
LGBTQ INFORMATION NETWORK │ RAINBOW OF RESOURCES
IMPORTANT DAYS
List of LGBTQ Awareness Days
Wikipedia: LGBTQ Pride
Stonewall Riots
LGBTQ History
Month
Wikipedia: National Coming Out Day
Rainbow Babies: LGBTQ Holidays & Observances
Complete List of LGBTQ Holidays and Commemorations
Important
LGBTQ Events
Stonewall Riots – June 28, 1969
Legalization of Same Sex Marriage in the US – June 26,
2015
Non-Discrimination of LGBTQ Employees - June 15, 2020
Pulse Nightclub Shooting - June 12, 2016
Harvey Milk’s Birthday – May 22, 1930
LGBTQ Holidays and Observances
Holidays and cultural observances bring
people together for both celebration and reflection.
Throughout the year, the LGBTQ community unites in pride
and in protest, in recognition of a rich heritage, and
in hope for the future.
There are LGBTQ holidays that recognize
various aspects, issues, and concerns of the LGBTQ
community, including pride, history, identity, coming
out, bullying, and AIDS.
Some critics wonder why LGBTQ people need
to have all these special days. Why do gay people have
to flaunt their gayness? To be fair, straight people
certainly do flaunt their straightness all day, every
day, in every part of this country. Some might ask, why isn’t there a
straight pride parade? Probably for the same reason
there aren’t soup kitchens for rich people.
Gay pride was not born out of a need to
celebrate being gay, but instead to demonstrate the
right to exist without persecution. So, instead of
wondering why there isn’t a straight pride movement,
just be
thankful you don’t need one.

LGBTQ Calendar
March |
31 |
International Transgender Day of
Visibility
(TDOV)
|
April |
19 |
National Day of Silence
|
April |
26 |
Lesbian Visibility Day
|
May |
16 |
National Honor Our LGBTQ Elders Day |
May |
17 |
International Day Against
Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia, and Transphobia
(IDAHOBIT) |
May |
22 |
Harvey Milk’s Birthday (1930) |
June |
1-30 |
LGBTQ Pride Month
|
June |
12 |
Anniversary of
Pulse Nightclub Shooting (2016) |
June |
15 |
Anniversary of Non-Discrimination
of LGBTQ Employees Ruling (2020) |
June |
26 |
LGBTQ Equality Day |
Legalization of Same-Sex Marriage
(2015) |
June |
28 |
Anniversary of Stonewall Riots
(1969)
|
July |
14 |
International Non-Binary People's Day
|
Sept |
23 |
Celebrate Bisexuality Day
|
Oct |
1-31 |
LGBTQ History Month
|
Oct |
8 |
International Lesbian Day
|
Oct |
11 |
National Coming Out Day
|
Oct |
20 |
Spirit Day (Anti-Bullying) |
Oct |
26 |
Intersex Awareness Day
|
Nov |
20 |
Transgender Day of Remembrance
(TDOR)
|
Dec |
1 |
World AIDS Day
|
Dec |
8 |
Pansexual Pride Day
|
LGBTQ
Pride Month
National Coming Out Day
World AIDS Day
LGBTQ History
Month
Day of Silence
Honor Our LGBTQ
Elders Day
International Transgender
Day of Remembrance

LGBTQ Pride Month | June
LGBTQ Pride Month is a cultural expression that has
grown and evolved and continues to do so. Now in large
part celebratory, the observance has its roots in both
pride and protest. The initial events in the development
of Pride Month were commemorations of the first
anniversary of the Stonewall Riots of June 28, 1969. In
New York, a few hundred gay men and lesbians marched
from Washington Square to Central Park for a “Gay-In”
demonstration. As they progressed, they attracted more
and more participants. The number variously estimated at
from 5,000 to 15,000, making it the largest gay power
demonstration as of that time. The anniversary of
Stonewall was also observed with a march in Los Angeles
and rallies in San Francisco and Chicago.
Library of Congress: About LGBTQ Pride Month
This is Me: Celebrate LGBTQ Pride Month
Wikipedia: LGBTQ Pride
Celebrating LGBTQ Pride Month
Info: LGBTQ Pride Celebrations

