LGBTQ History Month
This educational month highlights the contributions of LGBTQ+ people throughout history.
This educational month highlights the contributions of LGBTQ+ people throughout history.
Nathaniel Glanzman
Reviewer URLDate: October
This educational month highlights the contributions of LGBTQ+ people throughout history.
Origin
LGBTQ+ History Month was created by Rodney Wilson, the first openly-gay high school teacher in the state of Missouri, in 1994. Wilson came out to his class during a lesson on the Holocaust as a way to underline the threat the Nazi regime held to LGBTQ people. As Wilson wrote in 2015 for The Advocate, "LGBT history gave me self-confidence as a gay person and strengthened my resolve to live, as best I could, an honest, open, and integrated life. It gave me a deeper sense of place and potential."
In 1995, the General Assembly of the National Education Association passed a resolution in support of LGBTQ History Month. October was chosen as LGBTQ+ History Month to coincide with National Coming Out Day on October 11th.
Today, LGBTQ+ history is a curriculum requirement in only four states: California, Colorado, New Jersey and Illinois. In 2011, California passed the first law that required inclusion of LGBTQ+ history in social studies classes.
Who observes this holiday
This holiday is mainly observed by those in education. GLSEN provides a host of K-12 teaching tools about LGBTQ+ history.
Non-profits, like the Human Rights Campaign, also acknowledge and celebrate the month.
Traditions
There are a host of school-focused traditions that occur during October. Spirit Day, which occurs on annually on the third Thursday of October, encourages students to wear purple in support of LGBTQ+ students and against anti-gay bullying.
Some schools may also hold events or utilize resources commemorating Matthew Shepard, who was attacked in an anti-gay hate crime on October 7, 1998. Shepard later died from the attack on October 12. The Laramie Project, a play focused on reactions from real residents of Laramie, Wyoming about the death of Matthew Shepard, has been performed more than 2,000 times.