WATCH: Slam Poetry: Calling out Mainstream Feminism CLICK HERE TO VIEW Feminism might be all about equality, but these Denver-based slam poets point out all women aren't always heard. Ashia Ajani, Abby Friesen-Johnson, Tolu Obiwole and Alexis Rain Vigil tackled the topic of mainstream feminism at the 2014 Brave New Voices festival, an annual youth…
WATCH: Hidden Figures | Storytime Read Aloud (3-5) CLICK HERE TO VIEW Join us for storytime as illustrator Laura Freeman reads the picture book version of Hidden Figures, the incredibly inspiring true story of four Black women who helped NASA launch astronauts into space. Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden were good…
READ: Learn about Katherine Johnson (6-12) CLICK HERE TO VIEW Life Story: Katherine Johnson (1918–2020) NASA Mathematician - The story of a Black mathematician whose calculations contributed significantly to American space exploration.
READ: Queer Portraits in History CLICK HERE TO VIEW A compendium of queer people in the 19th and 20th centuries.
WATCH: What a Wonderful World - Playing for Change (3-5) CLICK HERE TO VIEW Playing For Change is proud to present this video of the song "What A Wonderful World" featuring Grandpa Elliott with children's choirs across the globe. In these hard times, children and music bring us hope for a better future. Today we…
WATCH: Everybody’s Welcome (K-2) CLICK HERE TO VIEW Fans of the New York Times bestseller All Are Welcome will love this timely tale about kindess, empathy, and charity, with clever peek-through holes that beckon young readers inside. Poor Frog's pond has dried up and he has nowhere to live. Luckily, he meets friendly Mouse, who…
WATCH: Love is Powerful By Heather Dean Brewer (3-5) CLICK HERE TO VIEW A little girl carries a big message—and finds it thrillingly amplified by the rallying crowd around her—in an empowering story for the youngest of activists.Mari raised her sign for everyone to see.Even though she was small and the crowd was very big,and…
PARTICIPATE: CenterLink, The Community of LGBTQ Centers CLICK HERE TO VIEW CenterLink is an international nonprofit organization and member-based association of LGBTQ centers and other LGBTQ organizations serving their local and regional communities. Our mission is to strengthen, support, and connect LGBTQ community centers. We currently have over 325 member LGBTQ centers worldwide providing essential…
WATCH: A Queer Vision of Love and Marriage CLICK HERE TO VIEW Love is a tool for revolutionary change and a path toward inclusivity and understanding for the LGBTQ+ community. Married activists Tiq and Kim Katrin Milan have imagined their marriage -- as a transgender man and cis woman -- a model of possibility for…
READ: How Frank Ocean changed everything with 'Channel Orange' CLICK HERE TO VIEW Frank Ocean's debut studio album "Channel Orange" was released on July 10, 2012. The album was immediately met with acclaim and became an instant classic. It debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and won the Grammy Award for best urban…
LISTEN: Channel Orange CLICK HERE TO VIEW Channel Orange is the debut studio album by American R&B singer-songwriter Frank Ocean. It was released on July 10, 2012, by Def Jam Recordings.
PARTICIPATE: The Smithsonian American Art Museum - Pride Family Zone Art Activities CLICK HERE TO VIEW Visit this page throughout the month for craft activities, coloring pages, video performances, and more as we celebrate Pride. We are inclusive in our celebration and welcome families of all kinds to explore the contributions of LGBTQ+ communities to…
WATCH: How to Survive a Plague CLICK HERE TO VIEW How To Survive A Plague is the untold story of the efforts that turned AIDS into a mostly manageable condition – and the improbable group of young men and women who, with no scientific training, infiltrated government agencies and the pharmaceutical industry, and helped identify…
READ: Six Times Journalists on the Paper’s History of Covering AIDS and Gay Issues CLICK HERE TO VIEW The New York Times had a spotty record of covering the AIDS epidemic in the early 1980s — and gay culture in general. Times staffers reflect on the paper’s past, and what we can learn from it…
LISTEN: Coming Out - It is a Process! CLICK HERE TO VIEW Heather Hester discusses the six stages of the Cass Model of Coming Out and shares personal experiences along the way. This episode is loaded with great information and links in the show notes to help you understand and support your teen through this…
WATCH: My Own Superhero (3-5) CLICK HERE TO VIEW A song to empower every child.
