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'We've always been there': LGBTQ History Month highlights key trailblazers, past and present

Susan B. Anthony was a legendary crusader for women’s right to vote.

W.H. Auden’s brilliant verse transformed poetry in the 20th century.

Stacey Milbern’s relentless work for disability justice uplifted lives for many without a voice.

Ritchie Torres, once the youngest elected official in New York City history, is now a freshman in Congress, battling daily for his Bronx district.

Anthony, Auden, Milbern and Torres have notched pages in the history books as trailblazing leaders. And they have something else in common: They are among 31 LGBTQ icons being honored as LGBTQ History Month launches Friday.

The month, the brainchild of a Missouri high school teacher in 1994, provides an opportunity to teach and toast LGBTQ heritage. Every day in October one LGBTQ individual’s achievements are spotlighted by the civil rights group the Equality Forum.

It is critical to give perspective on LGBTQ figures in the past and present, particularly for young people trying to find their roots, said Cathy Renna, communications director for the National LGBTQ Task Force.

“Our history is a part of American history, world history,” Renna said. ““LGBTQ people aren’t born into their community. We don’t have those representations and stories from when we are very young.”

Young people look at history to know themselves better, to cultivate role models, to learn life lessons, Renna said. “We are fed a very specific diet of history in this country that is not inclusive … and in some cases leaves out critical analysis of things that shouldn’t be ignored.”

Rainbow flags adorn the Stonewall National Monument, the first U.S. national monument dedicated to LGBTQ history and rights, in New York City.
Rainbow flags adorn the Stonewall National Monument, the first U.S. national monument dedicated to LGBTQ history and rights, in New York City.

Opening the eyes of LGBTQ young people

John D’Emilio, a professor emeritus at the University of Illinois at Chicago, recalls coming to terms with his identity in the 1960s when the phrase “gay history” didn’t even exist.

When D’Emilio was studying U.S. history in grad school in the 1970s, a friend told him about a meeting of people who were exploring research that could benefit the fight for LGBTQ equality.

The meeting led to a larger movement, and D’Emilio wrote his dissertation on homosexuality – launching him on a path to becoming a pioneer himself, chronicling LGBTQ history and activism for more than four decades.

In 2021, it’s crucial to acknowledge this history, D’Emilo said. “Even though we are living at a time where there is a lot of visibility in the present for LGBTQ people – the mayor of Chicago is a black lesbian, Pete Buttigieg ran for president, Ellen is on TV everyday – the history gives one a sense of being part of a longer story. We’ve always been there in some way or another. We made contributions that are important, that one can be proud of.”

Many young LGBTQ people are often not aware of the legacy of their community, D’Emilo said.

Workshops he has given in high schools and middle schools were eye-openers: D’Emilio would share a piece of history – such as the fact that the organizer of the 1963 March on Washington was a gay Black man – and he would watch as the youths absorbed the reality. “You could just tell how taken and awestruck the students were in learning there were famous and important LGBTQ people.”

Lessons for LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ students alike

Relaying that history to the young can be a challenge. Only six states have passed bills requiring LGBTQ inclusive curriculums for grades K-12, according to education organization GLSEN. California was the first in 2011. New Jersey, the second in 2019, became the first to require inclusive teaching in all subject areas.

New Jersey’s curriculum went into effect in the 2020-2021 school year in the midst of a roaring pandemic. But “in what has been an unprecedented year for schools, we absolutely see the benefits of including those lessons,” said Christian Fuscarino, executive director of Garden State Equality, the state’s largest LGBTQ advocacy and education organization.

Every middle and high school in the state started integrating inclusive topics aided by detailed lesson plans created by GSE in line with state and federal education standards – from English to math, science to social studies, performing arts to world languages, Fuscarino said.

The curriculums are paying off by promoting tolerance and acceptance for all students, Fuscarino said.

“When LGBTQ youths see themselves reflected in their classrooms, they develop stronger confidence," he said. "When non-LGBTQ youths see LGBTQ people reflected in lessons they understand that the one gay kid in their class isn’t as strange as they initially thought.”

Helping youths see 'protagonists living their stories'

LGBTQ youths can struggle with suicidal thoughts, anxiety, depression, substance abuse and more, said Joe English, founder of Hope in a Box.

Inclusive curriculums inspire positive trends, he said: Self-esteem grows, grades rise, students are less likely to hear homophobic remarks or experience physical harm.

Hope in a Box provides public school educators with LGBTQ-inclusive books, curriculums, training and mentorship. The organization has the most extensive library of LGBTQ-inclusive curriculums in the U.S., English said, serving 70,000 students in all 50 states.

“We have a very simple vision: Every single student deserves to feel safe in school,” English said. “Literature is the core of our program. We believe students have the greatest opportunities when protagonists are living their stories.”

Demand for Hope in the Box curriculums exploded as the pandemic raged on, English said.

“A lot of students were isolated from support networks or confined to homes where they are not out of the closet. Having school be a refuge where they have role models and have support, where they can truly be themselves, makes a huge difference,” he said.

A duty to create 'this first draft of history'

Tracy Baim has been documenting LGBTQ history for more than 35 years, first as co-founder of the Windy City Times, now as president and co-publisher of the Chicago Reader newspaper.

She recalls being a young journalist at the start of the HIV/AIDs epidemic in Chicago. “I was a 21-year-old popped into a war zone, and you are telling the stories no one else is telling.”

First there were fewer than 100 AIDS cases in the city, Baim said, but soon the numbers ballooned and obituaries became the way lives came to light. “I knew how important it was to create this first draft of history… so history would know their names,” she said. “I knew that headlines and newspapers and front pages were our story to tell.”

Illinois passed an inclusive curriculum in 2019 that also went into effect last year. More needs to be done in the community and beyond, Baim said, but broadening school curriculums is a huge step in the right direction.

Many LGBTQ young people “don’t know who their tribe is yet,” she said. But “if they find out about one person who was an incredible warrior, a role model, it’s a bridge to safety.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: LGBTQ History Month: Susan B. Anthony, Auden, Milbern, Torres and more