Exhibit Overview

Black people captured standing in line waiting to vote. Photos such as this were collected as a part of the Voter Education Project's research on Black political participation.

After the Civil Rights Act of 1964 the movement's momentum shifted heavily towards voter registration, and as a result, voter leagues and civic education groups sprouted up all over the south to try and help extend the movement to their small communities. The Voter Education Project is created as a result of this shift, and the resulting need for financial and educational support. Originally formed in 1962 as a branch of the Southern Regional Council, the VEP worked to increase Black political participation through advocacy and education through small grants and financial assistance to Black elected officials. In varying forms the institution existed, in an unfortunately diminishing form, until 1992. 

Voter registration, although initially seen as distracting from the more pressing issue of desegregation by leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, allowed for the early successes of the movement to be protected. The election of federal politicians helped reinforce the Civil Rights Act; moreover, it helped local governments make sure those changes permeated States Rights’.

Once those opposing the Civil Rights Movement began to realize the importance of Black voting power, many attempts were made at the local and federal government level to destabilize the Voting Rights Act of 1965. One of the most effective acts of legislation was the Tax Reform Act of 1969. Click through to learn the effects of the Tax Reform Act on the longevity of the Voter Education Project.