Date: Thu, 26 Sep 1996 16:39:02 -0700
From: glaad@glaad.org (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation)
Subject: OCTOBER IS LESBIAN & GAY HISTORY MONTH - EDUCATE AND CELEBRATE

MEDIA RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:  Alan Klein (212) 807-1700
Email: klein@glaad.org

OCTOBER IS LESBIAN & GAY HISTORY MONTH
EDUCATE AND CELEBRATE

NEW YORK CITY, SEPTEMBER 27 1996-The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against
Defamation (GLAAD) announces October is "Lesbian & Gay History Month: A
Celebration of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender History." The third
annual event commemorates a global gay legacy too often ignored.
Throughout the month, nationwide observances will honor the lesbian and gay
historical figures and events that helped shape the modern world.

During Lesbian & Gay History Month, the lesbian and gay community examines
its vast cultural achievements, collective creativity and its political
struggle for equality. By telling the untold stories of gay men and
lesbians throughout time, Lesbian & Gay History Month creates a more honest
and complete understanding of history. The gay family tree is a who's who
of the world's most celebrated scientists, artists, philosophers, musicians
and authors. From poet Walt Whitman to writer James Baldwin, and from
Broadway's Cole Porter to chanteuse k.d. lang, gay men and lesbians have
enriched the American landscape and the lives of people worldwide.

"Reclaiming our history corrects the false perception of what was, and
creates new possibilities for what will be," said William Waybourn, GLAAD's
managing director. "Lesbians and gay men have existed throughout time and
Lesbian & Gay History Month reveals a heritage that is both rich and
diverse."

Individuals and organizations will organize events to mark Lesbian & Gay
History Month. GLAAD's organizing primer and educational brochures and
posters have been distributed to local community-based groups. GLAAD's
official History Month World Wide Web page, with a challenging interactive
quiz, is located at www.glaad.org/glaad/history-month. National Coming Out
Day takes place on October 11. On October 4, in the nation's capital,
GLAAD, The Advocate and the House of Seagram present The Long Road to
Freedom, a stirring scrapbook of modern lesbian and gay history.  Other
events will take place nationally on college campuses, bookstores and
libraries and on the Internet.

In January 1994, a high school teacher in Missouri, appalled by the
exclusion of lesbian and gay history from textbooks, set out to make a
change. Rodney Wilson organized teachers and community leaders to educate
the public about lesbians and gay men past and present. They formed a
national grassroots network to create a celebration and education campaign
that continues today.  October was picked as Lesbian & Gay History Month to
commemorate the anniversaries of the first two lesbian and gay marches on
Washington in October 1979 and 1987.

Lesbian & Gay History Month is endorsed by leading lesbian, gay, bisexual
and transgendered organizations, including the Gay, Lesbian and Straight
Teachers Network, the Human Rights Campaign and the National Gay and
Lesbian Task Force.

GLAAD is the nation's lesbian and gay news bureau and the only national
lesbian and gay media watchdog organization. GLAAD promotes fair, accurate,
and inclusive representation as a means of challenging discrimination based
on sexual orientation or identity.

-30-

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Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD)
glaad@glaad.org

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GLAAD is the nation's lesbian and gay news bureau and the only national
lesbian and gay multimedia watchdog organization.  GLAAD promotes fair,
accurate and inclusive representation as a means of challenging
discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity.
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"GLAAD" and "Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation" are registered
trademarks of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Inc.