Benjamin Lambert

{{ Infobox officeholder

|name =Benjamin Lambert

|image =

|image_upright = 0.9

|caption =

|state_senate = Virginia

|district = 9th

|term_start = January 8, 1986

|term_end = January 9, 2008

|preceded = Douglas Wilder

|succeeded = Donald McEachin

|state_delegate2 = Virginia

|district2 = 71st

|term_start2 =January 12, 1983

|term_end2 = January 8, 1986

|preceded2 = None (district created)

|succeeded2 = Jean W. Cunningham

|state_delegate3 = Virginia

|district3 = 33rd

|term_start3 =January 11, 1978

|term_end3 =January 12, 1983

|preceded3 = Edward E. Lane

|succeeded3 = Robert T. Andrews

|birthname = Benjamin Joseph Lambert, III

|birth_date = {{Birth date|1937|1|29}}

|birth_place = Richmond, Virginia, U.S.

|death_date = {{Death date and age|2014|3|2|1937|1|29}}

|death_place = Richmond, Virginia, U.S.

|party = Democratic

|spouse =Carolyn Lee Morris

|alma_mater = Virginia Union University
New England College of Optometry

|occupation = optometrist

}}

Benjamin Joseph Lambert, III (January 29, 1937 – March 2, 2014) was an American optometrist, community leader and politician. A Democrat, Lambert served for more than three decades in both houses of the Virginia General Assembly (the first optometrist ever to serve in that body), initially in the Virginia House of Delegates and then in the Senate.{{cite web|url=https://www.lva.virginia.gov/public/smw/2017/honoree.htm?bio=lambert|title=Benjamin Joseph Lambert III (1937–2014)|date=January 8, 2016 |publisher=Virginia House of Delegates|accessdate=November 18, 2018}}The General Assembly of Virginia 1962-1981 (Richmond: Commonwealth of Virginia 1983) p. 211.

Early life and education

Lambert was born in Richmond, Virginia on January 29, 1937. He attended racially segregated public schools in Henrico County, Virginia, including Sandston Elementary.[http://sandston.henricoschools.us Sandston Elementary] Retrieved November 18, 2018. During the "massive resistance" crisis, he attended Virginia Randolph Community High School in Glen Allen and graduated from that segregated institution as its most outstanding student in 1955. He then began studying mathematics at Virginia Union University and after graduating with honors, went on to earn a graduate degree from the Massachusetts College of Optometry (which later became the New England College of Optometry).

He married the former Carolyn Lee Morris and they would have children Benjamin Lambert IV, David M. Lambert, Charles J. Lambert and Ann F. Lambert.Virginia General Assembly 1981 volume, p. 211.

Career

Lambert began practicing optometry in Richmond's Jackson Ward in 1962, and ten years later the Richmond Jaycees named him their Most Outstanding Young Man in Richmond. He was active not only in his St. Paul's Baptist Church[http://www.myspbc.org/ St. Paul's Baptist Church] Retrieved November 18, 2018. and college alumni association (where he later served as secretary of the board of trustees), but also the Omega Psi Phi fraternity, the Salvation Army Boys Club and the North Richmond YMCA. As an African-American, Lambert was also active in the NAACP, the Richmond Crusade for Voters and the Jackson Ward Civic Association.{{cite web|url=https://bobbyscott.house.gov/media-center/floor-statements/honoring-the-life-and-legacy-of-dr-benjamin-j-lambert-iii|title=Honoring the Life and Legacy of Dr. Benjamin J. Lambert III|date=March 5, 2014|accessdate=November 18, 2018|archive-date=November 19, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119011145/https://bobbyscott.house.gov/media-center/floor-statements/honoring-the-life-and-legacy-of-dr-benjamin-j-lambert-iii|url-status=dead}} Lambert also served on various boards of directors, including of the Sheltering Arms Hospital and the Central Virginia Health System Agency (treasurer)legislative bio and later Virginia Commonwealth University's Health Systems Authority Board, Dominion Resources (from 1994 until his death), Consolidated Bank & Trust Company, Student Loan Marketing Agency (Sallie Mae), USA Education Inc. and Benedictine College Preparatory and other schools.[https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=564121&privcapId=4109964 Executive Profile: Benjamin Lambert], Bloomberg BusinessWeek Retrieved December 9, 2018. Lambert became known for his efforts to make Richmond more inclusive.{{cite news|url=https://www.styleweekly.com/richmond/the-power-list/Content?oid=1363263|author=Scott Bass|title=The Power List|work=Style Weekly|date=July 14, 2004|accessdate=November 18, 2018}} He was also named the Virginia Optometrist of the Year (1980), and received the National Conference of Christians and Jews' Humanitarian Award (1993).

