L. Douglas Wilder
On this date in 1989, Virginia became the first state in America to elect a Black man as its governor. Lawrence Douglas Wilder, a Richmond native, ran the state from 1990 to 1994. State law limits each governor’s service to one four-year term.
Wilder, a graduate of Virginia Union and Howard University, also was the first Black elected to the Virginia Senate in 1969.
Reference:
Jet Magazine,
Chicago, Ill.
11/2004
