Why the Virginia Leadership Institute?
The Virginia Leadership Institute was created in 2006 in an effort to address the lack of elected black officials in the Commonwealth of Virginia .
In May 2006, Krysta Jones wrote her Master's thesis at George Washington University in Washington DC on the lack of black congresspeople from Virginia . Since Reconstruction, Virginia has only sent one black to Congress, Representative Bobby Scott (D-VA), who represents the 3 rd congressional district.
Ms. Jones' concluded that in order to increase the number of black elected officials a number of steps had to be taken including providing training to black Virginians interested in politics, creating a network of organizations in the African-American community that focus on political empowerment, and supporting voting rights for former felons.
As African Americans achieve greater professional, economic and political heights in our increasingly multicultural society, some may question why we need more black politicians.
In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Often considered one of the most important pieces of legislation passed by the US Congress, the VRA primarily applied a nationwide prohibition against the denial or abridgment of the right to vote on the literacy tests on a nationwide basis. According to the National Park Service,
Within months of its passage on August 6, 1965, one quarter of a million new black voters had been registered, one third by federal examiners. Within four years, voter registration in the South had more than doubled. In 1965, Mississippi had the highest black voter turnout--74%--and led the nation in the number of black leaders elected. In 1969, Tennessee had a 92.1% turnout; Arkansas , 77.9%; and Texas , 73.1%.
Winning the right to vote changed the political landscape of the South. When Congress passed the Voting Rights Act, barely 100 African Americans held elective office in the U.S. ; by 1989 there were more than 7,200, including more than 4,800 in the South. According to the Joint Center for Politics and Economic Studies Virginia had 246 black elected officials in 2001, 7.9% of all elected officials in Virgiia, up from 30 officials in 1969.
Despite the large increase in black elected officials since 1969, Virginia and the rest of the South has a long way to go. In 2001 African American elected officials in Alabama represented 17.2% (24% black voting age population), Georgia- 9.3% (26.6% black voting age population), and North Carolina-8.4% (20% black voting age population). With a close to 20% voting age black population, the Virginia Leadership Institute will help Virginia join the states across the nation in working towards increasing African American representation.
One of the most compelling reasons to increase the number of black political representatives is the sign of progress that it means for our country. In a nation that prides itself on being a democracy, for hundreds of years African Americans were enslaved, institutionally lynched, and politically disenfranchised—and treated anything but democratically. Since our founding, African Americans were denied the opportunity to participate in the political process despite the promise that our forefathers made to create a democratic nation.
As America moves closer to that goal, unfortunately Virginia is behind the curve. Thus it is the vision of the Virginia Leadership Institute to help Virginia , “Keep America's Promise.”