The history and achievements of the gay
movement are observed during October as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and
Transgender (LGBT) History Month celebrates the pioneers who have
contributed to the gay movement. LGBT History Month originated in
1994 by Missouri high-school history teacher Rodney Wilson. And
while many organizations organized events in past years, there was
little coordinated effort between their contributions.
In recent years, however, Malcolm
Lazin's Philadelphia-based Equality Forum has taken the lead in the
effort to highlight gay and lesbian achievements. The group has been
diligently adding profiles of LGBT icons at the website
glbthistorymonth.com.
“Starting in 2006 Equality Forum,
which has had a real interest in our history, undertook to coordinate
the project. And so each day in October there's a different icon and
for that icon on our website, which is glbthistorymonth.com, there's
a video, a biography, bibliography, downloadable images and other
educational resources,” Equality Forum Executive Director and
Founder Malcolm Lazin told OUTTAKEonline CEO Charlotte Robinson in an
exclusive audio interview available at her website.
The pair also discussed the group's
upcoming Equality Forum, which takes place next April in
Philadelphia. Lazin said this year's forum will emphasize gay and
lesbian civil rights in Russia.
Gay stigma in the former Soviet Union
remains high in a country where gays and lesbians face
institutionalized discrimination. Gay activists in Moscow have been
denied a Gay Pride parade license since 2006. And last June, four
activist in the Russian capital were arrested by police in their
apartment, after participating in a gay rights demonstration that
lasted only minutes and consisted of hanging a banner near City Hall
that read “Rights For Gays and Lesbians” and setting free
hundreds of balloons. Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, who has called
homosexuality “satanic,” said the activist's actions were
“criminal.”
“The forum is really unique in that
it has both a national and international focus. It provides a
perspective in terms of all of our major issues. ... For each issue
we bring together diverse leaders around those issues in order to
discuss where the community currently is and where it needs to be
going,” Lazin said.
Lazin also told Robinson that he
believed an Obama administration would help the gay movement achieve
greater equality. He cited passage of ENDA, repeal of “Don't Ask,
Don't Tell” and DOMA, and securing federal benefits for gay and
lesbian couples as examples of what could be accomplished in the next
four to eight years.
Listen to the entire interview at
OUTTAKEonline.com.
On the net: Equality Forum is at
www.equalityforum.com