The Lily Black Republican ticket of 1921 was in response to the all white (Lily White) ticket put forward by the Republican party of Virginia. Neither Republican ticket won in 1921, as the Democratic party swept the elections. Although several names appear on the Lily Black Republican ticket, biographical information exists only for Maggie L. Walker, John Mitchell, Jr., and Joseph Thomas ( J.T. ) Newsome.

Maggie Lena Mitchell was born on July 15, 1867 in Richmond, Virginia, and married Armstead Walker, Jr. in 1886. At age fourteen Maggie joined the local chapter of the Independent Order of St. Luke, a fraternal burial society. Eventually, Maggie achieved the title of Right Worthy Grand Secretary in 1899, created The St. Luke Herald in 1902, and founded the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank in 1903-thus making her the first woman to charter a bank in the United States. Maggie also devoted time to promoting African American women's rights. This civic concern eventually expressed itself in an unsuccessful bid for the office of Superintendent of Public Instruction in 1921. Maggie Lena Walker died on December 15, 1934.

John Mitchell, Jr. was born July 11, 1863. Mitchell was the editor of the Richmond Planet, a paper that exposed racial injustice, and the President of the National Afro-American Press Association. Elected to Richmond's Board of Alderman from Jackson Ward in 1892, Mitchell eventually made an unsuccessful bid for the governor's office in 1921. Mitchell also founded, and was president of, the Mechanics Savings Bank which fell into legal trouble and was eventually rechartered by the state in July, 1924. Due to the bank's failure, Mitchell lost his assets and eventually died on December 3, 1929.

Joseph Thomas ( J.T. ) Newsome was born on June 2, 1869 in Sussex County, Virginia, to Joseph and Anne Newsome. After attending Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute in Petersburg, Newsome received his law degree from Howard University in 1898. Newsome married Mary Beatrice Winfield and moved to Newport News where he became a successful lawyer, the editor of the Newport News Star, a public speaker, and a politician. In 1921 Newsome unsuccessfully ran for state attorney general and the first congressional district seat. Joseph Thomas Newsom died on March 9, 1942.

See also "A Ballot of Significance: A Virginia Republican Party Ticket from 1921", an October 28, 2020 blog post, by archivist Marc Brodsky on the Virginia Tech Special Collections and University Archives blog.