2025 SESSION

INTRODUCED

25104192D

SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 252

Offered February 11, 2025

Celebrating the life of Dr. Lucious Edwards, Jr.

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Patron—Aird

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WHEREAS, Dr. Lucious Edwards, Jr., a longtime educator and archivist at Virginia State University who worked diligently to protect and preserve the history and heritage of the Commonwealth's Black communities, died on August 24, 2024; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Lucious Edwards was born on December 4, 1943 in Ettrick, Virginia, completed his primary education at Matoaca Laboratory School at Virginia State College (University), and graduated in 1963 from the former Peabody High School in Petersburg, Virginia; he earned an associate of arts degree from Richard Bland College, in Petersburg, Virginia, and bachelor's and master's degrees in history from what is now Virginia State University; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Lucious Edwards continued his education by studying archival administration at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia, and the American University, in Washington, D.C., and was awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters by his beloved Virginia State University on May 11, 2024; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Lucious Edwards was an active participant in the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s and 1970s, serving as a member of the Virginia Students Civil Rights Committee, then was inspired to collect and safeguard the stories of Black communities throughout the Commonwealth; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Lucious Edwards served as an adjunct professor of history and the University Archivist at Virginia State University from 1977 until his well-earned retirement in 2013; and

WHEREAS, highly respected in his field, Dr. Lucious Edwards served as chair of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference, vice-chair of the Virginia Interscholastic Association (VIA), and provided consultations to the archival department at the University of Ilorin in Nigeria; and

WHEREAS, as one of the foremost experts on Black history in the Commonwealth, Dr. Lucious Edwards published numerous research papers, served as a crucial consultant on many historical projects, and was a sought-after lecturer and presenter; and

WHEREAS, outside of his career, Dr. Lucious Edwards was an avid reader and book collector who also enjoyed classical, jazz, and Motown music; he was a lifelong organic gardener and earned the title of master gardener from the Virginia Cooperative Extension; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Lucious Edwards will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by his loving wife of 57 years, Dorothy; his daughters, Bronwyn and Lucinda, and their families; and numerous other family members, friends, and colleagues; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the Senate of Virginia hereby note with great sadness the loss of Dr. Lucious Edwards, Jr., a prolific scholar and distinguished faculty member of Virginia State University; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Dr. Lucious Edwards, Jr., as an expression of the Senate of Virginia's respect for his memory.