View source for Douglas Wilder

{{Short description|American politician (born 1931)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Doug Wilder
| image               = Douglas Wilder 2003 NIH.jpg
| office              = 78th [[List of mayors of Richmond, Virginia|Mayor of Richmond]]
| term_start          = January 2, 2005
| term_end            = January 1, 2009
| predecessor         = [[Rudy McCollum]]
| successor           = [[Dwight Clinton Jones|Dwight Jones]]
| order1              = 66th [[Governor of Virginia]]
| lieutenant1         = [[Don Beyer]]
| term_start1         = January 13, 1990
| term_end1           = January 15, 1994
| predecessor1        = [[Gerald Baliles]]
| successor1          = [[George Allen (American politician)|George Allen]]
| office2             = 35th [[Lieutenant Governor of Virginia]]
| governor2           = [[Gerald Baliles]]
| term_start2         = January 18, 1986
| term_end2           = January 13, 1990
| predecessor2        = [[Richard Joseph Davis|Richard Davis]]
| successor2          = [[Don Beyer]]
| state_senate4       = Virginia
| district4           = [[Virginia's 9th Senate district|9th]]
| term_start4         = January 12, 1972
| term_end4           = January 1, 1986
| predecessor4        = [[M. Patton Echols]]
| successor4          = [[Benjamin Lambert]]
| state_senate5       = Virginia
| district5           = [[Virginia's 30th Senate district|30th]]
| term_start5         = January 14, 1970
| term_end5           = January 12, 1972
| predecessor5        = [[J. Sargeant Reynolds]]
| successor5          = [[Leroy S. Bendheim]]
| birth_name          = Lawrence Douglas Wilder
| birth_date          = {{birth date and age|1931|1|17}}
| birth_place         = [[Richmond, Virginia]], U.S.
| death_date          = 
| death_place         = 
| party               = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| otherparty          = [[Independent politician|Independent]] (1994)
| spouse              = {{marriage|Eunice Montgomery|1958|1978|end=div}}
| children            = 3, including [[Lawrence D. Wilder Jr.|Larry]]
| education           = [[Virginia Union University]] ([[Bachelor of Science|BS]])<br>[[Howard University]] ([[Juris Doctor|JD]])
| signature           = Doug Wilder signature.png
| branch              = {{army|United States}}
| serviceyears        = 1951–1953
| rank                = [[Sergeant (United States)|Sergeant]]
| battles             = [[Korean War]]
| mawards             = [[Bronze Star Medal]]
}}
'''Lawrence Douglas Wilder''' (born January 17, 1931) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the [[List of governors of Virginia|66th governor of Virginia]] from 1990 to 1994. He was the [[List of African-American firsts|first African American]] to serve as governor of a [[U.S. state]] since the [[Reconstruction era]], and the first African American ever elected as governor.{{efn|The first African-American governor of a U.S. state was [[P. B. S. Pinchback]], who was not elected to the office of governor. Pinchback became [[List of Governors of Louisiana|Governor]] of [[Louisiana]] upon the removal of his predecessor from office, and served as governor from December 1872 to January 1873. [[Melvin H. Evans]] was elected governor of a U.S. territory in 1970.}} He is currently a professor at the namesake Wilder School at [[Virginia Commonwealth University]].

Born in [[Richmond, Virginia]], Wilder graduated from [[Virginia Union University]] and served in the [[United States Army]] during the [[Korean War]]. He established a legal practice in Richmond after graduating from the [[Howard University School of Law]]. A member of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]], Wilder won election to the [[Senate of Virginia|Virginia Senate]] in 1969. He remained in that chamber until 1986, when he took office as the [[Lieutenant Governor of Virginia]], becoming the first African American to hold statewide office in Virginia. In the [[1989 Virginia gubernatorial election]], Wilder narrowly defeated [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] [[Marshall Coleman]].

Wilder left the gubernatorial office in 1994, as the Virginia constitution prohibits governors from immediately seeking re-election. He briefly sought the [[Democratic Party presidential primaries, 1992|1992 Democratic presidential nomination]], but withdrew from the race before the first primaries. He also briefly ran as an [[independent (politics)|independent]] in the [[United States Senate election in Virginia, 1994|1994 Virginia Senate election]] before dropping out of the race. Wilder returned to elective office in 2005, when he became the first directly elected [[mayor of Richmond]]. After leaving office in 2009, he worked as an adjunct professor and was involved in planning the unrealized [[United States National Slavery Museum]].

