Rodney Wilson made history twice in 1994.
The first came after a visit to the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., when Wilson taught a lesson with historical and personal significance to his students at Mehlville High School.
While showing the various patches worn by people imprisoned and killed by the Nazi regime, he mentioned that if he had been jailed, he would have been assigned a pink triangle — the symbol identifying gay people. Wilson told St. Louis on the Air that in his attempt to make the class more relatable to his students, he also became the first openly gay K-12 teacher in Missouri.
“It seemed to me that swirling outside of my classroom were all kinds of conversations about gay and lesbian people. You had the AIDS crisis in the early 1990s. You had Bill Clinton come to office in January 1993 [promising] to end the prohibition against gays in the military,” he said. “A lot of things were percolating outside the classroom, but in my classroom, these were not topics we discussed. I had an 800-page American history textbook at the time and there was not one reference of any kind to an LGBTQ person or to any LGBTQ history. The conversations were raging, and sometimes they trickle down into the regular world.”
While this moment of disclosure led to controversy in Missouri and across the nation regarding what type of instruction is appropriate in classrooms, Wilson made history a second time when, in 1994, he finalized a 10-month mission to establish a designated month of commemoration for LGBTQ history. Wilson was inspired to create what was then called Gay History Month by the efforts around Black History Month and Women's History Month.
“I thought very much like Dr. Carter Woodson in 1926 when he founded what was then called Negro History Week. He believed that knowing Black history was empowering for Black people and educational for white people. I believe the same thing,” he said.
Choosing October made sense because it was part of the academic calendar. It also aligned with other significant occasions, including the first and second Marches on Washington in 1979 and 1987, and National Coming Out Day, which was first observed in 1988.
“So I said, ‘Let's adopt and adapt these models that already exist, but now put the spotlight toward LGBTQ people and their history.’”
The idea for LGBT History Month began at the University of Missouri-St. Louis while Wilson was completing graduate studies. He credits his educators for inspiring and encouraging him, and his classmates’ collaboration to produce a film festival highlighting queer storytelling on campus.
“When I started graduate classes I had a particular professor, Gerda Ray, who allowed us to talk about and examine anything, including social history, including LGBTQ history,” Wilson said. “My mind was open because of those classes and I think that history empowered me. It helped me understand better my place in the world.”
Wilson continues to teach history as well as world religions at Mineral Area College in Park Hills, Missouri. In the 30 years since he founded the first LGBT History Month, Wilson said there are now 20 countries with similarly styled history months. Even in countries such as Uganda and Armenia, which either have no protections for LGBT people or have restrictive laws against them, citizens have designated months to commemorate LGBT history.
“My hope, though, is that over time, we become a warmer, more welcoming community. No matter what our ethnic background, whatever our employment background, whatever our sexual orientation or gender identity or religion, I hope that we can just learn to let everybody live in peace,” he said. “As long as no one is hurting another person, there should be no reason to try to restrict their behavior. Allow people to have autonomy over their lives, over themselves and stop trying to get in everyone's business.”
For more with Rodney Wilson, how his childhood curiosity led to his passion for history and what excites him about the future of LGBT History Month, listen to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube, or click the play button below.
Related Event
What: Gateway to Pride Exhibit
When: Through June 2025
Where: Missouri History Museum (5700 Lindell Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63112)
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Jada Jones is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.
Copyright 2024 St. Louis Public Radio
