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LGBT+ History Month Resources

All materials are FREE for you to use, but please credit us if you can.

History Month Badges

Since 2011, History Month has had a National Curriculum (for England and Wales) related theme. Compiled below are related resources. Please click on the year you are interested in to see what is available.

2021 – PHSE 2: Body, Mind, Spirit

For the first time, we will be launching LGBT+ History Month digitally on Friday 6th November 2020 in conjunction with The British Library.

Click here to watch Sue Sanders discuss the new badge and why they’re so important to our work with Dan Vo, one of our latest patrons and a freelance museum curator.

The online Launch of LGBT+ HM 2021, held in November 2020, and produced in conjunction with The British Library is available on our YouTube channel.

2021 Badge Design

Download the relevant file-type of the 2021 badge here:

Theme Posters

(created by Andrew Dobbin Promotions Officer)

Body, Mind, Spirit (portrait)

Body, Mind, Spirit (landscape)

Facebook Cover Pictures

Corporate Supporter

Individual Supporter

Instagram Cover Pictures

Individual Supporter

Corporate Supporter

The Faces For 2021 –

Posters, Fact-Sheets and other Resources

Lily Parr (portrait)

Lily Parr (landscape)

Lily Parr

Find out more about Lily on YouTube

BBC Sport have been supporting LGBT+ History Month for the first time ever. As part of that, the 6th February 2021 edition of ‘Football Focus’ featured a short piece on Lily Parr.

Peter Fullagar is a writer and editor for English Language Materials and he’s recently started a collective with two colleagues, called IDEAL+, to help bring better diversity and inclusion to ELT materials. For LGBT+ HM21, he’s created an ELT Lesson with Teacher’s Notes about Lily Parr.

Mark Ashton (portrait)

Mark Ashton (landscape)

Mark Ashton

Find out more about Mark on YouTube

Maya Angelou (portrait)

Maya Angelou (landscape)

Maya Angelou

Find out more about Maya on YouTube

Michael Dillon (portrait)

Michael Dillon (landscape)

Michael Dillon

Find out more about Michael on YouTube

Mark Weston (portrait)

Mark Weston (landscape)

Mark Weston

Find out more about Mark on YouTube


Other 2021-Related Resources

History Month Quiz

One of our supporters, Andrew Francalanza, has provided us with a comprehensive LGBT+ Quiz, complete with answers. Perfect for pubs, student societies and work networking groups.

Questions: WORD PDF

Answers: WORD PDF


Flagmakers are excited to be celebrating LGBT History month with a detailed look at the flags flown by the LGBTQ+ community at all times of the year. We’ve recently created an infographic that illustrates the history of the iconic rainbow design, as well as a blog with further details, and a guide to the different flags and designs for different sexualities and gender identities within the community.


Proud Trust 2021 Education Pack

The Proud Trust 2021 Education Pack is now available to download here.


John Yates-Harold Lesson Plans

These Lesson Plans. These are designed for primary schools to celebrate 2021’s theme ‘Body, Mind, Spirit’. The document is 34 pages long, so to print as a booklet:

  • File
  • Print
  • (3rd section of window that opens on the left – “page placement and scaling”) select ‘booklet’ from “type” drop-down menu.
  • Print

Beyond the Rainbow: Your Complete Guide to Pride Flags: Keep reading to learn about all of the pride flags that have been designed over the years. The variety that exists may surprise you!


Maya Angelou’s Autobiographies. Dramatised on BBC Radio 4:

A Song Flung Up To Heaven

01 02 03 04 05

All God’s Children Need Travelling Shoes

01 02 03 04 05

Gather Together In My Name

01 02 03 04 05

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

01 02 03 04 05

Singin’ And Swingin’ And Gettin’ Merry Like Christmas

01 02 03 04 05

The Heart Of A Woman

01 02 03 04 05

RAINBOW QUEST

Created especially for use with LGBTQIA (LGBTQ+) youth, the game is exhilarating fun for people of any age or sexual/gender identity. It’s the trifecta of board games: it teaches culture and history, manifests social skills and confidence, and cultivates copious amounts of laughter and fun. This makes it the perfect new board game for your LGBTQ+ family game night, school GSTA, support group, or community drop-in center. Or, treat yourself and invite friends over for a great evening of PLAY!