==Early life==
Wilder was born on January 17, 1931, in the segregated [[Church Hill, Richmond, Virginia|Church Hill]] neighborhood of Richmond.<ref>Jessie Carney Smith, [https://books.google.com/books?id=htmcmPqU6IsC&q=douglas+wilder+january+17,+1931+church+hill ''Notable Black American Men''], Book 1, 1998, page 1218</ref> He is the son of Beulah Olive (Richards) and Robert Judson Wilder.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/untoldgloryafric00gove <!-- quote="My father was Robert Judson Wilder. My mother was Beulah Olive Richards Wilder.". --> ''Untold Glory: African Americans in Pursuit of Freedom, Opportunity, and Achievement''], Harlem Moon/Broadway Books. 2007. p. 372.</ref> He is the grandson of slaves, his paternal grandparents having been enslaved in [[Goochland County, Virginia|Goochland County]].<ref>Donald P. Baker, [https://books.google.com/books?id=4i8TAAAAYAAJ&q=douglas+wilder+grandparents+slaves+goochland Wilder: ''Hold Fast to Dreams; A Biography of L. Douglas Wilder''], 1989, page 3</ref>  The seventh of eight brothers and sisters, Wilder was named for the African American writers [[Paul Laurence Dunbar]] and [[Frederick Douglass]].<ref>Associated Press, ''Spokane Spokesman-Review,'' [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=QB8SAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5-8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=4566,1389794&dq=douglas+wilder+paul+lawrence+frederick&hl=en "Virginia Gov. Wilder Running for President"], September 14, 1991.</ref>

Wilder's father sold insurance and his mother worked as a maid. While the family was never completely destitute, Wilder recalled his early years during the [[Great Depression]] as a childhood of "gentle poverty".<ref>Joe Taylor, Associated Press, [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=FMMTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=_wYEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5812,323890&dq=douglas+wilder+gentle+poverty&hl=en "Wilder’s Roots in ‘Gentle Poverty’"], Ocala ''[[Star-Banner]]'', November 9, 1989.</ref> In 1947 Wilder graduated from [[Armstrong High School (Virginia)|Armstrong High School]] where one of his fellow students was dancer and choreographer [[Nat Horne]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Armstrong Reunion|work=[[Richmond Times-Dispatch]]|date= November 20, 1977|page=H2}}</ref> 

Wilder worked his way through [[Virginia Union University]], a [[historically black university]], by waiting tables at hotels and shining shoes, graduating in 1951 with a degree in chemistry.<ref>Virginia Union University, [http://www.vuu.edu/library/archives_special_collections/the_wilder_collection.aspx ''The Wilder Collection:'' Biographical Information] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130424235906/http://vuu.edu/library/archives_special_collections/the_wilder_collection.aspx |date=April 24, 2013 }}, Retrieved October 5, 2013.</ref>

Drafted into the [[United States Army]] during the [[Korean War]], he volunteered for combat duty. At the [[Battle of Pork Chop Hill]], he and two other men found themselves cut off from their unit, but they bluffed nineteen [[Korean People's Army|North Korean soldiers]] into surrendering, for which Wilder was awarded the [[Bronze Star Medal]]. He was a [[Sergeant#United States|sergeant]] when he was discharged in 1953.<ref>Associated Press, Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=LTQzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2ggGAAAAIBAJ&pg=2560,7711716&dq=douglas+wilder+pork+chop+hill+bronze+star&hl=en Wilder: Former Governor Now a Candidate for Richmond Mayor], September 26, 2005.</ref>

Following the war, Wilder worked in the state medical examiner's office and pursued a master's degree in chemistry. In 1956 he changed his career plans and entered [[Howard University Law School]]. After graduating in 1959, he established a law practice in Richmond, the Virginia capital.<ref>[[CNN]].com, [http://edition.cnn.com/2005/US/02/21/cnn25.tan.wilder/ "Then & Now: Douglas Wilder"], June 19, 2005.</ref>

