Welcome to AA, Crippldogg, and fellow Virginian!
You are going to be somewhat limited in the choices for African cichlids in a tank that size. You could definitely do a pair of N. brichardi, from Lake Tan, and they will spawn and allow their fry to remain with them for a good while. One of my favorites. You could not have anything else in there with them, really, other than perhaps a tough dwarf pleco.
Mbuna are going to be tough to keep in there - it is just too small for these aggressive fish, and though many people overstock mbuna to control aggression you just won't be able to get away with it in that tank. You definitely could do shelldweller cichlids, as they stay small and are extremely entertaining and feisty.
There are some new world cichlids you might consider, but let us know what you have in mind.
Maybe someone else has an idea or two, but I keep them in a 44gal and it is really pushing it - a 55 is a much better place to start when it comes to Africans, with the brichardi being the exception.