October is heralded for bringing us Halloween and cooler weather. It is also important for another, lesser known reason: LGBTQ+ History Month.
LGBTQ+ History Month was first held in October 1994 after a secondary school instructor from Missouri named Rodney Wilson wanted to celebrate the month with other educators.
The purpose of the month is to highlight the contributions of LGBTQ+ individuals to our society, in addition to honoring past leaders and activists. It is important to examine the rich history of the LGBTQ+ community and reflect on the work still to be done to ensure a more inclusive and equitable future for our nation.
The Gay Rights Movement began in the early 1950s, when gay men and lesbians began forming organizations to advocate for gay rights and societal tolerance. The Mattachine Society, founded by Harry Hay in 1950 in Los Angeles, was one of the first organizations for gay men. The Daughters of Bilitis, an organization founded by Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin in 1955 in San Francisco, advocated for lesbians and women.
By the 1960s, numerous organizations and protests in favor of LGBTQ+ rights had developed and become much more visible. During the Civil Rights Movement, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was closely advised by a man named Bayard Rustin. Rustin was an openly gay man who is credited as an integral organizer of the 1963 March on Washington and a staunch gay rights advocate. On July 4, 1965, protesters led by Frank Kameny and Barbara Gittings converged on Philadelphia to march in what would later be known as the “Annual Reminders” in favor of gay rights. The protests occurred each year on that date until 1969.
The Gay Rights Movement exploded into the national spotlight following the riots at the Stonewall Inn in New York City. City police raided the Stonewall Inn — a well known gay bar and LGBTQ+ community hotspot — on June 28, 1969. Following the raid, protestors rioted for nearly a week, and the event was celebrated each year afterwards with gay pride parades.
Gay rights icon Harvey Milk became one of the first openly gay elected officials in the nation when he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. His assassination the following year galvanized support for the Gay Rights Movement.
In 1998, the brutal death of 21-year-old college student Matthew Shepard, a gay man killed because of his sexual orientation, changed the debate surrounding LGBTQ+ rights. “The Laramie Project” and an expansion of hate crime laws to cover the LGBTQ+ community were some of the results of this shift in national discourse.
In more modern times, Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin became the first openly gay member of the U.S. Senate in 2012, and President Barack Obama became the first sitting U.S. President to support same-sex marriage the same year.
These figures, among many others, advocated for a better future for all Americans and tirelessly pushed for the end of societal intolerance of difference. While our nation has come a long way, there is still much work to be done to further LGBTQ+ rights. This month, I encourage you to engage with LGBTQ+ history, historical figures and current leaders to learn more about the rich diversity and meaningful impact of the community on our nation’s history.
Levi Bevis is a senior public policy leadership major from Florence, Alabama.
