ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, February 17, 1997 TAG: 9702170030
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: Associated Press
VIRGINIA UNION'S library honors the former governor. The ceremony was attended by Gov. George Allen and U.S. Sen. Charles Robb.
It was nearly a half-century ago that 16-year-old Douglas Wilder enrolled at Virginia Union University, a wide-eyed kid hearing words of encouragement about his future that he hadn't heard before.
In a time when blacks were still referred to as ``coloreds'' and not allowed to attend most schools, Virginia Union made the grandson of slaves see that he could have - and pursue - goals and dreams, Wilder said.
Wilder graduated in 1951, continued on to law school and then made history by becoming the first black state senator in Virginia since Reconstruction and then the nation's first elected black governor.
On Friday, the school dedicated the L. Douglas Wilder Library and Learning Resource Center. It is the first building constructed solely as a library in the historically black university's 132-year history.
Wilder said he was humbled by the recognition.
``But for Virginia Union, I could never have been governor of any place, or anything. But for Virginia Union, I could never have achieved the opportunity to learn to want to be something,'' he said during the ceremony.
Gov. George Allen, former Gov. and now U.S. Sen. Charles Robb, and three former presidents of Virginia Union attended the dedication, along with Dallas Simmons, the current president who proposed the library.
The $7.5 million library, built with private funds, already holds about 247,000 volumes and has capacity for nearly twice that. It has been open since January. It also has a wing devoted to Wilder memorabilia, including honors, citations and photographs.
Wilder joked that he already has spent more time in the building named for him than he did in the library when he was in school. And he said the new building's location made him realize how lucky he was.
``This used to be the dust bowl when I was in school,'' he said. ``That was where I frittered away hours playing intramural sports when I should have been in class. I was lucky that professors gave me the second chance and said we're going to further challenge you to do what we know you can do.''
Wilder has an office in the 70,000-square-foot library, and said he plans to use it in compiling material for his writings, including memoirs.
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