The Promotional Campaign; Fancy Friends and Glowing Endorsements
Correspondence from John Lewis to John Wheeler describing the enclosed mailing package to promote the Voter Education Project after the 1969 Tax Reform Act. The package consists of a brochure about VEP campaigns and a letter praising VEP efforts endorsed by Julian Bond, Birch Bayh, Shirley Chisolm, Jacob Javits and Ramsey Clark. The initial letter describes the shift from foundation support and asking for help to distribute the promotional package.
The new tax regulations forced the VEP’s hand. It became more beneficial to separate the Voter Education Project from the Southern Regional Council and to continue operating as the Voter Education Project Inc. John Lewis officially takes the mantle from Vernon Jordan and begins the work of stabilizing the VEP after a huge organizational shift.
Without the philanthropic support from foundations the newly incorporated VEP had to find a new way to raise extra funds in order to remain operational.
John Lewis realized that his name carried a lot of weight. He and other civil rights activists used their reputation to speak to two groups with a specific burgeoning influence throughout their fundraising efforts with the VEP. In 1971 the voting age was lowered to 18 years old, and the elderly were found to be a group with lower registration rates. Julian Bond, a young member of the Georgia senate and civil rights activist, paired up with John Lewis to visit all 11 states of the south. The campaign wasn’t only used to promote voter registration, but also to encourage people to donate to the organization as well.
Listen to this speech from a voter mobilization tour in Alabama. There are two different speaking engagements recorded onto one cassette. One where both John Lewis and Julian Bond both speak and another where Julian Bond speaks by himself. Can you tell the difference between Julian Bond’s tone while giving the same speech to older veterans of the civil rights movement versus the college students of Alabama State University?
The nature of philanthropic institutes' concern was rooted in bipartisanship. If anyone in the non-profit sector was perceived to be advancing a political agenda, there would now be consequences and both grassroot organization and large foundations were under a microscope. To reassert confidence in the non-partisan nature of the VEP, John Lewis got letters of recommendation from both conservative political figures and respected civil rights activists.
Below are various letters of support to be used in the promotional campaign of the Voter Education Project. Who are the different audiences that these public figures would inspire confidence in?
