Dr. Virginia Newell’s zeal for achievement and progress among African Americans has made her a trailblazer in the city. She was one of the first two African American women elected to the Winston-Salem Board Aldermen in 1977. During her 16-year tenure representing the city’s East Ward, Newell was known as an advocate for fair housing, economic justice, and racial equality. She is also credited with leading the effort to build the East Winston Shopping Center and founding the YMCA’s Best Choice Center. WSSU professor emeritus, she is credited as the single force behind acquiring computers for WSSU and creating the foundation for a computer science program at the university. In 1971, she started and co-authored the first book on black mathematicians. In her honor, there is a street named Virginia Newell Lane in east Winston-Salem.
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