Located in southeastern Virginia, this 1.8 million person metro area encompasses the cities of Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, Hampton, Newport News, Yorktown and Williamsburg.

African Americans number over 460,000 in the metro area and own over 7,500 businesses.

Possessing the world’s largest harbor, Norfolk/Hampton roads metro area calls over 1.5 million people, Chesapeake Bay and two major rivers (James and Elizabeth) home.

With 140 miles of shoreline around Norfolk, the city's waterways and wetlands are its primary charm.

Norfolk, Tampa and San Diego are home to America’s three largest naval fleets.

Virginia Beach, at 310 square miles, is the largest city in Virginia and located in the southeastern tip of the state.

The Intracoastal Waterway mile-marker #1 at Virginia Beach is like a homing beacon to recreational boaters from as far north as Boston and as far south as Brownsville, Texas.

Virginia Beach is the biggest reason this metro area is a Top 10 visitor destination for African Americans.

Notable residents who were born here or made their mark here.

Booker T. Washington
Graduated from Hampton Institute and emulated the Hampton scholastic approach when he founded Tuskegee Institute

Nat Turner
Led a slave revolt in the nearby Southhampton County

Lorraine Graves
A principal dancer of the Dance Theatre of Harlem

Ella Fitzgerald
Birthplace of the 1st Lady of Jazz

Joseph Jenkins Roberts
Became the 1st President of Liberia in 1809

Benjamin F. Howard
Founded the 1st African American Elks lodge

Harvey N. Johnson
1st Black architect for a number of important buildings in the region

Dr William R. Harvey
President of Hampton University whose leadership added many modern buildings to the campus and saw rising entrance test scores

Rev. Joseph N. Green
President of the renovated Crispus Attucks Theatre & Cultural Center

John Baptist Pierce
1st Negro farm demonstration agent in the state of Virginia and an educator