Wilder married Eunice Montgomery in 1958. The couple had three children before divorcing in 1978: Lynn Diana; [[Lawrence D. Wilder Jr.|Lawrence Douglas Jr.]]; and Loren Deane.<ref>B. Drummond Ayres, Jr., ''New York Times'', [https://www.nytimes.com/1989/11/08/nyregion/1989-elections-virginia-contest-man-lawrence-douglas-wilder-confrontation.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm "The 1989 Elections: The Virginia Contest; Man in the News; Lawrence Douglas Wilder; From Confrontation to Conciliation"], ''The New York Times'' November 8, 1989.</ref>

== Early political life ==

Douglas Wilder had joined the Democratic Party and began his career in public office by winning a 1969 [[by-election|special election]] for the [[Virginia State Senate]] from a Richmond-area district. He was the first African American elected to the Virginia Senate since [[Reconstruction era of the United States|Reconstruction]]. A 1970 redistricting gave Wilder a predominantly African-American district, and he became a liberal in a predominantly conservative, white-majority legislature.

Wilder briefly flirted with an independent bid for the [[United States Senate]] in 1982. He did so after the initial favorite for the Democratic nomination, [[Virginia House of Delegates|State Delegate]] [[Owen B. Pickett|Owen Pickett]] of [[Virginia Beach]], paid homage to the [[Byrd Organization]] in announcing his bid. Angered that Pickett would praise a political machine who obstinately resisted racial integration, Wilder threatened to make an independent bid for the seat if Pickett won the nomination.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Barone |first1=Michael |author-link1=Michael Barone (pundit) |last2=Ujifusa |first2=Grant |title=[[The Almanac of American Politics|The Almanac of American Politics 1988]]|publisher=[[National Journal]] |year=1987 |page=1227}}</ref> Pickett not only realized that Wilder was serious, but that he would siphon off enough black votes in a three-way race to hand the seat to the Republican nominee, Congressman [[Paul Trible]]. Pickett pulled out of the race, and Wilder abandoned plans to run for the Senate.

In [[1985 Virginia lieutenant gubernatorial election|1985]] Wilder was narrowly elected as the 35th [[Lieutenant Governor of Virginia]] on a [[Democratic Party of Virginia|Democratic]] ticket headed by [[Attorney General of Virginia|Attorney General]] [[Gerald L. Baliles]], the party's candidate for governor.  Wilder was the first African American to win a statewide election in Virginia.  Aware that he needed to reach the swath of the state's majority-white electorate, Wilder had undertaken a two-month "back roads" campaign tour of the state, visiting Virginia's predominantly rural central and western regions and enhancing his name recognition across the state.

== Campaign for Governor of Virginia ==
{{Main|1989 Virginia gubernatorial election}}
In the 1989 campaign for governor of Virginia, Wilder had a comfortable lead in the last polls before the election. The unexpected closeness of the election may have been due to the Republicans' strong [[get out the vote]] efforts. Wilder had been candid about his [[pro-choice]] position in relation to [[abortion]]. Some observers believed the close election was caused by the [[Bradley effect]], and suggested that white voters were reluctant to tell pollsters that they did not intend to vote for Wilder.{{efn|Such an observation is common enough that the [[Bradley effect]] is sometimes called the "Wilder effect".<ref>Kevin Drum, [https://washingtonmonthly.com/2008/07/23/east-coast-bias-watch/ "East Coast Bias Watch"], washingtonmonthly.com, July 23, 2008. Retrieved July 10, 2021.</ref>}} Wilder was elected governor on November 8, 1989, defeating [[Republican Party of Virginia|Republican]] [[Marshall Coleman]] by a spread of less than half a [[percent]]. The narrow victory margin prompted a [[recount]], which reaffirmed Wilder's election.[[File:D.Wilder S.Senate poster.jpg|alt=wilder|thumb|Wilder state senate campaign poster, 1969]]

== Governor of Virginia ==
Douglas Wilder was sworn in on January 13, 1990, by former [[Associate Justice of the Supreme Court|U.S. Supreme Court Justice]] [[Lewis F. Powell, Jr.]] In recognition of his landmark achievement as the first elected African-American governor, the [[National Association for the Advancement of Colored People]] awarded Wilder the [[Spingarn Medal]] for 1990.

