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| Wilder: Tough TimesWilder’s approval rating had dropped to about 18 percent. Adding to his falling approval rating, the conflicts between Wilder and Robb erupted yet again, an illegally taped conversation including Wilder was released by Chuck Robb’s staff, ending with a grand jury investigation. This controversy, combined with Virginia’s record deficit and a national recession would make it difficult for Wilder to regain his popularity.Grades 3-5 | 6-8 | 9-12 History-Social Science |
| Wilder: A Time of HopeAs one of the highest elected black officials in the world, Doug Wilder became an international icon. He was treated as royalty on his travels and drew enormous crowds on the African continent.Grades 3-5 | 6-8 | 9-12 History-Social Science |
| Wilder: Election DayAt 10:37 pm word came that several precincts had been counted twice. The corrected total had cut Wilder's lead to just less than sixty-five hundred votes--under one percent of the total. Shortly after 11:00 pm Wilder made his way to the ballroom. There was no word of concession from Coleman but Wilder had maintained his lead of several thousand votes.Grades 3-5 | 6-8 | 9-12 History-Social Science |
| Wilder: Lieutenant GovernorIn August of 1985, Doug Wilder, now the Democratic candidate for Lt. Governor, and his three closest advisors loaded into a station wagon and disappeared into the Virginia countryside in search of votes.Grades 3-5 | 6-8 | 9-12 History-Social Science |
| Wilder: State SenatorWith the doors open to run for office, Doug Wilder decided it was time to make a change and announced his candidacy for state senator in 1969. Wilder's victory over two white opponents was the first display of a gutsy, political courage that would become a Wilder trademark and made him the first African American in the Virginia Senate since Reconstruction.Grades 3-5 | 6-8 | 9-12 History-Social Science |
| Wilder: Becoming GovenorFew Democrats or Republicans felt a black candidate could win a race for Governor in the state of Virginia. History was not on Wilder’s side either. The lone African American to serve as a Governor in the United States was P.B.S. Pinchback of Louisiana, who was appointed to the position and served 36 days in 1872. If a state was to elect the nation’s first African American governor the odds were heavily against Virginia.Grades 3-5 | 6-8 | 9-12 History-Social Science |
| Wilder: LawyerIn 1954 Virginia and its tradition of segregation were thrown into upheaval, The Supreme Court ruled in Brown versus the Topeka Board of Education that "separate but equal" was unconstitutional and ordered the integration of the nation's schools. Energized by the ruling, Wilder made up his mind to attend law school in Washington, D.C.Grades 3-5 | 6-8 | 9-12 History-Social Science |
| Wilder: The Early YearsThe inauguration of Doug Wilder in the former capitol of the confederacy made him one of the world’s most powerful black politicians. His name now took its place in history next to Virginians, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe—but Virginia was also where slavery was introduced to the English colonies - an act that would shape perceptions of the state’s culture for centuries.Grades 3-5 | 6-8 | 9-12 History-Social Science |
| Introduction to Wilder, An American FirstThe inauguration of Doug Wilder in the former capitol of the confederacy made him one of the world’s most powerful black politicians. His name now took its place in history next to Virginians, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe.Grades 3-5 | 6-8 | 9-12 History-Social Science |
| Wilder: Post Gubernatorial YearsSince a Virginia governor cannot serve consecutive terms, many expected Doug Wilder to stay politically active by seeking a higher office. He surprised many when he returned to his hometown in the fall of 2004.... and became the first popularly elected mayor of Richmond in over 50 years. Even out of office Wilder remained an unconventional and unpredictable voice in Virginia politics.Grades 3-5 | 6-8 | 9-12 History-Social Science |
