Shelby County Schools Earn Secretary of State’s Anne Dallas Dudley Silver Awards for Voter Registration 

May 12, 2025

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett recently announced Booker T. Washington High School, Central High School, Medical District High School, and Whitehaven High School have won the prestigious Anne Dallas Dudley Silver Award for registering at least 85 percent of eligible students to vote. 

“Achieving at least 85 percent voter registration clearly shows Booker T. Washington High School’s, Central High School’s, Medical District High School’s, and Whitehaven High School’s commitment to being committed citizens,” said Secretary Hargett. “We appreciate these students, the faculty, and staff at these schools, and the Shelby County Election Commission for their continued partnership in increasing voter registration within their communities.” 

Forty-one Tennessee schools earned the Anne Dallas Dudley Gold Award, registering 100 percent of eligible students. Eighteen schools earned the Anne Dallas Dudley Silver Award, registering at least 85 percent. 

“We are excited to recognize Booker T. Washington High School, Central High School, Medical District High School, and Whitehaven High School as Anne Dallas Dudley Silver Award Winners,” said Shelby County Administrator of Elections Linda Phillips. “Through their participation in this program and their desire to become civically engaged, they have demonstrated that our future in Shelby County is bright.”

The Anne Dallas Dudley Awards are open to all Tennessee public, charter/private school, and home school associations. This award is named in honor of renowned Tennessee suffragist Anne Dallas Dudley, who helped lead the successful effort to ratify the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. On Aug. 18, 1920, Tennessee became the 36th and final state needed to give women the right to vote. 

For more information about the Anne Dallas Dudley Awards and other civic engagement efforts offered through the Secretary of State’s office, please visit sos.tn.gov/civics.

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