| Title | Date Created | Description | Subject | Collection |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VEP Press Release, December 1, 1983 | 1983--12-01 | The Republican incumbent George Israel won the mayoral general election in Macon, Georgia with 44.1% of the city's Black vote, while only 45% of registered voters participated in the election, and White voters overwhelmingly supported Israel. 1 page. | Voter registration, Voting, African Americans--Civil rights, Political participation | Voter Education Project Organizational Records |
| VEP Press Release, November 28, 1983 | 1983-11-28 | Press release from the Voter Education Project regarding analysis of the Mississippi gubernatorial election, which confirmed that Black voters provided the margin of victory for Democrat Bill Allain. Allain received 46% of the white vote, but 84% of the Black vote. Voter turnout was 48%, with 49% of white registrants and 47% of Black registrants voting. The remaining three candidates in the election received only tiny percentages of the vote. 2 pages. | Political participation, African Americans--Civil rights, Voter registration, African Americans--Politics and government, Demographic surveys | Voter Education Project Organizational Records |
| VEP Press Release, November 23, 1983 | 1983--11-23 | The Voter Education Project is hosting a Contemporary Conference on Voting Rights Issues at Virginia Union College, which aims to increase Black voter registration and participation, examine the obstacles to achieving equal Black representation, and discuss strategies for elevating registration and increasing the level of sophistication and staying power of Black registered voters in the state of Virginia and the South. 4 pages. | African American civil rights workers, Voter registration, Voting, African Americans--Civil rights, Political participation | Voter Education Project Organizational Records |
| "Students Answer Jackson's Plea by Registering", November 17, 1983 | 1983-11-17 | Jesse Jackson urged Black students at Albany State College to join his "Rainbow Coalition" and register to vote in the 1984 presidential election, and also spoke to a convention of Black Baptists about the need for economic common ground and the restoration of moral tone in America, while expanding the Democratic Party and criticizing Congress for its refusal to pass a new Equal Rights Amendment and the recent deployment of U.S. cruise missiles in Europe and occupation of Grenada. 1 page. | Groups and organizations, African Americans--Civil rights, Political campaigns, Political participation, Voter registration | Voter Education Project Organizational Records |
| "VEP Report Shows 88 Southern Black Majority Counties: But Political Progress Stalled", November 15, 1983 | 1983--11-15 | A report by the Voter Education Project reveals that 88 counties across the southern United States have Black majority populations, and 65 of those have Black majorities of voting age, yet only 26% of elected officials are Black, which is attributed to persisting barriers to Black voter registration and participation. 2 pages. | African Americans--Georgia--Atlanta, Political participation, African Americans--Politics and government | Voter Education Project Organizational Records |
| VEP Press Release, November 15, 1983 | 1983-11-15 | Press release from the Voter Education Project regarding a report that found that there were 88 counties in the South where Blacks had a majority of the voting age population. However, Blacks only held 26% of the elected offices in these counties. The report attributed this to barriers in Black voter registration and participation, such as inaccessible registration sites, inconvenient hours for registration, and economic threats. The Voter Education Project also announced plans to register 500,000 blacks by the Fall of 1984 in order to increase Black representation in these counties. 2 pages. | Political participation, African Americans--Civil rights, Voter registration, African Americans--Politics and government, Demographic surveys | Voter Education Project Organizational Records |
| "Georgians Not Big on Voting", November 11, 1983 | 1983-11-11 | A recent Census Bureau report revealed that Southerners, particularly Georgians, had lower voter turnout compared to other regions in the United States during the previous year's general election, with only 38.6 percent of Georgia's voting age population reporting that they voted, the fourth lowest turnout among all states and the District of Columbia. 1 page. | Voter registration, Political participation, Voting, Demographic surveys | Voter Education Project Organizational Records |
| VEP Press Release, November 10, 1983 | 1983--11-10 | Louisiana Black voters played a crucial role in electing Governor-elect Edwin Edwards with 93% of their votes in the open primary, and Voter Education Project officials stated that increasing Black voter registration could significantly increase their political power in future elections. 2 pages. | African Americans--Civil rights, Voter registration, Political participation, Political campaigns | Voter Education Project Organizational Records |
| VEP Press Release, November 10, 1983 | 1983-11-10 | Press release from the Voter Education Project reporting that Black voters in Louisiana played a decisive role in the victory of Governor-elect Edwin Edwards. VEP officials said that Edwards received 93% of the Black vote in the open primary, while Republican incumbent David Treen received only 3.2%. VEP also said that Black voter strength in Louisiana could be increased dramatically by the 1984 elections, as almost 50% of Blacks of voting age in Louisiana were not yet registered to vote. 2 pages. | Political participation, African Americans--Civil rights, Voter registration, African Americans--Politics and government, Demographic surveys | Voter Education Project Organizational Records |
| "Grenada, Defending Freedom", November 4, 1983 | 1983-11-04 | Newsletter on Grenada and the strategic importance of the country in the Caribbean. From the Republican National Committee. 4 pages. | Political participation | Voter Education Project Organizational Records |
| "John Lewis Gets Award From VEP", October 28, 1983 | 1983-10-28 | Civil rights activist and Atlanta city councilman John Lewis received the Martin Luther King Jr. Award at the annual Voter Education Project banquet for his work in voter registration and education, and spoke optimistically about the progress towards a biracial democracy in the South, after having been beaten unconscious four times and jailed over 40 times for his civil rights and voter registration efforts. 1 page. | African American civil rights workers, Voter registration, African Americans--Civil rights | Voter Education Project Organizational Records |