During his tenure as governor, Wilder worked on crime and gun control initiatives. He also worked to fund Virginia's transportation initiatives, effectively lobbying Congress to reallocate highway money to the states with the greatest needs.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/02/21/cnn25.tan.wilder/index.html "Then & Now: Douglas Wilder"], CNN, June 19, 2005. Retrieved March 4, 2009.</ref> Much residential and office development had taken place in Northern Virginia without its receiving sufficient federal money for infrastructure improvements to keep up. He also succeeded in passing state bond issues to support improving transportation. In May 1990 Wilder ordered state agencies and universities to divest themselves of any investments in [[South Africa]] because of its policy of [[apartheid]].

Wilder made a failed attempt to enter into an agreement with the [[Washington Commanders|Washington Redskins]] to build a stadium at Potomac Yard in Alexandria. Wilder and Washington Redskins owner [[Jack Kent Cooke]] had made an agreement for the move which entailed a $130 million subsidy by the state of the Virginia. However, legislators revised the agreement to reduce the cost to taxpayers by $40 million (relative to the original plan by Cooke and Wilder), which led Cooke to pull out of the agreement.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1992 |title=WashingtonPost.com: Cooke, Wilder Give Up on Stadium |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/redskins/longterm/1997/stadium/timeline/1992/alexaban.htm |website=www.washingtonpost.com}}</ref>

=== Capital punishment ===
During his term, Wilder carried out Virginia's law on capital punishment, although he had opposed the death penalty when he served in the [[Virginia Senate]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Fiske |first1=Warren |title=Some Fear Wilder Plays Politics with Death Penalty |url=https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/ROA-Times/issues/1991/rt9102/910217/02170103.htm |access-date=July 6, 2024 |work=scholar.lib.vt.edu |agency=[[The Roanoke Times]] |date=February 17, 1991}}</ref> A total of 14 executions were carried out in the state's [[electric chair]], including the controversial case of [[Roger Keith Coleman]]. In January 1994 Wilder commuted the sentence of [[Earl Washington Jr.]], an [[intellectually disabled]] man, to life in prison based on testing of DNA evidence that raised questions about his guilt. Virginia law has strict time limits on when such new evidence can be introduced post-conviction. But in 2000, under a new governor, an STR-based DNA test led to the exclusion of Washington as the perpetrator of the murder for which he had been sentenced. He was fully exonerated by Governor [[Jim Gilmore]] for the capital murder and he was released from prison.
As Virginia limits consecutive gubernatorial terms, Wilder was succeeded in 1994 by [[George Allen (U.S. politician)|George Allen]].

==Campaigns for president and senate==
Wilder declared himself a candidate for [[President of the United States|President]] in 1991, but withdrew before [[1992 Democratic Party presidential primaries|the primary season]] had ended. He briefly ran for the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]] as an independent [[1994 United States Senate election in Virginia|in 1994]].

Relations between Wilder and then Senator [[Chuck Robb]] became strained following Wilder's aborted 1982 senate bid, with surreptitious recordings taken by Robb's staff contributing to a long running feud between the two men.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1991/06/13/a-decade-of-feuding/f7ab0dce-9e62-43f2-861e-f416e59cfbcc/ | title=A decade of feuding | newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] | date=1991-06-13}}</ref>

==Mayor of Richmond==
On May 30, 2004, Wilder announced his intention to run for [[Mayor of Richmond, Virginia|Mayor of Richmond]].  Until 2004, the Richmond [[City Council]] had chosen the mayor from among its 9 members. The move to change this policy succeeded in November 2003 when voters approved a mayor-at-large [[referendum]], with roughly 80 percent voting in favor of the measure. Wilder was a leading proponent of the mayor-at-large proposal.

On November 2, 2004, Wilder received 79% of the vote (55,319 votes) to become the first [[direct election|directly elected]] mayor of the city in sixty years. Upon winning the election, Wilder communicated his intentions to take on [[political corruption|corruption]] in the city government, issuing several ultimatums to the sitting city council before he took office. He was sworn in on January 2, 2005.

