× Welcome to the Virtual 360 Tour of Peddrew-Yates Hall which is significant to the Africa-American community at Virginia Tech. This hall was built in 1998. In 2003, the hall was named as Peddrew-Yates during the 50th anniversary celebration of black students in honor of Irving Linwood Peddrew III, the first Black student to enroll, and Charlie Lee Yates, the first Black graduate from Virginia Tech. In this interactive virtual tour you will experience immersive 360 videos in the background while you get to interact with different aspects of Peddrew-Yates Hall. The purpose of this virtual tour is to honor and showcase the history of the African-American community. Feel free to explore and look around the building and you are welcome to click on the arrow near the entrance to take you to the lobby.
× Peddrew (right) and Yates (left) in front of Peddrew-Yates Hall
In September of 1953, Irving Peddrew III of Hampton, VA became the first black student admitted to Virginia Tech, one of over 3,322 students. Majoring in electrical engineering, Peddrew was permitted to take classes, but was categorized as a “day military student” and was prohibited from living or eating on campus. Although Peddrew recalls no overt instances of racism on campus, he described a strong undertone of exclusion. After 3 years of experiencing marginalization, Peddrew left Virginia Tech without graduating. He decided to continue his education in California. He enrolled in some courses at Santa Monica City College and took acting classes in Los Angeles. He got a job as a draftsman for an aerospace firm, Summers Gyroscope. In 2003, VT passed a resolution renaming New Residence Hall West as Peddrew-Yates Hall. In 2016, Irving Peddrew III was presented with an honorary degree in electrical engineering at the University’s Commencement Ceremony.
Charlie Lee Yates was the first African-American Student to graduate from Virginia Tech. He was one of six honors graduates in mechanical engineering in 1958. A graduate of Booker T. Washington High school in Norfolk; he enrolled in the Engineering School and the Corps of Cadets in 1954. He not only graduated with honors in four years, but also served as an officer in two engineering groups on campus, Tau Beta Pi and Pi Tau Sigma. After graduating, Yates went on to earn his masters degree from California Tech and a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins. Dr. Yates returned to Virginia Tech in 1979 to serve on the faculty of the Department of Mechanical Engineering (1979-1983). He left Tech in 1983 and returned in July of 1987 as an associate professor in the department of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering.
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× Members of Ujima LLC ❮ ❯
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Creators

Taufiq Humayun Chowdhury

Teaching Assistant, VT Department of Computer Science | B.S. Computer Science | Minor Mathematics | VT Class of 2020

Yesrat Rahman

B.S. Computer Science | Minor Mathematics | VT Class of 2020

Pablo Vanegas

B.S. Computer Science | VT Class of 2021

Contributors

Paul Quigley, Ph.D.

James I. Robertson, Jr. Associate Professor of Civil War Studies | Director, Virginia Center for Civil War Studies, History Department, VT

Todd Ogle, Ph.D.

Executive Director, Applied Research in Immersive Environments and Simulations/ARIES Program, VT University Libraries

Anza L. Mitchell

Graduate Assistant, Council on VT History | Science Education Graduate Student, VT School of Education

Kenny Barnes

Historical Research Assistant, VT Department of History | Teaching Assistant, VT Department of Africana Studies | B.A. Sociology & History, VT Class of 2021

Nicolas Gutkowski

Graduate Assistant, VT Department of Computer Science | M.S. Computer Science, VT

Others

Sang Won Lee, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, VT Department of Computer Science

Rafael N. C. Patrick, Ph.D

Human Factors Psychology & Systems Engineering | Research Assistant Professor - ISE Human Factors Group, VT Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering

Quentin T. Baldwin

Senior Project Manager | Master Collaborator | Graduate Student, VT Pamplin College of Business
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External Resources

Irving Peddrew discusses his experience as Virginia Tech's first Black student

In memoriam: Charlie L. Yates, Virginia Tech’s first African American graduate

Information about Peddrew-Yates Hall

History of Peddrew-Yates Hall Along with Ujima LLC

Creating Home: A History of Black Inclusion and Community Building at Virginia Tech

Hokie Women of Color: Profiles in Achievement

The Desegregation of Virginia Tech

Paving the way: African Americans at Virginia Tech

Ujima Living Learning Community Official Website

Ujima LLC Facebook Page

Oral History with Dr. Charles Yates

Oral History with Irving Linwood Peddrew III