| "The Plight of Black Colleges and Universities: The Political Impact", October 27, 1983 | 1983--10-27 | VEP Press Release announcing "The Plight of Black Colleges and Universities: The Political Impact" conference held at the Robert W. Woodruff Library in Atlanta, Georgia on October 28, 1983. The conference will address the threat to historically Black colleges and universities and explore solutions such as merger strategies, converting them into vocational institutions, and increasing voter registration among Black students. 2 pages. | African Americans--Civil rights, African Americans--Georgia--Atlanta, African American students, African American universities and colleges, Special events, Voting, Voter registration | Voter Education Project Organizational Records |
| VEP Press Release, October 26, 1983 | 1983-10-26 | Press release from the Voter Education Project discussing Congressman William Gray's shock and dismay at the U.S. military intervention in Grenada. He said that he was assured by the State Department officials that no military intervention would occur, and that he was concerned about the potential for military confrontation with Cuba and the Soviet Union. Gray also criticized the Reagan administration for isolating Grenada, which he said contributed to the instability of the former Grenadian government. 2 pages. | African American civic leaders, International relations, African Americans--Politics and government | Voter Education Project Organizational Records |
| VEP Press Release, October 24, 1983 | 1983--10-24 | The Voter Education Project's Twenty-First Anniversary Banquet at the Atlanta Omni International Hotel on October 27, 7:30 P.M., will feature Congressman William H. Gray, III as keynote speaker and honor City Councilman John Lewis with the Martin Luther King, Jr. Award for his contributions to the struggle for voting rights and increasing Black voter registration, while the Mexican Tourist Industry and American Airlines will sponsor a door prize at the VEP dinner. 2 pages. | African Americans--Georgia--Atlanta, Political participation, African Americans--Politics and government | Voter Education Project Organizational Records |
| "Voting Project Fills Rolls 21 years", October 23, 1983 | 1983-10-23 | Article on how the VEP has helped register four million Black voters and increase the number of Black elected officials in the South from 72 in 1965 to early 3,000 in recent times, with most of the VEP's budget coming from foundations, grants are made to local groups ranging from $150 to $2,000, and the organization still encounters voter intimidation in some areas. 1 page. | Groups and organizations, Voter registration, Race discrimination | Voter Education Project Organizational Records |
| VEP Press Release, October 19, 1982 | 1983-10-19 | Press release from the Voter Education Project announcing that the percentage of Blacks in the Southern population stabilized at 19.6%, halting the previous trend of a shrinking Black population percentage. This meant that Southern Blacks stabilized their numerical potential to influence elections. However, VEP Executive Director Geraldine Thompson said that the task of converting this numerical strength into more Black elected officials is a "Sisyphean task without vigorous enforcement of the Voting Rights Act." VEP Research Director Richard A. Hudlin stated that there would be more than six times the number of Southern Black elected officials if Blacks were elected at the same rate as their population percentage. 2 pages. | Political participation, African Americans--Civil rights, Voter registration, African Americans--Politics and government, Demographic surveys | Voter Education Project Organizational Records |
| "Congressman Bill Gray Will Address the 21st Annual Dinner", October 14, 1983 | 1983--10-14 | Press release on Bill Gray addressing the 21st dinner of the VEP at the Onmi in Atlanta. 1 page. | African Americans--Georgia--Atlanta, Political participation, African Americans--Politics and government | Voter Education Project Organizational Records |
| "Black Leaders Agonize as Jesse Jackson Ponders Bid", September 11, 1983 | 1983-09-11 | Article on the Black community grappling with the potential benefits and risks of Jesse L. Jackson's candidacy for President of the United States. 2 pages. | African Americans--Politics and government, Political campaigns, Political participation | Voter Education Project Organizational Records |
| "Blacks Registered Substantial Gains in 70, 80 Decade", August 23, 1983 | 1983-08-23 | The U.S. Census Bureau reported significant gains in housing and education for the African American population during the 1970-80 decade, with higher educational attainment, increased school enrollment, and rising homeownership levels, but income levels for Blacks still lagged behind those of Whites, and the gains were later tempered by increased unemployment, divorce rates, and the rise in the number of Black families headed by females, particularly during the economic downturn that began in 1974. 1 page. | African Americans--Housing, African Americans--Education, African Americans--Civil rights, Demographic surveys | Voter Education Project Organizational Records |
| "Only in Georgia: One Man County Governing Boards", July 17, 1983 | 1983--07-17 | The Voter Education Project is seeking state legislators' support to abolish the undemocratic relic of one-person governing boards, which 15% of Georgia's counties still have, and according to a study, this form of county government cannot be found outside Georgia; Georgia's devices such as one-person boards and the requirement of runoffs have a chilling effect on efforts by racial and other minorities to achieve effective representation, and VEP officials argue that this facilitated the one-party system which eliminated Blacks as an effective political force a century ago. 3 pages. | Political participation, Voting, Voter registration, African Americans--Civil rights, Race discrimination | Voter Education Project Organizational Records |
Sep 4, 2020
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
The Voter Education Project (VEP) began in 1962 as part of the Southern Regional Council. Initially VEP granted funds to civil rights organizations to support voter education, voter registration drives, and voting-related research. In 1964, Vernon Jordan, the second executive director of the VEP, expanded the programs goals to include citizenship training, voter education, and leadership training in the southern United States, while continuing to provide funds to independent voter and civil rights groups, including the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and the League of Women Voters. The VEP’s work with the League of Women Voters is highlighted in the materials below. In 1971, VEP under the leadership of John Lewis, became an independent organization and functioned as a research center and became known as an authoritative source for statistics on southern elections and voter registration in general. Lewis also forged the VEP into an activist organization, launching Voter Mobilization Tours with Georgia state legislator and civil rights advocate Julian Bond.
At the AUC Robert W. Woodruff Library we are always striving to improve our digital collections. We welcome additional information about people, places, or events depicted in any of the works in this collection. To submit information, please contact us at DSD@auctr.edu.