National Coming Out Day | October 11
Inspired by the success of the March on Washington for
Lesbian & Gay Rights on October 11, 1987, Jean O’Leary,
then Executive Director of the National Gay & Lesbian
Rights Advocates, joined with Rob Eichberg to create an
event that would increase the visibility of LGBTQ people
and encourage those previously silent to make their
voices heard. On the first anniversary of the march,
they launched National Coming Out Day. CNN and National
Public Radio reported on events held in eighteen states,
and the Oprah Winfrey Show also took note of the
celebrations of pride.
The idea of National Coming Out Day did not find favor
with everyone in the LGBTQ community at first since
there was some fear that it might compromise
individuals’ privacy. Outing people, however, was not
the intent; rather, National Coming Out Day offered
LGBTQ people the opportunity to choose to be identified
with the community and to make a commitment to the goal
of achieving equal rights. The symbol of National Coming
Out Day, Keith Haring’s image of a person joyously
bursting from a closet, underscores the individual
nature of this step, fosters solidarity among those who
have made it, and offers hope to those who, for whatever
reason, have not yet been able to kick open the door.
National Coming Out Day
has become a joyous occasion, particularly on college
campuses, where young people are able to discover
community and support.
Wikipedia: National Coming Out Day
About Gay Life: National Coming Out Day
What You Need to Know About National Coming Out Day
Info: The Coming Out Process
Celebrating National Coming Out Day
Why National Coming Out Day Matters
The Universal Experience of Coming Out

World AIDS Day | December 1
To call attention to and mobilize support for the fight
against the ongoing scourge of HIV/AIDS, UNAIDS (the
Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS) observed the
first World AIDS Day on December 1, 1988. In 2005 the
task of administering the project was transferred to the
independent organization The World AIDS Campaign. Given
the widespread impact of the disease, much of the
attention is on people who have contracted the virus by
means other than same-sex sexual contact. Nevertheless,
World AIDS Day remains significant to LGBTQ people
because of the devastating losses in the gay community
due to HIV/AIDS.
World AIDS Day
What is World AIDS Day?
Info: AIDS/HIV Data
CDC: World AIDS Day
LGBTQ History Month | October
Rodney Wilson, a history teacher in a suburban St.
Louis, Missouri high school, understood the difficulties
of LGBTQ students picked on and bullied by their
classmates since he had been their advocate when they
turned to him in their distress. He was also troubled by
the lack of acknowledgment of the homosexuality of
prominent men and women who have made significant
contributions to history. In response to these problems,
he set about to establish a teaching initiative through
which the achievements of LGBTQ people would be
recognized. His stated goals were to “fight for the
right of every child in every school in America to be
safe from fear and intimidation, fight for the right of
every teacher in every school in America to be free to
live openly and honestly without fear of job loss, and
fight for the right to have accurate information about
lesbians and gays included in the textbooks and
curricula of every school.”
Wilson proposed October as LGBTQ History Month because
it was during the school year and included National
Coming Out Day. National organizations such as Gay and
Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), the HRC,
the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and the
National Education Association were quick to lend
support. In 2006 the Equality Forum took over the task
of coordinating the project and launched an LGBTQ
History Month web site. Each year the site features
famous LGBTQ people who have made significant social,
political, or artistic contributions.
LGBTQ History
Month
Wikipedia: LGBT History Month
Info: LGBTQ Historical Perspective
Transgender Day of Visibility | March 31
March 31
is International Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV).
It is a time to celebrate transgender people around the
globe and the courage it takes to live openly and
authentically, while also raising awareness around the
discrimination trans people still face. TDOV has also
been defined as an annual awareness day dedicated to
celebrating the accomplishments of transgender and
gender nonconforming people while raising awareness of
the work that still needs to be done to achieve trans
justice.
Transgender Day of Visibility Explained
TDOV: Honoring the Visible and Invisible (2020)
Celebrating Transgender Day of Visibility
TDOV: Honoring the Visible and Invisible (2019)

Transgender Day of Remembrance | November 20
The Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR), held in November,
memorializes those who have been killed as a result of
anti-transgender hatred or prejudice. The event began in
1998 to honor Rita Hester, whose murder on November 28,
1998 inspired the “Remembering Our Dead” web project and
a San Francisco candlelight vigil in 1999. Since then,
the Transgender Day of Remembrance has been observed in
dozens of cities and at numerous colleges and
universities. The Transgender Day of Remembrance serves
to raise public awareness of hate crimes against
transgender people, while also honoring the lives of
individuals who might otherwise be forgotten.
International Transgender
Day of Remembrance
Trans Deaths Are Real Deaths
HRC: Epidemic of Violence Against Trans People
Transgender People Killed in 2018
Info: Transgender Issues
CNN: Killings of Trans People in US Increasing
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