vircu00221Marschak, Beth Richmond lesbian activist collection, 1971-2004A Guide to the Beth Marschak Richmond lesbian activist collection, 1971-2004 M 601A collection in Special Collections and Archives, James Branch Cabell Library, Virginia Commonwealth University, M 601.Juniper Paiusco, intern in Special Collections & Archives and Keahi AdolphoVCU James Branch Cabell Library

2026 by Virginia Commonwealth University. CC-BY-NC 4.0

Special Collections and Archives 901 Park AvenueRichmond, Virginia 23284Business Number: (804) 828-1108libsca@vcu.eduURL:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2026-06-23 20:00:38 -0400.Description is written in: English, Latin script.Describing Archives: A Content Standard VCU James Branch Cabell Library Beth Marschak Richmond lesbian activist collection Marschak, Beth M 601 /repositories/5/resources/676 0.21 Linear Feet 1 half-size legal document box 1971-2004 English 1 Access restrictions

The collection is open to research.

 Acquisition Information

Gift of Beth Marschak, February 2007.

 Arrangement

Folders are arranged alphabetically, and chronologically for material within folders.

 Biographical Information - Beth Marschak

Romayne Elizabeth (Beth) Marschak was born in Pennsylvania and grew up in Richmond, Virginia, in Lakeside and the far west end of the city. She graduated from Westhampton College, University of Richmond, with a BA in political science in 1972. While at University of Richmond, Beth started a local chapter of the National Women's Political Caucus, engaged with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference through marches and other actions, and was an active member of the Woody Guthrie Community Center. Beth was one of the founders of the Richmond Lesbian-Feminists in 1975, and helped found the Virginia Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights and the Richmond Lesbian and Gay Pride Coalition. She served on the National Steering Committee of the National Women's Political Caucus for 16 years, originally starting as a representative of the Lesbian Caucus; the Board of the Richmond YWCA for 8 years; in 1978 was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to the International Women's Year Continuing Committee; and in 1988 was the first out Virignia delegate to a national presidential convention.

Due to her activism and advocacy, Beth was awarded the Richmond Human Rights Coalition Human Rights Award in 1983; the Richmond YWCA Outstanding Woman of the Year Award in Human Relations in 1990; won awards from the Richmond Lesbian and Gay Pride Coalition in 1990, 1993, and 1999; and was named one of the 20 Outstanding Virginians by Equality Virginia in 2009.

Beth was an LGBTQ+ historian and co-authored the book Lesbian and Gay Richmond, published in 2008.[1] She worked for over two decades at the Virginia Department of Health (VDH), originally as a Hotline Counselor and later as a Contract Administrator. She also oversaw the free condom program for most of her time at VDH, which distributes over half a million free condoms each year. She passed away on June 3, 2026.[2]
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1 - "Beth Marschak," Race and Racism Project - Oral Histories, University of Richmond, June 1, 2019, https://raceandracism.richmond.edu/oralHistory/MarschakBeth 2 - Ryan Nadeau, "Beloved Richmond historian, LGBTQ+ activist dies," WRIC+, June 5, 2026, https://www.wric.com/news/local-news/richmond/romayne-beth-marschak-obituary-june-3/

 Preferred Citation

Beth Marschak Richmond lesbian activist collection, 1971-2004, Collection # M 601, Special Collections and Archives, James Branch Cabell Library, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA.

 Content Description

The Beth Marschak Richmond lesbian activist collection consists of news clippings related to LGBT activism and issues in Richmond, Virginia, including a photocopy of a scrapbook of clippings collected by Barbara Weinstock; Richmond Lesbian-Feminists Flyer newsletters and correspondence; and ephemera related to women's and LGBT activism and events in Richmond, Virginia.

 Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

 Marschak, Beth Barbara Weinstock scrapbook of news clippings on history of LGBT issues (1/2)/repositories/5/archival_objects/787331971-199011Barbara Weinstock scrapbook of news clippings on history of LGBT issues (2/2)/repositories/5/archival_objects/787341990-199812LGBT and Women's activist groups - Correspondence, event ephemera/repositories/5/archival_objects/787351981-2004, Undated13News clippings of LGBT issues and people/repositories/5/archival_objects/787361975-200414Richmond Lesbian-Feminists - Flyer, correspondence/repositories/5/archival_objects/787371981-1984, Undated15Women's Center - Women's Pages flyer/repositories/5/archival_objects/787381974-1975, Undated16