He was a member of the [[Everytown for Gun Safety|Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mayorsagainstillegalguns.org/html/about/members.shtml |title=Mayors Against Illegal Guns: Coalition Members |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070306180747/http://www.mayorsagainstillegalguns.org/html/about/members.shtml |archive-date=March 6, 2007  }}</ref> a [[Bipartisanship|bipartisan]] group with a stated goal of "making the public safer by getting illegal guns off the streets." The Coalition was co-chaired by former [[Boston]] Mayor [[Thomas Menino]] and former [[New York City]] Mayor [[Michael Bloomberg]].

On May 16, 2008, Wilder announced that he would not seek reelection to another four-year term as mayor.

==Post-political career==
Wilder has continued as a [[distinguished professor]] in the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at [[Virginia Commonwealth University]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=L. DOUGLAS WILDER |url=https://wilder.vcu.edu/people/faculty/l-douglas-wilder.html |access-date=May 19, 2024 |website=Faculty |publisher=L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs}}</ref>  He writes occasional editorials for Virginia newspapers.

Douglas Wilder is the founder of the [[United States National Slavery Museum]], a non-profit organization based in Fredericksburg, Virginia. The museum has been fundraising and campaigning since 2001 to establish a national museum of slavery in America. In June 2008 Wilder requested that the museum be granted tax exempt status, which was denied.<ref>{{cite news|last=Gould|first=Pamela|url=http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2009/022009/02212009/446477|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090224141739/http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2009/022009/02212009/446477|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 24, 2009|title=Slavery museum's future in doubt|newspaper=[[The Free Lance-Star]]|location=Fredericksburg, VA|date=February 21, 2009|access-date=December 29, 2010}}</ref> From that time, taxes on the land had not been paid and the property was at risk of being sold at auction by the city of [[Fredericksburg, Virginia|Fredericksburg]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Hannon|first=Kelly|url=http://www.fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2010/122010/12292010/597003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110407023224/http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2010/122010/12292010/597003|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 7, 2011|title=Land Sale Looms for Museum Site|newspaper=The Free Lance-Star|location=Fredericksburg, VA|date=December 29, 2010|access-date=December 29, 2010}}</ref>

Beset by financial problems the museum has been assessed delinquent property taxes for the years 2009, 2010, and 2011 amounting to just over $215,000.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[Richmond Times-Dispatch]]|date=August 14, 2011|title=Slavery Museum Misses Tax Deadline}}</ref> The organization filed for [[Chapter 11 Bankruptcy]] protection on September 22, 2011. Early in 2011 Douglas Wilder was refusing to respond to or answer any questions from either news reporters or patrons who had donated artifacts.<ref>{{cite news|last=Hannon|first=Kelly|url=http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2011/022011/02132011/605667|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110215173923/http://www.fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2011/022011/02132011/605667|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 15, 2011|title=Slavery Museum Donors Ignored|newspaper=The Free Lance-Star|location=Fredericksburg, VA|date=February 13, 2011|access-date=August 14, 2011}}</ref>

Wilder made news in 2012 when he refused to support [[Barack Obama]], the nation's first black president, for another term.<ref name=greta/> He noted that he supported Obama in 2008, but said the president's tenure in the Oval Office thus far had been a disappointment. Wilder did not endorse [[Mitt Romney]], the Republican challenger, and later said that he hoped for an Obama victory despite having gone to a Romney fundraiser.<ref name=greta>{{cite web|url=http://gretawire.foxnewsinsider.com/2012/11/05/stunner-nations-first-african-american-governor-decides-not-to-endorse-president-obama-for-president/|title=Nation's first African American Governor decides not to endorse President Obama for President – But He is Voting for Pres Obama|work=[[On the Record (American TV program)|Gretawire]]|date=November 5, 2012|access-date=November 6, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121109034014/http://gretawire.foxnewsinsider.com/2012/11/05/stunner-nations-first-african-american-governor-decides-not-to-endorse-president-obama-for-president/|archive-date=November 9, 2012}}</ref>

In 2015, Wilder published an autobiography, ''Son of Virginia: A Life in America's Political Arena''.<ref>{{cite news |author=Laura Vozella|title=At 84, the Virginia maverick is still bucking|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/doug-wilder-at-84-the-virginia-maverick-is-still-bucking/2015/11/28/656d0f62-92c9-11e5-b5e4-279b4501e8a6_story.html|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=November 28, 2015|access-date=December 3, 2015}}</ref>

