Richmond Crusade for Voters collection

Access and use

Location of collection:
Virginia Commonwealth University, Cabell Library
James Branch Cabell Library
Virginia Commonwealth University
P.O. Box 842003
901 Park Avenue
Richmond, VA 23284-2003
Contact for questions and access:
POC: SCA Staff
Phone: (804) 828-1108
Fax: (804) 828-0151
Restrictions:

Collection is open for use without restrictions.

Terms of access:

There are no restrictions.

Preferred citation:

Box/Folder, Richmond Crusade for Voters collection, Collection # M 306, Special Collections and Archives, James Branch Cabell Library, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Va.

Summary

Extent:
.83 Linear Feet
Creator:
Thornton, William A. and Thornton, William S.
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

Box/Folder, Richmond Crusade for Voters collection, Collection # M 306, Special Collections and Archives, James Branch Cabell Library, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Va.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection includes materials collected by Crusade for Voters historian William A. Thornton and William S. Thompson. The date range of the collection, from the early 1950s until 1995, spans the history of the organization. The bulk of the collection was donated in two large binders, the contents of which have been rehoused but maintained in their original order, organized roughly by the terms of Crusade presidents. The binders hold minutes, correspondence, historian's reports, newsletters, newspaper clippings, campaign flyers, financial reports, and similar materials, many of which are photocopies. In addition to the binders, the collection also holds a variety of loose material including correspondence, financial records, clippings and newsletters, flyers, awards, photographs, and reports as well as documents pertaining to the organization's history and voting in Richmond, Virginia. Much of this loose material is duplicated in the photocopied contents of the binders.

Biographical / historical:

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).

Acquisition information:
Materials in this collection were donated by Dr. William S. Thornton, a founder and the first president of Richmond Crusade for Voters, and William A. Thornton who served as the organization's historian. The donations were made in November 1995.
Arrangement:

Materials donated in binders are arranged in their original order. Other materials are arranged by record type.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard