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 = Louisiana--New Orleans
Newspaper article describing allegations from Black civil rights leaders in New Orleans that the Orleans Parish registrar of voters deliberately purged Blacks from the city's voting rolls. They claimed that the office was unfairly discriminating against Blacks in its annual purge of voters who had not cast ballots in the last two years, or who had moved without notifying the registrar's office of their change of address. They also charged that the office discriminated against Blacks in its choice of locations for branch registration offices, and that Blacks were discriminated against in employment by voter registrars' offices statewide. 1 page.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
A note a accompanying newspaper clippings describing candidates for a school board election in New Orleans, Louisiana. 5 pages.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Newspaper article regarding the Louisiana Advancement Association's criticism of the "disproportionate" number of African Americans in the Louisiana delegation to the 1968 Democratic National Convention. The LAA demanded that the delegation be increased to 30 members, which would give African Americans 12 votes. The proposed delegation only had 10 African American members, which was the equivalent of three and a half votes. The LAA was concerned that the current delegation did not reflect the true demographics of Louisiana, where African Americans make up one-third of the population. The group was also concerned that the lack of African American representation in the delegation could hurt the Democratic Party in the upcoming election. 1 page.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Brochure of Delta Sigma Theta, Inc. with the cooperation of The Center for Human Relations and Community Studies of New York University offers a Pre-Regional Conference Sensitivity Training Workshop with the theme "What Does It Mean to be a Negro Woman in a Black Revolution?". 3 pages.
Correspondence between Vernon E. Jordan, Jr. and Allie Hubert concerning a copy of the vita sheet and a glossy print photo for the Delta Sigma Theta, Inc. program. 1 page.
A copy of a newspaper clipping describing voter registration drives in Mississippi and New Orleans, Louisiana. 1 page.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Newspaper article discussing "Operation Registration" in Lousiana, in which a workshop on the importance of voting in New Orleans kicked off a voter registration drive. The registrar of voters, A. P. Gallinghouse, spoke at the workshop and announced that there were approximately 150,000 people in Orleans Parish who were eligible to vote but were not registered. He also said that his office would open extended hours to help people register to vote. 1 page.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
A flyer to join the fight to improve our neighborhood by getting involved in community programs funded through the War on Poverty. 1 page.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Informational flyer on the Central City Neighborhood Development Center, listing the variety of services offered, like job and youth counseling, and banking. 2 pages.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Article entitled, "Delta Sigma Theta Set Regional Confab in NO" discussing Delta Sigma Theta's regional conference in New Orleans. 2 pages.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records