This Day in History: Feb. 13, 1990: Wilder becomes first elected Black governor in US

RICHMOND, Va. (WCSC/WWBT) — Douglas Wilder took the oath of office in Richmond to become the country’s first elected Black governor on Feb. 13, 1990.

During his four years in office, Wilder was known for his fiscal conservatism, his support for drug testing and his veto of a restrictive abortion bill.

Born in Richmond, he was the grandson of two slaves who worked on a plantation. He attended Virginia Union University. He volunteered for combat the U.S. Army and won the Bronze Star when he and two other soldiers eluded capture in 1953 by convincing 19 North Korean soldiers to surrender.

After the war, he worked at the state toxicology lab, saving enough money to put himself through law school at Howard University.

Soon after, he had a successful law practice and then a call to public service: first in the state senate. In 1986, he was elected lieutenant governor, becoming the first African American to hold statewide office in Virginia.

Wilder became well known as someone who consistently put people over party, something he said in a 2023 interview that he worries most politicians are no longer willing to do.

“I am very concerned that the nation, not just here in Virginia, is headed towards us and them, and that’s not good,” Wilder said.

When asked how he thinks he’ll be remembered, Wilder says he doesn’t give it much thought.

“The only thing I’d like to be remembered for is that I did the best I could with what I had,” he said. “That’s all I would like to be remembered for. And I encourage most people, particularly young people, do the best you can with what you got.”

Wilder was the first elected Black governor, but not the first Black governor. In 1872, Gov. Pinckney Benton Stewart Pinchback served as governor of Louisiana for one month after the governor he served under was impeached.