October 9 LGBTQ+ Affinity Group meeting

We are excited that Rodney Wilson, who as a high school teacher in 1994 is credited with creating Gay History Month, will be our guest speaker.

Born in Missouri, Wilson grew up watching “Jerry Falwell’s Old Time Gospel Hour” on television. Until his 20s, he was a fundamentalist Christian. When he developed an interest in history, he found his calling as a teacher. He wrestled with his sexuality and read everything he could find about gay history.

In 1994, as a teacher at Mehlville High School in suburban St. Louis, Wilson came out to his history class during a lesson about the Holocaust. If he had lived in Germany during World War II, he explained, he likely would have been imprisoned and murdered by the Nazis for being gay.

He became the first openly gay K-12 teacher in the state. What began as a lesson evolved into a much broader mission to teach young people about gay history. Inspired by Women’s History Month and Black History Month, he worked with national organizations to develop a gay-friendly curriculum for educators. He chose October because schools are in session, and it is the month in which the first national march for lesbian and gay rights occurred and National Coming Out Day.

Join us for this interactive and fascinating discussion.  You must pre-register here.