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OP-ED: TEACHING LGBTQ+ HISTORY IN SCHOOLS BENEFITS ALL STUDENTS

‘It is impossible to teach a comprehensive course on American or world history without including the contributions and hardships of LGBTQ+ people’

LGBTQ+ history is American history. Teaching students about the contributions to society of LGBTQ+ people like Audre Lorde and Sally Ride is not “indoctrination,” despite claims made in a recent article by The Christian Post about a new New Jersey law that makes LGBTQ+ history a mandatory part of school curriculums.

For many LGBTQ+ students, school is a source of isolation, bullying and, invalidation. Years of research has shown that LGBT+ students face harassment and bullying from their peers at a higher level than other students. This bullying hinders LGBTQ+ students’ ability to learn and leads to heightened levels of depression and suicide.

It is impossible to teach a comprehensive course on American or world history without including the contributions and hardships of LGBTQ+ people. Any lesson on important social movements around the world is incomplete without talking about the continuing push for LGBTQ+ rights worldwide. Lessons on human-rights injustices in history and today cannot be considered comprehensive if they exclude the plights faced by LGBTQ+ people across cultures. Important Black History Month lessons cannot exclude the contributions of LGBTQ+ black Americans like Bayard Rustin, and Marsha P. Johnson.

Read the full article from NJ Spotlight