RICHMOND, Va. -- Former Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder accuses the state’s library agency of racism for its slow pace in processing and publicly presenting records from his tenure as the nation’s first elected Black governor.
Wilder told the Richmond Times-Dispatch on Fridaythat he doesn’t understand why the Library of Virginia has been processing papers from his gubernatorial successors before finishing work on his.
State Librarian Sandra Gioia Treadway attributed the lapse to budget cuts and turnover in key positions.
She said addressing the matter will be a “top priority.”
Wilder served as Virginia’s governor from 1990 to 1994. All of his successors have been white.
