LGBTQ+ History Month
The UIC Chancellor’s Committee on the Status of LGBTQ+ People (CCSLGBTQP) and the UIC Gender & Sexuality Center are proud to celebrate LGBTQ+ History Month throughout the month of October!
First celebrated in 1994, it was declared a national history month by President Barack Obama in 2009. LGBTQ+ History Month is a month-long annual observance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender history and the history of the gay rights and related civil rights movements.
LGBTQ+ History Month provides role models, builds community and represents a civil rights statement about the contributions of the LGBTQ+ community. The CCSLGBTQP would like to bring attention to the following dates and events throughout the month of October:
- Wednesday, October 11 – National Coming Out Day
- National Coming Out Day (NCOD) is an annual LGBTQ+ awareness day to support anyone coming out. First celebrated in the United States in 1988, it emphasizes the most basic form of LGBTQ+ activism: coming out and living life openly as your true self.
- Wednesday, October 18 – International Pronouns Day
- International Pronouns Day began in 2018. Its purpose is to make asking, sharing and respecting personal pronouns commonplace. Referring to people by the pronouns they determine for themselves is basic to human dignity.
- Friday, October 20 – Sparky’s Drag Race
- 7pm – 9pm at Student Center East in the Illinois Room
- Wednesday, October 25 – LGBTQ+ Student Organization Expo
- 8:30am – 5pm at Student Center East Concourse
The CCSLGBTQP is also excited to announce that they have renamed their undergraduate and graduate student scholarships in memory of Elise Malary, whose life was tragically cut short in March 2022. Elise was a 2016 alumna of UIC and an LGBTQIA+ activist. She was a Chicago Therapy Collective board member and co-founder of Hire Trans Now. A much-loved member of the community, Elise began her work with LGBTQIA+ organizations while she was a student at UIC. She was extremely passionate about advancing social justice for the LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC communities, especially trans people of color.
It is important to remember that, though things have improved, the LGBTQ+ community still faces violence and discrimination. The ACLU is currently tracking 496 anti-LGBTQ+ bills in the United States, many of which include prohibiting gender-affirming healthcare to transgender youth. Please visit Lambda Legal or Transgender Law Center to learn more.
The CCSLGBTQP encourages all UIC community members to learn more about LGBTQ+ persons. We reinforce our commitment to greater inclusion of LGBTQ+ individuals at UIC with the following resources:
- UIC Gender and Sexuality Center (GSC)
- The GSC promotes deeply engaged and life affirming thinking, learning and action with students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members. Through programs, initiatives, events and workshops, the GSC creates a more inclusive campus and catalyzes positive social change in the world. Underlying the center’s work is an understanding of intersecting identities and the multiple layers of diversity within LGBTQIA+ identities.
- UIC Chancellor’s Committee on the Status of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer People
- Established in 1991, the CCSLGBTQP’s mission is to promote the academic, cultural, professional and social welfare of the LGBTQ+ community at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
- All-Gender Restrooms
- UIC Bias Reporting Tool: Bias Reporting & Prevention
- UI Health LGBTQ+ Inclusive Care