Julia Dawson is a feminist activist and retired lawyer born and raised in Miami, Florida. Through correspondence, documents, ephemera, and other records, this collection documents Dawson's activism, organizational work, and campaigns from the 1970s through the 2010s around feminism, civil rights, and LGBTQ+ rights. Organizations and campaigns represented in this collection include: National Organization for Women (NOW); Dade County Chapter of the Florida Association for Women Lawyers; SAVE Dade (LGBTQ+ rights activism); American Civil Liberties Union Miami Chapter (ACLU), including the ACLU Miami Chapter’s Police Practices Committee (PPC); Miami Clinic Access Project (reproductive rights); Miami Workers Center (MWC); and Serve the People.

This collection contains materials regarding University of Miami Women's Equity initiatives. Materials housed within the collection include the following: news articles, correspondence, bibliographies, curriculums, reports, evaluations, brochures, guides, newsletters, programs, inventories, surveys, publications, and audio-visual materials (audiocassettes, beta max tapes, reel-to-reel tapes).