LGBTQIA+ Recognition and Respect

The October calendar highlights some important dates for LGBTQIA+ community and allies. Today, October 16, is International Pronouns Day, celebrated on the third Wednesday of October as a day dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of respecting individuals' chosen pronouns and fostering an inclusive environment for all.

And this past Friday was National Coming Out Day an annual observance celebrating and supporting individuals in the LGBTQ+ community as they share their authentic selves with the world, raise awareness about the importance of coming out, challenge stereotypes and prejudices, and promote acceptance and inclusion.

Today is also halfway through October's celebration LGBTQIA+ History Month, annual month-long observance that provides role models, builds community, and represents a civil rights statement about the invaluable contributions of the LGBTQIA+ community.

Founded in 1994 by Rodney Wilson, a gay history teacher from rural Missouri, LGBTQ History Month was declared a national history month by President Barack Obama in 2009. This celebration coincides with National Coming Out Day (October 11) and commemorates the first and second marches on Washington for LGBTQ rights in 1979 and 1987.

PFLAG has put together a toolbox for the month at: Don't Know Much About LGBTQ History?: The Ultimate LGBTQ History and Culture Extravaganza, and in this video, you can see Rodney Wilson talking about how he first raised this topic with his students in a lesson about the Holocaust. He showed them a poster of Nazi-era badges and pointed to the pink triangle, saying that as a gay person, he would have been forced to wear one by the Nazis.

NOW members know that there is a line that connects all oppression against humanity, whether it's based on religion, gender, ethnicity, color or belief. As a rights organization, NOW will always defend the rights that everyone must equally enjoy to define themselves, live their full lives, and enjoy every opportunity, free from discrimination, systemic oppression, violence and abuse.