Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions, except for the DVD-R of the panel discussion from Richmond Times-Dispatch. Due to copyright restrictions, the video(s) may not be reproduced or disseminated without the copyright holder's permission.

Access restrictions

The collection is open to research.

Preferred Citation

Betsy Brinson collection, 1974-2013, Collection # M 570, Special Collections and Archives, James Branch Cabell Library, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Betsy Brinson, 2013.

Biographical / Historical Information

Dr. Betsy Brinson is a white woman who grew up in the military in the South. She earned a Bachelor's degree in American History from University of North Carolina Greensboro and a Ph.D. in Women's Studies from the Union for Experimenting Colleges and Universities in Cincinnati, Ohio. Now retired, Brinson dedicated her career and efforts to women's rights, documenting the history of civil rights, community support of HIV/AIDS patients, and anti-war efforts.

Selected examples of Brinson's contributions include: working with a team to conduct and collect over 200 oral histories with civil rights activists through the Kentucky Historical Society, leading to the production of a documentary titled "Living the Story"; working with Richmond AIDS Ministry and recruiting/training primary care doctors on how to care for people with HIV; conducting and collecting oral histories of Richmond people involved in justice work; serving on the board of Quaker House, an anti-war military counseling organization in North Carolina; and volunteering with the Richmond Peace Education Center (RPEC). As part of her work with Richmond Peace Education Center, Brinson helped organize the Eyes Wide Open Project, which displayed books of American soldiers who had died in Iraq. She also worked on the RPEC Truth in Recruitment Project, which aimed to educate high school students on the realities of enlistment in the US Army.

Work history: 1970-1974 - North Carolina American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) 1974-1977 - State director, Virginia ACLU 1977-1981 - Program director, Southern Women's Rights Project 1981-1982 - Executive director, Southerners for Economic Justice 1983-1984 - Community relations director, Richmond, Virginia Branch of YWCA 1982-1998 - Adjunct faculty, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) 1982-1984 - Adjunct faculty, University of Richmond 1982-1986 - Adjunct faculty, Mary Baldwin College 1991-1993 - Assistant professor, Medical College of Virginia (MCV), Dept. of Family Practice 1993-1998 - Assistant professor and program coordinator, MCV, School of Medicine Selected volunteer work: 1982-1984 - Virginia's Commission on the Status of Women 1982-1984 - Executive Board, Virginia Women's Cultural History Project 1982-1986 - VCU Women's Studies Task Force 1990-1991 - Central Virginia AIDS Services and Education and the Richmond AIDS Ministry

Scope and Contents

The Betsy Brinson collection contains materials Brinson collected related to her activism and involvement in various organizations, namely the YWCA and Richmond Peace Education Center. The Richmond Peace Education Center materials include newsletters, as well as planning documents and ephemera for the Eyes Wide Open Project. The YWCA materials mostly include pamphlets, information on a YWCA children's reading program, and news clippings. The collection also contains miscellaneous newsletters and reports produced in Virginia or regionally about women's rights and social justice, pins and buttons that are largely political in nature, and photos from the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt. There are some syllabi and reading packets from Brinson's time teaching at VCU, but the collection largely reflects the organizations and work Brinson was involved with outside of VCU from 1974 to 2013.

Arrangement

Folders are arranged alphabetically.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• American Civil Liberties Union
• Brinson, Betsy
• Iraq War, 2003-2011
• NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt
• Women political activists -- Archives -- Virginia -- Richmond
• YWCA (Richmond, Va.)