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
A newspaper clipping describing remarks made by Edith Ingram at 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
Two charts and a graph showing number of precincts, divisions, and voters. 3 pages.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
A woman speaks at a Southern Conference of Black Elected Officials meeting. The podium reads "Dinkler Plaza".
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
A woman speaks at a Southern Conference of Black Elected Officials meeting. The podium reads "Dinkler Plaza".
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Newspaper article discussing the powerful political turnout of Black voters as compared to whites. A political scientist at the University of North Carolina found that a higher percentage of Black people in the South contribute to political campaigns than white people. The study also found that more Black people belong to political organizations than white people in the South. The study was conducted in 27 counties in 11 states and surveyed 618 Black people and 650 white people. 1 page.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
A memo containing Atlanta voter registration figures, two newspaper clippings comparing voter registration figures in Atlanta, and an Atlanta Magazine article entitled "The Militant Mood of Georgia Republicans." 7 pages.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
A newspaper clipping describing a speech given by Vernon Jordan at a Hungry Club Forum meeting, urging Black political participation. 1 page.
National Council for Negro Women VEP Project #3 Signature Card of Johnnie M. Parris, Director and Eva Love Asst. Dir. 2 pages.
Article entitled "NAACP youth force summer program include Georgia" regarding the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) summer Youth Program for voter registration in Atlanta, Georgia. 1 page.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
A newspaper clipping describing the successes of the All Citizens Registration Committee. 1 page.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
The Voter Education Project urges people to attend their statewide Voting Rights Conference at Southern University to address the low voter turnout of Black registered voters in Louisiana, where only 143,000 of 850,000 eligible Black voters voted in the 1982 elections. 1 page.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Draft of press release on upcoming conference on Black colleges and universities. 1 page.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Press release on Bill Gray addressing the 21st dinner of the VEP at the Onmi in Atlanta. 1 page.