2020 – English: Poetry, Prose and Plays

We launched the 2020 theme at the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford on 15th November 2019

Download relevant file-types of the badge here:

Click here to download the badge in Welsh.

Posters

(created by Andrew Dobbin, Promotions Officer)

Dawn Langley Pepita Simmons (c.1922 – 2000): our trans Face is probably the least well-known but undoubtedly had a fascinating story. The child of Vita Sackville West’s chauffeur, before transitioning Dawn wrote an acclaimed biography of Princess Margaret. After transition she wrote a biography of eccentric actress Dame Margaret Rutherford, and was semi-adopted by her. But probably most interesting is the fact that Dawn’s marriage to John-Paul Simmons on 21 January 1969 was the first legal interracial marriage in South Carolina!

E.M. Forster (1879 – 1970): gay author, widely regarded as one of the greatest British writers of the 20th century. ‘A Passage To India’ brought him his first success, and he has had several other books adapted as Merchant Ivory films – ‘A Room With A View’, ‘Where Angels Fear To Tread’ and most significantly ‘Maurice’, a gay love story. Forster wrote the novel in 1913, but left instructions that it was not to be published after he died. This year is the 50th anniversary of Edward Morgan Forster’s death, and we anticipate there will be much in the media about him.

Lorraine Hansberry (1930 – 1965): lesbian playwright; author of ‘A Raisin In The Sun’, the first play written by an African American woman to be produced on Broadway. The title comes from the poem “Harlem” (also known as “A Dream Deferred“) by Langston Hughes. For some time the play was part of the O Level and GCSE syllabuses. Hansberry inspired the song by Nina Simone “To Be Young, Gifted and Black“.

William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616): quintessentially British, we have chosen Shakespeare as our bisexual reference, as his work is very much at the heart of the English curriculum. This is important given the ongoing difficulties over inclusive teaching. Sonnet 20 is widely quoted as being written about a man.

The entire year is dedicated to Lyra Mackee.

Click here to view a PowerPoint PDF on the faces of 2020.

Vikings Are Gay!

By Amy Jefford Franks

The Vikings are the epitome of masculinity and heterosexuality… right? Wrong! Amy Jefford Franks will tell us just some of the ways in which the Vikings Are Gay!

If you’re in education or youth work download The Proud Trust’s LGBT History Month Toolkit 2020. They’ve planned the work so you don’t have to.

Our thanks are extended to Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, founder of UK Black Pride, who has kindly written the thought provoking foreword to this years pack.

Don’t forget to list all your events on our calendar page.

Visit the OUTingThePast website to see what’s happening at this years hubs.

Need a presentation for an event you’re putting on? Click here!


Sue Sanders North Herts Radio Interview


Rose Collis – ‘Player Kings and Queens’

Rose Collis – ‘Player Kings and Queens’

Jonathan Cutbill LGBT collection/Radio broadcast

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p07zn86h – 23rd January – it’s in two parts: it starts at around 1:06 and 2.06 into the programme
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p07zn8g7 – 24th January – one part: around 1:49 into the programme


Woodside High School History Month video


Resources by Bush Theatre

Bush Staff Recommends: LGBT+ Books
Changing the face of LGBTQIA+ Casting
Bush Staff Recommends: LGBT+ Artists


Lexology.com “LGBT History Month: the month to become an ally?” – read here


Manchester Metropolitan University LGBT+ History Month Films

Over the month MMU will be releasing a film every day on their YouTube channel. Take a look here: https://www.youtube.com/user/ManMetUni/videos and at the schedule below to see what’s on its way.


