John Street, near what is now Gilpin Court. He was married to Hattie Foster, and they had several children, including Inez (who married into the Farrar family), Elsie Graves Lewis (principal of D. Webster Davis Elementary School in Fulton), and Grattan Graves.

He passed away on March 9, 1921, at about 61 years of age, and was buried in Evergreen Cemetery. In the 1950s, Richmond honored his legacy by renaming the former Armstrong High School building in the East End as Benjamin A. Graves Junior High School.

John L. Nixon was a lifelong educator, community leader, and advocate for equal opportunity in Richmond, Virginia. Born and raised in the Westwood community of western Richmond, he was a devoted member of Westwood Baptist Church, where he began teaching Sunday School at age 12—a role he continued for over 60 years.

Nixon’s leadership skills showed early. In 1919, while serving as a buck private at Camp Lee with only one year of teaching experience from Armstrong High School, he noticed that many of the men in his company couldn’t read or sign the payroll. Taking initiative, he organized a school at the camp. His efforts had a lasting impact—one soldier, Cox, later thanked him for helping him write letters to his wife during the war. For this work, Nixon was promoted to Sergeant Major, the highest enlisted rank in his battalion.

During the 1920s, Nixon returned to Armstrong High, teaching students and leading the school’s male chorus and co-ed glee club. In 1933, he became the principal of Buchanan School and joined Ethel Thompson Overby, Oscar A. Morton, Mary Scott, and Lillian Peters as part of the first group of Black school administrators in Richmond since 1883. He was the first Black male principal in the city since A.V. Norrell, J.H. Johnson, and James Hayes.

The East End school presented tough challenges. “It was Bedlam,” Nixon once recalled. “No peace or harmony at all.” But his approach—leading with kindness—transformed the school. His wife, Amanda, remarked that it brought peace not only to the school but to the whole neighborhood.

Nixon was deeply involved in professional and civic organizations. He served as president of both the Virginia State Teachers Adult Education Division and the Richmond Teachers’ Association. He played a key role in the teacher pay equalization protests of the 1940s and helped organize the Richmond Negro Teachers Federal Credit Union. He also helped bring extension courses for teachers to Virginia Union University and Columbia University.

After 43 years of service, Nixon retired in 1959. His legacy lives on through the John L. Nixon Scholarship Fund at Virginia Union University, honoring his commitment to education, equity, and community.

Oscar A. Morton was an influential educator and community leader in Richmond, Virginia. After graduating from Virginia Union University, he went on to earn a Master's in Education Administration from Columbia University and also studied at UCLA, the University of Hawaii, and the University of Puerto Rico. He started his career teaching social studies in Winston-Salem, NC, before returning to Richmond to teach at Armstrong High School.

In 1933, Morton became the acting principal of Moore Street School, making him part of the first class of Black school administrators in Richmond since 1883. This group, which included Ethel Thompson Overby, John L. Nixon, Mary Scott, and Lillian Peters. Morton later served as principal of Carver Elementary School.

Outside of his work in education, Morton was deeply involved in his community. He was an active member of Fourth Baptist Church, where he served as the church organist for over 30 years; and even was a recipient of their Father of the Year Award. He was a key figure in many local and national organizations, including the National Education Association, the National Department of Elementary School Principals Magazine, the advisory board of the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority, and was past chairman of the State Commission on Christian Education for the Baptist Allied Bodies of Virginia. He was also a former dean of the Virginia Congress of Christian Education.

Morton founded and served as president of the Richmond Federal Teachers Credit Union and was a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. He was also actively involved in local Masonic and Eastern Star chapters, including East End Masonic Lodge 223, AF & AM, and Hannah Chapter 23, Order of the Eastern Star.

Ms. Johnson, a distinguished alumna of Virginia Union University, dedicated nearly half a century of her life to educating and uplifting Richmond's Black youth within the public school system. Her career began in 1918 as a teacher at Baker School, followed by a teaching sixth grade at Booker T. Washington School in 1932. In 1936, she was appointed principal of Monroe School at a salary of $1,246, a position that marked the beginning of her long-standing leadership in Richmond's educational community. By 1940, she became the assistant principal of the newly rebuilt Baker School under the guidance of George Bennett. Just two years later, in 1942, she was appointed principal of Baker School, a role she would hold for 24 years.

As an educator, Ms. Johnson was not only a pioneer in academic instruction but also a forerunner in music education, teaching violin to her students. Her commitment to enrichment extended beyond the classroom, and she championed community initiatives to support both youth and their families. One of her most notable projects was a summer program that provided educational and recreational opportunities for 112 children, teaching them essential skills in reading, writing, and speaking, while also organizing trips to cultural landmarks such as Byrd Field, the National Zoo, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and Colonial Williamsburg. Additionally, 48 mothers were enrolled in classes aimed at homemaking skills, including dressmaking, cooking, and home management. In describing the initiative, Johnson emphasized its community-centered nature, stating, "The project is not built around any program, but around the needs of our people."

After retiring in 1967, having served for 48 years, Ms. Johnson's legacy continued to resonate within the Richmond Public Schools system. Following her passing in October 1973, the Baker School building was renamed in her honor, a testament to her enduring contributions to education and the empowerment of Black communities in Richmond.