A group of community-conscious, action-oriented women from across the state of Virginia formed Ladies in Blue Virginia as a political action committee to help elect their sorority sisters to local and state level offices. The women, all members of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., began working together in 2019 and formalized the group in 2021.

 

The legacy of Zeta women as strong, thoughtful political leaders in Virginia dates back to Senator Yvonne Bond Miller. Encouraged by community members who recognized her ability, Yvonne B. Miller would become the first Black woman to be elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1983, and then to the Virginia Senate in 1987. She would serve the residents of Norfolk, Chesapeake, and Virginia Beach for 25 years until her passing in 2012. Gaining seniority from her consistent re-election, Senator Miller became the first woman to chair a Senate committee (Transportation committee). Her concerns for education and minority rights made her an outspoken advocate for Virginia's poor and minorities in the General Assembly, and she would later be called the "conscience of the Democratic caucus."

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The history of our Soror, Senator Yvonne B. Miller, is a testament to value of Black women leading and proof that it often takes community support to encourage women to run. That is what we are here to do.

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As a nonpartisan political action committee (PAC), the mission of Ladies in Blue Virginia is to capitalize and publicize the candidacies of sorority members running for Virginia local and state seats; to prepare women to run for office; and to mobilize voters to support the candidates endorsed by Ladies in Blue Virginia.

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Of the local government seats in 133 city/county jurisdictions and 140 state house and senate districts in Virginia, five current elected officials are of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.: Sherrin Alsop, King and Queen County Board of Supervisors; Cydny Neville, Dumfries Town Council; Denise Pop Mazyck, Northumberland County School Board; Lorita Mayo, Suffolk School Board; and Loree Y. Williams, Prince Williams County School Board. We think there is plenty of room to grow that number.

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Ladies in Blue Virginia was founded by a set of diverse women:​

1. Cydny Neville, educator and consultant

2. Frenchi Jones, MA, NCC, author and communications

3. Jonette Meade Barley, MSMG, logistics

4. Krysta Jones, author and advocacy

5. La Donna Stevens Wright, logistics

6. Louise Lockett Gordon, MPH, public health and advocacy

7. Sherrin Alsop, writer and consultant

 

Contributions or gifts to Ladies in Blue Virginia are not tax deductible. Federal law requires collection and reporting of the name, mailing address, occupation and name of employer of individuals whose contributions exceed $200 in a calendar year.

 

Ladies in Blue Virginia is not officially affiliated with Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.