LGBTQIA History Month, formerly known as Gay and Lesbian History Month, was started in 1994 by Rodney Wilson. Wilson was a high school teacher in Missouri at the time who believed that a month should be dedicated to LGBTQIA achievements and accomplishments. In 1995, LGBTQIA History Month was added to the list of commemorative months in a resolution forwarded by the General Assembly of the National Education Association. October was chosen as the month of observance as National Coming Out Day already existed as a holiday on October 11. Also, the anniversary of the first march for gay rights in Washington took place on October 14, 1979.
As of 2022, LGBT History Month is a month-long celebration that is specific to Australia, Canada, Cuba, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, United Kingdom and the United States. In the United States, Canada, and Australia, it is celebrated in October.
Calendar of Events
Take a look at all of the exciting events and activities happening during LGBTQIA History Month.
Week 1 - October 3 - 9, 2022 (Coming Out Week)
Monday, October 3|COW Kickoff Event| 6 –7:30 p.m. | Einstein Statue | Coming Out Week
Join Pride Alliance on October 3 at the Einstein Statue to kick off the start of our annual Coming Out Week Celebration! Hear about all the SIX events we have planned for the week of October 3-9. Be sure to stop by for chalking, community, and free lemonade!
Monday, Oct 3 |Plant the Rainbow | 6:30 - 8 p.m. | Exhibition Hall, Midtown II| SCPC Arts & Culture| Coming Out Week
A terrarium planting event that focuses on bringing awareness to the Georgia Tech student body about queer and trans experiences, in conjunction with Coming Out Week. Attendees will be able to create their own terrarium while also learning about the LGBTQ+ community.
This event is a collaboration with the LGBTQIA+ Resource Center at Georgia Tech. To learn more about the center, upcoming events, and ways to get involved, please visit the Center's website or follow them on Engage.
With this event, we hope to work with the LGBTQIA+ Resource Center to give students the opportunity to learn more about resources available to them and promote allyship to LGBTQIA community members. Hate speech or homophobia of any kind WILL NOT BE TOLERATED, and students participating in these acts will be removed from the event and will not be permitted at future SCPC events
Tuesday, October 4|Big Gay Brunch | 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.| Bill Moore Student Success Center, Press Room A| Coming Out Week
Join the LGBTQIA Resource Center for our annual "Big Gay Brunch" in conjunction with Coming Out Week! This event is open to all LGBTQIA identities and allies. This will be an opportunity to continue to build community with students as well as faculty and staff. Make sure you follow Pride Alliance for more events happening during Coming Out Week.
Tuesday, October 4 |Out@Work, Lessons from LGBTQIA Professionals|3 – 4:30 p.m.| Bill Moore Student Success Center, Press Room A | Coming Out Week
Join the Resource Center and Career Center on Tuesday, October 4 from 3:00-4:30pm in the Student Success Center. This session will feature LGBTQIA employees from Atlanta Mayors Office, Transformation Journeys Worldwide, Kaiser Permanente, and RangeWater Real Estate who will offer reflections and advice on navigating a professional position as an LGBTQIA person. They will also be highlighting upcoming opportunities at their respective organizations. Bring a copy of your resumes for an opportunity to network.
Wednesday, October 5 | Craftpalooza | 6-7:30 p.m. | Instructional Center, Room 103 | Coming Out Week
Pride Alliance is hosting a COW Craftapalooza celebration! Join us on October 5th from 6 pm to 7 pm in IC 103, where we have rock painting, friendship bracelets, and finger painting! We’ll be serving pizza and drinks so skip dinner! See y’all there!
Thursday, October 6 | When I Knew, Open Mic Night| 6 –7:30 p.m. | John Lewis Student Center, Multicultural Lounge | Coming Out Week
Join the LGBTQIA Resource Center and Pride Alliance for a night of storytelling. This event is part of Coming Out Week at Georgia Tech. When I Knew isn’t about coming out stories, it’s about sharing the when and how we discovered our queer and/or trans identities. We invite folk who have “always known” and those who are “still figuring things out”. Open mic will follow a line-up of scheduled story tellers. If you are interested in joining our line-up of speakers, please indicate that when you RSVP. You can speak about the questions you asked yourself, a first crush, or when you finally found the words to describe your experience of gender and/or sexuality. You can also submit your story anonymously and we will read it for you. Stories should be 2-3 minutes in length.
Friday, October 7 | Pride Fest | 2 – 5 p.m. | Tech Green | Coming Out Week
Join us on Tech Green on October 7th, 2 pm to 5 pm to celebrate PrideFest! PrideFest is bringing together organizations from all across campus to celebrate the community we have built together! The first 200 students will get free custom Coming Out Week tote bags and everyone will receive pride flags + cotton candy. We’re so excited to see you there, and don’t forget to go all out with your outfits.
Saturday, October 8 | Night Before Pride | 6 – 7:30 p.m. | West Village Ensemble Room| Coming Out Week
Pride Alliance is walking in the Atlanta Pride Parade! Have you been to Pride before? Are you nervous about going? Or do you want to meet up with friends before? Then Night Before Pride is for you! Come to the West Village Ensemble Room to learn about what to expect at Pride, meet friends to walk in the parade with, and make posters to bring to Pride the next day.
Sunday, October 9| Pride Walk | 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. | CULC to MARTA Civic Station| Coming Out Week
Pride is here! Join Pride Alliance, GT Alum, Faculty, and allies to walk in the city of Atlanta’s Pride Parade on October 9th! Meet us under the CULC canopy at 10:00 AM to go together. There will be lots of walking & sunshine so please bring water, sunscreen, and good walking shoes. The capacity is 100, please register soon! You don’t want to miss this opportunity!
