Robert Flanagan oral history interview, November 10, 1988

Item — othertype: Oral History

Identifier: FlanaganR_19881110_P1988-18

Staff Only

Robert Flanagan oral history interview

Go to file

Scope and Contents

Interviewed by Josephine Bradley. Among topics discussed: Career background; voter registration before and after the Civil Rights Act; the power of a local grand jury; at‑large voting; promoting voter registration; Voter Education Project; the black ministry; black leadership in Georgia; John Lewis; Vernon Jordan; Herman Talmadge; Curtis Atkins; Talmadge's position switch on race issue; Rufus Clement; voter education to combat poll list purges; apathy during Bush‑Dukakis presidential race; how to get a strong black vote without a white backlash; Douglas Wilder; the continuing importance of the Voting Rights Act; "packing" in redistricting precincts; methods to discourage black voting; second run‑offs; Ku Klux Klan; white politicians catering to black vote; modern voter registration; permanent voter registration; one man county commissions; marches in the 1960s; Jesse Jackson's presidential campaigns; NAACP youth program; voter registration drives; fear during the Civil Rights Movement; Ed Brown and southwest Georgia.

Dates

Creation: November 10, 1988

Creator

Flanagan, Robert B., 1929- (Interviewee, Person)

Restrictions on Access

Oral history available for research.

Biographical Note

Robert Flanagan served as the executive director of the NAACP's Atlanta Branch, was the Georgia field director of the NAACP, was president of the Georgia state conference of NAACP Branches, and was on the NAACP national board of directors.