The Vivion Lenon Brewer Papers include material from 1947 to 1991, with most items dating from 1956 to 1965. The collection contains biographical material, including her 1973 typescript account of the fight for integration, "The Embattled Ladies of Little Rock" (published in 1998), and other writings, clippings, and photographs; correspondence; organizational material from the Women's Emergency Committee to Open Our Schools; subject files; and printed material related to segregation.

Major subjects reflected in the collection include the school desegregation crisis in Arkansas and other Southern states, the Civil Rights movement in the U.S., the activities of white racists in the U.S., and the history of Little Rock, Arkansas. Organizations represented include the American Association of University Women, the League of Women Voters, and the Women's Emergency Committee to Open Our Schools, as well as numerous local political and charitable organizations through which Vivion Brewer worked to aid the African-American population of Little Rock. The papers shed some light on Vivion Brewer's life; they also offer insight into larger questions about the motives and experiences of white Southerners who defied their culture by opposing racism and segregation.

This collection is organized into four series:

• I. Biographical Materials
• II. Correspondence
• III. Organizations and Activities
• IV. Subject Files
• Oversize Materials
• Books on Shelf