As a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 1994 to 2005, Viola Baskerville '69 made a name for herself as a pro-choice advocate, champion of working women, and strong-minded legislator. The great-granddaughter of slaves, Baskerville supported a proposed — and hotly contested — Civil War center in Richmond that would include black experiences from the war. Baskerville relinquished her delegate's seat in 2005 to pursue the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor, coming in second place in the four-way primary. In 2006 she was appointed secretary of administration by Virginia Governor Tim Kaine. As for the Civil War center she championed: Baskerville was a key figure at the 2005 kickoff for the American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar, which opened to the public the following year.