In complying with the 2011 FAIR Education Act, which requires all California K-12 schools to integrate age appropriate, factual information about the roles and positive contributions of LGBT Americans and people with disabilities into their social studies and history classes, the Los Angeles LGBT Center has published the first batch of lesson plans for teachers online at lalgbtcenter.org/lgbthistory. The development of these Out for Safe Schools® lesson plans was made possible in part through the generous support of Toyota.
The lesson plans, many of which include vintage photos and archived media reports, showcase a wide spectrum of topics, events, and individuals considered to be vital in LGBT history, such as civil rights activists Audre Lorde, Harvey Milk, and Bayard Rustin; the Black Cat Tavern Riots; the AIDS crisis; and the concept of “coming out.”
“We are witnessing a pivotal moment in California’s education system—the reality of LGBT people and the struggles and accomplishments of the LGBT movement will not be ignored in our classrooms any longer,” said Center CEO Lorri L. Jean. “By teaching the next generations about the historical contributions of the LGBT community, we are helping to build a safer world for LGBT people and a better world for all.”
These lesson plans are the results of a collaboration among the Center, UCLA History-Geography Project, and the ONE Archives Foundation.
Read more about the cohort of dedicated history educators in the Center’s blog at lgbtnewsnow.org/lgbthistory.
