By: Sarah Sabino '21
There are over 10 million Americans who identify as LGBT, according to the PEW Research Center. The LGBT community has much more history than people think. The first pride was a riot. Gender expression and gender identity are two different things. New Jersey is the second state to have passed a law requiring middle school and high school students to learn about the social, political, and economic contributions of LGBT individuals. This bill will be effective in the 2020-21 school year.
In 2011, California became the first state to pass a law that required LGBT history to be taught in schools. According to the U.S.News, in 2019, Colorado, New Jersey, and Illinois followed. Even when this bill was passed, many schools hesitated to implement LGBT history and culture into their curriculum. There are still a lot of critics in regards to this bill having passed. Some people believe that, as governor of Barnegat Alfonso Cirulli states, “the government has no right to teach our children morality.” While the Garden State Equality advocacy group argues that “our youth deserve to see how diverse American history truly is and how they can be a part of it one day, too.”
Conversely, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas have the “no pro homo” law. The “no pro homo” is a law that prohibits teachers from talking positively about LGBT individuals. According to Jaime Bruesehoff, whose transgender daughter spoke out in support of the bill, “This bill is so important for our young people. They need to see examples of themselves in history being taught and in classes they are going to each day. We know representation matters.”
The new curriculum in New Jersey for LGBT history consists of 3 basic chapters. Chapter one covers Stonewall, the events that took place and the people that took part in it. Stonewall was a historic event that set in motion the modern gay rights movement. In the second chapter, students are given a flashcard with an important event from LGBT history and are asked as a group to place the cards in chronological order and write articles about this event. The final chapter is a class discussion about Alan Turing, who was an openly-gay British mathematician. Alan Turing is now referred to as the father of modern-day computers. He was also arrested in the 1950s for being openly gay. This curriculum is modeled after California’s curriculum.
This is a milestone for the LGBT community because they’re finally getting the recognition and representation they deserve. LGBT history and inclusion in schools can lead to finally normalizing the LGBT community. Hopefully, these lessons will help LGBT students feel more included and promote acceptance and respect.
