NORFOLK, Va. — Because of the color of his skin, Douglas Wilder didn’t have the same options other people in Virginia had when it came to higher education.
"I came back from Korea after fighting for freedom for Koreans, and I couldn't go to law school here either, I had to go to Howard University, HBCU, to get my law degree," said Wilder, who's now 90 years old.
About 40 years after getting his education, Wilder became the commonwealth's first African American governor, and the first African American person in the country to be elected governor.
"But for Virginia Union, but for Howard, what would I be? Were there other avenues open to me? Where?" Wilder asked.
The grandson of slaves, Wilder got the tools he needed to create change from an HBCU, and he wants to make sure today’s students have the same opportunities he did.
"Anyone who knows anything about progress knows education is the cornerstone to progress, the key to progress," he said.
Wilder and his former secretary of education, Dr. Jim Dyke, wrote a letter to Governor Ralph Northam asking for money for Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the state.
The requested money for the HBCUs would come from the American Rescue Plan, and would help address a history of underfunding at those schools.
"One of the consequences of COVID, it has exasperated disparities that are already in existence," Dyke said. "We need to do more to address access to education."
By Thursday afternoon, Wilder said Northam hadn’t responded to the letter. He and Dyke sent it on June 8.
13News Now asked the governor’s office about the request. Here's how a spokesperson responded:
"Governor Northam is an ardent supporter of Virginia's historically black colleges and universities — that's why his 2020 budget dedicated a record $300 million to Norfolk State University and Virginia State University, the Commonwealth's two public HBCUs. As you know, the Governor and legislature have highlighted education as a shared priority for American Rescue Plan funding, and they look forward to finalizing these decisions in the coming months. Governor Northam has made investment in education equity a top priority, and that will certainly continue."
A reporter read the statement to Wilder, to see what he thought.
"It's so empty, it's so vacuous, it's almost assuming that people are dumb. I am not going to rest until this is adequately and properly addressed. If this administration chooses to ignore it, that won't be the end of it. And I will not be issuing a plea or request. I will demand what is right and criticize what is wrong," Wilder said.