Commemorating Pride began nationally in 1994 when a coalition of education-based organizations designated October as LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) History Month. Today, the more inclusive abbreviation LGBTQ+ is used to refer to the community Pride Month celebrates. The purpose of this commemorative month, as defined by the Library of Congress and reaffirmed by Presidential Proclamations, is to recognize the impact LGBTQ+ "individuals have had on history locally, nationally, and internationally." Pride Month is now observed nationally in June to honor the anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising.
For proclamations and legislation pertaining to this commemoration, visit the Law Library of Congress' Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Pride Month: A Commemorative Observances Legal Research Guide.
Youth in Action: Conversations about Our Future
"Youth in Action: Conversations about Our Future is an online series hosted by the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian. These moderated panel discussions serve as a national platform to amplify the efforts of Native changemakers from across the Western Hemisphere who are engaged in civic and social justice work for Indigenous peoples."
Pride Family Zone from the Smithsonian
GLBT Historical Society "Founded in 1985, the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender (GLBT) Historical Society is recognized internationally as a leader in the field of LGBTQ public history. ...The GLBT Historical Society collects, preserves, exhibits and makes accessible to the public materials and knowledge to support and promote understanding of LGBTQ history, culture and arts in all their diversity."
OutHistory.org "OutHistory.org tells stories about people in the past who identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender; and people who did not conform to dominant norms of sexuality and gender. OutHistory.org uncovers histories of same-gender love and of gender crossing in the recent and distant past, and it tells stories about how people came to experience themselves as heterosexual, homosexual or bisexual through the historical construction of the heterosexual/homosexual binary."
Invisible Histories Project "The Invisible Histories Project is designed to be a repository for the preservation of the history of LGBTQ life first in the state of Alabama and then the entire Southeast. The archive will preserve, collect, and protect the living history of the diversity of the Queer community–both urban and rural. Using the Alabama site as a model, IHP is currently expanding into Mississippi and Georgia with aims to reach the entirety of the Southeast within 10 years."
LGBTQ Oral History Digital Collaboratory Hub A linked list of current & completed oral history projects with a focus on the United States and Canada.
Digital Transgender Archive "The purpose of the Digital Transgender Archive (DTA) is to increase the accessibility of transgender history by providing an online hub for digitized historical materials, born-digital materials, and information on archival holdings throughout the world. Based in Worcester, Massachusetts at the College of the Holy Cross, the DTA is an international collaboration among more than fifty colleges, universities, nonprofit organizations, public libraries, and private collections. By digitally localizing a wide range of trans-related materials, the DTA expands access to trans history for academics and independent researchers alike in order to foster education and dialog concerning trans history.Online Resources"
LGBTQ Religious Archives Network "The LGBTQ Religious Archives Network (LGBT-RAN) is an innovative venture in preserving history and encouraging scholarly study of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) religious movements around the world. LGBTQ-RAN has a two-fold basic purpose. First it assists LGBT religious leaders and groups in determining how best to preserve their records and papers in appropriate repositories. Secondly, LGBTQ-RAN provides an electronic information clearinghouse for these archival collections and other historical data about LGBT religious history for the use of historians, researchers and other interested persons."
Bay Area Reporter Archives "The Bay Area Reporter is the oldest continuously published lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer weekly newspaper in the United States and is the highest circulation publication serving the LGBTQ communities of the San Francisco Bay Area."
The lavender scare: How the federal government purged gay employees From CBS Sunday Morning. The book referenced in this article, "The Lavender Scare: The Cold War Persecution of Gays and Lesbians in the Federal Government" by David K. Johnson, is available at the SJR State Library.
LGBTQ at NYPL "Connecting you with the LGBTQ collections, programs, and expertise that The New York Public Library has to offer." Links to the NYPL's digital collection.
Trans Student Educational Resources (TSER) "Trans Student Educational Resources is a youth-led organization dedicated to transforming the educational environment for trans and gender non-conforming students through advocacy and empowerment. Founded in 2011, it is the only national organization led by trans youth."
LGBTQ History in Government Documents
PRIMARY SOURCE SET: LGBTQ Activism and Contributions from the Library of Congress
Poems & More for LGBTQ Pride Month from poets.org
"An Emmy-winning documentary that traces the political activism behind an equal-rights statute in Miami, and how it galvanized the gay rights movement in Florida and beyond. Directed by Joe Cardona. Narrated by Margot Winick. Produced by Shed Boren of Genesis Fund, Cardona, el Nuevo Herald videographer Jose Iglesias, Miami Herald LGBT issues reporter Steve Rothaus and Miami Herald interactive editor Nancy San Martin. Co-presented by Miami Herald Media Company and WPBT-Channel 2."
SJR State student and poet Kelsey Rogers reads "Red", a poem about the lesbian experience. You will find "Red" and other poetry selections in the book Femme Dyke: And Other Works Pertaining to the Lesbian Experience, an online publication hosted by Femme Dyke Zine.
Explore the rich tradition of LGBTQ poets and poetry through a showcase of audio, video, poetry, and prose curated by poets.org.
Illegal to Be You: Gay History Beyond Stonewall
This website is based on an exhibition that opened at the National Museum of American History in June 2019. Objects pictured here may differ from those currently on view at the museum.