Political career

In 1977, Richmond voters elected Lambert as one of the six members representing the 33rd district in the House of Delegates. He began serving in the part-time position in 1978, and was re-elected several times, although the district boundaries changed after the 1980 census to include east-central Henrico county and part of Charles City County and the new single-member district was renumbered the 71st.{{cite web |title=Benjamin J. Lambert III |url=https://history.house.virginia.gov/members/8809 |website=House of Delegates History (DOME) |publisher=Virginia House of Delegates Clerk's Office |access-date=May 23, 2025}} He served alongside George E. Allen Jr., Walter H. Emroch, Franklin P. Hall and James S. Christian Jr., all fellow Democrats.1981 General Assembly volume, p. 40. Lambert also helped expand the scope of services that fellow optometrists could provide, and worked to limit deleterious professional effects of retail interests.{{cite web|url=https://www.thevoa.org/component/acymailing/mailid-315?key=311a2a90c5b2314289fda05822757a10&tmpl=component|title=Dr. / State Senator Benny Lambert Passes|publisher=Virginia Optometric Association|accessdate=November 18, 2018|archive-date=November 19, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119012943/https://www.thevoa.org/component/acymailing/mailid-315?key=311a2a90c5b2314289fda05822757a10&tmpl=component|url-status=dead}} His wife Carolyn also assisted in various legislative committees.

In 1985, voters from parts of Richmond and all of Charles City County elected Lambert to the Virginia Senate in a special election, where he succeeded Douglas Wilder, who had become Lieutenant Governor of Virginia and represented the 9th Senate District. He was re-elected several times and rose in seniority for decades. Fellow democrat and lawyer Jean Wooden Cunningham succeeded him as the District 71 delegate in the session which began January 8, 1986, and would win re-election many times. Lambert was the first African-American in the 20th Century to serve on the Virginia Senate Finance Committee. During his senate tenure, Lambert served on a number of other committees as well, including Education and Health, General Laws, Privileges and Elections, General Government, and Health and Human Resources. Additionally, he chaired the Subcommittees on Higher Education and General Government, the Brown v. Board Scholarship Commission (assisting students who would have attended schools closed to prevent desegregation during Massive Resistance), and the Lead Abatement Subcommittee.{{cite web|url=http://www.reform.virginia.gov/About/lambert.cfm|title=Biography of Benjamin Lambert. Commonwealth of Virginia|accessdate=September 28, 2011|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120405032157/http://www.reform.virginia.gov/About/lambert.cfm|archivedate=April 5, 2012|url-status=dead}} He became known for his efforts to bridge party lines, and on behalf of education.

In 2006, Lambert endorsed Republican U.S. Senator George Allen's unsuccessful reelection bid.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/03/AR2006100301520.html|author=Courtland Milloy|title=Understanding George Allen's Best Black Friend by Courtland Milloy|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=October 3, 2006|accessdate=November 18, 2018}} The following year, Senator Lambert was defeated for re-election by former Delegate Donald A. McEachin, who made the Allen endorsement a key factor in the contest.{{cite web|title=Election roundup|url=http://valawyersweekly.com/2007/06/13/election-roundup/|work=Virginia Lawyers Weekly|accessdate=November 18, 2018|date=June 13, 2007}}

Death and legacy

Following a period of failing health, Lambert died, aged 77, on March 2, 2014, in a Richmond hospital.[https://archive.today/20140303210854/http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/latest-news-ap/dr-benjamin-j-lambert-iii-former-state-senator-dies/article_cc1b3efa-a248-11e3-8d3f-001a4bcf6878.html Dr. Benjamin J. Lambert III, former state senator, dies] Richmond Times-Dispatch. March 3, 2014. Retrieved March 3, 2014. He was survived by his widow, four community minded children (including Benjamin Lambert IV who continues the family's political involvement), and several grandchildren.

The Library of Virginia honored him as one of the African American trailblazers in its "Strong Men and Women" series in 2017.{{Cite web|url=https://www.lva.virginia.gov/public/smw/2017/honoree.htm?bio=lambert|title = Strong Men & Women in Virginia History – Library of Virginia Education| date=January 8, 2016 }} The L. Douglas Wilder Library and Learning Resource Center at Virginia Union University holds Lambert's correspondence as Senator from 1991-2000.{{Cite web|url=http://ead.lib.virginia.edu/vivaxtf/view?docId=vuu/virvu00001.xml|title=A Guide to the Sen. Benjamin J. Lambert III Papers 1991-2000|year=2002|website=Virginia Heritage|accessdate=November 18, 2018}}

In 2018 a street in Jackson Ward was renamed in his honor.{{cite news|url=https://wtvr.com/2018/01/28/street-renamed-benjamin-lambert/|title=Richmond street renamed to honor Dr. Benjamin J. Lambert|publisher=WTVR-TV|date=January 28, 2018|accessdate=November 18, 2018}}