J. Franklin Jameson Archival Advocacy Award: West Virginia Feminist Activist Collection Advisory Team

The West Virginia Feminist Activist Collection (WVFAC) Advisory Team is the 2023 recipient of the J. Franklin Jameson Archival Advocacy Award given by the Society of American Archivists (SAA). This award honors an individual, institution, or organization that promotes greater public awareness, appreciation, or support of archival activities or programs.

Inspired to honor the activism by and for women in their home state of West Virginia, Christine Weiss Daugherty, Susan Kelley, Dr. Judith Stitzel, and Carroll Wilkinson formed the WVFAC Advisory Team in 2017. The group initiated the acquisition of important feminist records, including the papers of West Virginia Free, a state-wide reproductive rights organization, and the papers of Lisa Diehl, a West Virginia women's rights advocate. Through their efforts, WVFAC has played a pivotal role in preserving records that tell the story of feminist activism in West Virginia and demonstrating the connection between archives and historical narratives. The team has gone on to raise awareness through public events and virtual presentations demystifying archives and increasing their accessibility to the public. Their events frequently speak to the history of intersectional feminism in the state of West Virginia. As one supporter remarked, the WFAC Advisory team members "have worked to create a more inclusive archival record and educate the public, especially women and activists, to value and preserve their own history."

SAA's J. Franklin Jameson Archival Advocacy Award was established in 1989. Previous recipients include Brad Pomerance, CJ Eastman, and the Council of Independent Colleges' Humanities Research for the Public Good Program; Tempestt Hazel and The Kitchen Sisters; and Yvonne Lewis Holley and Brad Meltzer.