Week 2, October 10 – 15, 2022
Monday, October 10 | Hispanic Heritage Month Lecture, Inspiring Radical Creativity: Empowering Diverse Voices to Tell Their Own Stories, feat. Gabby Rivera | 3-4:30 p.m. | Atlantic Theater, John Lewis Student Center
Join Institute Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, the GOSTEM Program, and the Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion for the 2022 Hispanic Heritage Month Lecture, featuring Gabby Rivera, author of Juliet Takes a Breath and the Marvel comic series America.
Monday, October 10 |Women's Q Chats | 7:30 – 8:30 p.m. | LGBTQIA Resource Center
Join our bi-weekly Women's Q Chat! All Q Chats are Trans inclusive.
National Coming Out Day – Tuesday, October 11
Tuesday, October 11 | “Come Out” and Bowl! | 4-6 p.m.| Tech Rec, John Lewis Student Center
Join the LGBTQIA Resource Center for a celebration of National Coming Out Day at Tech Rec. National Coming Out day celebrates LGBTQIA connection to community and we want to turn it into a celebration at Georgia Tech. Whether you are LGBTQIA or an ally, we encourage you to COME OUT and bowl with us on Oct 11. Tech Rec is located on the first floor of the John Lewis Student Center. It features bowling, billiards, and other recreation activities.
Tuesday, October 11 | Men's Q Chats | 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. | LGBTQIA Resource Center
Join our bi-weekly Men's Q Chat! All Q Chats are Trans inclusive.
Tuesday, October 11 | Closed Circuit Q Chats | 7 – 8 p.m.
Join our bi-weekly Closed Circuit Q Chat! All Q Chats are Trans inclusive.
Tuesday, October 11 | T+ Q Chats | 7:30 – 8:30 p.m. | LGBTQIA Resource Center
Join our bi-weekly T+ Q Chat! All Q Chats are Trans inclusive.
Wednesday, October 12 | Safe Space: Peer Education | 5:30 – 9 p.m. | Northside, Student Center
Safe Space: Peer Education (SSPE) is a student version of Georgia Tech's Safe Space program. The goals, messages, and content are the same in both programs, but SSPE will have more of a student focus, equipping students with the knowledge and skills to support a peer who comes out to them and to be effective allies to LGBTQIA communities.
Thursday, October 13 | Trans 101 | 9:30 a.m. - 12 p.m. | In - Person
Trans 101 is the LGBTQIA Resource Center's introductory education program designed to provide participants with the knowledge and skills necessary to support transgender, gender non-conforming, and gender questioning individuals at Georgia Tech.Trainings last 2.5 hours and cover trans-inclusive language and practices, challenges facing trans people at Tech and nationally, and resources for supporting trans communities on campus. Trainings are open to students, faculty, and staff.
Thursday, October 13 | Queer Coffeehouse, Neurodivergent | 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. | LGBTQIA Resource Center
Join the LGBTQIA+ Resource Center for our bi weekly coffee hour! This coffee hour is dedicated to building community with our neurodivergent students at Tech! We'll provide the treats and the coffee while you provide great conversation and a love for community building in queer communities.
Friday, Oct 14 | Reading Rainbows: Valuing Diversity & Well-being - Legislative & Policy Protections available at GT | 12 - 1 p.m. | Virtual
The legal landscape for LGBTQIA individuals is constantly evolving on a national and local level. On a regular basis, you can find a myriad of articles providing interpretations of court cases or legislation with differing levels of afforded protections. But what does that mean for GT students, faculty and staff? Through this facilitated dialogue with Alexis Martinez EdD, JD (she/her), Executive Director of the Office of Equity & Compliance Programs, learn more about the policies and resources currently provided. Additionally, we will explore what the future may look like on the state and/or federal level, particularly with new proposed regulations to Title IX and recent court decisions from around the Southeast.
Week 3, October 16 – 22, 2022
Tuesday, October 18 | Safe Space | 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. | In-person
Safe Space is Georgia Tech’s LGBTQIA ally training program for faculty, staff, affiliates, graduate students, and postdocs.
Wednesday, October 19 - LGBT Center Awareness Day
Thursday, October 20 | Pride Prom: An Ode to Camp| 8 – 11 p.m. | Student Center East Ballroom, Georgia State University
Join the LGBTQIA Resource Center in collaboration with the Multicultural Center at Georgia State University for a night of dance, fun, and an ode to camp style! Come dressed in your most exotic, outrageous, yet exquisite outfits and dance the night away! Shuttle services will be provided to transport Georgia Tech students to the prom location. If you have any questions, please email William Britto.
Week 4, October 23 – 29, 2022
Monday, Oct 24 - Friday, Oct 28: ACE Week
Monday, October 24 | Women's Q Chats | 7:30 – 8:30 p.m. | LGBTQIA Resource Center
Join our bi-weekly Women's Q Chat! All Q Chats are Trans inclusive.
Tuesday, October 25 | Men's Q Chats | 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.| LGBTQIA Resource Center
Join our bi-weekly Men's Q Chat! All Q Chats are Trans inclusive.
Tuesday, October 25 |Closed Circuit Q Chats | 7 – 8 p.m.
Join our bi-weekly Closed Circuit Q Chat! All Q Chats are Trans inclusive.
Tuesday, October 25 | T+ Q Chats | 7:30 – 8:30 p.m. | LGBTQIA Resource Center
Join our bi-weekly T+ Q Chat! All Q Chats are Trans inclusive.
Thursday, October 27 | Queer Coffeehouse & Gay Halloween | 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. | LGBTQIA Resource Center & Women’s Resource Center
Join us for our last Coffeehouse of the semester as we celebrate the excitement of Halloween for LGBTQIA communities!