Ginny Berson

Ginny Z Berson is a long-time political activist driven by a longing for justice. She was a member of The Furies—a radical lesbian feminist separatist collective in Washington, D.C. that lived and worked collectively to develop lesbian feminist political thought and philosophy. They produced a mostly monthly newspaper, The Furies, that was distributed nationally and had a significant impact on women’s groups all over the U.S. Ginny was a regular contributor and member of the editorial staff. After The Furies broke up, Ginny pulled together a group of women in D.C. to begin visioning and planning what would become Olivia Records, the national women’s record company. She and her partner, the musician Meg Christian, were the initial driving force getting Olivia off the ground. Ginny stayed at Olivia for seven plus years, and during that time the Olivia collective produced records by Meg, Cris Williamson, BeBe K’Roche, Linda Tillery, Teresa Trull, Mary Watkins, a poetry album by Pat Parker and Judy Grahn, and Lesbian Concentrate—a “lesbianthology” in response to a rising wave of homophobia. After leaving Olivia in 1980, Ginny worked for many years in community radio—at KPFA-FM, Pacifica Radio, and the National Federation of Community Broadcasters. She worked as Director of Outreach for World Trust Educational Services, an anti-racist educational organization that produces documentary films, curricula, workshops and trainings. She also does racial equity work in her neighborhood as part of Neighbors for Racial Justice. She is the author of Olivia on the Record: A Radical Experiment in Women's Music (Aunt Lute Books).