The following is a following from U.S. Department of the Interior:
“U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell today joined National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis and Tim Gill, philanthropist and founder of the Gill Foundation to announce the release of a new National Park Service theme study identifying places and events associated with the history of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer-identified Americans. The release of the theme study coincides with National Coming Out Day, a commemoration first celebrated in 1988 on the anniversary of the 1987 March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights.
“LGBTQ America: A Theme Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer History” is the first of its kind study conducted by a national government to chronicle historical places, documents, people and events that shaped the LGBTQ civil rights movement in America. The National Park Service (NPS) coordinated the study with support from the National Park Foundation and funding from the Gill Foundation as part of a broader initiative under the Obama Administration to ensure that the NPS reflects and tells a more complete story of the people and events responsible for building this nation.
The theme study is a pivotal moment for the LGBTQ community as it establishes, for the first time, a framework for inclusion and recognition of places associated with people and events that made LGBTQ history and left a mark on American history. The theme study provides the big picture that will help these important places to be considered for designation as National Historic Landmarks or nominated to the National Register of Historic Places. It will also guide and inform the presentation of LGBTQ history by professors and teachers, and will serve as a reference for the general public.
Experts in LGBTQ studies wrote and peer-edited over 1,200 pages in the 32 chapters of the theme study. These chapters chart LGBTQ histories across the United States— from the native māhū of Hawai’i and lhamana of the Zuni, to the drag queens of the Stonewall Uprising, from private residences, hotels, bars, and government agencies to hospitals, parks and community centers. Authors and peer reviewers included professors, filmmakers, historians, geographers, archivists and museum curators, researchers, experts in historic preservation, historical archaeologists, journalists and members of the clergy.
“LGBT history is American history and as we celebrate the Centennial anniversary of the National Park Service, I can think of no better time to advocate for a more accurate and inclusive view of the American experience,” said Tim Gill, founder of the Gill Foundation.
Earlier this year, Secretary Jewell and Director Jarvis returned to New York City to participate in a public dedication ceremony following President Obama’s designation of the Stonewall National Monument, the nation’s first monument to honor the story of LGBTQ Americans, on June 24, 2016.”
