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When the nation’s first elected African-American governor took the oath of office in 1990, American history came full circle. The newly elected governor was L. Douglas Wilder, a grandson of slaves. The state that elected him was Virginia, former home to the capital of the Confederacy. The thrill of this irony swept across the country as proof to all Americans that indeed, “we shall overcome.”

“Wilder: An American First” traces the moving and turbulent path of Doug Wilder’s journey from his segregated past into the doors of Virginia’s state capitol and ultimately onto the national political scene. Fiercely independent and known as a shrewd politician, Wilder, who worked his way through college by waiting tables at segregated country clubs and hotels in Depression-era Richmond, was unafraid to champion controversial positions he believed in, even if it meant losing support within his own Democratic Party. Despite this contentious streak, Wilder’s charisma warmed audiences. He became Virginia’s first African-American state senator since Reconstruction, the state’s first African-American elected lieutenant governor, and to this day, the nation’s first and only elected African-American governor.

“Wilder: An American First” explores how this independent, controversial leader became one of the world’s most powerful black politicians without embracing the evangelical messages popular among other African-American leaders. Combining narration, interviews, archival footage, news clips and photographs, this compelling historical biography looks closely at Wilder’s early years, his rise in state government, and the narrow, and heated, 1989 race for governor. WILDER: An American First also addresses his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination and his newest role in public service as the first popularly-elected mayor of Richmond in 50 years.

First-hand accounts and commentary are offered by members of Wilder’s gubernatorial administration, friends, family and journalists, some of the interviews include Dr. William “Bill” H. Cosby, Jr., actor and comedian; Mary Frances Berry, former Chair of the United States Commission on Civil Rights and a professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania; Don Baker, Wilder biographer and a former Washington Post reporter; Larry Sabato, political analyst and director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics; Agnes Nicholson, Wilder’s sister; Larry Wilder, Wilder’s son; and many others.

“Wilder: An American First” is part of a series of documentaries on Virginia Governors. It was produced and directed by the Community Idea Stations’ Mason Mills who also produced the APT-distributed series The Music Seen and Laughing Matters with Brett Leake. Bill Reifenberger, a documentary filmmaker from Crozet, Virginia, is the writer of “Wilder: An American First” and producer of The Tuskeegee Airmen. Other programs of his have been broadcast on PBS, the Discovery Channel and the History Channel.

“Wilder: An American First” is narrated by native Virginian and actor Blair Underwood, who appeared in the film Rules of Engagement and the television shows Law & Order and LAX. The program features original music by Richmond, Virginia, musicians Daniel Clark and Frank Coleman, and by Charlottesville, Virginia, resident Corey Harris, a nationally recognized blues artist featured in the PBS series “The Blues.”