‘Those Vegan Guys’ Paul shares his History Month thoughts:


BCfm 93.2 History Month videos

Harvey Milk

Noel Coward

Alan Turing

William Shakespeare

Dusty Springfield

Lorraine Hansberry

David Kato

Barbara Gittings

Lili Elbe

Dawn Langley Simmons

Bayard Rustin


Stonewall – Pride & Poetry: LGBT History Month 2020


Mosaic Youth Group Film on the 4 Faces of 2020

2019 – History 2: Peace, Reconciliation and Activism

Inspired by pride parades around the world, it is our pleasure to present to you our new LGBT History Month badge for 2019!

2019 badge

‘My name is Karolina Bednarz. I am studying Graphic Design. I am a person with a lot of interests. Besides graphics, art, and painting I love nature and time spent outside in the fresh air. Originally I’m from Poland but wanted to expand my knowledge and experience new things I came to study abroad at the University of Bedfordshire. The Design of the badge I created to represent the history of the LGBT community for 2019 event. My idea is based on the pride parades. First pride parade took place on June 28, 1970, in New York, this event was the anniversary of the Stonewall riots which are the initial part of LGBT history. To present my idea I decided to combine the LGBT colours with the concept of a parade. I wanted to give them a look of the peaceful yet powerful wave because I think this is what the community stands for nowadays.’

Programme
Poster
Poster
Factsheet
Factsheet
Factsheet
Factsheet

2018 – Geography: Mapping Our World

2018 badge

I am Cristian-Emanuel Buda, studying Advertising and Branding Design at the University of Bedfordshire. I am passionate about arts, photography, music and love to travel.  My LGBT History Month badge design for 2018 illustrates the theme “Geography – Mapping the world”. During my research I tried to avoid using a cliché idea. This is the reason I chose not to use the symbol of the earth and maps. Some of my ideas were inspired by means of travelling and navigation. I developed some scamps using the image of planes, compasses, symbols used in digital navigation apps and the symbols of LGBT community. The main colours I used are the colours of the rainbow. I considered the rainbow as an important subject, being linked with LGBT people. In my final design I chose to use two compasses facing each other. I consider this to have a strong visual impact. The compass suggests that LGBT people can find their way in a world that is not always accepting. It is emphasizing that love wins and their unity is important because only together they can fight for their rights and “travel” with honour in their life journey.

Liverpool Launch Night Programme

Posters

(created by Andrew Dobbin, Promotions Officer)

Further Resources

Social Mapping of LGBT+ Spaces in Deptford, London

British Psychology Society – free event  

The native American two-spirit culture of trans inclusion

The importance of LGBT History Month

Havering proudly flies the rainbow flag

How to plan and design a gay-friendly city

Huffpost: The LGBT Historic World, Mapped

A brief look at Trans History around the world 

Don’t separate trans people from the LGBT movement – that’s what the bigots want 

Historic England – LGBTQ Architecture

My best LGBT+ heritage sites – Stephen Williams Blog

Know your rainbow flag!

2017 – PSHE, Citizenship and Law

Our 2017 Programme was launched at the Parliament’s Speaker’s Chambers on the 30th November 2016. Read our full review of the event here.We wish you all the best for 2017 and would be grateful if you would publicise The National Festival of LGBT History which this year will have Festivals in Bournemouth, Manchester, Coventry, Preston, Exeter, Shrewsbury, Liverpool, York and London. See more information here:-

lgbthistorymonth.org.uk/national-festival/

2017 badge
Poster
Poster

My design for the 2017 LGBT History Month badge was based on the theme “Law and Citizenship”. I wanted to create a visual symbol that would join together both.
After my research, I came up with the idea of using a finger print, since in a lot of places it is the mark left after voting, participating actively in society and the creation of community. At the same time, it represents identity, and how every person is different and unique (just as their finger prints) and why it is a motive for pride, since it is the seal of who we are. I incorporated the rainbow flag celebrating LGBT citizens, and embracing them as unique members of society.

