The Trevor Project

In 1994, Missouri high school teacher Rodney Wilson came out to his students while teaching a history lesson about the Holocaust. He explained to his class that had he lived during that time, he may not have survived because he was gay.

Inspired by this pivotal moment, Rodney founded LGBTQ History Month to celebrate the impactful stories of the LGBTQ community and educate against the homophobia that was fueled by the AIDS crisis. Rodney chose October to coincide with National Coming Out Day on October 11th, and to commemorate the first and second marches on Washington, D.C. for LGBTQ rights in 1979 and 1987. October is also a month when school is in session, and Rodney saw this as an opportunity to teach young people about LGBTQ history more broadly. - excerpt from THE TREVOR PROJECT