National GLBT History Month is rich in tradition

October is National GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender) History Month. In the 1990s, teachers and community organizations decided that a month should be chosen for GLBT history and the history of the gay civil rights movement. October was chosen because schools are in session and traditions, such as National Coming Out Day, also take part this month.

Equality Forum, a national nonprofit GLBT civil rights organization, took charge of GLBT History Month in 2006. They have created a Web site to promote the project, GLBTHistoryMonth.com.

The Web site states, "GLBT History Month teaches our heritage, provides role models, builds community and makes the civil rights statement of our extraordinary national and international contributions. The GLBT community is the only community worldwide that does not learn its history at home, in public schools or in religious institutions."

The Web site is updated daily, presenting information on GLBT icons - individuals, living or dead, who are selected for their achievements. Included this year are John Amaechi (first NBA player to speak publicly about being gay), Tammy Baldwin (first out lesbian to be elected to the U.S House of Representatives) and Harry Hay (founder of the Mattachine Society, first underground American gay organization).

"GLBT History Month is important to realize because in mainstream education, GLBT figures can't be found for students needing positive role models," said William Hickman, administrative assistant for the Rainbow Center.

"The awareness in the month allows for them to have role models. Here at the Rainbow Center we host lectures about the GLBT history throughout the year," he said.

GLBT history goes back to ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome. In the U.S., the majority of the history occurred in the last 40 years.

The 1960s and 1970s were the start the GLBT civil rights movement. The Stonewall riots of 1969 set the foundation for activism groups and for people to open up about their sexuality. People started to realize they did not have to "stay in the closet" anymore. Many of the first pride parades began in the 1970s, with the first gay pride flag being flown and symbolized in 1978. Harvey Milk became the first openly gay American in a public office in 1978. The first national GLBT rights march on Washington, D.C. was in 1979.

Many other public figures came out in the 1980s, but the movement was halted with the AIDS epidemic. In the battle against AIDS, U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop published the first government publication on gay safer sex practices for the public in 1986. In 1988, "National Coming Out Day" was founded.

GLBT legal action began in the 1990s, creating laws banning sexual orientation discrimination. The fight for same-sex marriage and adoption also began in the 1990s. The "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy went into effect for the U.S. armed forces in 1993. The Matthew Shepard hate crime occurred in 1998 and Transgender Day of Remembrance was founded the same year.

In 2000, civil union law went into effect in Vermont, granting most state-level marriage rights to registered same-sex couples. Other states followed, but it wasn't until May 2004 when the first state, Massachusetts, legalized same-sex marriage. Same-sex marriage has since been legalized in Connecticut, Iowa, New Hampshire and Vermont. The fight for GLBT civil rights still continues today.

The Rainbow Center and the Connecticut Repertory Theater are sponsoring the production "Abraham Lincoln's Big Gay Dance Party" at the end of GLBT History Month with a panel after a production, Hickman added.

For information about GLBT activism or social groups and other events on campus contact the Rainbow Center at rainbowcenter@uconn.edu or visit them in the student union room 403.