Durham Voters Alliance records

The Durham Voters Alliance (DVA) records are the organizational records of the Durham Voter’s Alliance, which describes itself as having "advocated and supported progressive positions on political issues. In local affairs a central concern of the DVA was promoting the interests of working people and the poor." The organization was founded in 1972, following the failed presidential run of George McGovern, when the political group "People for McGovern" reconstituted itself as the DVA. After being active for 30 years, the group dissolved in 2002. Durham Voter’s Alliance was an independent political organization, not affliated with any particular political party, but often worked with other political groups in Durham such as the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People, the People's Alliance, the Sierra Club, and the Friends of Durham to support candidates and initiatives. Their focus was primarily on local politics, both city and county, with some interest in state level politics. The organization was particularly active in the conversation in Durham about schools, the environment, and the merging of city and county schools. The Durham Voters Alliance made city-county school merger one of its goals when it was founded in 1973. Many individuals who were part of the DVA had been working on merger for years before the organization formed. A constant voice for the merger, the organization sponsored public meetings and did research that supported the need for the schools to change how they operated. In 1987 and 1988, DVA began a concerted push that was the catalyst for the Merger Issue Task Force, which the county formed in 1988. DVA had two official members on the task force, and several other members were representatives from other groups. In order to achieve their end goal of merger, DVA built alliances across the aisle with the Durham Chamber of Commerce and the Friends of Durham and brought politicians such as William "Bill" Bell on board in support.