WATCH: Out & Proud in Chicago CLICK HERE TO VIEW Jane Lynch hosts this documentary about the history of Chicago's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities.
WATCH: Why Gender Pronouns Matter CLICK HERE TO VIEW "My pronouns are they/them/theirs, and that's a non-negotiable...they're so important because they are the smallest and easiest way that you can acknowledge somebody's identity."
READ: A Guide To Gender Identity Terms CLICK HERE TO VIEW Issues of equality and acceptance of transgender and nonbinary people — along with challenges to their rights — have become a major topic in the headlines. These issues can involve words and ideas and identities that are new to some. NPR put together a…
LISTEN: Becoming the First Pride Flag CLICK HERE TO VIEW Girl Tales Podcast: Nova is a kid scientist who time travels to exciting moments in history where she becomes different objects as a scientific experiment. This month, she’s traveling to the Gay Freedom Day Parade in San Francisco 1978 where she will morph into the…
READ: This Little Rainbow (K-5) CLICK HERE TO VIEW Now even the youngest readers can learn all about important people who are from or helped support the LGBTQIA+ community! Highlighting ten memorable people who paved the way, parents and little ones alike will love this discovery primer full of fun, age-appropriate facts and bold illustrations.
WATCH: President Obama Tells the Story of PFLAG CLICK HERE TO VIEW President Obama shares the story of Jeanne Manford and PFLAG.
READ: The History of the Rainbow Flag (BBC) CLICK HERE TO VIEW Designed by artist Gilbert Baker at the request of San Francisco City Supervisor and first openly gay elected official in the history of California, Harvey Milk, the original rainbow flag made its debut at the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade celebration on…
PARTICIPATE: Coming Out: Information for Parents of LGBTQ Teens CLICK HERE TO VIEW "Coming out" is a lifelong journey of understanding, acknowledging and sharing one's gender identity and/or sexual orientation with others. It may be quick and easy for some, or longer and more difficult for others.
WATCH: Mom and Son Talk About His Future As A Transgender CLICK HERE TO VIEW Gabe remembers when things really changed for him as a transgender kid. With his mother and friends by his side, knowing he wasn't alone went a long way.
WATCH: How the Stonewall Riots Sparked a Movement CLICK HERE TO VIEW When Liam Cooper, a non-binary teenager, must face the world alone after his older brother Ethan is killed in a hit-and-run accident, they find themselves spending time with Ethan’s best friend, Marcus, who might be the only person who knows exactly what they’re…
WATCH: Rise Up: Stonewall and the LGBTQ Rights Movement CLICK HERE TO VIEW (Site) CLICK HERE TO VIEW (Extended Trailer) When police raided the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in the Greenwich Village section of New York City on June 28, 1969, the street erupted into violent protests that lasted for the next…
LISTEN: Why We Remember Stonewall CLICK HERE TO VIEW Fifty years after the Stonewall Uprising, we look at what happened that night, through the voices of people who were there. WNYC's Jennifer Vanasco says that Stonewall — a filthy dive bar — was a most unlikely setting for the start of a crusade.
LISTEN: Making Gay History - Dear Abby CLICK HERE TO VIEW To understand how a heterosexual, Jewish, Midwestern daughter of a Russian immigrant singlehandedly influenced how Americans thought about gay people, how parents saw their gay kids, and how gay people felt about themselves, you have to go back in time. Before Google and social…
READ: Six of Crows (Young Adult) CLICK HERE TO VIEW Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But…
WATCH: The Big Umbrella by Amy June Bates - Read Aloud: Stories with Star (K-2) CLICK HERE TO VIEW “A subtle, deceptively simple book about inclusion, hospitality, and welcoming the ‘other.’” —Kirkus Reviews “A boundlessly inclusive spirit...This open-ended picture book creates a natural springboard for discussion.”