ARELI JACOBS, 2017 Badge Designer, University of Bedfordshire

The Factsheets describing the four faces of 2017’s theme are available here

Factsheet
Factsheet
Factsheet
Factsheet
Further Resources

The PSHE Association is the national body for Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education, leading the effort to ensure that every pupil receives high-quality provision.

Terrence Higgins Trust’s ‘SRE: Shh… No Talking’ report, published in July 2016, highlighted that sex and relationships education (SRE) is inadequate or absent in many schools.

The Sex Educational Supplement Volume 1 Issue 3

This magazine aims to show how straightforward it can be to make SRE inclusive. I hope you will be inspired to be creative and confident in developing your SRE to celebrate diversity and let love and respect shine through.

Rainbow Teaching is a volunteer run project aimed at supporting teachers in LGBTQIA+ inclusive teaching. LGBTQIA+ inclusion extends far beyond PSHE and into the language that we as teachers use, the policies we adopt, the activities we include in our lessons and tutor times, as well as our interactions with students, parents and staff. The project is headed by Allie – a bisexual, genderqueer English, Media and PSHE teacher – and our volunteers are LGBTQIA+ members of the teaching and academic communities who are all passionate about equality and inclusion.

Prejudice and Pride

The National Trust Magazine have produced an article supporting their Prejudice and Pride exhibitions across some of their sites.

“Many of our places were home to, and shaped by, people who challenged conventional ideas of gender and sexuality. 50 years after the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality, we’re exploring our LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer) heritage with a programme called Prejudice and Pride. We’ll be holding events, special exhibitions and much more.”

To mark LGBT History Month, RCNi have brought together a selection of our articles for you to read for free, simply by registering to their website.

LGBT+ Objects showcases material from across UK museums which reveals the diversity of ideas about gender and sexuality throughout world history, together with free lesson ideas for using each object as the basis of LGBT+ focused discussions with young people (in PSHE, RSE, other school subjects or out-of-school youth activities).

ACT is the subject assocation for Citizenship representing teachers and others involved in Citizenship education.

Our mission is to support the teaching of high quality Citizenship and to promote wider public understanding of the subject. We also promote research into the participation of young people in society.

University of Bristol Produce LGBT+ History Interactive PHSE Lessons (KS 3-5)

This resource pack contains five lesson plans that can be used as a cohesive unit of work or as one off sessions and contains an extensive introduction and guidance for teachers.

The lesson make use of a digital map of Bristol’s LBGT+ history as an innovative and exciting method of engaging students in local LGBT+ history and its geographies. They are designed for use in within the PHSE curriculum but they will have crossover value in English, Geography and History.

2016 – Religion, Belief and Philosophy

2016 – Religion, Belief and Philosophy Launched at Queens College Cambridge, Thursday, November 26th 2015. To see photos of the launch go here.
To see coverage of the launch event and Cambridge’s Equality Pledge on Cambridge TVclick here.

2016 logo
programme

“The inspiration behind the badge design came from the phrase “leap of faith”. I chose this phrase because I believe It is a very powerful, and personal message. It is about believing and having faith. both in one’s religion, and in oneself. It represents a risk we take for a better outcome and future, a push forward in acceptance and tolerance within and towards to LGBT community, and the strength it can take to come out as a homosexual, bisexual or trans person.” – Gareth Marshall, 2016 Badge Designer, University of Bedfordshire

NEW for 2018 – Stonewall have produced a series of posters featuring real-life LGBT people of faith on their RESOURCE PAGE

lgbthistorymonth.org.uk/national-festival/

The Proud Trust has teamed up with Schools OUT UK to bring you this free LGBT History Month Pack for February 2016. The theme of History Month is ‘Religion, Belief and Philosophy: A Leap of Faith’.
The pack is full of handy session plans, ideas and a useful FAQs section. Click the link below to access:GET YOUR FREE LGBT HISTORY MONTH RESOURCE PACK HERE!

