Researching UVA and Charlottesville LGBTQ+ History
Librarian
Special Collections
Information about the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, including hours and the process for requesting and viewing materials in the Reading Room is on their website. You can also find information about donating materials to UVA Special Collections.
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Rita Mae Brown papersLesbian author and activist Rita Mae Brown has lived in Afton, VA, for decades, and UVA Special Collections holds her papers and many of her books.
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LGBTQ Student Center Records, 1990-2017This collection contains documents and other items from the LGBTQ Student Center at UVA.
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UVA Health Historical Research: LGBTQIA Historical ResearchThe UVA Health Sciences Library has put together a guide for researching LGBTQ+ history in their collections, which includes archival material related to the UVA School of Medicine, the UVA hospital, and UVA medical research not available in UVA Special Collections.
Introduction
The University of Virginia and the surrounding Charlottesville/Albemarle County area have long been home to many LGBTQ+ or queer people. The resources on this guide provide a starting point for learning more about this vibrant community.
This guide pulls together resources from a variety of groups and projects, many of which were not created or maintained by the UVA Library. Some resources may be out-of-date, have broken links, or contain outdated or harmful language.
Is there something missing from this guide? Contact Cecelia and she'll add it! Similarly, please contact Cecelia if there is information on this guide relating to you that you would like edited or removed.
Interviews
Several groups and individuals have done oral history interviews with a number of LGBTQ+ people in the Charlottesville area. Interviews are still being conducted - contact Cecelia if you would like to be interviewed or if you can recommend someone who should be interviewed!
Charlottesville Pride interviews conducted by Jenny Mead and Amy-Sarah Marshall in 2019
Charlottesville Queer Oral History Project interviews conducted by Cecelia Parks in 2022-23
Cville Queer History Project interviews conducted by Hestia Haske in 2024-25
Other Primary Sources
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UVA Queer HistoryOnline collection of documents related to queer history at UVA created in 2003. This site is archived and is accessible through the Wayback Machine, so some links may no longer be functional.
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"All the While We Grew Stronger": Queering the UniversityThis digital exhibit about LGBTQ+ groups and individuals was curated by student Chad Kamen in 2020.
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LGBTQ Center Archive11 digitized documents from 1993-1999 related to LGBTQ+ history at UVA.
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Women's Center Archive469 digitized documents related to issues of race, gender, sexuality, and their relation to sexual violence.
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Cavalier Daily articles about LGBT Issues26 digitized articles from UVA's student newspaper, the Cavalier Daily, about LGBTQ+ issues at UVA between 1979 and 1998.
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Discussing Queerness in the Cavalier Daily, 1999-2012A document with a list of articles related to queerness in UVA's student newspaper, the Cavalier Daily, between 1999 and 2012.
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UVA History FileCollected newspaper clippings from local papers on UVA news, organized alphabetically by subject. There is at least one file related to LGBTQ+ issues. A list of subjects is available at the link above. Email library@virginia.edu to make an appointment to use the clippings files, or stop by the Shannon 4th Floor Service and Information Desk. .
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The Boy Beneath My Skin
by
Call Number: HQ77.8.B87 B87 2022Publication Date: 2022This book is the memoir of Charley Burton, a Black trans man from North Garden, VA. Here's his description: For years, I have wanted others to read my story and hear my voice. I do not think that I am a unique person, although my travels in life have been different. But for many, my path will be one that is recognizable. This book is about the many journeys that I have taken to become the man that I am today. From a child born in a small rural town, who at the age of eight knew that I was different, to my path of recovery from drugs, alcohol, and food, and moving into my transition from female to male, this is a story of struggle, disappointment, and triumph. It is a story of digging beneath my skin to become whole. -
Love in America
by
Call Number: PQ2613.R3 Z52413 1994Publication Date: 1994Originally published in 1966 as Terre Lointaine, this book describes author Julian Green's homosexual experiences at UVA in the 1920s.
