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.
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  • Geographic Location = Tennessee--Memphis
A copy of a newsletter published "in the interests of education of the Negro, labor, and for new ideas from the intelligentsia," with articles describing the war in Vietnam, politician Archie Walter Willis, Jr., and the city's hospitals. 2 pages.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
"The Liberator" Newsletter, September 15, 1968
Date Created
1968-09-15
Description
A copy of a newsletter published "in the interests of education of the Negro, labor, and for new ideas from the intelligentsia," with articles describing the war in Vietnam, politician Archie Walter Willis, Jr., and the city's hospitals. 2 pages.
Subject
African Americans--Civil rights, Race discrimination, African Americans--Politics and government
Collection
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
A copy of a newsletter published as "a Voice for the Negro, for Organized Labor, and the Intelligentsia," with articles describing the sale of public park lands, and a statement made by U.S. Representative Dan Kuykendall, among others. 2 pages.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
"The Liberator" Newsletter, September 7, 1968
Date Created
1968-09-07
Description
A copy of a newsletter published as "a Voice for the Negro, for Organized Labor, and the Intelligentsia," with articles describing the sale of public park lands, and a statement made by U.S. Representative Dan Kuykendall, among others. 2 pages.
Subject
African Americans--Civil rights, Race discrimination, African Americans--Politics and government
Collection
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Report conducted by Jesse H. Turner, then-President of the Memphis Chapter of the NAACP, addressed to Robin Ulmer of the Southern Regional Council and Voter Education Project regarding the Black vote's influence over two Memphis run-off elections in 1967. The study found that the effectiveness of the Black vote dropped sharply in all contests after the top race. Qualified Black candidates could expect little white support in races, except in those token races where the bloc-voting whites felt they should allow Negroes. Neither Blacks nor whites were prepared to accept a Black as head of the city government. The NAACP needed to redouble its efforts to see that Blacks recognize issues in future campaigns and demand their share of the whole loaf. 5 pages.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Analysis of Run-Off Election, November 2, 1967
Date Created
1967-11-02
Description
Report conducted by Jesse H. Turner, then-President of the Memphis Chapter of the NAACP, addressed to Robin Ulmer of the Southern Regional Council and Voter Education Project regarding the Black vote's influence over two Memphis run-off elections in 1967. The study found that the effectiveness of the Black vote dropped sharply in all contests after the top race. Qualified Black candidates could expect little white support in races, except in those token races where the bloc-voting whites felt they should allow Negroes. Neither Blacks nor whites were prepared to accept a Black as head of the city government. The NAACP needed to redouble its efforts to see that Blacks recognize issues in future campaigns and demand their share of the whole loaf. 5 pages.
Subject
Political participation, African Americans--Civil rights, Voter registration, African Americans--Politics and government
Collection
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Campaign pamphlet encouraging Black people to vote for A.W. Willis in the Memphis 1964 mayoral election. The pamphlet utilizes a question and answer format that advocates for Black voters to use the ballot to spur social change. 4 pages.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
"Vote A.W. Willis For Mayor on October 5th" Pamphlet, 1967
Date Created
1967
Description
Campaign pamphlet encouraging Black people to vote for A.W. Willis in the Memphis 1964 mayoral election. The pamphlet utilizes a question and answer format that advocates for Black voters to use the ballot to spur social change. 4 pages.
Subject
Political participation, African Americans--Civil rights, Voter registration, African Americans--Politics and government, Political campaigns
Collection
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
Pamphlet for A.W Willis political campaign for mayor of Memphis, describing Willis' positions on topics like taxation, poverty, and law and order. 2 pages.
Voter Education Project Organizational Records
"The Future Depends On You" Pamphlet, 1967
Date Created
1967
Description
Pamphlet for A.W Willis political campaign for mayor of Memphis, describing Willis' positions on topics like taxation, poverty, and law and order. 2 pages.
Subject
Political participation, African Americans--Civil rights, Voter registration, African Americans--Politics and government, Political campaigns
Collection
Voter Education Project Organizational Records