LGBTQA History Month  

LGBT History Month (October) is different from Pride Month (June).

On the national level, LGBT History month has been celebrated since 1994 and aims to teach and share LGBT history. October was chosen because school is in session at this time and because existing national days of recognition (such as National Coming Out Day) are celebrated in October.

According to lgbthistorymonth.com, “The LGBT community is the only community worldwide that is not taught its history at home, in public schools or in religious institutions. LGBT History Month provides role models, creates community and makes the civil rights statement of our extraordinary national and international contributions.”

At FAU, it was decided to call it “LGBTQA” history month both for consistency’s sake and to acknowledge that queer, questioning and ally individuals have also experienced injustices and continue to be part of the movements working to end these injustices. FAU will be having events that not only continue this education about LGBTQA history, but also continue to foster pride and create that safe and inclusive campus environment that FAU is continually building.

Pride Month (June) is typically when you will find Pride Festivals and Parades in commemoration of the Stonewall Riots and the ensuing marches that took place to increase visibility and awareness. The purposes of the month are similar, but there are differences.

LGBT PRIDE MONTH: A PROCLAMATION 

"Thirty years ago this month, at the Stonewall Inn in New York City, a courageous group of citizens resisted harassment and mistreatment, setting in motion a chain of events that would become known as the Stonewall Uprising and the birth of the modern gay and lesbian civil rights movement. Gays and lesbians, their families and friends, celebrate the anniversary of Stonewall every June in America as Gay and Lesbian Pride Month; and, earlier this month, the National Park Service added the Stonewall Inn, as well as the nearby park and neighborhood streets surrounding it, to the National Register of Historic Places."

Beginning with these words, President William Clinton made the initial proclamation that June of each year is Gay and Lesbian Pride Month.

What is the history of Presidential proclamations for LGBT Pride Month since that time?

President George W. Bush never issued a proclamation commemorating Gay Pride Month. However, President Barack Obama has issued official White House proclamations throughout his term in from 2009 through 2012. His latest proclamation is dated June 1, 2012.

In the News – Stonewall Riots of 1969

Week of June 22, 2009

News Item: Forty years ago on June 28, 1969, the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) movement was born after police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in Greenwich Village, New York. A riot ensued and, according to the New York Times, thirteen people were arrested among the crowd of almost 400 people that had formed near the area to protest the harassment. The following evening, more rioting took place as hundreds of people continued to revolt against the Stonewall raid. Stonewall is commemorated each year in June during Gay Pride celebrations throughout the world. This year, a U.S. Presidential Proclamation was issued declaring June as LGBT Month.

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