Sarah Leverette Papers

The Leverette collection consists of 19 linear feet of material. Series include General, Topical, Audiovisual, Speeches, Clippings, Vertical File Materials, and Scrapbooks. Within the Topical series, the most extensive subseries pertains to the League of Women Voters, documenting Leverette’s and her colleagues’ work in that organization, including research, discussion, and advocacy efforts on political and governmental issues; outreach and education; and voter service and protection. The earliest papers date from the 1940s, although the bulk of the materials ranges in date from the 1990s through the 2010s. The series includes publications, information about events, minutes of board meetings, and organizational and topical information. The series is primarily made up of materials from the League of Women Voters of South Carolina (LWVSC) although there is, naturally, a significant amount of overlap in the memberships and activities of the state and local Leagues, and Leverette also served as the Columbia League’s State Liaison. As a result, some records relate to the Columbia Area League of Women Voters as well as the state League.
The largest subseries of LWV is the Topical subseries, which documents the League’s research and advocacy of its positions—the process, known as “program planning,” of determining stands on current issues. Then-LWVSC president Barbara Zia wrote in 2012, “In the League, the members determine the positions through study and agreement. Program planning by our members is a unique LWV feature and the grassroots heart of the League.” In part due to Leverette’s longtime leadership role as state contact for the Effective State and Local Government program area, the collection’s best-documented subjects include public education, judicial independence and diversity, voting rights, and ethics in political campaigning and in the government in general.
Education materials document issues including private school vouchers, public school funding, school board governance, and public interest lawsuits in which the League filed amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) briefs. Also present are files relating to the South Carolina School Boards Association’s Friends of Education group, in which Leverette participated as a representative of the LWV. Judiciary materials deal with independence and diversity in South Carolina’s judiciary system and its selection process. In the last decade, the national League conducted an initiative project over the course of several years called Safeguarding U.S. Democracy: Promoting an Independent Judiciary, sometimes known as Quest for a More Diverse Judiciary, to promote awareness of the system. The LWVSC and some of its chapters hosted several conventions and events as part of this project, with Leverette serving as project coordinator for a September 2008 Constitution Day panel discussion about judicial independence and diversity. This event was co-hosted by the South Carolina League and the South Carolina Women Lawyers Association; co-sponsors included many groups in which Leverette was also actively involved, including the American Association of University Women of South Carolina and Common Cause of South Carolina.
Elections and Voting files are extensive, reflecting the League’s emphasis on providing voter education, protection, and service. Documented here are South Carolina’s and other states’ efforts, c. 2010, to enact voter identification laws, and counter-efforts to block these laws; public debate about voting machines and electronic voting; attempts, opposed by the LWV, to outlaw third-party voter registration; and the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA), specifically a project launched in collaboration with Project Vote to investigate and enforce provisions of the NVRA in South Carolina.


Local Government relates mainly to the League’s interest in governance in Richland County and the City of Columbia. Included is information about land use and proposed regulatory takings legislation, a form of eminent domain designed to limit urban sprawl. Leverette served as the incorporator of a non-profit corporation, officially named “The Rich Land Foundation,” alternately referred to as the “Preserve Richland Foundation”; its articles of incorporation, certificate of incorporation, bylaws, and other materials are included. She also served on the Imagine Richland 2020 Comprehensive Plan which was adopted by the Richland County Council in 1999 and whose purpose was to limit urban sprawl and make the best use of available land. Also documented here is the controversial 2013 public vote on a “strong mayor” form of government for Columbia.


The War on Terror materials focus heavily on the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 and include many news articles and commentaries about the original Act, its successors, and related court cases. Leverette gave a number of presentations on the subject, and much of the material, dating from 2001 to 2005, seems to comprise research for her talks.


Legal Profession relates to Leverette’s extensive involvement with the South Carolina Women Lawyers’ Association and the South Carolina Bar Association and Foundation. The SCWLA materials include publications, notes, and information about events and board meetings. Also present are materials related to her work on the South Carolina Bar’s committee for “Memory Hold the Door,” an annual memorial for notable Bar members.


Also present in the Topical series are files on subjects and organizations in which Leverette had an interest. Her activities and affiliations, as documented here, include work with groups concerned with ethical government, women’s issues, and Democratic Party and progressive politics. Leverette’s lifelong interest in, and connection with, the University of South Carolina is shown by materials dating from her law school years forward. The Year Book of the Seldon Society was a School of Law publication; issues in the collection range in date from 1943 to 1948. One issue contains an article written by Leverette about fee simple conditional (an estate in land) and possibility of reverter (a future interest in land).


Family papers include one of the oldest items in the collection, the 1944-56 diary of Leverette’s brother-in-law, Captain Robert I. Lane, chronicling his service with the U.S. Army in Europe during World War II.


Speeches, 1967-2013, (see Appendix I for item-level index) contains drafts and final copies of many of Leverette’s speeches, chiefly on politics, law, and the role of women.


Writings (see Appendix II for item-level index) contains items written by or contributed to by Leverette, including some of her work on the South Carolina Constitutional Revision Committee as the co-author of state constitutional revision procedure.


Audiovisual includes primarily photographs. A DVD shows events, including a LWVSC judicial forum on October 8, 2010.


Clippings, chiefly from The State, cover a variety of topics, some having to do with Leverette herself and others having to do with issues and organizations of interest to her.


Vertical File Materials contain information gathered by SCPC relating to Leverette and may duplicate information already present in the collection.