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.
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.

For:
  • Geographic Location = Georgia--Atlanta
  • Decade = 1960-1969
Correspondence between Voter Education Project Director Vernon Jordan and Delta Sigma Theta, Inc. Program Assistant Claudette L. Franklin concerning the Social Action luncheon at the Southwest Regional Conference. 1 page.
Correspondence between Vernon Jordan and Geraldine Pitts, a high school student, discussing the concern around voter registration numbers in Auburn. 1 page.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Correspondence Between Vernon E. Jordan, Jr. and Frankie M. Freeman with Delta pamphlet and invitation to speak at the Social Action Luncheon at the Southern Regional Conference. 14 pages.
A newspaper clipping describing the first South wide Conference of Black Elected Officials organized by the Voter Education Project of the Southern Regional Council. 1 page.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
This booklet contains firsthand accounts of Black candidates who ran for various offices in the South, sharing their experiences, strategies, mistakes, and advice on running successful campaigns, with the aim of inspiring and educating readers about the possibility of achieving electoral success as a minority candidate in their own communities. 59 pages.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
A newspaper clipping discussing possible Black candidates for Mayor of Atlanta. 1 page.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Correspondence between Vernon E. Jordan, Jr. and Geraldine P. Woods, National President, thanking Mr. Jordan for accepting the invitation to participate in the Workshop on Practical Politics and Community Organization at the National Convention of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. 1 page.
Correspondence between Vernon and Billie Pfiffner signed Mrs. H.A. thanking Vernon for sending a copy of the Ford Foundation release. 1 page.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
"How to Conduct a Registration Campaign" created by VEP intern and Spelman College sophomore Patricia Collins working in the office of Mayor Irving Allen. 24 pages.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Newspaper articles discussing both apathy and engagement amongst Black voters in Southern elections. Despite instances of apathy, invigoration of Black voters resulted in the defeat of various segregationist candidates. 2 pages.
This study by the Voter Education Project examines the impact of federal examiners and organized registration campaigns, including those supported by the Voter Education Project, on Negro voter registration in Southern counties, with findings showing that counties with both federal examiners and VEP-assisted programs tend to have the highest registration levels, followed by counties with only federal examiners or only VEP programs, while counties with neither tend to have the lowest registration levels, with Georgia as an example of low registration despite the absence of federal examiners, and provides contact information for further inquiries. 9 pages.
Correspondence from Marvin D. Wall to Alex Campbell about a recent piece published by magazine New Republic regarding politics in Alabama. Wall stated in the letter that he was headed to South Carolina for the upcoming primary and would report back to Campbell if any news coverage of the election was needed. 1 page.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Correspondences between Vernon E. Jordan, Jr. and Mrs. Phillip Hammer planning a meeting between the League of Women Voters and Voter Education Project. 2 pages.
Report on enrollment changes in Atlanta public schools from 1965-1966. The Atlanta Board of Education adopted a pupil assignment plan in 1966. The plan required all pupils to complete an application for assignment form for the school year 1966-67. The enrollment trend in each school possibly affected the choices of pupils or their parents. The enrollment changes were also potentially useful in evaluating the effectiveness of the pupil assignment plan in accomplishing the desegregation of the Atlanta public schools. 4 pages.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Correspondence between Vernon Jordan and Billie Pfiffner thanking Mr. Jordan for meeting with Mrs. H.A. Pfiffner. 1 page.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Correspondences between Vernon E. Jordan, Jr. and Claudette L. Franklin requesting Mr. Jordan be featured in an article in The Delta. 2 pages.
Newspaper article discussing the Southern Regional Council's launching of a major voter registration campaign aimed at the two million unregistered African Americans in 11 Southern states. The SRC's program was to be carried out in cooperation with the NAACP, SCLC, SNCC, CORE, and the National Urban League. The goal of the campaign was to register more African Americans to vote and to help them participate in the political process. 2 pages.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
News Release Draft for Atlanta City Hall's first Negro student intern Miss Patricia Collins a sophomore at Spelman College. 6 pages.
Journal entry from Horace T. Ward, a Black candidate who ran for office in Georgia's 39th District. The journal entry details the experience of Ward as he gained local support of various civic engagement organizations and led a successful grassroots campaign. 7 pages.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
A flyer to rally community action to change city council boundaries to improve conditions for Black families in the College Park area of Atlanta. 1 page.