Collections

The bulk of the collection consists of oral history interviews conducted by Betsy Brinson in 2016 and 2017 with people who volunteered and worked with affected communities in the Richmond area during the height of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s and 1990s. There are seven different interviews on cassette, all about thirty to forty minutes long. The interviews are digitized with links to the files in Series 1.

Papers of Carl Archacki, a Richmond activist for equal rights and an advocate for gay and lesbian support groups, principally consists of clippings, memorandums, photographs, and leaflets concerning Archacki's work as a member of the Sexual Minorities Commission of the Catholic Diocese of Richmond, Dignity / Integrity, the Human Rights Campaign, and the Richmond Pride Coalition.

The materials in this collection range from 1967 to 1995 and include correspondence with local churches and individuals; organizational files from the Commission of Human Sexuality and the Commission on Human Relations, Dignity / Integrity; photographs; and publications that encompass gay activism at local and national levels during the 1970s.

The Equality Virginia records collection includes materials created and acquired by the organization in the course of carrying out its administrative, outreach, and advocacy activities. Materials include minutes, reports, correspondence, bylaws, clippings, newsletters, pamphlets, electronic records, and audio visual materials. The collection is of value as it includes legislative materials and news clippings pertaining to the Bottoms v. Bottoms case, news clippings documenting the HIV/AIDS epidemic, along with clippings of hate crimes that the Virginia LGBT community faced during the 1980s and 1990s. The legislative materials also include the lawsuit against the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control that overturned legislation allowing liquor licenses to be revoked at establishments employing or catering to homosexuals.

Papers, 1984-1993, of Guy M. Kinman, Jr., of Richmond, Virginia, consisting of correspondence, clippings, notes, and a paper written by Scott Barksdale on Guy Kinman titled "Guy Kinman: Leadership in the Gay and Lesbian Movement." Material concerns lesbian and gay rights issues both locally and nationally during the period 1984-1993. Correspondence principally exchanged between Kinman and national, state and local political leaders including Governor Gerald Baliles, then state senator Douglas Wilder, Thomas Bliley, and John Warner concerning gay rights issues. Includes letters concerning debate over gays in the military. There is also an invitation, January 1986, to Kinman for the Gubernatorial Inaugural Ball.

This collection consists of Jeff Trollinger's personal papers documenting the activities of the Richmond diocese's Sexual Minorities Commission and Other Voices Chorus and also includes four scrapbooks of clippings. The organizational materials including minutes, correspondence, membership files, brochures and flyers, policy and incorporation materials, and other assorted records created or acquired in the course of the organizations' operations. The scrapbooks hold clippings of news articles relating to the LGBTQ rights and the community's representation in religious organizations.

This collection is mostly composed of photographic and ephemeral material relating to the various productions that Richmond Triangle Players (RTP) have undertaken from 1993-2007. This includes advertisements, programs, and photos, and reviews. Most of the reviews were done by representatives from either the Richmond Times Dispatch or Style Weekly Magazine. Despite the lack of administrative records, the collection is rich in other ways. There is material related to a broad range of topics, from AIDS and gay/lesbian related issues to local (Richmond) personalities. Some of the first productions staged by RTP dealt with the AIDS crisis; shows like Ten Percent Revue and Lisbon Traviata attempted to shed light on this important aspect of gay experience. Other shows with a focus on AIDS include Elegies for Angels, Punks, and Raging Queens, and Steve Moore's I Never Knew Oz Was in Color.

The collection was compiled by the donor, Walter Foery, a founding member of the VCU Gay Students Alliance organization. The items date from 1974 through 1976 and include correspondence, court documents, newspaper clippings, and magazines. The materials in the collection help document the founding of the student organization at VCU, their efforts to be recognized by VCU as any other student organization, and the lawsuit initiated by the students. The case, Gay Alliance of Students v. Matthews was one of the first LGBTQ+ student organizing cases to reach the federal appellate level. The ruling effectively changed existing law in the five states within the jurisdiction of the Fourth District Circuit: Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and West Virginia.