By Kayla Heiserman ’20, staff writer
October is LGBT History Month, a month-long observance offering opportunities for LGBTQ+ youth to get to know role models and build community; LVC observes the month as the College reflects on the importance of inclusivity and diversity.
The yearly celebration of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer history looks at events such as the Stonewall Riots, the AIDS crisis, the Pulse Nightclub shooting and other important milestones in LGBTQ+ history.
“It gives people outside of the LGBTQ community the opportunity to fully understand what we are all about and how the community has become such a positive light for all,” AJ Johnson, a junior criminal justice major, said. “What this month means for me is that I have the freedom to learn more about my sexuality and to learn more about myself as I grow.”
It also represents a statement of support for the LGBTQ+ community, whose history too often gets blotted out from learning environments.
“LGBT History Month is important because a lot of times LGBT history is overlooked or erased,” Aly Richards, a freshman music production major, said.“People do not want to talk about us existing, and having history forces people to acknowledge the fact that yes we do exist.”
October was chosen to be LGBT History Month because it coincides with National Coming Out Day on Oct. 11. October is also the anniversary of the Second March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights in 1987 and the First March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation in 1993.
The week of October 21-27 is Asexual Awareness Week. The week is an international campaign that seeks to educate about asexual, aromantic, demisexual and gray-asexual experiences. It works to provide visibility, support and understanding to a marginalized and often forgotten portion of the LGBTQ+ community.