Beth Marschak
Beth Marschak grew up in a working-class home in Richmond, Virginia. She actively engaged in the social-change movements of the 1960s and ‘70s, such as: the American Civil Rights movement, the women’s liberation movement, the ecology/environmental movement, the peace movement, lesbian rights, and gay liberation. She came out as a lesbian in the early 1970s, openly identifying as a lesbian in her civil rights and human rights activism.
Beth Marschak graduated in 1972 from Westhampton College, University of Richmond, Virginia, with a BA in political science. By that time, she had already helped to start a women’s group on campus in addition to a local chapter of the National Women’s Political Caucus.
She was a member of the Woody Guthrie Community Center and was also actively engaged with SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference) for many marches and other social justice actions, including civil disobedience, for which she got arrested and went to jail. She participated in the organization Gay Awareness in Perspective. In 1975, she helped to found Richmond Lesbian Feminists (RLF), and she remained active in it for decades. RLF is still active today, and they celebrated their 40th anniversary in 2015.
Beth Marschak was instrumental in creating a number of coalition efforts, including the Virginia Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights (VCLGR), and the Richmond Lesbian and Gay Pride Coalition. As a delegate to and representative of the Lesbian Caucus, Beth served on the national steering committee of the National Women’s Political Caucus for sixteen years. She served on the board of the Richmond YWCA (Young Women’s Christian Association) for eight years.
In 1978, Beth Marschak was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to the International Women’s Year Continuing Committee. In 1988, as a Jesse Jackson Delegate, she served as the first “out” Virginia delegate to a national presidential convention.
She organized and led many workshops focusing on the images of women in art, folklore, mythology, science fiction, and graphic novels, including the workshop Seeking Beauty at Pine Camp Arts & Community Center, September 27, 2002. As recent curator at the Iridian Gallery for the Diversity Richmond exhibit, “Truthful History Heals,” referencing Monument Avenue, Beth continues her long-standing commitment to the elimination of racism.
Beth Marschak’s work and advocacy garnered the Richmond Human Rights Coalition Human Rights Award in 1983 and the Richmond YWCA Outstanding Woman of the Year Award in Human Relations in 1990. The Richmond Lesbian and Gay Pride Coalition recognized Beth with awards in 1990, 1993, and 1999. In 2009, she was recognized by Equality Virginia as one of Twenty Outstanding Virginians. She served on Diversity Richmond’s Board of Directors, which she chaired for over four years, leading their community in needs assessment and rebranding. In 2016, Diversity Richmond honored her with the momentous award, the Schall-Townley Recognition for Extraordinary Personal Action.
Beth Marschak continues to be an activist for civil rights and human rights. She coauthored the book, Lesbian and Gay Richmond (2008). On November 1, 2008, she conducted the first bus tour featuring the history of the LGBT community for the Valentine, where she is a master tour guide. http://diversityrichmond.org/news/250-beth-marschak-receives-schall-townley-award.html
See also:
Archives, Richmond Lesbian Feminists. http://www.gayrva.com/tag/richmond-lesbian-feminists/
“Interview with Beth Marschak, Richmond Earth Day Founder,” Oregon Hill, April 21, 2017. https://www.oregonhill.net/2017/04/21/interview-with-beth-marschak-richmond-earth-day-founder/
Kruszewski, Jackie, “Navigating a Secret Life,” RichmondMag, September 21, 2016. https://richmondmagazine.com/news/richmond-history/navigating-a-secret-life/
Kruszewski, Jackie. “Signs of Progress: During LGBT History Month, Richmond Activists Celebrate Gains,” RichmondMag, October 4, 2016. https://richmondmagazine.com/news/richmond-history/signs-of-progress/
Marschak, Beth, and Alex Lorch, Lesbian and Gay Richmond, Charleston SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2008
Marschak, Beth. Oral History, Interviewed in 2019 by Jisu Song and Shira Greer, for the Race & Racism Project at the University of Richmond. 59.47 minutes. Includes video and transcript. https://memory.richmond.edu/exhibits/show/oralhistories/item/3063/
Prentiss, Apryl, “Celebrating 40 years, Richmond Lesbian Feminists were there for the best and worst of times,” www.gayRVA.com, July 18, 2015. http://www.lgbtqnation.com/2015/07/celebrating-40-years-richmond-lesbian-feminists-were-there-for-the-best-and-worst-of-times/
“Rainbow Richmond: LGBTQ History of Richmond, Virginia,” www.outhistory.org, not dated, accessed February 8, 2022. http://www.outhistory.org/exhibits/show/rainbow-richmond/the-beginnings-of-pride/lesbian-feminists/
Richmond Lesbian Feminists, Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/Richmond-Lesbian-Feminists-310820415707969/ accessed 11-18-15
Robertson, Ellen, “Jacqulyn B. Singleton, a co-founder of Richmond Triangle Players, dies.” Richmond Times-Dispatch, posted January 26th, 2014
Sears, James. Rebels, Rubyfruit, and Rhinestones-Queering Space in the Stonewall South, Rutgers University Press, July 30, 2001 [Beth Marschak is interviewed and quoted.]
Shepherd, Suzanne A., “Dignity, Recognition, and Equality: Lesbian Feminists in Richmond, VA, 1974-79,” M.A. thesis, Virginia Commonwealth University, History Department, Richmond, Virginia, December 2007, 88 p.
Shockley, Megan Taylor, Creating a Progressive Commonwealth: Women Activists, Feminism, and the Politics of Social Change in Virginia, 1970s-2000s (Making the Modern South), LSU Press, December 5, 2018. [Beth Marschak is interviewed and quoted many times.]
YouTube excerpts from LGBTQ History, a program sponsored by Diversity Richmond at Triangle Players, July 2, 2014. “Beth Marschak: The Closet Years.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWUGcLnHpQY/
“Disco Fabulous: Beth Marschak.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1AXdSaoa2s/