L. Douglas Wilder, the nation’s first elected African-American governor, had a special kinship with Nelson Mandela, who triumphed over a prison ordeal to serve as South Africa’s first black president.
During his term as Virginia’s governor from 1990 to 1994, Wilder worked against apartheid by calling on state agencies to divest in companies with direct links to South Africa.
Wilder, the grandson of slaves, also took a 1992 trade mission that culminated in a weeklong trip to South Africa, where he decried the nation’s racially inspired violence.
“What his life meant to me and what his personage meant was perseverance,” Wilder said of Mandela on Thursday.
In a telephone interview, Wilder noted that Mandela never conveyed personal bitterness but radiated “a positiveness,” always speaking about the future.
“He was in a position to say it doesn’t matter how difficult things may appear, how bad things are or how badly you’re treated,” Wilder said. “You can always rise up. You can always achieve.”
Caroline Cournoyer is GOVERNING's senior web editor.
