In 1981, Charles Robb asked L. Douglas Wilder, the state's only African American State Senator, to help rally voters of color to support the Democratic ticket for governor. Just four years later, Doug Wilder won the party's nomination for Lieutenant Governor against the cries of "Virginia isn’t ready." A year after that, he became the first elected African American governor in American history. Wilder chronicles his saga in Son of Virginia: A Life in America's Political Arena.