Celebrating 27 Years of LGBT History Month Posted Tuesday, October 19, 2021 @ 1:30 PM The month of October is LGBT History Month. This is the 27th consecutive year of celebration and, if you are like most folks, it may easily be confused with Pride Month since LGBT History Month has historically been observed in the field of education and is a relatively younger celebration (Seager, 2011). Pride Month, which is celebrated in June each year, began in 1970 to commemorate the previous summer’s riots at the Stonewall Inn in Manhattan (Library of Congress, n.d.). The month was not formally declared a national observance until 1999 when it was declared by President Bill Clinton as Gay and Lesbian Pride Month and expanded to include more identities by President Barack Obama in 2011 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month (Lee, 2021). LGBT History Month, however, was not observed until 1994, when a high school history teacher in Missouri designated October as a time to teach his students and the General Assembly of the National Education Association quickly passed a resolution to recognize this as well (Library of Congress, n.d.). While the June’s Stonewall uprising is typically viewed as the most significant event in American history for inspiring LGBTQ liberation, October’s LGBT History Month also includes National Coming Out Day (October 11), the anniversary of the first National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights (October 14, 1979) and the anniversary of the murder of Matthew Shepard (October 12, 1998) which led to the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act over a decade later (Seager, 2011). The purpose of the celebration still includes both a call to action and an educational highlight of the role models from the LGBT community. Currently, there is still much advocacy needed to widely integrate this history into school curriculum. Locally, both months remain quite relevant in Central Florida. Pride Month is celebrated at Walt Disney World in early June with “Share Your Pride” and the 49 lives taken at Pulse nightclub are remembered on June 12 during Orlando United Day (Lee, 2021). Orlando’s largest celebration, “Come Out with Pride,” takes place at Lake Eola in early October alongside the National Trans Visibility March (Lee, 2021). If you are looking to learn more, consider the following resources: LGBTQ History Museum of Central Florida The Library of Congress UCF Today If you are looking for ways to advocate locally for LGBTQ colleagues and students, consider the following: UCF Safe Zone Series UCF Pride Faculty and Staff Association Central Florida Gay & Lesbian Law Association DID YOU KNOW? UCF alumna Chelsea Wolfe served as Grand Marshall for the 2021 Come Out with Pride Parade. DID YOU KNOW? The city of Orlando has submitted a bid to be considered to host World Pride 2026. Recent hosts have included Copenhagen, New York City, and Madrid. References Lee, J. M. (2021, June 1). Why do we celebrate pride month in June and LGBT history month in October? UCF Today. https://www.ucf.edu/news/why-do-we-celebrate-pride-month-in-june-and-lgbt-history-month-in-october/ Library of Congress (n.d.). About. Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/lgbt-pride-month/about/ Seager, I. (2011, October 3). Celebrate LGBT History Month. Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. https://www.glaad.org/blog/celebrate-lgbt-history-month Back