Twenty five years ago, L. Douglas Wilder was elected the 66th governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Mr. Wilder’s election was historic, not just for Virginia, but for the entire nation. When the polls closed Nov. 8, 1989, this grandson of slaves became the first African-American elected governor in the history of the United States. On Thursday, Dec. 4, members of his winning campaign staff and subsequent gubernatorial administration — along with several of the journalists who covered it all — will gather at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Student Commons Theater, 907 Floyd Ave., to discuss and dissect the Wilder legacy. The discussion, which is free and open to the public, begins 9:30 a.m. with remarks by VCU President Michael Rao and closes at 4:30 p.m. after concluding remarks by the legend himself. Two other former Virginia governors, George Allen and Jim Gilmore, are to speak about the meaning of Mr. Wilder’s election then and now. The Free Press invited Mr. Wilder to present in his own words what he views as the legacy of his historic election and leadership of the commonwealth 25 years later. Here are his thoughts:

Moving the Commonwealth of Virginia toward greater progress isn’t something I started the day I was elected governor. Far from it.

“Never” is one word I would not allow to define my life or career. The two words that always motivated me were, “Why not?” I asked that question as a boy, and repeatedly asked that question as a man — both of myself and of those with whom I was in discussion.

I understood early on that, in order to accomplish desired results, one must be in a position of power to do so.

Starting out as a young lawyer with a solo practice, I knew that a relative degree of independence was necessary to accomplish some of the things I knew were possible.

Once I returned to Richmond to open a law practice, I asked several more senior members of the Old Dominion Bar Association, the black bar association, when meetings were held. I wanted to be part of a group I felt should be a focus of change. I was astonished to learn it had not met in six years. After waiting only a short while, I wrote a rather testy letter to all of the members challenging them to meet to discuss and share legal concerns and the need for equality in our community. I can assure you that in 1960 America, there were plenty.

Many distinguished men comprised the ODBA’s Richmond Branch at that time —  Oliver W. Hill, Spottswood W. Robinson, S. W. Tucker, Roland D. Ealey, Colston A. Lewis, to name a few. I received a few responses, but the most remembered was from someone I admired and who, ultimately, became a close and personal friend — Oliver Hill.

He said that whereas what I referenced may have logical and perhaps laudable goals, my expressions were so intemperate as to possibly trigger defensive reaction rather than engagement of support.

I confess, I was quite pleased; I got their attention.

One month later, a meeting was held, and to my knowledge, the organization still meets on a regular basis.

I formed alliances within that group and the broader community to ask why not the fullest integration of our judicial system?

The courtrooms were segregated, all of the judges were Caucasian, all of the prosecutors were Caucasian. And even though the Brown decision had legally ended public school segregation, the golf courses, the hotels and restaurants and other public facilities remained segregated.

I was fortunate enough to become associated with the legal teams that brought an end to those phases of racial discrimination.

Tonight, as Virginia Commonwealth University’s L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs celebrates the statement made by Virginia’s voters 25 years ago when they elected a governor who is the grandson of slaves, where do we stand? Is the dream of a post-racial society finally a reality?

Two men of African descent have been elected governors of states. The U.S. Senate has counted African-American men and one woman as part of its membership. African-Americans have sat — and do sit — in the leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives. And most glaringly and obviously, the people elected a man of African descent to serve as president of the United States of America.

So, have we “arrived” at the long-dreamed about post-racial America?

Open any newspaper and it’s easy to see why such a rhetorical question borders on ludicrous.

I do not minimize the important electoral and governmental mile markers in the advancement of African-Americans. It would be silly of me to do that because it would devalue the great thing done by my close friends and neighbors in Virginia in 1989, not to mention by voters nationally two decades later. But I do challenge citizens to take a broader view of how to judge where we, as a country, are on the road to providing full equality — politically and otherwise.

What I find most disappointing is how both parties want to turn the electorate into enclaves for the benefit of politicians, as opposed to the people. These days Democrats take the votes of African-Americans for granted. They openly focus on other groups they want to court — particularly Hispanics — while ignoring the needs of longtime friends and supporters. It is not wise to believe people will continue to be taken for granted.

Why am I still an optimist?

In my current role as a distinguished professor at VCU, I am surrounded by the “millennial generation” — young people born in the 1980s and 1990s. A lot of ink is being spilled expressing consternation about what has gone wrong with them. I often hear the words “entitled,” “brazen” and “hurried” attached to this generation by its elders.

In my experience, that is a gross mischaracterization.

Instead I nominate “bold,” “searching,” “communitarian” and “tolerant.”

Those are the characteristics that will allow us all to continue the American tradition of heralding new scientific accomplishments, continuing the march to greater equality and serving as a beacon to the less fortunate.

In millennials, I see the very same qualities that fueled an earlier generation to write a document declaring the daring set of rights and responsibilities enshrined in the Constitution and its accompanying Bill of Rights. In millennials, I hear them when they ask, “Why not?”