Today Gov. Wilder

Governor L. Douglas Wilder (Virginia 1990 - 1994)

On this day January 13, 1990 Lawrence Douglas Wilder inaugurated as first African American elected Governor of a USA State. Wider was also born in January, specifically January 17, 1931.

"L. Douglas Wilder was governor of Virginia from 1990 until 1994. His was a political career of many firsts: the grandson of slaves, he was the first African American elected governor of any state in America. ...He was the first black member of the Virginia Senate in the twentieth century. And he was the first African American to win statewide office in Virginia when he was elected lieutenant governor in 1985. A Democrat, he ran briefly for United States president in 1991 and in 2004 was elected mayor of Richmond, serving until 2008"~ anon

I like being reminded of this occassion. It left me and Blacks with a deep sense of purpose, pride; as if prayers of our grandparents had been answered. It was as astounding as President Barack Obama becoming president! The big difference between the two men's tenures in office was the racial backlash. With our President his election was a rally call to crackers, rednecks, disenchanted poor whites, white supremacy up the length of the ecomonic ladder to turn out and against his life force in office. It was an enormous assault for Congressmen to make public declarations to work against their boss, the leader of the free world! But, they got away with it. The question not asked in public is why; why is this and why was it not knocked down the way dissention was knocked down during Bush's administration and treated as being un-American? - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories