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Georgia Political Papers and Oral History Program

The Georgia Political Papers and Oral History Program is comprised of over 3,000 linear feet of archival collections, along with an extensive number of oral history interviews, that document the unique political culture of the state of Georgia.

W. Cliff Oxford

W. Cliff Oxford was born and raised in Waycross, Georgia, attended West Georgia College in Carrollton, Georgia and earned his MBA from Emory University in Atlanta. He donated a substantial amount of funding to the Goizueta School of Business at Emory University, which subsequently named its executive MBA program after Oxford. In 1995, he founded Support Technologies Inc., alongside his former wife, ultimately selling the business in 2003. In 2004, Oxford unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Senate.; Interviewed by Dr. Mel Steely and Professor Don Wagner on October 18, 2004 at the UWG-TV studio.; Oxford begins by talking about his family, which he considered working-class, and discusses their involvement with the railroads in Waycross, GA. He speaks of the transition from a rural school system to a state university, noting that the quality of education was not very good. He speaks of the church as a social function during his childhood and of a controversy that had involved an African American woman wanting to attend a local church in his hometown. Oxford divulges that he had an early interest in politics, remembering watching presidential debates on the television as a young man. This interest eventually inspired him to pursue a degree in Political Science at West Georgia College in 1981, where most of his extracurricular activities involved politics in one way or another, eventually leading the campus Young Democrats. He discusses the Democratic Party in Georgia and its lack of cohesion. After graduating from West Georgia College, he began working for UPS and attended Emory University in pursuit of an MBA. In 1996, Oxford was initially encouraged to run against Newt Gingrich for Georgia's 6th Congressional District, but the party ultimately opted for Michael Coles as their candidate instead. Oxford then speaks of his next race for senate, his strategies, and his message. Looking back, Oxford discusses what he would have done differently were he able to run for senate again. He then goes into a discussion on the perception of the differences between the Republican and Democratic identities, as well as how race is still a factor in current politics. Oxford ends by speaking of the need for a strong leader in the state Democratic Party.