PARTICIPATE: Effective Allyship: A Transgender Take on Intersectionality | Ashlee Marie Preston | TEDxPasadena CLICK HERE TO VIEW Host, commentator, and activist, Ashlee Marie Preston teaches that when we talk over people, ignore them or shut them down, what we're really saying is, “I'm more important than you are … I don’t really care what…
PARTICIPATE: Follow Ashlee Marie Preston on Instagram CLICK HERE TO VIEW As the first trans woman to become editor in chief of a national publication and the first openly trans person to run for state office in California, Ashlee Marie Preston has become a powerful voice for the LGBTQIA+ community on intersectionality, representation, and humanization.…
WATCH: Fifty Shades of Gay CLICK HERE TO VIEW Tillett Wright has photographed 2,000 people who consider themselves somewhere on the LGBTQ spectrum -- and asked many of them: Can you assign a percentage to how gay or straight you are? Most people, it turns out, consider themselves to exist in the gray areas of…
READ: The Journey to Marriage Equality in the United States CLICK HERE TO VIEW From gathering supporters in small towns across the country to rallying in front of the Supreme Court of the United States, this group gave it their all to ensure every person, regardless of whom they love, is recognized equally under the…
WATCH: The Freedom to Marry CLICK HERE TO VIEW (Site) CLICK HERE TO VIEW (Extended Trailer) An award winning feature documentary that reveals the same sex marriage movement through the eyes of its leaders as they prepare for their final battle before the United States Supreme Court. This is the surprising story of one…
PARTICIPATE: National Day of Silence in USA CLICK HERE TO VIEW National Day of Silence is observed in April each year as a movement against the harassment and bullying of individuals identifying with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ+) community. As the name suggests, students protesting for this movement typically take a day-long vow…
LISTEN: Radically Normal: How Gay Rights Activists Changed The Minds Of Their Opponents CLICK HERE TO VIEW This week on Hidden Brain, the psychological strategies behind one of the most dramatic transformations of public attitude ever recorded. We'll also explore the lessons this story holds for anyone who seeks to bring about change.
WATCH: Mary Wears What She Wants (3-5) CLICK HERE TO VIEW Join Theresa of the Children's Museum of Sonoma County, as she reads aloud "Mary Wears What She Wants" by Keith Negley. Once upon a time, not so long ago actually... girls only wore dresses and skirts, while only boys wore pants! This picture book…
READ: History of LGBTQ+ History Month CLICK HERE TO VIEW LGBTQ+ History Month is in October and each year we mark it with spectacular events celebrating the history and achievements of the LGBTQ+ community. When the observance was started, it mainly served as a call to action for the movement and its prosperity. But over…
EXPERIENCE: 50 Years of PRIDE CLICK HERE TO VIEW On June 27, 1970, a small group of LGBTQ people marched down Polk Street—then San Francisco’s most prominent queer neighborhood—to mark an event called “Christopher Street Liberation Day.” Commemorating the one-year anniversary of the historic Stonewall uprising on Christopher Street in New York City, the march…
WATCH: Our Diversity Makes Us Stronger by Elizabeth Cole (3-5) CLICK HERE TO VIEW If you want to teach your child to accept himself and others as they are, then this picture book about diversity will be your best assistant. It will help your little ones to respect all the differences that make us…
WATCH: So Many Colors, So Many Shapes (K-2) CLICK HERE TO VIEW A while back, a mom of a young toddler asked us to write a song about ethnic diversity. Given recent events, we think that parents would appreciate a song to help kids discuss and celebrate ethnic diversity - a song that is as…
EXPERIENCE: The GLSEN Network CLICK HERE TO VIEW Student leaders are the most valuable, powerful base of action that exists in our country today. When students lead the way, real change happens. Use these resources to work for positive change and build community in your school!
WATCH: What the Gay Rights Movement Learned from the Civil Rights Movement CLICK HERE TO VIEW As a member of both the African American and LGBT communities, filmmaker Yoruba Richen is fascinated with the overlaps and tensions between gay rights and the civil rights movements. She explores how the two struggles intertwine and propel each…
LISTEN: Come Out, Come Out CLICK HERE TO VIEW Mo Welch’s show is a helpful guide to all kinds of LGBTQ growing pains. In each episode, her quests open up about their own experience growing up, and it’s proof that we all have similar struggles even when our lives and identities are so unique.
WATCH: In a Heartbeat CLICK HERE TO VIEW "In a Heartbeat" - Animated Short Film by Beth David and Esteban Bravo. A closeted boy runs the risk of being outed by his own heart after it pops out of his chest to chase down the boy of his dreams.
