There are decades of work behind us and a radically inclusive future ahead.

An image with red, orange, yellow, green, blue, pink, light blue, white, brown, and black stripes. The text says LGBTQ2S+ History Month 2020. The Freedom Oklahoma logo appears in white

“History isn’t something you look back at and say it was inevitable, it happens because people make decisions that are sometimes very impulsive and of the moment, but those moments are cumulative realities.”

— Marsha P. Johnson

October is LGBTQ2S+ History Month and at Freedom Oklahoma, we’re celebrating by looking to our past to inform and inspire our future. LGBTQ2S+ history is full of angelic troublemakers, the giants whose shoulders we stand on. Giants like Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, Scott Wilson, Paul Thompson, Paula Schonauer, Harvey Milk, Audre Lorde, Barbara Gittings, and so many other bold change-makers whose stories have never been told but whose lives have made ours possible. We are here because of them. Their commitment to liberation has afforded us the freedoms LGBTQ2S+ people enjoy today. 

The history we’ve made has largely been led by Black and Brown trans folk but too often they are excluded in the outcome. This month we honor them by continuing their actions and ensuring that the history we make from here on out is radically inclusive. 

Join us in paying tribute to those who came before us and continue to build on their legacy. Let’s fill the gaps we’ve ignored, push the most marginalized among us to the forefront of our movement, and build the world we need. We know we have a long way to go to create a world in which LGBTQ2S+ Oklahomans can truly thrive, but we are on our way. And for that, we celebrate. 

Happy LGBTQ2S+ History Month to each and every one of you. Let’s make more history together.