The Ohio University LGBT Center is gearing up for a month full of activities, celebrating and honoring LGBT History Month.
“For many generations, LGBTQIA (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, intersex, asexual) people have been silenced,” said Sarah Tucker Jenkins, LGBT Center program coordinator in an email. “Because of this LGBTQIA folks live in fear for their own safety and their livelihood. Everyone deserves to feel safe and be respected.”
Jenkins said the celebration of the month is to have a voice for those who didn’t and who still don’t.
“Celebrating LGBT History month is our way to making up for the many, many years that people have been forced to hide who they are,” Jenkins said. “And many people are still forced to be in hiding because they cannot tell their parents or their loved ones who they are without fear of losing their homes.”
Delfin Bautista, LGBT Center director, said the center is planning to kick its programming up a notch for this special month.
“It’s somewhat business as usual, but at a more intense level,” Bautista said. “We’re (finding) a connection between our community and other identities.”
Jenkins said LGBT History Month differs from PRIDE in that the month honors those in the past and present who have struggled.
“Both (PRIDE and LGBT History Month) are important events that focus on celebrating the history of LGBTQIA folks,” Jenkins said. “However, LGBT History Month and National Coming Out Day also have a focus on acknowledging and memorializing the struggles that LGBTQIA individuals have faced throughout history.”
Paige Klatt, OU Student Senate vice commissioner of LGBT affairs and a sophomore studying chemistry-premed, said she looks forward to all the month has to offer, as well as the opportunity it opens for education and conversation.
“I hope both the community members and students enjoy this month and take it as an educational opportunity,” Klatt said in an email. “It is a month that is full of such amazing events that we should all embrace. It serves as a great reminder that we should all be proud of who we are and to never be shamed. We are all unique and should embrace our identities for the better.”
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