In March 2018, Wilder filed suit against John Accordino, who was serving as the Dean of his namesake college, for harassing Wilder's assistant.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.roanoke.com/news/virginia/former-gov-douglas-wilder-sues-dean-of-school-bearing-his/article_931e035f-ed88-501e-9cf8-c937dd5ec391.html|title=Former Gov. Douglas Wilder sues dean of school bearing his name claiming assistant was harassed|last1=Mattingly |first1=Justin |last2=Oliver |first2=Ned  |work=Roanoke Times|access-date=October 9, 2018|language=en}}</ref> This led to Accordino stepping down from his position and Susan Gooden being named as the interim dean of the college and then Wilder dropping the suit 4 months after filing.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.richmond.com/news/local/education/wilder-drops-lawsuit-against-vcu-ousted-dean-of-school-bearing/article_157e7595-5677-566d-8684-ea5735d776a2.html|title=Wilder drops lawsuit against VCU, ousted dean of school bearing his name|last=Mattingly |first=Justin |work=Richmond Times-Dispatch|access-date=October 9, 2018|language=en}}</ref>

In March 2019, Sydney Black filed a complaint under Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 against Wilder for sexual harassment after she claims he made sexual advances to her, which she rebuffed, and then told her later that there was no funding for her position at the Virginia Commonwealth University.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/college-student-accuses-former-virginia-governor-l-douglas-wilder-of-sexual-harassment/2019/03/28/7d0170c8-3b95-11e9-aaae-69364b2ed137_story.html?noredirect=on|title=College student accuses former Virginia governor Douglas Wilder of Sexual Harassment|last=Washington Post|first=Jenna Portnoy Washington DC|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=March 28, 2019|language=en}}</ref> In July 2019, the university's independent investigator concluded that Wilder did kiss the student without her consent.<ref name="Suderman">{{cite news |last=Suderman |first=Alan |date=July 23, 2019 |title=Ex-Virginia governor says harassment probe was unfair |url=https://www.apnews.com/bdc1e5ad57d44ead91a47761322ae179 |work=[[Associated Press]] |location=New York, NY}}</ref> In response, Wilder provided a detailed rebuttal, in which he denied "non-consensual sexual contact” between Black and him.<ref name="Suderman"/> In addition, he denied retaliating against her by saying her position had been eliminated.<ref name="Suderman"/> Wilder also claimed the investigator ignored contradictory evidence, including his claim that Black called him eight times after the night during which he supposedly kissed her, something she presumably would not have done if she felt harassed or threatened.<ref name="Suderman"/> The university planned to consider the investigator's findings and Wilder's rebuttal before deciding what action to take, if any.<ref name="Suderman"/> On October 24, 2019, Wilder announced that the university's internal review panel had cleared him of wrongdoing.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.apnews.com/c7965181e8d64c6980564cddb97e8a40|title=Ex-Gov. Wilder says panel clears him of kissing allegation|date=October 24, 2019|website=AP News.com |publisher=[[Associated Press]] |location=New York, NY}}</ref>

In 2020, Wilder raised concerns that the state archives at the [[Library of Virginia]] had failed to provide access to the records of his gubernatorial administration.<ref>[https://www.richmond.com/news/virginia/library-of-virginia-apologizes-for-delay-with-wilder-papers-promises-fix-as-highest-priority/article_fbf4ba00-c2f7-5713-b2ab-87ceee9c6c1d.html Library of Virginia apologizes for delay with Wilder papers, promises fix as 'highest priority'] (July 9, 2020)</ref>

In 2021, following the gubernatorial election of Republican [[Glenn Youngkin]], Wilder joined Governor Youngkin's transition team, alongside former Republican governors [[Jim Gilmore]], [[Bob McDonnell]], and [[George Allen (American politician)|George Allen]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Times-Dispatch|first=MEL LEONOR Richmond|title=Wilder teams up with Youngkin, former GOP governors as transition begins|url=https://richmond.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/wilder-teams-up-with-youngkin-former-gop-governors-as-transition-begins/article_89530140-8753-547f-9ce9-f4fdcb79c272.html|access-date=November 11, 2021|website=Richmond Times-Dispatch|date=November 10, 2021 |language=en}}</ref>

