Administrative Information

Access

Collection is open for use without restrictions.

Use Restrictions

None

Preferred Citation

Box/Folder, RADA Richmond Crusade for Voters Archives, M 306, Special Collections and Archives, James Branch Cabell Library, Virginia Commonwealth University

Acquisition Information

The collection was a gift to Special Collections and Archives from William S. thornton of the Richmond Crusade for Voters.

Processing Information

Collection processed in July 1997.

Biographical/Historical Information

The Richmond Crusade for Voters was founded in 1956, and grew out of The Council to Save Public Schools, a Richmond organization formed to fight a January 1956 law which allowed cities in Virginia the option of closing public schools rather than integrating them. The three co-founders of the Crusade were Dr. William S. Thornton, Dr. William Ferguson Reid, and John M. Brooks. These three men founded the Richmond Crusade for Voters with the goal of "increasing effective black participation in Richmond's political process" (Nov-Dec 1988 edition of Richmond Surroundings). The Crusade's mission is "...to increase the voting strength of the population of the city of Richmond and to improve the moral, social, economic, educational and general welfare of our people" ("Richmond Free Press," January 1, 1994).

Scope and Content Information

The collection includes photocopied items collected by Crusade historian William A. Thornton (no relation to founder and first president, Dr. William S. Thornton). Photocopies of minutes, correspondence, historian's reports, newsletters, newspaper clippings (dating from the 1950s until 1995), campaign flyers for various candidates, financial reports and other materials make up the collection. Some original correspondence, miscellaneous documents, and two photographs are also included in the collection. The date range of the collection, from the early 1950s until 1995, spans the history of the organization.

Arrangement

Materials arranged in chronological order.

There are two binders and a folder in this collection. A video, on the history of the Crusade from the television news program "Impact," originally accompanied the collection. It has been separated from the collection to be catalogued. The binders are arranged in chronological order and they are separated by the terms of each Crusade president. Binder 1 covers the terms between 1953-1984 and binder 2 covers 1984- 1995. The folder holds originals of articles, correspondence, programs and other materials, all of which were photocopied and included in the binders.