WATCH: All Are Welcome - Read Aloud Picture Book (K-2) CLICK HERE TO VIEW Follow a group of children through a day in their school, where everyone is welcomed with open arms. ALL ARE WELCOME lets young children know that no matter what, they have a place, they have a space, and they are welcome…
WATCH: A Good Man CLICK HERE TO VIEW Bryan Wilmoth and his seven younger siblings were raised in a strict, religious home. At StoryCorps, Bryan talks with his brother Mike about what it was like to reconnect years after their dad kicked Bryan out for being gay.
PARTICIPATE: Follow Billy Porter on Instagram CLICK HERE TO VIEW He is renowned for his showstopping red-carpet outfits but Billy Porter’s influence reaches much further than his fashion style. The singer, writer, director, and actor (he stars on the FX series, Pose) is a passionate advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community.
EXPERIENCE: Lakeside Pride Jazz Orchestra's Accentuate the Positive CLICK HERE TO VIEW Join us on a voyage into the inner mind with the Lakeside Pride Symphonic Band’s Spring 2024 concert. On this musical adventure, we will contemplate humanity’s morality, shortcomings, and the impulse to connect. Our concert’s pieces will bring out the sounds that invoke…
WATCH: The Half of It CLICK HERE TO VIEW A shy, introverted, Chinese-American, straight-A student finds herself helping the school jock woo the girl they both secretly love. In the process, each teaches the other about the nature of love as they find connections in the most unlikely of places.
LISTEN: QUEERY with Cameron Esposito - Guest Alice Wu CLICK HERE TO VIEW Filmmaker Alice Wu sits down with Cameron to discuss her new movie The Half Of It (coming to Netflix on May 1st), her first film Saving Face, and acknowledging that discomfort is sometimes necessary to make art.
READ: How to Become a Planet (Young Adult) CLICK HERE TO VIEW After she is diagnosed with anxiety and depression, 13-year-old Pluto Timoney, who carries with her an endless curiosity and knowledge of astronomy, experiences her first crush on a girl who is questioning her gender identity.
READ: The Battle of Spanish Fork CLICK HERE TO VIEW Federal law prohibits employment discrimination founded on race, religion, gender, national identity, disability, and age. No such federal legal protection exists, however, on the basis of sexual orientation, and gay men and lesbians have been denied and fired from jobs because of this aspect of…
RAD COMMUNITY EVENT: How to be an Ally CLICK HERE TO VIEW A space to celebrate LGBTQ+ month, identities and stories through a color. Rainbow Run concludes with an after-party with vendors, food, treats, and a time to celebrate love and perseverance.
LISTEN: Making Gay History - Wendell Sayers CLICK HERE TO VIEW Wendell Sayers was born in Western Kansas on April 29, 1904, and died on March 27, 1998. He was, as he notes in the podcast, the first black attorney to be hired to work in the Colorado state attorney general’s office.
EXPERIENCE: Performance, Protest, & Politics: The Art of Gilbert Baker CLICK HERE TO VIEW Drafted into the U.S. Army in 1970, he was stationed in San Francisco as a medic. After being honorably discharged in 1972, Baker remained in the city and began to participate in the activism that would define the rest of his…
READ: Adventures with My Daddies (K-5) CLICK HERE TO VIEW "My daddies are amazing. They're funny, kind, and smart. And when they read me stories...exciting journeys start!" Set off on a series of incredible adventures with an endearing family as the bedtime stories they read burst into colorful life. Together, the daddies and their little…
WATCH: Miss Liz reads Adventures with My Daddies (K-5) CLICK HERE TO VIEW In today’s virtual storytime we read “Adventures With My Daddies” by Gareth Peter, illustrated by Garry Parsons.
WATCH: The Saint of Dry Creek CLICK HERE TO VIEW Patrick Haggerty grew up the son of a dairy farmer in rural Dry Creek, Washington, during the 1950s. As a teenager, Pat began to understand he was gay—something he thought he was hiding well. But one day, after performing at a school assembly, Pat learned…
LISTEN: Latinos Who Lunch Podcast CLICK HERE TO VIEW Latinos Who Lunch is a podcast that was created to provide a digital media platform that reflects the intersectionality between queer, Latinx, and Spanglish voices in an Anglo-dominated podcast world.
