October is LGBTQ+ History Month. What began as a single day, National Coming Out Day on October 11, is now a month dedicated to honoring LGBTQ+ individuals and the history of the community.
Recovering history isn’t always easy, especially for communities who often had to live (and sometimes still live) closeted lives for fear of hatred, job loss, rejection, and even death. Over the course of the last several decades, most notably since the Stonewall Riots of June 1969, the LGBTQ+ community has continued to fight for their civil rights.
The Reform Jewish community has embraced the LGBTQ+ community and continued to fight for their rights. This is especially true now, when members of the LGBTQ+ community are under attack by our government.
The Reform Jewish Movement has stood with LGBTQ+ people since the early 1960s when the Women of Reform Judaism called for the decriminalization of adult consensual sexual relations between people of the same gender. The Union for Reform Judaism and Central Conference of American Rabbis fought for LGBTQ+ marriage equality and has been ordaining members of the LGBTQ+ community as rabbis and cantors since 1990.
As part of LGBTQ+ History Month, we should look forward and understand the ways we must continue to advance LGBTQ+ equality. Here are some resources you can share with your community as you continue our tradition of advocating for change:
- Read the URJ's Quick Guide to Pronouns.
- Utilize the Transgender Inclusion Guide from the URJ and Keshet.
- Create a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion working group in your community.
- Get more involved in addressing transphobia and homophobia in our communities, by checking out REDI trainings and resources.
- Take political action through the URJ's Religious Action Center.