This collection contains the personal papers of Barbara Dickerman relating to her time as community and political activist in Springfield, Illinois. It includes correspondence, notes, reports, meeting minutes, financial records, newsletters, brochures, event fliers, and court records relating to her work on fair housing, civil rights, and gender equality. Records document her work with organizations such as Access to Housing, the League of Women Voters, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Springfield Branch, and the Young Women’s Christian Association. Also of note is Dickerman's work to desegregate Springfield School District #186 and a voting rights lawsuit that eventually led to Springfield changing its form of city government from council to aldermanic. A small portion of the collection relates to Dickerman’s time as a student at Sangamon State University, including personal narratives she wrote during that time.

Arranged alphabetically. Some files contain written notations from Dickerman regarding their contents.