Yvonne B. Miller, an educator who was the first Black woman to be elected to the Virginia legislature, died at her home in Norfolk on July 3, one day before her 78th birthday. She suffered from cancer of the stomach.
Dr. Miller was a graduate of Norfolk State University and went on to earn a master’s degree from Columbia University and an educational doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh. She was teacher in the Norfolk public schools and later was a professor of childhood education at Norfolk State University. When she retired from teaching in 1999, Dr. Miller was named professor emerita.
In 1983, Dr. Miller was the first African American woman elected to the Virginia House of Delegates. In 1987, she was the first Black woman elected to the Virginia Senate. At the time of her death, she was still serving in the Senate.
