IMPORTANT UPDATE: The Los Angeles Times reports that the LA Board of Education on Tuesday approved a plan to include more positive images of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in lesson plans. The measure was put forward by board member Steve Zimmer in response to Gov. Jerry Brown having signed the California FAIR Education Act, that prohibits discrimination against the contributions of LGBT people, as well as the disabled and Native Americans, in history lessons taught in public schools. The Times reports that the vote was 6-0, with board member Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte absent.
The Times reports that the “resolution calls for including “age-appropriate” materials for elementary and secondary students in the nation’s second-largest school district and giving staff safety and anti-bullying training. Supt. John Deasy is expected to update the board within two months on how the district plans to implement the plan.”
I will not be posting as much for the next few days as I work on an in-depth piece for Frontiers In LA magazine. But I thought this video by the Courage Campaign asks an important question about what historians will write about our movement for equality. But between the lines, the video also asks: And what was your contribution? What happened to all that post-Prop 8 energy and enthusiasm? This is a subject for much thought and debate, as well. But in the meantime – here’s Courage’s lead-in and video:
Historians will write a lot about California’s movement for equality. They’ll write about Harvey Milk leading the campaign to defeat the Briggs Initiative; the California Supreme Court’s 2008 ruling that all loving couples are entitled to marriage equality; our Prop 8 loss, and the ongoing trial to overturn that ballot measure. But what’s next?
At Courage Campaign, we think we know what historians will write — and we want you to see it.
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The history of the first gay rights ordinance in the US can be found at:
http://www.mediafire.com/?a8ybzixhs7zhwb8