In March 2025, Wilder was alleged to have contributed to the firing of a faculty member at VCU. In the summer, Wilder sued a pair of VCU leaders over a workplace investigation involving him over claims that he created a toxic workplace environment, claiming that it was retaliatory for his past criticisms of the school leadership. A heavily redacted report, prepared by an outside law firm and received by The Richmonder, said that the complaints that led to the investigation had only been made by one person, and that no one else had described the workplace as toxic or threatening.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-10-02 |title=Former Gov. Doug Wilder scraps lawsuit against VCU officials |url=https://www.richmonder.org/former-gov-doug-wilder-scraps-lawsuit-against-vcu-officials/ |access-date=2025-10-27 |website=The Richmonder |language=en}}</ref>

==Honors and awards==
*In 2004, [[Virginia Commonwealth University]] named its [[School of Government and Public Affairs]] in honor of L. Douglas Wilder. Wilder serves as an adjunct faculty member at the school.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.news.vcu.edu/article/VCU_board_approves_naming_of_the_L_Douglas_Wilder_School_of_Government | title=VCU board approves naming of the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs | publisher=Virginia Commonwealth University | author=Division of University Relations, University Public Affairs | date=May 21, 2004 |website=Virginia Commonwealth University News}}</ref>
*The [[Virginia Union University]] library, [[Norfolk State University]]'s performing arts center, and a [[Hampton University]] dormitory are also named after Governor Wilder.  
*Wilder also received an Honorary Doctorate from [[Arizona State University]] in 2004.
*[[Virginia State University]] named its Cooperative Extension Building the L. Douglas Wilder Building 
*In 1996, L. Douglas Wilder Middle School was named in honor of former governor Wilder.
*1990 [[List of Phoenix Award winners|Harold Washington Award]] from the [[Congressional Black Caucus Foundation]]<ref name=":0">{{Cite web | title=Past Phoenix Award Honorees (1996 – 2018) | url=https://s7.goeshow.com/cbcf/annual/2020/documents/CBCF_ALC_-_Phoenix_Awards_Dinner_Past_Winners.pdf}}</ref>
*1987: [[List of Phoenix Award winners|Adam Clayton Powell Award]] from the [[Congressional Black Caucus Foundation]]<ref name=":0" />

== Personal papers ==
The L. Douglas Wilder Collection resides at the L. Douglas Wilder Library and Learning Resource Center at Wilder's alma mater, [[Virginia Union University]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.vuu.edu/library/archives_special_collections/the_wilder_collection.aspx |title=The L. Douglas Wilder Collection |access-date=October 6, 2013 |archive-date=April 24, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130424235906/http://vuu.edu/library/archives_special_collections/the_wilder_collection.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref> The collection contains press office photographs from Wilder's time as governor, over 600 audio cassette tapes of Wilder's WRVA radio talk show as well as other speeches, and over 350 video cassettes of political events, campaign materials, and news appearances. A gallery located in the library also displays many of Wilder's political recognitions and awards.

== See also ==
* [[List of minority governors and lieutenant governors in the United States]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* Dwayne Yancey, ''When Hell Froze Over'' (1988, updated 1990) 
* Don Baker, ''Wilder: Hold Fast to Dreams'' (1989)
* Margaret Edds, ''Claiming the Dream'' (1990)
* Linwood Norman, ''When Mayor Doug Wilder Ruled Richmond: Strong-Arm Politics in Virginia's Capital City'' (2024)

==External links==
*[http://www.visionaryproject.org/wilderdouglas L. Douglas Wilder's oral history video excerpts] at The National Visionary Leadership Project
*{{C-SPAN|3635}}
*[https://www.vuu.edu/library/archives-special-collections/the-wilder-collection The L. Douglas Wilder Collection] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124175421/https://www.vuu.edu/library/archives-special-collections/the-wilder-collection |date=November 24, 2020 }} at [[Virginia Union University]]
*[https://uncommonwealth.virginiamemory.com/blog/2021/04/14/governor-wilder-records-available-for-research/ List of Record Groups included in the Governor Wilder Records] at The Library of Virginia.

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