Founder of Europe’s first LGBT-friendly mosque says being gay and Muslim is ‘like deciding which arm to cut off’“It has nothing to do with Islam as spirituality, because our tradition is much more peaceful in terms of dealing with sexuality and gender identity.”

Watch the interview here – Independent

ESOL & LGBT TEACHING RESOURCES AND MATERIALSFebruary is LGBT History MonthIts celebration is a great opportunity to embed LGBT lives and issues within the curriculum along with equipping teachers and students with strategies to deal with discriminatory behaviour. The paucity of LGBT teaching resources and materials for adults in Further Education, especially for ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages) could hinder the development of a more inclusive curriculum offer.This blog offers some ready made , easy to download lesson plans and teaching resources along with links to useful organisations and research. Click the image above to go to the website

RVA LGBTQ Black History Month Honoree: Reverend E. Taylor Doctor

As a openly-gay Black male and minister, he has been known for his confidence in being a trailblazer and using his agency to be a conduit for advocacy for the marginalized, creating culturally competent communities. His professional and personal platforms have allowed him to work daily in a field that reaches the masses through public health policy and administration in Richmond and beyond. He resides in Mechanicsville, Virginia.
See the article here

Last year, we produced a short documentary called ‘Katie’. Katie is a nurse on a children’s ward and a practicing Christian in the Roman Catholic Church. She is also gay. She talks honestly and movingly about how she struggled to reconcile her faith with her feelings, and about the welcome she eventually found in the church community. She represents a much wider community of people who identify as being both gay and religious. Her film can be seen here:https://www.truetube.co.uk/film/katie

Timeline of UK LGBT Religion, Belief and Philosophy

This is a Timeline of UK LGBT Religion, Belief and Philosophy, created in connection with the theme of LGBT History Month 2016. Each of the events listed below has an article about it on this wiki: click the words in blue for more information.

This Spring’s edition of Fyne Times features LGBT History Month 2016Click on the image on the left to take you to the online publication.


12 celebrities showing you can be LGBTI and a Christian
Talented, successful, LGBTI – and Christian? These men and women show you can be all of the aboveSee article on GayStarNews here

GNRC declares: The exaggerated rhetoric of Pope Francis against “gender” exposes the contradictions in his pastoral care for LGBTI people.
The Global Network of Rainbow Catholics (GNRC) appreciates that Pope Francis has made major acknowledgements of LGBTI persons and their families during his last official trip to Georgia, and later in the press conference on his way back to Rome. His words contain very important messages about the way Pope Francis envisions pastoral care for LGBTI people as an accompaniment on the way to Jesus which needs a huge sense of proper discernment.
Full Press Release2015 – History2014 – Music2013 – STEM2012 – Sport 22011 – Sport 120102009200820072006

Churches driving gay and bi people to suicide warns major Christian charity

A major Christian charity in the UK is out with a new reporttaking churches to task for stigmatizing same-sex relationships to the point that it is driving many in the lesbian, gay and bisexual community to suffer from mental health issues, all too often resulting in suicide.
See the full article here

As homosexuality remains illegal in India, Amash busts some myths surrounding the traditional Hindu perspective on same-sex desire. Go here


The church and LGBT History Month
An article By Rev. Dwight Welch United Church of Norman UCC on the Norman Transcript News website.
Available here


Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church

As a fully inclusive and affirming church in the Baptist tradition (and there aren’t many of those) Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church are keen to support LGBT+ History Month. To this end Revd Dr Simon Woodman has created a timeline of the history of their congregation’s story of inclusion.

