This story originally appeared on Out.
“Radical indoctrination.” That’s how the Trump administration refers to the inclusion of LGBTQ+ history in the classroom, national parks, and museums after releasing a number of concerning executive orders that seek to deny the full history of American democracy and erase marginalized communities, particularly transgender and queer people, from the historical narrative.
I call it the bare minimum.
To include LGBTQ+ people in the telling of our history — our full history — is not controversial. It’s just fact! In my work at Family Equality, the leading national organization for current and future LGBTQ+ parents, I’ve come to learn that there are countless LGBTQ+ parents alone who are deeply embedded in our nation’s history.
Parents like:
- Audre Lorde, a self-described “Black, lesbian, feminist, socialist, mother, warrior, and poet,” who bolstered the civil rights and social justice movements with her powerful words.
- Josephine Baker, the first African American woman to star in a major motion picture whose work to aid the French Resistance during World War II helped defeat the Nazis and whose involvement in the civil rights movement even led to Coretta Scott King asking her to take Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s place as the leader of the movement after his assassination.
- And Silvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson, house mothers to countless LGBTQ+ folks whose bravery and advocacy birthed the start of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement in the United States.
That’s just to name a few! There are also a myriad of LGBTQ+ parents whose names are less recognizable to the general public — but no less impactful. There are:
- The gay dads who joined forces at the first national March on Washington for Gay and Lesbian Rights to create the Gay Fathers Coalition — a volunteer network of 160 local chapters that would become Family Equality.
- The LGBTQ+ families who showed up with strollers and protest signs to statehouses from Texas to Florida to testify against harmful legislation that sought to legalize discrimination against LGBTQ+ parents in adoption and foster care.
- The children of LGBTQ+ parents who have bravely spoken out on a national stage to advocate for marriage equality, push back against adoption discrimination, and more.
In fact, just this summer, LGBTQ+ parents and families shared their stories for a friend-of-the-court brief submitted by Family Equality, COLAGE, and Rocky Mountain Equality in the Supreme Court case, St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, a case about whether taxpayer funds can be used to discriminate against four-year-olds. Similar briefs like this have been filed in other important equality cases, earning acknowledgment from Justice Anthony Kennedy during oral arguments in Hollingsworth v. Perry and in the decisions to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act (Windsor v. United States) and establish marriage equality (Obergefell v. Hodges).
In an annual report from 1999, Family Equality’s former Executive Director, C. Ray Drew, wrote about extremists who were attempting to undermine LGBTQ+ progress by painting LGBTQ+ parents in dangerous and harmful ways. He wrote: “Two lesbians or two gay men simply walking into a supermarket with their children can be the strongest political act in our community. [LGBTQ+] parents ‘take back’ what has been denied our community through 30 years of false information from the right wing by becoming parents and visibly organizing.”
We’re not just a part of American history. We are American history: 5 million children being raised by LGBTQ+ parents today creating brighter, better futures for our country by, as Drew put it, simply walking into a supermarket as their full authentic selves.
The Trump administration, and the loud minority of people behind the overwhelming wave of book bans across the U.S., know this. That’s why they’re so determined to keep it from us. Because they understand, as I do, that access to our history — our full history, one that recognizes how the contributions of BIPOC and LGBTQ+ individuals shaped our country into a more perfect union — creates connection, resilience, and power. As a trained archivist, I’ve seen it myself; when we see ourselves reflected accurately in our history, we recognize the role that we play in society’s centuries-long narrative, and we feel empowered to create positive change for the generations to come.
That’s what LGBTQ+ History Month is all about: Celebrating our past, challenging our present, and creating our future. So, before the close of October, take some time to reflect upon the heroes — known and unknown — who have shaped your world for the better. Then, commit to being a part of this legacy in two simple ways:
- Make your voice heard at the polls. Election Day is almost upon us! The quickest and more certain way to change the course of history is to exercise your right to vote. Check your voter registration and make a plan to vote if you haven’t already.
- Sign up to become a Family Equality storyteller and receive access to opportunities to speak up, resources, and trainings.
When the Trump administration called the teaching of our history “radical indoctrination,” they got at least one thing right: We were radical — the centuries of queer ancestors that came before us, living bravely in pursuit of a better tomorrow.
And we are radical — in our hope for a brighter future, in our determination to bring it about.
Let’s get started.
Anna Santa Maria is the director of archives, storytelling, and brand at Family Equality, a national nonprofit that protects and advances freedoms for LGBTQ+ families.
