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A pride flag painted on a brick wall

LGBTQ+ History Month (October 1 to 30) celebrates the many diverse contributions of the LGBTQ+ community. The month was founded in 1994 by Rodney Wilson, a gay history teacher from rural Missouri and declared a national history month in 2009 by President Obama. 

For our "Community Voices" submission about this month, Jess Collins -- a 2017 graduate of Alameda High School, Office Specialist in our Teaching & Learning Department, and member of AUSD's LGBTQ Round Table - writes about common misconceptions about LGBTQ+ history, as well as the contributions of several more prominent LGBTQ+ people.

"As we near the end of LGBTQ+ history month, I want to inform you about some common misconceptions of LGBTQ+ history that we often see in the media. A better understanding of LGBTQ+ history will help all of us better understand the power and diversity of the LGBTQ+ movement.

The popular narrative would have you believe that the LGBTQ+ rights movement started with the Stonewall Riots in June 1969. Even though this was a significant part of the LGBTQ+ rights movement, this was not the first riot.

The first known riot of LGBTQ+ people resisting police harassment is the Compton Cafeteria Riots that took place in San Francisco in 1966. Police raids happened frequently to arrest drag queens and trans women for “female impersonation”. At this point in time, it was illegal to wear 3 or more items of clothing that were assigned to the “opposite sex”. It could be as simple as wearing a shirt with the buttons on the wrong side. In this particular incident, a police officer grabbed a drag queen and she threw coffee at him, inciting the riot.

Another misconception that is promoted by the media and popular culture throughout the years is that white gay men are solely responsible for the LGBTQ+ rights movement, but this is not the case. While many influential white gay men played key roles in the LGBTQ+ movement over the years, the movement’s beginnings are credited to transgender people of color. In both of the riots mentioned above, trans women and drag queens, most of whom were people of color, were at the forefront of these riots and do not get the recognition they deserve. Martha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera,both trans women of color, were prominent figures in the Stonewall riots and paved the way for the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement.

Not only is it important to learn the history of the LGBTQ+ rights movement, but it is also important to learn about LGBTQ+ people throughout history. 

Some influential people that you might not have known where LGBTQ+ are:

  • Gladys Bentley (1907-1960), a Black lesbian blues artist during the Harlem Renaissance and was known for wearing a top hat and suit. 
  • James Baldwin(1924-1987), a famous writer who wrote about his Black queer identity.
  • Andy Warhol (1928-1987), a famous artist known for painting Campbell's soup cans. 
  • Quinn (1995 - present), a soccer player for the National Women’s Soccer League and Canada’s national team and the first out non-binary athlete to win a gold medal at the Olympics.

These are just a few people in a short time in history that are known as being queer. If this history is new to you, I hope that this will make you interested in continuing your own research to learn more about the LGBTQ+ rights movement, LGBTQ+ people throughout history, and other social justice movements."