Equality Virginia records, 1972-2008 M 399 A Collection in Special Collections and Archives, James Branch Cabell Library, Virginia Commonwealth University, Collection
number M 399
Equality Virginia records, 1972-2008, Collection #M 399, Special Collections and Archives, James Branch Cabell Library, Virginia
Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA.
Equality Virginia was founded in 1989 as Virginians for Justice, which served as a statewide, non-partisan education, outreach,
and advocacy organization seeking equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Virginians. The organizational
structure consists of members, advisory councils, board of directors, and the executive committee as well as three task force
groups: Hate Crimes Task Force, Development Task Force, and Legislative Task Force.
When the organization was founded, their immediate goal was to pursue the enactment of legislation that would ban discrimination
on the basis of sexual orientation in all aspects of life. Specific goals included: to reform the ABC laws discriminating
against LGBT establishments, increase penalties for hate crimes, amend the humans rights law to prohibit discrimination based
on sexual orientation, and fight for the rights of victims of the AIDS epidemic. Materials in the collection document strategies
employed by Equality Virginia to forward these goals, including the following: uniting LGBT organizations, educating Virginians,
communicating to the media, lobbying the members of the State General Assembly and other governmental agencies, and encouraging
grassroot response to legislative initiatives.
The organization has had multiple successes in changing Virginia legislation to include equal rights for LGBT Virginians.
These successes include fighting the Virginia Housing Development Authority's "Family Rule" legislation, overturning legislation
that allowed the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Board to revoke liquor licenses for homosexual establishments, along
with defeating legislation that would ban gay adoption in Virginia.
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.
A substantial group of materials pertains to the Virginia Housing Development Authority's "Family Rule" which Equality Virginia
led the fight against, defeating legislation that would have kept LGBT families from qualifying for low-income loans. Researchers
will find content containing materials for potential research in the HIV/AIDS epidemic, LGBT legal rights from 1987 to 2005,
the Bottoms v. Bottoms case, or LGBT hate crimes. The collection also provides insight into the personal beliefs and views
held by Virginia General Assembly candidates during the 1990s through candidate questionnaires conducted by Equality Virginia.
The collection is organized into four series: Series 1: Administrative records, 1988-2008; Series 2: Outreach materials, 1988-2008;
Series 3: Legislative materials, 1972-2008; Series 4: Clippings, 1988-2006.
Efforts have been made to maintain the original file organization. Files are arranged alphabetically in each series and materials
within the files are arranged chronologically where applicable.
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