WATCH: The Cabbage Butterfly CLICK HERE TO VIEW About this Poem During the years that I wrote and revised this poem, my lover, and ultimately spouse, was gravely ill. Her medical care and my caregiving were deeply complicated by the anti-LGBTQ prejudices of some medical personnel, who certainly viewed us as ‘monsters.’ Every day for…
LISTEN: Making Gay History - Jeanne & Morty Manford CLICK HERE TO VIEW By the time Jeanne Manford’s gay son Morty was beaten up at a 1972 protest, she had already lost her older son Charles to suicide. She wasn’t going to lose another son. And not at the hands of anti-gay bigots. So the…
WATCH: Love, No Matter What CLICK HERE TO VIEW What is it like to raise a child who's different from you in some fundamental way (like a prodigy, or a differently abled kid, or a criminal)? In this quietly moving talk, writer Andrew Solomon shares what he learned from talking to dozens of parents --…
LISTEN: 81 Words CLICK HERE TO VIEW The story of how the American Psychiatric Association decided in 1973 that homosexuality was no longer a mental illness.
READ: The Exhausting Work of LGBTQ Code-Switching CLICK HERE TO VIEW Queer, trans, and non-binary people have to do the extra work of changing how they speak, act and express themselves in everyday spaces.
READ: Matthew Shepard Foundation CLICK HERE TO VIEW What is it like to raise a child who's different from you in some fundamental way (like a prodigy, or a differently abled kid, or a criminal)? In this quietly moving talk, writer Andrew Solomon shares what he learned from talking to dozens of parents -- asking…
READ: Matthew Shepard: The murder that changed America CLICK HERE TO VIEW The death of a gay student, tortured and tied to a prairie fence in Wyoming two decades ago, shocked America. As Matthew Shepard's ashes are interred in the nation's spiritual home, those who knew him reflect on his remarkable legacy.
WATCH: The Laramie Project CLICK HERE TO VIEW The true story of an American town in the wake of the murder of Matthew Shepard.
LISTEN: Where We Were Then, Where We Are Now CLICK HERE TO VIEW The 20 years since Matthew Shepard's death have been transformative for his mother, Judy. Plus: we talk to Samira Wiley, who appeared in an anniversary production of The Laramie Project.
EXPERIENCE: Illegal to Be You CLICK HERE TO VIEW This website is based on an exhibition that opened at the National Museum of American History in June 2019. Objects pictured here may differ from those currently on view at the museum.
EXPERIENCE: The Trevor Project CLICK HERE TO VIEW The Trevor Project is the leading suicide prevention and crisis intervention nonprofit organization for LGBTQ+ young people. We provide information & support to LGBTQ+ young people 24/7, all year round.
READ: Being an LGBTQ Ally CLICK HERE TO VIEW From the Human Rights Campaign: Being an LGBTQ+ Ally is designed to help build understanding and comfort. If you are new to LGBTQ+ issues, we will answer many of your questions. Or, if you have known LGBTQ+ people for years and are looking to find new…
WATCH: #GotYourBack: Students tell GLAAD what makes a good LGBT ally CLICK HERE TO VIEW GLAAD interviewed students at three colleges about what qualities in a person make them a good LGBT ally. Students offered examples of when allies helped them and provided ways for people to become better allies to the LGBT community. The…
LISTEN: Can A Child Be Raised Free Of Gender Stereotypes? This Family Tried CLICK HERE TO VIEW This week on Hidden Brain, the story of a couple and the challenges they faced in trying to shield their child from gender stereotypes. And we meet their daughter, now a teenager, to hear her take on how…
READ: The Ghosts We Keep (Young Adult) CLICK HERE TO VIEW When Liam Cooper, a non-binary teenager, must face the world alone after his older brother Ethan is killed in a hit-and-run accident, they find themselves spending time with Ethan’s best friend, Marcus, who might be the only person who knows exactly what they’re going…
WATCH: The Myth of the Gay Agenda CLICK HERE TO VIEW In a funny talk with an urgent message, LZ Granderson points out the absurdity in the idea that there's a "gay lifestyle," much less a "gay agenda." What's actually on his agenda? Being a good partner -- and being a good parent.
LISTEN: Nature, Nurture, And Our Evolving Debates About Gender CLICK HERE TO VIEW This week, we delve into debates over gender and the role of nature and nurture. Plus, we'll look at how society is pushing us beyond the traditional boundaries of those debates as we talk with Jamie Shupe, the first person in the…