Betsy Brinson collection of AIDS epidemic exhibit materials

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.

Researchers will find content relating to major HIV/AIDS organizations in Richmond that served the community during the AIDS epidemic along with a detailed history of those organizations. These organizations include the Fan Free Clinic, Richmond AIDS Information Network, Central Virginia Aids Services and Education, along with others. Also found in the collection are interview notes, a booklet from Transformation Retreats, and a laminated newspaper clipping describing the exhibit.

The collection provides insight into how HIV/AIDS has and continues to affect the Central Virginia region, along with the many challenges and hardships that people affected by HIV experienced during the epidemic. A researcher doing research on non-profit organizations, specifically Richmond non-profits, will find this collection to be extremely useful.