Seven outstanding African-American leaders were celebrated during the seventh annual “Strong Men & Women in Virginia History” awards program Feb. 7 at a Downtown hotel.

The program, sponsored by Dominion Energy and the Library of Virginia, honors past and present people who have made noteworthy contributions to Virginia.

The 2019 honorees:

• Kwame Alexander of Fairfax County, is a poet, publisher, playwright, producer, speaker, and performer.

Mr. Alexander is an energetic and enthusiastic advocate for literacy and literature throughout the world and performs his cutting-edge brand of poetry for audiences worldwide, as well as conducts writing and publishing workshops. He has received multiple awards, including the inaugural Pat Conroy Legacy Award in 2018.

In that same year, he established Versify, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers, to publish unconventional works in children’s literature.

He has also authored several books — Swing (2018), Rebound (2018), a companion to The Crossover — and more than 20 other titles.

• Lawrence A. Davies, the first African-American elected mayor of Fredericksburg, has devoted his life to serving his community.

Mr. Davies was born in Houston, Texas, and grew up intending to study medicine and graduated with a biology degree from Prairie View A&M University in 1949.

Serving in the U.S. Army inspired his service to the ministry and upon being discharged he joined Shiloh Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., and later received a divinity degree from Howard University and a master’s degree in sacred theology from Wesley Theological Seminary.

In the early 1960s, in an effort to increase voting strength of African-Americans in Fredericksburg, Rev. Davies and church deacon Weldon Bailey, a local mortician and resident of the city’s Mayfield neighborhood, organized a political action group known as Citizens United for Action.

In 1966, Mr. Davies became the first African-American elected to the city council; in 1976, he was elected as mayor, serving five terms, more than any other Fredericksburg mayor before or since.

As mayor, he was the driving force in establishing a low-cost public transportation system that would serve those who lacked any other way of getting around. The city’s central bus station was subsequently named in his honor.

• Fannie W. Fitzgerald pioneered the integration of Prince William County Schools amid her 35-year career as an educator in Virginia schools. She died at the age of 85 on April 7, 2016.

Ms. Fitzgerald graduated from Russell Grove High School and received a bachelor of arts degree in elementary education from Virginia Union University in 1952. After teaching there for three years, she applied for graduate school but was denied entry to Virginia universities because she was African-American.

In August of 1956, Ms. Fitzgerald was offered a job at Antioch-McCrae Elementary, a school for African-Americans in Prince William County and taught at the Jennie Dean School in Manassas.

Virginia granted her a full scholarship to Columbia University where she earned a master’s in special education in 1960. Eight years later she oversaw Prince William County Schools’ learning disabilities programs and was selected the first elementary supervisor of integrated schools.

Prince William County Schools named an elementary school for her located on a street named for her oldest daughter Benita Fitzgerald Mosley, a 1984 Olympic gold medalist in the 100 meter hurdles.

• Deanna Reed was the first African-American woman mayor elected in Harrisonburg, located in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. The city experienced a historic moment when Ms. Reed was elected to serve both on the city council in 2016 and the first to be chosen mayor by the council.

There have been only three women and three African-Americans to serve on council. The last time a woman served as Harrisonburg’s mayor was in 2006.

As mayor, Ms. Reed focuses on education and strives to bring together Harrisonburg’s diverse communities. In 2018, Essence named her to its list of Woke 100 Women, which highlights African-American change agents.

• William T. Stone, a Williamsburg judge and civic leader, made history in 1968 when he was one of the first African-Americans appointed to the judiciary in Virginia.

Mr. Stone was admitted to the bar in 1962 and appointed a substitute judge in Williamsburg and James City County in 1968, presiding over cases in general district court and juvenile and domestic relations court for 30 years.

While sitting on the bench he continued to practice law and to operate the family’s funeral home, becoming a mentor for African-Americans in both fields. He resigned as a judge in 1998 and retired from practicing law the following year.

At a public event in 2000, Williamsburg residents honored Mr. Stone for his many accomplishments. In commemoration of his legacy and commitment to the community, a major thoroughfare in Williamsburg has been dedicated in his honor.

Mr. Stone, a founding member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity’s Zeta Mu Mu Chapter in Williamsburg, and a member of the Masons and the Elks, died Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018.

• Dr. Gladys B. West, from King George County, a mathematician, educator and a “hidden figure” in the development of GPS technology, has officially been honored for her work.

Born in rural Dinwiddie County, Dr. West graduated first in her high school class, earning a scholarship to Virginia State College (now Virginia State University), where she earned a bachelor’s in mathematics in 1952 and a master’s degree in 1955.

The following year she began working at the Naval Surface Warfare Center at Dahlgren and was the second African-American woman hired at the base, among a total of four African-American employees.

Her skill in calculating complex mathematical equations was greatly admired by her colleagues as she excelled in programming for computers. Dr. West emerged as an integral part of the team that developed the modern Global Positioning System and was recognized for doing the computing responsible for creating the GPS System.

In 2000. Dr. West received a Ph.D. in public administration and policy affairs from Virginia Tech and in 2018 the British Broadcasting Corporation named her to its 100 Women program, which annually honors global influential women.

That same year the General Assembly of Virginia passed a joint resolution honoring her pioneering career and contributions to technological development.

On Dec. 6, the 87-year-old Mathematician was inducted into the Air Force Space and Missile Pioneers Hall of Fame by the United States Air Force at a Pentagon ceremony.

The Dinwiddie County native is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.

• The Rev. Andrew J. White Sr., a Petersburg minister and community activist, was well known in the Tri-Cities. He earned a master’s of divinity from Virginia Union University and is an adjunct professor there.

He was ordained a Baptist minister in 1953 and served a Northumberland County church before becoming pastor of Petersburg’s Zion Baptist Church from April 1963 until December 2011.

In 1969, Rev. White helped found the interracial Downtown Churches United, which worked with other community groups to provide food, clothing, shelter, and job assistance. He also fought for adoption of the federal food stamp program for low-income families, which the city council approved in 1970.

He was the first African-American president of the Southside Mental Health Association, and was a member of the Petersburg Hospital Authority, which oversaw the construction of a new facility.

Rev. White retired as Zion’s pastor in 2011. He served concurrently as pastor of Union Branch Baptist Church in nearby Prince George County, and in 2015 the church dedicated a community center named for him.

Four high school student essay winners were also recognized during the ceremony. Each wrote essays, selected from more than 200 entries, about what equality means to them.

The winners of the 2019 student essay competition are: Erika Garcia, Washington-Lee High School, Arlington; Katherine Stenner, Clover Hill High School, Chesterfield; Loren Vermillion, Gate City High School, Gate City; and William Lee Williams, Granby High School, Norfolk

Each student will receive an Apple MacBook Air laptop and $1,000 for their school.