2015 – History

2015 – History Launched at Museum of the Order of St John, November 2014
2015 badge
2015 LAUNCH NIGHT PROGRAMME – NOVEMBER 2014 (PDF)
LGBT HISTORY MONTH MAGAZINE 2015 (PDF)
YOUTH WORK AND EDUCATION RESOURCE PACK (PDF)

2014 – Music

2014 – Music Launched at Birmingham University, November 2013

2014 badge
LGBT HISTORY MONTH MAGAZINE 2014
2014 LAUNCH NIGHT PROGRAMME – NOVEMBER 2013 (PDF)
POSTER – BENJAMIN BRITTEN
FACES OF 2014 (LANDSCAPE)
POSTER – ANGELA MORLEY
POSTER – ETHEL SMYTH
POSTER – BESSIE SMITH
POSTER – FACES OF 2014 (PORTRAIT)

2013 – Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM)

2013 – STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) Launched at Bletchley Park, November 2012

2013 badge
2013 badge
2013 LAUNCH NIGHT PROGRAMME – NOVEMBER 2012
Poster

Franz Nopcsa: the dashing baron who discovered dwarf dinosaurs

Baron Franz Nopcsa was a self-taught palaeontologist who spent his life pushing the boundaries of scientific understanding. He is credited with founding the field of palaeobiology and was the first to identify dwarfism in dinosaurs. 

click the picture for more

2012 – Sport 2

2012 – Sport 2 Launched at The Oval, November 2011

Sport’s homophobia problem requires zero-tolerance approach, say MPs

Immediate and tough sanctions – including one- and two-year bans – should be imposed on football supporters who engage in homophobic abuse, a report by the parliamentary select committee for culture, media and sport has recommended.
The committee, chaired by the Conservative MP Damian Collins, argues that football, which does not have any openly gay current professional players, has a more hostile culture of homophobia than other sports, including swimming, whose work is commended, and rugby union and league, where there are high-profile gay role models and strong action has been taken against incidents of homophobic abuse.
The survey found 70% of young British men under 22 who participated in the survey kept their sexuality fully or partly hidden from team-mates, out of a fear of bullying, being rejected by team-mates and discrimination from officials.

To read the full article on The Guardian’s website, click here

2012 badge
2012 badge
LGBT Magazine 2012
ART – KHALO
HISTORY – HADRIAN
ENGLISH – BALDWIN

DRAMA – AMOS
ENGLISH – DUFFY
HISTORY – MILK
DRAMA – MCKELLAN
ENGLISH – WILDE
HISTORY – STARKEY
MATHS – TURING
PE – AMECHI
SOCIOLOGY – ALLI
PE – THOMAS
MUSIC – BRITTEN
SPANISH – ALMODOVAR

2011 – Sport

2011 – Sport 1 Launched at Twickenham Rugby Stadium, November 2010

2011 badge
LGBT Magazine 2011
Poster

2010

2010 – Launched at The British Museum, November 2009

2010 badge

2009

2009 – Launched at Hackney Free and Parochial School, November 2008

The Intercom Trust produces a guide to LGBT History Month including a  toolkit for schools. Go here

To access the Toolkit, produced by Kate Sicolo for Devon schools go here

2009 badges

2008

2008 – Launched at The Royal Courts of Justice, November 2007

2008 badge

2007

2007 – Launched at Princess Tower, November 2006

2007 badge

2006

2006 – Launched at TUC Congress House, November 2005

2006 badge

2005

2005 – Launched at Tate Modern, November 2004

2005 badge

LGBT Youth Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence

While the majority of our resources are aligned to the National Curriculum for England and Wales, we thought we should link to the great ideas being shared in Scotland.

LGBT Youth Scotland website

Queer Scotland

Scottish LGBT+ history and culture.

website

Diversity Role Models

Diversity Role Models actively seeks to embed inclusion and empathy in the next generation. Their vision is a world where everyone embraces diversity and can thrive. This will help create a world where future generations embrace, accept and support difference. Their mission is to create an education system in which every young person will know they are valued and supported, whoever they are. 

Diversity Role Models website