LGBTQ+ History Month is like any other history month, meant to bring awareness to the history behind the progress of a community that was pushed to the shadows for much of documented history. However, the difference between these minorities is which history chooses to talk about, and the ones it chooses to erase. Members of the LGBTQ community are among those minorities. 

Throughout our lives, history is a constant, it’s a reminder of how far we’ve come as people, and what was done to achieve it. Every member spoken of in history books earned their place there because of their actions to improve life as we know it. Their names and achievements echo until they’re engraved in the path to the future. 

However, so many important people are excluded from history, their moments of pride and accomplishments buried to be forgotten. People like Marsha P. Johnson and Silvia Riveria who helped pave the way for LGBTQ rights are not in our history books. Their actions to shape our society are not talked about, many don’t know who they are, even those within the community themselves. 

“All history is important and is beneficial to develop a full understanding of the world we live in,” said Isabel Stone, teacher.

Others are included in history, with only parts of their lives excluded. Alan Turing is a prime example of this. Turing is known for cracking the Nazi code, leading to the end of World War II. What is not well known is that Turing was a gay man, whose death is believed to be suicide due to his treatment by society when this was revealed. 

While times are changing, our history remains largely unspoken and unacknowledged. While we as a people gain more acknowledgement and acceptance, how we got here is unknown to many. 

LGBTQ+ History shows that being queer is not a phase or a trend. Queer people have been around throughout recorded history, and we won’t disappear nor will we be silenced. 

“Even at our worst times in society, we still refused to break,” said Mave Colecchi, junior.